Jason and I went to the Tool concert last night at the Star Center in Rio Rancho. The concert ranks up there as one of the best shows that I have been to. Most of the songs they played were from Tool's newer albums. I wish they would have played "The Pot" or "Prison Sex" as those are two of my favorite songs. Maynard was hidden in the shadows on the stage so you only could see his silhouette. The onstage props were cool looking and the lightshow was very entertaining. Hopefully, they will come back to Albuquerque or somewhere nearby. Tool's set list from the Rio Rancho show listed below.

1. Jambi
2. Stinkfist
3. Forty Six & 2
4. Schism
5. Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)
6. Rosetta Stoned
7. Flood
8. AEnima
9. Lateralus
10. Vicarious

Last December I entered myself into the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon lottery. To my surprise, I won a slot to compete in the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon on June 14th. Once I found out I was going to be in the triathlon, I committed myself to train for this triathlon for the next 4 months. The Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon features a 1.5 mile swim through frigid waters (~54°) from Alcatraz Island to shore, a challenging 18-mile bike ride, and a demanding 8-mile run through the rugged trails of Golden Gate Recreation Area. The entire course is set against the natural beauty of San Francisco. The race had 2,000 triathletes participating and over 20,000 spectators cheering throughout the race course. This is by far the best supported race that I have been in. The bike/run course was closed off to traffic and there were aid stations galore.

As for the race itself, is really challenging. When I jumped off the boat to start swimming to the shore, I was totally expecting the water to be shockingly cold. Luckily my wetsuit helped keep the cold water out and I felt very comfortable during the entire swim. The only issue I had when I swam to shore was I got off track and ended swimming a lot more than I actually need to. I thought the current was going to be a lot stronger and I overcompensated for it which caused me to get off track. Once I got out of the water, I peeled off my wetsuit and put on my shoes so I could run to the main transition area. The run to the transition area was about 1 mile from where I got out of the water and it also allowed me to get the blood flowing through the rest of my body. Once I got on the bike, I was cruising pretty well through the very scenic bike course. There were a few steep hills that you had to climb but luckily living near the foothills in Albuquerque I did not have any issues climbing up them. The run was by far the hardest part of the race for me. I'm not a great runner anyways but there was a lot of vertical climbing involved and it felt like a trail run to me. The sand ladder was quite impressive and I had to walk up that since my legs were feeling fatigued after the 4.5 miles to get there. Once you make it to the top of the ladder, you have to run about another 1/2 mile up to the top of the hill and then the rest of the course is downhill. My legs actually crapped on the last mile or so but I was able to motor on through and finish the race. This was a incredible experience for me and I'm glad I won a lottery entry slot into this triathlon. Next year, I'm considering do the Escape for the Rock triathlon. I definitely want to swim from Alcatraz to shore again that was my favorite part of the race.