Go Big Blue!

Last Saturday I had a literal adventure, the Tahoe Big Blue Adventure that is. It was a team event that involved kayaking, running, mountain biking, and a series of "challenges." Our team name was Pink Insomnia and we rocked it!


It was definately more of an adventure due to the weather. It decided to rain and the temperature dropped to about 40 degrees. Liz's parents came, and her mom took tons of pictures so I will give you a play by play.

Liz was excited to kayak, I on the otherhand was a little nervous. Inflatable rafts are not very reliable let alone easy to navigate.

I wasn't too worried because we had a least practiced kayaking together once. Yes, once. So after discussing our route

we were off!

Any form of kayaking skills we had acquired before the race were not applicable in an inflatable raft, it was extremely frustrating. And sadly we were the final group in from this event.
But our first transition was so quick, it must have been due to the triathlon experience we both now possess. Wet feet + socks = difficult.

Running doesn't seem that difficult, but when you add a backpack, extra shoes, bike repair gear, helmet and not mention all the water you need, it can really slow you down.


We ran from the beach to the highway all the way a location 1.5 miles away where our bikes were located.

I was excited for the mountain bike leg, it was my favorite part. Leaving our bikes out in the cold, wet rain didn't make the ride any easier. Liz totally rocked the mountain on "Hey there little tomato" and I didn't fall once on my fatty bike "Thor."


I recommend that everyone add clip pedals to their bike, it will change the way you ride entirely!

Throughout these two legs of the race we happened to pass numerous teams. In my mind I was thinking we were done, Liz the brains of the operation was worried about another checkpoint.



My big grin quickly faded when I realized we had another checkpoint, Liz being a Tahoe native already knew the answer but we had to go anyways.

We frantically ran to the bridge looking for the answer to the challenge, people thought I was nuts running around in spandex on the Fanny bridge. Liz with her great sense of direction found the answer before me and we bolted back.

To our surprise we were not done yet, again. We had to kayak once more, I was not excited at all due to the previous frustrating experience I had. On our second round we were awesome and rocked the boat, literally.


And after 3 and half hours we FINISHED!!!


On an adrenalin rush I am sure.


One of the best adventures of my life. It will be a hard one to beat.

My cheering section!

Pyramid Lake.

Seriously once you start you can't stop. So after weeks of rigorous training, the day finally came. The day of my first sprint triathlon. Thanks to Shawn I had a decent bike to ride. I was extremely nervous the night before, but due to planning and butterflies I got to the race early and set up my tiny transition area.

The swimming leg was the part I was worried about most. I am not the best swimmer, partly due to the fact that I grew up in a desert. The only open water we had was Lake Mead, if that can be considered water.

Michael was in the race as well. After talking for a bit, the guys were off. The women left in the second wave.

That little orange buoy in the background was just the first one.

After floating in Pyramid Lake's black salt water I was out. Baywatch action right here.
Then my favorite part of the race was next, the bike leg.

I was easy to spot in my bright pink jersey. I ended up passing 11 people on the bike and could only hope to keep it up during the run.

This had to be the hardest part for me, my calves were on fire! But I did it with a consistant pace and everything.

And then I finished and under two hours, which was my goal! Well and not to be last, but I think that is everyones. Overall it consisted of a half mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run.

Seriously if you are thinking about doing a triathlon I highly recommend it. It will be one of the best accomplishments you have ever worked for.
Oh and make sure to bring friends who will cheer you on.