Summer in Nut Shell

I haven't posted all summer so thought I would play a little catch up, where did the time go so fast??? It has certainly been a hot summer.  After the Labor of Love I did get registered for the JFK50 which will be held in the middle of November.  I at the last minute also decided to do the Little Smokies Half Ironman in May on 3 or 4 16 mile bike rides and one 100 miler and 3 swim sessions of about 15 minutes each....I kicked ass and had a PR for the course by about 50 minutes, granted I have only done "just" the half ironman once previously but have done it 3 times at the end of the weekend long race called The American Triple T....and usually after the day before's back to back Olympic distance tri's my time on the half is about 90 minutes or so longer then what I did this year.  This is good and bad, bad in that it ruins my mind and allows me to think - geesh I can go do a Half Ironman on no training and feel good.
My son and his tennis partner advanced all the way to State this year which was very exciting, only 2 other double teams in the history of the school have accomplished this- one was when I was in school 84-85 and the other I believe they said sometime in the 50's.  Once at the State level nobody has advanced past the first match but it was very exciting getting there!  My son graduated from High School at the end of May and was accepted into University of Cincinnati as well as Miami of Ohio University and he chose UC...as I write this he will be heading off to school in 5 days. WOW
I did a couple marathons, 2 were a week apart with some rather good climbing and the 2nd one really hurt....it was a little discouraging and since I have been battling a little more pain with the knee and the foot but I wont let it get me down.
I was signed up to do the Muncie 70.3 in Indiana, I hadnt done that race since 2007 so was kinda excited.  Got to Muncie to the expo and they announced due to the weather they were downsizing it to a 37.2.  I understood because the heat had been 100-112 degrees all week and predicted at 112 the next day but I felt they should have made this decision much sooner then 3pm the night before.  You couldnt defer to next year, nor get a refund.  They offered a discount of like $75 off your choice of 4 different races upcoming in next 60 days but all were super far to travel so you would have that expense as well. Just helped me decided I doubt that I will do another WTC race in the future...I believe Rev 3 will continue to grow as they are triathletes and they are understanding of many situations that can come up and are willing to think about those who sign up and their finances.
In July my folks and my son went on a 5 night cruise to Nova Scotia.....my father has wanted to see Nova Scotia since seeing it in a National Geographic magazine 60 years ago.  We didnt get to see the country side like he visioned due to how much time you get off the boat but we had a super time!  My dad spotted some whales off the boat and that was a big highlight.  A couple weeks later I went to Florida to visit some friends and race in the twilight triathlon.  I borrowed a bike and it was a cycle cross bike, got into the big gear and couldnt figure out how to get out of it, it was good for me though cause I pushed myself more then I may have.  At this race I also had a PR of a little over 2 minutes from racing it in 2008.  My run time was a 26:27 5K....felt great!!  A couple days before this Trixie and I had set out for a 16 mile run but didnt leave till almost 10....in Clearwater it's already feeling like 100+ and that sun is hot hot.  I did ok for about 8 then completely lost it.  Made it the 16 miles but even the last half mile I had to just sit in front of Mcdonalds and couldnt move.  My ears were ringing it was crazy! First time Ive ever felt that rough.
I also have gone to the Not Yo Mommas 100 course and ran it a couple times, that course sucks! Each lap is 16.05 miles and climbs over 5100 feet...and its straight up climbs no gradual stuff.  I think I've done one lap 4 times now and the best time is just under 5 hours....so trying to calculate how long that would take me to do the 100K or 4 laps it would be almost 24 hours so I have now decided I dont wanna spend 24 hours going 64 miles when I could probably cover almost 100 miles of a more "normal" course.  Trail runners ratings rate the difficulty the same numbers as Western States.  I honestly can't even imagine getting myself up those hills 4 times! Twice is gonna be rough enough and thats pretty much where I have decided to stay.  If I went for the 75K I think I would tell myself just one more lap and you would have had the belt buckle! :-)

I also rescued a pup from our local animal shelter.  I was really wanting someone for a running partner and I think I have found her!  Named her Andi and she and Opie the long hair chihuahua are getting along for the most part but Opie does have "small dog syndrome" and each day there is usually one knock down drag each other off one another fight.  She does 3 miles with me and we try to go daily....we had a route in town and she would tend to stop and sniff more and just stop quite a bit so a couple weeks ago I bought a 30 foot recall leash and have started taking her out to a trail on the West Side at the Earl Thomas Conley Park.....you can go out to a sign and back and are on grass or trail without hitting any gravel for just over 3 miles...this has become our favorite place.  I can let her drag the lead and keep running and she stops to do her smelling sees me up ahead and off she darts to catch me.  I believe she is part Aussie and Golden Retriever.