DESERT TRIATHLON :: Palm Springs

What a lovely weekend! Perfect temps and conditions for a race. Low-key event offering a sprint as well as an Olympic distance. Not my first trip to this race (or my last).... Below are Paul and I, putting our bikes together before heading to transition.

Here is Gary, before the race... and, Miss Rachel afterwards -- she took 2nd in her Age Group! Yeah, it hurts, but it's worth it... look at that SMILE??!

Our handsome buddies from SAN DIEGO made the trip. This event is a nice short trip for LA or SD athletes.

And, the highlight of the weekend was being part of SUMMER BONDs first TRIATHLON! She conquered her fears of the water and swam/biked and ran to complete her first official triathlon. What's next for this new racer...? Ironman?.... Danskin? ... ; ) You can see how happy Brian was to congratulate her... he even scheduled massages later the same day. Nice touch.

Paul, Sylvia and little Lucas were there to cheer us all on.

Congratulations to all finishers! Especially, our newbie, SUMMER!

Pics From Matt & Stina in D.C....

Just before Matt and Stina took their first NO-KIDS vacation to Puerto Rico, my Dad and Chris visited DC. I had already posted a few pics from their trip, but I had to put a few more up which I just got, they're so good!! Here is my Dad, reading a magazine to Mr. Finn -- don't you just LOVE this kid??!!

Below is the whole motley crew at the mall >> Stina holding Finn, Matt, Chris, and my Dad (Mike), holding Merete.

And... Matt & Stina in Puerto Rico! Matt surprised Stina and gave her this trip at Christmas time. Very cool.

Locks of Love

I finally did it... got rid of that crazy long hair I've had for a decade. Not sure what I'll do with this new mop, but it's an exciting personal change for me. I've donated my 10" ponytail (YES... TEN INCHES I took off today... ) to Locks of Love. Natasha at byu-ti in Santa Monica did the honors.
ABOUT LOL: Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. They meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics.

*Below is an image I took from their website showing before/after of the sort of hairpiece that may be made from my donation. It feels really good, and very lucky, that the hair I've held on to for so long can go to something like this!

Rage in the Sage :: Carly Raging for Charity

Carly Chamberlin raised $3,500 for Team in Training's Leukemia Lymphoma Society as part of their triathlon training program. Last night we went right over that mark with the help of Lisa Powers and Ye Olde Kings Head in Santa Monica.... offering Purple concoctions for our friends and patrons.... tips going to help Carly pass her fundraising mark. Below is TEAM CARLY, me, Carly & Lisa who dreamt up the Purple Beer party when sleep-deprived at our 6:15am YAS Spin Sessions!
The Lindners, always GAMERS, came out to support us (and watch the Clippers).

Jeanette and Robin were talked into joining for the fun. I had to drag them both away from their offices... but, we couldn't have such an event without them!

V and Damon brought their entire crew!

And, LA Tri Club, always happy to support the Team in Training program, generously provided the Swag for the patrons of the Purple Beer party. -- CARLY -- We can't wait for your RACE REPORT! Have fun racing SAGE in Vegas this weekend...

Sweating for a Purpose :: Women's Sports Foundation Spin-A-Thon

On Sunday, April 15th, YAS : Yoga And Spinning Center in Venice hosted a Spin-A-Thon for the Women's Sports Foundation. With approximately 50+ individuals raising $1k per bike (yeah... do that math...) for the three hour event, and bringing tons of excitement to the table doing so, it was a super-success AND a good time, which will not be soon forgotten.

Here is the room, packed to the gills... happy/sweaty spinners. As people took a break here or there, they danced up and town the isle to keep the energy high throughout the room.

And, did I forget to mention, we had OLYMPIC ATHLETES in attendance? Yep... I got to hold the GOLD!

The day was PERFECT... lots of breeze coming through the doors to keep our athletes cool.

Here are some of the AMAZING YAS instructors.. LORI, SHERRI and TASHA.

Afterwards, there were a few things to be said... and, congratulations all around. Special thanks to exercise guru, Kathy Smith, for taking part in the event!

I, for one, can't wait till NEXT YEAR!! Yes, it will be something we can look forward to in 2008.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington, D.C.

My Dad and his wife Chris had the best timing recently for their visit to DC to see my niece, Merete, and nephew, Finn... here they are on the Mall, taking in the day and enjoying their coffee and the company:

And, apparently, they hit the timing PERFECTLY to see the blossoms in full bloom! I've never seen it like this... I have always just missed this perfect timing. Just amazing! Below, Chris stands in front of a marvelous flowering tree.

Sea Otters, Sharks, Ray's - Oh My!
Behind the Scenes at the Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach

Chris Plante, generously took the Hekimian's and I behind the scenes to see what really makes the 5th largest such aquarium in the nation run smoothly. The first thing we did, and a highlight of the afternoon, was meeting the lovely sea otter named Summer. I took photos of her, but they didn't turn out so well, so I found this little guy and included him here for your viewing pleasure. We were allowed to feed her some tasty fish and squid. She was marvelous!
Then, we went and checked out the main 2-story high shark/fish exhibit from above. I love this pic here of Sylvia holding Lucas because it looks like little Lucas is afraid of becoming Shark Bait! Chris let us try to feed the sharks... but, they were not too interested. Apparently, they're very spoiled, and so not overly hungry to eat just anything and anytime.

The sharks at this aquarium are very happy, and they lay many eggs. Here is Chris showing us a shark egg & the shape inside is the tiny baby shark. There were several tiny hatched babies in some other tanks besides this egg tank where little 3-4" sharks were being kept while they grew. Very cute little guys, kinda reminded me of lizards.

Next we headed to the lab area where they do a lot of water testing and algae growing. It looked like a mad scientists lab! There were lots of tanks of brime shrimp in both size big and small, for the various varieties of sea life that the aquarium raises.

This whole visit was soooo interesting for me... another highlight was these Sea Horses. I've never SEEN so many! There seemed to be hundreds of them, a few varieties and a few tanks of them at various ages. Amazing little creatures... it's hard to capture them on film though.

Lastly -- here are a few of the older teenager sharks -- not yet old enough for the display tanks. These sure are lovely creatures!

Thanks a million Chris for the wonderful back-stage tour!