The COMIN Team's -

Saturday, November 7, 2009

It all started back in May when Calvin and I did the Big Rock Triathlon together.  I survived and Calvin pulled me along to the finish!

We were chatting with BJ and Kiki over the next several weeks as we were helping them move to Las Vegas and we told BJ that we wanted him to do the next Big Rock with us in November.  Kiki thought it was a great idea and wanted to do it too!  What could BJ say at that point??

We started training - swimming, biking and running.  BJ came up with a website where we could log our training times to keep each other motivated.  It was all very fun!

Finally the big weekend arrived.  It happened to be the same day that BJ was sworn in as an attorney in Las Vegas.   We now humbly refer to him as Esquire!  J/K.  We met up with everyone at a hotel in Perris, CA - just a little over an hour up the highway from San Diego.  We had adjoining rooms and had a blast.

Here's the four triathletes talking strategy the night before the adventure.  (We don't call it a race because we are mainly there to have fun and we stick together for the entire event.

The alarm clocks went off early on Saturday morning - 4:00 am!  We were up and moving to get over to the State Park, register and set up our transition area.  This is a map for the three events.

Kiki participated in the Sprint Triathlon and BJ, Calvin and I did the Big Rock (Olympic).

The distances for the Sprint events are-

800 yd swim, 12.5 mile bike and 3.1 mile run.

The distances for the Big Rock events are-

1 mile swim, 25 mile bike and 6.2 mile run.

Kim stayed behind at the hotel while Booker, Lincoln and Maizie slept.  She was able to get everyone up and to the park by 8:30.

Calvin's girlfriend - Becky - drove up that morning to cheer him on.  Thankfully - and maybe regrettably -  she was there to take pictures of us as we prepped for the swim.

We all started the swim in different waves.  BJ and Calvin were first, then me and then Kiki.  Calvin was a machine and swam his full mile.  Kiki was awesome and swam her 800 yards.  BJ and I "didn't want to hold Calvin back" so we only did the 800 yards as well.  We all met up in the transition area and prepped for the bikes.  Here's Calvin trying to get socks onto damp feet - and the more you're in a hurry - the longer it takes.

BJ was feeling good - having completed the swim before anyone else.  Kiki and I are still trying to get everything situated before we started biking.

It was a gorgeous day - a little foggy for the swim, some low clouds that burned off to a clear day and cool temperatures.  The bike is a nice ride - 1 loop for Kiki and 2 for us guys.  There are policemen and every intersection directing traffic so you never have to stop.  The worst part of the bike ride is right at the end of each lap - a short but steep hill.  For some strange reason they put the water station HALF WAY UP THE HILL!!  Needless to say - I was too focused on keeping the pedals going round and not falling over - especially the second time around that I didn't take any water.  No way was I going to stop or take one of my hands off the handlebars.

Here's Kiki coming in from her ride.  What a trooper! She rode the entire distance on a mountain bike!!

The Kiki was off to the run.  Here's a shot of her sprinting into the home stretch. 

While Kiki was out running and we were out biking - Kim showed up with the kids.  She and Becky had their hands full watching all three kids and trying to take pictures as we changed from one event to the next.

Below, Booker and Lincoln are enjoying the sunshine and playing on the grass.  In the background - Becky is grabbing her head and thinking - "OH NO - where did I lose Maizie??"

Well, not really - but that's what the picture looked like to me!  Maizie was just hanging around having fun and chewing on things.

And we are STILL out riding our bikes.  I got a flat on my back tire.  We all stopped to work on it and a policeman came and asked if we needed help.  I asked if he could just give me a ride back to the transition area - no luck.  Here we are coming into the transition area - Calvin leading and BJ and I bringing up the rear!

We changed our shoes and then were off to run. 

My thighs were killing me - big time cramps! A pack of GU helped and we kept on going.  Calvin and BJ were ready to roll - I made them stop twice to walk for a little bit.  We made a strong finish though - had to for the camera crew!  Here's the three of us coming around the corner into the finish line!

Booker finally saw his Dad - who he thought should have been the first one in - and ran along the side until we crossed the finish line.

There we are - #55, #56 and #58! 

We made it!!

Here's the four of us - the Comin Team - #55, #56, #57, and #58!  What a great team!

And here is Becky and Calvin - I can't believe she got that close to him.  Kim wouldn't stand closer to me than 10 feet!

The next day we spent a little time at the park before we all had to drive back home and back to the normal life.  You can tell we didn't have much surplus energy - we found the shade and SAT!

All in all - it was a great weekend.  Thanks to BJ and Kiki for making the long drive from Vegas and for finishing strong!  Thanks to the kids for being so fun and enjoyable.  Thanks to Becky for taking the pictures.  Thanks to Kim for watching the kids and cheering us on!  Thanks to Calvin for being the instigator for our participation - starting in May and continuing on!

There's another BIG ROCK TRIATHLON in May of 2010 - anyone interested??