Tuesday a.m.

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Good morning! How are you on this new morning? I guess it was all the lumberjacking yesterday. . .  I woke up with my back, usually quiet and unnoticeable, announcing it presence this morning. I said, "Well, hello. Now straighten up and act right." I think it is going to cooperate. I'll go for a run, here in a few minutes, and that should do the trick.

The boys and I did work in the rain some yesterday morning and got quite a bit accomplished. Using my dad's tractor, we drug several logs in from the nearby woods. I cut and the boys split the wood. Some of it was ash, which splits easily, so they felt quite manly. Then we ran into some oak that didn't want to split. Humility is always a good thing. The boys ended up running the chainsaw while I stacked. I'm not sure how many ricks we did; maybe 3-4 once it's all finished. It was a nice time with my older boys.

In the afternoon I spent some time studying and getting organized for the week. I stopped in at the Store. Things there are good. We keep trying to tweak a few things here and there to make things better for the employees. About every week we have people who trespass and go through things that are donated after hours. Of course, we do not want people to donate after hours, but they do it anyway. Then others come and go through the donations, stealing what they want, usually leaving a mess behind. It happened Sunday night, and then the rain yesterday morning got the mess wet. That's life, I suppose. We are thinking of placing a sniper on the roof. If we shoot just one person, then others would probably reconsider. Right?

I made the Monday evening run in Bedford. I went a little early so I could turn a short 5 miler into 6 miler, which I did. I felt really bad for my first mile, but then the group got me going. I felt strong at the end. I am going to do 4 this morning. I'm on my way to a 30 mile week. Ultimately I'm on my way to a 50 mile week as I prepare for Monumental. As I ramp up my long run to 20 miles in a few weeks, those larger weekly totals are easier to achieve.

Tonight is Paceline Tuesday. Yet again, there is the promise of 5-10 mph headwind. Oh well. I look forward to riding with everyone. We have had a great summer of riding. I kinda hate to see it slow down, but that's the nature of things after school starts.

I made a decision late last week that I am not going to do the triathlon on Saturday. It just doesn't feel right, and I'm not confident enough to do 500 yards in open water. I think I can cover the distance, but I would be so slow. I plan to keep swimming, working hard at it over the next few months, as opportunities permit. I still dream of being an Ironman and believe I will be. My goal is still over 2 years off.

Busy day ahead, so... BYE.