SLO fun

Last week was perfect timing for me to take a mini vaca from work and the regular routine (although, my laptop was always within reach, and it got used).

The destination: San Luis Obipso. Accommodations: My sister's college pad. Itinerary: Non-stop activity.... Just how I like a trip. None of that lounging around fluff. Benoit joined me. :)

Side note #1: My knee/IT band is still no bueno, so running is not happening. I'm rehabing, foam-rolling, icing and not doing workouts that evoke "bad" pain. However, my activity level is still pretty high with long crazy hikes, hours of walking around towns, cycling, swim, gym. Combined, all that's probably not the best for a quick recovery, but I just can't bench myself from life. Chances are I won't be able to run at Boise, but I'm maintaining fitness and have hope for Vineman still.

The highlights of SLO included (prob out of order because I already forget):

*Actually having fun on a long drive to and from because of the company.... and the cooler in the back supplying us with endless food.

*Visit to Morro Bay via car. Me & the sis catching up at Morro Rock, living dangerously of course...

*Celebrating my sister's new job at Cal Poly SLO's newspaper, The Mustang Daily. She's following in my footsteps--I got my start at SDSU's Daily Aztec--and I couldn't be more proud!

*A morning hike up Bishop's Peak. Oh how I wanted to run this trail. Even at hiking pace, it's not an easy climb but so fun.

*Lunch at Natural Cafe. Eat there. It's good.

*Afternoon 30-miler on Hwy 1, making that visit #2 to Morrow Bay via bike. The sis was rockin it... Benoit was surprisingly speedy for a new cyclist. Soccer really builds power & endurance in the legs... I was loving every second...

*Wine, Thai food, bike commuting on old-school bikes with spiderwebs, more wine, watching college kids "pre-game," feeling old, a college party and a 1 a.m bedtime!!!

Side note #2: Going to that college party made me sooooo glad that part of my life is over. It's cut-throat out there when it comes to appearance, impressing the other sex, giving dirty looks to your competition of the same sex, trying to fit in to "the scene," etc. Benoit and I observed from the background and were cracking up at the little spectacles college kids put on. If only they could see how silly they look. Scary part is, I was there once.

*Falling in love with SLO. What a great town and outdoorsy place, complete with the essentials: fro-yo, coffee shops, Trader Joe's, hills and trails galore. Oh, and gum too...

*Cooking a brown-rice pasta dinner for my sister featuring Benoit's homemade marinara sauce. Yum yum.
*Another ride through the countryside and vineyards. Gorgeous & very Vineman-esque.

Side note #3: After racking up lots of miles and hours of outdoor activity with Benoit, I've come to a conclusion: I am so happy to be in a relationship with a guy who likes triathlon but it's not his sport. Benoit is a great athlete and can hang with me on any swim, bike and run, but he's not geeked out on speed, pace, HR, power, distance, etc (like me), and he's not trying to be all competitive (like me). He's into the endurance stuff just for fun. The soccer field is where his competitive side is unleashed.

I am, however, starting to geek out Benoit on tri attire, like his cool new Zoot compression tights (which he wore on his 15-hour flight to South Africa)!...

~~~

The trip to SLO was shorter than I wanted. It's ok, I got to make an appearance in Carlsbad for the Zoot sales meeting event. I figured they'd had enough of me, but the Zoot crew asked if I could do a little modeling for their evening fashion show. With catered dinner. I was in!

The fashion show was fun, and I got to model a just-released piece of equipment. Pure amazingness. But I'll talk about all that in my next post.

After all that I was exhausted, and I milked the minimal-working-no-school life for a few more days, until I dropped off Benoit, who's off to South Africa for the World Cup.

My attempt at an artsy snapshot of our view during lunch in Venice....

Next up: Learn how to disassemble my bike for a fun trip to Boise in a few days!!!