Cloudy with a chance of . . .

Crisp, clean, clear WATER!

Can you believe it falls from the sky?

Thank you Sky for giving us delicious water.

Thank you for the water which nourishes our body & soul.

Thank you for the water which keeps the trees happy and healthy.

Thank you for the water which makes dirty, wet, delicious mud.

Thank you for the mud which makes cross riding fun.

Thank you for cross riding which makes off season riding fun.

Thank you for off season riding which makes on season racing fast.

Thank you for crisp, clean, clear water which falls from the sky.


Rest well.

It becomes a mission

Young Grasshopper, this is your mission:

Go forth, and make it so!

Rest well.

Souper Day

A special thanks to all the great coaches, All your hours of hard work make this truly a team effort. Thanks You!

There are two mugs to start the day. One is named Fall Mug, and the other is named Pirate Mug.

When Pirate Mug comes close to a coffee in the morning, you know it's going to be a special day. Today was a Pirate Mug coffee day, and as usual, she lived up to her standard.

Her Mug Shot:

Soup or Swim? Swim
Soup or Run? Run
Soup or Rest? Rest
Soup or Work? Work
Soup or sauce? Apple sauce.
Soup or . . . Soup? It's souper time.

1st the Stock, then the soup.

Allow me to introduce:

And the standard,

the Roastedness,

the Mix,

And a splash of lemon juice . . .

Souper Soup

Rest well.

Scotty's method.

What does it feel like? This is what I feel like . . . what do you feel like?

Does it mean this when they say that? So is that a little like this? Or, is it a little more like that?

Brraaatttaaa Taaat Taaat. 'Cause we're gonna figure where this one's at!

"Ok dude, just let me go a body length in front on the first 50, & stay on for the remainder. And remember what we were talking about!"

"Got it. G45?"

"Red top."

splash

50 - Ok, one body length back, we're off to a good start.

125 - Ahh haa. That feels a little right. Remember that.

250 - Ohhh. That just happened. Remember that & ask about it on the kick.

300 - Ok, back to the feet. One more.

400 - Cool. Ask that.

kick

50 - ask, contemplate, respond, relate.

100 - Ok. Ready for round two.

"G45?"

"Yep."

splash

50 - Ok, there's the new that. Remember the feel of that.

125 - Keep the feel of that.

250 - Still good. Focus on that.

300 - Almost there. One more.

400 - Done.

"Thanks for that!"

kick

50 - Ok, averaging about 37 strokes / 50 right now, for ease we'll say 100 strokes for 150m. So 1500m for 1000 strokes & 15000m for 10000 strokes.

100 - Ok, 15K of perfect strokes to have that particular "that" dialed in.

repeat, repeat, repeat . . .

It's pretty special when you have an opportunity to swim with a dude like that.

Thanks for that.

Rest well.

Spinach makes soup green.

What's your daily warm up / cool down routine?

1000 straight? Lolli Pop Loop? A few times the observatory? How about the cool down?

200 head up breast stroke? 50m walk back? Waterfront through town? What about a few loops barefoot at Jack Wallace?

Wake up.

Slowly power up. Warm up. Practice. Cool Down. Power down. Slooowwww Dooowwnn.

Rest.

Power up. Warm up. Practice. Cool Down. Power down. Sloooowwww Dowwwnnnn.

Rest.

Power up. Warm up. Practice. Cool Down. Power down. Sloooowwww Dowwwnnnn.

Sloowwww Way Downnnn. Warm Down. Power down.

Rest.

Sleep.

It happens again and again throughout our day. From class to class, practice to practice, job to job, we repeat the power up power down process. Even within each practice we experience our power up power down process.

Minute to minute, set to set, moment to moment, we power up our focus, and power up the body. We practice the practice, and begin our power down process.

For the amount of practice, there sure is a lot of power up power down process. It must be an important process.

Time for a vegetable soup power down.

Rest well.

Play

Jalapeno & I fit together again!

It happened yesterday, somewhere along Mystic Vale, perhaps the 2nd or 3rd time through.

Her red drop bars were the perfect length apart, that white tail just the right height. Then there's her frame geometry . . . wow! The perfect fit.

By the end of our ride, mud covering any & all available spaces, we found our fit. Legs, lungs, hands, & heart were perfectly paired with frame, wheels, spokes, & sprockets.

We're back, & there's a great week on it's way.

Rest well.

Race ya

How to start the swim. . .

Build into it? Maybe, but that's pretty standard.

Running dive? Could do, but that's pretty much trademarked by Scotty.

Get out sprint from a push? Fun for the first few swims of the year, but now we have work to do.

"All right, I'll race ya to the other end!"

I was happily surprised to see that's all it would take this morning. We're off. Now the questions start flooding in.

Are we actually racing? If I pick it up, will he pick it up? If he picks it up, will I pick it up?

Who knows if we were racing . . . Perhaps it was just a fun game to occupy the space between.

Either way, A great way to start the day.

Rest well.

Warm

Rise and Shine.
A place we know,
A space we love,
One another's home.

Endless love,
We shine and share,
We treasure most,
Another's care.

Warm hearts,
And speechless Bliss,
Her soft touch,
Another's Kiss.

Rest well.

Harira

Sometimes I like to reflect back from the future. Think about 2 years from now, 5 years from now, 10 years from now. What would the 2 years from now you, remember from now?

There sure are a lot of little things. Could this be the Fall when a little more remembering happens?

Could it be the one where I learned to speak like a dolphin? Or swim like a seahorse? Or was it speak like a horse and swim like a dolphin? I think I ran a little back then too . . . Do dolphins ride bikes? If they do, they probably ride cross bikes.

That was certainly a soup season. Root Celler had some great sales on squash. Cauliflower was cheap too. Cauliflower Broccoli? There's a classic. Cauliflower Pear? That's new sounding.

What about Lamb, Chickpea, and Corriander? . . . That was a good one, & it lasted forever! I remember the spice mix . . . paprika, cumin, and ground clove . . . almost a North African Christmas soup.

Good reflections . . . and we're back to now.

That one looks awesome! And it has a partner to go with it! Leaks . . . onions . . . carrots . . . garlic . . . mmm. . . perhaps a little cinnamon. . .

Rest well.

Dig in.

Food is our celebration. It's our celebration of creation, care, and cultivation. It's a celebration we share together, and Sunday evenings are one of my favourite nights to celebrate.

This Fall we are sharing our home with the turnips, in a little hole in the ground. The turnips, carrots, & parsnips all make their home here in the Fall. They know this routine better than most.

Imagine how many generations of carrots have made their Autumn home in the ground. They must know what they're doing.

From here, it looks and feels like there is a perfect Sunday evening fire gently roasting our dinner.

Warm all around. Lemon, thyme, and rosemary, smell in the air. Only the oven light to illuminate our room, and of course my favourite album of all time . . . Live at Luther College.

Dig in & enjoy the celebration.

Rest well.