S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y

Saturday June 28

S: Sushi! Nathaniel and I met up with Ryan (Caught on the Run!), wife Melissa, and Teegan their spunky 5-year old daughter. Lots of fun, lots of good food, and naturally (when you throw two triathletes together), lots of tri-related discussion. I think this is only the second time that I’ve seen Ryan without spandex. Only a true triathlete and their sherpas could appreciate that. I’m still in awe of Teegan’s picture that she drew for me. You Go Girl!

A: Anabelle! She’s settled in quite comfortably – we keep her in the kennel, away in the Study when we’re not here. When we are here, we’ll try to hold her or carry her around with us. Earlier, she enjoyed her second breakfast and lunch in the bedroom, while Nate and I watched “Casablanca”. She was very well behaved and didn’t scratch.

T: Tabbitha! Is perturbed, to say the least. She’s taken over The Ugly Green Recliner, and is demanding much more food. Somehow, I think that its cruel to make her stay on her diet while getting a new Meat Puppet, er, Little Sister. So Tabbitha’s cat bowl has food in it all the time. And good thing too, as she drowns her sorrows in kibble. But we’re giving her as much affection as we can. And she has hardly launched any attacks at us today. Maybe two. OR three. (Not that we’re counting!)

U: Ungodly Hot! I felt like a wet rag outside when I left the house at 5:45 am for my brick up in Milton. A warm, wet rag – to say the least. I did great for my ride, as biking at XX mph will certainly bring about some cooling from the wind. But running at ANY pace is difficult, if not impossible. I managed to huff 4 miles in just over 32 minutes. My heart rate was off the chart, and never have I experienced a zone 5 heart rate while running an 8-minute mile. There’s always a first, eh? I was grateful for the ice cold watermelon that the roadies were munching on – they offered me a piece as soon as I staggered over from my run. Then one of them grabbed the hose, and let ‘er rip on me. Not that it did much, as I was already covered in sweat anyway. But if felt good.

R: Roadies! I am grateful to Eddie, who had the foresight to bring an ice cold watermelon for after their ride. Even though I did my own thing, riding with Donna and then running afterwards, they were more than willing to share as many pieces as I could eat. It was cold, it was delicious, and next time I see Eddie – he’ll be getting a non-sweaty hug.

D: Discovery Channel! Very interesting shoes – “When We Left Earth” and “Deadliest Catch”, were two that I watched with Anabelle on my lap, and later Tabbitha by my side. Rumor has it “Shark Week” is rapidly approaching – end of July. To watch or to not watch? Good question – I’ll get back to you on that one. Stay tuned.

A: Accidents! We had one on the bed today. An unnamed little Meat Puppet got so comfortable in our down comforter, that she wet the bed. That’s okay – we’ve all done it at some point or another. We all have accidents. And that’s exactly how I found out our down comforter from Ikea can be washed. It is currently in the dryer. Hopefully it’ll be even better than before. Again, I’ll get back to you on that one.

Y: Yikes! Thunder and lightning galore outside! And why wouldn’t it storm? It’s Florida in June. And the current temperature at 10:03 pm is 82 degrees F. with 88% humidity. Nice. Like I said before: a swamp. Or yucky damp cloth. Thunder away!

J: Junk food! I did a great job today and stayed away. I swear. Okay – as long as you don’t count the post-brick Coke. And Cliff Peanut Butter Protein Bar (The Cliff Builders – YUM). And Strawberry Cliff Blocks. Okay – so perhaps I didn’t do so well with the “workout” junk food. But no M&Ms or Peanut Butter Cups – so far. So a victory for me today. Then again, I’ve got about 2 hours left in the day. You never know…

U: Underwear! I am wearing none. And not just because I’ve got my pj’s on. No – a new bike + new bike position = new saddle sores. I still love my Adamo ISM Saddle – just the sores are about 1-2 cm off from where the old saddle sores were. I’m going to come out of this tougher than ever. Literally. But in the meantime, my body doesn’t like underwear of any kind. Commando or not? That’s the question of the day…

N: Nigiri! Back to the sushi, I know. But I managed to pack away 8 pieces. It was very good – crab, shrimp, tuna, octopus, eel, whitefish, and some others that I have no idea what they were. But they tasted good. Except for the one that had a mega amount of wasabi stuck to the rice. My eyes teared up, and for a moment I was seeing stars. Thank goodness for unlimited diet coke and water. Otherwise it would have been very ugly. I don’t think Nate, Ryan, or Melissa noticed. But Teegan caught my funny look and gave me a reassuring grin. Kids know it all and are so cute to boot!

E: Evil Kitty…? (Bwahahahaha!) That was from Nathaniel.

Bad Nathaniel!

There is NO evil kitty in this household. Only a Big House Monster and Little Meat Puppet. And just because the House Monster attacked Nathaniel and me on several different occasions during the past 24 hours, it doesn’t mean that she’s evil. Just confused. And angry. What would YOU do? When I got a little sister, well, I probably wasn’t the most pleasant trooper to be around. So I would expect no less of Tabbitha.

2: Number of workouts that I’ve got on the docket tomorrow. An early morning run and then a swim later on. Should be fun! Actually, most of the swim involves a combination of IM, drills, and some free. Should be interesting to see as well – especially the 200 IM. My butterfly is still getting “there”. Wherever that is. At least I can make it 25 yards without dying or heaving up a lung. Tomorrow I’ll go for 50, but no guarantees. I’ll get back to you on that one.

8: US Men’s Olympic Rowing 8+. My friend and former Minnesota Boat Club teammate, Micah Boyd, made the squad. He’s sitting in 4 seat, one of the “powerhouse seats’ in the boat. And I know that with every stroke he takes, he’ll be putting everything he can behind his oar. Micah and I were junior (rowers) together a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, and did a lot of traveling during the summer of 2000 to various regattas across the US and Canada. He rowed at Wisconsin, and since graduation, has worked extremely hard to make this dream come true. I am so happy, so excited for him: no one deserves it more. He’s awesome, and I can’t wait to cheer him on as he goes for Gold in Beijing!

And THAT was my Saturday. June 28th in summary!