The Experiment In Mind Reading Concludes

The 35-39 age grouper answers the following questions in today's installment of "GUESS WHAT THE WOMAN IS REALLY SAYING."

"Did the intreped athlete make the right decision last night?"
"Was Mistress happy or mad to see the athlete?"
"And most importantly- Did he train?"

Well all the fussing over running to and from swim practice was moot as I left my running shoes at home. Dosen't it always work that way? To answer the last important question first, Did I train last night? Well of course. Like I said they, the swim coaches, changed the time of practice so I went to my club and swam there. It was a good workout and I was able to check in with the new managers we put in the club. Two birds with one stone.

Was Mistress happy or mad to see me last night when I got home and was it the right decision to choose the earlier workout? Mistress was very happy that I got home when I did. Between being dehydrated, running to you know where without warning and a Mighty Mo whose sole job now, it seems, is to sit on the puppy until he yelps, I was warmly greeted with a, "Hello Dear, I am sooo glad to see you, hold him, I'm going upstairs for few minutes. BTW, you're on your own for dinner, I didn't make anything."

"Wait, you didn't make anything? I can't cook. Is there anything in the...ah crap you can't hear me your upstairs."

So I guess I made the right decision after all.

"Ain't There No Love In This House?"

I think Mistress has been talking to Robo-Stu. And I certainly don't mean that in a bad way or to bring the persona of Stu to this blog. Robo is thru and thru a Tri Geek Kahuna icon and I only continue to mention him because I think he scared something loose in me and now I am jumpy.

Like the captain of the football team who is also the school bully, even though he always slams you into lockers you keep looking for some kind of approval that will never come. That might be a bit too tough, Stu is a great man and I look forward to meeting him again but he has a way of well...tough love. Now God Bless my wife she does too. I mean she has always been a 'tough love gal' but today has been a tough day for her and she wasn't into my 'waffling mood' and jumped on me like a cyclist on a Cervelo P3 Carbon.

I was explaining to her that I may or may not run to swim practice and that it was moved to a later time so I would be getting back later at night or that I would bail out of work now and go to my club and run and swim there or because she left work early and has been puking her guts up all day (among cough cough other things) I would come home a take over some Mighty Mo duties so she could get some rest. (I think that last offer was a kind gesture on my part even though I didn't want to do it).

Well she turns around and says, "Your the one that made this big commitment. Go to the gym or quit, its on you." Hello! Did Mistress just tell me to workout while she is in distress?

Well heck yeah I'm leaving to workout right now. But let me tell you this...I know Mistress and if I abuse this generostity and just blow off the fact that shes been blowing all day and workout till my hearts content and come home when I want, my house will not be content for a long time. She will use it against me for weeks that I did not help her when she was down.

Yes, yes, yes I know she said something different. But don't you get it-SHE IS A WOMAN. I don't understand women, even my spouse. So when my mind comprehends her telling me one thing its a pretty good sign I need to do EXACTLY the oppossite. So a quick run on the treadmill (damn monsoon warnings) and a swim in the pool.

Racing To Beat The Band

No sooner do I get into the house than the wind picks up to 40 mph and it rains two inches in an hour. This morning the news reports gusts of 65 mph, cars and manhole covers floated away, roofs collapsed on grocery stores and dozens of trees were struck by lightening. Fish were found in areas fish should not be. One of the biggest monsoon storms of recent history though not the fierciest.

I read about all the Alliance blogs in the mid-west and how they write about beating the storms before they hit. Its not something that I really have to worry about here but its now a concern with the monsoons.

Today is master's swim practice, at an outdoor pool. I can't believe that there would be practice during one of these but they can be so unpredicable that I will show up and if its cancelled its cancelled or if its called during the practice so be it. The only issue I have today is that I was going to run the 2 miles there and back from my office. Obviously that is not a smart plan if there is a repeat performance.

Training For The Day

So all the weather wonks said that today would start a trend of slightly below normal temperatures. "Wow what a great day to ride to work and back." So I jumped on the ole stead and peddled on in. Good ride, averaged a bit over 20 mph on the 15 mile ride to the office.

I was just outside and crap did it feel hot. I thought it is at least 110 degrees. So I check the online sources and no it is still 'below' normal at 102 degrees but its 30% humidity. No wonder it felt weird. Some deal called the Dew Point is at 68. Now supposedly this number is in relation to the monsoon season and the first three consecutive days over 52 or 55 signals the start of the monsoon. I don't know about all of that but I no if the number is high, that is bad. When the number is low, that is not as bad. I suppose in areas where the Dew Point is not even mentioned is flippin' great.

So I will complete the circuit, baring monsoon, and get in a nice 30 miles today.

My photo journey on the PCH

Robo-Stu is once again in front of the formation. During this shot he is instructing Joel on the finer points of proper training.

Do you notice the four leaf clover on Robo-Stu's jersery. I notice in a lot of my photos I am seeing this part of his jersey...the back of it that is. Geeesh and we haven't even left yet.

This is the original four horseman of Orange County. Their comraderie and friendship is quite evident and as I was driving back it makes me want to reconsider the singularity in which I train.

No good adventure is worth its salt without a proper 'Going Off' picture. Kahuna Jr. snapped this for us.

Oh look finally a picture of Robo-Stu from the front with my camera...doh, I am still behind him.

As the Kahuna writes about quite often I am still three days later haunted by the taunts of Robo-Stu. Not in a bad way by any means, more like a drill instuctor. He really only wants the people around him to be successful and yes it is tough love. Should it be any other way really?

When I took this, I think Head Doc was trying to convince Kahuna to do a triathlon race or a swim distance race the next day.

Prodigal Joel was having none of that and distanced himself.

Overlooking Trestles, which if I remember rightly is the name of an area that has some of the best waves in the world. The perfect tour guide Kahuna was pointing out numerous landmarks from our vantage and even snapped off a call to Kahuna Jr., to give him the surf update.

The first of hopefully more pictures of the Yosemite trip. Standing on Toulumne Pass at roughly 11,000 feet. Right after this is when altitude sickness really hit me.

Hooray! I go up an age group today

Today I turn 35 years old. While I appreciate birthdays more than so than say Father's day, today the best gift is that my next race will done in a less competitive age group.

Yesterday Mistress dragged me out to find a new or new and matching LazyBoy recliner as the one I got at 30 is officially destroyed as of last week. We went to some stores and I sat in dozens but I just didn't find anything to I liked. For one, the last chair is now discontinued so no more storage areas under the armrests, with built in massage controls. Now its all about design.

In my heart I would put that $500-$1800 on a new bike. Heck I would be fine in a $50 reclining camp chair, they even make them in ten different colors, and put the rest into a new ride. Oh well, I didn't bring it up but that's what happens I guess.

In a change of tune, I bought my mom a new Hoover Floormate. She watches the Mighty Mo four days a week for free and as such I feel I need to do good things for her. Plus as I have stated many times I am not a fake holiday guy like Mom's Day. I prefer to do nice things for my loved ones year round rather than be reminded by some Greeting Card-Candy-Industrial-Complex browbeating me and guilting me to buy something.

Today and tomorrow will be picture blog days. I have some pictures now from my camping trip and I got my film developed from the PCH trip. I also got a quarterly newsletter from my professional triathlete buddy, Joe Umphenour and he sent some great action photos. He is having a great session and I will write about that in detail later.