Thunder's coming.

Today began & concludes with the same white flower. This morning it gave air to the inspiration & this evening we shared a drink.

From the flower we migrate down, bench to bench where I found myself fifty five minutes in. It must be a Lake Okanogan swim.

Onto Yellow Lake where we became good friends. Back and fourth we traded pace, in and out of minds guarded space.

Down hillside & onto the feet. Thirty Eight? That my kind of . . .

See you tomorrow morning white flower.

Rest well.

Inspire(hale)

Dolphin dive & it's on. This year's solo mission has begun! We're back to the place where long course inspiration began only a few short years ago.

Here we let our breath inspire, inspiration to fuel the fire.

Rest well.

Tie Dye Time

Marimba music means it must be 10am on Saturday morning.

It's easily one of my favourite parts of living here. All through the summer the Moss St market is bouncing right outside our hobbit hole door.

So, with an easy day leading up to the Solo Mission, it's tie dye time.

Rest well.

Solo Mission

Have you ever bonked after a 30 minute easy warm up? Today I did. Bodies are so awesome.

I know there are a few emergency gels stashed in the back of the car somewhere.

There's the apple I meant to eat after swimming this morning.
Plenty of crumbs under the seat . . .
Vega . . . hmmm best after the session. . .
1/2 a powerbar leftover from something . . .

Is it worth it to run to the store & buy a coke . . . nah

"You want a power bar body? Eat this."
- Mike Wood before one of our epic Spring snow runs in G-town.

"Let's go shot for shot with sea water."
-Jake Garrett in the sailing camp coach boat.

"Today we're eating corn on the cob."
-Shane Williams telling us what we'd be eating on boat trip Day 3.

"Try some of this Steve."
-Brian Suke offering up an amazing plate at #94 Steffler dr.

Food is great.

Rest well.

And then there was cake!

This is when the 1/2 pace turns to 1/1 pace. Or is it when the 1/1 pace turns to 1/2 pace? Maybe it's a bit of both, but it probably depends on where your standing.

From the scheduling side it's 1/2 to 1/1. From the left wrist side it appears to be 1/1 becoming 1/2.

And to me . . . Well to me it's just running. The timing mats take care of the rest.

The week began with a shingles scare that made little if any sense, however lessons learned.

Sometimes numbers can lie, but reactions create our truth.

Moving on through the week we enjoyed a few marvelous mornings on the front stairs, watching the dogs & cats walk by. It was a big treat to wander above ground while T-rev the rock'n land lord was out of town. Thanks for sharing your space dude!

And then there was cake!

Robyn made this cake!

It was tasty. We smiled.

Rest well.

Thank You Mr. Lamb

It was very nice of you to share your meat with us. You will keep us well fed healthy & happy for days to come.

280 degrees slow & low, Beastie Boys tempo.

Salt n' Pepper's Here . . . aaaa push it (with just a little Herbs d' Provence.)

You know the cravins which come around hours 4 - 5. Last Sat it was all about the Fat. Upon returning to our hobbit hole I found the avocados. This week I saved Mr. Lamb's drippins. . . Maybe in the gel flask. . .

Thank you Mr. Lamb.

Rest well.

Asparagus

After a super sweet Saturday (450g of sugar in one bottle kinda sweet), Sunday's shall now be know as "Sans sugar Sunday's." I wonder if it's the insane amount of sugar we consume on these rides that makes the bod feel so weird.

Asparagus tastes so good right now. So crisp & fresh. I bet it would cook if I put in my bike jersey pockets too. Salty.

3 Calories per spear, 4 Calories per gram 'o CHO . . . 600 spears of Asparagus.

16g per spear, 600 spears . . . 9.6 kg of Asparagus.

Too much of a good thing??? nah...

1200% of your Vit A,
600% of Vit C,
600% of Vit E,
4800% of Vit K,
1200% of Thiamine,
600% of Riboflavin,
600% of Niacin,
600% of Vit B6,
1200% of Folate . . .

93% water . . . 8900mL of Water. Hydration done.

I suppose the bottles can stay home. Maybe that's how I'll carry it.


Rest well.

I guess so. Sweet.

"Dude, I'm feeling better today than I did a week ago." -me

"Ya, that makes sense. You trained hard, then recovered. It's that simple." -JB

"I guess so. Sweet." - me

"Ya man, it's all good." - JB

***

When it comes to the Food Network, I'd say I'm a Michael Smith fan. Duff makes crazy cakes, which is awesome. The Wild Chef does some crazy stuff too, but Chef at Home is where it's at. "You can do it too!" Love it.

Tomorrow is Saturday!

Rest well.

Summer is so awesome

"Whatcha gonna wear today?"

"Shorts n a T-shirt."

"Whatcha gonna wear tomorrow?"

"Shorts n a T-shirt."

"Whatcha gonna wear on Saturday?"

"Arm & Leg coolers."

Summer is so awesome.

Rest well.

Jalapenos are also good for recovery

Usually Jalapenos are served best during the cross season. You may find a few scattered through city parks on Wednesday nights through the Fall, & on Sunday afternoons they do like congregate around the lower Island.

Today it took only one. One Jalapeno, 2 legs, a waterfront loop, & no watch, HR, power, or gadgets of any sort. Now with a stroke of luck, Jalapeno's moment in the sun may convince the heat to stick around.

Sweet ride with Mike & the green Salsa machine.

Thanks Clint for keeping things light in the water today. We'll be ready to rip by Friday.

Rest well.

Watering Recovery

Watering is great recovery.

I've read of walking meditation, and a wise man once told me, "Stevo, life is your meditation."

Now most recently, we have adopted a watering meditation. What a wonderful way to appreciate the flowers & watch tomatoes grow.

***

About 2 weeks ago it finally arrived, the build to Ironman. It's most certainly one part of the season which stands out in my mind as a favourite. The race itself is awesome, but the preparation . . . oh how I love the preparation.

This year we had the opportunity for one more crack at speed just as things began to roll. It turned out to be a great weekend with an awesome group of people.

Jeff is a super strong rock star dude who threw down an awesome race. I first met Trevor a few years ago at the NB 1/2 where he showed us all how to ride a bike. He's wicked cool & a super nice guy. Mix Master Mike is on the way to Lake Placid in 3. You know where he's gonna be!. Luke rocks the Aussieness like no other, is a super dope dude, & pb'd by something like 15min! Anthony . . . I think you flew past me on the bike last year in Penticton. I've never met ya, but you're probably a cool dude too. From the looks of things the ladies had a sweet go at it too! It makes me feel really good to race with people like this. Thanks dudes & dudettes!

All who were involved rock the awesomeness world! Everyone else . . . you rock too! Hands in the air & a huge shout out.

Let's brew some IM prep stew!

Rest well.