Experiences

I still can't believe how lucky I am right now to be in this gorgeous place while my friends are just melting at home in 115degrees. It's not even the cooler temperatures that are making everything so much better.  It's the small town summer life.  It's the getting out and doing things and enjoying as much as we can. Sure we are incredibly blessed to be able to do this, but I do believe that we all get to choose (mostly) how we live our lives, and what we choose to do with our time, money and careers. Shane and I have been fortunate with jobs (some self made) that allow us to work from where ever we want.  While my day job might not be a dream job, it's a great company with benefits and daily challenges and most importantly they hired me remotely. And when remote can mean sitting outside in July with this view, well then I'll take just about any job :)

We try to spend as much time outside as possible! Honestly that's what I love most about it here. You can actually BE outside in the summer.  It helps that the 2 of us plus the dogs spend all day on computers in the < 1000 square ft cottage, getting outside after work is exactly what we need and want.  My office is a tiny little breakfast nook, Shane moves from the couch to the spare bed to the coffee shop and aside from some lunch time noise in the kitchen while I'm on a conference call and Shane very unhappy about no dishwasher we're making it all work! The alternative, 115 degrees or spending far too much money on a fancy modern home.

The first month here was all about focusing on the final prep for Ironman. Life wasn't much different than in Phoenix.  Double workouts, healthy eating, early to bed and focusing on recovery. Then July came! I wanted to get and and do things I wasn't doing all of June.  Riding wherever and whenever just because it sounded good. I have a new absolute favorite ride. It's hard. It's basically the first out and back of the Ironman course, then on the way back into town you head east up into these hills with breathtaking views of the lake. It's hard, but the scenery is worth it. Each time I've gone up there I've seen the same deer, in the same exact place. I stop, get off my bike and just stare. She's so pretty! In fact she even seemed more used to me last time. She just paused and watched me too, with out running away at the noise as I unclipped form my pedal.

This ride happens to be the course of a race I'm going to do next month.  It's a long standing local race called the CDA Scenic Challenge. It lives up to it's name. Check out the ~ profile below..

It will be my first Olympic race outside of circling Tempe Town lake in about 5 years.  I'm very much looking forward to it :)

Ok, back to more adventures in July! Wednesdays are my absolute favorite day of the week, famers market! We ride our cruisers up to Sherman, walk around and usually end up somewhere for wine.  Smart local businesses have great specials to bring in all the shoppers. Half price wine, yup I'm there!  A couple weeks ago Shane had a PM workout so I rode my cruiser up there and he headed out for hill repeats. I made the purchases at the market then settled into a patio seat outside with a bottle of wine waiting for him to rehydrate after his run. The place I picked turned out to not be awesome, so we headed back up the street to get a pizza from a vendor at the market and wondered into an art studio and wine bar next door while waited.  

You know how those random things that happen and then just turn into being awesome? This was exactly one of those days. We had the most amazing wine, chatted with the woman pouring and next thing we knew we were signing up for their wine club and buying tickets to go to a tasting event the following week. My second time putting makeup on, and first time all summer wearing one of my cute outfits and I admit.. a non sports bra.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my cruiser bike?!? It was a little tricky riding with a short dress and heels on, but really when you are going like 3mph it's not so bad.

Last weekend Shane headed up north to camp with some friends and do a race.  I was left carless, but again.. my cruiser on the path takes me wherever I need to go.  Some bungie cords and a backpack and I could even carry ALL MY CRAP to and from the gym to swim.

Shane had a great race, first since Ironman AZ and picked up a 1st AG award for Baxter....Actually, his award was a handmade mug, but Baxter still needs a medal to pose for.

A good friend from High School came out to visit with me for the day. I love those relationships that no matter how long it's been or how many years we've lived apart, things just pick up right where we left off. Leading different lives and following different paths, it doesn't matter.  She's also my #1 fan who has not missed one of my races here (pic circa 07').  

Some of my HS friends have since moved away, but there is still time and I'll be planning visits with others :) One just might be a reunion at Priest Lake (another race I'm doing) where we all grew up camping together with my family...

Even though I grew up here (Spokane) I forgot about the random summer weather. It can go from 100 in week or even a day to 65 the next... Yesterday a freak storm came through the area. Spokane was hit way worse than CDA and the aftermath looks pretty bad. The neighborhood I grew up in was without power for ~12hours and others longer. Huge ever green trees down and blocking roads, cars smashed.  It was so strange. The morning was perfectly a perfectly blue cloudless sky and 90 degrees in the afternoon as we headed into the gym for a swim. When we came out it was pouring rain and windy as all get out.

I took a chance and headed up to the farmers market on the way home. Glad we did! Although the storm blew through the market drenching the vendors, most of them were still there and we came home with fresh produce to die for. The peaches are just coming off the trees and taste like candy!!

All of that fresh organic produce cost less than $20. The raspberries being the most expensive (and the quickest to devour). For dinner I made a fresh green salad, broccoli and a staple and splurge every single week here, FRESH King Salmon. Shane swears it's better than any salmon he's every had and yesterday being the 4th time we've made it, it's never disappointed.  

We still have some time here in this beautiful town and I intend on making the most of it. Tonight one of my favorite uncles is in town so we're heading up to a new taphouse on Sherman to meet him for dinner.  his weekend will be pretty quiet, then next weekend my other favorite uncle is heading over from Seattle to join us in some shenanigans. After that, August is race month! I have 2 Olympics and a swim across the lake race to participate in. I haven't raced that much in a long time and I'm looking forward to the change of pace.  

Don't worry, in between cruiser bike rides, wine events, pub crawls and chilling by the lake I'm getting in plenty of fun and HARD training. I've even been spending time back in the boots ;) I love new challenges and everything being thrown my way has been just that! Love the post recovery boot lines.

Work hard, play hard and do things that make you happy! Why wouldn't you?

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” 
― Eleanor Roosevelt