Shopping, Dining, The Athlete Outdoors
At Sierra Rd. as spectators wait.
Another successful Tour of California cycling event! This has been the third time attending, and it is amazing that more and more people are coming out to watch this very popular sport which has a wide spectatorship in Europe. The pics below are of the tough Sierra Road. climb in San Jose.
Yes, it’s true! And where else would you expect this other than the Silicon Valley? Let’s see how this new marketing incentive will help with customer growth. “Enjoy your trans fatty french fries and Big Mac with your Wi-Fi”
Check out www.mcdonalds.com/wireless.html for more info and locations that offer WiFi.
Ahhh… the views of Mt. Shasta and everything surrounding it is amazing. The views are especially gorgeous when you travel around by bicycle. So, I decided to ride the Mt. Shasta Summit Century, they have a few options; the 135 miler, 100, and 50. I did the 100 miler since last years Death Ride experience which was 135 miles with over 16,000ft of climbing just about did me in, needless to say it was BRUTAL.
After doing The Death Ride you would assume that doing the Mt. Shasta Century with it’s lonely, measley 11,000ft of climbing over 100 miles would be easy. WRONG. I was totally blindsided, everything I assumed once I signed up for the ride and before the race went to smoke. It was tough, plain and simple. It reminded me of the Auburn Century, where like this one, had the last long tough climb at end. In the Shasta ride the last climb was 4,000ft of climbing over 14 miles. The last 5 miles I was crying, sobbing really. I constantly kept thinking as I was climbing the last 5 miles ‘why am I here’. Until I finally reached the top and realized and was reminiscent of the gorgeous views that I had seen that very day, where I wouldn’t have been able to see and experience first hand had I been at home sitting on the coach. Then it all came together and made sense. I earned it, whatever it was I earned, be it the views, the athletic accomplisment, I earned it with the power of my mind and body.
Below is a graph of the Mt. Shasta Century plus 2 miles from a GPS file borrowed from www.mtbguru.com.
In a previous posting, I wrote about fueling for endurance athletes, particularly my issue with how much to fuel and the best products to fuel me. In the most recent July issue from Outside Magazine, Asker Juekendrup who is a 38 year old Dutch-nutritionist for Team Rabobank and triathlete, in his lab created a recipe you can make at home. In his study at the University of Birmingham, he had cyclists drink two different sugars: Glucose and Fructose, he blended it in a 2:1 ratio. His discovery was that the cyclists would use **”independent systems to digest each sugar, so the cumulative energy uptake would be greater than what you’d get with a single sugar….Test subjects were able to burn through 75 grams of carbs per hour, with subsequent studies achieving rates as high as 105 grams per hour- 75 percent more than what had been measured.” Most recently he found that cyclists that would drink the formula for a 3-5 hour ride maintained a higher pedal cadence and reported less fatigue than those drinking a pure glucose drink with the same calories.
The Secret Formula:
1/2 cup maltodextrin
6 1/2 tsp fructose
1/4-1/2 tsp table salt
Combine in one liter of water and shake.
**Justin Nyberg (Outside)
If you live in the Silicon Valley and find it difficult to find places to swim in the Bay Area, not to worry. If you are training for a triathlon or a swim race it is crucial to train in open water (obviously). The Aquatic Park which is pictured above is perfect for open water swimming it is protected and though it is in the freakin cold San Francisco Bay waters, it is calm and smooth swimming. Also, try Redwood Shores Basin Lagoon off of Ralston Rd. which stenches of bird poop. Many triathletes are out there training. Also try these other locations:
For Open Water:
For Pools:
And of course check out any YMCA near you!
Waikiki Beach is easily one of the best beaches in the world. While this is the best place to surf and learn surfing there are many young children learing how to surf. The water is shallow for about a mile it seems out to the ocean so many parents are very comfortable with their children swimming and surfing out in Hawaii’s luke warm waters. Ahhh…the oceans water temp. was in the 70’s and so lovely that it will make you daydream about it when you get back home.
Behind is a view of Diamond Head
Since this is the place to chill out in the the sun and especially surf there is a vender that rents out tons of the boards.
Hail to:
After Wildflower Triathlon I went to the Mission San Antonio, it is very close to the triathlon’s venue. Since the mission is in a government military sanctioned area, you have to bring proper documention; i.e. Drivers’s License, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration to enter the area. What a gorgeous Mission that is very well kept.
Mountain View is the home of *1 star* Michelin, Chez TJ. This four course meal was prepared well, and every dish had fabulous presentation. Along the meal, there were also several tiny samplings to clean the palate before every course. Their fois gras was also prepared in the four different ways and was melt in your mouth.
This restaurant is nestled off the main downtown strip of Downtown Mountain View and in a beautiful renovated estate mansion.
The service was extremely attentive and very friendly. Although I got a bit hassled from our waiter about making a quick decision for dessert, for the most part the food was excellent! As it seemed like most of the customers were your “silicon valley” types on a expensed business dinner, this restaurant was excellent and is also perfect for romantic dining.
With it’s challenging course and all it’s heat, Wildflower Triathlon Half Ironman distance is considered one of the most difficult triathlons out there.
I had gone into the water the day before the race for a short swim. Since it was later in the day I figured that the rough water and white caps were just normal and was relishing in the fact that the waters would be glassy and calm the next morning.
The next morning I gathered my bag with bike, run, and swim gear and cycled down the steep Lynch Hill looking out at the glassy lake and projected a wide smile. Thinking ok, the swim will be great and warm and lovely. As I waited after all the pros and hard bodied men proceeded their waves, I was getting warm in my wetsuit and was getting quite excited to get in the water. As in every triathlon, I’m the one standing far in the back of the packed wave in my age group which is 25-29. I started to get nervous standing there waiting for the the gun to go off. Once that gun goes off, all the nerves will disappear all the worries about flats on the bike or my consistent dreams of some how forgetting my running shoes, once the gun goes off I know that it will all disappear and all I will have to think about is how fun doing triathlon is.
So, the gun goes off and I hit the water and it feels so cool and calming until I swim across that protected area, the waters start to get extremley choppy, and the waters start producing waves, strong waves. It was like this most of the swim and it was hard, at least for me. I wasn’t used to swimming in that sort of condition.
But I made it and hurriedly ran to my transition and put on my bike shoes and went off up to “Beach Hill”. I was happy to finally turn the corner and cycle up that steep hill after dodging and getting away from all those annoying Mountain Bikers that couldn’t keep their line. After it seemed like a decade just getting out of the park area and onto Interlake Road, I started feeling strong head wind! Thinking to myself, there’s no way this can last on most of the ride, but it stayed and lingered like no tomorrow. Jolon Road was nice for the most part, but that head wind.
I finally arrive back to transition and get my bike on the rack and quicky put on my running shoes and go off to run the hilly run course. The bike leg and all it’s head wind surprisingly exhausted me as well as the choppy waters on the swim, I didn’t feel the freshness on the run that I usually feel from previous triathlons I’ve done. It was an upsetting feeling. During the run, I kept thinking, “Man, I forgot how hard and painful Wildflower Triathlon is”. You’ve got to train hard for Wildflower, you’ve got to respect it, don’t underestimate it even if you’ve done your share of IronMan’s, Wildflower is fun but also very challenging.
As I ran down the steep Lynch Hill, I finally got to the finish after 13 miles of running and was extremely happy to be back.
For every race I keep thinking about what I did wrong, how I could have improved my time. I also think about all the hours I spent training being away from friends and family to go on a long bike ride or a long run, and then I start remembering the main reason, the main point of all this training and racing, and remind myself that it is because: I enjoy it and have fun doing it. And that’s all that will always remain.
Mercedes Morales “Mercy” Capati, 61, of Ewa Beach, a retired Defense Finance Accounting Service employee at Ford Island in Hawaii passed away on April 5, 2007. She passed away within a week from her retirement.
Auntie Mercedes was an amazing, beautiful, giving person who gave without ever asking anything in return. She had been suffering from Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer for 9 years. She is survived by her husband Danilo, her three daughters; Maria Elena, Maria Lorela, Danmerle, and her two grandchildren. Above is a picture of her on the far right laughing as she is featured in the Honolulu Advertiser, the local newspaper in Oahu, Hawaii. The Advertiser did a story of her when she was featured in the book, “Chicken Soup for the Military Wives Soul”. She left a trace of meaning in everyone’s lives she has touched and everyone she has meet. She will not be forgotten.
To learn more about the disease go to: http://www.sarcomaalliance.org
