2008 Ironman World Champ - Craig Alexander
020209. Craig came and spoke at our first LA Tri Club meeting of the year. In short, I'm a fan. He's one of the most charming and humble pro's I've ever met. He gave props to his wife of 10-years and his little girl, who help him with his training by providing aid stations on his training routes.
He told us stories of his coming-up in the ranks, and, specifically about a race in France he entered, and was winning, until the local aid-stations withheld fuel, and he ended up bonking (they were pushing for their local to win).
The races all get more interesting as you get familiar with the players... and, I'll be on the edge of my seat watching and waiting to see who crosses first in 2009.
Here I am between Craig & Bob Babbitt:

Lots of members made the meeting... just shy of 200:

Laurie, Emma & Ray:

FongStrong.com

Endurance Sports Awards (ESAs)
013109. Competitor Magazine's annual Endurance Sports Awards... honoring the 2008 Athletes of the Year... Here are LA Tri Club board members + some of our members who made the trip to this special event:

Anna and Alan were honored on stage for being our tri club members of the year:

Here they are with other Tri Club Members of the Year >>

Before we went in for the presentations, we had the chance to play at Sea World San Diego... all the games, winning many stuffed animals!

Good times!! Such a fun event, each year...

LA Tri Club's Annual RIDE TO SAN DIEGO
013109. We were so thrilled to see over 130 members sign up for the annual ride to San Diego (Irvine Train station to San Diego + then train home). But... that meant, I'd have to drive sag, as would a few others, to provide support for the organized ride. It was totally FUN, but such a beautiful day, I missed being on my bike with everyone (until I saw the hills of La Jolla, let's be honest....). ; )
Here is a large part of the group, who made it all the way! >>

The LA Tri Club TriCHICKS were out in force for this ride. Here are a few of the strongest:

Along the way, I took some snaps. Here is part of the pack, which extended many miles:

Well done - ALL RIDERS!!

LA Tri Club 2008 YEP (Year End Party)
012409. Marriott, Marina del Rey... Over 175 members celebrated our USAT National Championship Club year. We looked back, said THANK YOU to many members for their contributions, and handed out the member awards.
Happily, Jabus flew in for the event! And, was able to celebrate and party with us! Here is he flanked by Deirdre and Kristen:

Me, Anna and Stella, hams for the camera:

The crew, getting down on the dance floor >>

Christmas 2008... On Christmas Day, Jabus flew in from Tulsa. We made a great dinner, with Jesse and Sarah over, and opened some gifts under the tree. Super low-key and tons of fun. After Sarah and Jess bailed, Jabus and I continued to open some santa gifts.... He had a HUGE surprise for me with one of the gifts, which was a book he created, titled, "The story of Jabus & Liz". It had photos from the past year, and all our trips, and fun captions under them. As I flipped through it, the last page had a photo of a wedding at the Ritz on Maui, and under it the caption read, "On Christmas Day 2008, Jabus asked Liz to Marry him. And, the story continues....". He then, presented me with an amazing engagement set! Totally caught me off guard!

We didn't take any photos that night, but... a few days later, on the 28th, I celebrated my 35th birthday. Jabus, again, over-delivered. I was dropped in Santa Monica for a spa day (amazing!), and then we headed over to The Huntly hotel where we had dinner plans with Paul and Sylvia. Little did I know, Jay had invited others to join us! Jen and Jeff as well as Dani. Here we are, just before heading to dinner:

After dinner, we decided to go accross down to raid our friend Stella's birthday party. As we walked into the bar/resturant, we were greeted by dozens more buddies, who began to sing happy birthday TO ME! So, a surprise for me, but Stella and I celebrated our birthdays with many buddies in tow, organized by Stella, and Jabus from Tulsa! And, Josh & Anna. Thanks everyone!! It was so awesome! The best birthday EVER.

A few days later, Jabus and I joined a photographer friend, Andre Andreev, to have a few snaps taken at the beach, commemorating our engagement. Here is one of our favorites:

What a holiday! I can't wait to unfold the days in 2009 with you, Jabus.