Nike: Find Your Greatness.

What's Going On In Arizona

Lots going on in Arizona these days.  It's a crazy Wild West part of the country out here.  We get lots of wacky weather....

 

And around the athletic world, Troy Jacobsen filmed his latest Spinerval DVD at the store I work at, Trisports Tempe....

 

My friend Kent Nicholas from Mesa swam AROUND THE ISLAND OF MANHATTAN!  

 

He circumnavigated Manhattan, a 28.5 mile swim and finished in eight hours and eight minutes, putting him in the top 10 finishes in the event.  He's now set his sights on swimming the English Channel in 2013.

And of course, we are cheering on Breeja Larsen....

 

And only weeks away from this....

 

Ironman Arizona!   

The state of Arizona may only be 100 years old, but it's got LOTS to offer to the athletes of the world.  Come explore this state, if you're reading this from afar.  Don't come in August, the fall is a better time of year for tourists.  And make sure you stop in to TriSports on Mill to say hello!

54th Annual Coronado ROUGH Water Swim

They named it well.  The July Fourth Rough Water Swim off the Coronado Island beach was indeed that.  The sea was angry, my friends.  And it didn't help that reports on the news that morning were informing San Diegans that great white sharks had been spotted in the swimming coves just miles up the coast.  But I had always wanted to compete in this event, and so I did.

The vibe and participants at this type of event are something different than those at triathlons.  Swimmers come to these events as families.  The day begins with the strong, youthful swimmers as young as eight and nine years old.  Their race distances are shorter than the mile course, but these kids are every bit as tough as any Ironman.  And none of them wore wetsuits.

The day continues with masters swimmers in their 30s and 40s.  And then the older swimmers, senior citizens, in fact.  Their bodies are not firm or pretty,  but they can glide through the water like they were born to do it.  The senior swimmers are so dialed into their swim technique and form that they easily pass the stronger athletes on the same course.  It's a spectacle to see them skipping out of the water all smiles and happy faces - even with temperatures hitting the low 60s in the water.

I like this race.  I enjoyed being part of the swimming family who came out in support of the amazing open water athletes of the City of Coronado.   The Rough Water Swim  is held every Fourth of July on Central Beach, under the misty morning clouds of the San Diego sky.  You can register on the day of the event for $55, (way less expensive than a triathlon entry fee and much shorter in length) leaving plenty of time to chow down at the Del Coronado breakfast buffet as your reward.

Next year,  I may try swimming without my wetsuit.  But don't quote me on that.  For sure I'll be back to swim with the Coronado crowd - and to celebrate my day with breakfast at the Del.

www.july4roughwater.org

Dawn's Extreme Heat Adventure Race Recap

When Dawn asked me to add "Extreme Heat Adventure Race" into her training schedule, I was skeptical.  Really?  Extreme Heat?  But Dawn assured me the race was just a fun day with a good friend.  Turns out Dawn and Andi had a great adventure in the desert near the Salt River.  Here is her race recap.

We had a blast!  Andi and I signed up for that race a little over a week ago with extremely LOW expectations.  It just looked fun and it was close to home.  I like to accessorize with a little team flair so I dressed us up in tutus and matching bandanas.  The event was very small -- only 20 or so teams. They  explained the rules a few minutes before the race began and handed us all maps and punch cards and we were off!

As soon as I looked at the map my eyes went crossed!  The organizers did not tell you on their website that you need to be able to read a topographic map!  Luckily Andi had used one before and she was our team navigator.  (If she did not know how to read that map this report would be VERY different!)  We were told to follow the map to all of the check points and punch the card at each point.  The map led us all over Coons Bluff and up some VERY steep hills.

After the first three check points we had to head back to the start and complete an obstacle where one person wears a blind fold and the other tells them where to step making sure not to hit any of the cones.  After that we were back orienteering for another 5 check points.

Once we completed the "trek/run" portion of the race we had to head back again to the start and do another obstacle.  This time we got one Dixie cup and one 20-ounce big red cup and we had to fill the Dixie cup with water from the river and bring it back to a picnic table and fill the big red cup.  I stayed down by the river and Andi ran back and forth between the river and the table.  Once that was done we were told to grab our rafts and continue following the map.  We had to run for a little over a mile with our raft, paddles and PFDs and hit another obstacle along the way.  This time we needed to balance a Wiffle ball between two strings and get the ball to sit on top of a pole (super easy).

 

Once we finished that we headed to the river and put in where the tube rentals are.  This was the hilarious part!  We are both avid kayakers and did not think anything of paddling a raft down the river…little did we know the raft is so light trying to paddle and stay in the right direction is very challenging.  I spent most of the time in the back cracking up watching Andi paddle with her life jacket, tutu and bandana!  It was such a comical sight.

The river was beautiful though…complete with a herd of wild horses, bald eagles, and every other kind off river bird.  Once we finally mastered the art of paddling a blow-up raft we were at the finish and happy to take 4th place overall.  Not bad for our first time!  There was no medals or t-shirts but they had Diet Coke and all sorts of snacks.  We will for sure do this again next year!  I think the course was a total of 12K.

The FULL Phoenix Marathon

It was only a year ago, that a few running friends gathered together to throw around the idea of a top quality Saturday marathon in Mesa, Arizona.  We pulled off the first Phoenix Marathon Half in March of 2012 with accolades and appreciation from nearly every participant.  But now, it's here!  The new route and elevation profile of the FULL Phoenix Marathon. 

The route will begin in the spectacular Usery Mountain Recreation area off Ellsworth Road, wind it's way through the neighborhoods of Mesa including downtown Main Street, and finish off at the Riverview/Bass Pro Shop Mall.  And the marathon is now a Boston Qualifier. 

There will be great swag bags, awesome aid stations, super sweet finish line booths and chunky finisher medals as well as thousands of new and excited runners.   And ALL of our proceeds go to feeding hungry kids in the valley via Arizona Brain Food. 

As as marathon committee member , I am proud to stand behind this event.   We have dreamed big and now we will achieve those dreams. 

Stay tuned for the course map .... but for now, sign up at thephoenixmarathon.com today.