where to begin...

after this weekend, i've got one thing to say: ladies, we are in the wrong sport...triathlons is where it's at! saturday after my morning beach run (easy 45 cruising on the strand) my mom, sibling, and I volunteered for cheer for children by helping check in people for the redondo beach triathlon (to be held on sunday morning, and the kid was running it). and omg nothing but fit pretty people (guys more importantly. lol) coming up to me. wow! sorry, i'm releasing my inner girl right now. but it only got better, b/c sunday morning, there they were again! and this time in w/o shirts and in tight shorts! *sigh*

and now that that's over with, i can tell you all about how i work for a pirate. sort of. i know we've all seen pirates of the carribbean, you know the short, balding dude who hangs out with the tall guy w/ the wooden eyeball, that's my boss's brother! and he looks just like him (minus the bad teeth). but he's really cool, so i'm beginning to feel better and better about my job this summer.

and finally, what you've all been waiting for...

Full Name: Alexandra Luz Salinas
(My middle name is my grandmother's name)

Nicknames: alex, salinas...gosh i need a good nickname

Hometown: the C.O.T., aka T-town and Torrance, CA. (located in Southern California, where we know how to shake things up and keep it cool)

Nationality: Mexican, Native American (Shoshoni), Spanish, and now my great aunt is claiming there's French mixed in there (perhaps)

Favorite Race Distance: 5k (only during xc season), track = 1500m

Least Favorite Race Distance: anything less than 800m

Why do you run? because running gives me a sense of pride and empowerment. i enjoy racing, and i enjoy spending time w/ the chica's i've grown to love so much (i suppose that's another reason i run). but i love the fact that I can always challenge myself, and when i accomplish what i set out to do, there is no better feeling. i feel that i am invincible and can take on any challenge. as my grandma used to ask me every morning before i left for school, "are you ready to tackle the world?"...and running helps me to believe that i can.

Describe your pre-race: it starts the night before. i sit down to a prime rib dinner w/ garlic mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. i top off the night with a banana split...jk. jk. night before i am a total wreck (while i like to visualize my race, i have the tendency to freak myself out, so i can only manage doing it for a short while) race day, i like a quick paced warm-up, while listening to hellogoodbye, the rolling stones, and suburban legends.

Fast-twitch or slow? faster than some one else i know. lol. but probably more slow than anything else

Favorite kind of workout: long runs with steady climbs and short plateaus. there's a 12 mile loop we did once a month in high school, it's rolling hills with a long three mile climb in the middle. it took close to a couple of hours but it was amazing overlooking the ocean and was always my favorite.

Favorite Athlete: beth mccubbin. i saw her race at indoor track nationals, she smoked everybody. she's crazy smart too, researching solar wind or waves or some space related thing like that at johns hopkins. she's my hero.

Something other people wouldn’t know: (funny thing, much like lori, i hate the Olive Garden too) i totally have a fear of lakes and the dark

Non-Running Activities: hanging out at the beach (to work on my tan), reading, day dreaming (i've found that i talk to myself a lot when i'm alone)

Momma’s or Daddy’s girl? a little bit of both (if that's possible)

Describe your crazy relatives: oh dear. i guess there's my grandma (the one i'm named after) who insisted on having an 80th birthday party this year (and she was only turning 79), or my cousin who said she was going to move to connecticut and become a photographer (having never taken any classes or decent pictures for that matter). or my other grandma who got in a fight with her sister over a coffee mug she swore i gave to her at xmas last year (when in fact i did not)...and the list goes on

hasta luego chicas...

...alex