http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbRn1mRGpEM I was so excited to be competing in the Ironman World Championship in 2009.  However, the day did not go quite as I had envisioned.  I thought for sure I would finish one way or another, but that was not to be.  I was heartbroken.   As time passed, I came to understand that my attempt to finish actually inspired many people.  And that maybe trying and trying to finish was perhaps a better result than just finishing.  How…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SS_zonQW-w Not much has changed in the 4 years since I was training for the Ironman World Championship.  I still swim, run, and bike and strength training continues to be an important part of my regimen.  I’ve now included more frequent massage, use a foam roller and incorporate more stretching.   Nutrition and supplementation play a bigger role than they did back then.  I better understand how important good nutrition and hydration are to my health and better performance.  I…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBoRiZV1HCY I continue my journey on the way back to competing at the Ironman World Championship.  As you may know, I qualified at Ironman Hawaii 70.3 in 2009 when the first Hawaii finishers in each age group got an invitation.  As you may also know, this resulted in a memorable experience at the World Championship.   After I qualified at Honu, I was asked by Jaime Ubongen if I would be interested in being featured in a television program that…

When little Isabel sang at the end of the service, that was it for me.  The tears I had held at bay throughout the ceremony, even when her mom Ui and her hula halau performed a spiritually beautiful hula, couldn’t be held any longer.  Today, Isabel and many, many friends and family said goodbye to her loving dad, Eduardo Pires Torres de Sa. The chapel was packed and overflowing, and I recognized many of the people I have met and…

At the start of every Ironman is a swim.  For someone whose swim is their weakest event, it can be viewed as something to get through–to survive before the real racing begins.  I have experienced six Ironman mass starts so far and each of them has come with some degree of discomfort, confusion, dismay and even panic.  My worst experience was at 2011 Ironman France, in Nice on the famous French Riviera.  There was no issue with water temperature which…

Maybe there will be some things I share with you that will be interesting or helpful.  Maybe not.  You will decide that for yourself if you follow my blog that comes to life today. I will be writing about triathlon–what inspires me, what my training is like, my racing experiences, the products I use and the ups and downs I experience on this particular journey. I’ll also share my experiences in community service.  I have always believed it’s important to…

Ironman New Zealand is just about 10 days away.  I feel cautiously ready, until I really sit still and think about the length of the event.  I was sick with a stomach flu and then a chest cold for so long, I feel a bit deficient in my training.  And that sick spell affected my mental state too.  An example:  I was going to swim 4k this morning at Ala Moana Beach Park to check out my fabulous Freak of…