"On The Road Again"

Either she grew or she's standing on a step.  Yah, a step I guess.  That's the motor home behind us.

We headed out just after 12 noon today and are now sitting in an RV park in Mackinaw Michigan.

I got us over the border in Sarnia and then she took over driving for a while.  I took the opportunity to put my feet up.

Which I plan on doing a lot of for the next couple of weeks.  My feet have generally been very good to me and I have never treated them with a proper regard.  Not just do I plan on putting them up a lot, I am also committed to regular soaks, and scrubs, and rubs, and oils...starting tonite.  I am going to be asking a lot of them come Aug 20th and my hope is to get them in tip top shape.  I particularly want to try to get rid of the constant dryness, and the feeling of wrinkles when I walk.  I bet the extra attention is gonna work.  Wish me luck.

Actually it occurs to me that this may be a better strategy for my feet than that which I have used for years....that of putting them in my mouth!

I ran a nice little half marathon before we left in just under 1:53.  Pretty relaxed and yet what I would give to be able to maintain that pace for the complete Ironman marathon.  That is definitely a major stretch!.

(run 21.1 kms,  1:52:42)


"A spirit in my feet said go, and I went."---Matthew Brady

Love

Peter

"Twas the Night Before Christmas"

I am so excited I can't wait.  It's like being a little kid again.  I am excited about everything! Spending time in the motor home, Roos backpacking trip, and of course the Ironman itself.  We are all packed and I think I have everything important.  We will head out for Sarnia around noon tomorrow right after  we get our exercise.  Tomorrow evening should find us at the "Big Mac" in northern Michigan where we will spend the night.

And while we have the trip mostly planned out, Roo is still a big fan of playing it day by day, so beyond the first couple of nights we are not sure where we will end up.  Time will tell.

I hope I can sleep tonite.

(ride 50 kms)

A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us."---John Steinbeck

Love

Peter

"Spoiled"

The very best thing about travelling in a motor home is that you only have to pack once.  That one time can be a challenge however when you're heading out for 4 weeks.  To compound the complexity Claudette has to include all of her backpacking requirements, and I of course need to consider all of my triathlon stuff.  We both spent the better part of the day working on it, and tomorrow will be more of the same.  Each of us is focusing on our own stuff and trying not to get in the others way.  So far so good, but I am nervous of forgetting something important.  

I have our parking spots reserved for the first 2 nights since we don't want to use our phones in the US to scout ahead.   So I can tell you that we will be putting about 1500 kms behind us by the end of Wednesday.  Then we will head up in to Manitoba and the phones will go live again.

Other than the aforementioned bit of packing anxiety, I am feeling quite good today.  I am sure that I did the right thing by backing off during my run yesterday.   All I did was swim in the pool today and it felt solid.  Of course it goes up and down, but for some reason my confidence level is very high right now.  Let's see what tomorrow brings. :)

(swim 1500 metres)

"To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence."---Mark Twain

Love

Peter

"Just Too Hot"

Just too hot to be brave.  By the time I was finished it was 33 degrees and very, very humid.  You almost can't drink enough water to keep up.  Combined with the mental tedium that is now firmly entrenched in my psyche, it was a bit tough again today.  As I come into the final stretch I just want everything to go faster.  I'm ready to race, even though I know I'm not ready.

That's why, regardless of the heat it was not a time to be brave.  I had planned a 10 km run after my bike but I cut it down to 7.5 and I did a lot of walking.  The absolutely worst thing I could do right now is have a breakdown day.  The mantra has to be, repair and recover.  Getting ready to race means doing just that.

So it is also not a good time to start having doubts, just because I had a tough day.  I have had lots of tough days, but I've also had lots of great  days.  Time to remember my 160 km ride at 33 kms/hr.  Time to remember my 5:08 Half Ironman.  Time to remember my effortless marathon way back in April.

And any and all anguish of the day was washed away by my youngest son in one magically sublime moment this evening.  I complimented him on a certain behaviour he demonstrated.   I thought he wasn't even going to acknowledge the compliment but as he walked away he turned back for a moment and made a singular comment.  He just smiled at me and uttered the one word "Genetics".  For any and all  pain he may have caused me in the last 22 years, I forgive him today.  He is my son!

(ride 150 kms, run/walk 7.5kms)

"Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory."---Douglass MacArthur

Love

Peter

"Feelin Good"

Somehow it's all starting to feel right...and just at the right time.  I had a nice 70 minute swim in good old Lake Erie today.  It was only supposed to be 60  minutes but it took me 10 minutes longer to get back after I turned around.  Even that did not discourage me as I'm sure it was just the wind and the slight chop I faced.

I also feel like I'm starting to get things in order for our trip.  With the arrival of my new helmet and goggles, both today, my race gear is now complete.  Colby is gonna take a pic of me tomorrow so I can show you the helmet.  As to the goggles they are actually corrective and they make an enormous difference in open water swimming.  This is not new to me, I just ordered a new pair for the big day.  Tomorrow I will use all my race gear again just to give me a comfort feeling.

I charged my bike battery today.  It has gone 2000 kms since I last charged it and it was still showing half capacity.  I find this almost mind boggling.  For once a product that lived up to it's advertising.

And that's all folks.  Talk to you after my long ride tomorrow.

(open water swim, 70 mins)

If merely 'feeling good' could decide, drunkenness would be the supremelyvalid human experience."---William James

Love

Peter

"Cleaned My Bike"

And now I'm trying to come to terms with the damage I did!  It's only a freaking bike and it really is minor damage but I don't think it's fixable.  I bought a different kind of degreaser for the chain and I guess I should have read the instructions first.  I usually just buy a normal petroleum based cleaner but they had none at the store.  I was forced to buy one of these new fangled enviro friendly detergent type cleaners, and since they are usually so lame that they won't clean anything, not for a second did I think it may cause some damage.  Guess what?  Only to aluminum and paint!!  My rear wheel has some discoloration which is no big deal as it's on the braking surface, but my beautiful aluminum chain ring now has ugly tarnish marks on it.  Darn!

Like I said it's really not a big deal.  It's only cosmetic and as soon as I get on the bike any prettiness is immediately destroyed anyway.  Perhaps you know the feeling though.  The feeling of wanting to rewind the tape 15 minutes.  It's a tough, tough thing for a control freak like me.  No worries though.  I'll get over it in 2 or 3 years!

 

I wasn't gonna even mention the incident as I know that dwelling on things can sometimes just extend the suffering.  I also know that sometimes talking about it can put it to bed.  So please feel sorry for me for about 20 seconds, and yes this means you too Elly!  Just 20 seconds! 

My workout went reasonably well today.  I didn't hammer it but I had a nice steady ride and run.  Just swimming tomorrow, in the lake, weather permitting, and then of course the long workout on Saturday. "Long" now starts to get a little shorter every weekend. 

(ride 30, run 7.5) 

"Nothing can work me damage except myself; the harm I sustain I carry about me, and never am I a real sufferer but by my own fault."---St Bernard (not the dog)

Love

Peter

"Gonna Be A Long 25 Days"

I'm sore and tired.  Had to take the day almost completely off.  All I did was swim in the lake for about 20 minutes.  I truly was not happy with it but the training book says, "when in doubt, leave it out".  The biggest mistake I could make now is to do too much, and I know it.

But there can be no doubt about the addictive aspects of hard training.  On top of being tired, I am edgy and anxious.  Just trying to sit here to write a few words is trying.

You may find this funny.  I'm gonna try to drink a couple of beers!

(20 minute lake swim)

....and no matter your choice of addiction I think the follwoing applies...

“The priority of any addict is to anaesthetise the pain of living to ease the passage of day with some purchased relief.” ---Russell Brand

Love
Peter