I finished my 2008 triathlon season almost as quickly as it started. This was Heather’s year with her first Ironman in June.   My last race was Sentinel, the week after Pacific Grove.  I’ve done Sentinel numerous times. I really like the course and since it’s local there are always a lot of friends racing.  Of course Kevin was there to cheer with Heather and his grandparents.  It was a beautiful day in Santa Cruz and the race went really well. For the second week in a row I felt great running off the bike and I finished 4th in my age group.

After I retired my swimsuit, bike and running shoes, I headed to the east coast for a 5 day trip to the Outer Banks with my high school friends. This was our 4th trip and we hope to continue the tradition. It was really nice of Heather to take care of Kevin and let me get away for a few days. For the most part we just hung out at our huge rental house on the beach. Off season rates started the day we checked in and we really got a deal on the 8 bed/7 bath house for the week.  We did take a quick trip to see Kitty Hawk and tour the museum. I had been there with Heather years ago, but it was still fun to visit again. We also rented ocean kayaks for the week and had fun taking them out from our beach several times a day.

While I was on the east coast playing,  Heather and Kevin took a trip to the Sacramento zoo with the family. Heather said they saw a lot of animals, but for the most part Kevin was too busy playing in the dirt and picking up rocks to notice the animals. The only ones that caught his eye were the bright pink flamingos.

Just two days after returning from the Outer Banks (OBX to the locals) my parents made a trip to California to visit us..mostly just to visit their grandson! :-)  Nanny brought lots of clothes for Kevin. Below are a few pictures of Kevin modeling his new outfits.

Kevin had a great time showing his grandparents around CA. We went to the beach one day and watched Kevin play in the sand. My Dad and I drove up to the top of Mt. Hamilton and toured the Lick Observatory.  Heather, Trilbe, Kevin and my Dad went to the Tech Museum in San Jose and Dave and his parents took a day trip to Yosemite. In between all those activities we found plenty of time to just enjoy hanging out with Kevin.  We got all 4 grandparents together several times and Kevin really enjoyed that.

Fast forward two weeks and I ran the ½ marathon in the Silicon Valley Marathon/Half Marathon. Many friends also ran and Heather’s brother ran the full marathon. Thanks to “Coach Heather,” I was able to do better this year than last. Her sound advice was to keep a consistent pace throughout the whole race.  (Heather’s editorial note: Everyone knows you are supposed to do this. This was nothing new. He has always just started out too fast and tried to hang on.) I actually ran the same pace (6:15/mile) for the first 8 miles and then the group I was running with decided to pick it up to 6 min/mile pace for 2 miles. That kind of hurt me but I hung on to finish right behind 2 of my friends. Below in the center is a picture of all of us at the finish line doing the “finish line dance.” Heather’s brother Kim set a PR for the marathon in 3:21  He looked strong at the ½ way point and still had a smile on his face. The last few miles got tough but he hung in there for a great finishing time!!

The week after the marathon was our 3^rd wedding anniversary.  We decided it would be fun to get away for a night so we booked a hotel in Calistoga, CA.  Heather’s parents were nice to offer to care for Kevin during our trip.  We had a very relaxing time, wine tasting, roaming around downtown Calistoga and St. Helena and going out to a very nice dinner at the Martini House.  The best part was being able to sleep in until 8:30.  Kevin usually makes that impossible.

Now Halloween is here. Kevin had fun making a jack-o-lantern. He also had a great trip to the pumpkin patch with his grandparents while we were in Napa.

Kevin seems to like the “random exploration” sections of the class better than the “structured” parts.  Hmmm, I wonder if this is a preview of his rebellious behavior?  He particularly likes when the teacher unloads two garbage cans full of colored, different sized balls.  The kids go crazy!

Of all the activities, Kevin loves chasing the bubbles (above) and enjoys “ball time” (below left). He’s also getting stronger at hanging on the bars with some help from Mom.  On the balance beam, he hasn’t quite figured out that he needs to look down, at his feet, to be successful!

He has definitely learned a thing or two.  He finally learned how to clap (thanks to this class).  He also puts his hands and head down on the ground, sticks his rear in the air, and waits for someone to pick his legs up and roll him over in a somersault.  He’s very proud of that move!

I haven’t been to the triathlon at Pacific Grove since 2000, the first year I started doing triathlons. To the left is picture of the relay team from 2000. That year my friends Gregg, Alex and I decided to do the race as a relay. I’m not sure how I ended up doing the swim leg since that’s my weakest leg…but I did. The Pacific Grove triathlon is known for the swim because:  the water is usually really cold and you have to do the “kelp crawl” because the swim course is through kelp beds and the only way to get across is pull yourself over the kelp.

It’s definitely somewhat of an equalizer on the swim leg.

Fast forward 8 years and I went back to Pacific Grove this past weekend.  Heather and Kevin were there to cheer and Kevin greeted Dad at the finish line.

For those of you who don’t want to bother with the details, here is the summary.  I spent Friday night at a hotel near the start, Heather and Kevin drove down Saturday morning to spectate.  I managed to spot them in the crowd just before the swim started which was nice.

I saw Heather and Kevin along the bike and run course numerous times. The bike is 4 loops and the run is 3, so there were lots of spectating opportunities. The race went well,  for some reason I really felt good on the run from the beginning and really had a great run.  I finished 3rd in my age group and got a cool plaque for my efforts.

The race details.

The swim:
They bunched all the old men 45+ into one last wave  I lined up in the second row..but according to Heather didn’t run very fast at the gun and ended up in the ocean behind a lot of people. Whatever the case, I got beat up pretty good the first couple hundred yards…lots of elbows and hands crawling over you. Finally by the time we headed back on the triangle shaped course on the first lap, things opened up a little bit. The swim is 2 loops and you have to get out of the water, run around a buoy on the beach and then dive back into the water. There is something about having all the blood go to your legs when you stand and run…and then returning to horizontal when you dive back in that is very unsettling. I’m sure your brain (and body) isn’t quite sure what’s going on. Anyway, the 2nd lap was more of the same. Kelp crawling on the first two parts of the triangle and then the return leg was pretty free of people and kelp.

T1:
From the beach you run up some steps to the transition area. I knew what row I was in and quickly found my bike. I knew in the past that I had problems getting my wetsuit off quickly so I actually practiced the day before and figured out how I was going to do it. I guess I need more practice because it didn’t work race day. I ended up sitting down and wasting 10-15 seconds getting my wetsuit off my feet.

Bike:
I’ve never done a race before with so many laps of the same course. This bike course was a flat to rolling out and back 4 times. It’s great for spectators but the times aren’t all that fast because of all the 180 degree turnarounds. I felt pretty strong the whole way. It certainly was nice to see Heather and Kevin on every loop…even though Kevin seemed preoccupied with anything but the race! Somehow in between watching Kevin and cheering, Heather managed to take some great pictures like this one on the bike.

T2:
I cruised into T2 with my feet on top of my shoes…a quick dismount and ran and racked my bike. I slipped my shoes on quickly…grabbed my hat and race belt and I was off. I felt like I had pushed hard on the bike but certainly still had something left in the tank.

Run:

The run is also a multiple loop course.  I started the run not feeling any of the tightness in my back that I’ve normally felt the last few years. (Maybe my minor bike fit adjustments have helped) In any case, after loosening up the first mile I was feeling really good and started passing lots of people on the course. Again I saw Heather and Kevin on the run course..and again Kevin was busy…but not paying attention to the race.

These graphs show my place after each portion of the race and how I did compared to everyone else in the 45-49 age group.

After the race, I hung out waiting for the awards ceremony (not until 3PM) while Heather and Kevin headed home. It turned out to be a beautiful day in Pac Grove once the sun came out. Here’s a view from the beach where we swam.