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We worship Wednesday

What’s up with the middle of the week? It’s the farthest away you can get from the weekend. Just the right day for an evening run and dinner with friends. We run on Wednesdays from Fall to Spring, when Nite Moves isn’t going on. We swim when we have to, bike when we can, and groove the rest of the time!


Sunday, the 17th of August

The funnest (we claim that’s a word) event in Santa Barbara! That would be the McConnell’s Ice Cream Endurance Events, yes it’s a plural because there is so much to do. Besides eating ice cream before, during (?), and after each stage. So many Groovers stood out today, doubling, tripling, maybe even quadrupling! (Karen did last year anyway.) Liz, Amy, and Ricky came away with medals in both the 5k and 10k, and went on from the 10k to swim the mile that together comprise the duathlon. And got to feel that incomparable feeling of trying to swim after running. Just like a real lifeguard or surf rescuer might have to. Oh man it’s hard! But.. in the real world they don’t stop to put on their wetsuits. Well, one of us (Karen) didn’t either, and it surely gained her a few minutes into the water. But it’s a tricky trade-off.

More than the usual number of legs ran that 10k, because Peter’s dog Tyrant ran along with him, the farthest they have run together so far. Maybe they could take up adventure racing. Tyrant could be the one to solve the Rubik’s Cube. (We’ve heard of that being one of the challenges in such a race.) Sandy keeps on going like the Eveready bunny, making us wonder when he will ever quit. Not for a long time, we hope.

People hung out for a good long time, some of us swam the stand-alone mile late in the morning. The water was still pretty smooth and made us all wish that Nite Moves could be so accomodating. We heard about Brian watching his own colonoscopy, and Sarah who woke up during some sort of -ectomy to see what was taken out, and then go back to sleep. And true to form, we talked about what further workouts we were going to do later in the day. When you’re in good shape, it feels so good to keep going! Laurel opined that Michael Phelps might have Marfan Syndrome... OK let’s elect him! He’s clearly popular enough.

The question on everyone’s mind: where was Sam? There might be a big story here. And you know what happens when people start talking. Poor Richard Gere.





Friday, the 15th of August

It’s classic journalism that dog-bites-man is not a story, man-bites-dog is. Our friendly local paper (not the one run by she whose name we don’t speak) has an article about the fishy version of that.

And as if on cue, we get a girl-bites-fish story of our own from Desa, who is vacationing at June Lake. At least we hope she got a bite in. No photos of the preparation though. Ewww!




Thursday, the 14th of August

This month, a Tri Club meeting where we don’t get educated; we do real work instead. The school of real world. This time packing race bags for the upcoming SB Tri. You can see our dynamic duo Dave & Lizzie at opposite ends of the table. Liz had the brawn to pack boxes of bags and lift them into the truck. Dave had... the brains to hold a beer and direct.

We also got a shout-out from Fred about our Web site. We should mention of course that the Tri Club has its own site; it’s listed in the sidebar at left under “Friends.”

And on that topic, another Friends link is SBAA, which has a profile on Ricky, following up on earlier profiles on Groovers Desa, Amy, Kelly, and Andrea. So, finally a guy makes it. Talk about being media celebrities!




Wednesday, the 13th of August

The weather is so perfect... how can summer be fading already? But we see the McConnell’s races are imminent and that means the SB Tri is right on its heels, and then the End of Life As We Know It — that is, the end of Nite Moves. But hey, that was the whole motivation for Grooving. Fear not!

Our theme for the week was neon, and Liz, Dave, and Nancy were in style. Andrew’s inadvertent theme was casual: he forgot his shoes and ran in Tevas instead. The verdict: comfortable but slow. He was also celebrating the return of his camera. Samy’s Camera billed him $20 for the repair — a pleasant surprise, that. So our Web photos are crisp & clear again. Karen had a stitch in her side while running, so for once Josh caught her, and they finished holding hands. In’nat cute? And Ricky did the biathlon too, tearing through the pack. We definitely showed 2006 Kona Queen Michellie Jones how to do it.

Mark was here with his wife, daughter Sophia, and (hidden under the shawl) two more daughters on the way. Doing his part in the struggle against the 1.05-factor that favors male births — or is that just an urban legend?

Off to the Brew House to catch up on Olympic gossip were Dave & Liz, Josh & Karen, Andrew, Craig, Ann Marie, Ricky, Amy, Sam, Brian.. did I miss anyone? Desa is out at June Lake vacationing; we e-mailed here a photo of us having fun, and did the same for Sarah M. We planned our McConnell’s races for the weekend. We heard some election predictions from the political experts. Josh opined that the South has been lost to Democrats since Johnson kicked out Jim Crow with the Civil Rights acts. That did lead to Nixon’s Southern Strategy; the question is how long will it hold? Andrew claimed that the Republican idea (or ideal) of “running government like business” is overdone: the goal of a businessman is to make himself and his friends rich. Would you vote for a lawyer over a CEO? How about an actor? Craig pointed out that when it comes right down to pushing the lever (or checking the box or hanging the chad) people often vote differently from how they say they will. A bit like dating, perhaps? On that topic, there were rumors that Brian has made an eHarmony connection, but we didn’t see any evidence.

It’s not just you — even the gods themselves have problems with leaky goggles. Michael Phelps pushed on through in his 200 butterfly, but we remember when Karen Smyers lost her goggles early in a Kona Ironman swim. She didn’t win that one, but came back to win in a subsequent year. And that was one of the smaller obstacles she overcame in her career. Remember that next time you stub your toe.





Tuesday, the 12th of August

Under the heading of Old Guys Watch, we hear that Steve Larsen is eyeing a “comeback.” Not his words, BTW, but he did qualify for Kona and came in third at the Vineman 70.3 (that’s a half-Ironman if you do the math). Along with Dara Torres and Mark Foster he reminds us that training starts between the ears. But how about a shout out to Groovers like Dave Groom who never left?

Oh and of course we do agree that Guys contains (or embraces) girls too. But, as the Brits would say of a raging battle, there is a bit of a discussion down on the pitch.


Saturday, the 9th of August

“You animal!” Is that a compliment or an insult? And to whom? Biologically, it’s clear we are animals. Science News tells us how animal athletes would stack up in the Olympics.


Thursday, the 7th of August

Stretching: love it or hate it? Back in the day, it was thought mandatory before running. Yours truly spent a good half hour at it, and his mom thought it was just procrastination. (She admitted it years later when she joined a health club and saw the light.) The New York Times has an article on this topic, though no conclusions yet. Current conventional wisdom (always subject to revision without notice) is: don’t stretch cold. Don’t bounce. After exercise more important than before. Next topic is weights: love ’em or hate ’em?


Wednesday, the 6th of August

Lizzie sent e-mail, suggesting “Instead of your fastest race hat, lets see some crazy afros, blues, pink, green, you name it.” And to help out, she brought a bag o’ hair, for those wig-challenged among us. Some of us were virtually unrecognizeable. Who was that raven-haired beauty? Look closely.

As usual, we took the entire beach to The Neighborhood. Desa brought two friends, Woody and Nanette. Lizzo was back in town, and turned out to know Nanette too. Amy brought Peggy, and Pete and Maura were also new faces. The regulars were too numerous to count. The compulsive among us (we know who we are!) had their web-browsing cell phones out to check race results ASAP. Sometimes it seemed we looked at our phones more than at each other. We marveled at Andrew’s Pianist (no, not that), a program that turns the phone into an instrument. He intends to write one that simulates the Z-Board, his lifelong business project.

Sam told us about visiting a new Ventura branch of his Jiu-Jitsu school, and having to “prove” himself to all the students who wanted to take on the new guy. He still has all his limbs. Woody has a new juicer, and is a convert to that healthy way of drinking. Speaking of that, there was some major tossing-down of the stronger stuff. The girls definitely are the men around here. But did it put hair on their chests? Hmm, as if shaving weren’t already enough of a pain.

We also contemplated the imminent end of the world — or at least of Nite Moves. We have only a few weeks left. Then it becomes Grooves again. Long live Wednesdays!





Tuesday, the 5th of August

Results are up for the Goleta Try. Both Ricky and Ann Marie did their first triathlon! We are waiting to hear the stories on Wednesday. Also super-mom Desa and super-massage therapist Kelly came, saw, and conquered. Naui, cycli, corsi.

On the global front, R.I.P. Alexander Solzhenitsyn (that’s Алекса́ндр Солжени́цын to his mother). Anyone who has plowed through The Gulag Archipelago has a little more respect for such minor legal niceties as habeas corpus, pre facto laws, and the Bill of Rights. And Cancer Ward makes Western medicine look better than ever. He didn’t think the West was the answer to everything though... but hey, when you walk through the grocery (or video) store don’t you also think that (at least) half of the stuff there is junk? Freedom means you have to think.


Monday, the 4th of August

To Protect and to Serve? OK, that’s the motto of the LA Police Department, familiar to all viewers of Adam-12 and other cop shows. As cyclists we certainly depend on other people following the Rules, and we should too. But check out this video showing a confrontation between a cyclist and a New York City policeman. The cyclist was cited for “assaulting” the officer.

We have always thought that an effective (bang for the buck) way to improve society would be to double the salaries of teachers and cops. Get the best people in the critical places. But this guy doesn’t make the grade.

On a more positive note, that guy (Mark Warkentin) who won the Semana Nautica 3-mile swim, and is going to the Olympics to race the new open-water 10k (yes, a 10k swim), is in fact a Santa Barbarian. Let’s remember to cheer for him on August 21st when the race is run... er, swum.


Thursday, the 1st of August

Not content with Wednesdays, we colonize the next outpost too: Thursday! So many days to choose from. But Thursday is the traditional day for hashing, and our Groove group keeps up with expectations! Dave & Liz (excuse me, Slimey and Tri Me) were the teachers for Jeanni (Sandy Snatch) and Jayna, who may have a hash name coming soon. The theme was rodeo, and it sure looks like the ranch could have used a few hands in the right places. More photos at Dave’s ImageEvent site. But the good pictures require a password. ☺




Wednesday, the 30th of July

Another sunny day in Paradise, ho hum. No theme this evening, because Lizzie wasn't present. (She just does that to make us realize how much we need her. But see below to find out what she was cookin’.) Nonetheless, Nancy did run in a purple skirt, holding up the tradition. And we welcomed Amy back to the world of swimming! She showed up with her brand-new wetsuit and plunged into the big ocean with the pack. For someone with no recent experience, she tore through transition like a pro, doffing her wetsuit and moving into her stronger suit on the run.

Speaking of pros, check out Shawna! She is still living in LA, but showed up today to tell us she has signed a contract to run for Nike. She gets all the gear free and clear. Maybe they could come up with a Nite Grooves line, and make us all look as good as her.

After the race, we adjourned to Doug Black’s place on the Mesa, to celebrate two birthdays: Sandy and Irwin. What a perfect venue for post-Nite Moves. Or post-anything. A swimming pool complete with slide, hot tub, patio fireplace, and food provided by Dave & Liz. Some weren’t prepared with swimsuits for the water, but in proper California style, they were optional anyway. Sometimes that wetsuit takes a little more off with it!

In their various degrees of attire were Sandy, Taj, David, Liz, Andrea, Irwin, Sara, Laurel, Amy, Nancy, Ricky, Andrew, Ann Marie, Matt, Julie, Sam, Shawna, Desa, Craig, Josh, Karen, Peter, and four active dogs. We invented some new ways to go down the water slide. Sam showed Andrea how Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu takes all the ranges of motion that her physical therapy restores... and finds their limits.

And here’s a heads-up for the first-ever Goleta Try: a triathlon based at Goleta Beach. This Sunday at 8 AM. Ricky says he is going to be in it, and rumor had it that Amy would too. That's throwing the glove down; how can we not pick up the challenge?





Saturday, the 26th of July

No photos, because your Webmaster’s camera is on the fritz. You get a new cartoon instead. (What lap was that? I always get lost at two.) And you can visualize the sunny Saturday morning, with a big group of fit-looking people rolling their shiny bicycles into the grass at Goleta Beach... oops, that’s Momentum 4 Life! Wrong group. But they could so easily have merged with...

...a remarkably similar-looking group of fit-looking people, further down the shore, except they are leaning their bikes up against their cars. This would be the “transition area” for Steve’s Tri, the least expensive triathlon around. All it costs is a little morning sleep, because you have to get out of bed and get your butt in gear. We got an open-water swim clinic from Mateo Mercur, coach of the UCSB Triathlon Team. He had his notes on his new iPhone, a (deserved) gift from the (generous) kids on the team. He discussed the importance of a snug wetsuit fit, and demonstrated a truly fired-up water entry. We were out of breath just watching it.

After that, there was a deliberately uncoordinated “start,” and the participants hit the water for a swim that tried to be half a mile. Who knows how far it really was? Chrissy Faulding and a friend were on surfboards to guide the swimmers and keep the overachievers from going one buoy too far.

Then on to the bikes for a brief tour of the bike path and Hope Ranch, and a similarly short but sweet run up the bluffs of UCSB and around the lagoon. Andrea and Kyle were the first finishers, but we really don’t count that. You will look in vain for any results, online or off. Nonetheless, there was free food and some goodies were handed out. It was the first triathlon for quite a few participants, who found out how silly it is to obsess about any one thing when there are so many things to go right or wrong. Just keep going!



Wednesday, the 23rd of July

Your webmaster is back from a summer vacation in the Napa Valley, where swimming pools, running tracks, and oceans are in short supply. Cycling opportunities, by contrast, were all around. At the same time, some Groovers were close by at Vineman, one of the most venerable, well-run and fun races in California. Andrea Stouffer and Pete Nielson both finished in a blazing 5:19 (we’re ignoring the seconds here). Other Groovers Sarah Mandes, Sandy Roberts, and Jason Schmidt were there and rocked. Amy was a support crew and tested the river for swimmability. And we must note Desa Mandarino’s heroic effort in the Semana Nautica biathlon — a four-mile run on the sand, followed by a one-mile swim. That is one of the toughest events around, and only the tough even bother to show up. I recall finishing dead last one year in a very elite field, and it wasn’t because I was slow. Swimming after running is tough! (Just wait for the McConnell’s race.)

But catching up to the present brings us to Nite Moves again. Strong current running against us today, but that didn’t stop Karen from once again hitting the sand ahead of every female and all but a handful of male swimmers. Is it the Wheaties?

The theme was mini-skirts, and Dave went all tribal. Is that the Groom tartan? And is this the time to settle once and for all the question of what a Scotsman wears under his kilt?

The food was pretty good, so there was less of a move to head to a sit-down restaurant. Instead we sat down on the ground and had the Asian Chicken Salad from a local McDonald’s, courtesy of David Peterson. Who knew corporate-committee food could be edible? One more step toward becoming a locavore.

After that, we moved to the stand-up Neighborhood, which is becoming the moves away from Moves. We debated the merits and odds of laser eye surgery: would you go for it? We waited a long time for pizza... but it was worth it. Ricky plans to do the Nite Moves biathlon on the last Wednesday of the season — but it’s very close to the Santa Barbara Tri, in which he is running the ten-mile as a relay racer. And to McConnell’s. Wasn’t time supposed to be Nature’s way of keeping things from all happening at once?

Finally, a reminder for upcoming activities. See the previous entry! Music and “racing”.




Thursday, the 10th of July

The Downtown Tri Club (not to be confused with the “kids” club, which, it is true, kicks some butt) met, hosted as usual by founding Groover Dave Groom. Lots of other friends of the groove were present, including Jessica, Andrea, Josh, Karen, Kyle, Laurel, and Craig. The format had four panelists answering questions. One of them was our own Lizzie, who had answers about nutrition and training. The most dramatic moment was when she demonstrated exercises for the core — what we used to call “abs”. She got up and did it right on the table. If only we could all flex like that!

We heard about some great local events coming up — not even quite races, but experiences to enjoy.

Meanwhile, Desa, Sarah, and Ann Marie were over at Sam’s place. You can see the scenery is beautiful... nice view too. Did they cook for Sam or was it the other way around? Either way we’re expecting some yummy leftovers next Wednesday. What are friends for?





Wednesday, the 9th of July

It sure started out like the heat of summer, but as the day wore on it seemed like time was running backward, like the Time Tunnel — to June gloom. Partly from fire smoke, partly from the marine layer rolling in, suddenly everyone was shivering. Well at least that matched the day’s theme, which was Christmas in July. We did have flakes dropping from the sky, just not the snowy kind. Nancy was totally prepared, Mark got into the groove, in fact we had a great turnout. Liz & Dave brought helpful accessories for the Christmas-challenged among us, who actually put stuff away on Boxing Day.

Karen almost made time stand still, coming out of the water fifth overall, kicking butt and taking names left and right. Taj barely managed to edge out his elder Dan O’Meara, who’s a gimp to boot, not that it slows him down in the water. Dan is a miracle of nature: he knocked down the inaugural Coeur d’Alene Ironman like a shot of Jack Daniels, and uses his artificial hip to hop ahead of swimmers half his age. Mark’s wife showed up, either with a big schwag from shoplifting, or pregnant with twin girls. Let’s hope it’s the latter, so she doesn’t get arrested.

Off to the Neighborhood again; it’s turning into a pattern. They do make good pizza and pay attention to their customers. The question of the day was this: “If the hottest, sexiest babe imaginable came on to you and invited you to a rendezvous just around the corner, right now, would you go for it?” Ricky called it a win-win situation, what economists call non-zero-sum. Desa wondered how you could possibly find a deep spiritual connection in five minutes. Andrew visualized the encounter as extending into a whole evening or weekend of activities. Ann Marie pointed out that by using the superlative the question almost forces the answer to be yes, by definition. Like the puzzle of what happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object. Does everybody win?





Friday, the 4th of July

Eating watermelon today? We could be in for some extra fireworks, says a story in the Washington Post. We’re waiting for reports on that, because there certainly was some watermelon at the casa of Bob Blackwell, where a good contingent of Groovers met to celebrate our independence. We independently had some great food and drink, but stuck together on the way down State Street, thanks to some useful glow-sticks.

The fireworks were great, even though there was a deceptive lull in the middle. Brian urged us to not lose faith, the climax would come. Perhaps the first half was just the tease. But it was good for all concerned. Sarah’s new Ironman tattoo was as red-hot as she was, still stinging from the needle. What is she going to get when she finishes her first Eco-Challenge?

Sarah and Amy had plenty of energy for further dancing; others had sore joints or other parties or plans. A lot of Semana Nautica races coming up: how will we race tomorrow morning? Stay tuned to find out!




Wednesday, the 2nd of July

Talk about bringing the heat! As if we weren’t already hot enough thanks to our compulsive workout schedules, there are fires burning even as we speak, swim, and run. And getting closer. We hope no Groovers, or anyone else, are in danger. At Nite Moves, fewer wetsuits as the water warms up and people contemplate the weekend of Semana Nautica races.

But even as we run up the hill there are flames on the higher hills, and we can see them. It’s pretty spooky seeing a big fire right up there on the mountains that cradle us every day. Jessica has forwarded these dramatic photos.

Meanwhile, power is out in parts of Goleta, but people figure out that if they can’t hang out in their neighborhood, they can go to The Neighborhood, where Nite Moves lives on. We heard that Lizzo’s last Friday was as exciting as her last Wednesday, and the ladies showed that they can hold their liquor... and then drink it. We don’t have as much photo evidence as we’d like, but compare the Ventura race pic to the low-light bar one - don’t you think they can put down the alcohol as well as the carbohydrates?



Tuesday, the 1st of July

Are we getting in gear? It’s time to ride now, the sun is up at oh-dream-time in the morning and how can you not? Well the problem around here is that there are hills! Lots of ’em. They say the Chinese ideogram of problem is the same as for opportunity. You need to charge those hills. Our webmaster Andrew just got a whole new drivetrain for his bike. What does that mean? Here’s a tutorial on how your gears get you to the top.

More about veggies. What’s not to like about them? But apparently we exaggerate how much we’re getting. (Is that new?) Seems people overstate their veggie intake at the same time they downplay the calories. And how many miles did you run last week?


À la Recherche du Temps Perdu?

Looking for something? If it’s older than “a certain age”, it will be stored in our cellars. But it only gets better!