TGIF 7 August 2009

Bike Miles - 36

Swim - 75 laps/about an hour

What a lovely morning for a bike ride. Sixty-four degrees, lower dewpoint/humidity, slight breeze, clear sky, and bright moon/stars.  Best of all, no other people. It was all mine, save for the bunnies.  A fox crossed my path, a good omen for the day. 

As I'm eating my breakfast, I notice that Margot was on Fiona's back, as Fiona was lying on the kitchen floor. Margot was humping her to beat the band.  "I the Alpha!"  

I left work two hours early today. The traffic has been bad on Fridays---summer tourists, primarily---and it's not like I'm working on anything important.  Or much at all, for that matter.  I might just do it for every Friday for August, just for mental health reasons.

I went right to the pool and swam. Really wasn't too crowded, and I took it easy. My shoulders and arms were pretty sore from Thursday's swim, and I hope to get in a long swim tomorrow after my bike ride. Such a gorgeous day---not a cloud in the sky and not too hot. The sun was shining through the skylight, giving me a sunny swath to swim through. 

After I got home and showered, I took each of the dogs on an abbreviated walk. The sun was pretty intense, so I didn't want to make them do a regular walk. All three worked up a good lather. In the hopes of wearing her out, I took Margot on a bit further than usual walk. She was crying when we didn't turn down the road toward home!  Seemed relieved when she saw the stairs leading up to the yard.

Rainy Thursday Morning

Bike - 1 hr, 45 minutes on trainer 

Swim - 90 laps/1 hour

Rain greeted me this morning, so I did some Spinervals inside on the trainer (Big Gear Strength & Recharge).  I hope this doesn't end up being another rainy month. We've had too many of them this year.

The best part of today was being  able to leave at noon because I had an appointment. 

I got to the pool early and it was pretty crowded.  I had a lane to myself but ended up sharing with some guy who insisted on doing flipturns. Oh well, it's good more me to get used to it, I guess. I had a good swim, regardless. 

Wednesday, 5 Aug

Bike Miles - 36

Swim - 60 laps/42 minutes

It was nice, weather-wise, although a bit humid. Very bright moon and stars. There was some teenager spray painting graffiti on one of the retaining walls. In addition, there was some zaftig teenage girl riding a bike, wearing an ipod but no helmet or headlight/tail light. Must have been the bright moon that brought them out.  

Not too bad a day at work, even though it continues to be very slow. 

Tried to take it slow during my swim and decided to cut it off at 60 laps. The lady who joined me in my lane had long, coarse black hair and wore no swim cap. She was one of those "don't get the head" wet kind of swimmers.  Well, a big old strand of her hair got caught in my watch band. Gross!  She was nice and polite (asked it she could share the lane), at least. I'm trying to work on not breathing every stroke on freestyle.  I have to make myself get used to it.

The girls were better behaved today. I guess I should say Margot was better behaved!  Thank goodness.

Tuesday, 4 August 09

Bike Miles - 36

Swim - 70 laps/50 min

I had some strange dreams on Monday night, probably because I was so stressed out on Monday. Woke up, feeling ok except for some congestion in my ear tubes (probably due to the mold-induced snot factory cranking away in my head). Anyway, had a fairly nice bike ride. There were a couple of teenagers out on bikes. I'm pretty sure they were doing graffiti along the trail, as one appeared to be in a lookout position at the base of a connector trail. Bad boy wannabes. Minded their own business when it came to me, so I don't care. 

On the way into work, I was the victim of road rage. Some guy cut me off--no turn signal---so I flashed my brights at him. He slams on his brakes, and I nearly hit him. Then he gets in the lane next to me and starts "pacing" me.  Very hostile. I just kept my eye on him and did nothing more to incite him. He eventually exited.  I hate my commute. There are so many unsafe people on the road.

Got through work unscathed.

The pool was fairly busy but I initially had a lane to myself.  Someone soon joined me and we split the lane. Since it was a wide slow lane (next to the bulkhead), there was plenty of room.

Monday 3 Aug

Bike Miles - 36

Swim - 70 laps/50 minutes

It was very humid, which I expected after yesterday's rain. A breeze kept it from being a true drencher, as it was warm during my ride. Some wet patches, primarily on bridges, but otherwise dry. Felt surprisingly strong. It was a peaceful ride, had a fox cross my path.  Bright moon. The "cobweb" factor was high, so when I got home, I had to wipe myself clear of them.

Work was pretty slow, again. It wasn't a great day, overall.  Encountered that contractor at the gym, the one who wears street clothes to work out and never wipes down the machines he uses. Because of the latter, I wouldn't let him "sneak" in a set on the hamstring machine that I was using.  I was nearly done, and I knew he wouldn't wipe it down. He was doing a disorganized workout, moving from machine to machine.  It wasn't like he couldn't have gone to another machine while he waited since there was no organization to his workout.  Th one positive was that his "pal" wasn't with him, crowding the place. I did legs and shoulders.

I was pretty tired during my swim, but I slogged it out. My legs felt heavy, probably due to my time in the gym. 

Of course, Brian worked late and the dogs acted up. As soon as he gets home, I'm off to bed. I'm glad this day is over.

Stormy Start

Bike - 2 hrs, 15 minutes on Trainer

Swim - 80 laps/1 hr

Woke up to rain that morphed into some downpours and full-blown thunderstorms.  While I could have waited to ride outside, I opted for some time with Coach Troy on the trainer. First, I really needed to switch it up and do a true recovery ride. I also didn't want to deal with the muck that inevitably would get sprayed all over my bike, legs, bike, helmet, etc.  And finally, I was up, ready to ride, and had a lot of stuff to do. Therefore, it was more efficient just to get it out of the way.  I ended up doing ABB 1 and Recovery/Technique. 

By the time I walked the dogs, the rain had stopped. The ground was pretty saturated so it was good I didn't wait. In addition, it was very humid/steamy, the kind of humidity that turns glasses opaque. 

Brian went off to work for the morning--what a way to spend a Sunday morning. I took advantage of the quiet time to pack up about ten bags of no-longer worn/too big clothing for a couple charities.  Cathartic.  I also did some boring household chores.

Continued to rain off and on the rest of the morning. I went to the HS to swim, first time on a Sunday. They don't open until mid-day and it's free swim for seniors. It was the most crowded I've seen it.  Most of the old folks would loiter in the ends of the lap lanes, but luckily, I didn't have to worry about that in my lane. Ended up sharing the entire time, but it was OK since I had the wide slow lane by the bulkhead again.  I took it easy, more of a recovery swim.

Here are some photos of the girls.

1 August 09

Bike Miles - 43

Swim - 90 laps/1 hr

I got up a little bit earlier to make sure I'd finish my bike ride in time make it to the pool when they opened. It was a nice ride, as the rain predicted for all evening never materialized. While there were damp patches of pavement, nothing "spray" worthy. Best of all, no sand/sludge in the underpasses.  Peaceful. Stars were out, no one was about but me. Encountered one other cyclist in passing. 

Got home about 35 minutes or so before the pool opening, giving me plenty of time to get a load of laundry in the washer. 

I got to the pool about 10 minutes early and decided to sit in the car. Not much later, two old men arrived, and I joined them, thinking we would be waiting.  They let me know that you could go in early, which was a treat, if someone was there. Got in, discovered a few people had claimed their lanes by standing at the end of them.  I realized that you couldn't get in the water until the lifeguard got in the chair, which didn't take long. I had the slow lane, on the deep end side adjacent to the bulkhead to myself.  Nice. It was a wide lane, 5' on one end going to deep deep in the other (the diving tank side). Shallow enough that I could stand in the one side. For the first time, I wore a bathing cap and it made a huge difference. I felt more buoyant and moved through the water easier. Also, it kept the hair out of my eyes/face.  Definitely will be using one henceforth, the added bonus of which is possibly protecting my expensive hair color.  I had a good swim and felt decently strong. On my freestyle breaths, I occasionally would rotate enough so I could see the morning sky through the skylight.  That end of the pool is definitely more Zen.  I didn't even notice the group of three Master's swimmers in one of the medium speed lanes (they were kind of loud). The female member of that group was doing sloppy flip turns, wetting the deck enough that I slipped on one of her slop-spots on my way to my bag/towel.

The girls got their walks after I got home---I pulled some cherry tomatoes from the plant out front to tide me over. Breakfast sure tasted good, after showering and getting the chlorine off me.