Sunny Monday

Brian and I are taking today off, extending the holiday. While he insists on returning to work tomorrow, I decided to make this a five-day weekend and take leave. It's good to have a day to yourself. 

I got up at the normal time today and rode 43 miles. Luckily, the rain stayed south of us yesterday, so it was dry. Aside from the inevitable rabbits, I saw no wildlife. I was surprised that I didn't encounter any commuters during my last  few miles, but maybe other people decided to extend the weekend, too. Gorgeous sunrise, particularly since it was clear and the stars were so bright. 

Between the bike ride and going to the pool, I walked Fiona and Maeve, read some more of my new Laura Lippman book, and took a nice nap!  The last helped me re-engergize for my time swimming. What a nice day for it, mostly sunny, warming up. It was kind of chilly in the pool, probably because yesterday and last night were not July warm. So happy it wasn't crowded.  I swam 70 laps, just a smidge over an hour. Brian went in the deep end and had a good time, too.  

No Sun Sunday

I woke up expecting to find it raining. Much to my surprise, it was dry. There was some light rain on the radar, but it was patchy and the dewpoint was pretty low. I, therefore, decided to give it a chance and anticipating getting wet, took my beater bike out for a ride.  It was a dry 43 miles, which made me very happy.  Even better, it held off so I could walk about Maeve and Fiona.  

The cloudy, rain-threatening, cool weather persisted through the day. Brian wanted to go to the pool, so I went ahead and joined him. We were literally the only non-employees there. Nice, because I had the pool to myself. I swam an hour, logging 60 laps. I decided to focus on form, so I went at a decidedly slower pace. Started out comfortable but I ended up getting cold by the time I got out of the pool. I thought about doing 10 more but decided not to push it.

Happy 4th

This morning, the sunrise for which I hoped yesterday showed itself during my bike ride. The sky was clear, and the morning stars lovely. Another chilly one -- low sixties -- but not too bad. I saw a swarm of bunnies, several of whom had a death wish and darted in front of me. In addition, I saw a fox.  

The memorable event of the ride was encountering a young hippie type on his way home from what presumably was a wild night. Dressed all in black -- t-shirt and long shorts w/black sneakers.  Beard, long hair.  Asked me, "hey dude, do you have a smoke?"  I said, "no, sorry" and zoomed by. Guess he thought I was a guy.  Not sure why he thought there was any chance someone riding a Seven, decked out in cycling attire, would have a fag in their jersey pocket.  LOL.  He was harmless.

Maeve and Fiona really enjoyed their walks.  I think both of them are happy to get some alone time with me, as well as get away from Margot.  The latter is getting so big!

We got to the pool when it opened, which was smart given the KofC was having a picnic and things were going to get crowded after the mob filled up with chow. Brian saw a bunch of them coming in, staking out their territory by leaving their towels on chairs, then going off to the pavilion. I was able to swim an hour -- 7o laps -- in relative peace and quiet.  Sun was in and out, and it was a tad cool. 

After we got home and had lunch, I had a nice two-hour nap. Slept like the dead. 

Holiday!

Started my Holiday with a nice, 43-mile early morning ride on my Seven.  It was pretty cool outside---lows 60s---for a July morning. The NW wind kept the humidity at bay so the no-see-ums/gnats weren't as bothersome as usual. I was anticipating a nice sunrise but clouds moved in.  After getting home, Maeve and Fiona got to go on walks. Maeve tested both my patience and arm strength when we passed another dog and his daddy out walking.  The old girl is strong as an ox.  Brian and I ended up taking Margot on her first walk, just around the block. She did very well on the leash, and she met a few neighbors.  Best of all, it tired her out for several hours.

The scat mat is working like a champ!

It was cloudy but we went to the pool. I plowed out 71 laps in an hour, and the pool was not too crowded.

The holiday break has gotten off to a nice start.

Half Day Off!

We got a three-hour early release, so I was outta there around 11:30 and in the pool by 12:15ish.  It was overcast, with nice peeks of sun, and not too crowded. Actually, I was first one in the pool with the lap lane. Nothing like getting into that smooth water and being the first to plow through it.  Since I lifted weights in the morning, my shoulders were pretty tired. I managed to swim an hour---about 60 laps of freestyle/breastroke.  My left side is weaker than my left---result of the broken clav, broken elbow, and being right handed. I'm going to have to work on strengthening it by doing extra sets on that side when I lift weights.

This morning's bike ride was nice, too. Very humid but most of the rain from Wednesday evening had evaporated. A couple foxes crossed my path, so it was double good luck (hence the three-hour early release).

Got home to dog madness. Actually, Margot wasn't too bad today and I was able to finish my Michael Connolly book.  Brian was so sweet, as he was able to stop on his way home and get a couple scat mats, plus some Avoderm for Maeve and Fiona. Going to just all EVO has made their coats/skin dry, so the Avoderm will get them back on track.

I'm taking a couple days off, so I've started a five-day weekend!!  Looks like the weather will be nice, too.

The Best Afternoon

I escaped work at around 11:30 to take the Subaru in for it's scheduled maintenance and State inspection. When I made the appt, they promised that it would take only 45 minutes. I didn't believe it, so I took  the entire afternoon off, figuring I'd be sitting around waiting.

To my surprise, the car was done within the promised time frame, and I made it home by just after one. I let the beasts out for a bathroom break, changed into my swimsuit, and went to the pool.  It was not too crowded, despite the sunny and very warm conditions, and I swam for almost an hour.  I think I logged in 66 laps or so. Lost count after 60 because several kids decided to invade the lap lanes and "swim" splashy, wandering laps. It was OK because I was just about done.  

Muck

This morning, there was what looked like a thunderstorm or a semi-significant but very small pocket of rain on the radar, almost over where I live/ride. Should I risk it and ride outside or suck it up indoors, on the trainer, with Coach Troy. I checked outside and it started raining. Since it was a little pocket I ended up changing jerseys, donning my Gore cycling cap to wear under my helmet, and pumping up the tires on my beater bike.

It was raining lightly when I started, but most of the rain was dry. The rain stopped after a couple miles, but there was a small, light patch of rain for about five miles after about a half hour. Nothing of significance, thank goodness. The trail/road were wet and of course, my bike and calves were coated in sand/dirt by the end of the ride. There was also patchy fog. I was able to get in my planned miles -- 36.  Might be some rain tomorrow morning, so I'm glad that I got it in today.

No swimming yesterday, as I had my hair colored and I needed to give it 24 hours to "set" before exposing it to pool chemicals. I could have gone if I wanted to wear a swim cap but decided against it.  I needed at least one rest day from swimming to give my shoulders a break, regardless.  Instead, I took Fiona on a walk---a nice break from Margot and her puppy madness!