Gasoline Prices

As we all know too well, gasoline prices have been a hot topic this summer. We all wondered how high it would get and when or if it would ever go down. Last Friday I was so excited to see gas was $3.17 at my local Super Wal-mart at Southpark Meadows. So I filled up my gas tank. Then this weekend gas was $3.11 at my local HEB on Manchaca Road at Slaughter Lane. Monday it went to $3.05 at my HEB. Roger kept saying he bet it was going to get under $3 again. I had to wonder if it would just get to $3.00 even and stay there but never get below $3 again. Then yesterday I noticed gas was $2.92 at my HEB and today it was $2.80 at the Super Wal-mart at Southpark Meadows. I know gas in my area is the cheapest for Austin, but I was just shocked that it actually went below $3. I really hope it stays this low for a while. I'm sure we all do.

On another high note...the water at the pool I have been swimming at since my neighborhood pool closed this summer has been really, really cold the last month or two. I thought it might have something to do with the 50-60 degree mornings we have been having lately. I met a friend for coffee last Friday morning which made me have to swim later in the morning and I noticed it was a little easier to swim since it was warmer. I got more sun than I usually do because it was above the top of the trees that surround the pool, but it was a tiny bit easier to swim being a little warmer outside. There's a lot less people swimming at this time. And I was able to meet my new friend Nick who I plan to swim in the 12 mile open water swim relay next year. So since then I have been swimming about the same time later in the morning until today. Roger and I were having lunch with an old friend at 11:30 a.m. so I had to go back to my old time to swim, 8:30 a.m. And boy was I glad I was there at that time. The water was super cold when you first jump in, but while I was swimming my main set and transitioning to start my next lap, I heard one of the lifeguards tell some ladies that the water would not be heated until after the construction on the pool house was completed which would be next week. So after next week, the water in the pool will be warm again! I'm so happy to hear that. Although the water is fine after you start swimming and especially when you are done, that first step in is super hard when you know it's going to be freezing cold. Especially since the mornings this week have been around 57 to 62 degrees at my old swimming time. And with winter coming, I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle the water temperature as it got even colder outside. You know I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold. I was thinking I might have to get a gym membership this winter just for the pool. So now I know the water temperatures have not been normal and this will help me save money from a gym membership even longer than I thought. Bring on the heated pool!

I'm So Excited! (Again)

You know, it’s really hard to stay excited after you type a long blog post only to lose it all and have to retype it. This is why Roger always tells me to type it in Word first then paste it into Blogger. Ugh! Lesson learned babe. So here’s a recount of what I already typed. Sorry, it won’t be as exciting as the first time.

Okay, there are many things to be excited about today.

First, I did it! I swam 16.5 laps straight this morning. And in 20:08. Whew-hoo! I swam a total of 36 laps or 1820 yards which is 1.03 miles. I was so stoked, I celebrated by riding my bike 2.5 miles around the neighborhood. Guess I was still on an adrenaline high. I’m tired now, but happy. I wasn't able to do it Wednesday like I wanted because I tired myself out by racewalking six miles the day before instead of on Monday like usual. I really have to have a day in between to rest and stretch my muscles. But it's better late than never. I'll take it.

Second, many sports have already begun to compete, but today marks the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics. I can’t wait. We have our DVR set up to record the ceremonies (in HD!) and then we’ll set it up to record all the events we want to see. I know Roger wants to see the men’s road race tomorrow morning. It’s set for something like 1:30 or 3:30 a.m. online, so I know he won’t be up watching it then. I want to see as much of swimming as I can. I already have both the men’s and women’s triathlon events set up in my calendar with reminders. My favorite sports are swimming & triathlon, gymnastics and track and field. But I love all the stories from the Olympics. The hardships, the struggles, the successes. Like the story of the flagbearer the U.S. team selected for the opening ceremonies. That's what makes the Olympics, the Olympics. I just love the Summer Olympics!

Third, our dear friends Anthony, aka The Milkman, and his lovely wife Dawn are flying in this afternoon from Los Angeles. We get to spend this evening with them before they head out early tomorrow morning to Dallas for a wedding. I know Roger is excited about seeing Anthony. He was one of the groomsmen in our wedding. They’ve been friends seriously forever, like since kindergarten or something.

Last but not least, today I am finishing the last dress for the orphanage in Mexico for our church mission trip next week. Roger and I are both excited about it. We will be doing as many repairs to their buildings as possible. Roger has been tasked with getting as many of their computers working as possible. We will also be fellowshipping with the children as much as we can with cook-outs, crafts, singing and maybe swimming one day. I can’t wait. This is my first mission trip outside of the U.S. and my first orphanage. This is also my first opportunity to learn how to do that long term sewing project I mentioned a few days ago. I don’t want to go into too many details now (since I lost them all once already) but it’s part of a larger project I’m working on. I promise, I’ll give more details soon. I have made seven dresses total for some of the little girls in the orphanage. You can see pictures of them here or on the Flickr link to the right.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

I Did It!

Okay, so I did it. Yesterday afternoon I registered for the U.S. Women's Triathlon Series Sprint race. After my swim yesterday morning, I decided I knew I could do it. My total workout yesterday morning was twice as far as I need to swim for the race. And I wasn't dying when I finished. I swam a total of 35 laps which is 1750 yards or 1600.2 meters or for those of you who can't imagine that, .99 of a mile. The best part is for my main set I swam 10 laps straight, took a 45 second break and then swam 10 more laps. That alone was 4 more laps than the race length. The lifeguard even asked me when I finished the first set of 10 laps how many laps I had swam. Since they rotate every 20 minutes, she came in while I was in the middle of swimming and had no clue how many I had already done. I assume lifeguards are good swimmers and can swim for long distances, so I was impressed with myself that she was impressed. I'm probably making a wrong assumption about lifeguards, but I'm sure they have to be able to swim a lot. So my goal is to do the same workout tomorrow morning. Then next week I'm going to start trying to swim the 16.4 laps, which is the length of the race, straight through. That way I know I'll be able to do it and then I'll start working on swimming it faster. Riding my bike to the pool will also help my body get used to the feeling of jumping on a bike after the swim to help me get ready for the transition from the swim leg of the race to the bike leg of the race. I'm excited and nervous. Roger has suggested he rent a kayak while I swim Town Lake so I can get some experience swimming in open water. Of course I think it's a good idea, but I also need to start riding my bike regularly. We didn't get to ride this weekend since he had to work all weekend. I hope we'll get in one ride this weekend.

Well Hello Dolly

Dolly gave us a little rainfall after all yesterday afternoon. Not as much as we'd like since the chance of rain for today has all but disappeared. With our highs in the 95-100 degree range, that little rain we got yesterday will be evaporated by tonight. The rain gauge in our back yard only shows a quarter of an inch of rain. But at least I don't have to water my yard one day this week. We have been in water restrictions all summer and can only water our yards two days a week on designated days only during designated times. Our days are Sunday and Thursday after 7:oo p.m. And it rained on our day which makes it even better.

I had a great swim this morning. I have been thinking about doing a full sprint triathlon at the end of September. Full sprint triathlons are 750m swim, 16.9K bike and 5K run. Just the swim alone scared me. 750 meters is .47 of a mile. Almost half a mile in open water with no lane ropes, no visibility, no transitions, no push-offs, no water breaks and no resting. Straight swimming for half a mile. That's 820 yards which means 32.8 links or 16.4 laps in the 25 yard pool in which I swim. Yikes! Then you get to ride 10.5 miles on a bike and run 3.1 miles.

But this morning, after doing my usual warm-up and drill set and the first 8 minutes of my main set, I decided I would see how long I could swim without stopping. And I was amazed at how long I swam, unfortunately I lost count of my laps. I seriously need an abacus. I got into a sweet pace that I think would be great for a race. Not too fast, but not too slow. I wasn't even exhausted when I stopped. I only stopped because I wondered how long I had been swimming since I lost count of the laps. So I decided to try it again and I did. I really felt like I could keep swimming at that pace forever. Now I think I could do a full sprint triathlon if I keep this training up. Just swim until I can't swim anymore.

I need to add cycling to my regular exercise and I'm hoping Roger will join me for that. I also need to start drinking more sport drinks to replace the electrolytes I am losing if I increase to this much exercise. I drink a lot of water because I need it but with that much exercise I will just flush out more sodium I'm already losing during exercise which isn't a good thing. You need a good balance of water and electrolytes in your blood, especially with lots of activity. Going to go add that to my grocery list now.

New Week

Well, I just got home from swimming at the neighborhood pool. Lap swimming is from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Monday through Friday. I'm going to try to swim at least three days a week. The neighborhood pool is less than a mile from our house. I drove this morning but plan to ride my bike from now on. I have to fix the flat I got at the triathlon last month which is funny since the cycling portion of the triathlon was canceled. Somehow I got a flat while my bike was in the back of the truck. Anyway, the neighborhood pool isn't great, but it's better than nothing or having to go farther. I was the only person there at 7:00 a.m. and no one else showed up until kid's started to gather around 8:00 a.m. for swim lessons. Hopefully the word doesn't get out since they only have one lap lane. And the lifeguards are really nice. My only experience at the neighborhood pool is during the summer full of kids and it's crazy. So it was really weird to have the pool all to myself. But I'll take it. I didn't do my whole workout, but close and it won't take me long to get back into shape. Now I'm off to shower, work a little and then run some errands. I love grocery shopping during the middle of the day during the week. Stores are empty. It's great. Oh wait, public school ended last week. Well, hopefully it won't be too bad. I bet Roger's commute this morning was really fast. He has a physical therapy consultation this afternoon. I'm very happy about that. Hopefully they give him a bunch of exercises to do. We planned to put regular pedals on his bike this weekend and go for a ride, but we got distracted with house stuff. But we'll get them on soon. And Wednesday he has his first appointments with his new neurologist and radiation-oncologist at Brooks Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio. Since we are so close to IH-35, it's a very easy drive to BAMC. Roger is going to keep those specialists in the Army so all his records are in the system and when he has his re-evaluation August of 2009 all his records of care are in the system for the board. I'll let you know how his physical therapy consult goes today.

No Ring Yet

After an awesome weekend in Bryan-College Station with my parents for Parent’s Weekend at Texas A&M and Houston with our friends, the McPherson family for their children’s dedication, I was excited about picking up my ring on Monday. Although my ring was ready, the appraisal was not so we couldn’t pick it up. I was a little disappointed because you know I wanted my ring back but especially since I dropped Roger off at the airport this morning he won’t get to pick it up with me or see it until he gets home next week. He’s off to Los Angeles to visit friends and family. He’s got a whirlwind trip planned. And although I’d love to see everyone, L.A. is too much for me plus I can’t because of school anyway. I’m always exhausted when I get back from L.A. Hopefully I get to pick up my ring Wednesday.

We really did have a blast all weekend. Parent’s Weekend was great. This is my last one. We wished we could have stayed with the McPherson family longer, but Roger had to pack and we had a lot of chores to do and errands to run before he left me again. Sigh… It was great meeting the extended McPherson & Tsui family and hanging out with Kezia again. I miss the Asian Sensation. We’ll post pictures soon.

You know I’ve got a list of things to do while Roger’s gone. I have a lot of reading to do. Surprise, surprise. And house work. I’d like to paint over some samples with primer now that I’ve changed my mind on paint color again. But if I don’t get to it, that can wait. And I have some extra exercise I’d like to do this week in preparation for the triathlon next weekend. I timed my 200m swim again today and I’ve gotten faster. My last time was 5:23 and today it was 4:41. I didn’t even swim fast just normal. I was stoked. I also swam a full mile today. I was tired and starving afterward. Actually I was hungry all day. Another surprise, surprise. I think I’ll turn in 5:00 even for the race so I don’t get in any fast swimmers way. This weekend I will be riding my bike to make sure it’s ready and doing a little race walking since I don’t run anymore. Got to take care of my old joints. I also plan to just chill out as much as I can. I need it. I'm so tired from this weekend.