Sorry I've been a bit quiet on this blog - I've been spending far TOO MUCH time on my other blog which is only active during the Tour de France in July. Which is utterly and completely insane right now.
A couple of updates:
My left knee has been very cranky so my long runs are not doing so well in the mileage buildup to Marine Corps Marathon. I've got one 11-miler only and cut down my long run last weekend because it was hurting. I gave it a few days off (Catherine was sick too, so I couldn't get out to run anyway) and I'm back to wearing a knee strap, which seems to help it. A solid six miles today. I stopped to drink water, also to check out some plein air painters (there's a big contest and sale in town all week so painters are everywhere) and also made another very unusual detour -
a little fawn with spots was hanging out way too close to the busy highway, all by itself, so I chased it back into the woods a ways. It only went off about 50 feet, didn't seem scared at all, but hopefully that's enough to keep it from becoming roadkill. Overall pace including the stops was still just over 12 min/mile so I was running mostly in the 11 min/mile range.
Then I swam with the new turtleneck swimsuit. First impression: I love it! It has a back zipper that's a bit hard to pull up, and snags my hair, those are the main negatives. Best news yet, though - no gapping and bagging, and a very fast (for me) 500-yard swim - 10:52. It DOES make me fast!!! I'd like to try it out as a trisuit paired with bike shorts, but I'm afraid it may chafe. We'll see.
The minivan is in the shop after being hit by the dizzy old lady, and needs a new rear wheel, but insurance will only pay for a used wheel, and it seems to be taking them a while to find one. Jerks. So it's a big nuisance, but not nearly as big a nuisance as if it were undrivable. Counting my blessings. . . .
Plus we've been having a severe drought. I forget if that means more jellyfish or fewer jellyfish in the fall open water swims.
A couple of updates:
My left knee has been very cranky so my long runs are not doing so well in the mileage buildup to Marine Corps Marathon. I've got one 11-miler only and cut down my long run last weekend because it was hurting. I gave it a few days off (Catherine was sick too, so I couldn't get out to run anyway) and I'm back to wearing a knee strap, which seems to help it. A solid six miles today. I stopped to drink water, also to check out some plein air painters (there's a big contest and sale in town all week so painters are everywhere) and also made another very unusual detour -
a little fawn with spots was hanging out way too close to the busy highway, all by itself, so I chased it back into the woods a ways. It only went off about 50 feet, didn't seem scared at all, but hopefully that's enough to keep it from becoming roadkill. Overall pace including the stops was still just over 12 min/mile so I was running mostly in the 11 min/mile range.Then I swam with the new turtleneck swimsuit. First impression: I love it! It has a back zipper that's a bit hard to pull up, and snags my hair, those are the main negatives. Best news yet, though - no gapping and bagging, and a very fast (for me) 500-yard swim - 10:52. It DOES make me fast!!! I'd like to try it out as a trisuit paired with bike shorts, but I'm afraid it may chafe. We'll see.
The minivan is in the shop after being hit by the dizzy old lady, and needs a new rear wheel, but insurance will only pay for a used wheel, and it seems to be taking them a while to find one. Jerks. So it's a big nuisance, but not nearly as big a nuisance as if it were undrivable. Counting my blessings. . . .
Plus we've been having a severe drought. I forget if that means more jellyfish or fewer jellyfish in the fall open water swims.Oooh, hooray! I just checked - drought apparently means fewer sea nettles! I knew this drought wasn't all bad - that's good news to me!
