Team Because We Can!!

Coach Al has a tradition of naming each team at the beginning of the season. There has been a Team Sunshine, Team Positive, Team Rain or Shine, Team Cole, Team Brenda, plus dozens of others.... this season we are Team Because We Can! While that may not roll off the toungue as easily as some of our past team names, this one has a special meaning to many of us who knew Brenda. We train for these crazy difficult endurance events because we can, because we're alive, and for so many others like Brenda who can't.

Saturday morning I was up very early for Kick Off... the celebration of our new Spring training season. After a stop at Starbucks I was on the BART train on my way to the city. Before all the new participants showed up and the event really begin, I spent the morning chatting with our mentors and people I knew on other teams (and drinking more coffee... which was NOT a good idea :(. This is really the only time of the season that all the SF and East Bay Marathon, Tri, and Cycle teams are all together in one place. Once the new participants started showing up, the craziness began :D But it's good craziness. The program started at 10:00 and I think Jeanette and I finally left around 1:00. We has a nice lunch in SF before heading to Oakland for a side trip to the yarn store, and then she dropped me off at the BART station in WC to pick up my car.

I finally stepped in my front door at 3:30... I took a little nap and then it was time to get up and head BACK into the city for my former TNT manager and friend Monica's birthday party in Glen Park! Phil and I met at the BART station (my second time there in one day) and got to Monica's place about an hour later. Her new house is really cute, and Glen Park seems to be a cute neighborhood although I'm still not sure where in the city it is :D We ate some yummy fajitas, cake, lumpia (!!!) and visited with some of Monica's friends, former co-workers and current TNT co-workers. Phil had an early bike ride the next morning so at 9:00 we decided to make the trek back to BART, and back to the East Bay. Sometimes I hate taking BART because it's just so boring and full of wierd people, but since it was raining when we left Monica's, I was glad we didn't have to drive back in the yucky weather!

Sunday I slept in since I was so pooped from the day before. At noon I made my way over to Claudia and Rocky's for an afternoon (and evening) of knitting, eating and hanging out. Claudia made yummy black bean soup and pupusas for lunch and then we just veged out on their couch , drinking wine and hanging out with the crazy dogs. Dinner time rolled around and I was still there so we had some pizza and watched American Gladiators (which I thought I'd hate, but ended up really getting into!). Of course when I left around 7:30 it started to pour again but I made it home safe and sound, in time to catch up on some tv before bed :D