Date back to July 10th:)
Here I sit….at the Sagebrush (Champagne) Cantina in Calabasis, California. It’s now 1:30 and I’ve been here since about 9am. I dig this place. Apparently there is a tie in L.A. between here and the Hilton in Westlake for the best brunch of the city. This place has everything you could imagine and more…plus they keep your drink glasses full at all times…and there is a live (friendly) mariachi crew for a few hours, then a live band for the next few hours. What more could you ask for at a Sunday Brunch? Last time I was here was in 2009 (I think). It was just as good then as it is now. It’s re-assuring to know that some good places of business remain the exactly the same…good. There is an ever changing society out there and sometimes it’s nice to witness a little stability. There are new owners of the Sagebrush, new staff (besides The Beast) and new patrons revolving in and out; however some of the same keep returning Sunday after Sunday. This afternoon I ate/drank a lot; enjoyed the great outdoors and good conversation. The best conversation was with two gentlemen who have lived here all their life. They were both in the entertainment industry and expressed they could immediately tell that I was a ‘good soul’. Interesting how fast people can pick up on that out here. They asked if I would like some company, sat at my table and we got to know each other a bit. I learned about their thoughts and they learned about mine. The best part was that we all agreed that life was about these moments of connecting with other people from random walks of life and learning about their stories rather than looking the other way and staying in our ‘own self-absorbed worlds’. I feel happy to be here re-connecting with a childhood bff. The funny thing is that even though we haven’t hung out in a few years…it feels the same as the last time we were together. Plus it’s always nice to re-cap on those CRAZY high school memories…The ‘Beast’ is not really a beast…but more of a pretty and positive young lady who I’m blessed to know and happy to have as a close friend and happy to spend the next few days with. It’s funny how we find those few people in our lives that we connect with, smile ear to ear and make whatever we do a fun time. Two words make this easy…POSITVE ATTITUDE.
And here we go with the live band playing…
Yeeeaaah…that’s why I’m easy…easy like Sunday morning….yes I’m easy…easy like Sunday morrrrnnning. Why in the world would anybody put change on me?
Everybody wants me to be what they want me to be. I’m not happy when I try to fake it.
I want to be free…just me.
Wow. I love these gentle reminders of what life is about. So Saturday…I raced Mucnie 70.3 Ironman. Had that idea of qualifying for USAT nationals in Myrtle Beach. Did it happen? Nope. Qualifying time is 5:40 and I had a 5:42:29. It wasn’t meant to be I guess. I learned what I did wrong and I hope to change some of that. I didn’t let my Garmin run it’s entire course and instead I re-set it for each discipline. My watch also expressed I was going faster than I actually was per race results. I ended up getting off course on the swim because the sun was in my eyes. My swim time was slightly slow. My trainsition times were pretty ridiculous. Five and four minutes for a half iron distance? Really? What the heck was I doing? Deoderant, sweet pea splash, chocolate soy milk and sunscreen might not be necessary if I’m trying to make a specific time. My bike was ok. The wind bothered me a bit. My run…not so good. My foot hurt and my HR was out of control. It’s never been over 200…ever. I did drink a Blue Sky energy drink prior to the run and my Cliff bar had caffine in it. I walked, I ran, I walked according to the HR. The difficult part of all this was the non-coherence. My legs felt good, my brain wanted to go, but my R foot was on fire and my HR was off the charts. So, I listened to the parts of me that didn’t want to go all out. I was in conflict. Some parts of me wanted to push and some did not. I was able to get my HR down to 150-170 at 10min per mile pace, so that’s where I stayed.
After contemplating further, to me, this represents conflict in general. We all have conflicts in life. To do something, to not do something, to listen or not listen, to talk or not talk, ect. I find it’s good to contemplate the conflicts and give them some attention; however not dwell on them. You never know what life if going to throw at you. So, it’s not about impressing the others or impressing yourself as much as it’s about listening to the others and listening to the self. There is so much to notice, be aware of and appreciate and it is so easy to get wrapped up in our own ideas and goals. Now I remember, I train and race to push myself to remind me of others that push themselves through life obstacles and not to make myself better...because who really cares about how awesome or not awesome I am? Really…nobody. Those that truly care about you, will care about you whether you’re in jail, under the bridge or running for president. So, lesson in short, my time for the triathlon doesn’t matter AT ALL. It’s just an idea. What does matter…I used my dad’s 1970’s pop up tent, he spent time showing me how to put it up, I met new friends, I experienced Muncie, I used my energy, I appreciated the sunset the night before the race, I appreciated the clean glass like water in the reservoir, I appreciated the water I drank, the volunteers that gave me the water and the sponges to cool me down. I noticed and listened to my HR and my body parts. I watched others push themselves and wondered what they were thinking. And now I listen to the beautiful sound of real people playing real instruments and playing with their voices right in front of me. Life has soooo much to offer…so much to appreciate…bring life on.
Finally
Fall in love with as many things/people as possible.
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