Mazatlan

As the Lemmon house / Edison brothers departed from Tucson to Mazatlan we could all feel an excited energy growing. Although things were quiet at 3am when we left the house, conversation built throughout the morning. By the time we were buckled in on our flight from LA to Mazatlan, the gentle murmer of "remember the time when. . . " had built to a steady roar of laughter. Everyone was stoked as were finally going down to race!

The laughter continued to grow through oversize baggage pickup, customs, and out of the airport to our shuttle bus. Then, as we began to drive through the state of Sinaloa, a quiet hush fell over our vehicle.

For that moment we all realized just how fortunate we are to be where we are, doing what we do, living our lives. As we drove through town and into a sheltered cove, our privileged lives began to stick out like a tall saguaro cactus, alone in the Arizona desert.

This is a good way to enter any new city before a racing, as it presents new valuable perspectives.

Other than one shallow dive through a wave, race preparations were quite smooth. Running was easy along the seawall, and swimming in a warm ocean is always favorable. We found a few good places to eat, and managed to avoid fruit and vegetables entirely while in Mexico.

Cycling was a challenge through the busy streets. One memory which will be forever etched in my mind was attempting to ride steady state with accelerations through downtown . . . wrong way up a one way, Andrew managing to accelerate with one hand held closely to the body, other hand on the bars navigating potholes.

Our key workouts before the race were in the water, learning to dive through swells and waves. This is hard to describe without sounding like a hyperbole. The waves were Big.

I like adventure and Big waves are an adventure. Any kind of new challenge, something fresh to work on, send it over. The more impossible it sounds, the better.

The Race

Race morning:
French Toast! (start time was 12:20pm)

The Juniors had early starts allowing us to check out their ride just before breakfast. Awesome work across the board! Our junior men showed some real toughness. Beyond tough, I'd say ultra tough. UT.
After being rocked like a rag doll in the swim, and a time trial bike effort, JP went for a 16:00 5K jog. That's what it's about.
The first time I saw Sharpie after the race he was covered in gauze. 1st out of T1! That's Right. You heard me. Two crashes on the bike. Are you kidding me? 16:34 Run split with a broken arm. Are you kidding me again? Heroic in the most heroic of ways.
Aaron raced with pneumonia. Enough said. Standing on the start line alone shows determination.

The Junior girls ran the Pan American show.
The Coates Combination hit some sweet numbers. Kyla, 1st Canadian out of the water and 3rd overall! Absolute awesomeness.
Alex dominated the bike. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Follow up with a smoking fast run. . . I do believe so!
Christine showed she is a force to be reckoned with. Nice one!
Sara-Ann Brault took the big win. There you have it. Wickedness.

Kerry had a huge race finishing 2nd in the U23 Women's division and 6th Overall. Definitely cool. Great work Kerry!

Jeff Symmonds of Penticton took the U23 victory and 7th overall. Great race dude man. Especially nice Run!

Andrew's race could be described as blistering. 1 dislocated finger 3 days prior, 3 broken spokes, a crash in T2, and anyone's fare share of road rash embodies the phrase, "What doesn't kill you just make you stronger." Look out, because with this much strength to burn off, A-Russ will either be picking up dump trucks single handedly or leading the next race wire to wire.

Scotty had a smoking fast swim. 4th out of the water at PanAm's! Chalk that one up there buddy. That's definitely something to throw in the back pocket. Unfortunately, Crush succumb to a few mechanical issues leaving Scotty charriotless. Watch out, because now he's fired up.

I raced too and had fun.

Time for lunch. Rest well.