Summer is Almost Over

It's been a while since I've blogged, and quite a bit has happened, little everyday stuff. I have been keeping up with facebook, so if you are a friend, you know my life day by day.

But in general, training has gone well. I find I am putting in almost as many hours training for an olympic distance this time of year as I did last year for Ironman Louisville. That's crazy, isn't it? I think because I've been doing a lot of biking and strength training, to make up for the swimming and running I'm not doing. Actually, I always do more than the program calls for, but not so much more as to get injured or overtrained (I hope).

Last Sunday I did my first organized ride of the season--Rotary Ride sponsored by....the Rotary Club of Naperville. Last year I rode the 100 mile route and did a 30 minute run after. This year it was an easy 62 miles, with a great catered pasta meal after. Soooo much better than last year. It's a fun, easy course and the best part is I rode the first 30 miles with Sheila (many of you may know her as Crackhead). Anyway, she was coming off some amazing training and Lake Placid, so we rode together well. She went on to do the 100 mile route. I rode back by myself. It was hot, but we started early and I was done early, so it really was a nice day.

Melissa's finished with her summer workout schedule for gymnastics. The gym was closed this past week, so I had more free time. This was my last week of quality/interval training, and now I begin to taper. The week was relatively uneventful--until Friday.

I am supposed to see my rheumatologist every six months, or at least have blood work done every six months to make sure the drugs I'm taking are not destroying my liver. Our finances being what they are, I put almost everything off this year. I decided it would be a good time to make the 1+ hour drive to Melrose Park--before school and the night practices start.

I drove to Burr Ridge and rode an easy 25 miles. It's on my way, so I figured the drive would be easy. HUH! I didn't realize they were tearing up North Avenue, which is already a pain in the !@# to drive on. I barely made it on time--she has one more patient after me and was leaving for the day, so if I hadn't made it, the trip would have been for nothing. Anyway, she says I'm doing great, considering my disease, and can't believe I'm able to do what I can. She did STRONGLY recommend I get the blood work ASAP, and said I only have to see her once a year as long as there are no problems. YEAH!

When I was riding on Friday, I noticed my right eye was bothering me. I figured it was from sweating, or salt, or whatever. By the evening, it was bloodshot and really painful. I think I've had this before, but can't remember what I did. Anyway, it's gotten worse every day, and I will definitely call the ophthalmologist tomorrow. People with auto immune issues need to get stuff like this looked at. It's probably allergies or something, but it is REALLY PAINFUL!

Today I drove out to Coal City and did the Bike Psychos ride. It's not that far, and I don't think I'll have any more organized rides, so I played hooky from church (again--shame on me). It was such a great day--cool, breezy, and sunny. I rode the 70 mile route which turned out to be 67 miles for me. I'm not kidding when I say that I rode 98% of the time without seeing another rider. I started around 7:50 (it was only 55 when I woke up, so I didn't rush to get started). I figured I either started after or before the other 70 milers, or else most of the people were doing the 100 or 124 mile routes. Anyway, I ran into two people I know--both doing the 100 together--and they took off at the 1st rest stop--they didn't stop. I was starving, so I did!

This ride was harder than last week--I think because I had a pretty hard run and swim yesterday, and just didn't feel like eating much last night or this morning. Yeah, I know better, but sometimes I just lose my appetite and it's really hard to eat. I'm still not wanting to eat, but since I need to swim and ride tomorrow, I need to find something appetizing.

So, 13 days until my last race of the season on 9/5--an olympic distance in Niles, MI. I love this race--it's a challenging bike course and the competition can be really tough. I'm just going to do my best and leave it all on the bike course and run the best I can. My recent runs have been good, but each race my run was slower than the last one.

It is officially taper time, although the plan I'm following doesn't really look like much of a taper. Less swimming definitely, but more running than the last four weeks, and the same amount of biking. I think I will edit the plan the second week so I get a good rest before the race. I'm going to need to be fresh.

Ryan starts his sophomore year at BHS tomorrow. He's not overly excited, but I think he's ready to go back. I think it's been a long, boring summer for him. Three honors classes should make it much more challenging.

Melissa starts evening workouts tomorrow. We will start her school on the 31st. I have all her textbooks, so I'll start working on her schedule this week.

Jerry is working hard and we love him for that. He's been very supportive--a great husband and dad.

Next Sunday is Ironman Louisville--the weather forecast: 81 degrees. Can you believe it? The last to years it's been in the 90's with a heat index in the 100's. Oh, what I wouldn't have given for that kind of weather last year. I KNOW it would have made all the difference in the world.

Hope everyone is enjoying the final days of summer--not officially, but it sort of ends after Labor Day here in Chicagoland. The kids are back in school, and things get back to "normal" for many people.

Until next time--take care and God bless!