Ian and Charisa

I wish I had been there when Charisa told her husband that she invited some guy she met on the internet to stay with them for the weekend. And I wasn't the first, she did the same with Ian when they first met in the blog world. But I think Bree's Kona coffee mac nut carob chip cookies made a good introduction. Too funny. For those of you unfamiliar with these two, they are newly minted pro triathletes. But because they both still have full time jobs, I see them more as age-groupers who aren't scared to race with the pro's, and that in my book is HK (hard core). Their work ethic is inspiring, and I credit these two for pulling me out of my retirement from ironman racing. The original plan was for me to join in on one of their ironman volume training blocks...and suffer. But their coach changed things around and instead of volume, the theme was now SPEED, and we all know speed kills. Everything felt fast this weekend, even the warm-up and warm-down. Whereas I exercise, these two train. Every workout has a purpose and parameters, like a specific pace or heart rate. Me, if I feel good, I go hard. And if I feel bad, I do what I can on that day-no rhyme or reason really. It was a blast to be a part of this type of training again, and by the end of the weekend, I think I found some speed. I also found some new training venues, some good eats, and some new and old friends. New friends Nick and Carla prepared one of the best post training brunch I've ever eaten...for 13+ people. We're talking food like: banana coconut pancakes, vegetable eggs benedict, asparagus frittata with smoked paprika, and homemade cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins. And during a ride, I ran into an old college acquaintance, Mari Holden, who also happens to be an Olympic Silver Medalist. I will definitely be back...but only after I am over the psychological scar from sitting in LA traffic.