A Tri-fecta of Females Completes the Luna Bar Triathlon

Last Sunday, the 24th...we went to support more of our Tri family as they raced in the Luna Bar All Women's Triathlon. Pia, Dawn, and Venus did very well that day, braving a 1/2 mile swim, a 20 mile bike ride, and a 4 mile run in some very hot and dry conditions.




Through commitment and perseverance and of course, Tri-Girl power, they triumphantly crossed the finish line that day and are able to add another notch to their finishing records. Great work ladies!

Click below to start the slideshow.

Team Marv.n.Jo Completes Its Second Triathlon

It was an inevitability, a foregone conclusion, an axiom. Call it what you will, but the fact remained that we would not be a one-hit wonder in this newfound passion for the sport of triathlon.

With the wisdom and experience gained from our previous bout with Shadow Cliffs Park, we set out on August 16th to conquer it once more, but this time with more than just a casual expectation of finishing.





We triathletes are a rare and eccentric breed. It is hard to explain, but there is a strange power that draws us to do what for most is a daunting endeavor. It might be the serenity of the lake as the sun rises above it, beckoning us to explore it depths. Or perhaps it is the uncertainty of the moment, as we ponder whether or not we will find out what we are truly made of today.

Is it the camaraderie that so strongly binds us with our partners and teammates? Maybe it is the knowledge that through this process, we will come out wiser...faster...STRONGER.


Well, the answer should come as no surprise. For it is all of these reasons and much more beyond them, that drives us to push the envelope as hard as possible and cross that finish line.







And so with God above us, our families behind us supporting us all the way, and our triathlon "family" beside us, we set out to prove that we could not only repeat history, but better yet, we would improve on it.









We did so much better than we could have possibly hoped for. I was proudest of Jo. Despite the injury that had befallen her just five days before...despite the 5 days of downtime, unable to train and maintain...despite the fears and anxiety that creep into one's mind following a fall from a bike...my amazing wife overcame adversity to shatter all doubts, dispel all fear, and to promptly OBLITERATE her original time, finishing 23 minutes faster! That day, Jo truly epitomized what it means to be an ENDURANCE athlete.













My own performance was likewise an improvement. About eight weeks time between this race and the last, gave me plenty of opportunities to improve. My proudest accomplishment that day was on the swim leg of the race. I attended a swim clinic, learned new drills, refined my stroke, and 7000 yards of swimming later...I swam the exact same 400 yards in 4 minutes faster time than I did back in June. For the uninitiated, let me tell you...4 minutes improvement in a swim is MONUMENTAL! Overall, my time improved by 13 minutes since our last race! This was definitely a successful event for both of us!

A warm and heartfelt congratulations goes out to some of our Tri family who also raced that day: (clockwise from bottom left) Tom Nguyen, Kathleen Ajero, Pia Barton, Marcely Narcisso-Ackley. Great job and great finish everyone!




A slideshow of more images from this day. Click Below. photos courtesy of Jackie DeGuzman

Happy Olympics Week...sorta.

Don't know if everyone has been following the Games this week, but all we can say is WOW. This has got to be one of the most exciting summer games in a long while! China pulled out all the stops to make this event one of the most spectacular Olympics in history. If you missed out on the ceremony and don't have a Tivo....never fear, NBC has you covered:

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW FOR VIDEO OF THE CEREMONY


Something else that we're crazy about around here is the medal race that Michael Phelps is currently on. Phelps has got to be one of the most dominant swimmers of all time. He's already earned 3 Golds, which puts his career gold medal count at 9....tying greats such as Mark Spitz(swimming), Carl Lewis(track), Larysa Latynina(gymnastics) and Paavo Nurmi(running) for the most in Olympic history. Don't expect the tie to the last though...Phelps is on a runaway train to shatter all kinds of speed records and of course a record number of golds.

If you missed the dramatic gold medal performance from the 4x100 relay, check it out here where Phelps, along with his teammates Jones, Weber-Gale, and Lezak totally come from behind to blow away the smack-talking French team into the annals of history as one of the most incredible and amazing relay races of all time!

CLICK THE PICTURE TO VIEW THE VIDEO CLIP



In other news this week, the better half of the dynamic duo affectionately known to all as Team Marv.n.Jo has been added to the disabled list for the time being. During a routine training ride leading up to this Saturday's race in Pleasanton, Josephine and her race horse Ruby suffered a minor fall.

Both race horse and rider are in good condition, albeit with a few minor scrapes and bruises. While both Ruby and Josephine are healing up nicely, their participation in the Tri for Fun this Saturday in Pleasanton is listed as "questionable", but they will be monitored day-to-day leading up to the race. Stay tuned...

Bittersweet

There are good weeks, and there are bad weeks in life. And every once in a while, you have a week that is both. Why does life work this way? Who knows? Perhaps it is God's way to test our resilience. Or maybe it is gentle reminder that as easily as much as he gives us, it is a universal truth that he will eventually take it all back. And what should we do in between the two bookends of birth and death? Naturally, we should strive to write the greatest novel possible, by living a full and happy life, and touch the lives of as many people as possible. Pardon us for the moroseness of this entry, but it truly was a bittersweet week.

Saturday the 2nd of August, was a big day for Jackie and James, Marvin's sister and brother-in-law. They celebrated the 1-year old birthday of their daughter Jiannah Faith. It was a delightful gathering of many families, and featured lots of food(what filipino party doesn't?) along with the fun and laughter that comes with the joy of celebrating a birthday as significant as this one.

Here we see Jiannah trying to figure out what purpose a birthday cake serves. Is it a toy? Is it food?











Oh...I see...it's facial moisturizer! I've seen mommy do this before with that Shiseido stuff...I know what to do!



More photos from Jiannah's birthday picnic party:


Happy Birthday Jiannah!



Saturday the 2nd of August, was also a solemn day for our family. Marvin's Uncle Alex on his mother's side passed away due to cardiovascular disease. While it was a tough week for the entire family, we did our best to be strong for Mom and our cousins, who all flew out Wednesday night to attend the memorial services in the Philippines. Alexander Buenviaje was an honorable man, who served his country as a member of the U.S. Air Force for 20 years. He will be dearly missed, and is survived by wife Elvie, daughters Elizabeth and Kimberly, son Alexander, granddaughter Kaemarie, and son-in-law Federic. Rest in peace Uncle Alex, and we will all pray for God's blessing of strength and courage during this difficult time of mourning.