A Weekend full of Racing

A round of congratulations all around, what a busy weekend of racing. As I went about my activities, my mind was filled with all these races. Excited for all of them, I can imagine and reminisce. Warmest regards to my friends and fellow athletes who started:

SATURDAY
• Western States 100
• Pacific Crest Triathlon, Oregon
• Big Blue Adventure XTERRA Triathlon, Tahoe City
• Double Dipsea, Marin

And those racing right now this beautiful Sunday AM:
• Ironman Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
• Ironman France - Nice
• Escape from the Rock Triathlon, San Francisco
• San Jose International Triathlon

Woke up early this morning and shuffled down to my local Peet's Coffee for a big ol' cup of the good stuff and where I met fellow triathletes Jenna and Scott. We then proceeded down to the swim finish of the "Escape from the Rock Triathlon" where several friends from the club were competing. This race is like a budget, grass roots version of the "Escape from Alcatraz", unconventional in it's own way. Also been following the WS100 webcast and the comments on the ultra list. Phenomenal performances. Been watching the "You Tube" casts and the interviews of the top finishers. Andy Jones-Wilkins, the 4th place finisher was so animated he cracked me up; high-fived his kids, volunteers, fellow racers, with smile from ear to ear - "I felt great!, you know what it was the perfect day!" So damned inspiring, go Andy! Sadly however I also saw some friends names on the DNF list. There's a DNF list out there with my name on it, that's if I'm blessed to continue doing what I'm doing. All part of the sport right? Comes with the territory when you're constantly putting yourself out there. Well it's 15 minutes past 11AM. WS100 2007 is now history. On to the Ironman Coeur D'Alene webcast. Go J.P., Go Janet, Go Sassy, Go Helen, Go Cheyenne, Go Andy, Go Jim and Go Mark! They should be in the midst of their 112-mile bike ride right now having completed the 2.4-mile opening swim, with a marathon run after the bike to conclude event. A special shout out to Mikko at IM France-Nice, he's got less than a 10k to go for a finish.

Recovery is going well. Went farther than I needed on my bike ride yesterday, I was with good friends training for the Seattle to Portland bike ride scheduled for mid-july. While it was long it was also mellow ride. The views were amazing, the company excellent. The only problem was allergies. There is a certain type of pollen that irritates my eyes/contacts and stuffs up my nose, other than that I was a-ok.

Congratulations again to all who started their respective events, regardless of the outcome. On to my Krispy Kreme donut, not to worry I am an experienced donut eater - there has been no personal history of DNFs at this event. One more treat before I head back to training.