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Rainy bike path + PRE

August 30, 2014 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 60, rain, then mid-60s and warm at the coast!

Comments:
The first vision when I awoke this mornng, was Kaci laying beside me, smiling widely. LOVE IT. We laid in bed for a bit, chatting, then finally got up for breakfast. It was unusually overcast and, as we were sitting out on the deck in bag chairs, it started to mist! WTF?

Around 10ish, we got out for the run. Kaci had 8x 3min, and there was no way I'd run that, so I hopped on the bike. And just as we took off, it began to legitimately rain.

We went from my place, straight to the bike path, and across the DeFazio bridge to the north side. Only two miles in, she started her repeats.

Her stride is EXCELLENT, but there are a couple issues:

- she's rounded in her upper back a bit too much (needs to be more erect)
- she's asymmetrical with her arm swing: BOTH elbows basically swing to the right. I have this same problem, stemming from my compromised right hip extension.

She ran on and off hard all the way to Owosso, then we crossed, and ran south. Only after the third rep did I mention it. Most people are WAY too sensitive about mechanics, and I have talked to her about elbows before. But when I mentioned it, she was quick to snap back, "DON'T mention anything, I can't think about it right now!".

I can understand that, but, I tend to think that - especially at hard efforts - that is EXACTLY the time to think about it! But everyone's brain is different, especially what they need when they're pushing hard, so I understood and otherwise kept mum. She apologized later for being curt, but it wasn't necessary. I understood. :)

About midway through it was REALLY raining hard! This sucks! On top of that, I was biking 9 miles per hour, getting soaked. Not fun. It abated a bit when we finally finished the repeats, back at Alton Baker. From there, I locked up the bike and ran her cooldown.

Getting off the bike and running - after 13 days off running - was BRUTAL. I felt stiff, tired, cold, and almost drunk! Yuck!

We ran the PRE loop, around the pond, and back. I came around a bit, but overall felt shitty, and was thankful to get back to the bike. We got back to my apt, and - just like that - the rain was done.

We cleaned up, packed up, and headed for the coast! Had a GREAT chat along the way, where she told me the whole story about her dad: on how, before she was born, he had become violent with her mom, and the real reason she lived with her Grandma was that her mom feared for her safety - for a LONG time. She later told of finding her dad, and meeting him in Minnesota (and how "not well" that went).

We got to US101 around mid-afternoon, just as the weather was improving: partly cloudy skies. We stopped above Heceta Head Lighthouse, then again when Kaci spotted a whale in the water near the shore! We stopped again at Cape Perpetua to walk around the tide pools, then finally got to Overleaf Lodge.

Overleaf is a legit high-end resort hotel. It was expensive, but our room was fantastic, with a full elevated view of the water.

It was so warm and mostly sunny that I was actually hot, and I mentioned the possibility of jumping in the ocean, then heading to the spa hot tub, that is at the top floor of the hotel, overlooking the water. So after checking in, we went for a walk along the semi-wooded "802 trail" above the beach. Kaci slipped into the cutest (hottest?) multi-colored bikini, over which she wore teeny little Nike "compression shorts" (what's there to compress? ;-) )

We walked the trail, then found a little beach area near the hotel. It was fairly warm and windless - shocking! So after wading a bit in the waters, I went for it, and jumped in! Felt so invigorating! I only submerged a few times, then grabbed the clothes!

We walked, hand-in-hand, back toward the hotel, stopping to sit for a bit along the grassy dune above the water. Then, we hit the spa.

The spa at Overleaf is the major draw. While the services are not included (and quite expensive), the locker room (with sauna and steam) and hot tub are. We hopped in, and were the only ones there. The tub literally sits next to huge, elevated picture windows overlooking the water, making it feel like you're in the ocean!

Kaci, of course, wanted to give me a back massage! No problem here! So that's what we did: exchanging some "body work", just silently enjoying each other and the moment. She knew my calf was bothering me, so after I worked on her (read: selfishly caressed!), she sat across from me and worked my calf! What a darling! Her unending smile, sitting opposite me, with the setting sun and water behind her, is an indelible image that I'll remember for a long time.

It was nearly sunset, so we retired to our luxury locker rooms to clean up, then sat with each other in our room, watching the sun dip into the ocean from our picture window. It was a classic - yet priceless - coastal experience.

Then, we went to dinner.

I made my biggest mistake of the entire weekend at that moment. I knew Kaci was allergic to shellfish, but I didn't know how sensitive she was. She ordered a chicken sandwich, while I got a seafood chowder, then some incredible crab ravioli with lobster meat on top! It was only after dinner that I found out that she'd previously had a severe anaphylactic reaction from simply having a sandwich made with a knife that had touched tuna!

It was only after dinner, when we were back at the hotel, sitting outside looking at the stars, when she was too scared to kiss me (with possible shellfish residue in my mouth!) did I find out. I felt TERRIBLE. I apologized, but sheesh - what a bonehead move. I'm supposed to take care of her, but I could've put her in serious jeopardy with my selfishness! Major gaff...but thank God she didn't react.

After a time out with the stars, we grabbed some dessert (chocolate-raspberry yogurt, diet soda for her, and beer for me) and watched the water in our room, with the windows open and fireplace on. It was fantastic.

Finally, around 11, we went to bed. The enormous king size bed was incredibly comfortable, and with a cuteness that typifies her, Kaci was all the way one one side, inches from the edge - old habit from sleeping in her tiny "Barbie bed".

But before then, we'd been playfully rough-housing together. She is SO damn cute - but also energetic, playful, and feisty - that she makes the perfect partner to "play" with! But she's also strong as hell! However, her true "special move" - to repell all invaders - is to go "Stiff as a Board"! HA! When tried to put her in "The Small Package" (my special move), she quickly and effectively repelled me by going absolutely plank-stiff, making her almost immovable! WTF? How is that possible! It was absolutely hilarious! We laid there for a bit, giggling and smiling like a couple kids. When I went in for the kiss-smother, she landed the fatal blows - trunk tickles.

I'm just powerless with her. I can try, but I will always fail. My only hope is that she will let me win for a little bit before she breaks me down. :-P

We settled down after that. Before going to bed (and after the "beer sterilization"), I had vigorously brushed my teeth, so when I drew her closer to me, she came willingly.

We kept the fireplace on, but even then, it was still pretty warm. My standard bedtime gear is my "faux compression short" undies and a t-shirt, but sleeping with someone else is always warmer, so I go sans shirt. Kaci? She sports the full pajama pants, short sleeve *and* long sleeve! How she doesn't bake overnight is beyond me.

But I do think some of it is a bit of self-consciousness. When she runs, for her to don only a sports bra and shorts is both common and comfortable: I think because that's when she feels utterly confident, strong and - perhaps - powerfully feminine. And that's palpable for all who are around her. She drips with confidence, beauty, and just a touch of athletic sexuality that, for me, is irresistible.

But outside running, I think it's different: that confidence in her beauty and strength fails to fully carry over. That said, when she "bundles up" for bed with me, it perhaps is less about "defense" (for I think she really does trust me and my intentions to progress slowly with her), and much more about her self-concept: that her assessment of her beauty - inside and out - is but a *small fraction* of reality, of what I see in her.

That said, my goals as a friend and partner for her are, once again:

1. to develop TRUST: that she trust me with her heart, that she be able to be 100% authentic (good, bad, and the yucky stuff) with me.

2. to consistently and constantly affirm her:
- to reinforce the many wonderful, special, and valuable gifts she possesses. And within that:
- to affirm her true beauty as a person in *and* out, and to help her see what a gorgeous woman she is, ALL the time!

I've told her this repeatedly, and I believe it to be 100% true: that she's absolutely the most beautiful:

A.) after she runs
B.) when she first wakes up in the morning

That said, even in her multi-layered PJs, she's a positively gorgeous woman. :-P

So we laid there for a while, intermittently talking and smooching, about what I don't recall. Perhaps about what a terrific day it was: filled with moments that, if I'm lucky, I experience one of them every month or so. We had a good half dozen today.

I joked with her that, as of yet, I'd yet to get to "second base" with her, so I playfully slid my hand onto her butt. "I LOVE your butt", I said, to which she replied, playfully, "I don't HAVE a butt!" Regardless, I still love it, and gave it a playful squeeze.

I just LOVE touching her. It's a purely selfish act; I just love caressing her body, which is both utterly soft, yet with firmness of a strong, committed athlete. So sexy! I try not to get too carried away, so after a few minutes, I relented and went supine.

It was about then, when she rolled toward me, pulled ME to her, and "attacked"!

I LOVE kissing: little ones, lip ones, cheek ones, neck and ear ones, and - perhaps best - the slow, open mouth kisses. But I ALSO love passionate, strong kisses.

And when she pulled me toward her, she all-out "attacked" - open-mouthed - with romantic passion as intense as a late-race charge! Wow, simply incredible! At the moment, I was caught off-guard, but utterly thrilled. And, just as I thought, "OK, well that's it"....she kept going!

She did not stop. I pulled her on top of me, but that did nothing to interrupt her. I squeezed her tightly against me - I simply could not get her close enough - and my hands where everywhere. I swooped her onto her back, and we continued, and my hands - delicately, for the moment - slipped up her shirt and onto her chest ("second base!").

We stopped then, and let the passion reduce to a simmer.

It was brief, but it was POWERFUL. I was careful to not try to escalate things further. We simply aren't ready for that yet, nor is it even necessary.

But that moment? Phenomenal, because - for HER to do that - means that she trusts ME: with her heart, with her passion, to express that to me in that way. It's not just about being physical: it is the expression of her energy - from herself, toward me. And for her to feel comfortable enough to trust me, and to give me that - knowing full-well that, perhaps, she's NEVER given that to another person, EVER? A priceless moment to cap one of the best days, ever.