Sunday, March 04, 2007

Why Not Tri ?

I woke up to gray skies and rain this morning. Instead of sleeping in and curling up in bed I opted to participate in a mini triathlon this morning. I think it’s the last race before Xterra comes to Saipan. I headed out to meet up with Ken & Crystal at 6:45 am. We met all the other race competitors at Pau Pau Beach for registration and briefing. Brad was also there.

This morning was the first time I felt really cold in Saipan. It was windy and rainy. Standing in the rain and getting soaked almost made me regret waking up so early. But that all changed when I met the other race competitors! I really dig their energy at 7 am. It just feels good to be around active people who are really passionate about competition and sports. I also think they’re pretty hardcore especially since the weather was crappy. Rain or shine the race is still on.



I think the highlight before the race was that I met a guy named Louie (Hi Louie!) who read my “it’s gross, neh!” blog entry about flossing. As I passed him he said, “I’ve been flossing ever since I read your blog entry!” =) You don’t know how happy that makes me feel! That I could actually have some impact on someone! I was laughing and was kind of surprised he knew me from my blog. I just never thought meeting people online could be so amazing!



Ken is quite the athlete and did the whole race on his own. Crystal and I formed a three- man team with Dr. “B”. Crystal swam a couple of laps around the dock at Pau Pau Beach. It looked like a tough swim because they were swimming against the current. She did really well and kept up with the guys. During the first lap a couple of guys were horse playing around the dock. They stood up and did a dolphin dive in the middle of the race. I believe Brad in Paradise was one of them.

After the swim, they had a chicken dance content to see which biker would get a thirty second lead from all the rest! Russ from the Mariana’s eye institute won and as he was jetting away in his bike he had this mad funny laugh like he was saying see ya suckers! I was laughing at him! They biked from Pau Pau Beach towards the grotto to Bird Island. After he came up the hill he tagged me and off I went into the jungle.



I did the Laderan Tangke Trail run. Keep in mind this is the first time I have ever ran a trail. It was pretty challenging for me! It was rainy and all the stones were slippery. I was scrambling in the jungle climbing over rocks, branches, and hills trying to follow the flour marks on the ground. I was trying my best not to wipe out or twist an ankle. What a workout! Though I might have strained my knee I was just happy I finished the trail run. Its set! I want to train for the Xterra tri next year. This year would be too soon=)

Thanks Crystal for the pics!

6 comments:

CNMI Blogger said...

GO, BEV, GO!

Brad Ruszala said...

Way to go, girlie! I was so surprised to see you out there yesterday. I'm like "Why is Bev here n' suff?" That was like for only a second or two because I was more like "Why is it so freakin cold?" and "Whoa, look at that wave!"
Hope you come out to do more races in the future. XTERRA is like a week and a half away (OMG) and then it's Tagaman and soccer against Guam a week later. What a schedule.
As for trail running, there's plenty to do on Saipan. You should SO TRY THE HASH!!!!
Every Saturday at the Bank of Guam in Garapan at 3:30pm. It's $10 and will give you a lot of fun on a Saturday.
Don't worry, they're tame enough for you. Check it out.


PS-and yes, that was me on top of the rock by Nikko Hoteru.

Bev said...

thanks guys for cheering me on=)

Lewie Tenorio said...

Looks like someone's been bit. Why not do the xterra sport race as part of a team? You won't need a year's training to do the 5k run, and with swimmers and bikers out there also looking to hook up, it shouldn't be too hard to get a team together. It'll be a great experience and you'll have a taste of what a tri event at that level is all about.

Bev said...

lewie, sounds like a great idea. I'd do anything for an xterra tshirt=) But I'll probably try for tagaman instead. I'll be in Guam the weekend of Xterra. Good luck!!=)

Sean said...

I'm so doing this race next year! If I hadn't been in Managaha I would have done it for sure.

I saw some familiar names and faces in your blog, including my man Russ Quinn.

Cool!