License Plate of the Day

Empty Gym, Thank You Summer Vacation

Corvette Parking Only

At work we now have designated Corvette parking spaces. They are marked by the Badboy Vettes logo spray painted on the ground.

Redondo Beach Triathlon 2009

After making an appearance at the 2007 Redondo Beach Triathlon I got another chance at it in 2009. Once again I teamed up with Scott Webb as a relay. He did the whole bike, run thing while I just swam. I don't do triathlons myself because the biking thing involves too much equipment that I don't want to deal with. The swim was 1/2 mile along the beach south of King Harbor in Redondo. The weather was great for the race, the sun even came out early for a typical June morning. The water temperature was also very comfortable after swimming in Huntington Beach with no wetsuit. I kicked off the swim with a nice 6 minute lead and Scott finished it up with a strong win in the relay group.

I like triathlon swims because the crowd just kind of meanders into the water. It isn't the elbow flying fight to the death to get to the first buoy that is open water swimming. Plus it is the only time I can legally wear a wetsuit for a race. Although, if I was a pro triathlete that comfort would go away.

I was a bit surprised with my swim being the second day of competing in one weekend for the first time since shoulder surgery. During my warm up the shoulder was feeling rather tired, but the water temperature and the wetsuit kept me warm and comfortable. The shoulder loosened right up by halfway through the swim. The shoulder still has some time to go to get strong again, but my speed is still there. I just pay for it with a lot of soreness later.

Huntington Beach Pier Swim

This morning I headed a few miles down the beach to Huntington Beach for the 59th Annual Pier Swim. This was my first swimming of the pier as during previous years I was a wuss about the cold. However, after a couple years of ocean swimming in Southern California I have gotten pretty acclimated to cold water. I was informed that the water temperature this morning was 65 degrees. Once I was wet there was really no thought about the water temperature, after all it didn't cause my pinky toes to freeze.

Laid out on Google Maps the swim equates to about 1/2 mile. It was my first official competition back after having shoulder surgery last September. The shoulder still gets sore during distance swims, but I push through it. It doesn't weaken however, which is key. There was a strong current pulling everyone into the pier during the return leg of the race. Getting pounded by a wave was a sure way to end up close to the pier footings. I caught a couple good waves, then got pummeled by one and had to get back out from the shadow of the pier. I guess I ended up 1st or 2nd for females in the end. I didn't stick around to see the results because my 2 hour parking meter used up all my change and expired well before everyone finished.