Old School

This picture is about 4 years old, but I really like it. From the left is Dustin, Me, my brother and Jay. It was taken at a friends wedding on New Years Eve.

Swim Buddy Experience-Encinitas Triathlon

Hey Everyone,

On Sunday (5.20.07) I volunteered to be a swim buddy for the Encinitas Triathlon. Swim Buddy's are people that swim with participants of the race in order to make them feel comfortable with the water. You would think that people doing triathlons are good swimmers, but alot of them do their training in a pool. When it comes to a beach(starting on shore and running into the water) or wet start (starting a race while in the water), people can freak out. Some of these people have never swam in the ocean while others just do not do well while knowing that the bottom is not close. Either way, Swim Buddy's just hang out and wait for people to ask for you. When you swim with someone you just kind of keep by them and make sure they are okay. Normally, these people need you at first but usually end up being fine and before you know it, they are gone! Mission Accomplished.

Well on to my story.. Taunya and I showed up around 6am and they gave me a pen and told me that I needed to go and do body marking। This means that I would go to the transition area (where everyone stores their bikes, run gear, etc.) yell out "body marking here". When I started to do this, people started showing up all over the place. There were like 4 other people doing this but with over 1000 athletes, I was busy. I was writing race numbers on both shoulders and ages on the left calf of people. There were alot of first timers there and you could tell when they would walk over to me with their all of the clothes on. I then would tell then I need your shoulders and left calf. They would disrobe accordingly. Some of them looked so nervous. I told them "don't worry when the cannon goes off, you will be fine." Like I am now a pro or something.ha ha ha

Well now it was on to the swimming part. Once down there it was complete chaos. After standing around someone shouted "I need a swim buddy over here!" I put my hand in the air and ran over there. As I looked down, there was a young woman in a wheelchair. The woman holding the chair behind her said, "This is erica, what is your name?" I said hi, I am Dom. I looked at this young woman in a wetsuit shivering there and said "Hi Erica, I am Dom, how are you doing?" She looked up at me and said," I am fine but it looks big out there". I said "Yes it does, but we are going to be just fine, so don't you worry." I was shocked. The bar was just raised for me. What Erica was referring to was that the waves on the beach were 2-4 feet with some occasional 5 foot waves with a strong current. The conditions really could not of been worse. Especially for challenged athletes who don't have the use of their legs.

While sitting there with Erica she mentioned that this would be her second time in the ocean. I freaked a little in my head, but I said to her "No problem, Once you find your stroke, you will be just fine. Don't worry. I will be with you the whole way". She looked up at me and I could tell that she was feeling better already. She mentioned that she surfed before "the accident", but that was really it. I did not want to ask about the accident, so I just let it be. I was and am still very curious. Soon the time came for her heat to start. Since the current was pulling everyone south of the course, we headed North up the beach to accommodate for the strong rip current that I mentioned earlier.

As we entered the water we began to move slowly. I had my goggles and lost them because of the powerful surf. There were so many lifeguards on longboards and Jet ski's saving people it was ridiculous. One would think that these triathletes would know how to swim, but most of them never swim out in the surf. They are usually in the pool or the swim at the La Jolla cove which really has no waves like this. I did the race in 2006 and the swim was long and rough, but this year it was flat out brutal. We began moving and the waves began to come in. I was with another guy that was from CAF and was hanging out with us during the race. He was there for support. As we began to take on the waves, we began to move south with the current. I am a strong swimmer and I love being in the ocean. Its very relaxing and I truly enjoy it. The current did not bother me at all, but it was strong. With big waves you want to dive to the bottom and then push up with your feet from the bottom in order to get under them. You have to constantly hold your breath and dive down. If you try to go over the top you will not make it. It is a tiresome, but you will eventually make it to the outside(where the waves are not breaking). This was our plan with Erica. The problem is that she could not really dive without her legs. After every wave, we would look around for her to pop up. I would then see her head and we would again start heading out. After doing this for about 25 minutes, we finally made it to the "outside". The only problem is that we had moved so far south that heading out to the buoys, was too far. After speaking with Erica and telling her that she had gone far enough, we all decided that heading back was a good idea. Especially since she had the bike and run still to do!
After we got out of the water, I pushed her in the chair up the hill, thru the transition area and to her hand-cycle. This like a wheelchair but with had petals that make it like riding a bike. I helped her get the wetsuit off and get ready for the bike. It would of been okay for me to leave after the swim but I felt compelled to stay and help for obvious reasons. When she was ready, I lifted her from the wheelchair to the hand cycle. I sat here there and then she took off to begin the bike with her dad riding a bike by her side.

Amazing is all I really have to say. I have never been apart of anything like that at all. I am not ignorant to what these athletes go through, but it sure is an awesome site. It is the spirit of competition that keeps these people moving. I almost broke down after she rode away, but managed to keep it together. They are working on changing the way people look at challenged athletes at every race. I was honored to be a part of Erica's race. Kudos to you Erica and keep on movin.

At work right now doing what I do...

Ironman Arizona #655

Hey Everyone!

I finished Ironman! It took me 16:34. Yes it was as brutal as I imagined it was going to be. We started at about 3:30am when I awoke and could not sleep any longer. I got dressed, put on my nipple guards, sunblock and got my gear ready to go. I even put on deodorant. hahaha. We headed over to the transition area. It was amazing to see all of these people walking around at 4:30 in the morning ready to go. I was pretty nervous and got into the water for the swim as fast as I could. I knew that it would calm me down and get me ready for the long day ahead. As I tread water, I saw Taunya on the bridge overhead and began to wave(see me putting my fist up). It was nice to see her and thought, wow, I am going to be starting Ironman in less than 15 minutes. Alot of others stood on the side until like 5 minutes before the race and then began to get in. I signaled to TLC that I was going to go to the other side of the bridge and then began to swim over there. When I got to the other side, I stood there and then BOOM! The cannon went off! I was racing. The swim was long and toward the end I took an elbow to the forehead and then a punch to the back of the head. Of course all of these were unintentional, but they all hurt. Not mention all of the bumping and manuvering that I had to endure for the whole 2.4 miles. I finished in 1:27, then it was on to the bike.

The bike was the hardest part of the whole race. I had bet all the time that it would be my strongest even next to the swim, but the winds kicked up and made it extremely difficult. So bad, that I almost quit 3 times. I as pedaling and not going anywhere as tumbleweeds and sand blew across the road. My lips were windburned and so was my face. The winds were at 20 mph with 30 mph gusts. During my training, all of the people that I had spoke to told me that I needed to do one thing on race day, be flexible. This meant that if the winds, rain or whatever conditions dished out, that not to lose it, rather just keep on pushing. I did just that, however, I also saw alot of real bad bike accidents, amblulances and medical aids happening. It was like a warzone. I felt the pain of the seat in the beginning of the race, but I soon forgot about that as the winds dominated my mind. I finished the 112 mile bike in 7:34.

After I finished the bike, I got to the run and knew that I had to walk/run the marathon. It was fine so that is what I did. My right achillies tendon has been bothering me for the last 6 weeks. Even with going to physical therapy, it still bothered me on 1.5 hour training runs. I was pedaling so hard on the bike that I irritated it bad. This is what made me already start with the run/walking. I had planned to run at least half of the marathon, but I did not want to rupture it. Knowing this, I immediately shifted from doing it under 15 hours to “I just want to finish”. This is where I started doing the math and determined my mph and how much further I had to go. I was continually doing the math for the entire 7 hours of the marathon. Physically I could of run more, but I did not want to rupture my Achilles. Along with that pain, my legs began to get wobbly. It was like I was on roller-skates and if I tripped on a rock or something I was going to go down. It was at that point I realized oh my god, I am doing the Ironman. I was disorientated all day. I lost track of time but all I really knew was that I had to be done before the midnight cut-off. I pressed on and kept on moving. I finished the 26.2 miles in 7:17.

The pain of Ironman is something that I will never forget. It popped in my head that this is what makes it the Ironman. You have to literally be iron to block out the pain and to keep on moving. As I looked at my watch, I realized I was going to make it. I was now getting really excited about hearing the voice of Ironman (this guy that stays all day calling out your name) say my name. The 6 months and 6 days a week were going to pay off in less than 10 seconds. I started to think…man you are going to be an ironman today. I kept on trucking and before I knew it I was making the final turn toward the finish line. The bleachers were filled on both sides with people cheering and all applauding me. I ran from side to side giving people hi 5’s and as I looked up, I saw the man I had been waiting to see all day point to me and say “Dominick from San Diego, Today you are an Ironman”. I kept on running and gave him a high five and then crossed the finish line. It was at that point that they took more pictures of me and sent me to medical because I was freezing and slightly dehydrated. After going to the medical tent, they took my temperature and I was 94 degrees, NOT good. They game me some blankets and said I needed food ASAP. I have attached some pics for you to take a look at. You can see Taunya in the background with a pizza box. Before too long I was okay and we left.

Throughout the race I thought of a lot of things. I thought “Why am I here?” What do I have to prove? Who do I have to prove it to? What are my limits? I could stop right now because my body was in so much pain, but I had spent so much time and money to be there. Was I going to break down at the end?

The fortunate part is that I had all of these answers. I had done this all the throughout my long training days. I was there to prove to myself that I am who I think I am. I am not a quitter and that despite the odds against me, I will still prevail. When my body told me NO, I told it YES and you better do it faster. I realized that I have no limits mentally or physically. I had an idea that I did not have any, but this proved it to myself that I have none. You can do anything that you want to do as long as you discipline yourself and stay focused.

You really can do anything that you set your mind to. Mom was right after all. PS. That was my first, but I will be doing another one next year!