Tuesday Tibit: Perfection

 The most difficult part of attaining perfection 

is finding something to do for an encore.   

~Author Unknown

I was too tired to post yesterday so today's tidbit is a little longer than a tidbit. Sorry for the false advertising, I just like this title for Tuesdays. The word of the weekend was "indulgence," but I have opted for a quote about perfection, because that is what was achieved this past weekend. I need to find a way to be independently wealthy so that this extravagant, indulgent, PERFECT weekend+Monday can happen way more often.

Saturday:

Picked up R and headed to Folsom State Park (Granite Bay Beach). We stopped at a Starbucks to pick up S our third musketeer and to avoid her having to pay the $10 parking fee. On the 1 hour plus drive to the race I tried to eat a Luna Protein bar. I usually like them, but this particular morning I was not up for fake food. There was a Noah's Bagels next to Starbucks so I got a Good Grains bagel, toasted with peanut spread thickly between the slices. I only hate half, but it was heavenly. I haven't been lov'n cream cheese lately so now peanut butter is officially my new thing. Pre-race I ran into a Delta Tri Club member in his 60's. We chatted and wished each other a good run. The course started over some easy sand, a little fire road and then onto the single track trail. The elevation gained/lost was only 341 feet, but I would guess there was never more that 25 yards of flats except the last 1/2 mile of the run which was pretty flat. It was always up or down hill except for mile 4 where there was a good 150 yards of sand. I live in the VALLEY, save for an overpass here and there, there are NO HILLS. Part of being successful on the first 3 miles was mentally staying focused and the occasional chit chat and joking with a person who recognized my club shirt and that fact that there are no hills where I am from. I finished the first 3 miles in 32:19 and was hopeful for a fast finish. (Fast for me)

Then came mile 4, the steepest of all the climbs, sand and plain old fatigue (physically and mentally). I haven't really trained for this, this run was a training run for my flat 1/2 marathon in March. Then from behind in mile 5 came my 60+ year old team mate. Trotting easily along. I tried my best to stay up with him, but he still finished ahead of me. What I did do was manage to stay up with him and cut my mile times in mile 4 and 5 from 11:51 and 12:15 respectively to 10:09 in mile 6. It was there, I just had to dig and the 10:10 was on pretty flat terrain and included a good amount of walking. Who knew I could run 10:10 in mile 6 and do it with some stretches of walking. After the run my DTC buddy and I were chatting and it turns out he has an extra pass for the pool at the University 1 mile from my home. Guess who the new lucky winner of that fancy pass is? You guessed it, ME! and I have a swim date at 11:00 am Monday.

By the Mile: 1. 10:26   2. 10:38   3. 11:15   4. 11:51   5: 12:15   6. 10:09   Finish time was 1:06:38

Afterward I took my fancy shamancy $5 off coupon to fleet feet and final got the compression socks I have been wanting. They were expensive and I know there are cheaper ones out there, but I really wanted them and thus began my weekend of indulgences.

 

After a shower at the in-laws cabin in the hills we went to a spa and got manicures, pedicures and massages. The color I chose is called something like rain lily, but I am pretty sure cute nike shoe pink is more appropriate.

Then we went to TASTE restaurant for dinner. Please check them out, make a reservation and enjoy an amazing dinner in a quiet town...then go wine tasting like we did.

Sunday

We all had a relaxed start. We had plain oatmeal and bananas on the menu, but when R started eating Girl Scout Cookie Thin Mint ice cream before 8:00 am we knew it was all down hill from there. We had 2 pounds of See's chocolate and decided a few pieces for breakfast wasn't a bad idea. That then morphed into me crumbling the chocolate covered almonds into my oatmeal with bananas. DELICIOUS!

The afternoon was all about having lunch on a hillside overlooking vineyards on a perfectly sunny day and wine tasting. I highly recommend the Primativo and Tannat at Sobon Estates and Paul's Vineyard ReZerve Zin and Babera at Shenandoah Vineyards. Both places are owned by Sobon and Paul is the wine maker for both. I believe they are all 2008 except for the Tannat which is a 2009.

Monday

Today I had the day off for no reason, just time. So after I dropped off the little ones at day care I thought to myself, "Self: you should do something today." By something I was thinking Bikram Yoga, but then I realized I would have to pay $15 for drop in, would probably not go again and DUH I have a gym membership. So I pulled up the GroupX class schedule and saw that there was a 9:15 am class. It was 8:30 so I stopped at Panera for a Trailmix Bagel toasted with peanut butter and was on my way. I need to start carrying my yoga mat in the car again, I had to use one of the short foamy mats at the gym, not ideal. Class was over at 10:15 and my swim date wasn't until 11 so I jumped on the treadmill for 2 miles with a incline interval run. FANTASTIC. I met my DTC buddy at the University Pool and swam 1750 meters. It took me 51 minutes, but there were breaks to talk, kicks, strokes and resting so I am happy with the workout. Even better, it is an outdoor pool so I got my first tan marks. Yup sun enough for tanning in February. I love California. I even wore a sundress the rest of the day just to celebrate the 65 degrees that felt like 80 degrees. Had sushi with the hubby for lunch, made a fantastic dinner, then got all bruised up at Krav Maga. I tried to post this on Monday at 9:30PM, but I couldn't keep my eyes open so I hit the hay and thus you get the Longest Ever Tuesday Tidbit.

Why I Kick A$$: Because I looked super hot in my new skirt today at work. There is nothing like looking as good as you feel.

Thankful Three:

1. Fried Chicken and waffles for dinner
2. A running partner at 6:15 AM despite crazy wind worthy of wind advisories
3. For chocolate cupcakes with my munchkins