Tagged - I'm it!!

Devon is playing a game of blogger tag and she tagged me. So, I'll attempt to answer these, though it's very clear that this is for runners, so I'll adapt it for triathletes and it'll be like telephone-tag! The original words will be in [brackets]. :)


1. 2007's most memorable moment on the road [trail]...
It came down to the day we did 125 miles and the day I conquered my fear of riding my road bike on dirt. Still, I'm going with the latter. It was an amazing day in many regards - we rode up Sweetwater, the steepest climb I'd ever done up to that point (though that was trumped by the Geysers on the 125 mile bike ride - there was a part that had to have been at least 18%, maybe 20%) and I did it with a double chain ring. The ride itself was truly magnificent and we went from the redwoods out to the coast and back. I nearly turned in early because I knew that there would be about 8 miles of dirt road to ride on, much of it uphill. The idea of riding my road bike on dirt just freaked me out to the point of wussing out. But Tim wouldn't let me, and after 8-10 miles of it - I was just fine. You never forget those days you finally push your limits and re-set them even higher.

2. Best new trail I discovered in 2007...
This is tough. I could have inserted road, but I'm actually going to go with a running trail on this one. Running through Joaquin Miller Park up in the Oakland Hills was really awesome and there are so many different trails you can take. It's truly an inspiring journey and one that I already kind of miss!


3. My best performance of the year...
Big Kahuna. :) Just...one incredible race that I continue to think about. Even though I know my legs could have done even better if I hadn't done that 125 mile bike ride only 7 days before, it was just a fantastic performance. I still remember how awful I felt at mile 6.75 on the run and thinking I was done. Then accepting it and dealing with it...and finally overcoming it to have my best 13.1 mile run ever and knowing that sub-5 hours is indeed possible...nothing could ever replace that feeling.

4. I don't know how I previously survived without...
This is a tie:

Clif Shot Blocks!!!!! They're AMAZING! Sorry Gu, but you've got nothing on Shot Blocks. For me, they're an instant pick-me-up.

Kinesys SunBlock! Also an incredible product. After all that swimming and sweating on the bike, it still manages to stay put during the run and the only times I get sunburned is if I miss a spot. I don't know what they did to come up with their formula, but man...it is worth GOLD. Thank you, Jeff Kletter, for supporting the Lombardi Sports Triathlon Team with your FANTASTIC product!!


5. The person I would most like to meet on the road [trail] in 2008...
Levi Leipheimer. I know that's not running or tri-related, but Levi lives in Santa Rosa and you just never know when we both might be out for a spin at the same time! That would be so awesome. I'd beg to stay on his wheel just for a couple of miles...

And passing along the love.... tag, you are it... Paul! Sadly, I don't have a lot of other blog buddies because while I love to read everybody's blogs, I just don't have a lot of time to keep up with all of it. The other person I was going to tag (Donald) whose blog I love to read has already been tagged!

More updates to come...