The Flury

Good morning.

Whew!

I got one major and important thing to check off my "want to do list."

I had been working diligently recently to make my wife's 40th birthday very special. It all came together yesterday and went without a hitch.

I got Beth the day off from work. That was her first surprise. Then we spent the day together in Chicago. It was a beautiful day to be outside. We ended up doing the Archetectural Tour on the Chicago River. Then a nice lunch.

Later in the day we went out for a nice dinner with her parents at MK. I had arranged to have her table decorated and for a personalized menu. Also, I delivered the cake the day before.

It all went without a hitch. Thank God.

When you love someone so much you want a special occassion to go perfectly. I would say this did. Beth loved the gift and the entire day. So, whew.

Yesterday was a swim and bike day. I decided to swim at the XSport Pool instead of open water. Sometimes one can rely too much on the bouyancy of a wetsuit. It's good to go back to your roots once in a while. Also, since it has been so warm in Branson, MO I was thinking that the 1.2 mile swim might be without wetsuit. Remember, no wetsuits with water temps 78 degrees or higher.

The continuous 2000 yard swim wet well and I felt really good and strong. The only problem was my time of 41 minutes. Not sure how it could have taken that long. I may have miscounted my laps. I say this because my usual 500 yard warm up takes about 9:45. I thought I was swimming harder than warm up. What ever! It was still a good workout.

I did find out from a "Power that Be" that the water temp in Table Rock Lake in Branson is 74 degrees. So, wetsuit legal. Better go do an open water swim.

Later in the day I got on the bike on the trainer and pedaled 20 miles in 1:10:00. I was happy with this because it is 2 mph faster than my usual pace. I am getting stronger on the bike and can maintain a rigorous pace longer and longer. So, maybe this bodes well for Branson 70.3 next week.

I do know there are signifigant hills in Branson. Hopefully my various hill training has prepared me.

Have a great day.


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" Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own, sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction."

* It takes courage to push yourself to places that you have never been before... to test your limits... to break through barriers. And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” - Anais Nin