Mexico 2 - Brazil 1

México gana la medalla de oro en fútbol. Para los Aztecas, es el logro máximo hasta la fecha en el deporte que significa tanto en nuestra cultura. Mucho orgullo de ser mexicano. 

¡Viva México!

From Donovan's Perspective

Awesome! Summer vacation! Wahoooo!

Along with the all the fun I'm having away from school, I've been taking swim lessons, and it has been great. I am getting better at my swimming, which made me feel ready to do my 2nd triathlon. I did this race back in 2011 for the first time and I was ready to beat my time from last year.

Riding to the race, entourage in tow

Game face ON. Let's do this!
(Once again, matching colors of goggles and cap is key) 

This time we remembered to get a balloon to help me find my bike, because last year we learned T1 can be pretty confusing. All I had to do was run out of the water after the swim, look for the balloon, and got to my bike super quick! I dried myself, got my shirt, shoes and helmet on, and went off on my bike.

Where's my balloon? 

It was a quick ride and then it was time for the run. Yeah! I ran my bike in, put the kickstand down (Papa needs one of those on his bike), took off my helmet and was off. I was a little hot, so I grabbed a cup of water just out of T2.  Now I was ready to get my run on. I ran hard, gave Papa a High 5 at the end, and crossed the finish line with a big smile.

Just like the pros- grab cup, take sip of water, dump rest on head, throw cup down....

Another medal, another good race. 

At the end of this one, you get to grab bagels, oranges, bananas, bars, etc.  I got to say hello to this nice lady, who remembered me by name from last year.

"Nice race! Good to see you again, Donovan!"

I think I may have inspired Papa, as he has been rumoring he's getting back to good health and there may be some racing for him before the summer end.

Until next time, thank you for reading.

D

10 in 65

No blogging has taken place here in the last few months... I'm betting the 1000's of readers are wondering what is going on.... Well... let me provide an update. While not all my blogging revolves around sport, it is a big BIG part of who I am. It's been a period of frustration due to the initial injury not getting better, and actually developing other aches and pains along the way.  Hence, there has been very little motivation to type my thoughts out into the eenternet.

I have been suffering high-hamstring tendonosis since mid February. A real pain in the butt, quite literally. After couple months of PT, I was given the green light to resume training, knowing that, while the tendon healed, I would find myself modifying my bike cadence (slower) and run gait (shorter) to manage the pain. That was fine, as I was back to 'training', and that is all that mattered. Or so I thought- the modified mechanics led to Achilles' tendonitis, at the insertion point with the foot of the affected leg. Every pedal stroke hurt, never mind running, since I could barely walk. Sigh.... I got past that after a few more weeks, and b/c the hamstring tendon issue wasn't really progressing,  I recently had an MRI to check for actual damage to the tendon. It showed more inflammation at the insertion point in my hip than big substantial tears, so that is good news. I discussed a few options with my Sports Med guy going forward, and we concluded injections would probably not be the way to go, to stick with active rehab exercises. So.. I'm back to biking and running, sort of. I need to keep an eye on intensity, as the pain management becomes tricky at a high effort. I wouldn't say I'm back to training, as I don't really know what I'm training for until I am able to get past this. I was planning on doing Boise 70.3, followed by Rev3 in Portland and Lake Stevens 70.3, then put all the chips into Ironman Canada. I may need to accept that getting into shape to race triathlons this year may be over. Not there just yet.... 

In the meantime, I have spent the weekends helping out with the backyard work (it's starting to look nice!) and doing other things I've put aside for a long time. The trip we had to my homeland, in the middle of all the multiple injuries, was really REALLY good. We had a lot of fun. I should put some pictures up...

Oh yeah, the title of the post- last week I ran 10miles in 65minutes. It was fine, felt just a little harder than it should have been, but not terribly hard. I have not run that long in I don't know how long. It gives me some hope, as it shows a semblance of the fitness that is still somewhere in there.   

Happy Mother's Day

Best 2 Mothers in the world.

A happy day to all Moms.

From Donovan's Perspective

Ok- enough is enough! The weeks keep going by, and my Papa is not getting healthy, in fact, he seems to be getting more injured, and there is no racing happening, and somebody is got to do the racing around here! I did this race last year with my Papa running by my side, because I was a little nervous, but this year I was ready to run it all by myself. The really cool thing is you get a doughnut at the end! And a ribbon!!

With my race number pinned to my shirt, I got my game face ON and lined up at the front with all the big kids, even though the Race Director didn't like it. He sounded the loud horn and "Punch it, Chewie!!", I turned on the jets. I ran hard, with a big smile on my face. About half way, I saw my Papa cheering me on loudly, and I gave him a HIGH 5, and poured on all the gas, racing hard to the finish, where my Mama was jumping up and down and screaming. I crossed the finish line, caught my breath while paparazzi snapped pictures and video left and right, signed a few autographs and then, of course, went to get my DOUGHNUT!

After the race I got to hang out with my friends, Neala and Kyla, who also raced (this was their first race, ever!), and we got to check out a fire engine. I got to wear the firemen's headphone/microphone communication thingie. We then invited them, and their mom and dad, and we all went home, and had a delicious brunch made by Mama, and we we played with legos, nerf guns, watched Pink Panther cartoons, and played some futbol and baseball in the backyard

All in all, it was a very good weekend. Thank you for reading my story. Until the next race.

much a do.......

What have I been up to? Well, let's see, Donovan turned 6 and had a great weekend of birthday activities. He invited a whole bunch of his friends to our house, and we entertained kids and adults during a lego-themed party. Everyone seemed to have fun

Spring seems to finally have arrived here in Seattle, and, man, is it ever welcome after months of cold and rain and cold and rain. Just this past Saturday, we were out riding in 36F temperatures in the morning. Sunday, it hit 69F and I finally got a chance to wear my uber cool First Endurance cycling kit. Speaking of First Endurance, they have just released the much-awaited Kona-Mocha EFS liquid shot, and I'll be handing out flasks for you to try out this awesome new flavor.

Pretty sharp looking kit, no?

I'm trying my hardest to remain positive and take comfort in knowing injuries are like dark moments in races, in that they do pass. This particular one has haunted me for months, and I've been advised to take a careful look at my schedule and reconsider some of the June-July events I wanted to do (ie., Boise 703., Rev3 Portland, Lake Stevens 70.3). Argh. Ask any person who pursues multisport/endurance seriously, and they'll more likely than not confess being injured is the worst, with being sick very close behind.

Nothing like burgers, fries and shakes after a day of hard work....

On the bright side of things, my family and I get to travel down to my homeland in the very near future. It has been years since we have visited and I'm excited to be back and have Donovan spend time with his Abuelo. We are all looking forward to having lots of fun, eating great food, reliving and creating memories, soaking it all in.

that's about it. thanks for reading. peace!

The long road to recovery...

Sigh... about 5weeks ago and well into a good run-focus block, I pushed a little too hard, and got hurt the upper tendon in my left hamstring. I've been sidelined from running since then, doing PT exercises to try to get better, biking carefully in the interim. I was finally given the green light to alternate 'running'/walking the lengths of a track. The slow road to recovery starts at 9min/mi pace.... Donovan went with me to the track for the first run in ~35days. We had a lot of fun. Being a father is awesome

Life lessons

"If I have a little situation, I can always jump off my bike and run up anything..."
Donovan, 5yrs old, on cyclocrossing at the park.

I have not felt like writing anything in the last few months, so if you are 1 of the 2 people out there in cyberspace who read this (besides my wife), I apologize. Following a nasty 2-week+ cold right on the heels of cross season and right before Christmas, my dear sis (in-law), Christina, was diagnosed with a giant aneurysm, and underwent neurosurgery. Complications post-surgery took her away from this Earth a few days after Christmas. This past 'holiday' season and beyond has been unlike any other we've experienced before... zero desire to blog, very little motivation to do much of anything.

Not sure just yet what 2012 will bring. A wise man told me recently 'one has to balance racing with life and as life changes, so does that balance.' As I stare at the 2012 season, I think I'll take Donovan's advice, jump off and start running...

More soon. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the kind words and support over the last few months.


jc