A little bit about me - I grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico. I ran track and field in high school, but it was mostly for fun. I attended Tulane University where I definitely did NOT focus at all on athletics. I went on to graduate school at University of Washington, where I occasionally took a pleasant jog.

Fast forward a few years.

Little did I know the effect watching my future sister-in-law race in the Seattle Danskin Triathlon in 2001 would have on me. It looked so cool and exciting! I had to try this. I started "training" that summer. I neither knew how to swim, nor did I own a bike of any kind.

In my first sprint in 2002, I was one of two (foolish) people without a wetsuit, and barely survived the short swim. But, oh boy, I was hooked! I completed a few more sprints that summer. In 2003 I became interested in racing longer and tried Olympic distance events. In 2004 I completed my first half-Ironman and realized that the rigors of racing longer were my gig. In 2005 I raced my first Ironman at Couer d'Alene and then headed down to Ironman Florida. I knew this was the distance.

In 2006 I took a break from racing, but not from training. Our son, Donovan Javier Ramirez, was born in late March, and I spent the year being a dad.

In 2007 I decided to see how far I could go in the sport and decided to race as a pro. It was a tough season, and I learned a lot, particularly about how hard the life-balancing act can be at times. I am ready for 2008 to arrive and give it my best (and hopefully, go really fast...)

cheers