1,2,3 strikes your out?

so i had heard about flats.  i had even seen some on the side of the road.  the defeated look on the bikers face of annoyance mixed with just enough persistence to finish the day's scheduled ride.  or race.

we set out early at 7 am.  it was going to be a hot one.  sunny and close to 100.  unlike my east coast friends battling irene, makes me wonder how i'd train in philadelphia for these things?

 the first one was on the way up, the second was in between and the third was downhill.  i was frustrated by the third one and my east coast lady like personality was alive and in living color.  i really was more mad because flying down that hill is my favorite part of the entire ride and halfway down the third flat on a 45 mile ride reared its ugly head.  lucky for me i have a very patient riding partner who not only holds me accountable for these rides but changes my flats, gives me dating advice, provides me with post ride refreshments when i run out of water and listens to me talk pretty much the entire ride!  for those that know me yes,  he is being nominated for saint hood. either way, it was a good lesson in always riding with a group or with a partner.  just another rule i usually don't follow.

today, sans weekend of a long hill run and 45 mile La Tuna Canyon ride, even with flats i took it easy at the gym.    so i did sprint work via treadmill.  i got up to 11.0 for the first time ever and when i hopped off a guy asked me if i ran track and field, when i replied no, he said you should.   flattered, i was indeed.  more because he thought i was young enough to run track and field still!   and no i did not get his number, he was an old man (hence the track and field reference)  but i'll take it regardless.

the space in between

alright so i realize its been a while.  posts used to be weekly maybe biweekly but never over a month in between.  for those following, all two of you,  i apologize for the delay.  my excuse?  life.

on august 6, my family welcomed a new baby girl, Margaret Kathleen Gomez - "Maggie" into the world. my sister, brave and strong battled a very unexpected and very scary week post little maggie.  never a dull moment in our family and baby and mommy are now at home recovering. 

my nephew, Dangiso, continues to inspire, entertain and amaze us with his athletic abilities.  we are already interviewing potential college teams for ping pong, tennis, soccer, swimming, and baseball and its only a matter of time before he beats me out of being the only ironman in the family. 


i'm trying my best in between to keep up with training and hitting the gym.  my bike seems to be taking the biggest hit this time around, interestingly enough.  for imsg i thought of every excuse to skip the swim and  for cozumel its the bike.  cross training is covered thanks to p90x yoga and my friend heather who introduced to the world of tabata.  just the word itself sounds painful and i can assure you it is. 

the next few months are sure to fly by as quick as the last and before i know it, i'll be sitting seaside with the other gnomies in Cozumel, Mexico with ironman numero dos under my belt.  (God willing) 

i'm looking forward to the month of november as its a full one.   NYC marathon (11/6) , Big Sur half (11/20) and Ironman Cozumel (11/28) .......like i said before.....never a dull moment.