Epic weekend!

What a really fantastic weekend! And not so much for the training, but just the fun and good times. If every weekend was like this, I wouldn't have any excuse to complain.

First off, the promised office-isms: The cafetorium let me "enjoy" three songs on Friday morning. I caught the end of that crappy Goo Goo Dolls song from the Meg Ryan dies/Nicholas Cage lives movie, then a jump into the way-back machine for "If this is it" by Huey Lewis & the News, followed by half of "Total eclipse of the heart". Yeah, chase that junk out of your head! The cafetorium also offers some interesting people watching opportunities. There is a lady that seems to consistently make the same order from the grill: 3 egg whites (very specific), scrambled with American cheese, and 2 links of breakfast sausage on the side. Does anyone else see this as totally freakin hilarious? Why bother with the egg whites at all? Whatever the chicken put in the yolks HAS to be better than whatever Jimmy Dean puts inside those sausage casings. And processed cheese is about as nutritious as deep-fried margarine. Whateva...

One of the stalls in the men's powder room is wheelchair accessible, but we have nobody on our floor using a wheelchair, so it's always up for grabs. And it's so luxurious and spacious! It reminds me of that Seinfeld episode where Kramer adopts 2 miles of 4-lane highway, then paints every other line black, making it into 2 wide lanes. It's a good thing there's not a TV and mini-fridge in there, or it would need a "Now Serving" number thingy.

After work we got Grace and met up with our good friends from Church for pizza at Brixx. We always love the food there, and it's served so fast. This time, fortunately, we arrived early so we seated in a reasonable amount of time. This is very important for Friday nights in Greenville: the lines grow very quickly, and 45 minute waits are pretty standard after about 6:30 PM. After dinner we went over to B&N for the kids to play, me to get a new triathlon magazine, and for everyone to get some Charbucks. (yes, Lisa, but any port in a storm will do) We ran into my teammate Chris and his lovely wife Janis, so naturally Chris and I talked about sport...again. We had just met at for lunch at the Thai place, and talked about nothing but training and racing. But, neither of us seem to ever tire of discussing it, so that's a good thing. All good things must end, and we made it home. Surprisingly, we all got into bed at a reasonable (for me) hour, and got a full night's sleep.

Saturday morning I slowly and begrudgingly got up and got ready for the CT group ride. It was very foggy, and parts of me were hoping it would be canceled. I got to the turn that leads to the shop, and the group was already taking off. I asked which group it was (A, B, or C) and the response was that everyone was together. Cool, so at least it wouldn't be a hammerfest. I joined in and enjoyed a nice ~25 mile ride at a reasonable pace, but with a few chances to sprint and climb with some of the fast dudes there. Teammate Pete Risell was also there, and we got a chance to chat a few times.

Afterwards it was the much anticipated pancake outing, though Grace didn't eat as much as we hoped. She fueled sufficiently for some house "shopping" and driving around, though. We ran some errands and measured the land we've been contemplating, then went downtown to Wild Wing for some tasty treats. Home at a decent time, we again were in bed at a reasonable hour.

Sunday was a great day at Church, followed by lunch at Panera (geez, do we eat out enough on the weekends?) and a trip to Target. Then, since Grace was not likely to take a nap, we all changed and headed for a fun family time in the pool at the Y. Grace had a BLAST, and didn't want to get out. Thankfully the pool was closing in a bit, so we used that. We wound up running into Pete again, who was there with his family having a swim day. We joked about the "training" we were getting in, and both half-heartedly committed to separately doing some sort of fitness activity later that day. It was great to meet them all, and we hope to see them again soon.

We stopped by the grocery store, then dinner was at Red Robin (no, I had salad) and Grace was starting to wear down. She ate like some kind of crazy eating machine, and we hoped for a food coma. Back at home I jumped on the trainer for an intense 30 minute ride. I should have waited for my food to settle more, but at least I got something in. After a while in front of the tube, Mendy and Grace headed up, but I followed about 30 minutes later. Grace finally went to sleep, and we again had a good night's sleep. Wow, 3 nights in a row! It doesn't make the mornings much more pleasant, though. Waking up sucks worse that going to sleep early.

So, in all, a fantastic weekend, lots of activity, and lots of eating out. Our neighbor saw us coming and going about 5 times over the weekend, and I'm sure he wonders what is wrong with us. It's pretty hard to actually catch us at home unless the timing is just right.

Hope you all had a great weekend, and sorry for the extremely long read on a Monday.

It's a brand new me!

I decided (out of brute laziness) to let my facial hair grow over the last week or so. I was starting to look pretty scruffy, so this morning it all came off. Except the moustache (at least initially.) This is something I do occasionally just to freak Mendy out. With or without facial hair I look relatively normal. With just the 'stache, I look like a cop in the worst possible way. Seriously, it's like something you would see on the wall at the post office. Anyway, Mendy was grossed out, I got a laugh, and now I'm all clean shaven for another dreaded Monday morning.

I suppose the dread of Monday is because of awesome weekends like the one that's now in the record books. Friday was a nice swim at lunch to realize my 400m race time, and then after work I did hill repeats on the bike. The next time I tell you guys that I'm looking forward to or feel like doing hill repeats, someone please tell me to go sober up and sleep it off. The brutality on my legs was insane, but somehow I completed 10 repeats and rode home for a 25.61 mile total at 17.59mph avg (9-14mph on the repeats). So Saturday I just did a little core work and then some tasty sips at the wine bar after dropping Grace off with Grandma, and home for a viewing of "Factory Girl" and an early night. Weird but entertaining movie, just don't let the kids watch.

Okay, I just don't get what you guys like about the early mornings. I've heard, "Oh, you can get so much more done...blah, blah, blah..." I'm not buying it; if you start later you can get the same amount done by finishing later. Anyway, Sunday morning we were "awake" at 5:50 to go on the stupid group ride to check out the bike course of the race in a couple of weeks. I was asked to lead the fast group, so I felt an obligation to go. In the end, it wound up being a good ride and a fun morning. Anyway, the course is really nice, and I can feel the hill work paying off for me. I was cruising at over 30mph during one straight flat section near the end, and think I may seriously rock this race big time! Gonna have to run this week, though.

Afterwards we indulged in a huge breakfast at an old fashioned diner, showered up, and caught the matinee of "The Bourne Ultimatum." Since when is the matinee price for tickets $6.50? And how can a bucket of popcorn and two tubs of soda possibly cost $16? Great movie, though. My only complaint was the intentionally shaky camera work. Mendy had decided to quit training for Chicago, and the mood was very light and happy. It was such a nice day, with nice food and fun activities, that I hated to see it end. I grilled up some nice rib eyes last night and cracked a bottle of very tasty Cab Sauv, and slowly we surrendered to the end of the weekend. *sigh*

Today I need to get back in the game, though. It's going to be a scorcher today, so I may not be able to run at lunch...or possibly not at all until about 10PM. We'll see, and hopefully I won't push too hard in the heat. It would be nice if I took my own advice, wouldn't it? :-)