Super Seal Triathlon

Last weekend I did my first 'official' sprint distance triathlon - the Super Seal! I'd previously raced in an 'official' triathlon that was a super-sprint distance called the Fearless Triathlon back in October of last year, (More on my blog: Fearless Triathlon - I Did It!) and I've also done two sprint distance club races with the Tri Club of San Diego. The Super Seal was going to be the biggest triathlon I had done to date (by number of participants) and although I'd covered the race distance before I was nervous!

The Day Before

The day before the race I picked up my race number at the Loews Resort in Coronado before rushing off to volunteer at the San Diego Science Festival. (More on my  blog: I'm an Engineer, I'm a Runner.) When I got to the Lowes resort for packet pickup I suddenly started feeling anxious, and then after looking at a map of the course and listening to a description of it, I felt sick. Was I really doing this?

 

Course Preview

 

Race Morning

Before I knew it Saturday had come and gone, and I was up at 5am yet again on a Sunday to get out there and give a race all I had. I meticulously packed my transition back the night before, set my alarm, and went to sleep. But .. I didn't get a great night of sleep because the girl who lived upstairs from me was having a party and between the noise of talking and laughing people, music, and shoes on hardwood floors I was tossing and turning for hours. I finally put earplugs in so I could block out the noise, but became paranoid that I'd sleep through my alarm. Luckily I didn't, and I got up and out the door right on schedule. 

Sunrise Over Coronado Bay

My friend Tara from GOTR was going to be watching her husband compete in the Olympic distance race so I had my eye out for them. Surprisingly I bumped into them in the transition area and we stopped for a photo opp. Soon after it was time for me to head down to the water to get ready to start with my age group - the pink swim caps! 

 

With Ben & Mr. Bacon

The Swim - 500m

When I got down to the water I was even more nervous, but was glad that I had done a club race the weekend before and knew that I'd be okay in the water. I jumped in to get wet and acclimate to the water and swam a few strokes out and back. When I got out of the water I saw a woman on the beach who looked really familiar. How does someone in a wetsuit and swim cap and only their face showing look familiar? :oP After staring at her for a bit (and her giving me a side look and probably wondering why this weird stalker was staring at her) I told her she looked familiar and she said I did too. It turns out it was SugarMagnolia who is one of my DailyMile and Twitter friends! (Internet geeks unite!) It was great to finally meet her in person and I think having the chance to chat with her for a few minutes before the start helped calm me down a bit.

 

Pink Cap Wave Starts

 A few minutes later it was time to start the race and I ran into the water with the rest of the pink swim caps. I started off in the middle of the pack and decided to count my strokes from the beginning to stay calm ... and wouldn't you know - the swim wasn't that bad! Sooner than I expected I was out of the water and on to the first transition.

Happy to Exit the Water

Running Out of the Water

The Bike - 20K

We had to run up the beach, through a tunnel, and down a path to get to the transition area. Running barefoot on a rock path is FUN! Not really. 

Running & Wetsuit Unzipping - SKILLS

I felt that I got out of my wetsuit and into my biking gear pretty quickly, grabbed my bike and clop-clopped over like a horse in my bike shoes, CLIPPED IN (yeah!), and I was off! The course was a big oval with an out and back one way, and then an out and back the other way. I am pitifully slow on the bike (since I never practice) and was expecting everyone to pass me as usual, but was surprised to see that while many passed me, I also passed some people myself!I find the bike leg of the race to be a bit boring, and since I haven't been practicing on the bike my legs burned almost the whole time. To keep the muscle fatigue to a minimum I'd ride a few minutes on a higher gear, then lower gear, then higher gear. I'm sure this is totally bad form. Oh well!

Staying Focused on the Bike

The Run - 6K

My favorite part of a triathlon is the run of course. I am always elated to get to this part of the race. This signals that the race is almost over! I ditched my bike, changed into my running shoes, and I was off! I didn't feel as funny as usual running after biking, but as always noticed that I was running faster than normal. I was surprised at first to see that the run started out on a sandy path ... and was irritated to see that the sandy path continued on for the first half of the race. I felt strong running and was slowly passing everyone in front of me. Some people looked like they were really hurting on the run and I passed a few people who were miserably walking. :o(

 

Nearing the End of the Run

 

Pushing Hard to the Finish

The run was over before I knew it and soon I had the finish line in site and I was about to finish! Tara was right by the finish line taking pictures and I crossed my fingers that in my last final push to the end I wasn't creating any more hideous finish line pictures. (More on my blog: Race Photos - The Good, the Bad, the UGLY). 

Official Finish Photo

Upon finishing I was handed a finisher's pin (WHAT?? No medal! BOO!) and I walked back to the  transition area to retrieve my stuff, once again ... a triathlete! Whoo hoo!

Finisher's Pin - Boo, No Medal??

 

Proud to be Done!

Official Times

Several days later the official splits were posted and I was thrilled with my results! I did pretty good on the swim, not as bad as usual on the bike, and I kicked a** on the run! Yay!

• Swim 500m: 10:55 (7/25 Age Group, 28/128 Women) 
• T1: 3:34 (9/25 Age Group, 25/128 Women) 
• Bike 20K: 50:45 (17/25 Age Group, 74/128 Women) <---Here's where I need work
• T2: 1:16 (8/25 Age Group, 28/128 Women)
• Run 6K: 26:22 (1/25 Age Group, 13/128 Women) <-- HECK YEAH
• Overall: 1:32:51 (8/25 Age Group, 33/128 Women)

Next Up

For the next month I'll be easing off the triathlon and focusing more on my running. I'm running the OC Marathon May 1st as my first full  marathon in almost a year! (After quitting marathons - more on my blog: I'm Over the Marathon). My next triathlon will be June 26th when I do the San Diego International Triathlon. This race will be another jump up in distance with a 1000m swim, 30K bike, and 10K run. Between now and then I better start biking!

Facing Fears

Fears, we all have them right? My life is full of fears. I'm afraid of large dogs, flying, tripping down the stairs, burning myself, drowning, bugs, speaking in front of large groups, my parents dying, having an asthma attack, crying in public, getting dirty, germs, catching a cold/flu, etc, etc. I have a lot of fears, several of which I conquered (kinda) by entering the world of triathlon and open water swimming. I don't like water, being cold, being wet, and I'm a major germ freak. Nothing about open water swimming is conducive to my neurosis. Yet, I did it! Last year I thought that getting past the open water swim was my biggest obstacle in the triathlon. But I was wrong ... Enter clipless pedals. 

Clipping In

I am the proud owner of a road bike thanks to the generosity of my Dad and David this past Christmas! I have a Specialized Dolce which is an entry level women's road bike. Upon getting the bike I also purchased cycling shoes, cleats, and clipless pedals. The purpose of clipless pedals is to allow you to "lock in" to the pedal and have seamless movement with the pedal, with both the push and the pull of your leg stroke engaging in a strong motion. I had heard from many people that they had all had "zero-speed bike crashes" and knew that one would probably be in my future, but I had no idea what a significant event that would be.

The Bike Crash

Back in January after I bought my bike, shoes, and pedals, David and I headed out to Mission Bay to go for a bike ride and allow me to practice clipping in and out of the pedals. After about 5 minutes of practicing I had my first zero-speed crash, followed soon by my second. Its hard at first to remember your shoes are attached to the bike! We left Mission Bay with me crying and my wrists and elbows getting sorer by the minute. By the time we got home, I couldn't bend either elbow. I really started freaking out and about an hour later we were in Urgent Care and I was sobbing on the x-ray table. Oh what a fun day. It turns out I seriously bruised my wrists, forearms, and elbows, and I had a tiny fracture on my right elbow. As a result of this I couldn't bend either arm, bear weight on my arms, and I was suddenly rendered helpless. I took two days off work (on prescription painkillers and sleeping most of the days away) while David played nurse, and  I thanked my lucky stars that he was there and able to care for me. If not, I seriously would have had to call my dad and ask him to fly down from SF to take care of me. I couldn't even open a door or take the cap off    the prescription bottle much less feed myself or take care of my dogs! :o(  This whole experience left me traumatized and terrified of my bike.

 

Getting Back on the Bike

My training schedule had two days of biking on it -  one day of spinning mid-week,and one day of riding on the weekend. Well, these bike rides never happened. As week after week rolled by, I missed ride after ride. I finally went for one training ride the week before my 3rd tri, with a fellow GOTR coach, but wussed out at the last minute and biked in my  running shoes. Yes, on clipless pedals. That sucked! Finally it was time for my next triathlon, a club race with the Tri Club of San Diego. Eeek!
 

 

Triathlon #3 - Tri Club Race

My 2nd tri ever was a club race back in November. (More on my blog Triathlon #2 - The Sprint) One of the many incredible benefits of the tri club is their free chip-timed races! This race would be the same route and distance as the last, yet suddenly I was nervous about getting back into the ocean, and I was worrying over the decision of trying to clip into my bike or not. When it came down to going to the bike store to have cage pedals put on or learning how to clip into my bike ... laziness won. (I didn't want to have to drive down to the store, explain the situation, get the pedals changed, etc.) Instead I sucked it up and spent 30 minutes in the park  near my house practicing clipping in and out. After about 20 successful attempts I felt that I had it down and committed to try it the next day in the race.

 

The Swim

I hadn't been in the ocean in five months and was so scared of the swim the next morning! I had been swimming laps at the pool but it is so different to look out at a faraway buoy in the ocean versus doing  repetitive short distance laps in the pool. I freaked out a bit in the beginning of the swim and started having what felt like an asthma attack, but managed to pull it together and finish the swim with some decency. Whew!

The Bike

My bike ride experience in club race number two was just like number one. I was passed by everyone and passed no one. When I complained to David about this later he asked me "Well, how many training rides did you go on? One right? What did you expect? You'll get better with practice". For some reason I thought that being a good runner meant that those muscles and strengths would transfer over to biking. Well they don't! Shoot.

 

The Run

Oh running, how I love thee! I'm so glad that running is the last leg of the triathlon,because it gives me something to look forward to. By the time I started my run most of the other participants were done racing and were enjoying the hot breakfast buffet. :o( I started off on my run (noticing once again how weird it feels to run after biking) and blasted out the first half mile at a 7:00 pace. I knew this wasn't sustainable and slowed down a bit, but was surprised to see that I was still running a sub 8:00 mile and feeling quite all right! The run course was two loops around the island, meaning that as I finished my first lap I got to see even more people finishing and eating breakfast. ARGH! I gave the run all I had on the second lap and finally crossed the finish line a triathlete once again. Accomplished, disappointed,  proud, sad, and frustrated. So many emotions!

20 Miler - DOH!

Oh yeah, and that weekend I was scheduled for a 20 mile run before I signed up for this race. So the next day (after much waffling about flaking), I headed out and gave the run what I had left. I didn't make it through 20 miles, but I was able to run 17 which was pretty darn good in my book!

Race Results

A few days later the results were posted and I was horrified to see my times. I was so slow! Mostly due to my crappy bike times, but it was a blow to the ego to know that as a decent runner I was a terrible triathlete. I didn't take this sitting down though, and all it has made me want to do is go out and train harder and improve. I've managed to slowly improve over the years with running, and I intend to do the same in the triathlon. I never thought I could do this, and now all I want to do is do this better. My goal this year is to increase in distance and intensity, and who knows, maybe a few years from now I'll be laughing over the time when I was afraid to do open water swims or to clip into my bike. Wouldn't that be so great? :o)

I'm an Engineer, I'm a Runner

I define myself in a handful of ways, two of which are engineer and runner. (The other two are marketer and cheese hater as you can see from the header of my blog.) I started running back in 1998 when my gym membership ran out and an engineering friend asked if I wanted to go for a run. Sure! Ugh, I hated it, but kept at it for a while. Fast forward to 2002 when I ran my first race (a 10K) ... and I haven't stopped since! As far as being an engineer though, my credentials are a bit shaky  as of late.

Engineering Dreams

I spent as much of my life as I can remember wanting to be an engineer like my dad. When I was in middle school I read a book about engineering professions, and decided then that I wanted to be a biomedical engineer specifically! Once I got to middle school though I struggled in the life sciences, and decided  that I'd be a civil engineer like my dad instead.

Playing Engineer at My Dad's Office

I didn't get into my top choice school (UC Davis) which had civil engineering, but I did get into UCSB which had mechanical engineering instead of civil engineering. My advisor told me that the first two years of both programs were similar enough that if I wanted to try to transfer to UC Davis after my sophomore year the transition between majors wouldn't be too difficult. I ended up liking Mechanical Engineering and staying with the major though, and 4 1/2 horrifically difficult years later, I was an engineer! Whoo hoo!

Senior Design Project Team
(Widget Separator Challenge)

Proudest Moment of My Life

 

I took a job out of college as an Applications Engineer, and worked at a software company in San Jose for 3 1/2 years before moving to Arizona to start the High-Tech MBA program at ASU. Here begins the end of my engineering career. I first took a job as a project manager, then switched companies to become a people manager, before finally graduating and starting my career in what has turned out to be another true passion - Marketing! (Its ironic how I spent my whole life dreaming of becoming an engineer, practically killed myself in school trying to get to that degree, worked endless hours as an engineer after that, only to quickly exit the field to do something else. I know that I wouldn't be where I am in my career today if I hadn't started out in engineering, but I'm still surprised by the path that my career has taken when I look back. Who would have ever known 10 years ago?)

San Diego Science Festival

A few months ago I got an email from a fellow member of Athena who was putting out a call for volunteers to work the Athena booth at the San Diego Science Festival's Expo Day. The event was taking place at Petco Park which is a few miles from my house, and involved an interactive activity with kids. LOVE IT! I signed up immediately and have been looking forward to the event. On Expo Day there were 135 hands-on activities for kids put on by the various science and technology companies headquartered in San Diego.

 

Am I an Engineer Still?

Last week the organizer of our booth sent out some final instructions and also let me know that she had requested a "Ask an Engineer" button for me to wear at the booth. I was taken back at first and guiltily reminded her that I don't work as an engineer anymore, I'm in Marketing! (What many consider to be a fluff career, but it really isn't!)

Ask an Engineer/Scientist Area

Annie: Monika - "I will put you down for one "Ask Me" button.  As I recall from our FEW meeting, you're are professional bio-tech scientist!  Wear it with pride.  We all deserved it after all the hard work we put in our study and career." 

Monika: "I majored in Mechanical Engineering and worked as an Applications Engineer for 3 1/2 years ... but I'm now in Marketing for a medical device. I still consider myself an engineer at heart though and I think engineering has helped me get the Marketing jobs I've had to date. I'll wear the button!"

Annie: "There you go!  Me too.  I studied computer science and was a programmer for many years.  Then moved to management and kept up with the technology through my team.  I also tell everyone 'I am an engineer'. "

Well there you have it, I deserve to wear my button!

Proudly Wearing my DNA Bracelet & Engineer Button

Athena Engineers & Scientists

Science Festival Expo Day

I arrived at the event a little bit late since I had just come from Coronado where I had to pick up my race bib for my triathlon the next day (Super Seal Sprint). I was surprised to see how crowded the area was around Petco Park, and was amazed by how packed the inside of the ballpark was with exhibits and people! I had to fight my way through the crowds to find the Athena booth, and was happy to see that our table was pretty busy (who wants an empty, boring exhibit that no one wants to do?). Upon arriving I got a quick rundown on the supplies for the activity, and then I jumped right in!

DNA Bracelet Beads

Kids Enjoying the Activity

Each person who came up to the table had to fill out a brief traits questionnaire , and depending on the traits that they circled they would receive different color beads to put on a pipe cleaner to represent their "DNA". We encouraged parents as well as kids to participate so they could compare the similarities and differences between their bracelets. This was a cute and fun way to teach the kids about traits and genetics. In the three hours that I was there we didn't have a second where the table was empty. The four of us working the table were flying around the whole time taking questionnaires, grabbing beads, tying on bracelets, and explaining the meaning of the exercise. This was a really fun and rewarding event and I'm so glad I signed up to volunteer!

Gene, The Friar, and Sid the Science Kid

Balancing Life, Training, and Racing

Two weeks ago in Girls on Track we had a lesson on "The Balance Beam of Life". (For my coach's recap click here.). The purpose of this lesson was:

1. To identify the individuals in our lives who are extremely important to us
2. To learn why it is important to balance time with our friends and family, with all of the other activities we do
3. To learn how effective time management skills can help us do this

 

My Girls on Track Group

 The goal for us as coaches was to help teach the coping skill (or Out of the Girl Box Skill) of time management and learning how to strike a balance. As we went through the lesson and the girls talked about everything they were trying to balance (school, sports, dance, GOTR, friends, music, etc) I thought WOW, these middle school girls are totally overloaded! How can an 11 year old feel stressed? I hope this doesn't set a trend for their adult life! Although thinking back, I think being so busy as a kid made me feel a need to feel busy through my adult life.

 

As a kid I was pretty involved in after-school activities. I went through lessons in everything: ballet, tap dance, gymnastics, acting, ice-skating, piano, violin, and even modeling. (Barbizon: train to be a model or just look like one! Don't laugh.) I sometimes wonder if my parents (mom) was just furtively searching for something that I was really good at. Of all of the lessons I took, piano seemed to be the place where I had the most talent -  but I still wasn't the next Beethover. Regardless of this, like a good Asian kid, I took private piano lessons for about 7 years, and continued on with classes in my high school for another 3 years. (Private violin lessons only lasted for about 3 years thankfully. ugh!) 

Ten Years of Piano Lessons

Anyways, between lessons and school and studying, I didn't really have much down time. Since my mom was a teacher, school never ended when I got home. My mom used to purchase the teacher's edition of several of my text books so if the teacher assigned problems 1-10 of 20, my mom would have me do 1-20 and check all of the answers. It seemed like the work was endless. Fast forward to today ...  I can't sit still. I have a hard time relaxing and have a constant need to be doing one or several things at the same time. If I'm not doing anything I feel like I'm wasting time. For the most part I've set up my life to stay super busy, but every once in a while I just get overwhelmed. 

My Favorite Child Series: Little Miss and Mister

Right now my current commitments are work, coaching GOTR, serving on the board of GOTR, heading up the Marketing efforts for GOTR, training for a triathlon, and training for a marathon. Its a lot! BUT ... without all of those things I think I might feel empty!

 

Work

I am extremely blessed to say that I love my job and enjoy my job. I work at a start-up and was initially leery of taking the job since the last time I worked at a start-up I was working 80 hour weeks, but fortunately I work a normal 40 hour work week, with some evening and weekend commitments.

 

With a Rep and Doctor at a Tradeshow

Girls on the Run

I'm now currently coaching my fourth season of Girls on the Run! Technically, I'm coaching Girls on Track which is the program for middle school girls. GOTR is two days a week for an hour and fifteen minutes. I am the head coach which is generally a 3-5 hour per week job. On top of this though I'm also on the board and narketing committee which takes a few more hours per week. Most board members quit coaching when they joined the board, but I just can't give it up. Its tiring, but at  the same time but so rewarding, and I truly love it. Its instant gratification for a passion of mine (GOTR), and I love being with the girls, the other coaches, and interacting with the parents and getting feedback about the program. 

"I Love ME" - Totally a Girl on the Run!

Triathlon vs the Marathon

Last year after a horrible race (more here) I decided to give up full marathona and focus my efforts elsewhere. I enjoy the routine of training and wanted a new challenge, so late last  year I turned to the triathlon and focused more on half marathons. After completing two sprint triathlons and improving my time continuously on half marathons, I thought my life would focus there! Well, the marathon came knocking on the door of my heart again and this year I will be running three full marathons. The OC Marathon May 1st, the San Francisco Marathon July 31st, and the Marine Corps Marathon October 30th. 

This plan collides somewhat with my triathlon goals for the year which are to work from a sprint distance up to an Olympic distance to prepare myself for a Half-Ironman (70.3) race next year. The challenge of the two sports is that while I'm covered on the running leg of a triathlon (running 4 days per week), I also need to bike and swim. My three remaining days now are currently split between swimming and biking. No rest days! Argh! Luckily swimming is a great recovery activity from running since it uses totally different muscle groups.

Finishing My 1st Triathlon - In the Rain!!

 

Racing

I absolutely LOVE racing! Putting your work to the test? Yes please! Unfortunately with a full training schedule which includes a triathlon and a marathon, its really hard to work a race in. I'm already scheduled to run a long distance on Saturdays and bike or swim on Sunday. Running in a race mean sacrificing one of these things, or cramming in another workout. Also, once you're about a month into training for a marathon you're running over 13 miles each weekend. (For free). To pay a race entry to run a distance shorter than a marathon or even a half marathon is hard for me. I do appreciate the value of a race and the way it pushes you and what it gives you, but sometimes its hard to go for that over a training run.

Approaching the Finish Line of the San Dieguito Half Marathon

 

Life Crashes Together

This past week (and in this coming week) all of these aspects of my life have come crashing together and I'm just plain tired. Last week I went out to dinner with some coworkers Thursday night and got home past my bedtime, had two 12 hour days up in Orange County for a project for work on Friday and Saturday, had to do my long run on Sunday because I was tied up Saturday, missed the month Tri Club's beginner bike ride (once again) on Sunday because I was running, had a long day Monday because of work and then a GOTR board meeting, worked and then coached GOTR Tuesday night .. followed by a training swim with a fellow coach to make up for the Monday swim I missed... and then this weekend there is a lot more craziness packed in. (Triathlon Saturday and a 20 mile run Sunday among other things. Eek!)


Right now I'm pretty pooped, but I decided that to get back on balance I need to stop and take some time for me. Next week I'm going to take Monday and Friday off which will give me two three day weekends. Yippee! At my first job out of college my first manager said to me once "I can push you and push you and push you and give you more work and more work and you seem fine, and then suddenly you break". Haha, in engineering terms, I have an exponential failure curve. :o) Its like metal and fatigue! Okay, geek hat off.

Metal Fatigue ... Failure!

 

I'm looking forward to taking time for myself to recharge and reset, and I hope I will feel more balanced afterwards! I don't want to give up any of my commitments right now since they all enrich my life in different ways, so apparently the way I will tune down on something to even everything out is to take a tiny bit off time for work. Hey, we get PTO days for a reason right?

Race Photos: the Good, the Bad, the UGLY

Have you ever seen a picture of yourself where you thought OMG! Do I really look that bad? Wow... Well, that's basically how I feel 85% of the time when I see one of my race photos. Scary! I don't think I'm particularly hideous or non-photogenic, but every time I see a race photo of myself I think wow,  I look like crap running! I look like a fat, miserable, dying creature!
 

A few years ago I read an article on the Runner's World website that had me almost peeing in my pants laughing. One of their writers wrote an article titled "Why does MarathonFoto Hate Me?" This article was focused on the terrible race photos that this author and runner had taken. I laughed my a** off. I too have taken many similar horrible race photos, and aligned with his sentiment that it was incredible that such pain and misery could be caught on your face while running.

This author soon wrote a follow-up called "Brightroom Hates Me Too". Equally hilarious. Being someone who enjoys chronicling my life (whether good or bad), I've saved thumbnails of my bad race pictures over the years. I've purchased the good pix to proudly display, and I've saved the bad ones for who knows what reason.
 

This past week I received a link to my race photos from the Mermaid Run a few weekends ago. As I clicked through the pictures I thought okay, okay, ACK!?! Another hideous race photo. I of course had to save it ... and then started searching through other race pictures I've saved over the years to compare this monstrosity to the others. Its a good thing I can laugh at myself, and now you can too!

Here I am running the Mermaid Half Marathon and about to PR!

Upon closer inspection you'll see that its my
THREE chins that help me run faster!

 

The week before I had also PR'd in Surf City.
Look how happy I am!

Unfortunately though I must have PR'd at
the expense of this woman next to me.
Looks like I'm knocking her over!

A few weeks prior to Surf City I ran the Carlsbad Half
Feeling good here!

I had a pretty bad race though as you can tell in this picture.
It looks like a battle of me versus my quads

Late last year I did my first triathlon - and came in first overall female! Happy me!

 

The secret to my success? Must have been those extra chins!

One of my favorite distances is a 15K.
They make me feel strong as you can see here!
Ignore the stomach fat please.

Soon after though it looks like an invisible
person punched me in the stomach. OOF!

Back in 2009 I ran the Rock N Roll San Antonio. Great Race!

Although it doesn't look like a great race for me here.
Am I crying??

 

You know how department store perfume counters keep containers of coffee beans to clear your nose of the last scent so you can smell the next one refreshed? I think its time we do that as well. You've seen enough horrible pictures of me, lets look at some where I don't look too bad.

Here I am at my cousin Jennifer's Wedding
the night before the Long Beach Half Marathon

 

Here I am with my cousin Heidi & her fiance Chuck Liddell

 

Did that distract you enough? 

Okay, now here I am looking off into who knows what
the next day running the Long Beach Half with my man-legs. Ewe. 

And now, I've saved the best for last.


I call this one crying, sad, melting baby.

But wait, we can't end on that note. Let's look at one more picture I love. Me with my buddies Ryan Hall and Josh Cox. You don't think I photoshopped this do you? You're right, I ghetto-shopped it together in Microsoft Paint. Not a bad job I'd say!

So I can't be the only one with a collection of horrible race photos. Please tell me you have some too! I'd love to see them!