The Lava Report

They claim it : "The toughest 48 hours in sports". For us it was 32 hours and 59 minutes to the finish line and first place. Brutal. Difficult. Demanding physically and even more so mentally. It's done. Over. The girls rocked. Jodi went down hard on the pavement. As in cracked helmet-hard. It looked bad. Very scarey. She got up dusted herself off and hammered away. Kevin Unck and his angels from above were watching over us this weekend. On more than one occasion..................
             Huge thanks to Robert Little, John Holderness whom both crewed for us. Two outstanding human beings, athletes AND support crew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Corey big shout thank you for the tremendous help. Could never have done it without any of you.
        And again: Great job Sherry, Jodi and Liesel.  Simply amazing.

We promised over the top again. Okay last clinic set the bar high. But this one will set it higher!!! For all you pre- registered you should have received instructions and clinic format by now. Reg is closed. If you did not receive it contact me pronto.
      The ride is long. The climbing longer. La Verne to Crystal Lake and back. 60 miles. Elevation tops out near 7500'. The Hammer Nutrition talk/ product bag distribution will be right when and where it should be: Before we begin the ride. This will be approximately 30 minutes. After we return from the ride and take our "Hammer Break" and will  then bust out 10 miles of San Gabriel Mountains trail running.(about 4K elevation gain). Again: Bring your Garmins and heart rate monitors. There will be a half distance and those of you are in the "B" group. All of this info is included in your instructions sent.

    And you can't forget the TikiSwim to be held in Oceanside in which we conquer the following day. (www.tikiswim.com) You have the choice of two distances: 1.2 mile or 2.4 miles. So far the majority in our clinic are signed up for the 2.4 miler.

Wow. Furnace Creek 508 just a few weeks away!! Mojave desert, Death Valley, 10 mountain passes, over 36000' elevation gain, Amboy, Kelso, Baker, Twentynine Palms. They call this race "The Toughest 48 hours of Sport".
        I just dug up a couple of buried away photo's. The street sign? Kelbaker road. Right smack out in the middle of no mans land. It is thee the 508 course but backwards. I have ridden it several times on our epic Palm Springs to Baker ride. Typically myself and at most three others. The roads are desolate. The roads are rough. The scenery is off the charts. The traffic was always minimal. There are long big climbs and long descents. I have only ridden it going the opposite direction of the upcoming FC 508 race. I have never ridden it in the pitch black dark of the desert night. But that is soon to change..............................

First and foremost: Congratulations Carlos Solis for your accomplishment on finishing your much hard -trained -for Malibu Triathlon held yesterday. You not only finished it. You rocked it. It was an absolute honor and pleasure working with you these past 6 months. You my friend deserve 99% of the credit. I will take .05% and give the other .05% to CNN FitNation and their team. That being said and it is done and over, you are an amazing man.  Continue to share your message.
         It is now time for us to continue on with our own personal goals. Furnace Creek 508 mile bike race coming up in a few weeks. Pic here is Liesel Lemay. Widow of much respected and much missed Kevin Unk. My sister Sherry, wife Jodi, and good friend Liesel and myself are racing in Kevin's honor. Have dedicated our efforts to his foundation and lasting memory. He was one amazing man himself. Sure his cycling talent was off the charts. But his character even more.
         This race has/had several hundred teams which all had to send in a tedious application. Many or most got turned down. We did not. It is listed as  one of the most difficult races on the planet. 508 non stop miles, through huge mountain ranges (35k' of elevation gain) Death Valley in the heat of day  and no sleep and that makes sense. We have all trained hard. There is a lot involved in such an activity. I am used to tossing my gear in a bag the night before a competition, get up in a.m. and jump into the water 2 minutes before the gun goes off. Not this one.  Whole different ball game.......and we are looking forward to it.

It was only 6 months ago CNN contacted myself inquiring if I would be interested in training an individual for the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. A race that will be held this Sunday. Yes Carlos Solis, a once overweight, hypertensive and type 2 diabetic is ready and will be competing along with 6 other CNN Team FitNation athletes from around the country this weekend.
         Carlos is ready. He will accomplish this. And he will then continue on with his new healthier lifestyle. Sharing his message. Being an example. He is one awesome individual. Good luck Carlos and all the CNN FitNation team this Sunday. See you at the party Sunday night!

Xterra Worlds coming up fast. Heck these past dozen years went fast! Speaking of fast. Fast is fun. I like being fit to go fast. I like training hard to go fast. As does Jodi. So looking forward to it. Sure several hundred other fit, fast and hungry competitors from dozens of other countries will be in attendance. That just makes it all the funner. Train hard. Go fast.