It’s has once again been a LONG time between official updates and I know that because I’m having the same confused conversation with a lot of people. So here’s a briefing of where we’re at in the journey and what is to come!

This past weekend was not my first race. My coach suggested doing the Oakland Triathlon as an opportunity to do a dry run. It was also a good opportunity to do an open water swim because to date I’ve been in the pool. I desperately need to get into the ocean more.

It was a good break-in for my new wetsuit! ROKA has sponsored me in-so-much as providing me one of their high-end models that I’ve actually ALWAYS wanted.

To complicate matters, I haven’t received my handbike or racing wheelchair (the racing chair is for the run) because of manufacturing delays due to the Olympics. So I BORP, the non-profit in Berekeley that offers handcycling where I train, once again brought me a handbike to the Oakland Tri where there were 3 other BORP teams competing as relays. So in the end I did a swim and bike. It felt good. I identified what I need to work on and my strengths. Oh and uh, I officially competed 10 months after my accident.

Tonight I’m in Los Angeles and on my way to San Diego tomorrow to attend the Challenged Athlete Foundation Paratriathlon camp at UCSD. I drove with a number of stops along the way to break up the journey.

My racing chair and handbike arrived direct to San Diego today. The good news is we FINALLY have my GEAR!! The bad news is that we have to put it together right at the camp. I don’t have time to get it tune it up or get it right before training. That’s actually a big deal that worries me.

The camp goes Thursday to Sunday and then it’s back to the Bay Area.

Then the 14th of August is the Tri Santa Cruz race!! The race starts at 7:45am for paratriathletes like myself. More information about parking and whatnot is here: http://www.finishlineproduction.com/events/triathlon/TriSantaCruz

There is SO much more I have to write about and share. Sept 17th is the Malibu Nautica Triathlon and there’s information to share there too. However, I need to get some shuteye because I’m driving tomorrow and it’s the first day the camp!

But this is it. We’re in it. The money has been raised. The money has been spent. Now it’s up to the DOING of it all. Thank you for your support – in ALL it’s forms. Words of encouragement, crashing for a night, monetary, etc, etc. It’s happening and I wouldn’t be doing it without this community, this tribe: #teambalucas