Our inaugural PNW multisport race of the year and first multisport race as Washingtonians took place this past weekend.  We signed up last minute to avoid racing in the rain.  Sun was out and the guns were out on race day. The South King County junkyard dogs: Racing in a different community and on brand […]

“I know you got mountains to climb, but always stay humble and kind.” – Tim McGraw When you are pursuing a big goal, it is easy to get lost in the mountain that is ahead of you.  One thing I constantly remind myself is not to get distracted by the small, mundane problems that can […]

We have four simple rules at the Kawaoka compound: Don’t talk, act. Don’t say, show. Don’t promise, prove. Don’t eat Mcdonald’s, eat lettuce.   This past weekend, I had two athletes racing a local 10-mile road cycling time trial (Taco Time Ice Breaker TT) — my wife (Becca) and Michelle M. This “out season” has […]

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and […]

I ended last season burnt-out, drained, and mentally checked out.  I got caught up in “Kona chasing” and it really got to my head when I did not qualify on multiple attempts. I quit training completely for two months- zero physical activity and contemplated hanging up the cleats for good. I chatted with George Gage, […]

Rewind to last April at the Bartlett Lake Olympic triathlon-  I gapped my #1 trash talker, Adam Folts, on the bike by six minutes and he almost caught me on the 10k run.  After the near embarrassment, I really focused on my run and lost some of my baby fat. His trash talk began early and often for […]

You don’t play triathlon. You play soccer; it’s fun. You play baseball. Triathlon is work that you can leave you crumpled in a heap, puking on the roadside. It’s the physical brutality of climbing Mount Everest without the great view from the top of the world. What kind of person keeps coming back for more […]

A silly idea came to mind last April while visiting Seattle. Let’s do the Seattle to Portland bike ride on a tandem!  I easily talked Jenna into being the stoker and we booked our tickets for July 11.  Team Jelli had a mission of being first tandem across the line. We had never ridden a tandem until […]

It ain’t over till the fat lady sings. My first big race of the year took place in the cool, fresh pines of Show Low, Arizona. Temperatures were expected to be in the 80s on race day.  Mix that with altitude, rolling hills, and a little trail running, I knew I was in for a […]

You learn more out of defeat than success, because sometimes success makes you overlook things. – Chris McCormack, 2x Ironman World Champion The highs I experienced winning my age group at Ironman Canada was surreal. I felt like I was on top of the world. I was happy and giddy for days. As an age […]