Some more training.

TRAINING:

Sat, Oct 8: 1hr 45 min bike on Hines, 24.5 miles, avs 14. Met CR and M for a ride. Of course, M went ahead so we saw him for about a minute of the ride. CR and I had a lovely, if a bit cold, ride. I didn't push my pace due to planning on riding 60 the next day. It is getting cold in MI. The trees are starting to turn and we have had nothing but clouds for about a week now. I am one of those rare people that really likes winter - well, the nice snowy part, not the lingering cold with slush part - but I really was hoping that summer would hang on for a bit longer. After all, it did come so late this year. Spent the rest of the day "crosstraining" at the Outlet Mall with P. Lots of arm and leg exercises - such as lift leg, put into cute new pants, bend and zip...

Sun, Oct 9: 2 hour ride around Livonia area, 24 miles, avs 12. Well, you might notice right above this that I mentioned 60 miles and 24 certainly is less. I woke up at 6:30 am to get ready for our group ride and was all stuffed up and felt pretty nasty. I had turned the furnace on the day before. BIG NOTE TO SELF: Just sticking in a new filter is not enough. Next year, turn the furnace on for a day in Sept with the windows open! Too much cat hair and dust in there after the whole summer! So I ended up calling Steve and flopping back into bed. When I woke up again at noon, I felt much better and hopped on my bike. I toured the little neighborhoods of Livonia as I wound my way toward Hines. I was having a lovely time, enjoying all the fall flower displays and Halloween decor, when I picked up Hines. I rode a bit then I saw a little paved path and bridge going off to the side. I have always wondered where it went, so made a sharp U-turn to follow it. I promptly slid a bit in some gravel, lost my balance and of course my pedal clip chose that moment to refuse to release (M says they are too loose! Ha!) Slow motion topple to the side, fortunately out of the main road and on the side path, but of course there was a jogger that saw it all. I finally released my shoe and scrambled up, pretending nothing had just happened, and proceeded up the little path - stopping only to wack my seat back into place. Was it worth it, you ask. Certainly not! It was just a little cut through to AA Trail, where I resumed my neighborhood tour and found nothing exciting at all. They say curiosity killed the cat. In my case, it just resulted in a big bruise on my leg and a slight pain in my butt.

Mon Oct 10: 40 min swim. Had a meeting, so got there late. P & S had already finished their main workout, so we went into the deep end and did some kicking strength exercises with the floaty noodles. That is, until P had the briliant idea to see who could swim down and touch their noodle on the bottom with both hands. Yep, all kicking exercises abandoned to a wild sisterly competition. This is actually much harder than it would seem - try it. I happily report that I won! S ended up making it down too. Then we did the see-how-far-you-can-swim-underwater test and P made it farther than she ever had. I ended up not even making it the one length that I know I can do because my ears were all messed up from my repeated showing off of noodle-to-the-bottom skills.

FUNDRAISING:

All set for Emagine this weekend. Beads will be arriving this Thursday. Have to mention, if you are ever looking for a good, reliable source for Mardi Gras stuff, check out Big Wheel Novelties, Their site says they are just getting back on their feet after Katrina, but they returned my call right away and shipped the beads the next day. I have used them in the past and they are always on time and priced nicely.