AMGEN Tour of California... WOOO HOOO!

Jeff about to do the AMGEN pre-tour ride in 2006 with Bruce Jenner.

I learned how to ride a bike when I was a kid...

... and as I grew up, I had no idea there was something called a "professional bike race..."

... until I started dating Jeff.

My husband doesn't watch Sunday Night Football or much basketball or hockey

Dave and Jeff at the start of the ride in 2006.

(except for the Superbowl... we watch commercials... or if a local team is in the playoffs, we'll watch some highlights)

... Jeff has been a tour bike race spectator for over 30 years.  So much so that during our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, we stood at the TV and sometimes had to hold the rabbit ears to watch the one station that was following the Tour de France that year.

8 years ago, California started a Tour Race... the AMGEN Tour of California.  In 2006, right after Jeff finished chemo, he decided to do the pre-ride before the Tour that was a cancer fundraiser.  It is funny looking back, because Bruce Jenner, olympic athlete, but known at the time as the new star of "The Kardashinas," started off the ride.

I've been following races and cheering/jeering along with Jeff for the past 13 years.  There has been a lot of cycling ups and downs since then, but this is a FANTASTIC sport and we can't wait to follow along with this year's race again...

... here are some photos of the Tour setting up in downtown Escondido... knowing that the best in the world are HERE and racing on our streets is AMAZING! 

VIP Tents setting up on Grand

The stage and podium.

The "Joor Muffler" got a cycling
jersey and cap for the Tour. :-)

I love this murial that was created for the Tour.

Back on Top... Spring Sprint Tri!

My sweet bug at the start line.  She told me just
before this photo, "MOM... the jellyfish are still
there... I just saw a bunch of them..."  Great...

If you follow my blog, you know the past 6+ months has been tough as far as training goes... after 3 years of training and weight loss, I'm back to work and dealing with long work hours, I tried mixing up my training and found that I was gaining weight...

... and today, I finally put together a race that I am very proud of! :-)

I had a few new mental issues to deal with during this race...

First, I was in the same rack and wave start as the elites and military. I got to my AWESOME rack station (front and center) and found a guy, sitting on the ground with electronic stimulators attached to his quads. WOW, is this what elite athletes do to warm up? He was the nicest guy, but his warm up freaked me out just a bit.
 
Triatheletes are always so supportive, so I shouldn't be surprised, but racking with the "big dogs" was great! The conversation was fun, and I noticed that my racking was pretty much the same as everyone else... we had the same stuff in the same order... good... I was doing something right! :-)


We handed Anna the camera...
Jeff and me at the start. :-)

I always meet fantastic people during the race, and today, I met (and raced against) a gal who was 5 months pregnant!!! And this was her 3rd triathlon since she became pregnant!!! Of course I asked her about her story and she said this was her 2nd baby and that her training and racing was helping her with the pregnancy!!! WOW! What a total inspiration! She took first place in the under 40 Athena category! :-)

I am also always inspired by the challenged athletes... especially the guy with one leg and one ski that raced right by me during the run... and this race was about the itty bity racers... starting at 7 years old! You should have seen those kids crushing the finish line! 

Other challenges... all those jellies in the water... see the photos for that story... 
... the wind... yep, it started at 6AM while we were setting up transition, which meant that it would be howling on Fiesta Island... which it was!

I hope you enjoy the story... this season is now OFFICIALLY ON! :-)  The photos will tell the rest of the story..

We were the first group into the water, and Anna just told me there
were jellies everywhere.  Sure enough, I'm looking at a jelly
the size of my head as I have to jump in for warm up...
atleast the guy behind me is not too excited, either!

15 seconds to start... HERE... WE...GO!

Jeff got AMAZING photos of my swim today!  I decided to start
front and center and here I'm trying to see who is kicking me
from the front!

I'm coming around a buoy... and I really didn't want to get
hit...like I did... upside the head at buoy 4...

Starting the ride, and I see my sweet husband and Anna...
LET'S... GO!

Hard bike with the winds at Fiest Island are DONE!
Start of the run...

Coach Laura always says, "You're going to finish... so FINISH FAST!"

WOOOO HOOOOO... finish line!

Tom and I are Palomar YMCA Triathletes and challenge
each other... next race SDIT!

FINALLY... a win! WOOO HOOOO!

Spring Sprint Triathlon in T-8:30 hours...

... on our way to bed to get some rest since I'm starting in Wave 2 (6:50AM) in the Spring Sprint Triathlon tomorrow...

... but I had to share with you what we found in the water... at the start line... when we checked out the course this morning....

YEP... bunches of jellyfish.  I've had dolphins in the water during my races... and seen plenty of fish jumping across the waves... but this is a new one!  Alright... HERE... WE... GO! :-)

... so... I kidnapped Jeff...

Perfect day off!

... right out of his office.  He has been saying that we need a day off, and since there is no good time for a day off, I decided to just book it in the middle of the week and go!

For those of you that don't think it is possible... MAKE... IT... HAPPEN!  Trust me! ;-)

We left the office about 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon and were back at the office by noon on Thursday...

... and those 22.5 hours were AWESOME!

It doesn't matter who initiates it, do something fun... unexpected... like you used to do when you dated.  Believe me, the benefits are well worth it!



When we checked in, we told the staff that I "kidnapped" my boss/husband
for a much needed day off... and they decided to give
us the Honeymoon Suite...
... and it was AWESOME! ;-)