My girlfriend Pepper Nix called me up a few months ago and asked me if I wanted to do a Mini Sprint Triathlon with her in May. If you know Pepper, you know there is no saying no to her. Even though I was completely out of shape, had not swam a lap since high school and never rode anything more than a beach cruiser something inside me said, “go for it!” So she signed us up and it was time to get in shape.
So how do you get from 20 minutes on the elliptical to doing a Mini Tri? There were a couple tools that really helped me!
Must have iPhone Training Apps:
Couch to 5K – When I started training on (hold on let me check my couch to 5K iPhone App.) January 24th I could not run for a 1/4 mile without stopping to walk. I used to run but I would never push myself to take it to the next level. As I followed the couch to 5K program it would tell me when to walk and when to run. I was doing really well till about week 5 things starting getting really hard! That is when I finally broke through the limits that I had had with running for so long. I can not say enough about this program or the iPhone App! Thanks for turning me on to it Jenny Yee.
First Time Tri – another iPhone App that is really helpful to keep your training on track. It gives you a workout schedule based on when your race is.
Amazing Friends:
Pepper Nix~ who signed me up for the race and also made a pact with me to stop drinking 6 weeks before the race. Even though she was not able to make it there is no way that I could have done it without her and there is no way I would have done it without her. She is will be at the next one in Redondo Beach with me!’
Jeremy aka my boyfriend ~ Jeremy was there to help me find a great wet suit, and encourage me in all the ways I needed to get me moving in the right direction! He also quit drinking with me 6 weeks before the race. Oh, AND he got up at 5am to go with me and take all the amazing images you will see of the race! Best boyfriend ever!
Jessi Stensland - My good friend Jessi is a Professional Triathlete. So when I called to ask her advise I assumed she felt a little like I would if I was giving someone advise on how to shoot their first wedding. I am so honored that she even took the time to answer all my stupid questions but I can not believe the great advise that she gave me. If you are interested in hearing the advise let me know and I will post it in a future blog post. So many things that helped me and made me feel so much better about what to expect and how to handle everything.
Simon Anderson ~ Do you see that INCREDIBLE bike that I am riding? Simon is not only the CMO of Pictage but on the side he is a cyclist and rep for an Italian Bike company. When I mentioned that I did not have a bike for the race he offered to let me borrow one of his. I was so excited and so grateful! I know my bike time had so much to do with this amazing bike! I still can not believe how light it is. I swear the water bottle that I stored in it was heavier than it was! I am a huge fan of Wilier bikes now. I guess I have yet another expensive new hobby. Simon, thank you so much for your generosity and kindness!
Josh Mercer – Josh works in my Studio as an Intern but has really become the younger brother I never had. Josh went with me the week of the race to do a couple trial runs and even swam with no wetsuit in Mission Bay just so I would not have to do it alone. Friends like that are hard to find and it was so great to have his support.
So here is how race day went…
I got up at 5am after shooting in LA the night before. Got up and grabbed everything, stopped at Starbucks and headed to the race. Got checked in, BTW VIP is the way to go, thanks Pepper! They had an assigned rack location and everything. It was sweet! I set up my transition area just the way that Jessi told me to right down to having my socks rolled up and ready to slip on. 
Then it was time to check out the swim launch area. There was the area where the next group got ready and the area where the group floated in the water waiting to start their swim. The water was COLD! I am sure I do not have to say that but I had a wetsuit on and I was cold. Let me just say that if you have not swam in a wetsuit before it is completely different than swimming in a bathing suit. A lot harder to move!!!! However, since Josh and I had been out there a couple times already I was prepared…
I know, I look hot in a swim cap. I am considering making it a thing. What do you think?
So this is the thing that surprised me about the swim. I was told that if you are not a strong swimmer you should stay in the back so you do not get trampled. Great idea. I was totally up for that so that is what I did. I also let Jeremy know that I would coming out of the water towards the back as well. As we start to swim I start to pass people and feel like I am stuck. I guess with this sort of a Mini Sprint, they do not do much training and so I ended up being one of the strongest swimmers in my group. I was as shocked as you are right now.
I went so fast that Jeremy was not even ready for me when I got out of the water. I ran right by him. When he saw me he freaked out and started taking pictures of my running away. I spared you those shots 
Next was the bike. My transition from the swim to the bike was WAY TOO SLOW but it is the hardest one especially when you are in a wetsuit. I will work on that.
The one thing that caught me off guard with how the race works with the biking part are the Mount and Dismount areas. So, since I do not ride a lot I had gotten then things that your feet slip into instead of shoes and all that good stuff. It is a good medium but I was still getting used to getting in and out of them. The ride went great and I was flying by some of the girls that were in my group and making up for lost time in the transition. Then as I got into the stretch before you enter the transition areas I was expecting the dismount area to be close to where the mount area was. It wasn’t. It was a lot earlier than I expected. No problem….my feet are not quite under me yet. They are still trying to figure out why they are not going in circles anymore. So, I get my right foot out, then go to slip my left foot out and it does not come out. So, I eat it at the dismount line. If you are a photographer you know that if and when something happens and you have an expensive camera in your hand everything hits the ground before you will let that camera hit the ground. It was pretty much just like that. I had never used such an incredible bike and I was not about to get a scratch on it so I made sure my body hit and then cushioned the fall for the bike. The guys at the bike shop seemed impressed when they gave it a clean bill of health but noticed all my scratches. Simon, if you are reading this the bike is perfect and I have the scars to prove it. ;)
With no time to waist I was straight out for the running section of the race. Although I trained the most for this part this was the hardest part for me. I am not a runner but I have been working really hard on it thanks to couch to 5K. My goal was to keep running no matter how slow I had to go and boy was I slow. It was the only part of the race that I watched people pass me on. Frustrating but it lets me know what part I need to work on the most.
And I crossed the finish line with a time of 55:22….3rd place in my age group! Again, just as shocked as you are right now!
Check out my killer wound from throwing myself under the bike.
If you are considering cycling, Wilier is an incredible bike. Weighs NOTHING! I think the water bottle weighs more than the bike. Amazing how light the Wilier is and how easy it is to ride for someone of any skill level! Thanks so much again for letting me borrow it Simon! Now I want one.
So, that is the whole story of my first Mini Sprint Triathlon. I have already signed up for a second one in Redondo Beach on June 13th. This time it will be a full Sprint Triathlon and Pepper will be joining me on this one! Come join us!!!!
Yesterday I also thought a lot about other members of my family that have served and continue to serve. My grandmother was in the service and my brother in law is currently a Navy Seal. He and his family were just relocated to the other side of the country. I miss them already! We all make sacrifices in some way. We often forget the people like my sister and my niece who moved to the other side of the country to a completely new city to support our the freedoms we enjoy.
I am sure right now you are feeling grateful for their service and wishing there was something that you could do to show your support. For years I have been feeling that way and always looking for something that I could do to give back to those who choose to sacrifice for me.
My chance to give back…..A couple months ago I got a call from an incredible coordinator in Colorado who I worked with recently on Melissa and Justin’s Wedding in Downtown Denver. She, Joanna Bailey, told me all about this great idea she had to give a military couple their dream wedding. I was thrilled! Of course Joanna wanted to make sure I was aware I would need to come out to Denver for the wedding. So TOMORROW I will be traveling to Denver to shoot the wedding of Active Duty Marine Corporal Curtis Evans and Fiance Kendra Johnson, both from North Carolina!
Joanna and I have both been completely overwhelmed by the generosity of so many people and businesses. This is the first time I have never had the opportunity to see how peoples hearts open up when you give them an opportunity to give to back. Last I checked the gifts and donations for this wedding were around $80,000. Wow! This wedding is going to be SO incredible.
There are a couple people that I asked to get involved in the giving and they jumped right in with both feet and no questions asked. First, my second photographer, Katie Van Buren. She was the first one I called and she was so excited to be a part of the event. Second, Shoot Dot Edit, for so generously donating the post production for this wedding! I use Shoot Dot Edit to edit all my weddings and I could not do this without their support!
If you want to do something for this couple you can support the companies and people who are making it happen.
Made In Multiples of South Carolina
Sara France Photography of California
Three Tomatoes Catering of Colorado
Lavish Day Spa of Colorado
RobinLee Accessories of South Carolina
Lula Kate Bridal of South Carolina
Socialite Studios of South Carolina
Ambassador Rolls Royce of Colorado
and don’t forget…..
There is a picture of the couple and a little more about the wedding in this article from The Stokes News.
The wedding is going to be at a Winery there called Casa Madero in Parras de la Fuente which is wine country here in Mexico. I did not even know there was wine country in Mexico until a couple months ago.
Since it is a destination wedding and I can have my second shooter come from anywhere, so sI decided to ask my good friend from Denver, Frances to come out. I planned the trip so that I would be able to relax and have some fun on my actual birthday which is the day after the wedding, October 11. So with all the flights booked and a basic idea of what is in store we start this weekend adventure.
I say adventure because for some reason I just knew that it was going to be an adventure and as you will be able to tell just from Day 1 of the trip, it looks like my hunch was correct!
So today was the traveling day which started out normal with cramming some work in, packing, and cleaning up the house before I left. Along with a call to AT&T to make sure that I would have some cell phone service is Mexico.
The only possible complication that we could have today was the Continental flight. Frances and I were meeting in Houston to take the only flight that goes from Houston to Torreon, Mexico a day. We both had about an hour layover which is totally doable but leaves no room for issues. Everything is running smoothly with my flight so as soon as I land I turn my phone on to find a message from Frances that their flight had been sitting on the runway in Denver for 45 minutes so they would be at least that late.
As I am walking to the gate all I can think is holy cow this is really far. There is no way she is going to make this. I approach the gate and very nicely alert them of the situation. At that moment they gave me 2 options which were:
1. Stay with her and get the first flight out in the morning which goes to Mexico and then to Torreon and gets us in around 2pm. However, the attendant strongly advises against this because of weather issues they are expecting tomorrow.
2. Get on the flight and pray that she makes it. If not I can at least get the rental car and plan situated for her arrival tomorrow and at least one of us will be there to shoot the wedding.
I do not like the sound of either of these options but I opt for option 2.
On the plane I am frantic. Making sure everyone on the plane (including the groom’s sister who is in the seat across from me) that are also on the plane know that we are waiting for the photographer and she is running. They shut the door but at the same time they continue to load luggage so I am still holding out hope. It is rare that they reopen the door but I knew she could do it. She calls and says she is at the gate and they are letting her on, HORRAY!!!! So they reopen the door and on steps 3 men and no Frances. She goes to close the door again and I start SCREAMING wait, she did not get on. Immediately, Frances calls crying hysterically! They would not let her on the plane with her camera bag, they were insisting on checking her camera bag. On top of that Continental is now refusing to pay for anything because she technically made the flight. Even though they did not give her half a second to repack the bag or sort it out with me. Time she would have had if the flight had not been delayed. Then I loose connection and they insist that I turn my phone off.
Right about now you are either reading this and you are a photographer thinking, of course she would not let them check her bag or you are not a photographer thinking just check the bag already. Here are a couple things to consider. They would not give her a fragile sticker. They would not take any responsibility for the contents of the bag and they wanted to treat it like all the other luggage which we all know would have meant a lot of money in damages and possibly the loss of the gear all together. This is when I get fired up!
Come on people, you can move some luggage around in the plane to make room for a bag. I would not give up my bag either. Luckily, the flight attendant had put me in the exit row so that my bag would fit under the seat and I am sure I could have got her bag under the seat as well. This is what happens when people can not take 1 minute to think outside the box and come up with a way to make it work. Was the answer really to leave her in Houston, refuse to pay for a room for her to stay the night and give her a ton of grief for not wanting to let you throw her 20k worth of fragile camera gear around?
After sending rances 5 text messages telling her that it will be okay and she can get on the first flight tomorrow and just to get a room and I will cover it we start to taxi. The flight attendant who had been so eagerly trying to help and hold out hope that Frances would make it on drops down in the seat next to me and starts to cry. She felt so bad that she had not tried harder or done something more. It was so sweet to see that someone else was actually as bummed as I was. So here I am, on the flight to mexico without Frances, worried sick about her and hoping she finds a place to sleep tonight.
Continental Airlines, you need to train your people to be better at working with people and understanding their needs. It is a valuable lesson that we can all learn in being creative in our approach to solving problems and working with people. She carried the bag on the 1st plane. There is no reason that she would expect to check the bag now. There is room on this flight for her and her bag and you failed us today. It is hard to judge a company by one experience but it is also hard not to. Continental failed us today and made a situation that could have been a victory into a failure.
And so starts the adventure that will be the wedding in Mexico on my birthday weekend! Life is always an adventure. That is what I love about it.
The first night we had date night I decided to plan it so I packed a picnic including sandwiches with all our favorite fixing (which are totally different because he likes Jalapenos on EVERYTHING including sandwiches), chips, desserts, and drinks. I packed it all into a bag and then we went to see a movie. For the movie we wanted to see and the time we wanted to see it the best theater was one we did not know very well but we thought why not! Right away it has the feel of a small town theater but it has all the major block busters. We asked for 2 tickets to see Funny People. Jeremy hands the lady $25 and she asks him for one more $1. We were both a little confused but then she hands him back $15. Then we were really confused. Turns out that every Tuesday night this theater has all the movies for $5.50! I never thought I would be so excited to find a deal. It was like we won the lottery. It is the little things in life sometimes. The theater is the Ultra Star Mission Valley in Hazard Center. Hope to see you there!
So, on to my movie reviews. First, let me start with Funny People. Incredible movie but make sure you go into it not expecting to see a comedy. This is a drama about Comedians real lives. I really enjoyed it. I love movies that are not predictable. I also need movies to end on some sort of a good note with some sort of a lesson. I hate movies that leave your feeling crappy, depressed or angry. I want to feel good so I usually want to watch movies that include some sort of a love story and end on a somewhat happy note with a lesson of some sort attached, so this movie was right up my ally. Check out the Trailer.
Now to last nights date night. So last night we decided to do the same thing we did a few weeks ago and get dinner and take it into the movies. This time we went to see 500 days of Summer. I was a little worried after seeing the trailer that this movie might be a little slow but boy was I wrong. I LOVED this movie! If you have not seen it I totally recommend it! It is a romance that both men and women can enjoy and I know it is hard to get boys to agree to see a movie that looks like a love story sometimes but this is the one to take them to.
There is something about the romance of the way that he loves her that is intoxicating. I am a total sap. I love, love! They say right in the beginning that this is not a love story and although that is true you will love the ride. For sure check this movie out if you get a chance and I hope you love it as much as we did!
I got this shot of David Manning in action. Check out his blog for the resulting shot.
I saw this door way and really wanted to put a couple in it. I turned around and realize that I had a couple with me so I asked Gabriel and his wife to jump in. It turns out that Sheynel is extremely shy. I took the following shots consecutively. I think Gabriel is used to it. The second shot is actually my favorite.
When we walked by this gem of a home David said, who owns this? Could I just come and fix it up and then it would be mine? Not sure what he saw in this pink shack on the side of the road but I was loving it for photography and so was David. It is my very own pink prison in puerto rico. Does that rhyme?
Manning on the other hand has always wanted to be a Pirate. He has pirate face down.
Right next to all the shacks we were taking photos of is this beautiful beach and walk way. It is a tad bit windy. I tricked Sheynel on this one. Since she was so shy I just kept trying to get them in something they would do naturally.
I love newlyweds. Why is it that getting married is always the highlight of a couple. What about after you get married? I think the first year of marriage is such an exciting time for couples. There is so much going on and so many new things to adapt to. It is even more exciting than the year before you get married. They are such a sweet couple. I am super excited that we are going to head to the inner parts of the island with the tomorrow. Apparently we did not scare them off with all our crazy photo taking the other day.
No comment.
David in his natural photo taking expression. ;)
The wedding yesterday at El Convento in San Juan, Puerto Rico was incredible and I can not wait to share some images from that. We are off to shoot the Post Wedding Fashion Shoot. Have a great Saturday!
