our neighbor's bougainvillea...

Posted by Pedro

one of our jungle orchids going off!

Posted by Pedro

it was a beautiful day and liz and i both managed a beautiful race! here's the quick summary:
my swim was about at the pace i anticipated (1.8km in just over 43 minutes), but liz exceeded expectations by coming in only about 3 minutes after me and surprising me at the transition zone while i was getting ready to start the bike leg! she gained on me on the bike leg, finishing the 55km in 2hrs10minutes (2 minutes faster than me!). again we overlapped in the transition zone. then she breathed down my neck the entire run course (which is her strength and my weakness). because the run course had numerous switchbacks, liz and i passed each other repeatedly going opposite directions, and with each pass i could tell she was gaining... i had to pee like crazy but i didn't stop because i knew if i did, liz would catch me and breeze on by and i'd be watching number 328 disappearing in the distance. this was an extra incentive for me (as i have always said, i run best when i am chased). in the last hundred yards or so i looked over my shoulder and there she was about 20-30 yards back. so i cheered her on and, with a final burst of energy, she caught up with me and we crossed the finish line hand-in-hand (and with the exact same time- 4:17:24)! liz came in 13th out of 19 finishers in her age group (amateur women's 30-34), and i came in 58th out of 76 finishers in my category (amateur men's 30-34). liz came in 330 out of 467 finishers (out of almost 600 participants), and i came in 329 (which, amazingly, was also my bib number!)

Posted by Pedro