The race heats up!

2007 Ford Ironman 70.3 California Entry Fee
Fernando Hernandez	$210.00

T-Shirt Size	Large
One Day USAT Insurance	yes - $10.00
USAT Membership Number
Emergency Contact	Yuman
Emergency Contact Phone	323 290 2235
Occupation
Please list any other significant medical information:
List any past half or full Ironman events in which you have participated:
Will California Half Ironman be your first Triathlon at this distance?	yes
Personal Insurance Carrier	Kaiser
Policy Number
Company
Race Classification	Age Group For Awards and AG Kona Slots
Have you ever dropped out during a race for medical reasons?	No
Age Division	M 35-39

That's right. Mr. Hernandez is in - competing for awards and Kona slots.

GPS

I take my Garmin with me on business trips. I'm trying to collect routes from all over. Here are some from the last year. Click on them to see the maps at a decent magnification.

1) Legendary Central Park. It was nice, but I'd go crazy if that was the only place around to run. I don't know how NY'ers do it.



2) West Palm Beach. Eerily deserted last week. And the ocean was on the wrong side.



3) Chicago. Very cool. Lots of tri folks out swimming along the edge of the lake. Mile markers and everything. Really very nice.



4) Washington D.C. If not for the idjit living there, running near the Whitehouse would be nice. Too humid though.



5) The famous Beverly Hills High School. Not very far away but it is a different city.



6) Dallas, Texas. A pit. Hot, ugly, and boring.



7) Orlando, Florida. A city that's just a huge strip mall.



8) Philadelphia, PA. Right past the Rocky steps. Pretty nice.



9) San Francisco. I love that city. I'd gladly move there.



Happy New Year everyone.

B.

Desire

Not too long ago, I challenged my good friend Jason to run his first half marathon. He begrudgingly accepted, and in October Stacie and I paced him to the finish of the Long Beach Half Marathon in under 2 hours, 45 minutes. An excellent time for a guy who never ran more than 6 miles only a few months prior.

But I wasn't satisfied. If Jason didn't cramp, we would have finished close to the 2 and-a-half hour mark. So I issued another challenge: finish the inaugural City of Angels Half Marathon in under 2 hours, 30 minutes. He gamely accepted.

We arrived at Griffith Park this past Sunday ready to demolish our Long Beach Time. The conditions were perfect: it was nice and cool, and the course, a point-to-point route ending in downtown, was very scenic. We had a game plan: follow the Galloway method and take one-minute walk breaks every five minutes. I was confident that we would accomplish our goal. But it was not to be. Although described by the race director as "flat and fast," the race featured more than twice the elevation gain of the Long Beach course.

We maintained the requisite 11:30/mile pace up until mile 11, but as we trudged up and down the rolling hills of Sunset Boulevard, Jay was attacked my massive cramps. I knew then and there that 2:30 was not possible, but he battled through the cramps, and thanks to an epic pain-filled sprint to the finish (see picture inset), we broke 2:40 (2:39:52, to be exact).

It was humbling to see my friend scream, grimace in pain, and continue running with the finish line in sight. That's what I call desire.

For the half marathon's course profile, click here. My entire flickr photo set can be found here.

The Dangerous Dance

Riding your bike aggressively during rush hour along a main thoroughfare is an exercise in faith. You place your life in the hands of the hundreds of strangers who share the road with you. You have to trust that drivers and passengers won't open their doors as you ride only inches away. You pray to God that the bus won't clip you as it passes on your left. You hope that the guy signaling to make a right turn in front of you checks his mirrors and sees you approaching.

Yeah, I suppose you could ride conservatively, but where's the fun in that? You can't get your heart rate up by riding like a granny (no offense to the grandmothers out there). There's something to be said about the rush you get when doing the dangerous dance called bicycle commuting.

Well, my faith was shattered today when BMW in front of me on my ride home from work tonight was cut off by a bonehead in a pickup. The BMW stopped on a dime. I didn't, and I ended up sprawled out on its trunk. I know what you're thinking, but let me assure you, the bike is fine. I just need an allen wrench and 10 minutes to get her back in riding shape. On the other hand, I suffered an extreme blow to my ego. Rear-ending a car while riding your bike is pretty damn embarrassing.

Note to self: Use more caution when drafting off of BMWs. They have really good brakes. Now excuse me as I read this Bicycle Commuter's Guide.