So much to do, so little time

Busy, beautiful day. What a perfect summer day. Warm, bordering on hot but not humid. Not much wind. Love. It. I could live in a climate like this for about 350 days/year. The other 15 would have some snow for Christmas. :-)

After church this morning, I worked in the yard until the Y opened at 11:00. Pulled some weeds, deadheaded flowers and went to Sargent's to buy 2 new viburnum to replace the ones next to the front stoop. Got a couple herbs too (spearmint and sage) and 3 more tomatoes (an heirloom, a Health Kick paste and an orange cherry tomato). Didn't get the shrubs planted yet, but did the others. I'll do the shrubs tomorrow. I have a yew that needs planting too.

Since yesterday was a pretty light workout, I decided today would be a longer, harder workout. So I started at the Y with a one hour swim (a mile and half--53 laps/106 lengths). It felt like a decent swim. I had 38 laps (76 lengths) at 43:11. Then I hopped on the bike and decided to see what I could do in about an hour forty as I had to be at the Mac Attack 5K at 3:00 to volunteer. I rode out to Salem Corners, south to Rock Dell and then out to MN 30 which was just over 14.5 miles.

Going out I rode comfortably and enjoyed the beautiful weather and scenery. Going back in I had two goals: 1) I decided I wanted to exceed the speed limit in Rock Dell (30 mph), 2) try to maintain at least 20 mph the whole way back into town. 30 mph through Rock Dell? Check. Not hard. There are about 10 buildings in town. :-) Maintain 20 mph? Not-quite-check. There were a few hills/inclines where I just couldn't keep it up and my quads were screaming. But it was a good ride. Saw 8 other bikers out. All the serious bikers did the little biker acknowledgment/salute which made me happy. :-) The 3 recreational riders opted not to return my greetings. :-( I toodled around the neighborhood to cool down until I had 30.08 miles in. Then when I got home Matt was just leaving for a run. I'd come back into town 8 minutes faster than I went out so I decided I had time to run a mile with him, so I went out on my noodle legs for one mile and there was no pain while running, other than the usual fatigue from just having gotten off the bike. Yippee! A great boost for my self-confidence. I'm glad that even though my running is not going like I want, I still have other options for working out.

Down Memory Lane

While I was out riding today, I was thinking about all the biking I used to do. 25 years ago, I was doing a lot of riding and there were some local races that I'd participate in. The races have long since disappeared. Those were the days ... when cleated shoes and pace lines didn't freak me out ...

Also, the equipment and shoes/clothing have changed quite a bit. Pictured above is some of my "stuff" from back then. It looks like it should be in a museum!! My shoes (Italian--Duegi--cleats have been removed) had wooden soles and leather uppers. Shorts had a real chamois in them, as in real leather! They sold chamois cream that you could rub into them to keep them relatively soft. Jerseys were generally polypropelene or wool. The stuff still fits, so I'm still using it. For sustenance on long rides, I'd stick a banana and a little bag of Fig Newtons in my back pockets. There wasn't the plethora of bars, energy gels, etc that we have to choose from now. Gatorade was around at that time, however. So many things have changed since the early 80's: disc wheels, index shifting, bar end shifters, aerodynamic options for all the extras, oversize but lighter weight tubing, and frames and components combined are probably a couple of pounds lighter with the advances in technology.

Anyway, whatever is going on with hip/back seems to resolve rather quickly, at least after yesterday, which is good news. No pain today. It had been the case that turning at the end of the lanes in the pool would bother it, or sometimes just sitting, after running but that wasn't the case today. :-) Tomorrow? Lift early AM, then probably Stairmaster. Afternoon, probably bike.

When I got home I grabbed a shower, a yogurt and a handful of shredded wheat and was off to the Mac Attack. I'd been curious about the outdoor lap swimming during open swim times at Silver Lake, which was where the race was. Sure enough, there were 2 lanes for laps. Yahoo!! I asked a guard if that was usually the case and she said that it was unless people complained. So I think I'll do my swimming outside in the afternoons when possible. I'd much rather be outdoors in the 50M pool than indoors in a 25M pool.

About mid-afternoon I was famished. Nothing left in the tank. Had two little granola bars in my car and some Great Harvest bread at Mac Attack.

Enjoyed a nice big salad when I got home then worked in the garden for a little while. The kohlrabi is looking good ...

the broccoli is starting to form heads ...

and the peas are in flower.

"May there always be work for your hands to do, may your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your windowpane, may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you." -- Irish Blessing

Kom igjen (på norsk). [Come again (in Norwegian).]