Woo Hoo, man am I feeling better! There is nothing, and I repeat nothing, that can't be solved with of few days of TLC from good ol' mom and dad! Some pampering, some retail therapy, some uninterrupted training time after sleeping in and being well fed. It just has a way of turning things around! I have been in California at my parents since Saturday and I am feeling meeelllllooowww and chillllll. It's a nice feeling.

Today was such a special treat. My mom took the day off to spend with Annie and I headed up to get in a fun training session with none other than Punk Rock Runner. Ron and I met on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene last year and were fast friends immediately. I love the Punk Rock Racing gear and Ron is just a great guy.

 

It's been so cool to watch him dabble in the ultra world and we had a lot to talk about today with his recent finish at the American River 50 miler.

We headed out for a fun ride where Ron had to get some specific intervals in. I had so much fun sitting on his wheel and making him nervous encouraging him along the way. It was a gorgeous day and the route he took me on was full of rolling green pastures, happy cows, and frolicking sheep. It so totally rocked!

At the end of the ride I went back to the car to change to run clothes and he went to his office to change. We met back up and few minutes later and we matched. We had a good laugh about that. We even had the same shoes on, and the same shirt. Totally unplanned! PIC and I do that all the time, but I didn't expect it out of Ron.

We had a great run discussing training methodology and it was cool to hear about all the progress he has been making. Progress is good!

On the way home from the training session I was just smiling. I have made so many great friends all over the globe via triathlon, but none are quite like Ron. He's just such a kindred soul.

I finished off the days training with a dip my new favorite pool in San Jose. I always struggle swimming when I am in San Jose. I used to finagle my way into the YMCA pool through my parents membership. Then last year I found the Camden Community Center and I swam there a ton, but I had to swim between 6-8am. Well, apparently California is broke because they closed that pool due to budget issues. So I was without a pool.

I called all around and finally found this totally awesome pool. It's the student pool at San Jose State University. It's outside, great temperature, and it's huge. It does have a lot of green areas on the bottom, and it's a bit rag-tag, but honestly, it makes me love it even more. Despite it's battle wounds, it's still clear, and clean. It has character! It's open for lap swimming from 7am to 10pm most every day. How rad is that? The best part...it's $3. The second best part...all the students use it to lay out, not to swim. I'm in love with this pool and have visited it every day I've been here. Love.It.

I had a great swim and came home thoroughly rejuvenated. Things are starting to come together. The girls fly in late tonight, and tomorrow we leave for Lake San Antonio. I'm not nervous any more. This little mini vacation has allowed some time for Troy and I to sit and talk deeply about the stress of the last few weeks. I am so lucky to have Troy, he often provides such unique insight and it's great to be married to someone who naturally lets most everything roll right off him. They have been really productive talks and I think we will come out of this stronger as a couple.

Thanks to Ron for a great training day, let the Wildflower adventures begin!