2011 Cyclocross Season Recap

I think 2011 cross season is a wrap for me. My first 'season' at this crazy sport consisted of 12 races, 12 weeks, lots of pain, and lots of fun. Yesterday was the last race of the SCX series, and a malfunctioning rear derailleur made for a lack-luster race. Ugh.

This tasty mud isn't doing anything for the pain.

At the end of the day, I walk away from the Cat 4 35+ line-up, with 11races, 8top 10's including 2 wins, feeling really lucky to have raced hard with tough guys way more talented, in racing conditions that continue to scare the daylights out of me, and managed to generate some results. Most importantly, I walk away with a group of great new friends, and look forward to tearing up the mud with them at a slightly different time next year.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Malakoff

Now, where are my swim trunks and my areobars?

winner, winner, chicken dinner # 2

Woah, man. I won my second CX race this weekend. After a slight mechanical (rock loged in cleat) netted me 9th the previous weekend, I got really motivated to try and grab the win at Woodland Park. I think it had to do with this race venue being just 10minutes from my house, and that my family had made a firm threat to come out and see the madness.

"Let's see those fists in the air!" said the announcer

I am pretty new to the CX scene, and in/around Seattle, there's 2 groups that do a great job putting on races. Now, I don't know if one is more 'true to cross roots' than the other, but I do know MFG courses are awesome and wide, and have lots of flow and speed to them. I enjoy them more than SCX venues (probably cuz I lack the really good offroad skills).

Opening the gap...gas, gas, gas, baby! Run it wide open...

Donovan gave me a thumbs up from the sideline b4 the start, and then it was GO time.  Got a good start, made a move on lap 2, and then poured on the gas and held off the hard charge of the MFG series season leaders. At the finish, I gave a hug to pretty much EVERYONE within reach, and then went to celebrate with a nice brunch with my family and my good buddy Joe, who had a respectable race as well.  It was way cool to catch a glimpse and hear Theresa and Donovan cheering every lap. Thank you Lizzy, Matty, Jesse, Lindsay, Jeff, Tate, Andrew and all 900+ other people for all your cheers while braving the chill. And thanks for reading!

21, 4..... and 1.

the number sequence is a follow-up to this post.

I won my first CX race. Woah. I just went for it with 2 laps to go and it worked. My $600 'mad-props' rig and its little engine held off the cast of main characters that week after week has schooled me.

And what does 1st place in the weekend-warrior, young-geezer category get you, aside from burning lungs, tired legs, pats on the back, friendly handshakes and high 5's? It gets you a: a) Muddy rig, b) waffle-pancake mix, c) water bottle (from one of my own sponsors), and d) a very cool cowbell (left over from a different race/event). Cool shwag aside, I'm really psyched about coming up with THE race-winning move and the fact that it worked.

Let's see if I can do it again the next couple weeks. I'm getting addicted to this offroad madness.

more cross!

Ugh. This past weekend I got my butt handed to me by a race course that had more tricky off-road  parts than I knew what to do with. I hit the deck WAY too many times, more than in any other outing.

Crazy eye of the tiger!

Picture 2 is of a really loooooooong stretch of sand. I was able to ride it completely only once. I like how I seem to be the only one really stressing over the deep sand, while everyone seems very much in control.

I will improve my grip in the sand if I grit my teeth! ARGHH!!!!!

It was a humbling experience. Hope to do better next weekend.

Halloween is not too far away now....

Donovan and cousin Matty

19, 33, 12, 9, 7....

Those are my placings so far racing cross this season. I think I'm getting the hang of it, and every outing provides a chance to learn, and try new things. One thing I need is to be more assertive at times, though it is hard to throw caution out the door while sprinting hard and bumping around with guys that have 50-75lbs on you. Well, that and I need better off-road skills. Definitely helps when you get a call-up for the start so you are not racing from behind.

If you've never tried it, you gotta get out there and give it a whirl.

One more chance to learn...

Summer made its last stance this weekend. With warm temperatures and less rain than expected, it provided us with nice days for kiddie futbol and cyclocross. Donovan's soccer team, the Super Hero Squad faced off against the Fire Ninjas. They were pretty evenly matched, and either tied or won their game. In the end, it doesn't matter much, they had a good amount of fun.

Gas, gas, gaaaaaaaaasssssss......

On Sunday, I got my adrenaline shot. It was a good race, didn't go down, and it gave me more experience at this crazy off-road thing and learned a thing or 3. At my weight, I can run 30psi. Squishy tires...

Check out the $3,000 wheelset behind me... ooh la la....

Photos courtesy of Jon Hernandez, so-so cross rider, and heckler extraordinaire.

Have a good week!

Cyclocross, cyclocross... muddy all the way....

You know... like 'Jingle Bells.' CX race season has officially started here in Washington State. 2 races under my belt so far. No mud or cold just yet, but I am sure that will change soon. Oh yeah, the tri-geek that I am, I'm racing cx with my trisuit in those pictures. It is just so much more comfy than cycling bibs and/or shorts. I may need to look into a cx skinsuit... mhhh.....

At this time, there will be no 3rd Ironman for me this year.  We had plans to hit Ironman Florida, but the CFO and CEO sat down with the Directeur Sportif and my manager, and collectively decided ending the season was probably best.  The CTO also is requesting more time be dedicated to all sorts of Lego spaceships. Gotta keep everyone happy.

Cheers.

Feliz Cumpleaños, Mona

We miss you. Please keep watch over us.

Wednesday morning felt a little heavy....

Early in the morning, my Father called to let me know my Grandmother had passed away. She lived a full & happy life to 100. May she rest in peace. I am now officially out of grandparents.

About an hour later, Donovan stepped up to his first day of school. Granted, it is just kindergarten, but it is a 'real' elementary school, and it is big. We are talking tardy bells, lunch boxes, school buses... made me feel like a real grown up.

About two hours later, Theresa was visiting a dear friend in the hospital, his life nearing its end at the hands of cancer.

All this made me reflect on how life moves, how fleeting is our existence, and how crucial it is to be happy in the now and here to create strong memories. Right, I'm no philosopher; All I know is yesterday AM felt like one of those nature shows on  the balance of life was unfolding right before my eyes.

jc

IMC -- 19th MPRO

Ah, sweet, cruel Canada, I shall conquer you one day... Now, a few days removed from the day, I think it's time I give you credit for (once again) spanking my butt. Your heat and wind did me in last Sunday. You have gotten the best of me over several rounds. One of the future ones will be mine though...

There isn't a lot else to tell here, except the Similkameen Valley winds and the heat brought pain to a whole lot of people. The swim times were slow this year, and mine was slower thanks to an overzealous drafting lady that continually whacked my legs in the water, disrupting my position, and direction. Her antics slowed us both down. Thanks a bunch. My B70 Helix helped me cruise the swim easily otherwise. I then had a decent T1 (1:17).

My right groin muscle was in pain for about 1hr after getting on the bike. No idea why. Otherwise, the first half of the bike was good, and I kept riding at my target power. My stomach was a bit unsettled from the beginning, and I do wonder if I self-sabotaged my plan with the extra salt I added to my EFS drink servings. I fell a little behind on my planned nutrition, and struggled the rest of the ride, made worse by the winds.  I was told I was 27th at Yellow Lake. Ugh... My Blue Triad rode well, complimented by the nice & stiff ride from HED's Flamme Rouge Jet Disc and H3, just wish the engine had been firing properly....

Off the bike, I really questioned what I'd be able to do on the run. The energy I drew from seeing Theresa and then having Donovan running beside me propelled me fwd. I wasn't moving as fast as I wanted, but I would push as best as I could, and on this day, it would only be 6:50s. Or so I thought, as the second half, into the wind, saw me slow down a lot, and it became a real struggle. If you cheered me on, and I completely ignored you, I am sorry- I was too busy trying to put one foot in front of the other in a straight line. The last 10mi I just wanted to be done, lick my wounds and be with my family. I came in 19th among the guys. And I probably should have taken an IV at the end. Though I maintain I prefer to race in the heat, the temperature differential from Seattle to Penticton was too much for me last Sunday. Hats off to Chris Bagg- a pretty big guy from mild-summer Portland who did awesome in the heat. You really rocked it, dude.

Vacations are awesome!

The rest of our vacation was great, Donovan played a lot with his friend Anja, got a new IM hat, tried rock climbing, and enjoyed one last trip before starting kindergarten. Thanks to our friends Mike, Su and Anja for hosting us. As always, thanks to my sponsors for their support. Time to chill....

JC

Oh Canada....

We made it safe and sound to Canada, after a scorching hot day in the van. It was 105F at the border!That's it, I am getting a quote on recharging the AC in the van! Woah... Along those same lines, I always wish it was hotter at races. Well, this time I got my wish come true. Let's just hope the temperature gradient between Seattle and here doesn't prove too much, too quickly.

Donovan got a chance to get into Skaha Lake, just minutes from our friends' house. A good idea given how crazy hot it was today. He also played at a park with water-spraying features. As always, he has a good time anywhere we go.

I'm getting used to playgrounds with big lakes in the background....

After a not-so good nite of sleep, I got my act together and headed on out for the organized 'social ride'.  I learned the draw of freebies is powerful, and as such, only 3 of us showed up. S'all good.... 1st, 16th, and 25th in 2010. Let's see what we can do this hot year.

Canada, Ukraine, and Mexico.... representin'

More soon.

Lake Chelan... oh how awesome you are...

Been procrastinating writing a blog thanks to keeping busy with a good and final build for IMC, and a fantastic week-long family vacation we had at Lake Chelan, WA. Man, is that place beautiful!

It is very much like Penticton, in terms of big mountains, big lakes, just an awesome playground. I will say, Lake Chelan is the nicest body of water I have ever been in. It really makes Lake Washington here in Seattle seem like an overgrown, murky petri dish.


Moonrise over the coolest open water pool, seen from backyard.

I got to experience what it must be like to be a non-working, full-time pro, focusing on training & recovery. I actually had to watch how much I was training, as putting in the hours was very easy, and afterall, I was smack in the middle of tapering.

"Hey Donovan, can we go slower? This is WAY over race pace..."

 

Donovan had a blast- We played mini golf, rode our bikes, swam in the pools and in the lake, made sand castles, went to a water park.  He would continuously ask if we could just live there.  After a weeks' time, we made it back, with recharged batteries, looking forward to one last summer trip up to Canada for some racing this coming Sunday, and then getting ready for kindergarten...  fast times....

Ironman Canada Bike Ride, 08/26 Friday

For those of you in Penticton or its vicinity this week, Scott Tremblay and I have organized a bike ride on Friday August 26, departing at 8:30AM from the Northeast corner of Skaha Lake Park.


The plan is to head down Lakeside Rd, check out the McLean Creek climb, and when we get to Ok Falls, hang a right and ride back on the run course. That way, people get to see the steepest climbs on the ride and run. 19mi total, away from stoplights and off highways. The ride will last ~1hr. The pace is easy and social. Bring your friends and family.

If you are in Penticton this week for Ironman, either to race or spectate, come on by, be social with some of the rockstars of our sport- You'll have to come and see who shows up...

Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments.

Happy taper to all.

Does it get better than this?

That's right: #43 is 5yrs old.
Notice an actual timming chip.

Walking to race with his transition pack

 



Goggles that matched swim cap color, very cool.



Easy-peasy. Now, where's my bike?



Happy triathlete with proud Papa.

As a father and tri geek, watching Donovan do his first swim-bike-run race has imprinted one of the coolest memories to date. He was all smiles every time we'd see him. The first words out of his mouth afterwards were "I want to do it again!"  On the days leading up to his race, he was so excited, letting everyone know he was going to be a triathlete.

In true triathlete form, upon finishing, he grabbed some snacks and water, and asked for a massage. And then had fun on the play structure at the park.

IM Cd'A 13 MPro--- A positive race report, 4years in the making....

The water temperature was ridiculous cold to me. It yielded some slow swim times and affected lots of people. With the water temps somewhere around mid-50s, and the air temps at 7AM not much warmer, I knew I was going to be hurting * I F * I managed to get out of the water. Yes, I spent TEN minutes in T1. That is the amount of time the AWESOME volunteers spent trying to warm me up and getting me into dry clothes (I had zero finger dexterity, was cramping everywhere and shivering big time). My B70 Helix wetsuit kept most of my body warm, but unfortunately, not the feet and hands.



Hmmh.. let me check the water temp- yep, it is about FREEZING deg Celsius.

I spent the first 20mi of the ride shivering and with aching muscles, and it took me 70(!) miles to be able to feel my toes again. This was a bit of a blessing, as I hurt my right foot pretty bad whent I tripped getting out of the water. My podiatrist said it probably hurt like all hell but with my feet frozen, I didn't even notice. In fact, the skin abrasions didn't even bleed. That's how cold I was. My Blue Triad was flawless and let me cover the ride using only 3.1w/kg. Thanks Michael for letting me borrow the awesome HED Jet disc wheel, brother!

Arm + leg warmers, gloves, vest, toe covers, and, yes, still shivering all over

Got off the bike, put on my bright green shoes on & got to work. Turns out I bruised a couple ligaments in my foot when I tripped and fell, and this kept me from running my best so I'm a little bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong-I pushed my bruised foot as hard as I could for 26 miles. I am good with the marathon time I was able to put together with this hiccup, and it gives me the confidence to know I can run myself back into it if I don't trip next time.

Push, Papa! Push!!

Coming down the finish, the emotions really overcame me, seeing my beautiful wife and son smiling from a distance, jumping up and down, excited that we had been able to finally put together a positive race at this event that had broken me 3x in a row.  I pumped my fists, grabbed my country's flag, thanked the crowd and felt like the king of the world!  13th place isn't great at all, but what I'm really taking away are the big positives, including figuring out how to pace my OWN race so I can play my strengths, and overcoming less-than-ideal (for me) race conditions.

My nutrition was perfect (finally!). I woke up to an Ultragen shake and 5xgluten-free waffles.  I hydrated from a bottle with nuun while it got time to go. With 20mins to go, I had 1 bottle with 1serving of grape EFS + 1.5scoops of Pre-Race. During the bike, I consumed ~300kcals of EFS per hour. On the run, two flasks- 1 with liquid shot, 1 with 1serving EFS+0.5scoop Pre-Race. I grabbed another 2 flasks of the same at the halfway point. I felt strong all day long, zero GI distress. I am so grateful 1st Endurance has helped me figure out what works for me. I should also add I sodium loaded the day before, anticipating it could get hot on the run.

I would also like to thank our homestay hosts, Al and Dani, who made our stay very relaxing and really took care of us. We had a great trip. Now, it's time to enjoy some sun (and ice cream!)

 

Thanks for reading.

Ironman Coeur d'Alene - 13th MPro

Story soon. I would like to quickly thank all my friends and family for the encouraging messages I got on the days leading up to last Sunday, and my awesome sponsors for their support.

Team Ramirez walks away with a positive experience, ready to ramp it up at Canada.

Meet & greet with fellow IM'ers and ~100kids....

Friday in beautiful and COLD Cd'A. First let me get the complaining out of the way- the water is very cold (to me) and the air temperature is comfortable... in my DOWN Jacket...

With that out of the way, and after the choppy cold 6AM swim, the social ride this AM was good, and we had a good showing.

The guys and gal seemed to have a good time, we discussed race course logistics and got a chance to see the harder of the hills we'll see on Sunday. There were a few that had not ridden the course before and felt relieved to have seen it ahead of time. Everyone sampled and walked away with a smattering of products and water bottles from First Endurance, and with pint glasses from Blue Cycles. Though I suggested using them after the race, more than a few people said they wouldn't wait until then for a beer.

My sponsors are awesome and I'm truly grateful for their support to do things like this. I know I definitely enjoyed the chance to talk to everyone that showed- at the end of the day, we are all the same, we've all trained hard, we're ready to complete this journey.

 Later in the afternoon, I was invited to speak at the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai, in Post Falls. That was actually really cool, being able to hold the attention of some 100 kids ages 6-12  for about 45minutes.

So you see, all you do is swim, bike and run....

 They asked me all kinds of questions, wanted to know all sorts of things- Does your helmet make you fly? Is it true your shoes are glued to your pedals? Do you have to buy food when you are in the race? How much water do you drink? What is the fastest you've gone on your bike? Can I ride your bike? Is it true volunteers make sure you are ok when you finish? Are you going to win?

Can we touch the bike? Sure, you can....

 It's been a day full of activity. We are tired. Time to watch a movie and call it a night. Thanks for reading.

Dear Cd'A,

I wrote you this brief post last year.
Over the years on your course, I have completed and abandoned;
I have cried with joy, and with pain and frustration;
I have been hot, cold, dealt with stomach pain, even collapsed and been removed by medics;
I respect your choppy water, your sharp hills, and your heat and wind;
5 more days til we meet again. Can hardly wait...

jc

Ironman Coeur d'Alene--Bike Ride on Friday 06-24

For those of you attending Cd'A 2011, I've organized a bike ride on Friday June 24, departing at 9:30AM from Cyclemetrix. Jim Kozak (owner, Cyclemetrix) has graciously agreed to host the ride at his shop at Dalton Gardens (right off N 4th St. on the bike course).

First Endurance, and Blue Cycles will hook up attendees with samples and merchandise. This is a chance to meet people, shake off some pre-race jitters and walk away with some cool free stuff. The ride will last ~1hr. The pace is easy and social. Bring your friends and family.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments. I will post an update in case details change. There is a chance a couple other pros may join in as well.

Happy training, it's almost taper time....

JC

I am done with my homework.

The last big workouts in preparation for Ironman Cd'A got done this past week (well, the previous weeks as well). It was a block of 3 weeks, with several 85-100mi rides, 20mi fast runs, 3-4hr long-hard bricks, producing lots of fatigue, soreness and in 3week's time, hopefully, a fast race time.

The last big ride was 100mi, here's my trusty BLUE rocket with training wheels at Marymoor Park, halfway into the ride. It was a beautiful day, and a great confidence-building workout.

My family has been very supportive and understanding of the time I've spent away lately. We are gonna get it right this time at Cd'A. No more monkey wrenches...

Long weekend of training

Whew... 3-day weekends, specially around this time, mean lots of hours of working hard. This one was no exception. Saturday and Sunday were both long/hard brick days, Monday was build day, which totally kicked my butt. I had help from Theresa and we basically spent all day Monday building this:

The structure was given to us by a neighbor. One trip to Home Depot, lots of drilling, sawing, wrenching, lifting... The end result? One very happy 5yr old, two very tired and sore parents. Who knew re-building and retrofitting one of these was such hard work???

back to training.

new schooliform on its way

Here is a shot of the new trisuit, on its way from getting printed, ready for some summer racing. This also gives me an opportunity to thank everyone in my corner. Thank you Mike @Blue Seventy, thank you Robert @1st Endurance, thank you Chance @Blue Cycles, thank you Kimberly @Nuun, thank you Scott&Julie @Oomph! and thank you Mona for putting me on this Earth, and keeping watch over us.

 See you at the races.

draggin, to kickin, to draggin again

What I mean to say is these last few days I've had a combination of low and high points, where I feel I've been dragging my butt around, feeling lots of fatigue, and general 'heavy legs',  and then I'll have a kick-butt workout where everything goes perfect. Not every workout can be/should turn out perfect. If they were, you are simply not challenging yourself enough. One of the hardest things to figure out is when you need to push past the fatigue and when it is time to back off and work on recovery

We had a pretty good weekend. Spent some good time building lego spaceships after devouring waffles, then headed over to the Museum of Flight, one of our fave spots to go hang out in the city.

On Sunday, somebody was really excited about getting a lava lamp for their room.

sunny skies in the emerald city

The sight of bright sunny dry skies is very welcome for us all here in the PNW. The spring has been miserable up to this point, grayer, colder and wetter than what is considered normal, so a few days of happy weather has everyone sheding the coats and reaching for the shades.... ahhh... now it just needs to warm up.

Today I want to talk about 1st Endurance's awesome product line and the stuff I use. First off, EFS drink, in grape flavor, is the staple for me. It gives me the carbs, electrolytes and amino acids to keep the engine turning all day long. I have been experimenting with the low-carbo fueling strategy, even on harder days, and 4hrs seems to be my breaking point, where 1scoop/hour of EFS is enough, but not if I need to go beyond that time. I plan on racing on 2+scoops per hour.   Next up is liquid shot, vanilla. I grab a flask for those long runs, and just hit water fountains along the way. Like EFS drink, liquid shot is a blend of all the goodies necessary to keep the legs cranking.

Ultragen both as a pre-race and post-race fuel is hard to beat. Cappuccino for me, pls. As the name implies, Pre-race (1-2scoops mixed in to EFS drink) helps kick-start early workouts and races. Finally, like a lot of the other guys who use 1st Endurance, I take Optygen HP and their Multi V on a daily basis. If you want to take your racing and training to the next level, don't hesitate to try out these aswesome products. If you don't want to take my word for it, just ask the guys with the bonafide firepower, like Cavendish or the Wurteles.

peace!

Mother's day

Happy mother's day to all you moms out there! We honored Theresa by waking up extra early (well, Donovan's normal wake-up time, but super early for me), and heading out to this bakery to get some "panecitos" to surprise her. We did this on Friday and Sunday. We then took Grandma JoAn out for a pretty good lunch on Sunday. Today, Diez de Mayo, is mother's day in my homeland. I think Donovan and I might opt for a restaurant rather than trying to convince Theresa we can make waffles for dinner. As always, we will think of Mona and remember the good memories we have of her...

On to happier things, today the sun is out. Holly crap, what a rare occurrence! I'm not one to notice much the weather when running, but the weather today made for a glorious mid-day run, with hill repeats up this road here, known as the Magnolia Bridge. It's about a half-mile climb before it flattens out, and because it is so exposed, on headwind days like today, it can be one tough hill.

Anyhow, enjoy the sun if you are in the 206.
Peace!

Donovan's 1st Race of 2011

It's official. My 5-yr old beat me to the start of the race season. A local 5k race (which my sis-in-law ran in fast style) put on a kids race, and Donovan jumped at the opportunity to toe the start line and show his early-season form. I could tell he had pre-race jitters, it was awesome. We shook them out by shaking our legs and arms before the gun.

Donovan did not stop once, keept an even pace, and kicked hard for the finish. Afterwards, he enjoyed the spoils of his effort in the form a donut. 

"This donut is awesome, let's do the run again!"

We are starting to finally enjoy somewhat warm and sunny days. Well, at the very least, they are happening on the weekends, which is always a plus.

The thumbs-up mono

Ryan Henry Ward (aka, Henry) is a Seattle artist, and for the past years, he's been adding some humor and color to the Fremont and Ballard neighborhoods in the form of funny-looking murals on random walls, garage doors, trucks, etc. I don't know much about him, but in my book he is a cool dude, who paints cool doodles, and adds a little character to our neighborhoods.
In Mexico, 'mono' is a term loosely used for a doodle/characture (among many other things). Donovan and I loved the mono below, the focal point of a larger mural. And every time we'd drive past it (at least 1x day), we'd give each other thumbs-up while saying "Eh", like Fonzie.
It's the " mono that says 'Eh'," we used to call him.

Sadly, this mural would constantly get tagged with worthless spray paint crap, and constantly restored. It's now completely gone, unfortunately, to make way for a residential project.  At any rate, it's a tiny little memory with Donovan and I felt like blogging about it. If you'd like to learn more about Henry, here's an interview I found.

jc

Slight niggle...

Ugh. Injuries or sickness are always hard to deal with. I think minor injuries are harder than being sick, b/c when sick, at least you feel your entire body hurting and your mind knows it is down-time, but with a minor injury, it is just plain annoying.

I got one of those annoying injuries, around the 3-4 metatarsal aread of my left foot. It bugs specially b/c I literally have no idea why it happened. Changed biomechanics? No. Worn out shoes? Perhaps, but did all my pairs suddenly break? Too much, too fast efforts? Hardly. Well. Whatever. Time to lay off the running, concentrate in the water and on the bike, and rethink some races.

Donovan's been a little sickley. As a parent it just tears you up inside when your little one can't sleep and is all snotty, and coughing. Ugh. And more ugh.

A long time, in a galaxy far away....

Donovan and some other youngsters, indentified by the Jedi Council as showing promise to one day become knighted into the order, gathered at our humble dwelling this past Saturday for some training. Among other activities, they assembled and personalized their own light sabers, and then went through a rigorous basic Jedi training camp, summersaulting, bounding over obstacles and practicing with their weapons.

Padawans at the ready!

We were then surprised by the appearance of a powerful Sith lord, who foolishly entered the Jedi camp.

"You don't know the power of the Dark Side...."

Unfazed, the Jedi recruits charged and beat the snot out of Vader, clobbering him into retreat.

"And, apparently, you underestimated the power of a small troop of Jedis"

Post combat, the young Jedis replenished their energy by devouring some cake in the shape of the Death Star, and then used their light sabers to beat the candy out of a pi~ata, in the shape of Darth Vader's head (of course). Everyone had a pretty good time. No injuries, no casualties. Peace in the universe was restored.

The day was still not over for me, as I still found myself having to wrestle mexican lucha-libre legend Huracan Ramirez himself.

La llave del oso dormilon!

We had a fun weekend. Thanks for reading.

Obi-JC