Socorro Chile Harvest Triathlon

The hometown race, the one that started it all, the 10th annual Socorro triathlon was held this past weekend. What an awwesome and unique race and in my opinion the very best in New Mexico. To back this up it has been sold out for over a month with 390 participants.

The race itself went great and I set a PR for myself with a 1:00:28 finish which was good enough for 5th overall and 1st in the 25-29 year old age category. My swim was ranked 7th overall fastest and my bike was 3rd overall fastest. My run left some to be desired, especially with all the hard work I put in during July. Oh well, it's tough putting together a solid race where all three disciplines click. I had fun and that's exactly why I am still gun-ho about triathlons after 10 straight years. Next up for me is a the NM state mountain bike championships in a week and a half. The race will be here in Las Cruces and I know the course pretty well. I don't consider myself a mountain biker but I am curious to see what I can do in the dirt. In October I will do a 100km mountain bike race in Juarez, Mexico, and the last big thing will be the SOMA 1/2 ironman triathlon in Tempe, AZ, at the end of October.

By the way, the Chile Harvest was won overall by my brother Mike. He is 2 for 2 this year so far. My best buddy, Danny, was second overall. It would have been nice to be third overall and be on the podium with the two of them but it just didn't work out (I was in third starting the run). Here is a link to the Socorro newspaper and a great Jerry Springer style story.

http://www.dchieftain.com/sports/63909-08-16-06.html

And another great article in a different newspaper.

http://www.mymountainmail.com/stories/spotriathlon08-17-0620060817.php

Some Old Pictures I Found

This picture was taken at the Burn Lake Triathlon here in Las Cruces, sometime in the late 90's. Danny and I hammered the bike passing just about everyone and we came into the second transition in first and second place overall. I beat him out of the transition but he was too good a runner to keep up with. I really miss this race as it is now a duathlon and Burn Lake is pretty disgusting. It would be so nice to have some open water to swim in that is close by.

This picture was taken in the bike transition area after the Buffalo Springs Lake triathlon. I would guess late 90's here too. Mike looks pretty old school in his speedos (banana hammock) and top. Nice hair too, Mike!

Lance Armstrong Nike Commercial


I love this commercial. Lance started out as a triathlete and was racing the sports very best while he was still in high school. As a cyclist he won 7 straight Tour de France races after battling cancer. His training and preparation for the tour is unrivaled. I believe him, why shouldn't I? We need heroes. Here is a quote from Lance made after his 7th Tour victory, "For you people who don't believe in cycling, the cynics and the skeptics, I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry you can't dream big and I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. ... There are no secrets. This is a hard sporting event," he said, "and hard work wins it."

Goodbye to Summer Mexico Trip

We just got back from a trip down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico, where we celebrated the end of a great summer. We were down there for a week in a house right on the beach. The place had a pool and 2 water slides that Emma couldn't get enough of.
As for the summer, I say it was one of the best. We started by traveling to Hawaii, had a rough June with my ear problems, then finished with an awesome July and Mexico trip. Had I been healthy in June, I could have added another 1/2 Ironman triathlon and a trip to Rhode Isalnd. I guess things work out though, instead we stayed in Las Cruces that month and spent time together. There were lots of pool, park, and Scoopy's visits. The value of our tickets is still good so I'll be seeing you Tom, don't worry.