Napa Valley Triathlon - 70.3 miles

Saturday was Ben's big day!  He competed in a half-Ironman distance triathlon - 70.3 miles.  He has been training for this for months and it was so fun to watch him compete and cheer him on!

We went to bed very early Friday night so we could wake up at 3:00 AM and be driving out at 3:45 AM.  We drove on back roads through the Napa hills in the pitch. black. dark.  Creepy!  We arrived at the race site, Lake Berryessa, shortly after 5 AM and got Ben all registered and set-up.  It was still so dark that when the sun finally rose we were both shocked to see that we had been about 40 feet from the lake all morning - who knew!?  We could see nothing.  Such an adventure!

The race started at 7 AM with a 1.2 mile swim.  

All those swimmers out there - I think they're a bunch of crazies to jump in a cold lake on a cold morning!

 Ben swam so great!  He finished the swim in 41:24.

Then, Transition #1 - swim gear to bike gear - Ben did this in 4:43.  The way the transition area was set up for this race was awesome - I could be right there on the other side of the fence to chat and take pictures!

Adjust heart-rate monitor, get tri-suit fittin' good.

Socks & bike shoes.

Bike computer on bike; lots of food in back jersey pocket.

Biking gloves.

Helmet, and we're a go!

 Ben crushed the bike ride . . all 56 miles of it!  He says he felt great, biked great, and the route was beautiful!

Ben finished the bike in 3:03:45.

Now on to Transition #2 - biking gear to running gear!  He did this in 4:21.

Bike gloves off, helmet off, biking shoes off.

Running visor and running shoes on.

Oh yeah, don't forget a bathroom break!

 Here he comes, the man of the day, now off to run a half marathon!  13.1 miles.  No big deal.

And he comes in for the final finish!  Looking good!  Ben ran really well, too, but at mile 10 his body just ran out of calories.  There was an aid station pretty soon after that and he stopped for some serious calorie-loading and finished up so strong!

Ben did the half marathon in 1:59:39.

My finisher!  Ben finished all 70.3 miles in 5:53:54.

Swim rank - 93.

Bike rank - 39.

Run rank - 67.

Overall place - 54th.

Age group place - 12th!

I am so proud of Ben.  I love that he finds so much enjoyment in this.  I do love him so!

As for me, my day was a little long.  I took several naps in the back seat of our car, spent a lot of time wrapped up in a warm blanket, ate lots of Luna Bars, and made a new friend!  We had plenty of time to chat and had quite a bit in common . . and when it was all over, we learned each others' names: Corrin.  Corrin and Karin.  Haha, can you believe that?  So, my new friend is awesome.

This is Lake Berryessa, around which the whole triathlon was based.

And that pitch. black. dark. drive in the morning?  What a difference the sunshine can make! How beautiful are the vineyards?

lafayette reservoir

Ben didn't have any meetings before Church yesterday, so we took the opportunity to go walk around the Lafayette Reservoir.  It was so, so pretty!  I love this Earth.

merced/dad's 50th

Another successful weekend in Merced - this time to celebrate Dad's 50th birthday!

The boys took a bike ride in the beautiful hills of Central California.  Ben only got lost and frightened me once . . I hate it when Dad calls and says "We've driven all the way back to Merced and we haven't passed your husband . . turning around now to go find him."  It gives me anxiety every time!  But they had a fabulous time and said the ride was just gorgeous.  :)

That evening we celebrated Dad's 50th birthday with a very large party!  There were so many people in our kitchen.  Why they didn't sit in the living room or TV room, we don't know.

Hostesses.

Fun to be home again and fun to wish Dad AND Thomas a happy birthday on the same day.  :)

dottie's/farmers' market/mt. diablo

We are so loving (a) me not working on Saturdays, (b) the beautiful 70-degrees-and-sunny weather, and (c) this fun place we live.  Saturday we went into San Francisco to brunch at Dottie's True Blue Cafe - a much-loved favorite for eggs, bacon, home fries, and buttermilk wholewheat pancakes spiced with ginger and cinnamon.  Mmm-hmmm!  To make the experience even lovelier, we only had to wait in line outside for 45 minutes.  After brunch we headed to the farmers' market at the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero for a couple hours.  It was fun to taste all the in-season fruits, some flower-flavored water, and nummy cheese.  We even bought a few things to bring home and add to our dinner.  You know, farm-to-tabling it.

Did I mention that it was a gorgeous day?!

We got an early start (7 am on a Saturday!), so we came home early afternoon and I took a nap while Ben went for a ride up Mt. Diablo.  My phone rang a couple hours later and it was Ben with his second flat tire of the day.  :(  He got his first, repaired it, and then got another, but didn't have any more spare tubes.  Poor guy!  So I headed up Mt. Diablo to rescue him.  It's quite the slow and windy drive, but I didn't mind one bit because with all of the rain we've been getting, the hills have finally turned green!

I love that California's state flower just blooms everywhere in the wild all over California.

And what a better way to end a wonderful Saturday than with a trip to The Olde San Francisco Creamery.  You will be surprised - it was our first trip there in 2014!

ben turns 27

My handsome husband turned 27 yesterday!  Ben took the day off from work and went on an 80-mile bike ride.  It took him 4 hours and 40 minutes, and I'm sure glad that he enjoys it!  My bum is still sore from our 1 hour ride over the weekend.  

When I got home from work, we went bowling and Ben is very proud that he "marked" in 7/10 frames and scored over 100 points.

We had dinner at Ben's (and mine) favorite pizza place - Zachary's - and I had dropped off some balloons there earlier in the day for a little surprise.  When our pizza was ready, the waiters all came over and sang and Ben got to blow a candle out of our pizza.  What could be better than that!?

Ben really wanted me to make him a cookie cake for his birthday dessert . . and I did . . but it took twice as long to bake as the directions said, and it was still super mushy.  We ate around the edges and called it good!  Note Ben's PJ pants - I made them for his present this year and they fit perfectly!

another half-marathon

Valentine's was a delight!  It's so easy for it to be delightful when you're in love.  We've been wanting to try a neighborhood restaurant - Pasta Primavera - so we walked down the street and enjoyed one heck of a meal!  Ben treated me with a pound of See's Candies and I treated him with . . five new pairs of socks!  Isn't he so lucky.

Saturday, we got up (way too) early and Ben ran his second half-marathon, this one the Bay Breeze in Alameda.  Cheering for Ben will never get old!  He came in at 1:38:30.