Then God Turned on the Fan . . .

Wind factored into a tough but rewarding ride this week.

Last weekend our weather spoiled us. I even managed to catch a sunburn from spinning in the driveway while watching kids with a friend.

This week, not so much.

We endured typical South Dakota spring weather (and subsequent training challenges).

Fuel for on a daily basis. I worry

that we may have a coffee problem

when the local coffee shop names a 

latte after us. Then I realize that

we don't have a problem. We just

live in a small town. 

Mr. T. ended last week somewhat disappointed in the workouts he missed, but not regretting the choices he made. This week he began with renewed vigor and determination to make life synch a little better with big workouts, and he succeeded.  Actually, we both found some measure of success this week.

The Swim:
I had my perfunctory swims, nothing much to speak of, but Mr. T. had a couple of monster swims--three total and two consecutive days in the pool. I should not have been surprised with the splits he shared with me once he came home from his longest swim. He really has shown some significant improvement in this area. Our local indoor pool has fairly limited hours for lap swimming, and last year we both struggled to complete the prescribed workouts in the time that our pool was open. This has not happened even once this season for Mr. T.

The Bike:
Despite the fact that God cranked the fan up outside to include 30+mph gusts on Friday afternoon, Mr. T. took his trusty steed out along with his new-fangled Garmin that he purchased around Christmas. Before he left, he showed me how I could go to a website and see exactly where he was at on his bike, like he was wearing a homing beacon or something. An hour later with two kids napping soundly, I took a moment to check the website. I felt some slight alarm when the map showed me he had only travelled about a mile from his starting point, and then the site said, "signal lost." I contemplated my options as well as the reasons for the lost signal.

Looks like IM training to us!

Reasons and Possible Responses:

• He could've been hit by a car. In that case, I didn't want to see his mangled body, and I figured that in that particular neighborhood, houses abound and someone else would be helping him. I'd find out what happened eventually. 
• He could've had technical errors. In that case, I didn't want to risk waking up two soundly sleeping children. After all, if I was going to be a widow, I was going to need all the rest I could get. 

You can see by now that I did not feel too motivated to go search for him just an hour into his ride. I decided to give him another hour, and if I hadn't heard from him, then I'd figure something out. On schedule, though, he sent me a message when he finished, and a small wave of relief hit me. I guess it's a good thing that I'm not much of a worrier. :) 

The Run: 

As stated earlier, South Dakota springs do not yield pleasant weather for the most part. The sun might be shining brightly and giving a nice warm glow to the inside of a house, but the moment a runner steps outside, Whammo, it hits him. Gusts of wind, chilly wind, threaten to topple trees, old sheds, and any other apparatus that exists on the prairie, like the chartreuse clad runner. We chose to ignore the wind and each logged some pretty nice miles, ending the weekend feeling satisfied. 

We didn't learn any huge lessons, but the importance of quality over quantity does keep running through the back of both of our minds, in triathlon training and in other aspects of life (work, time with family, etc). Missionary and martyr Jim Elliot once wrote, "Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." This rings true in my head as we also each put our time in at our respective jobs and then took time to make some great everyday memories with our growing tribe. 

Until next week . . .