St Patrick's Day and then the really unproductive next day

Today has already been an incredible morning and early afternoon. I am writing this right now because I will be golfing in the afternoon and then going out to dinner and then out with friends at night so I might not get back to it until tomorrow morning.

I went to a friend’s house to visit and hung out there for a little while catching up and having a good time. While there I set up a tee time for around 12:30, before which I was going up to Foothill Park to go on a hike.

After leaving their house I went up to Foothill and enjoyed the morning breeze in the car with my windows open. Everybody else had them closed, I figure that I only drive about once a week so anytime I’m in the car I enjoy the windows open, plus it was just an absolutely beautiful morning and it wasn’t too cold.

I made my way up to Foothill, hitting every single red light, but it was an incredible ride, one I hadn’t been on in quite some time, since January probably. It was well after the rush hour so no problems getting up there. However, there are way too many cars in this area, we’re beginning to have LA traffic all over, not as extreme, but ridiculous.

Upon reaching Foothill Park it was relatively empty, which makes sense because it is a Tuesday morning and the only people that would be up there are those without jobs, retired, or people like me who have a pretty open schedule. It was absolutely gorgeous, few clouds, and a view unmatched for this time in March, well I guess it could have been a little clearer, but the clouds added some beauty. After the rain last week EVERYTHING was green, it constantly reminded me of St Patrick’s day,

I kept looking for signs of the day, and was constantly reminded by the totality of green. While on the Bobcat trail I saw some deer tracks, and had heard rustling in the area, really hoping it wasn’t a mountain lion looking for an easy meal in early Spring. I continued on and finished that trail and decided to go onto another trail. I went along, jogging and walking the majority, just basking in the perfect surroundings. At this point I was only planning to stay out a few more minutes so I kept looking for the point where it couldn’t get any better. Finally it hit, there was a deer some 25 feet away, quickly making itself safe up the guarded hill. I turned back, and saw another one about 30 feet to my left. It was satisfying to see some wildlife, and that it was no danger was a plus. On my walk back towards Vista Point I saw a lone California Poppy. It was beautiful, just alone, along the path.

I made my way back to the car and came home, gathering my golf clubs and heading over to the course. It was pretty busy, but I got on with no problem. My game was definitely not on, but it was really fun, the weather could not have been any nicer. I had to leave early and head back home to go out to dinner.

Dinner was really nice, and after that it gets interesting, and the life changing experiences begin.

It had been decided that drinking would be included in my routine just for St Patrick’s Day. Though 4 drinks was the limit it was tossed aside as the night continued. It began at my friend’s house where I had a few Sierra Nevada’s, one of my favorites. We waited for some more people to stop by before going downtown. When the cavalry arrived we walked to one of the local bars and began, I was treated to a Guinness. I had that one over a long period and then left to meet some other friends at another bar. Again I was treated to a huge nice beer. After we all finished we met some other friends at another bar, where I was treated to an Irish Car bomb. For those unknowing (glass of Guinness, shot of Jameson, shot of baileys). We left there and went to another bar where I decided against drinking anything. After that we went back to the original bar and met up with the friends I first came downtown with. They had been occupying a pool table for quite some time, so I hopped in on a game and magically started pulling off a few ridiculous shots in a row, and then failed the easy 8 ball finish. We won that game handily, and then the drinks pretty much instantly hit me and I was worthless in the second game.

We left and arrived back at our final destination, where I immediately from habit ate some food to get at least something in my stomach. I laid on the couch and fell asleep for the night.

In the morning, let’s just say that I was pretty much worthless. I was completely dehydrated and could feel my brain functioning at about 60% of capacity. It continued on for the rest of the day, not really accomplishing anything of physical substance except biking 4 miles. I knew everything would be fine the next day, but I was pretty annoyed that an entire day had been essentially thrown away. I still managed to have a nice night, winning a baseball game and then having an incredible dinner of Fred Steak, fish and salad.

The lesson learned, alcohol really does lead to dehydration, and dehydration leads to lack of motivation and ability to cognitively function at levels deemed normal. I won’t be drinking anymore throughout this training, unless I sneak 1 beer just for taste and carb loading post race or really long run.

I’ll write another post for today, as this one was for March 17 and 18. Parts of it were written on March 17, which is why some of the wording is in present tense and such, just so you know.

Ryan