Yes the temperature can be perfect

Wednesday we decide to ride GWL again as the rain is a comin.....although it did not come today. The caveat is that JD had an Ortho appt at 10:50 so I had to be done by 9:45. Only true friends will agree to ride GWL at 7am when it is sure to be sub 40 degrees and maybe not even warm up.

J,E and I planned to ride. E was hit with the flu and bailed but J agreed as long as I was game. It was indeed chilly at the start and we were blessed with T, who played a bit of hooky to sneak in a ride. We rolled and it was cold but sure enough as soon as we are climbing, the sun is blazing and it was spectacular. Beautiful and absolutely awesome. Not shorts and jersey awesome...but gloves, arm/leg warmers, she covers awesome. That perfect chill that you are bundled up and totally comfortable. It was so clear you could see forever and the air was so clean it was filtering all the junk out of our lungs. And amazing how green it is already. We were like pigs in well you know....100% appreciating where we live and that we are fortunate to ride on a Wed AM.

Nothing like changing in the parking lot, flying to pick up JD and off to the Ortho. I log on the computer in the office and hammer our a nice hour of work while he is in the chair. It's all good.

Today was predicted for rain, rain, rain.....JC and I make a date to run and decide as long as it is not pouring we will run. It was chilly, 40 degrees but beautiful and sunny. Chilly run and it was good. Legs were definitely feeling the back to back rides and just as we were finishing something pulled in my hip. What the heck....and well has proceeded to stiffen up and is quite painful to walk. Ugh, why can't I be 20. Off to see KP tomorrow AM and hope a torture ART session will boost the recovery.

Power session and hammered out all my clients holiday cards and gifts and even posted and mailed them all. One check off the massive list of TO DO's before we leave next Wed for Australia. I have to work on a bit each day or the list will not get done...especially because Sun-Tue I will be downtown at the Marriott for the HPN Annual Meeting and will not have any time to come home let alone do anything.

Saturday is my power packing, planning and errand day!! Promise.

Did not accomplish much more today as had a long and lovely lunch with Mom. So nice to chat, catch up and just enjoy that fact that she lives near by and plays such a major role in my life and the kids. With JB leaving for Australia Saturday and the conference I am in a major bind- thankfully she can stay with the kids (again) Thank goodness for family. This time she will not be driving all over the county...I will pull most of that off on Sunday before I go.

Is the temperature ever perfect out here....

where you ask? Great Western Loop. So today, I,R and I meet at 8:30 (a bit later than usual due to the cold winter temperatures) to ride GWL. It was 50 degrees and chilly. Sun is out and we roll expecting the day to warm up. As we begin climbing we of course warm up and as we approach Honey Springs, we are riding counter clockwise, I am hot, so hot I am thinking about which clothes to peel off at the top. But about 10 minutes from the top the clouds being to roll in and the temperature is dropping. By the time we are on top it is not sunny and not warm. We gather up and start descending and it cold, shivering cold....I am wearing long socks,knee warmers, base layer, jersey, arm warmers, vest, shoe covers and full gloves. I am cold. We are thankful for the next climb simply to warm up. R's plan called for us to ride to Descanso so we turned right and headed out there and up. Now mind you this is the same route less than 2 months ago it was over 100 degrees and we worried about heat stroke, looked eagerly to the Descano market for a cold drink and now we are shaking and shivering. The market does us no good- not really warm inside and nothing warm to drink.

I spots the cafe across the street and we roll in there shivering and shaking with numb feet and hands. Hot chocolate comes and we cannot even speak we are too cold....we begin to thaw. Much like a cold day skiing, we take off our shoes and are warming our frozen feet but rubbing them and tucking them in warm places. Now I was frozen and there is poor R without gloves, knee warmers or toe covers. I has fingerless gloves and not knee warmers or covers. The longer we sat the more I began to worry was this going to be a day like the snow day in Ramona when E and I had to knock on a lady's door and have John come get us because it was snowing.

We realize we have to get on our bikes and get back to the car. Temperate says 40 degrees. We head out and it is cold, cold.....but soon after we begin to ride the sun comes out. Oh it feels so good. Heavenly and then we begin to descend and we freeze. So cold my mouth cannot really move and my fingers are cramping. But the good news is the sun was in and out and although descending was cold, as we got lower the temperature warmed up. So the 45 ride back was not nearly as bad as we feared. Dry clothes and heater on full and all is good.

Of course now that it is done and I am warm it was a great ride.... I was getting gas soon after the ride and was still shivering. The guy next to me says, come on, its not that cold. I tell him I just rode 55 miles and am freezing. He laughs and says, were you one of those crazies on Dehesa on a bike in this weather?....well that's Ironman training for you.

Home,home, home in the rain

well this picture pretty much sums up the trip to Puerto Rico....no not really. But imagine my surprise to find "Frank" on the patio of my room. Let me set the scene...2nd story with a large patio and I have the door wide open. Just back from site inspections and hot, cranky and tired. Trying to motivate myself to change and go for a run. Am laying in the bed and I look outside and there he is. Cruising across my patio. I screamed, only like a girl can scream....housekeeping was outside my room and immediately knocked and asked if all was okay. I throw open the door and exclaim "hell no" and usher him in. He as great and picked him up and off he went. There goes the fresh ocean breezes... could not imagine if "Frank" cruised in my room.

So glad to be home and am really enjoying the rain and cold. It was hot, "Africa hot" as we use to say in Louisiana. Hot and humid but a beautiful place. Puerto Rico is very diverse....I saw beautiful resorts on the beach, the rain forest, hotels cascading down a cliff...

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El Conquistador Resort, old San Juan with Fort San Cristobal which is the biggest fortification build by the Spanish in the Americas- it is 150 years old. In San Juan you go from ruins and history to Miami Beach like shopping and resorts to quite water front beach resorts. There truly is something for everyone and I saw most of it.

Okay not most, but a lot of it. We had one day with a lot of downtime and I worked, slept - the 4 hour time change was a killer- up until 3am and then dragging myself out of bed at 10am. The day we left the hotel was a killer- up and out by 7:30- it was bright and sunny but felt like 3:30.

There were about 20 of us and after 3 days of seeing hotels, touring hotels and off site venues in the heat, we became punchy and quite irritable at times. The last few hours were amusing - people asking (what appeared to many of us) stupid questions which only delayed the time we were there, sales people telling us every micro detail about a property to the point the group was in a coma of boredom and the driving in the mini buses. It was not all bad....we ate very well- wonderful seafood at all meals, well lunches and dinners, so many terrific local fares- mofongo , lots of creole flavoring and cooking, alcapurria, tostones and of course the Coquito (Puerto Rican egg nog) - after getting the recipe and seeing it has about 1000 calories a glass I am glad I did not know when we were there because it was delicious.

Met some great people, some very interesting ones and well some down right irritating ones- probably a good cross sampling of the population. Always great to be with people from all over the US (few of us from CA, Michigan, Chicago, Denver, Providence, NCarolina, SCarolina, NY and of course the locals) Holiday decor is 85 degrees is always a bit funny- especially the Christmas Trees at the hotel with huge feathers on top instead of a star or some other topper.

Some different traditions....Holidays do not end at Christmas. Three Kings Day is January 6 and is when the children receive most gifts. This is celebrated as the day the 3 Kings visited Christ and delivered gifts. Another popular tradition is a parranda- when a small group of friends gather to surprise another with musical instruments and caroling. The parranda start around 10pm and go from house to house until early hours on the morning. They gather on the doorstep quietly and they begin singing and playing music until their sleeping friends wake up and invite them in for good and drinks (usually rum of some kind), the host then joins the group and they to to the next place. The receipts are usually given "hints" so they are prepared to receive the feed the well wishers. Good thing that has not taken off here.....people singing and playing instruments on my doorstep at 2am would not go over well :)

And 17 hours from when I left beautiful Puerto Rico I made it home last night.....Arrived home to company for dinner. Some Australian friends of Johns. I was late, cranky and not much of a host, but he had it under control. Kids and he survived the weekend- manged to make all the practices, games and the like for the most part. Thankfully he will willingly be the chauffeur when I have to travel. JD was as tired as I...after soccer Mon- Friday and lacrosse on the weekends he is tired but Sunday night.

San Juan

Arrived in the pitch dark after a long day of travel. Did not fall asleep until after 3am...ugh, but thanks to black out drapes I slept until 10am- holy cow! Although that was really 6am CA time- so maybe not such a luxury. Opened my drapes and it was sensational....

Stunning...I was dying to go jump in the ocean but had to meet my client for a meeting. We did some work and then had an hour before our next appointment. Off came my work clothes and on went the running gear- perfect Kona training- hot and humid run! And then I jumped in to ocean- ahhhh. When we met up again I felt great- run, swim, shower and Red Bull. More tours and all in all it was an enjoyable day.

We had a wonderful dinner and I discovered the Egg Nog of Puerto Rico- hummmm

Coquito - Puerto Rican egg nog- rum, coconut milk, ginger, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. It was so good- When offered a wonderful display of desserts I declined and indulged in another Coquito- 1- I'm not driving, 2- it't the holidays. Delicious.

San Juan is an interesting place... We are staying at the Gran Melia and it is beautiful- large villa style rooms and wonderful setting. Once you are here it is spectacular but the roads and town I have seen so far has a lot to be desired. We say the Wyndham Rio Mar which has another stunning setting- Rainforest on one side and beach on the other. The white sand and blue water is so lovely. Rio Mar is much bigger, more of a convention hotel feel but the food was delicious- wonderful roasted Grouper and baked root vegetables that were to die for. Lots of mango, papaya and pineapple with the food. Puerto Rican Chardonnay is not the top of the charts...but with Coquito who cares :)

Trying hard to get on the time schedule. 4 hour time change is a lot. The evenings are perfect for me but the mornings are tough...no reading tonight. I am totally immersed in a great book The Help by Katherine Stockett. Great book about " Southern whites' guilt for not expressing gratitude to the black maids who raised them threatens to become a familiar refrain.A page-turner that brings new resonance to the moral issues involved, a story of social awakening as seen from both sides of the American racial divide."

Maybe I will take a bath on my patio tonight....

So I head to Masters Swim Monday morning with the intention of swimming for an hour…bailing out mid way through the main set, because I can, it’s the off season. As I am walking in, 2 people say, turn back now…ugh I think breastroke week? No, it’s Monday distance day and after the warm up, Sickie announces “this work out is for Julie” Really? Oh yeah…its’ an Ironman kind of work out. How can I say no….so 5200 yards later I pull myself out of the pool and make the executive decision to skip the run. Starving…..I head to Starbucks (thanks to my Dad/K Birthday gift card) I am still enjoying Starbucks. And well with 5000 yards I earned a Scone….love the blueberry scones. Chilled, did a bit of work and then headed to the airport to pick up Johan…..24 hours later he made it back from South Africa. Glad to have my running partner back.

Back to school was tough for the kids….week off and it’s hard to get up and go back. Riley came home with a less than acceptable grade from before break and put the test on my desk with her cell phone- she knows the rules. No grades No phone. For a kids who sends 2000+ text messages a month this is like asking for her shoes.

Tuesday was Brian’s birthday so we of course rode GWL. Rode from Sloan Canyon and Brian sent a pre- email that this was not going to be a hammer fest. Since he often sets the pace…well okay. So we backed off, chatted it up and had a big group. Riding counterclockwise, we are the beekeeper and about to head down the massive descent which does have one final climb- Brian calls it stinker hill. He announces that the ban on hammering does not apply to stinker hill….ugh that means uber hammer fest. He dropped us; E and I were drooling and almost falling off our bikes. JN was a total rock star out there, frickin 8 days post IM Arizona she is riding GWL. And we had double birthday treats- Rachel make the best, best cupcakes and if that was not enough Jen make double chocolate decadent cookies. Well 40 miles and 4500 ft earns you cupcakes and cookies without shame.

Wrapping up work, grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning the house….all had to happen Tuesday afternoon as I was heading out Wed AM for Puerto Rico. Got it done and even squeezed in a hair cut for Riley.

Woke up, wide awake 5:15 today….what??? Chilled for a bit and then decided well may as well get in a run before my cross country flight. Early run with Zen while Rocky was still in bed. He made it 30 minutes and started to lag so we went home to get Rocky for a short run. We head back out and Zen sits in protest at the end of the park – done running. No more for him. Rocky is only good for a short run/walk around the block and Zen sat in the same place the entire time. He was done. Dropped the boys off, fed them and ran a bit longer. Ankle is feeling good- thank goodness.

So travelling is always an experience….the good news is that the Wed after Thanksgiving is a pretty quiet day for travel. All the mayhem from the holiday is done and the Christmas travel has not started. Painless really….but I lost my boarding pass in DFW so I head to the gate and apologetically let the gate agent know. She lets out a sigh, rolls her eyes and then as if I am asking for a free first class ticket, she reprints my pass and slams it on the counter….customer always right? Hmmm no. So I always sit on the aisle and expect to get up for others but my peeve is when I get up go in the back, wait for 5 people, use the restroom and work my way back, sit down and as I am opening my book the guy on the window wants to get up. Come one….what about the 10 minutes the seat was empty???

winter.....yeah

As we went to bed Thursday I was complaining that I am tired of the summer like weather. I want winter, cool temperatures. Time to wear socks, sweaters and feel a change in seasons. Plus we are headed to Australia in 2.5 weeks and it is summer down under and I want to appreciate the warm weather.

Friday AM it is chilly....but is has been chilly. We we up early to run? no bike? no swim? no. Shop? yes. The big shoppers we are (not) we of course headed to Pearl Izumi at 7am for the 40% off sale. Most fit shoppers you will ever see. Store was filled with cyclists and triathletes alike. Nothing for JB but I scored some nice winter gloves, regular gloves and a great base layer. Huge deals and savings on gear I love, but don't need. So I used great will power and we left. Home to change into shorts as it was warming up. Off to the 1st soccer game of the tournament and game was a tie. Game 2 was at Westiview- nice and convenient. 4:00 game and I elected to bring a sweatshirt. Well by the end of the game the cold front had come in and I was freezing....home to sweats. sweater. big socks and blanket. Yeah!!!

Up early Saturday for a very chilly run in the rain and wind. Legs are stiff from Thursday...after looking at my powerfile our Thanksgiving ride was a freakin hammer fest and considering I mostly rode alone I manged to hammer myself. Run felt good though, legs loosened up and my ankle felt the best it has since my sprain on Halloween. I think it is nearly healed. Did not swell much after so it's all good.

Headed to JD's game and it was freezing...okay so winter is more fun when inside drinking tea vs bundled up and sitting at a soccer game. But really, I did like it- coats, gloves, hat and an excuse for Starbucks. Game was a loss....not going so well. Game 2 was even colder but it was a win! Yee haw, we advance and get to play early Sunday morning in the semi finals.

Meanwhile we are bundling up and watching movies at night and loving the vacation....but I did get my massive Quick Books project done. Caught up year to date. I am not letting that lapse again. Commitment to reconcile every month so I don't have to spend another weekend on accounting.

So my training week was supposed to be a week off with possible 30 minute spin or run. So I was pretty much off but slipped in a 4 hour hammer ride and then a 1:15 hilly ride 2 days later. I say to coach that is almost a week off.....not so much in his eyes. I say how about swim Monday (only swim) and a ride Tue (oh and by the way the ride is GWL). He replies I would like to see 7 days totally off. I reply, GWL will not be a hammerfest and even forward him Brian's message that Tuesday's ride is his birthday ride and will not be a hammerfest- it says so in writing. I am hoping this gets me the "go ahead to ride" See I am traveling Wed- Friday and will not be training much (maybe an early run before I fly on Wed) but working mostly....so I want to do something. Have to love KP- he tries and I negotiate and we compromise - well kind of. Actually yes- my plan for this weekend was a massive training week, little work, time off, more training....but I only did that 2 days and ate, slept, drank coffee all the other days. Sleeping until 7 and then getting up for coffee, walking the dogs and then back to bed is absolute luxury. Until about 8:30 and I am totally stir crazy and have to get up.

Kids are wiped out...preparing to head back to school tomorrow- poor JD is wiped out - 4 soccer games, hard games and then lacrosse this afternoon. He stood in our 56 degree pool for 10 minutes after lacrosse - simulating an ice bath for his very, very sore legs. Usually offer a long tournament his club team has practice off, but tomorrow is HS soccer and no day off. So he needs to freshen up and be ready for a full week of soccer- with his first game on Tuesday. He fell dead asleep on the couch at 7:00 reading. Riley had lacrosse today as well but is mostly tired from all the socializing..movies, shopping, sleep overs can really wear out a girl. Hey it's vacation. She did spend 90 minutes on Algebra review today with JB so she her brain got some stimulation and will not go into shock tomorrow in school.

Thanksgiving.....

What a fantastic day.....started with a beautiful run with Zen and a brief run with Rocky. Loaded up and out to El Cajon for our favorite ride GWL. Multiple rides going on today.....Tri Club. Cyclo Vets and lots of traffic so JB and I rolled on our own. We started off counterclockwise and then changed our minds and decided to see if we could catch the group. We rode pretty hard and then settled in. It was a sensational day....clear and warming up and a slight wind. The group had spread out so it was great fun picking off people up the climb. At the beekeepers I decided to keep going to Descanso and the wind picked up, big time, we are talking Kona like headwind. Thank goodness for the tunes and I powered along alone- after not training much it was really nice. The wind got worse the climb steeper and I was dreaming of a my Sbux Double Shot at the Descanso Market- about 2 miles from Descanso as the wind picked up, which seemed impossible, I began to panic....what if they were closed for Thanksgiving. Luckily for me they were not.... coffee in, more water and a tail wind!! Awesome ride back, more coffee at Starbucks and we rolled home.

We had 3 hours to get the turkey cooking, make the stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry and sweet potatoes. Oh and clean the house and set the table. More coffee and I was ready to roll. John and I did it together.

Here are the girls from dinner....Lori had to go (umm had a date) so here we are. John had dinner with a harem.

Great dinner....turkey was a bit overcooked- first time bbqing a bird and it got done much faster than expected. The sweet potatoes were my favorite and T brought a sweet potato, curry and kale salad that was delish. Desert was mmmm with a Pecan creation by C and how can I forget the fresh bread by L. Everyone helped and it was great- nice long walk with the pups as John slept after dinner.

Missed the kids but nice they could be with their Dad and his family.....each sent me a nice Turkey Text and was able to chat with Dad and a quick call to Mom for a "what do I do with the flappy skin where the turkey head use to be" question and missed my Sis and Bro. With Bro and family in India did not expect to connect and surely sis was as busy as us...all in good thoughts.

So much to be thankful for.....but the top of my list has to be family, wonderful kids, husband and my parents and siblings. Beyond that am blessed with great sis and bro in law and step parents. Being surrounded by my family is one my favorite things. Having a healthy body is another gift I appreciate, one that will take me through this journey of life and tolerate all the suffering of Ironman. And of course my friends...from long ago and now. The ones I talk with daily and the ones intermittently but keep close in my thoughts and memories.