Yigo travels from HI to NY

The trip from Honolulu to Newark by plane is approximately 8-9 hours. It can be even longer for a pet, since they have to be dropped off at the Airport 3 hours early. He likes his kennel so that was good. My mom and I drove to Newark airport on a rainy and miserable day, but despite the weather our excitment was mounting the closer we got to knowing that Yigo was landing on the tarmac on flight #14 CO. We waited curbside at Terminal C, as we watched for the white van with the little paw prints to drive up. It was like watching water boil. When the van arrived, I told my mom, "stay calm, so we dont' excite Yigo." I said that more for myself. When his crate was taken off the van, I could see that he was doing well, and wiggeling his little butt, waiting to get out and run!

The paperwork process to release Yigo to us was a breeze. I showed them my I.D., I signed a form, and we were off. We had to go through the airport to get to the parking lot, and I was glad to have another hand to help carry the kennel, and walk Yigo. He was in great spirits.

Yigo is the Man!!

This is Yigo, he is from the GAIN Shelter in Guam. He is the BEST pooch ever. He probably has about 10 different mix of breeds in him. We play frisbee at least three times a day, and he can run up to 20 miles if the weather is permitting. Who can ask for anything more?

Hawaii 70.3 hot hot hot

I'm always a bit nervous before these triathlons, but spending the weekend with friends helped eased the tension. Here we are at the packet pickup on Thursday evening.




The Vegas gals and Linsey appear to be calm cool and collected after picking up race numbers. Next stop - dinner!

After dinner we took care of our bikes.

Friday was a busy day. We had lots of errands to run, plus get in some last minute exercise. Jayne and I also did some recon as to where the bike to run transition was located and where the finish line would be set up. I wanted to verify how the last half mile of the run would look like and exactly where the finish line was located.
We still needed to make time for a quick swim to feel the current and wave action. The buoys were already set, and Tina and Jayne observed that there were no large fins to be seen, but found the course to be a tad long.



This race was the first half ironman for Linsey. Even though she had no idea what to expect, I knew she was going to finish well. She placed 5th. in her age group and broke 6 hours. Wow!! Here she is looking rather stylish race morning, getting psyched while listening to her i-pod, and waiting patiently for the rest of the gang to get out the door! Let's go ladies!
Lisa worked on the computer right up to the last minute, while I adorned Tina with a pretty flower tatoo.

Surprise !!!

Race Morining Group Photo Op! Girls are looking ready to race.

The waters are looking great. The swim is going to be fun.

Pre-race transition set up and prep is a bit daunting. We were oblivious to Jayne taking photos.

I think Tina was looking for her lap-top. Tina is relaxed for her day of training with full support, and it's time for Linsey to make her debue.

We are ready to swim, and giving out hugs to our friends. For the start I situated myself to the buoys closest to the beach, which was fine, as I had good line to the first turnaround buoy. I did get bonked in the head by an arm, but quickly brushed it off. The swim was nice, I always found some feet to following, as I bridged up to different packs.

The bike ride was nice. I was a bit hot with my jersey on, but it was how I carried my spare tire, and 2nd. water bottle. Needless to say, putting it on in transition had to of cost me a good minute in transition. With about 10K to go on the bike, Jayne was on the infamous, quad burning hill before we turn onto the Queen K. I was smiling, but my butt muscle was not!!!

I really enjoyed the run. I shared water with different runners. I paced off of different runners, including the owner of Momentum Multi Sports, Le Nyugen. He really encouraged me to keep a strong pace. My goal was to push the last 5K. I've learned the hard way from racing Buffalo Half (3xs). To my surprise, I turned it on and posted a 45 sec. faster split for 3 miles. The first 10 miles was even split. It wasn't blazing fast, but it was smart running. My instructions for Jayne was to locate her with one mile to go, and she was right there taking pictures. It was great to see her. Just before I saw her, I passed a female runner. Sandra, she recognized me, but I didn't realize it was her.

Lisa finishing strong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now it's Miller Time!

Race Venue and Spence and I enjoying the Post - Race party with the Locals.

We were all very happy to have completed the Honu Half.

Linsey and I walked away with Hardware. Nice Koa Wood Bowls!

After all the beers we went to the market and picked up some good steaks and salad, and grilled out by the pool.

The next day we had one last visit to the beach before our plane departed.

One final look at the lava......................

The ride to the airport was a bit cramped. We managed to pack five girls, 2 bike boxes, 2 bikes, 3 very large suitcases, a large wheel case, plus a few lap tops into the minivan. Jayne had shotgun.

At the airport, only a few minutes before boarding the flight to Oahu.

Final Parting Shot ...........................................OAHU

Next 70.3 race??????????? Sometime next year, I vote for going to Mooseman in N.H. As always a thrilling adventure with the pretty Vegas Ladies.

Momentum Crit Series #4

This was the last race of the series. The start time moved to late afternoon, after the Tantalus TT race in the morning. The crit course was a little different than before, and less boring. They added a dog leg type of turn before the start finish line. Some parts of the race was a little wet - which made for sketchy turns and slick painted surfaces.

The tradewinds were blowing as usual, and gusting up to 25mph on the open flightline. We rode into the wind through the start-finish-line. The tail wind on the back side, made for a nice recovery section for the heart rate, but not necessarily for the legs. Still, I was feeling strong - despite racing every weekend for the past month. About 10 minutes into the race, there were a few IT&B guys that were ready to make a get away from the front with the tailwind. I could sense that they were getting bored with the pace. I decided to take that initiative, and give it a go by pushing the pace, not really breaking away, but to make an attempt to string out the riders and wake the field up a bit.

As we approach the water we make a wide sweeping left turn into the wind, then another tight left, then a right, into the wind again. They left me up there through all the turns, until one guy accelerated by me through the start/finish area. I waited for a few guys to go by, and when I saw a wheel I wanted I jumped back into the pack to recover. Russ had thought that I was done after my pull, and I'd be too tired to get back into the group, but I was fine, and managed to stay in the field without struggle. The chemistry of the race seemed to change after all that commotion, and things got more exciting, but no one or no group really got away, at least not for long.

Since this course had three different turns going into the finish - I knew that if I positioned myself well, I'd beat my friend, Spence. pictured above riding next to me. He'll whip my butt any given day, on a straight out TT race, but not this crit race, and not today.

Russ is looking on in the background, as my teammate, John, and I blast through the wind to the finish line. I finished 11th. overall in the men's field.