Monday

Rebecca, Maddie, Kedra & Baby Cora

Good morning! Monday. Again! Yes and I like it. Everything starts anew, and I think I am ready for a big week of endurance events. Last week I did about 11 hours, which is the lowest week I've had since early/mid July. It worked out to be somewhat of a rest week, so I decided to roll with that.

We have about 5 weeks of hard training ahead and then taper begins. I want to be careful, smart, and work really hard over the next 5 weeks to get stronger and more efficient, especially in the swim. I plan to do 3 more centuries on the bike and start the 20 milers on the run.

Saturday saw us do 70 miles -- Rand, Dr. Lucky & me. I have dubbed Jimmy Dr. Lucky because, well, he is so stinkin lucky. The latest? He and his buddy Steve won a contest for Colts' season ticket holders. The result was an all-expense paid trip to Denver for last night's Colts Broncos game. Dr. Lucky did not even know there was a contest until they called to tell him he won.

That lucky trip dictated, somewhat, the length of our ride on Saturday. Actually we really only needed about 70 anyway, but on the ride Dr. Lucky brought his influence. The predicted rain did not show up, and the highway crossings, and there were several, were all clean and easy. We had a pretty good ride. You can see it here, if interested.

I felt good after the ride and worked with firewood in the afternoon. Rebecca came in from Nashville on Friday, so I got to spend some relaxing time with her too. She, along with the other girls pictured, did a girl shopping thing on Saturday morning. They are teaching Cora the ways of women, I suppose.

Yesterday, between church activities, Rand invited us out to Crane to swim. This was a great experience. The distance across the lake is about .5 miles, which is similar to what we will swim out into the Gulf of Mexico before turning to go parallel to shore for a little while. It was the longest distance I have covered without turning. It was challenging from a sighting standpoint, plus there were ski boats and wakes to consider, along with some wind.

I did ok. I had no fear or panic, but I am slow. I have a few weeks to work on this, and yesterday was really good for me. On my second lap, on the return leg, I saw Rand coming back to me. I thought he was just going to escort me in. He grabbed my foot to stop me, telling me I was in the boat lane. Oops! Evidently there was a ski boat headed my way. I once had an encounter at Kenray with a pontoon boat. I am attracted to boats evidently. Anyway Rand saved my life, and now I live another day!

This morning I hope to get a 10 miler in, starting pretty soon. I have a busy day and week ahead and want to get a jump on it. The temps are really nice and cool this morning. Hopefully this will translate into a decent run.

Have a great day!