Venti Americano Please!

Those lovely caffeine-rich drinks a la Starbucks got me through the busy weekend. Unlike my last adventure up at Ian's, where when the workout ended so did my need to be anything but a food-consuming-couch-potato, this weekend had non-training social stuff and chores on the agenda in addition to big mileage. And that's pretty much how life is going to be from here on out--busy. I start school next Monday (already?!) and my calendar seems to be fattening up heading into 2010. These guys can make life that much easier:
This weekend was the last hurrah of one of my biggest 3-week training blocks to date. I've recovered and responded well to the increased loads, but I was still ready to get the weekend done with and start tapering for the Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon this Saturday. (For once, Mom and Dad won't be making the journey to this race; I have both of them busy training for their upcoming triathlons, so I dare not tear them away from that. I'll be heading up to SB with friends instead, which should be a blast.)

And while I'm in SB, fav training partner Sara is going to Alabama to compete in the USAT Age Group Nationals! Lately, a lot of my days begin like the pic below: Sara & I looking fresh before we get to work (this day we did a 5k run - 30k bike - 5k run, with crazy intervals on the bike led by gnarly dudes, in San Onofre/Pendleton area):




Sara joined me for a portion of my weekend training--the big ol' run part. I can't speak for her, but I think halfway through our 10-miler on Saturday the freshness was fading. Coming off a 30+ mile Santiago Canyon ride that morning, we ran fairly well (about a 7:45 avg), but I think it's because we just wanted to be done asap!

Later that evening, with one mega nap squeezed in, I switched into "going out" mode, got my caffeine fix and met up with Brynn & company for her birthday dinner in Huntington Beach. The night was well worth losing some precious sleep hours; I even randomly ran into some familiar faces, including Christine, who I had a sprint-to-the-finish battle with (which I won) back at the Newport Sprint in April. Small world! Couple pics from the night:



As expected, it was hard to wake up to Sunday's alarm, but getting an early start was necessary in order not to be incredibly late to the afternoon Baby Shower I was invited to. I needed a change of scenery from LF, so I parked in San Juan Capistrano and rode south through Camp Pendleton and back for a total of 65+ miles. Surprisingly, my legs felt good and I was done with the whole outing in 3 1/2 hours, with breaks.

Then, despite the miles taking their toll--and my parents telling my how tired my eyes looked--I put on my best girly face to prep for all the "ohh-ing & ahh-ing" and estrogen overload and headed to my good friend Holly's baby shower. Holly was often my DD back in the day, and now she's probably the proudest mom-to-be around; she's the one on the left:



Now, I love my group of girlfriends who were at the shower, but when it comes to babies and being married (or wanting those things)--which summarizes most of their lives--I just feel like an alien around them. I have zero desire to have kids anytime soon, and tying the knot isn't exactly a high priority either. Needless to say, I get confused looks when I say that I'd rather do Ironmans for the next X amount of years rather than change diapers. And even after (or if) I finally get to those diaper days, you can bet I'll still race as long as this body allows it.

Still, it's always precious to meet a new little dude, especially when he came from one of my former party partners--my how we've changed! This is Noah, who's 3 weeks old:



Noah's parents, Marcai and Randy, live close to Santa Barbara, and for a second they wanted to come to my race Saturday, but the idea of bringing a newborn? Not gonna to happen. See, just another reason why kids should not be on my to-do list... I'll just stick to admiring them from afar. I have too much I want to accomplish first.