my very first triathlon

i had to end saturday night a little earlier than i wanted to, but as i told all of you i had a race to prepare for the next morning. my sunday morning started at about 630am. i woke up, got ready, made sure all my stuff was ready to go. woke phil up on the couch b/c his night was much longer than mine...janice, he blames it on you...lol! we got the car packed and we were off to treasure island for my very first triathlon.

we got there and i signed in. coach elaine got my transition area ready for me and shortly after i had to put my wetsuit on to get ready to start. we had to swim 1 mile in the water (yes the ocean and yes it was COLD), 4 laps in the area they had set for us. i only did 3, but a lot of people only did 3 and some had to get carried in by the kayaks. the we did 25 miles on the bike, 6 laps on the course they had for us, then off to running 6 miles. i finished in 4 hours and 37 minutes. i don't know how good that is, but i know i didn't finish very last and i'm sooo happy i actually did my very first triathlon.

phil, thanks for standing there in the cold rain, waiting for me to finish and thanks for taking pictures.

this triathlon is actually in honor of one of Team in Trainings finest Louie Bonpua. Watch the video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq-xBHdnHLE

bowling fundraiser

i want to say THANK YOU to everyone who came out to support me. i had a REALLY good turn out and it looks like all of you had a really good time. i would say this was a SUCCESS and it's thanks to all of you. Also, thank you to those of you that extended the invite to all of your friends and for the ones that came out to simply support. the support and love is what got me through my triathlon on sunday.

Special thanks to Janice for helping me plan, Mish and Che for running around with me, DjPhillyPhil and DjToneDef for providing music. And, A VERY BIG THANK YOU to KeithO for providing me with a wonderful venue and package for my fundraiser.

i didn't get to take many pictures b/c i was so busy running around, most of these are from my sister but here is what i have:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mel.lopez28/Fundraiser

training January 30

so last night was a swimming day. (THANKS MARIE for always letting me into your pool)

some of you know that i had to stop my training for a bit a while back b/c i had an upper respiratory infection and an ear infection. i got better but still had the ear infection so i had to stop my swimming for even longer. well since then i felt like i was at square one AGAIN, and felt like all my progress in the pool was gone and i've been really bummed.

BUT, last night i swam a total of 64 laps in a 25 meter pool and as i went through the drills i felt stronger and stronger. not as strong as when i left off before i got the ear infection, but at least i can feel the progression again. =)

big change

if you know me quite well, you know i've always been a very busy bee. ever since i was young, i've always had some sort of extra curricular activity going on in my life. as a child i took tap, piano, karate, ori (tahitian dancing), was the captain of the lettergirl team..and the list goes on believe me. in high school, cheer took over my life. once i finished college and started working, i started with 2 jobs. CRAZY!!! i know!

the part time jobs have since changed and i took on a very big challange. i am currently working my full-time job at oracle and am a part-time manager at levi strauss signature, but the cherry on top is i am training for an IRONMAN TRIATHLON. (read about it below)

due to many different reasons and to keep my sanity, i've decided to quit my part-time job. i can now fully commit to my training and am excited to finally be able to enjoy and get to know the others training with me. and i'm sure everyone (esp those i don't see often enough) is as happy as i am that i can finally schedule dinner without having to wait on a schedule. =)

so even though i will be busy with my training...i will FINALLY have some free time to spend with those i miss...WOO HOO!

Training January 16: Running Marker

last night i had to do a running marker, see how many laps i could finish in 30 min. i did a 1/2 mile warm up and ran 9.75 laps in 30 min. and then ran another 1/2 mile for a cool down. so i did a total of 3.5 miles last night.

RIP VEE, you will truely be missed

On December 3rd, my friend Veronica Ruiz was reported missing. Only after two days of searching, the Mill Valley police ended their search. Her family continued to the search effort by assigning trails to those of us who were will to help. (Jaime and Tiki thank you for leading our trail.) Her family even sought help from famous psychic Jeff Baker. Finally, the Marin County Sherff's Department's search and rescue team was able to find her on January 13.

My thoughts: Although I am deeply saddened by the loss, I am thankful for the closure that everyone now has. I only wish the Mill Valley police department would have been more thorough in their search, as this closure could've come much sooner. My condolensces to her family and those who were close to her.

Training January 15

today i took a swim and had to do a swim marker. i had to see how far or how many laps i could swim in 30 mins. the pool at work is a 25 meter pool and i swam 32 laps (800 meters) in exactly 30 min 15 sec. woo hoo! i don't know if that's good, but i'm happy.

Training January 13

yesterday, i had a chance to baptize my wetsuit in THE BAY at aquatic park in san francisco. yes, IT WAS FREEZING! coaches say the water was about 50 degrees. we had to acclimate to the water little by little. first, we put just our feet in and stayed there until we basically lost the feeling. and then we did the same for our hands. (i think that was worse!) then we had to get our faces in the cold water, that wasn't as bad as i would think. so then we started our swimming...i was fine at first, but then we started swimming against the waves. let me just tell you the worst is when you are breathing and water from the waves or the person swimming near your gets in your mouth. it was hard for me to recover after that. the salt water just seemed to hit the back of my throat and stay there, no matter how much i tried to spit it out. YUCKKKK!!! so we stayed in the water for about 40 mins total. and then it was off to the presidio to run for an hour.

enjoy the pictures! i'm the one all the way to the left in the group shot.please be nice, my wetsuit is not very flattering...lol.

THANK YOU!!!

i wanted to send a special THANKS to everyone that has helped me fundraise so far. Thank You to those of you who have been generous enough to donate money and kind enough to donate your time, especially those who have contributied in each way.

here is a break down of what we currently have from the fundraisers, i've done:

chevy's: tbd
barnes and noble gift wrap: $170
insiderpages.com: $549 (thanks to jill, janice, nicole, phil, gus, gizelle, and kimya)

i currently have $2274, 22% to my goal of $10,000.

I also have a fundraiser coming up on Saturday, January 26th @ Classic Bowl in Daly City. Cost is $20/person (including shoes) to bowl for 2 hours. We will also be holding a raffle. Raffle tickets can be won or bought for $1 each. Please arrive by 7pm. If you choose to stay the festivities will continue at the bar, Club KO. Music will be provided by DJPhillyPhil and DJToneDef of JunkYardSound.

Raffle prizes have been donated by:
Elephant Bar
Levi Strauss Signature
Starbucks
Luminous Day Spa
...and more...

starting point

i know i should've started this a long time ago, but i'm starting now b/c even more than before i am soooooo MIA! most of you know why, and if you don't, you try having a full time job, a part-time job, and trying to keep up with a 6 day workout schedule. if you don't already know i'm currently training for an IronMan. i'll be doing a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run and i have to finish in 17 hours.



find out why: http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/MLopez