I was in San Francisco Last weekend to do the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. I had been Excited about the event and felt I was well prepared. The weeks leading up to the event I had done Bay to Breakers+ bonus (15K) and the Armed Forces 1/2 Marathon in Concord (12K option) the week before I did The Herbalife 24 L.A. Triathlon (Olympic). So after three events in a row my and training my immunity was probably Challenged. Combine that with the 5 year old kid who plopped down next to me at the gate in LAX and started hacking and sneezing and low a behold I came down with a cold mid-week. By the time I got into S.F. for Alcatraz registration I was on the downslope of the cold but it was in the cough stage. Sat. night as I tried to sleep I was into a heavy coughing cycle and every time I breathed in a deep breath my throat tickled and I started to cough again.. Considering the possibilities I decided that the middle of the Bay while swimming and breathing heavily which I assumed would create undesired coughing it would be best if I scratched. It was a hard decision and I wan't sure If I was afraid, lazy? all negative input my inner voice sometime feeds me. I determined that since I do this for fun the potential benefits were not worth the potential risk. I am going to scale back my competition schedule next year and will circle Alcatraz. It was a beautiful calm sunny day on the Bay and was perfect weather. I can only hope for the same next week. Otherwise as an Aging Athlete I think its important that we keep our limitations in mind. Not barriers put up by negative inner voices but real limitations associated with who and what we are. Shawn

I did the Herbal Life 24 L.A. Triathlon this morning. Matched my time from earlier this year at Discovery Bay but the course was tougher. I got a good night’s sleep and only woke up a couple of times the last being 2:15, the wake-up call at 4 O’clock was a little jarring. I flew in yesterday and appropriately for June 1^st L.A. was covered in fog, June gloom. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before that I am not a morning person so early this morning the inner gremlins were talking smack in my head “what the heck are you doing?” “I bet you’re going to be cold in this sleeveless wetsuit”. Luckily, I was able to ignore the negative talk and just embraced gratitude for the ability to do what I was about to do. The water temp didn’t bother me at all. The reported temp was 66 degrees but according to the race director it was 62, it felt like 66. The swim was fun and like bike was cool. There were a couple small hills but when do you get to ride your bike on the likes of Venice Blvd., La Brea Blvd, Olympic Blvd. by USC, Figueroa and Wilshire with no traffic whatsoever? I’m not a big fan of the loop courses which this one the run leg is 2 laps. Of course, my gremlins were back telling me to bail out on the Olympic 10K distance and just quit at the sprint 5K. Again, I ignored the gremlins and did the full course. I bought the V.I.P. upgrade for $99 and that included a post-race meal at Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant (that looks funny spelled out “Wolfgang Puck”) It also included a post-race leg massage (by a male masseuse) and then I took the shuttle back to the start at Venice Beach. The race was well organized, and I would recommend it and will probably do it again, did I mention it is the USAT Western Regional? The room I am in at the LAX South Travelodge serves its purpose, bed, shower, T.V., I would not recommend it for the family. The rest of the day is about car racing and the Basketball finals game later. The best thing about the room is the free shuttle to nearby LAX which I will utilize in the morning and fly home.