There is no place like home and that is where we are on our way back to Scottsdale after six weeks away. We pack our truck up, fill up our tank, and click our bike shoes together and close our eyes and say "There is No Place Like Home". Unfortunately we won't get home as fast as Dorothy and Toto, but we will drive all day until we get there. My son will be happy, my husband will just return to the rigors of work and I will get re-acclimated to training in the heat. I am probably the one who is not looking forward to returning back to reality.
The fruits of our labor came together as we drove from Sonoma County to LA to follow our son on his music tour which was part of his camp at The Collective Sounds. We were so thrilled to see what a great time he had this year and what a gift he was given to work with such a talented group of young musicians. They named their band, Audio Picnic and they wrote and performed incredible music. We got to enjoy 3 of the 4 stops on the tour and watch them grow stronger until the end.
My husband and I were a bit exhausted from the summer, almost too much to make the most out of our short days before navigating to the concerts. We are not big fans of the traffic in LA. We learned from last year to leave far in advance to get to wherever you want to go.
We did fit a bike tour along the beach trail for a 46 ish mile ride along the ocean weaving in and out and around curves and lots of people. It was a nice way to try and cleanse the waste products out of my tired muscles. The next 2 days I squeaked in a 50 minute run on the beach path and a 40 minute run with 3-2 min intervals and another shorter 24 mile bike ride on the path with less traffic. I topped the week off with a 2 hour long run before we headed home.
The beach is alive between 6 am and 8 am on a Sunday morning and I was able to get one last run from Torrence to Manhattan Beach overlooking and along the ocean. The beach is such a fascinating place. I wonder why people like to stare at an endless body of water. If I still had my choice, I would prefer to be surrounded by pine trees. The water does has its own peacefulness as the sound of the waves crash onto the shore and I do love taking a nap by the sea with my feet buried in the warm sand. As I squeezed in my last hurrah, I was both dazzled and disgusted. All walks of life occupy the edge of the earth. The richest folks monopolize the real estate along the strand with beautifully renovated ocean front property, but at the same time, homeless and needy people with leathery skin from living outdoors rummage through the trash cans and urinate at the front doors of the wealthy. The stench was horrendous and the boardwalk was sticky and I really wanted to jump into a soapy shower, however the allure of ocean attracts cyclists, runners, strollers, swimmers, surfers, scuba divers, stand up paddlers, and fishermen. All walks of life congregate down by the sea.
As we arrived back in the Zone (Arizona), we were relieved that the Monsoon Gods are helping us ease back into the oven and spared us with a cooler transition then we were expecting. Time to unpack and spend the next 3 weeks preparing for my final long course of the season up in Flagstaff and then it will be time to assess my training and my goals for the following year.
For now, I will cuddle up in my own comfy bed and be thankful that there really is NO PLACE LIKE HOME!
No comments:
Post a Comment