Like how normal people do

As Normal as Normal Gets

You know those long rides. You're a couple months into solid training and you start fantasizing about living like "normal people." When the "normal people" talk starts, you're deep into Ironman training. Your weekends are solidly packed:

-Friday night swims after work (if you slept in and missed AM Masters)

-Long bike ride that takes all of Saturday (because the remaining time you're either preparing to ride or eating like crazy and taking delicious showers to get all the road grime off you)

-Sundays you're getting up early for the Manhattan Beach ocean swim (because god forbid you swim in that shark tank alone).

-You hit your stride mid Sunday-afternoon to get the long run complete so you can munch popcorn and finally take a break from the weekend that is now over.

L: "Ahhh, to live like normal people do..."

H: "Yea, I mean... WHAT do normal people do all day?!"

L: "Well for starters, they get to sleep in."

H: "Yea!" (grunts displeased for effect)

L: "Umm, I guess they go shopping, they do brunch, or they stay out late hitting the town."

H: "What's up with that?! Why do we do this to ourselves?!"

L: "At this point, I have no idea. I just wish I was normal for a little bit."

Well the triathlon fairy must of heard me because WA-LA! I'm "normal"!

I stay up late and go to parties.

Fellow triathletes Patti and Liz from LA Tri Club. Of all the tri clubs I've been in, LA certainly is amazing! Aren't the babes hot here in LAh? It was the day of Kona so I wore my koa beads to commemorate the sacred of all triathlete holidays: Kona World Championships!

I gamble at these parties.

I suppose it was beginners luck because I had never played craps before but by golly, my dice were HAWT!

I get lucky at these parties.

And ever notice how easily superstitions start? You do something once, get lucky, and then have to do it every time because it "brought you luck." I'd never make a good gambler. I'd have so many tics and habits by the time they'd get to me it would be a hot mess.

You go out to play.

No, I'm not dating him. I don't believe in dating, having boyfriends or husbands. I just like the picture and because the rest em aren't post-able. He challenged me to shotgun, old school, beer can style. It was a 3-person competition that I couldn't resist. I won. If you can't compete in triathlon, you gotta get that competitive edge out somehow~ And by the way, G is for goddess.

You throw surprise birthday parties for besties.

I know one of Lesley's favorite places to eat: the Indian restaurant in Playa. I planned a surprise party. She asks me my weekend plans, I feign "jam-packed". If I say with cute boys, she leaves it alone. Nevertheless, she invites me again to dinner Sunday night at the Indian restaurant. I say I'm busy but I'm standing in the restaurant putting the balloons up. Surprise!

I only surround myself with fabulous people.

Lesley is the copy to my paste. Or I am a copied paste of Les. This is getting confusing. We the same. She was one of my first friends when I moved to LA last July. I used to think she was so sweet. Now I know, she's ridiculously loud, crewd, hysterical, and slightly alcoholic. She's just my type.

These fabulous people also happen to be triathletes.

There you have it, one of the members of Team Blondtourage, racing Ironman Coeur d'Alene 2010. Our t-shirts are going to say, "Sponsored by Nutella".

You go to UCLA vs. Cal State football games

It was 95 degrees in this photo. There was lots of walking from the car to the stadium to our seats. There is lots of sitting surrounded by stinky people that are all hyped-up and aggressive from watching the game.

You cheer for sports rather than PLAY them.

I mean... people "attend football" as a hobby. Seriously? The fun parts of the experience were a) the tailgating that was more fun than watching the game, b) lemonade slushy that I considered pouring over my head, c) sitting under a "mist"er by the bathroom while the others finished watching the quarter, and d) excitedly leaving 4th quarter for the comfort of heading home in the air conditioned car. Oh yea and the post-game Mexian food!

You fuss about stupid things like furniture.

It never rains in LA. In fact, I had my goddess chair on the patio for the past 4 months. I went to work and realized, Los Angeles would be getting rain. Ten hours later I arrived home to a soggy lounger, mushy chinese lanterns, and a thoroughly rinsed dining room table complete with candles.

You do silly things like yog in the rain.

Yes I said yog as opposed to jog or run. Either word would be misleading about the type of exercise I am currently engaging in. Besides little to none, I run/walk and since I ADORE running in the rain, I yogged instead.

You observe silly things like your heartrate and raindrops collecting

on arm-hairs

A few moments before this picture, my HR was 128. Pretty good given the fact I just walked up 75 steps and thought I might pass out.

You get tan lines from the smallest of endeavors

Pretty cool eh? Tan lines from 30 minutes of yogging in the rain. Then you worry about the wrinkles and 35th birthday you have coming up.

You put up with fussy pets because what else do you have to do?

That's right, Princess Pee-Pee pants doesn't like to get her paws wet. For reals. This dog prefers dry grounding only. She needs to be picked up and carried in order to get biz-nuss done.

But the upshot is, when I'm not training a bazillion hours, I get to enjoy silly little moments, with sassy little pouts like this one I caught on film. I may not be hard-bodied and wickedly fast but I've been living life and taking the time to smell the roses and watch the sunset.