Celebrity "Infinity" - Here I Come

Just getting ready to hop on the shuttle from the hotel to to seaport - about a 15-minute ride.  I'm excited but will miss the Internet access.  What a difference in life styles in the last few years.  I haven't been on a cruise for about 8 years - didn't miss the Internet much on that last voyage!!!  Times have changed.

Check out Celebrity Infinity:  Fort Lauderdale to Valparaiso, Chile . . .

Celebrity Cruise Lines

I'm planning to have a Bon Voyage an a Buen Viaje!!!

Adios for now!

Cozumel Ironman

December 3, 2014

Dear Followers:

Here’s the story, a little late, of the 2014 Cozumel Ironman.

November 29 - One Day to Go!

Here we are; it’s already Saturday.  Race day tomorrow, Jeff and Kari are kibitzing about  their prep for the final few hours before the starting gun goes off tomorrow morning - at 6:52am for Jeff in the “all men over 50” age group, and Kari’s at 6:55am for “all women over 50.”  I asked Jeff how he and Kari could swim together if he starts three minutes earlier.  “Maybe I’ll just tread water until she gets going in the swim.”  As I’ve shared before, the impetus for this adventure has always been “to do this together.”

Both Jeff and Kari are strong swimmers; however, they don’t consider themselves at the top of their respective categories, having a substantially energetic style with endurance to spare.  Their objective is to swim the 2.4-mile distance in somewhere around an hour and a half.  Each group “wave” will walk into the water and tread water / swim out about a hundred yards from the shore in anticipation of the starting gun.  Having done my share of open-water-swim competition, I know the start can be intimidating, with the crush of over-anxious athletes all vying for a great position without interference from other over-zealous swimmers.  [My parents were not swimmers, but were insistent and conscientious about making sure that my brother, Jim, and I had lots of swimming lessons very early in life; so, as parents, my husband and I were steadfast in teaching our three kids to be substantially water-safe - before they could walk!]

In a previous post I indicated that the swim course would be out-and-back; I’ve been told it won’t be - it’ll be a point-to-point swim along the coast for the 2 ½ miles.  The logistics are carefully planned to decrease bottle-necks as much as possible.  Our Chief Cheering Team (CCT: Alice, David, triplets, twins, and Mimi - that's me) has decided we may have to forego the swim start in order to be present for the swim exit and transition to the bike race.  I do know the bike race will be three loops around the circumference of the island, each lap over 37-miles.  The plan of the CCT is to maintain a position right in front of our condo complex, outside of the “all roads closed” center-of-town population crush.  We’ll see Jeff, Kari and our other five EPIC Tri athletes three times as the whiz past us, hopefully with a big high five, a smile and a strong continence.

All contestants have multiple IDs on arms, legs,
wrist bands and ankle bands.  This is Jeff, #572.  Kari
was #571

Jeff and Kari Saturday night

Ironman Sunday - November 30, 2014

All family adults got up this morning at about 4:30 to see Jeff and Kari off at 5am.  Although their start times weren’t until almost 7, they had to be driven to just south of downtown, where they had to walk to the beach and the swim starting location.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t watch the start, as it was exceedingly difficult to get there with road closures, etc.  But, we hiked into Chankanaab National Park, Cozumel (Link)  to see both exit the 2.4-mile swim, feeling great.  The transition from swim to bike is cumbersome and time-consuming; Kari was smart this time and wore her bike and running outfit for the swim so she didn’t have to take as long for the change-over. Jeff’s transition time was about 23 minutes, some of that was waiting for Kari to exit the water, as she was behind him.  Her transition time was 8 minutes.  We were not able to see them on their first lap on their bikes; we caught them both on the first half of their second loop around the island, at about mile 42 and again on their third lap at approximately mile 82.  Again, they felt great and were all smiles as they slowed down enough to say “Hi” and assure us they were “feeling good!”  Alice and the kids had made several posters to flash as they rode by and each said those signs really buoyed them up.  They looked good, but both declared that the ride along the eastern side of the island was very tough, with really severe head and easterly winds.  Kari said after the event that their speed on that portion of each loop showed from about 18-mph to 8-9-mph, a significantly difficult ride, for lots of miles.

Waiting for swimmers to exit the water.  I got so excited when I saw Jeff,
I forgot to snap a pic!

Bad shot of Kari exiting the swim

Bikers

Family dinner while the race went on outside!

They completed the 112-mile bike ride in about 8-hours, certainly not as fast as they’ve done in other Ironman events that weren’t so affected by wind.  They’d also had a few sprinkles, but found that kind of a relief from the heat (mostly about 82F - 27.8C) over most of the day.

Again, we missed the transition from bike into running shoes, etc. to begin the run; however, the 26.2-mile marathon was conducted in three out-and-back-loops so we were able to check them out “in the flesh” in one location on the main street of town - as they returned from one loop, then again as they headed out for the next loop.  [There’s just something reassuring about seeing your kids “in person”]. They finished what turned out to be a sixteen-hour day crossing the finish line, hand-in-hand, to the announcer, “Jeff Sherman, you are an Ironman!,” and, “Kari Duane, you are an Ironman!”  An announcement was made for every single finisher - in his / her native tongue.  It’s goosebumps time!  

The final outcome was that there were 3,000+ contestants, from all over the world; I'm not sure what the number is for those who actually completed it.  The winner, for the second year in a row, was Michael Weiss from Austria.  His time this year was over 20-minutes slower than last because of the wind problem.  But, to give you an idea, He finished in a couple minutes over 8 hours; that's just about twice as fast as my kids!!!  (Cozumel Ironman Results).

As I’ve shared before, Jeff and Kari are both ‘seasoned' Ironmen (no, they’re not referred to as Ironwomen!), each competing for a fourth time.  It appears that every Ironman in the race reported that it was difficult in terms of the wind for the bike segment; otherwise, it was an enjoyable day, if you can empathize with that description - I’m not sure I can!

Tate, Kari, Avery, and Spencer

Jeff, Alice, Malia, and Samantha after race

Kari and David after race

One proud mama with her Ironmen

"Welcome Home" sign on condo door

We didn’t get back to the condo until about 1am and had to get up Monday morning to prepare for our trips home, or wherever.  I flew from Cozumel to Dallas and Dallas to Fort Lauderdale - where I’m enjoying a relaxing three-day stay before boarding Celebrity’s cruise ship Infinity for the 16-day jaunt through the Caribbean Sea, the Panama Canal, and along the coast of South America to the final destination, Valparaiso, Chile. 

I’ll write posts offline and publish them when in the various ports of call along the way.  I’m excited and hope I’ll have lots of stories and experiences to share with you.

Hasta Luego . . . and  . . . Hasta la vista, friends.

Short Update

Hi Folks:

Just a short update.  I'm currently in Fort Lauderdale and have had a whirlwind few days.  The Ironman was conquered by Jeff and Kari.  When I have more than two minutes to rub together I'll post all the info and pix.  I got in here past midnight (this morning, actually).

I'll get on it ASAP!

Evening Before "Ironman Cozumel" Day

Logo for Ironman Cozumel

November 29 

Here we are, already Saturday, race day tomorrow, Jeff and Kari are kibitzing about  their prep for the final few hours before the starting gun goes off tomorrow morning - at 6:52am for Jeff in the “all men over 50” age group, and Kari at 6:55am for “all women over 50.”  I asked Jeff how he and Kari could swim together if he starts three minutes earlier.  “Maybe I’ll just tread water until she gets going in the swim.”  As I’ve shared before, the impetus for this adventure has always been “to do this together.”

Both "kids" are strong swimmers; however, they don’t consider themselves at the top of their respective categories, having a substantially energetic style with endurance to spare.  I've been watching them swim together these last few days - their stroke-style is very similar and they look beautiful in the water (mom speaking!). Their objective is to swim the 2.4-mile distance in somewhere around an hour and a half.  Each group “wave” will walk into the water and walk/swim out about a hundred yards from the shore in anticipation of the starting gun.  Having done my share of open-water competition, I know the start can be intimidating, what with the crush of over-anxious athletes all vying for a great position without interference from other over-zealous swimmers.  [My parents were not swimmers, but were conscientious about making sure that my brother, Jim, and I had lots of swimming lessons very early in life; so, as parents, my husband and I were steadfast in teaching our three kids to be substantially water-safe - before they could walk!]

In a previous post I indicated that the swim course would be out-and-back; I’ve been told it won’t be - it’ll be a point-to-point swim along the coast for the 2 ½ miles.  The logistics are carefully planned to decrease bottle-necks as much as possible.  Our Chief Cheering Team (CCT- comprised of Alice, David, Mimi, Avery, Tate, Spencer, Malia, and Samantha) has decided we may have to forego the swim start in order to be present for the location where the swimmers will exit the water and transition to the bike race.  I do know the bike race will be three laps around the circumference of the island, each lap over 37-miles.  The plan of the CCT is to maintain a position fairly close to our condo complex, outside of the “all roads closed” center of town population crush.  We’ll see Jeff, Kari and other EPIC Tri athletes three times as the whiz past us, hopefully with a big high five, a smile and a strong continence.  I think we can expect them to be riding at a pace of around 15 mph, for a total time for the112-mile distance of around 7 ½ hours.  The end of the bike segment will be right in the most touristy part of town.  And, as the transition from bike to run gets accomplished, they'll head out to run a marathon (26.2 miles).  The running course will be three out and back loops, finally finishing right in the heart of town by the convention center.  There can be lots of variation in time for the run; Jeff and Kari plan to stay together and cross the finish line hand-in-hand somewhere in the neighborhood of 9pm.  

We'll be there to cheer them on those last few feet, during which time, as they near the finish line, the announcer will identify each contestant, announcing in a loud voice, "Jeff Sherman, you are an IRONMAN!"  "Kari Duane, you are an IRONMAN."  You can bet Jeff and Kari have heard those words over and over during this year of extreme training, especially on those difficult days when it might have been easier to head back to bed in the early morning, rather than hit the road, pool, lake, bike path, etc.  

They've done the work, managed their diets, stayed as healthy as they could.  They're ready.  It looks like the weather is going to cooperate:  high of 77F, partly cloudy, only a slight chance of sprinkles, light breeze.  Bikes have been delivered to the transition spot where they'll get to them and their gear from the water at the completion of the swim.  Also, gear has been delivered to the area for the bike-to-run transition.  All areas are under heavy guard to ensure that bikes and gear are not tampered with or stolen.  That would be disastrous.

Here are a few catch-up pix; I think tomorrow is going to be too busy to do much posting.  But, I hope to get some good pix with my new iPhone 6+.

Her parents think Avery looks the most like Mimi

Deck outside living and dining rooms and kitchen

View of one of the pools and out to the Caribbean's warm and lovely water

Pool right directly below our condo

Another view of the larger pool.  In the foreground is mangrove swamps.  It appears that the whole island
was originally mangrove forests with millions of iguanas that very little fear of people.  They also have very little
interest in what we're doing here in their territory

David rented a dune buggy for a few thrill rides for the kids yesterday afternoon

L to R:  Tate, Malia, Avery, Spencer, and Samantha

More beach volleyball.  This is Samantha and Avery playing
against employees - they tied

Jeff and Kari heading out for one last swim this morning, before the big day tomorrow

This pix was taken from our deck three stories up before the three of us went to the beach
for a swim a few mornings ago

This is the traditional Ironman logo.  The 140.6 is the total number of miles
accomplished in the three events!!!

Cozumel - Two Days Before “I” Day!

Thanksgiving Day was comfortably warm and quite windy; however, we gave “thanks” for all the fortunate components of our lives.  The morning began with the beginning preparation for the holiday repast, Cozumel style.  The unstuffed Mr. Tom Turkey, weighing in at 6.8 Kilograms (almost 15 pounds), went in the oven before 9.  The idea of stuffing was relinquished in favor of dressing, without our traditional seasonings and spices, baked in a casserole the last hour of the roasting time.  Jeff made his specialty mashed potatoes, David sautéed green beans in butter and garlic, Kari tossed a deliciously fresh salad, and I made about two quarts of turkey gravy.  These delectables were accompanied by Mexican dinner rolls, “bolillos,” canned cranberry sauce from Wisconsin, fresh pineapple grown here on the island, and finally, great family and friends discourse and camaraderie.  We shared our dinner with five other athletes:  Bita and Shakufa (accept my apologies for spelling blunders), Amanda, Damon, and Aaron.  We wish all of them well in the upcoming competition.

After dinner, Amanda offered to take a snapshot of the Sherman-Duane family for our reminder of the day and the wonders of another holiday season . . .

L to R:  Avery, Jeff, Samantha, Malia, Alice, Tate, Kari, David, Spencer, Mimi.  It's one happy family missing only Kari and David's three oldest girls and one fiancee:  Quinn, Landon, Addison and Holland. 

The party was interrupted by the athletes’ need to register retrieve racing bikes for Ironman Cozumel, so two or three cars left here for the 6-mile jaunt into town and Kari and Jeff riding their race bikes back to the condo at about 5pm.

Then, of course, for us Californians, there was the 49er game, broadcast here at 7:45pm.  Some of the crew went back into town to join the revelry in a local sports bar and some of chose to stay here and relax, with lots of conversation, and enjoy the end of yet another family Thanksgiving.

The over-the-top games for all the kids and most of the adults is beach volleyball, which they've played with abandon, even encouraging participation of some of the staff members. It'll create wonderful memories for all of them.

Also missing, especially for me, was my youngest son, Spencer, who's currently in Brussels with his girlfriend, Rachelle.  We missed you , SJ!

Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day - Cozumel Style

November 26th and 27th

Cozumel, Days Four and Five

David and Spencer arrived this afternoon from their overnight stay at the Westin at the Dallas Fort Worth airport.  And, yes, they did deliver my shoe, safe and sound and none the worse for wear, or travel, I should say.  So, our group has increased to ten, a full house here at Residencia Reef.

Spencer, upon arrival, delivering my "lost" shoe

Kari and Jeff, along with one of Kari’s EPIC Tri clients, Amanda, did another very short workout this afternoon, a very windy day indeed.  As we move closer to the Ironman on Sunday, the weather may not be cooperating, as we’ve been hoping.  The wind today has been very strong and tomorrow’s forecast is for the same; today’s temperature only reached about 70F (21.1C), tomorrow we expect more wind, but warmer.  Sunday’s forecast, at this time, is partly cloudy with thunder, lightning, and possible rain.  Rain doesn’t bother the athletes for the swim or the run, but riding 112 miles on a bicycle can be really unpleasant in the rain.  We’ll just keep on praying for the Great Spirit to make the weather good for Sunday.  They’ve been doing a lot of training in California central valley heat and the Cozumel Caribbean water temp negates the need for a wetsuit; it’s just that bike ride that calls out for pleasant weather.  Oh, I’d add that the run could be unpleasant if the wind continues to be strong.

Cozumel Ironman Animated Course

Alice, David and I, as "chief observers" are beginning to make our plans for where we want to be at various times during the race; covering so much territory makes the logistics of being in the right place at the right time for catching a glimpse of our athletes as they fly by in need of planning.  I continue to be impressed with just how tranquil the athletes seem to be; I’m guessing that Saturday might be a day of self-hypnosis for all the athletes - just getting into that zone they need to be in to even THINK about going the distance.  I love them both and only hope they’ll come through it unscathed and full of wondrous gratitude for the opportunity to accomplish this feat together.

The twins and the triplets are all here now and the attraction during the day is beach volleyball.  All five of them are volleyball players on high school teams, so they really get going with some good competition.  And, Alice is right in there with them; she’s a real sport, well actually, she’s a kid at heart.

Avery and Malia on the volleyball court (sand)

Tate (in foreground) and Malia ready for anything

This evening was my turn to make dinner, so we had a great lasagna made with Jeff’s spaghetti sauce from two nights ago with lots of ricotta, Monterey Jack and Parmesan - not a speck was left in the casserole at the end of dinner.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I have so much to be grateful for.  First, in this holiday season, I’m thankful for my three children, their spouses and significant others, and 8 wonderful grandchildren who are proudly carrying the torch into the next generation.  And, eleven months from now, we’ll welcome Landon into the family when he and my oldest granddaughter, Quinn, tie the knot in October 2015.  I’m a very lucky person. 

Thanksgiving Day, 2014 

Cozumel, Mexico

Yes, we’re preparing a close-to-authenic USA Thanksgiving dinner: roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, green beans, large salad - the works - maybe even a pumpkin pie, if we can find one at the store.  Otherwise, it's going to be Cozumel rum cake, not an all-bad replacement! I got up early and to get the bird in the oven in time to serve dinner about 1pm.  Jeff got the potatoes in to boil and mash (with a fork!), and Kari and I made dressings, without all the familiar spices. After that, Jeff and Kari left to get to race headquarters into town to register and receive their packets of information and numbers, etc.  Later this afternoon, they'll head back into retrieve their bikes that have been transported from UC Davis, where they delivered them two weeks ago.  They’ll ride their bikes ‘home’ to the condo and that will be their Thanksgiving workout, about a six-mile easy ride, taking them less than 30-minutes!  Oh, to be in that .  And, they want to be home in time to get a group to the sports bar in town that will be showing the 49er game, at 7pm our time.

Wishing you and yours a

very happy and healthy

Thanksgiving.

Mary-Pat (AKA Mimi)

Tuesday in Cozumel

Oh, life in paradise. This morning I rolled out of bed really late for me (9 o’clock!), had a relaxing cup of coffee and met the “mujer de la casa," Genny (pronounced somewhat like Henny);” Genny comes with the condo contract and stays most of the day making sure that everything is in order and clean throughout our large abode.  She can also be asked to cook, although we haven’t felt the need - so far, that is.

After the leisurely coffee klatch, Kari, Jeff and I headed to the beach and went for a swim.  Or, rather, I should say that I paddled around inside the buoy line while they swam a short half-mile swim, just to keep those highly trained muscles warmed up and loose.  Although I consider myself a swimmer, I’ve never been really comfortable in “open water” because I can’t see the black line on the bottom of the pool!  But, at least I got in and learned the lay of the land, or sea in this case, and maybe swam a grand total of of sixty yards; now I’m feeling OK to swim by myself in the luxuriously warm and calm water.  Kari and Jeff estimate the water temperature is somewhere over 83F (around 28C).  We’re used to northern California beaches and water, in the neighborhood of a very chilly 53F (11.6C) with terrifically strong surf and current. The lovely, clean, white, sandy beach right outside our condo is strewn with lots of lounges for lazy reading / tanning days. The water is crystal clear and inviting; however, there’re some kelp-covered rocks in the shallow water to get over before one can begin to swim.  Swimming with goggles makes it easy to see tiny up to mid-sized fish darting around nibbling wonderful delicacies off the rocks and seaweed.

While the three of us were swimming, Alice took the four cousins for a walk down the beach to a spot where they could get “henna-ed,” on one foot; it’s supposed to last up to three weeks and they seem excited about their lovely designs, each one different.

Then we all piled into the rental car, eight of us, but that’s nothing compared to entire families riding on one moped!  The drive into town is only about six miles, parked the car and scouted out a real Mexican restaurant for a wonderfully flavorful lunch.

L to R:  Avery, Malia, Samantha, Tate - cousins forever!

Chicken tacos

Mexican style flank steak

Deliciously fresh fish tacos

Sauteed shrimp and vegetables

L to R:  Malia, Samantha (twins), Avery and Tate (triplets)

Kari helping the advertising campaign for the event next Sunday

 After lunch, really dinner, Alice and Kari took the girls out onto the beach-side shopping area, where they, with about a million other tourists, went from shop to shop to purchase the tchotchkes tourists always know they have to have and then don’t know what to do with when they get home!  Believe me, I know all about it, as I’ve done my fair share of feeding the economy in many countries around the world!

What’s so appealing to me about this adventure is how relaxed and non-stressed we all are, even those two very gung-ho triathletes we’re here to watch.  Brother and sister, Jeff and Kari, are both seasoned Ironmen, each will be competing in his/her fourth Ironman event.  And, we’ll also follow some clients of Kari who are members of her EPIC Tri Club.  [If you’re interested in finding out about EPIC, click Here

This evening we’ll roast some hot dogs and have a casual evening, maybe play some Charades, and hit the sack in preparation for another busy day tomorrow.

Just a couple of off-the-subject-notes:  When we got to the airport in Sacramento I found that my luggage was overweight, so I moved all my shoes to Avery's bag.  Then when we stayed overnight in Dallas, I took all my stuff out of her suitcase so she could get to her own clothes.  I guess I didn't get one brand new shoe back in, as it's still there in Dallas.  Fortunately, David and Spencer are staying in the same hotel tonight and will pick up my shoe for me!!!!

Mimi's one shoe in Mexico

And, lastly, I thought I'd include a photo of the newly blond ME!!!!!

Stay tuned - more to come!