Volunteering at PCTR's Skyline to the Sea 50k

Quite chilly at the start. Didn't seem to bother some people.

Jochen, Sarah Spelt of PCTR and myself at the first aid station at Waterman Gap.

Brett Rivers (7th) and Nathan Yanko (3rd) of The Endurables and Trail Run Times, Will Gotthardt (4th), Caitlin Smith (10th and 1st Woman, new female course record holder), Mark Tanaka (14th), while Dan Brown (15th) hangs out catching his breath at the side. Someone donate some of their body fat to Mark Tanaka, he ran with his La Sportiva team jacket the whole time, even when it warmed up. He's fresh off a 2nd place finish at the McNaughton Races, the 150-mile event.

Winner and new course record holder, Leor Pantilat, Brian Wyatt and Caitlin Smith. Brian is a good friend and one of the folks I consistently race against. He's running quite strong this year, following up his 10th place finish at the Mt. Diablo 50-miler last weekend with a 12th place finish here with a 4:21:40.

With The Endurables Larissa Polichuk and Nathan Yanko.

Will G., tireless volunteer, front pack runner and now a t-shirt model. Sporting the shirt for this year's event. Design by another tireless volunteer, Miki Higuchi.

This race which was run for the first time last year in September was moved to April because of problems with yellow jackets. The front pack would get them all riled up and the rest of the field would smack right into them. I think it was Steve Holman who had over a dozen stings last year. Well at least it brought out the best in people. Runners would take the time to dust off the insects from their fellow competitors. They would get stuck in clothing, hair, and sting away. However Spring is quite a busy time in the Bay Area for ultra events. As much as I wanted to I had to bow out. I know my body. It would not be happy about a fast 50k after a tough 50-miler prior to a 100k. The race is mostly downhill and there's just no way I would hold back on a course like that. I live for downhills. I know my body and I know myself so I did the smart thing and stayed in the sidelines.

However there's more than one way to enjoy the race. A friend was running and several of us came down to support her. I figured since I was going to be down there anyway I might as well volunteer. We stopped by at the start, watched them go and then proceeded to the first aid station to help out. From there we headed to the finish where I took charge of heating up the chili and chicken soup. By the time we got there the first 7 finishers had already come in and I got a chance to rub elbows with the speedsters as the rest of the group filtered in. Serving the chili and soup was quite rewarding. Not only was in charge of a hot commodity - hot food, but I got to talk to people about their race. From the leaders to the back of the pack I got the scoop on the course this year. Definitely no yellow jackets and an abundance of water. People were raving about a waterfall and a creek on the course. It was somewhat dry when we came through last year. Met new folks, connected with new internet friends in person and got caught up with old ones.

La Sportiva Mountain Running Team's Leor Pantilat and Caitlin Smith won the day, both setting new course records. I was able to chat with them afterwards and Leor mentioned that he wasn't in peak shape. Caitlin on the other hand felt like she could have run more despite getting lost on the course. Full results here.

Our runner Dana came in with a huge smile in her face, finishing her first 50k. It didn't take too long for her to start limping. She had the "fried quads walk." I checked on her yesterday and she replied, "Quads hurt! I am walking like everystep costs money and I am debating whether I want to spend or save."

For those of you who can relate, smile with me:)

Dana with her gang of supporters and PCTR's Sarah Spelt.

Big smile!

Sarah and Wendell congratulate her as the rest of us look on.

She even got a hug. Sometimes these things just even up being hugfests as the day goes on or is it just Sarah. She doesn't mind hugging sweaty, salty runners.

And finally a chance to sit down with her hound, Mr. Chance E. Pants, her guy Brian and the rest of us.

For the complete photoset, click here.

Sending Good Thoughts

and good energy to the folks running the Zane Grey 50-miler in Arizona today. Another gnarly, tough 50-miler. Two good friends are running, Olga and Paulette. I've never been actually all I know about the course is from Olga's race reports and the event website. A veteran of many tough races I trust her assessment. Just got a text back from Paulette - "It sucklks". Sounds like a lot of fun already. I'll leave you with an excerpt from the event website, from the faqs section.

"8. How many water bottles will I need? Two minimum (40 oz total). Many runners use 3 bottles (60 oz total), especially between mile 25 and 33, and between miles 33 and 44. Expect to take 3 to 4 hours to get to mile 44 from 33. This is the hardest stretch."

3 to 4 hours to cover 9 miles! Sounds like a lot of tough love. I hope they are having fun.

Mt. Diablo Race Report

The fog is back and so are my legs. I walked around in them for 2 hours Tuesday evening, up and over the hills of San Francisco and on the return trip with a backpack full of groceries. It was slow but they were fine. On the run this evening, my first since the race, they were also fine. They are good and now I give you the race report. It's almost as long as the race or you can just go to the picture page. Enjoy!

01. Initial after race thoughts
02. More Pictures
03. Official Results

The Start
It was all fun and games. Lots of talking and catching up. I finally got to meet Leslie (Sunshine Girl) and her husband Keith from Banff, Canada. Also met Theresa Hatch who was running the marathon with Toni Lambio. While I'm busy taking pictures Jon Gunderson leans over and says "it's already warm". It was only a few minutes past 7am and he was right. Last year, which was also a hot race, I remember being cold at the start. How thankful was I that I managed to get in some sauna heat training in preparation for this race. I almost didn't do it, they told us last year that it was unusual for it to be that hot in Mt. Diablo in April.

At the start; Erik Skaden, Erik Dube, Ted Knudsen (behind Brian), Brian Wyatt, Garret Christensen, Kevin Swisher and ultra relaxed Mark Gilligan.

My Goals
1) Don't get lost
2) Beat last year's time, minus the extra 30 mins I spent because I got lost
3) Save enuff energy for the last 20 miles
4) One more time - Don't get lost

The Race
I started in the front but didn't chase. I just didn't want to get stuck in the back like last year on the narrow single track trails of the first climb. My strategy was to keep my heart rate at 20-25 beats below it's maximum for the first 30 miles of the run then go all out for the last 20 miles if I still had it in me. I wanted to finish strong, to be in the chase and not just hating life and surviving.

Marathoners and 50-mile runners on the first climb

At the top of our first summit, 7.7 miles later, I came upon Erik Skaden and Graham Cooper, two phenomenal runners, champions really who were having a slow start because they rode 200 miles the day before. They were talking, joking and gritting their teeth through the soreness they were undoubtedly feeling. Those two are at a whole nother level. After leaving them I caught up with Donald, Jon and Erik Dube. Erik and I would end up running for a couple of hours together. Nice guy who will also be in San Diego this coming June for SD100. It was all going well. My strength would ebb and flow in the heat but overall I was moving well. I was fine with the heat, I wasn't comfortable but neither was I uncomfortable and wherever there was shade I was able to push harder. I was able to gain on people without over extending myself.

Speaking of which, on the way to Rock City around the 22 mile mark, I came upon two runners. One had developed blister problems and was slowing down while the other was moving fairly well and looked strong. I had been following them for awhile and had finally caught up to them. I passed the guy with the blister problems on a downhill but couldn't pass the other - he wouldn't let me. I came up behind him and he sped up. He looked strong so I hung back. Bridging to them left me tired even though I was well within my heart rate target zone so pulling back and recovering seemed like the wisest move. On the ensuing fire road I pulled up alongside for a friendly chat. We had met once before at another race where I was a volunteer. Soon as the conversation was over he was able to pull ahead and again I was content to run behind, at one time as far back as 30 yards or so. However my strength did return just as he started getting tired. I think he pushed his pace trying to stay in front which was unfortunate since we were not even at the halfway point and the hottest part of the day was yet to come. At the next downhill I took off and looked for the next runner. Hopefully he recovered. It wasn't my intention to push his pace but that's what happened. The next runner also did something similar. We were hiking up a hill, I can see he's tired but when he spots me he starts running up the hill. Haha please, please people, don't use up your reserves just on my account, we still have half a race to go. Save it for the second half of the race, oh nevermind. We arrived at the Rock City aid station shortly after that. Mark Gilligan and Harry Walther were there along with the runner I was chasing and another runner who was resting on the ground. The heat was starting to take it's toll and I noticed that runners were taking longer at the aid stations. They were taking the time to eat and drink more and to cool off. I don't blame them in fact it was quite smart of them to do so; however, since I was doing okay I didn't require the extended rest. I passed all four runners by leaving first. I would push through the aid stations all day, stopping just long enough to get my bottles filled with ice, drink and to take down some food. For the most part I only ate gels anyway. Solid food was unappetizing in that heat. It was so hot that my iced water would be warm within 30 minutes of leaving an aid station. Mmmm...warm water, to go with my warm energy gels and my tasty salt caps:)

Jo-Lynn on her way out of Rock City

The Best Part
From the Rock City aid station we make our way to the Finley Road aid station then back again to Rock City, a down and back section of about 12.5-miles. On this section I got to see most of the runners, from the leaders to the back of the pack. Lots of support, cheering and greetings on the trail. It was uplifting and since misery loves company it was good to see others suffering out there. At the Finley Road aid station I was greeted by volunteers Will Gotthardt and Caitlin Smith, phenomenal runners on their own right who listened to me rant at how tough the front pack looked. I was running 11th at this point but I thought I was 12th since I thought Kevin Swisher's pacer was another runner. This was where I wanted to "take it up a notch" all the way to the finish but I managed oh a quarter of a notch. I felt like I could go on for hours on my current pace but the slight increase was an incredible strain, the heat and hills had worn me down. Nevertheless, I left Finley Road with a spring in my step and cautiously optimistic about my chances of breaking into the top 10. On the way out I saw the runners who were right behind chasing and it gave me an extra kick in the butt. The countenance of Skaden and Cooper gave me pause however, the big cats were back on the hunt!

Will Gotthardt and Caitlin Smith manning the Finley Road aid station

My Least Favorite
The climb out of Rock City aid station was my lowest point in the race. I had caught up to Kevin and his pacer at the aid station and was eager to put some distance on him. It started well that degenerated into a slow death march. You climb, climb, climb out of Rock City and up towards the summit of Mt. Diablo. The first part is in the shade but it's a very short section and soon you are out on exposed trails, in the heat of the sun, on the hottest part of the day, up dusty single track and fire road. The heat was most oppressive here. Last year I followed Jon Burg up these trails, chasing but never closing. This time around it was Jady Palko. I could see he was exhausted. A voice in my head said "go for it, he's tired, chase him down!", unfortunately so was I. Haha, I was in the same boat. Close to the top we made a left turn to visit Juniper aid station one more time before the final push to the summit. This was where I got lost the year before, never making that left turn. This time Wendell put out an extra cone pointing the right way. There was clapping in my head and a weight lifted from my shoulders when I made that left turn. As the trail wrapped around the ridge I caught sight of Jady. He waved and asked for a piggy back ride to the finish. I laughed and ran after him. He started running as well and so the distance between us stayed the same.

Hard left, left!

The Beginning of the End
Of the last four runners that I would pass on the course, three of them I passed at the aid stations. I had my bottles filled quickly, downed some food and left the aid station before Jady. I felt better knowing we were close to the end however in my depleted state I started to get paranoid about missing turns and ribbons. Every mile or so I would become alarmed that I missed a turn or was going backwards on the course. I would ask hikers if they saw runners coming their way. Crazy I know. I started to lose my mind out there in the final miles!

At the last aid station on the summit I catch up to Brian Wyatt who was sitting down and conversing with the volunteers. I think he was fixing something in his shoe. After grabbing him by the head and gently shaking it side to side while exclaiming "you are so crazy" - for blazing away during the first half, I continued to the observation deck, had my picture taken then quickly came back down. I took my last energy gel and a pb&j square which was toasted from the heat. In my hurry to leave before Brian I forgot to pack extra food for the trip down.

The Last 8-Miles
I think it's the toughest of the race. I pass my final runner, Alan Abbs, who was not having a great day. He told me so when I greeted him. He was running second, right behind his wife after Finley Road. What caused his slow down I never found out. So these last 8 miles are not all downhill.
That's what they told us last year and I believed them. It is mostly downhill though and they are the painful kind after a long day in the mountain. I love downhills but these are dusty, slippery, twisty, narrow, scree filled, technical switchbacks. Evil on the quads, a scourge on the toes. If you have blisters God help you.

The last 2 miles or so is rolling terrain and a half mile from the finish I get caught by Skaden and Cooper. They were accompanied by Ben who had come out on the course to pace friends. They were talking and generally having a good time but moving very well and they shouted encouragement as they passed. I in turn catch Toni and Theresa who were finishing their marathon yards from the finish. Toni yells to Theresa who was about 30 yards ahead "quick, finish before Rick does!" Theresa didn't hear all of it so I tell her that Toni wants her to wait so they can finish together:) By the time I finished I was in a mini-bonk. The last 8 took a little over 1.5 hours and I had no food. I ran out of gels. I was going on fumes. Boy did that can of Coke at finish hit the spot.

With Theresa and Toni at the finish. Miki you were right, I do have a weird look on my face.

Fini
I clocked a 10:46 which is really not that much faster than the time I would have gotten last year had I not gotten lost. Good to be under 11 hours though. Hung out for awhile at the finish exchanging stories with the other runners and stuffing my face. Beverly Anderson-Abbs won the race with a 9:42. The top six were all in their 40s except for Ashland, Oregon's Rob Cain who is 55. The upper classmen are tough, tough, tough! Two other women would make the top 5, Suzanna Bon (10:07) and Beth Vitalis (10:20). Skaden and Cooper would bring up 7th and 8th and I was 9th, a little over a minute behind them. Much talking, laughing and grimacing at the end. Everyone of those folks at the front had a smile and a kind word to say when we encountered each other during the race.

Keith and Leslie, from Banff to the heat of the East Bay.

Well it was another great day of good competition and great camaraderie. Wendell, Sarah and Aaron put on another great event. The volunteers were incredible as usual. Ice in our bottles went a long way into making us a bit more comfortable out there. They must have been constantly re-supplying the aid stations. Would I go back again? Now that it's three days later and I can walk with out a limp my answer is "heck yeah!".

Till next time Mt. Diablo!

Mt. Diablo 50M Pictures

Donald and Jon Gunderson at the start

On the first climb, still in the shade

Sean and Donald

First summit, photo courtesy of Donald B.

Sunshine Girl heading for the Finley Road aid station

Amazing views

More views, looks inviting doesn't it

Amazing views

The finish line at 5PM

Victoria who just finished her volunteer shift

Ultra Signup's Mark Gilligan

Suzanne at the gear tent.

For more photos, for the photoset click here.

Survived Another One

On the valley floor at the start of the race, heading towards our first climb.

So these ultras? What's the pace like on these? Well it varies widely depending on where it is, what the weather is like, how hilly it is and how technical the trails are. Take this race for instance. Climbing up our first big hill on our way to the summit.

You know how a puppy would chew on a toy, rough house with it a little bit. Some chewing, mauling and shaking around. The toy gets tossed, picked up and tossed around some more, there may be some parts torn off. Well I feel like that toy right now; I was shaken, tossed, smacked around, picked back up then smacked around some more and I am missing something. Something got left on that mountain today. That mountain, it is so wicked, wicked hard when the temps get hot like that. Supposedly it was hotter than last year but at least we had a breeze out there today. Well at least I wasn't the only one who looked and felt like this. There was a finish line full of us beat down runners. Well those training for Western States got their money's worth. I'll post a more detailed race report later along with pictures.

I ran a really good race today. It kind of fell apart on the last 6 miles when I ran out of food but overall it was still a well executed race. I ran hard, chased after a few folks. It felt brutal though; hot, lots big climbs and big descents and technical trails. I'll be fine in the next couple of days.

Well as I type this it's 2 minutes to 11PM, the cut off for the 50-mile race. There were a 100 entrants on the marathon and 150 for the 50-mile. We will know later this week how it all turned out. My unofficial stats.

Mt. Diablo 50-miler
13,340 ft. (4066 meters) of total elevation gain / Same for loss
High 80's maybe even 90F / 32C
10:45, 9th overall, 6th male.

Back to Mt. Diablo

Mt. Diablo as seen from the Marin Headlands. It's the tallest peak behind the hills.

The first 10k, up, up, up.

I've raced there exactly three times and two of those times didn't go so well. Both included warm to hot temperatures and getting lost. I think that damn devil mountain has it in for me:) My first time in Mt. Diablo I was participating in only my second ultra event. Feeling super from finishing my first ultra I signed up...then got beat down. This is why to this day, despite all the triathlons and all the ultras I've done there is a small part of me that cringes when I think about racing there.

It got hot on that first race. It was in the 90s, no shade, no wind at the upper parts of the mountain. I knew so little about ultras and I wasn't prepared for the heat but thankfully I had the presence of mind to do as the other runners did when they dipped their boiled potatoes in salt and kept up on the drinking and eating. Things were so-so until the second trip up to the summit where I got so delirious from the heat I lost my way and didn't even know it. I got turned around and had started going the wrong way. It never occurred to me for one moment that I was running downhill trying to summit a mountain. Hahaha, seven years later I'm still laughing at that memory. Fortunately another runner set me straight but not before I tried to convince him that he was the one going the wrong way. The trip back up was painful and I ran out of water since I only had one bottle with me. I barely had enough before I got lost. It was a painful experience and my first introduction to PCTR, a love affair that continues to this day. That sucker took me 8 hours to finish and I was laid out for awhile:)

It would be another four years before I returned. Now I'm a believer in Jesus Christ but every time someone said "Diablo", I didn't think of the devil described in my bible. Instead I thought of a mountain shimmering with heat, of dusty single track, long uphills and tight downhill switch backs filled with loose rock.

The run in 06 went well, it was my last training run before heading out for Western States. It was taken at training pace and it wasn't even hot. We had a long winter that year that gave us cool temps all the way to May. Even the Ohlone 50k, which can also be quite hot, had fog and rain that year. So with my irrational fear of Mt. Diablo conquered, I stepped up and signed up for the 50-miler last year. Like the 50k you summit twice but you also spend a lot of time running in the surrounding area, up and down, up and down. The mountain is only 3,849 feet (1,173 m) according to Wikipedia but the race itself boasts 13,300 feet of total climb. It's a great race to help you prepare for a 100-miler in the summer, especially a hilly one.

Well like that first year, things got very warm out there and not far from the spot I got lost the first time I got lost again, also on the second summit. I was following Jon Burg out of Rock City, it was about 3PM. We were ascending a dusty singletrack, the sun was bright, not a cloud in the sky and no breeze. He was 11th and not too far in front of him was Scott Dunlap at 10th. I was chasing but not gaining on Jon while we both gained on Scott. When Jon catches up to Scott he says to him "some asian guy is looking for you". Jon didn't know me then, we met at the finish. They both put in the extra effort and I lose sight of them. They turned left at an intersection to head to an aid station before the final ascent up to the summit for the last time. I went straight and up to the summit, missing the aid station. It was only at the top did I fully realize my mistake. To make things right I had to go back down to the aid station then back up to the summit. My race was pretty much over by then, from that point it was just a training run. There is no aid the last 8-miles and I ran out of water because like the first time I only carried one water bottle. Another tough day on Mt. Diablo. Never too experienced for a whuppin:)

So Sunday is round 4, ting, ting. I'm ready for you baby. I'm well rested now and feeling pretty good. I also got in some time in the sauna for some heat training. Supposed to be warm this weekend so I'm glad I put in the time. I have a minor plantar fasciitis thing going on with my right foot but it's minor. I'm car pooling with Jon Gunderson and he's dealing with shin splints right now so I'm not even going to complain. I don't know why he's still running but he is the best judge of his own body. We both are headed for San Diego 100. From there he continues on to Badwater while I plan my races for the second half of the year.

Miss Diablo I'm looking forward to another great time. Don't be gentle, we like it rough!
It feels great to be racing again.

Importance of Rest

I'm on taper mode for the Mt. Diablo 50-miler happening on the 19th and it couldn't come soon enough. I made a poor decision in my training and I crossed that line between being really fit and peaking to over trained. Oops I did it again.

The week after the Pirates Cove 50k I was scheduled for a backdown week but I decided to press forward and train hard for the next two weeks and just take my rest with the taper. It seemed like a good plan except I ran out of gas before I got to this week:) I have been dealing with more than the usual fatigue, achy-ness and soreness that doesn't go away after a day-off, lack of motivation and bad sleep (waking up in the middle of the night, hard time going back to sleep, just as tired when I get up in the morning). This has been going on for the past 10 days or so. It doesn't help matters that it's allergy season now too. Nothing like waking up finding your sinuses stuffed, eyes and throat itchy.

Ah well I've been here before. When you catch it early enough it's easy to recover from. Monday I took the day off as I usually do after a long weekend of running. Tuesday was a short workout day and I felt fine but Wednesday I was back to feeling lousy so I took the day off. Just now I had gone out the door for a run but promptly turned around and decided another day's rest couldn't hurt. Right now I feel like the world's biggest slacker with a lot of unnecessary guilt for not pushing through. It's hard backing down. I have to be smart though and I have to practice what I preach - must listen to body. I've been pushing harder than ever so it's no wonder my body is getting beat more easily.

Things should hopefully be back to normal by the weekend. Meaning that, since it's taper time, short runs while keeping up the intensity and no strength training. On the way back I picked up the mail and got my number for the Miwok 100k. Mail going out includes my check and entry form for the San Diego 100. Big races are coming so I have to keep training hard and smart, which of course includes getting the proper rest and recovery.

WFTW 09

Saturday Morning swim

Where does all the time go? I swear it was just Monday yesterday. Well it was a busy, hectic week, half of which was also spent recovering from the weekend and what a weekend that was. Last Friday, in the early afternoon, I headed south with two friends to Lake San Antonio in Monterey county. We were there to attend our triathlon club's annual Wildflower training weekend, so called because Lake San Antonio is the home of the Wildflower Triathons. Wildflower is the largest triathlon event here in California and is made up of three races; Long Course (Half-Ironman), Olympic and Mountain Bike Sprint. They call it the Woodstock of triathlons because you camp for the weekend. It feels like the middle of nowhere and if your carrier is AT&T you won't even get a signal at the lake which is a great thing.

So we were down there, about 150 of us; members, coaches and some of our sponsors. Our bike sponsor, Pacific Bicycle, sent down a wrench who fixed and adjusted our bikes all weekend at no charge. Avanzare had three of their therapists/specialists in attendance and they offered free 20 minute ART (Active Release Therapy) sessions on Friday and Saturday. I had ART done last year after Kettle Moraine 100 because of a knee injury and at least for me it worked wonders.

Why come down to a triathlon training weekend if I'm taking a hiatus from triathlon? Because it's fun; not a lot of distractions, coached hard workouts, beautiful weather, a hilly bike course, a hilly half-marathon course that is mostly on trail, catered Saturday night dinner, free beers on the club and the opportunity to cause some trouble at night with some of my favorite people. Well not a lot of trouble, just some.

For myself I think I did alright. It's a 3.5 hour drive from San Francisco so by the time we got there it was already late in the afternoon. Nevertheless I laced up the shoes, grabbed my headlamp and headed out to do a loop on the half-mary course. We were not the only ones out there training, a huge group of Team in Training folks were camped at the top of the hill along with other clubs and individuals scattered all over the park. The sun set while I was halfway through my run and my weekend almost ended right there when I ran straight into a chain stretched across two metal poles to prevent cars from driving into the fire road. I missed it because I was too busy trying to figure out if I was lost (I was)and my attention was focused on the turns up the road. Lucky for me I wasn't going very fast, you know how you slow down when you're not quite sure where you are. Still caught me in the groin area though and the psoas is making noises again. Haha it was a good thing it was dark and I was alone.

Saturday was my best day. I skipped the swim early that morning. Happy to be taking pictures instead but joined on the long bike that was schedule right after. Since I had put the bike away last July I've only been on it once but that didn't stop me from dressing up in spandex and joining the cyclists. I'm in my best running shape ever so the legs and back felt fine however there were a couple of bike specific things that I've missed out on and the realization came to me at mile 16 when my crotch started to really hurt on the bike seat. Mile 16 on a 56-mile bike ride! Hahaha I can tell you there was a lot of shifting around for the next 40 miles. I would even stand on my bike on the flats just to alleviate the pressure, you cyclists out there know how ridiculous that is. Just something that you get used to when you ride consistently and a major pain when you don't. It was painful. I wanted to get off the bike and run back to camp. I was out on the course 40 minutes longer than I'm used to but the run after the bike was pure joy. I was tired but felt very strong and having a great time, my best run all weekend. The rest of Saturday was spent cleaning up, eating, socializing and making a little bit of trouble during the evening hours. By Sunday I was pretty much done but joined in on the long run, one more time. By noon the team was pretty much out of there and headed back to the bay area. I was looking forward to a relaxing Sunday night and a day-off from training on Monday.

Torture device

Another great weekend in Lake San Antonio. I'm sorry I'll miss the Wildflower long course triathlon this year but not too sorry because I will be running the Miwok 100k instead. They are always the same weekend. This remains my favorite video from WFTW, from the 08 weekend. Enjoy the pictures and you all have a great weekend!

Jennie, all smiles before the bike ride.

Open road.

With one of my favorite people - Tina.

Hanging out Saturday night. The guy in the blue Boston Marathon shirt is John B. Just back from Ironman New Zealand, an 11:14 performance that's worth at least a few beers. He took it easy during the weekend.

Big shout out to friends racing Oceanside 70.3 Triathlon this weekend.
To Bob and Tony who are racing the Umstead 100-mile Ultra. And lastly to friends racing the American River 50-miler like Victoria.

For the picture set, click here.