Wednesdays were Wonderful
And we still remember. Here the excitement of weekdays past lives on.
Wednesday, the 30th of September, 2009
Well first, a little shout-out to our great Groover go-getters at the Carpinteria Triathlon. Starting with Taj Hudson. The lion roars! Quite an accomplishment, with the serious talent throwing it down in the fog. John Herzog and Ricky Ho also went long and did well, with Ricky uncorking a 39 minute 10k on the run. Bet he passed a lot of struggling souls. On the distaff side we have Andrea Stouffer and Mariann Thomas winning their age groups, Sue Beatty with a second and Sarah Claus with a third. Sarah Iron-Mandes and Kelly Knowles also slugged it out in the midst of long training. Don’t ask how many miles they went the day before, or after.
In the short and fast race, we saw Matt Trost bring his best and win his age group, as did Lizzie, with Desa right on her heels. Our own Lisa Dunn made a big splash in her first triathlon ever, taking second in her age group. And Amy was right behind her, third in her age group. And beating out her hubby, though we suspect he has some reserves yet. Ann-Marie didn’t get lost, despite the very thick fog, and was smiling at the end.
On to Wednesday. It’s heating up, as we have our second (or third?) summer. Traffic on the 101 kept some from making the departure time, but everyone caught up or got in the flow somehow. Again we have some overachievers like Matt and Taj going extra-long. Way to rub it in, guys!
But it was all smiles at the Brew Co Lounge, where we could watch any number of actually important baseball games, and get well fed with little fuss. Lars and Michelle were here, as if they’d never been away. Ann-Marie is starting teaching a new Psych class at Antioch University tomorrow. Make it clear from the start that you are the sane one, Anne! Stacy ran down from her house in the hills, to join us for dinner, and caught us up on her complicated moving around. Natira and Jayna looked like they just came from the beauty parlor, not the gym. They just have style... us guys just have to ruffle up our hair and hope nobody notices. We heard about plans for the upcoming Tinley’s series of races at SLO this weekend. The traditional end of the season... or is that the Avocado Festival in Carpinteria? Only running races to look forward to now. Get those legs moving!
Tuesday, the 29th of September
Hi Groovers! Some of you may have noticed that our Web site was down for a while. It was a problem with the “back end,” that is, with the ISP (Internet Service provider). Obviously since you are reading this, things are up and running again. Like us! See you Wednesday.
Wednesday, the 16th of September
Beautiful weather — we can’t quite claim that Summer is over yet. But in Santa Barbara, what can you say about the weather, except that it’s always changing. A great turnout, Natira and Amy are clearly full Groovers now, some new faces (names to follow... one always forgets them!), one of whose (lucky) daughters is in Desa’s English class at San Marcos HS. Plenty of stories about races finished and upcoming.
Some of our runners — at least Matt, Laura, John, Jerry, Desa, and Sarah, and possibly a few others — added mileage to our usual 6-odd miles, and finished up at blazing speed.
And then on to the Brew Co Lounge, a long-time favorite. Dave, Sandy, and a few others were already there, at the bar; Emily sat quiet as a mouse with a school friend doing homework. Eventually the rest of the crew filtered in. Our waitress was a swimmer from UCSB, who asked about our group, wondered if triathlons have relays, and treated us well. She says she left the swim team to avoid burnout and get more study time. When she was training at full volume, she weighed 30 pounds more, all muscle! Probably could swim circles around all of us, Karen excepted.
The Era of Good Feelings prevailed again with our happy group. We traded stories from the Dave Matthews Band concert. We learned from Liz that if you eat a peanut-butter PowerBar, and wash it down with grape Gatorade, it tastes just like a PBJ sandwich. That’s nutrition! Andrea is in the market for both a new car and computer, to help her in her return to grad school at Western in Pomona. With her vast knowledge, you’d think she would be teaching. Remember her talk for the Tri Club? Very professional. Andrew and Karen discussed parasitology (her field, his curiosity), prompted by an article in the paper and a fascinating (or gross) YouTube video.
Planning for Halloween costumes? One place to look might be Forplay, Inc. whose selection is scanty but not scant. Andrew’s software powers their Web site!
Tuesday, the 15th of September
The summer is winding down, and we are going through our withdrawals from the Moves and the Reef ’n Run... [oops, almost a typo there, I typed “Rub” instead of “Run”, now that sounds like fun] but the weather is cooperating with us. Looking forward to tomorrow’s running fun. Carpinteria Tri is almost upon us, which is the traditional ending to the race season, ushering in the Fall. Do we take a month off and then get back to a-trainin’? Perish the thought ! We have been challenged by Woody to do the Magic Mountain Man.. it’s all of a half-Ironman distance race. That’s a lot. But give it a thought!
Meanwhile, we can contemplate swimming or racing in the world’s largest pool. That would really be fun.
Friday, the 11th of September
Yes, our Web site is still alive, just resting, not yet pining for the fjords. We had a blowout time on Sep 2nd, the last Nite Moves, hanging on until the stars came out, and the moon shone red through the haze of LA fires. Then on to Sharkeez for the usual fun time. Lizzie and Laura brought their kids (who are growing up at a rapid rate!) and we heard from Desa about testing vs. teaching. Alas, your Webmaster’s camera got lost in the excitement — too bad, it was tighty-whiteys at Nite Moves, and we had some great photo evidence.
We did inaugurate our first Grooves evening this week, on Wednesday the 9th. The Grooves are on! And with the Groover paparazzo rested and ready, the Web page will also thrive. How else would we remember all our clever bons mots the day after?
For the record, people are still interested in swimming, and you can probably find a good pod to hang with if you show up at Leadbetter at 5 PM on Wednesdays. This will continue until it just gets too dark and cold. The runs are still at 6, regardless of the swims.
Wednesday, the 26th of August
The theme was white, light, and pure as the driven snow, which surely describes all of us Groovers. It’s hard to hold to that motif in the water (were there any belugas?) but you can see that upon exiting, we didn’t hold back. It sure didn’t seem to slow Andrea down: she was the first lady across the line for the aquathon. Same for Dave, who won his age group, and Sarah, who won hers. Lizzie, Ricky, Matt, and Sterling raged on the run, Desa, Lisa, and Drea won their age groups, and of course Karen was first woman out of the water. Right ahead of the aptly named Dave Fish, whom Andrew remembers from waaay long ago in LA. He now lives in Reno, was here for the SB Tri, and stuck around for Reef n Run and Nite Moves. He won the Clydesdale division, and was just behind John Herzog and Laura Turner. (Who were themselves just two seconds apart! If only they'd known!)
China got up to the microphone and announced that there will be a big enviro-bash at State & A this Sunday (the 30th) from 4 to 8 PM. Highlight will be the screening of a PSA (no that has nothing to do with your prostate; see this list for a disambiguation) featuring China wearing a mermaid tail.
Also that morning, there will be a Splash and Dash in Ventura, for those of us who just can’t get enough of this running around dripping wet.
For après Moves it was the Neighborhood, which was barely big enough to hold all the fun people who showed up. Still a bit noisy there, so all the conversations and secrets that were shared will have to stay secret. (Check out the glaring look from the bartender just over Taj’s shoulder.) Andrew bought the large pesto chicken pizza and Craig bought the medium pesto chicken pizza. We need to diversify. Brian bought the beer... no problems there! We did bemoan the upcoming last Nite Moves.. but that just introduces the upcoming first Grooves! Who’s hosting the party?
Wednesday, the 19th of August
The theme was back to Woodstock, hippie-dippie, and flower power. We did see some tie-dye... but here in California, how does that differ from any other day? But also in the way of gettin’ back to the basics, we had a band that included trumpets and reeds. The good old ways of making noise! It definitely contributed to the good vibrations that were everywhere. Despite the inauspicious fog and mist of the morning, it cleared out and was at least sunny for our evening exercise. Maybe too so? It sure is hard to see anything but yellow after the swim turnaround. Head for that great big glowing ball and you’ll be OK!
Speaking of fireballs, Ricky is still running hot, though he was edged out by some youngster with the unfair engine/chassis ratio. Sterling also raged on the run, with China and Sam very close behind. Once again, Olympian Mark Warkentin was first out of the water, but our own Karen was just two minutes behind him... so close to glory! Matt and Taj came out a few seconds apart; maybe if they worked together drafting they could catch that mermaid. So many Groovers in the water: Andrea, Craig, Peter, Josh, Lizzie, Laura T, Slimey, John H, Nancy, Andrew, Sandy, Desa, Irwin.. what are all these runners doing getting their feet wet? Credit to them, because it is never an easy swim at Leadbetter.
We hung out a long time at the beach, trying to stretch the good times out to infinity... and then beyond, at the new place in town, Union Ale. Menus printed on plain white paper, but fortunately the food and drink wasn’t. Nobody was belly-up to the bar when the train came by, so no freebies. But $2 drinks after 9 was great with us. And everybody showed up! A record for Groovers? Lizzie, Dave, Emily, Josh, Karen, Ricky, Taj, Nancy, Desa, Craig, Kelly, Peter, Andrew, Sam, Brian, Stacy... and the list goes on. And then Natira, Amy and another friend arrived and joined us. And then friends of theirs came by to say hi. How small a world can it be around here? Then Laura T comes around and says there’s a party at her place tonight... if so, this tabloid isn’t telling.
Apparently there was a spirited debate about health care down at one end of the table. Subscribers to the Nite Grooves mailing list will have noticed the continuation of that conversation. At the other end, Sam was explaining how he can fix the whole thing with his special fasting/juicing/detoxifying diet. Your eyes will change color too! Send this guy to Washington to work on Congress... they do seem a bit constipated sometimes.
Wednesday, the 12th of August
Midsummer should be hot and clear, right? Somehow King Neptune didn’t get the message... or perhaps he was just toying, and sent us mist and fog. The previous day at Reef ’n Run was as Endless Summer as it gets, and it sure must have seemed that way to the Princeton men’s water polo team that visited. They didn’t show up to have Nite Moves as dessert (and yes there was lots of ice cream this evening), but we did have Mark Warkentin, local hero, to spank us soundly in the swim. He must not have gotten too lost, coming out of the water in the twelves, which is the first time anyone has done that this year. Right behind him was Andrew, first swim since his broken collarbone. Could hardly see or feel a thing — well that’s back to normal.
It looks like there is a Braden dynasty brewing, both in the water and on land, with Chris barely edging out Ricky on the run and Cindy as usual first at the beach. The usual suspects came flying by so fast we could hardly see them in the haze. And when it’s foggy it’s quiet... you run up and down Shoreline Drive in your own little sphere of existence.
The theme was Black & White, or Spy vs. Spy, which turned out to be appropriate for the spooky atmosphere we got from the sea. No photos of garb here, but the Webmaster can at least brag on his nephews’ Halloween skills from a year ago. They were ahead of the curve!
We got a sandwich of sound from False Puppet, who introduced and then followed the regular band, the Mustangs. Those kids do know how to rock without completely crunching the eardrum. But are they really constructing a critique of society or just making noise? Time will tell.
On to the Hood! Where we had some great pizza, all eaten standing up. The tunes not too loud this time; we got a good taste of The Who, a great band to rock and sway to, even as we wonder whether we will be fooled again. There was some serious strategizing about how to start the aquathon: sand or swim? Ann Marie is going to present a case study about some domestic tangle that would curdle your ear cheese. It became clear that Andrew is a better forward than defender at foosball.
Saturday, the 8th of August
Gettin’ too old for this kind of stuff? Hear it from Dara Torres that you are still in the game. A great interview with Jon Stewart. (There might be an opening commercial. Ah, the price of capitalism...)
Wednesday, the 5th of August
Fiesta! It is in the air, water, and even in the earth and sand it seems as we celebrate with our own fire at Nite Moves this glorious Wednesday. Ricky leads the way with his run, holding the lid down on that 17-minute mark. He must know every step of the way by now.
While he was zooming along, Desa and her friend Ali were contending in a sea which the land partly encloses, shielding them from the too-heavy blows of an ungoverned ocean which when it chooses tortures the biggest hulls, the best man knows to pit against its beatings, and sinks them pitilessly. But feared they not! On into the ocean, which by all reports was actually quite accomodating. Desa wanted to share all the fun and so recused herself from the points-day 5k, and it was so worth it.
Everybody seemed to come out all right, especially Matt, who was way up in front. Andrea gave the girls’ field a present by being somewhere else. The Grooms both kicked ass and finished almost together. However, D.P. High School math teacher and mom Leslie Wiggins Roth is pushing everyone, even the guys. Yeah, but like Desa, she’s on vacation.
People stayed out talking until the sun was well down, the moon was well up, and it was getting dark and cold. We have the magic of Puck running barefoot in the air as we figure out that we’re going to the Brew Co.
And on top of Ali’s visit, it was Emmy’s birthday, so the Grooms celebrated their cool kid. We talked about Fiesta, and about the differences between men and women (why does that always come up?) and solved all sorts of world problems. We wish Danville were closer... or maybe we have to make a road-trip to Danville some day!
Wednesday, the 29th of July
The theme — as if you couldn’t tell — was crazy wigs & glasses this evening, and our usual stars stepped up to the plate (mixed metaphor?) to deliver. Even with these performance-reducing add-ons, there were some great performances. Ricky Ho, staying within a few scant seconds of his 17-minute standard in the 5k, Sterling was 3rd in his (tough!) age group, Sam just edging out Lisa Dunn (which takes cojones), Kelly and Andrew pushing those front-runners to keep them honest!
In the water, Karen out second behind Cindy Braden, who, to be fair, has 17 more years of experience on Karen. Andrea and Dani L within spitting, if not drafting, distance. Taj, Liz, Jayna, Josh, Joe S, Dave, Sarah, Nancy, Desa... the roll call of Groover stars. And on to the run for most of them, where some gazelle named Erika passed Karen, who held onto second though, fending off tremendous runs by the likes of Dani, Andrea, Liz, Jayna, Sarah, Desa... sound familiar? Oh, and the guys: Taj won his age group, and only three of any age ahead of him. Peter and Dave way up in the field, good to see Mark “2Daddy” Warren holding his own, and Irwin Teichman, proving himself once again bigger than that d*mn hill.
Post-race entertainment by the Debra Farris Band, with whom Andrew once played. When the Motown fave “Chain Chain” came up, she thoughtfully invited Andrew up to sing harmonies. But the surprise hit of the evening was the kids’ band (and we use the term respectfully) False Puppets, who put on a great display of post-punk metallic energy. The bass player was hyperkinetic but still hit his notes, the guitarist had more of a range than just screechy, and the drummer had the focus and timing of John Bonham. They balanced the wall o’ sound with the open scratchiness of the early Police. Fun for all!
After that action, we celebrated Sandy Roberts’ birthday. Funny, it seems like just yesterday that we did that before!
Sunday, the 26th of July
The courthouse. Billy serenades. Amy, Dave & family. Kelly & Peter lookin’ good. Slacklining! Like mother like daughter. The head coach... ’nuff said. ☺
Wednesday, the 22nd of July
The theme was neon and we had some very enthusiastic participants, with the Grooms as ever leading the way. What a closet they must have! And they are certainly out of it. It does give some inspiration to those of us struggling on the hill, either up or down, to see people setting the right mood.
Laura Turner missed the “boat” this time, both being late and short on goggles.. ahh, that’s part of the Nite Moves experience too, sometimes being just a penny short. She stuck around just to look good and make us happy.
Sterling Ellsworth burned up the pavement, just edging out Jayna in the 5k, which says enough about how fast he was going. China Cisney, trainer to the stars, won her age group. Andrea won her age group in the water, and went on to do the same in the biathlon. We had a very fast visitor from Berkeley, Katie London, who busted through most of the pack, guys and girls. Probably a college triathlete. Desa’s BFF Kim Hargrave was back and rocked too, just eight seconds behind Andrea.
People were making their ahead of time plans for taxis from the Neighborhood, so it was probably a pretty wild scene there post-Moves. Your correspondent went home to practice the music that will be gracing the wedding of Amy and Dave this coming Sunday. Not a note out of place!
And if you need a little bit of advice about how cycling and alcohol mix, just ask David Byrne, who has played a lot of high-energy music with the Talking Heads, but discovered that even a bike is a bit tricky when buzzed.
Sunday, the 19th of July
We have to shout out to the intrepid Groovers who raced the Strawberry Fields triathlon or the half-Vineman this weekend. People are going to start thinking there’s something in the water here in SB from all the great performances. At Oxnard, we had Kyle Visin finishing 8th overall, with Taj right on his heels. (Shoulda stepped on those heels, Taj — an old track trick that will leave your opponent stumbling. Tends to make enemies though.) Dave Groom had an age-group first, Desa had a second, and Sandy a third.
Up in Sonoma’s vine country, Marianne Thomas blazed to a 5:32 finish, with John Herzog barely a minute behind her. (With wave starts, they probably didn’t know they were so well-matched.) Liz Groom did her usual best, Amy Carlson did her first half-Ironman, pushed hard on the bike (my usual strategy) and actually caught Lizzie on the run! (But had to let her go.) And again living up to her dad’s example, Sarah Mandes uncorked a rare vintage for the run, doing a half-marathon in 1:35! Did her shoes melt?
We have heard since then that at least Sarah and possibly others got some day-after medical care, IVs probably. You don’t really know your limits until you reach and maybe even overdo them. We are in awe.
Wednesday, the 15th of July, 2009
Is it a “biathlon night” (where biathlon scores are kept for the season cumulative competetion) or a run or swim night? Opinions differed, and it makes a difference to how far down you dig. Be nice if there were some unequivocal Web posting or banner flying at the race site.
In any case, our intrepid Groovers are always ready to give it their all, starting with the apparel: Cowboys & Indians was the theme tonight. Plenty of people got the Message: Taj here showing more skin than any plausible cowpoke would have — unless upstairs at the Saloon. Personal trainer to the stars China and her friend didn’t hold back either, and the (legendary) Laura Kranzler was perfect. That’s the way to raise the (already stratospheric) QOL in our happy city!
Again, Ricky Ho slipped under the 17-minute mark. Gotta be satisfying! He was edged out by a Braden, the younger in a series of many generations of Braden talent. (Mama Braden won the swim, and Brittany Braden won her age group in the swim.) Sterling and Sam were right together at high pace. Taj was in front right out of the water, ahead of Geoff Gray who is re-visiting his UCSB tri days and has obviously not forgotten how to swim.
And bringing it on for the full event, Andrea won the biathlon, with Sarah and Liz not too far behind. Very competitive field! This evening, it was off to Sharkeez for some important sports-watching while chowing down on those meals served with the paper towels always right at hand.
Both of our favorite evening pastimes are getting some press attention (and what’s this? chopped liver?) now: first for Reef n Run and then for Nite Moves. Neither covered by the News-Press, fortunately — we’d begrudge them a shout-out.
And for a little mental stimulation, look at this simulation of one day of global air traffic. Imagine what things/people/ideas are being transmitted every day!
Sunday, the 12th of July
Up and at ’em for the traditional Chuck’s event, run true to tradition whenever the water levels are right. Rick, Matt, Sarah, Fred, Lars, Jayna, Lisa, Mark, David, Amy, Joe, Joslyn, Liz, Brian, Sandy, Andrea, Kelly K, Peter, Irwin, Ann Marie, Linda M.. the list goes on. What tidal pull could possibly get such an overachieving group out early on a Sunday morning to jack up their calf muscles in the sand? Possibly it was the opportunity to meet this mysterious Greek goddess. What names have we missed here... to give a clue to the identity of the swift-footed Achaean?
Wednesday, the 8th of July
The peak of summer (as far as sunlight goes) has us racing, eating, drinking, and chatting far into the evening, until the moniker “Nite Moves” starts to become literally true. Ricky took first in the run again. For the distaff side, there was a “ringer” from Germany who upheld the storied tradition of German Leichtathletic; right on her tail were our own Jayna and Lisa. In the swim, Karen came in second; perhaps saving a little energy for Sunday’s 6-mile (!) swim. Show up at Goleta Beach at 9 AM to send her off, or at Hendry’s (aka Arroyo Burro) about 3 hours later to pull her in. Matt and Craig had great swims, edging out Andrea by scant seconds, which I always took as the definition of a Good Swim. Joe Sullivan and Liz Groom must have teamed up, or else they swam together the whole time without recognizing each other. (It happens!) David, Sarah, Sandy, Nancy, Amy, Mark, Irwin.. obviously a good day in the water. All reported great conditions.
Continuing on to the run, Andrea pulled up to 2nd, behind the ball of energy called Dani Lipski; Matt pulled up to fourth behind some out-of-towners. Sarah right behind, and Karen, Liz, Joe, David, Sandy, Nancy, Amy.. a veritable roll-call of Santa Barbara’s best and brightest.
On the grass afterward it was like the best picnic ever — friends, families, a great jazz band with actual brass playing the perfect background to get everyone swaying. Mark brought his new twins down to the beach for the first time. Alas, the Groove correspondent had battery issues with his camera, so no photos for this week. But take our word for it: they were cute. Both generations were in good spirits, and anybody around them just absorbed it. Kelly Lane was helpful enough to phone-mail one pic (to webmaster at nitegrooves dot org — all amateur paparazzi out there are urged to do likewise). They look a bit like twins, but where did the cute go?
Well, lacking any exciting photo evidence this week, we will instead provide some educational self-improvement opportunities. There were several interesting articles in the NY Times this week, one about ankles and one about toes. Sounds like the kind of advice Andrew usually needs! (His recent collarbone issue could be a form of “wandering toe injury” or something.) And this one in the LA Times about water exercise will have you looking as good as instructor Doris in no time.
Sunday, the 5th of July
Irwin was good enough to pass along some great swimming links, e-mailed to the group. (Not in the group, aka mailing list? You should sign up, see box at left.) Here's the first one, big as life. The rest follow as links. Lots of good advice here.
Wednesday, the 1st of July
Perfect mild coastal days, sun coming out for us at the beach on the evenings, and it brings out the fastest in our competitors! Ricky continues to hold the line, running our (hardly easy) 5k course at 17:00. Lisa Dunn was seriously challenged by another one of our friends from down under, Kim Hargrave. With her, & Sarah C. coming up from Newbury Park, what chance do us locals have any more? But it was only smiles après run. Lisa can sure put that speed to work at kickball, which is having a great resurgence among us out-of-grade-school types. Gives us a chance to get silly (though NM is getting that way too) and sporty.
And speaking of sporty, looks like Desa has a new set of wheels. It’s not the destination but the journey! She went the Porsche route, but there was little doubt about the color and style. Not enough of us got a ride to the Neighborhood this evening, so it’s clear we will have to take tickets... somewhat like the raffle at Nite Moves itself!
And at the ’Hood, we comprised the coolest of crowds. You know where to go on a Wednesday night to see & talk with the funnest (yes that is a word!) people. Lots of conversation about dating technique. Keep ’em on their toes? Sam advocated something that sounded a bit like the Nixon strategy. That might be going a little too far.. unless we are already crazy anyway! Kim was a good bud enough to come along even though it’s a weeknight and a long drive back home. We made plans for the long upcoming weekend and thought to ourselves that it won’t be back to “normal” (what is that?) for a while. Yes! This weekend won’t be just one more Saturday night.
News brief: does cycling make your bones thinner? Sounds like a classic self-selection dilemma (lighter people become pros), but here’s the scoop. We will all become like our grandmothers and eat Tums.
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