My wife rousted me out of bed at 7:30AM to hit the lake for a swim while she kayaks beside me. We usually do that every year and she enjoys cruising along beside me. It was not in my training plan, but a OWS won’t kill me. We always try to get out there early so that the lake is calm, but that never seems to be the case. This morning was no exception. In fact it was breezy and choppy as ever. The air was cool and I think the temp was about 48 deg F so I put my wetsuit on at the house to stay warm. Fortunately the water temp was still and around 70-75deg F, so it was like slipping into a warm bath.
I got my wife situated in the kayak and pushed her out, then put on my bright green swim cap and goggles. Making my way out from the safety of the dock, I immediately began to get pelted in the head with waves. Spotting was like a constant face-plant. I pushed my way up the lake into the wind and waves for about 18 minutes figuring the way back would be much faster. I kept thinking about how nice it will be going back and it kept me motivated. I was just over a half mile when I turned around. I chatted with my wife for a minute or two, took a pee in my wetsuit, and then started back to our dock. I think my wife liked these outings better when I took breaks every ten minutes. Now, cranking out a mile swim is not a big deal and there is no need to take breaks anymore. My how things change? I guess that is a sign of progress?
I got back to the dock in around 16 minutes. We tied up the boat and headed to the house for some breakfast. We hung out with the fam for a bit and then it was time to head out for my 1:30 LSD Run. I decided to run up on the main road since it is long and fairly flat. It has a lot of traffic but the shoulder is quite wide so it is not a big deal. I stashed my water bottle and Fuel Belt in the upper parking area on the road so that I could stop around halfway to refuel a bit. I started out heading south towards Hammondsport and turned back at the 2 mile point. When I got back to the parking area I chugged some water and put my Fuel Belt on since this part of the run would be a little longer. I settled into to a nice steady pace and just cruised along. 
Just when things started getting a little dull, a stream of cars were cruising past me and I noticed one of them had a big, hairy ass securely plastered against the front windshield. At first, it didn’t totally register but then I just started cracking up. I think I was laughing for the next 2 miles. I was thinking of all those times I had done the same thing and when we used to do it on the bus from the public high school to my Catholic HS. Then there was the time we used to drive around in my friends’ 72 Chevy Caprice Classic pelting unsuspecting old men cutting their grass with water balloons. Ahhh…those were the days!
I managed to control my laughter and finished my run. I am amazed how good I am feeling after a 13 hour training week. I am feeling super-confident about Ironman Muskoka and I hope this continues. When I got back to the house my wife had already packed most of our stuff up and I packed my stuff and loaded up the CR-V. We said our goodbyes and made our way over to Watkins Glen for lunch. My wife found a place called the “Wildflower Cafe” that served some vegetarian dishes. The other half of the building was a brewpub called the “Crooked Rooster.” I was tempted to have a beer, but I figured I would have to drive at some point, so I went with the Iced Tea. I had a Chipotle Black Bean soup and Potato Pancakes with sauteed vegetables. Both dishes were awesome. Service was a little slow, but not too bad.
Ride home was pretty uneventful really. My coach did inform me that the pool would be closed for the next two weeks which kind of through me for a loop. I really had no idea and was not sure what I was going to do. I was glad I did the extra swim this morning. Stay tuned as I may have a story about doing laps in my bathtub or jumping the fence at the community pool at 7AM. We stopped at Cali Burrito when we got home so I could grab a Shasta(Seitan) burrito for dinner. The weekend was really great and we could not have asked for better weather. It went really fast and I was wishing we could have stayed longer, but the Canadian tour is coming up and I need the days.
