Poor British Boy

The boy from England. The soccer player who made me laugh and kept me on my toes. Our first date ended at my doorstep after a night of conversation and European music. The chill in the air caused me to tuck my hands into the pockets of my Patagonia jacket as he walked me to the door. My fingers felt a small object, much like a lipstick tube. Alas, it was not lipstick; in my pocket sat a small can of pepper spray. A giggle escaped my glossed lips and the soccer player's blue eyes looked inquisitively into mine.

"I have a can of pepper spray in my pocket," I exclaimed.

His toned body became rigid. He awkwardly took a step back from me and stuck his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Oh... er... alright then," he said in a thick British accent. "It was a lovely evening. May I see you again?"

I agreed that I would enjoy that then said goodnight and walked through the doorway and up to my room.

I had succeeded in scaring the man away...

Or so I thought.

A week later, I drove two hours south to see him. We met at Peet's Coffee. When I arrived, he was sitting on the patio, talking on the phone. He barely acknowledged me as I walked up, just gave me a nod as if we were dear friends who met up for coffee daily. Without a word spoken between us, I walked inside and ordered a cappuccino. When at last I returned, the man was still sitting, still speaking to the person on the other side of the line.

Ten minutes passed before we finally said hello. I played with the hem of my dress while he finished his conversation. Another ten minutes passed and it was time for me to return home. A very quick visit, one which left me wondering why I had driven so far just for a cup of mediocre coffee.

Another week passed and his job had taken him back to England for a few months.

A car hit me, as you know, and I moved up to Oregon. Soon after my arrival, a bouquet of flowers arrived at my doorstep. The card was signed by him. What had I done to captivate this man?

He texted. He called. I ignored, but was flattered. Finally, one evening as I returned home from a wedding, wishing I, too, could find the man of my dreams, I made a terrible mistake. I texted him back.

His reply was immediate. He wanted to see me. When could he see me? He would fly to Oregon. Would that be alright?

I gave my consent.

After a three hour flight followed by a four hour drive, a rented Sedan with a British athlete inside pulled into my driveway. I walked outside, pearls around my neck, a playful dress blowing in the breeze. My dirty blonde hair was pinned back and I was wearing make-up, a very rare occurrence. The sun shone upon his strawberry blonde locks as he stepped out of the car. A smile spread across his face. His pace was slow as he walked up my steps to the front door in his twill pants and collared white shirt. He looked like he had walked off of a golf course in the 1950's. My parents waited inside and introductions were exchanged.

Shortly after his arrival, we departed the house and made our way to the restaurant. Black Butte Ranch: He had chosen well. A private golf course twenty miles out of town with a beautiful view of the Cascade Mountain Range.

"Parents on a third date? I haven't even met your friends," he commented. I could barely make out his words from his thick accent and slurred speech.

I asked him questions; he responded. I never knew what he was saying because his accent had gotten thicker, so instead of expanding on the current conversation, I continuously was forced to come up with new topics on which to speak. A familiar band played through the car speakers. "Do you recognize this song," he asked. "It's by The Streets. I know you like them." Ah, yes, the band I had mentioned enjoying on our first date. He had remembered.

Up, up, up the restaurant stairs we walked. My boot hit violently against the wooden steps. My Italian flat softly tried to make up for the noise. When we reached the top, I was thankful I had not tripped, but knew my journey was not done. We still had two more flights of steps before reaching our table. A table for four with only two place settings. The settings were next to one another instead of across. Thinking that was strange to sit next to someone and not across from him, I took the seat with no setting. This caused a commotion with him trying to sit next to me then demanding I switch seats to one of the places with a setting. I obliged, though I did not want to do so.

More words were spoken, though I cannot tell you what he said. If I had understood any of it, I would tell you, of course.

When the plates were cleared, he asked me a question.

"Is there a bathroom?"

"Oh yes," my voice came out loud. "It's just up those stairs then down the other stairs."

"Shall we go then?"

Odd. So very odd. Why would he want me to join him?

"I suppose it's on our way out," I noted.

We stood and walked toward the stairs, he put his hand out behind him, as if offering to take my purse.

"Are you trying to take my purse," I asked, shocked by the offer, if that's what it was.

"No," he said. "Your hand."

"What? Do you want to take my purse?"

"No." Patience must be one of his virtues. "Your hand."

"Oh, I see," I allowed our fingers to intertwine. It felt awkward and forced, especially while my other hand was clinging to the banister to steady my body up the steps.

Down the next flight of steps we walked. The bathroom door awaited us. "There it is," I pointed.

He turned his body to face mine. I let go of his hand. He stared at me, his face lacking any form of expression.

"I think I will go, too," my voice broke the silence.

"I asked if there was a bar here," he said, flatly.

That made more sense. I laughed and we climbed three flights of stairs to the bar, boot knocking on the wood.

Remembering my drink of choice, he ordered two whiskeys. Neither were touched. The sun set across the lake, behind the mountains. A setting that should have been romantic, wasted on a girl who was obviously uninterested.

When the bar closed, we went back down the steps. My boot caught on the ridge and I fumbled to release myself from its grip. After a long walk back to the car and a longer drive back to my parents' house, he parked the car and turned his head to look at me. "Well then, Miss Francis, may I kiss you," he asked.

"I gave up kissing for the year, didn't I tell you that?" I asked. "I could have sworn we have talked about this."

"No," he seemed stunned. "Are you joking me?" His British accent would be cute if I was in love.

"No," I laughed. "I have definitely told you this! I even wrote a blog about it."

"We have not talked about this. You are serious?" He asked.

"Absolutely," I confirmed. "I am so sorry."

"Well then," he paused. "May I walk you to your door?"

To my front door we walked. He hugged me goodnight. "May I see you tomorrow," he asked.

"I thought you had to drive back to Portland." My keys were in one hand, ready to open the barrier that would soon be between us.

"I postponed my flight so I might spend more time with you," he said. Oh, if only I was in love.

"We shall see. Tomorrow is a very busy day," I admitted. It was not a lie.

"Alright then," he took a step backwards. "Have a lovely evening."

"Thank you for dinner." I unlocked the door and stepped inside. My eyes watched as he walked down the front steps and down the driveway.

Poor British boy.

Toenails Are For Sissies

It was only 10AM and I had already run 9 miles, gone swimming for an hour and taught a cycle class. Just a typical day in the life of Ashlee.

My workouts have become a little more aggressive and time consuming. Three-four workouts a day on top of my classes. Yesterday on my easy run, my quads and calves could feel the effects of two hard runs prior that week. Sunday afternoon, I ran a timed 5k with Chad. Chad is one of the coolest guys I know and I'm really glad I've gotten to know him more through our workouts. He has such an incredible story and it is amazing what he and his wife are able to accomplish with four kids under the age of four. We met on the track around 3PM, right after I had eaten a giant burrito with Amy (knowing fully well I would feel nauseous during the test). After warming up, Jason had Chad and me line up at the waterfall and off we went. Three miles plus some. No big deal, right? But it was.

I started with a 7:00 mile. No problem. Then I lost everything. There was no digging deeper because there was no dirt left to dig into... it was all cement. All I wanted to do was pull off to the side and vomit. I could feel the amazingly-delicious-at-the-time burrito bouncing around threatening to take its second breath of life. Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more. Okay, Jason Aldeen... I'll try. I checked my watch. I had slowed to an 8:00 pace. Ouch. Chad lapped me. Ouch. Just one more mile. Stay down, lunch. Stay down.

I finished in 23:24. Not so good. I need to shave 6:07 off of that and run another 3.1 miles at that pace if I want to finish first in February.

So, I lost my fifth toenail this week... but it doesn't even look like it because it's so callused. You know you're a runner when... PS you're welcome for the lovely image. 

That night, after work, I went to the pool to swim. I had forgotten that the pool closes early on Sunday, but the lifeguard allowed me to swim for 10:00 before he had to take off for the evening (I had to do a little flirting to get an extra 2:00, of course). 550 meters... better than nothing, I guess

Monday was an easy day and I didn't try to push on any of my workouts.

Rusty gave me some grief for not running with the group last Saturday, so I woke up early Tuesday morning to meet up with them. After warming up for 20:00, he asked me what my 5k time was. I told him 23:24 and he informed me that my warm-up was the same pace as my 5k time. He told me to run 3 sets of 2x400's at 1:48 with 1x800 at 3:37. The first two sets felt fine, but the last set was on my own and it pretty badly. It felt invigorating, but I definitely knew I was getting a good workout.

After cooling down on the track, I taught a cycle class. "Wow," a triathlete in my class said. "I hate cycle classes, but that was so fun! I'm going to come back again!" I finished the workout with 1850 yards in the pool. Halfway through my swim, aqua aerobics began. Something about the older people getting in the water gives it a funny consistency. I'm not joking; honestly, I wish I was. The water is a little thicker and tastes like strong perfume and urine. I forced myself to push through it. Since a class was in session, only one lane was open. A man with a snorkel was enjoying the second half of my lane. Then a third man joined. He was a strong swimmer, so I didn't mind circle swimming too much (one of the things I dislike most about the pool), but when a fourth man joined, the lane seemed a little crowded. With only 300 meters to go, I forced myself to stick around and finish strong, then I rinsed off and headed home.

That evening, I rode my bike to work. The weather was crisp and it was an easy and quick ride. Unfortunately, it is dark when I get off of work. It's not the smartest idea to bike home in the dark, but I wore my reflective gear and a headlamp. During one portion of the ride, I heard something rustling in a nearby bush and I swear I have never peddled so quickly in my life. Of course, I was met by a ditch while going all out speed and that was a little nerve racking, but I caught myself and corrected my wheel, making it home safely. Don't worry, Dad.. I took my knife and pepper spray. I was a good girl.

Wednesday was another busy day workout wise. I woke up late and allowed myself to stay in bed and read Drea's blog while cuddling with Scofield and laughing at texts being exchanged with my new friend Micah. When I finally stretched and leaped across the room over my mess, I threw on a swimsuit and headed out to the pool. Of course, I was dreading getting in the water, so I stopped by Peet's and got a cappuccino instead. I sat outside of the gym for a good 10:00, sipping the warm froth and texting Micah. I tried to give myself a pep talk; You can do this, Ash. There aren't too many people here. Just get it done and you can go home to shower before class. The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish. 

The lanes were packed, but I found room in the slow lane and eased my way into the water. Let's do this. I warmed up for 350m then started my first 12:00 swim with flippers. At the end, I had traveled 650m. When I came up for a 2:00 break and ten seconds before it was time to begin my second 12:00 without fins, a cute French woman wanted to have a conversation. We spoke for awhile and I finally told her I had to return to my training. After 12:00, I added another 575m to my total. The woman introduced me to her male French friend who I was sharing my lane with. He informed me that I was much too fast to be swimming in the slow lane. I tried to convince him he was wrong, but as I looked around, I realized he was right... I think my swimming skills have slightly matured and I'm ready for the next level. I guess that's a good sign, right?

My skin is super sensitive due to a second degree sunburn I got when I was in high school. When I swim, my goggles always leave a mark and they last until early afternoon... yeah, really attractive. So I wore my awkward goggle eyes to the next gym to teach Power Cycle. There were three new members in class and they all seemed a bit hesitant, but excited to try something new. I made the class a little easier than normal, but by the end, everyone (including myself) was literally drenched in sweat. I swear I work my hardest at that gym even though there is no screen telling me my power output. I left feeling super confident about my abilities as an instructor.

Immediately after cycle, I drove out to my favorite beach for a 4 mile plus easy run.

Later at work, my cousin Jack Coleman came to see me! I ran across to the bike shop and threw my arms around him. "Do you greet all your customers that way," a man asked me. It was so great to have my cousin here! We met up with Amy after work and went to Eureka Burger. I don't know why Amy and I like to eat huge meals before my hard workouts, but we both ordered the fig burger. Jack ordered last; "I'll have the steak salad," he told the waitress. Thanks for making us look bad, Jack.

Jack and Amy came to Pure Awesomeness that evening and it was so great to have them there along with all my other friends. I really love my cousin and it was fun watching him struggle through the workout. Growing up, I always felt like I had to impress my cousins. I never felt quite as cool or rebellious as they were. It made my night when after class, Jack came up to me and said, "Wow. That was amazing! I don't know how you do that. I kept looking at you waiting for you to take a break. Over the past two years, you have really been impressing me." Then he said, "Come here, Cuz," and gave me a big, sweaty, smelly hug. It made me feel so great about myself, my accomplishments and my ability. Plus, this morning when we went out to breakfast, he told me about how sore he was. Hehehe.

So that's it. Boring blog post, but that's about all I have been up to. Training is going really well, I'm still turning the boys down and choosing to run instead (will things ever change?), work is perfect... I can't complain. I saw a chiropractor for my shoulder today and, after a lot of cracking noises, I think he opened me up a bit. I'm going to test that out during my swim later this evening. It felt good during cycle class today though!

It's Valentines Day

A weekend of firsts it was for Sophia. First time in Downey (for water and Coffee Bean), first time in San Diego, first time meeting my extended family, first time successfully using chopsticks, first half marathon, first time hanging out with Weston, first time at the San Diego Zoo... lucky girl. Those are some great firsts!

Friday night, we had girls' night at my house: painting, movie and conversation. I started a painting, but have yet to finish. I'm not the biggest fan of this one thus far.

Saturday morning, I taught four classes before getting on the road to San Diego. During my Pilates class, I kicked butt! Within the first fifteen minutes, Yumi exclaimed, "This hurts more than being in labor!" Everyone laughed really hard and Heather said, "How is that for birth control?" Halfway through class, I yelled, "C'mon, give it all you got! It's not like anyone is running a half marathon or anything tomorrow!" Yeah... I don't think anyone knew I actually was. I totally wore myself out during class, but it was so good! My glutes were hating me! But I was wearing my new bright pink pants and my neon pink Lulu Energy Bra and a white lace tank and I felt like a giant Valentine! After work, I was walking home and had to wait at the stop light. I swear every guy that passed me turned their head to see my face. They must have all seen my big booty in my pink pants and thought, "What kind of white girl has a butt that big?!"

My little sister is my very best friend. I am a goofball and no one has ever fully accepted that except my sister and parents... until now. Sophia understands me! It is unbelievably wonderful! She is quirky, I am bizarre and together we are a mixture of... well, it's Valentines Day. We goofed off in the car, we made fools of ourselves in Downey, we made the boys at Sushi on the Rock II wish they were our dates, I screamed about a reverse ladybug while Sophia took photos... it was a fantastic road trip.

Weston was waiting for us when we returned home. The night consisted of two hours of me going through my 8,129 songs on ITunes and making a running playlist. I spent so much time and dedication to make the most ideal running playlist. Music was purchased, songs were arranged... it was going to be epic. This was the mix that was going to help take me to the top during my race!

After my mix was complete, Sophia and I curled up into bed and Weston settled in the bedroom adjoining ours. We should have been tired, but after making our playlists and having all of the electricity in the back apartment go out, we were on a high. Giggles came from our room and the rice paper walls could not muffle the sound for Weston; the poor boy had to deal with our high school girl immaturity. We were having so much fun on our slumber party, we didn't want it to end. We finally fell asleep.

Encouraging (?) picture from Mavel

5:20AM
Good morning, Sophia! We woke up before the alarm went off and Sophia told me all about my "mmhmm" responses to her sneezes during the night. Yes, it is true... I talk in my sleep. I "mmhmm" in my sleep. Mmhmm. Then I showed her my moves for Luke Bryan's "Country Girl", which is my "get psyched" song. Weston witnessed a portion of it, too, unfortunately. I threw in some of my hippy dancing. Yes, hippy dancing to country music. It is fabulous. Please ask to see my dance sometime. You will not be disappointed.

We went into the main house and made our oatmeal with bananas, strawberries, nuts and peanut butter. Weston had his special oatmeal planned out plus a protein drink. We were set. We climbed into the back of my parents' car and off we went.

7:11AM Get the bibs. Check.
7:20AM Stand in line for the restroom. Check.
7:28AM Complain about being cold and decide whether we would wear our long sleeve technical tees or not. Decide to stick with our short sleeves/tank tops. Check.
7:30AM Double knot our laces. Check.
7:49AM Walk down to the starting line with the masses. Check.
7:55AM Realize there is no time for a warm-up. Check.
7:56AM Turn on my Ipod and realize my playlist didn't upload. Check.
8:00AM Start jogging in place and trying to maneuver around the slow runners to find our place. Check.
8:04AM Lose Sophia in the crowd. Check.
8:08.43AM Mile 1
8:11AM Catch up to Weston again. Check.
8:16.13AM Mile 2
8:23AM Force myself to think of 10 reasons I'm happy to be here today:
    1. I would be getting ready to walk to work right now.
    2. I don't have to work today or tomorrow.
    3. I'm with Weston and Sophia.
    4. My knee doesn't hurt yet.
    5. My family, friends and home group are all praying for my knee right now.
    6. It is a beautiful day.
    7. I can run.
    8. My pace is faster than I planned... shoot... should I slow down?... nope.
    9. I get to eat Mexican food when this is over.
    10. My pants are bright pink.
8:24.52AM Mile 3
8:26AM More hills?!?
8:28AM Will this hill ever end? Hips forward, hips forward.
8:29AM Oh good. A flat stretch.
8:31AM Another hill?!!!? "Hey Weston. I'll race you up that hill..."
8:32.40AM Mile 4
8:36AM Wow... it is beautiful here!!!
8:36.30AM Wow... my legs hurt. I want to walk. "Hey Weston, go ahead without me. Don't wait up." Weston: "No, no, it's more fun running with someone else." Me: "Poor Sophia."
8:37AM Maybe I should turn back for Sophia? But I don't know where she is. Is that her? No... Shoot!
8:41.55AM Mile 5 Shoot... I'm losing my speed. I started way too fast. I need to slow down. It's too late to slow down. This is a training run, Ashlee. You are not running to compete, you are running for fun. It's okay to walk for a little bit. No, it's not. Weston isn't walking.
8:43AM These hills are killing me. Don't act up, knee... Bye, Weston!
8:52.15AM Mile 6
8:53AM Where is Weston? Is that him? No... shoot. Oh well. Maybe I'll walk this next hill? Not going to walk... Don't do it, Ash.
8:56AM Just pass these guys.
8:57AM How did that bimbo just pass me? Get your hips forward.
9:01.43AM Mile 7
9:05AM Time for my Hammer Gel. Water? Yes, please. Bathroom? I'll hold it.
9:11.20AM Mile 8
9:12AM Okay, I got this.
9:18AM I've really got this! I just passed everyone who passed me earlier!!! This is awesome! Check out my groove! Everyone is looking at me like, "Where did she get her energy?"
9:19AM Hips forward! Charge!
9:20AM I want to dance.
9:21.33AM Mile 9
9:24AM Hills.... Hills! HILLS!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Okay, got it.
9:32.10 Mile 10
9:34AM I got this.
9:40.28 Mile 11 Two miles! Yay! Pace yourself, Ash. Pace yourself! Stop trying to race this guy... he's only 17!  .... Yeah, race him...
9:48.13 Mile 12
9:50AM This 17 year old thinks he is going to beat me... won't let that happen, will I?
9:52AM I don't think I can take one more step. Oh look! That woman is dressed like the Queen of England!
9:54AM .10 Miles?! Ugh... just be done!
9:54.56AM There's Weston.
9:55.07AM Oh, Dad is video taping...
9:55.13AM Sprint, Ashlee, Sprint!
9:55.15AM Hi Mom!!
9:55.17AM Eff... I'm going to collapse...
9:55.34AM I did it! I did it! PR! YAY!!
9:55.45AM Just keep walking...
9:58AM Time to find Sophia!

Who is who?

We finished the race strong and tired and went to Fidel's for Mexican food. Delicious! I love the taste of great food after an epic workout. And I got to see my Aunt Trace Ann and Uncle Cole! What a wonderful sight!

Weston captured the look on my face when Sophia turned down guacamole. Is she crazy?

It was so nice to have my parents at the run supporting me. They have never seen me run before, so it was encouraging to know they were proud of me and would be there to help me no matter what. It was cool to watch Sophia start and finish her first race! She beat her goal time and I was so proud of her (2:12.09)! Weston also set a PR (personal record), finishing in 1:49.23. He was fantastic! I love running with him! I cannot wait until our next event! I also PRed (that makes three of us!) with a finish time of 1:55.34, 8:49 pace. It's not great, but I'm happy with it. That was exactly 3:50 minutes faster than my Santa Barbara half marathon time!

Showers felt so good after the run. We collected our things and left for the zoo. I kept trying to text Dana, who had missed the race because she thought races were in the afternoon? Haha. "Zoo?" I texted. She called. "Zoo tomorrow. Zoo tomorrow." Nooooooooooo! So she did not join us at the zoo. Sad day.

The zoo was awesome! We got Weston an "It's my birthday" sticker, texted Steven nonstop and tried to wake the animals up from their slumber. I was exhausted. I'm not sure how Weston and Sophia were holding up, but I wished I was sitting in a dark movie theater, not walking around looking at awesome giraffes (my favorite!) and elephants (Kaylee's favorite)! Overall, great day at the zoo with my wonderful parents and my awesome friends.

We finished the perfect day with dinner at The Fig Tree Cafe. It was fantastic! One of the best meals I've ever had! Our waiter was hysterical, too, and played Whitney Houston throughout our entire meal. We took lots of pictures for Mavel because she always takes photos of delicious food and we wanted it to be our turn to make her jealous. Mom, Sophia and I shared shots... yup, shots... of energy and antioxidants: Mangosteen, Acai and Goji. Yummmm. We each ordered a different salad. Dad and Weston ordered the chicken and potatoes.

It was time for Peet's Coffee. Yippee! So we walk in and we're standing around chitchatting. Sophia grabs my arm. "I need to show you something," she said. "What?" She wouldn't tell me. She pulled and she pointed. "Is she pointing at that girl? Oh my goodness... she is pointing at that girl! And she is getting really close to her! This is embarrassing! Oh wait... I know that girl! It's... Megan!" So fun!

I can't wait for what tomorrow holds!