09-10-2026 Swim

Slept okay, although I did wake up in the night and read for a bit (<!>). Got out of bed around 6:30 and did a little computer work. No rush on this day, as I was meeting Avi later than usual for a swim. We met up at the WWC at 8:45, had to wait for a bit until a lane opened, as it was quite busy and stayed that way through our swim. We did some intervals after a warmup 500. Here are the times:

Warmup 500

    9:09

Three 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    1:58

    2:02

    2:06

Three 100s with each successive 25 faster than the last

    1:38

    1:40

    1:42

Cooldown 250

    4:39

I forgot to stop my watch during one of the recovery periods, so the Strava time is off. Also, distance is less because it didn't count two of my three 25s when I was alternating arms.

Avg pace = 1:51/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1350 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 24:54 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 136 bpm (maybe these numbers are right)

Relative Effort = 31 (perhaps)

SWOLF = 40

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.37 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20118946379

This workout felt pretty good, although I was gassed at the end of the fast 100s. Nice water temperature and outside temperature as well. I got gas for the scooter before I rode home. Ann had talked to the guy at the credit union who offers premier banking services, and it should be a good deal for us. I'd shaved the night before, so after showering I was ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital, moved to Thursday because of the previous day's Four Amigos Lunch. Ate a healthier lunch there than usual. It was noticeably busier at the start than usual, same staff with whom I have worked. A guy came in with heatstroke, and he got a lot of attention for quite a while. We don't see a lot of truly emergent cases come in, this was one. I left a little late, had to wheel an ornery old guy to his car by the main lobby. Still got home before 5:00. After dinner Ann drove us down to the Belly Up in Solana Beach for a concert. It was the first time at this venue for both of us. It was Jesse Ray Smith and Cassie B, wit Twilight Highway as the opening act. They were forgettable. Cassie B did a set where she mostly sang her original music. It's not relly my style of music, but she has a big voice, and she knows how to use it. Jesse Ray Smith had the longest set, his music is more to my liking. He's got some weird body motions when he sings without his guitar, but his voice is strong and his songs are better. One of the guitarists and the bass player are from his Music by Eras group. Our seats were in the loft above the stage, decent (not great) viewing, but the sound was muddy, since it was directed at the audience in front of the stage. And we had, of course, a group of young people by us who were more interested in socializing than in the music. It got to be annoying as time passed, particularly in the last music set. By the end of the show we were the only ones in the loft, I guess we should have gone down to the floor but didn't. I drove home, taking care on the dark roads, got back before 11:15.

09-09-2026 Ride

This was not the greatest ride. I slept poorly, waking up in the night as well as tossing and turning while I tried to get back to sleep. I got up around 5:30 and had cereal and a banana for breakfast, then got ready to ride over and meet Paula for a bike ride. Left the house a little after 6:10, headlight and taillight flashing to give me more visibility. It was cool on this ride for about 20 minutes, that was all. Down by the park and then over the pedestrian bridge, using the bike path to get over to Via Rancho Pkwy. I took it up to Felicita Rd, climbing was challenging on this day. Then I rode on Felicita Rd up to Hamilton Ln, turned left and then took a right on Bernardo Ave. Up and then down past the gate, then up to 11th Ave. Down to Del Dios Rd, taking a left and then a right on Avenida del Diablo. To Citracado Pkwy, taking it to Harmony Grove Village Rd and then down to Harmony Grove Rd. I took it over to the park where we were supposed to meet and kept riding for a little less than a mile before I met Paula riding the other way. She stopped, and I turned around to ride with her. We rode back to the park, where I stopped and, for some weird reason, couldn't load the route I'd made in Strava the previous evening on my Wahoo. It didn't show up on the list of possible routes, and I couldn't find my routes on Strava either. In retrospect, I think Strava was having a hiccup at the time. Paula eventually sent me an earlier version of the route, which I was able to load on my Wahoo. We continued, and of course the first thing I did was make a wrong turn (first of many routing miscues on my part on this day). I turned on Riding Trail Dr, then took Starry Night Dr, Trail Blazer Ln, and Trail Ridge Dr to get to Country Club Dr, which I should have taken in the first place. Turned left, then I almost missed my second left turn to stay on Country Club Dr. This road is in bad shape, we stayed on it for just a little bit until turning right on Kauana Loa Dr. Just a little more climbing, then a nice little winding descent to Citracado Pkwy. We were riding pretty much into the sun at this point, and my vision wasn't so great. We got over to Andreasen Dr and took it to Harmony Grove Rd, turning right and riding to the bike path, aka the Escondido Creek Trail, along the drainage canal. We followed this all the way to Quince St, including going under a road and having to navigate through a group of unhoused folks and their dogs. I inadvertently took us off the bike path a street early, wasn't reading my map on the Wahoo well. We rode over to Grand Ave and started heading east. At this point, the map really lost track of where we were supposed to go. It gave me indications to get back to Valley Pkwy and follow the Escondido Creek Trail. Maybe I just wasn't following it well. In any case, we took Escondido Blvd over to Valley Pkwy, then used the two-lane bike path there to get to Broadway, where we stopped for a picture, then turned left. Around Woodward Ave we got back on the Escondido Creek Trail, this time on the north side of the canal. The city has done a good job with the bike path here, it's well-paved, well-maintained, and landscaped nicely. But we were way off route, and Strava wasn't giving me clear directions (I wasn't paying enough attention as well) on how to get back. We ended up taking the bike path up to Rose St before getting off it and then riding back the way we came on Valley Pkwy. It was bad traffic and not a good road to ride a bike on. Strava routed us back to Date St, where we headed south. We stopped and tried to figure out where we were relative to the original planned route, and Paula eventually suggested taking 4th Ave to get to Juniper. Unfortunately, that road had a couple of steep little climbs and descents to navigate, but we successfully got to Juniper St. Took that all the way to Sunset Dr, with Strava regularly trying to reroute me away (maybe because it had an older version of the route?). In any case we finally got back on route, turning left on Sunset Dr and then right on Royal Crest Dr. This little climb is short and not too steep for long, then there is a really nice winding descent to BVP. We turned right at the intersection, then right again on Las Palmas Ave, which took us into the north part of Kit Carson Park. A right turn on Castaneda Dr led us through the park, to Park Dr and back to BVP. I was wearing out by this time, not much left in the tank. We rode to Via Rancho Pkwy, and Paula wanted to follow the original route, which had us doing the climb up Via Rancho Pkwy in morning traffic. I was a little concerned about this part of the ride, but there was generally enough bike lane to ride safely, albeit slowly. I rode behind Paula and just pushed the pedals to stay up with her. Up to the top, then down to Eucalyptus Ave, where we turned right, stopped for a short break, then continued on up this nasty little climb. It was only half a mile at 7%, but on tired legs on a hot and humid day it was a workout. This got us to Hamilton Ln, but again my Wahoo wasn't keeping up with my position. It had us continuing, but we made the right decision to turn left on Hamilton Ln and follow it up to Continental Ln, turning there and riding to Calle Catalina to get to the top of Gamble Ln. From there it was the normal way back to the park by Harmony Grove Village. I rode a little past the park before stopping and turning around. Paula still had the huge task of climbing back to her house, I'm not sure I could have done it in my condition. As it was, I turned around and retraced my route to the top of Gamble Ln, then rode down it to Bernardo Ave, turning right there and retracing my morning route back to I-15. I rode over the freeway, no push in my legs left, then slow-pedaled up the last two climbs to get home. I was wiped out at the end of this ride.

Avg speed = 13.6 mph. Total mileage = 39.0 mi

Avg power = 113 W. Weighted avg power = 147 W

Total elevation gain = 2380'

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 78

Training Load = 147

Intensity = 67%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20105124148

Got home and drank a little soda and a lot of water to help me cool down. Then I had a shower, which also helped to cool me down. Late in the morning Ann and I drove to Stone Brewery to meet up with the Four Amigos and their spouses. Karen and kenda didn't make it. Food was good, service was terrible. It was a fun time, I talked mostly with Ross about his situation with Kenda and Alex, as well as their plans to split time between California and Florida. Ross paid for lunch. After the meeting we drove towards home, but Ann got notices saying our house was without power. It was 109 deg outside, so we headed to the mall to walk around and kill some time. I hadn't walked around the mall in a very long time, it's kinda depressing. We stayed there for about an hour and a half, then Ann got an update that our power was restored. So we drove home. I was exhausted from the morning as well as the poor sleep from the night before. Felt much better after a nap. I watched some TV in the late afternoon. Evening was quiet. The power went off a little before bedtime, while I was reading. Thankfully, it didn't stay off long, so we were able to sleep with the fan on.

09-08-2026 Ride

Maybe too much caffeine the previous day, I woke up around 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I got up and watched some TV. After that I was able to sleep, waking up around 6:20. Didn't have a lot of time to get ready for a coffee ride, so I gathered my stuff, prepped my bike, and rode over to Albertson's to meet up with the others. On this coffee ride we had Andy, Nel, Cam, and Cynthia (a rider whom Andy met from an RB retiree's cycling group). We headed north, taking the now normal neighborhood roads to avoid having to ride on Pomerado Rd as much as possible. Down to Pomerado Rd and then over Lake Hodges via the pedestrian bridge. We got to BVP, and Cynthia split up from us, as she didn't want to take the longer way to our coffee spot. Not sure which route she took. We kept on BVP up to Sunset Dr, turning there and riding up to Juniper St. On this stretch Cam, Nel, and I put in a bigger effort than usual, and we waited for Andy to catch up at the turn. We took Juniper St all the way to Grand Ave and turned left there, riding down to A Delight of France, which wasn't open yet. About five minutes later Cynthia showed up, so we were all back together. We got in when they opened at 8:00, had coffee and almond croissants, and sat indoors to enjoy the A/C. Chatted about 9/11 (25th anniversary coming this Friday) and COVID lockdown experiences, among other topics. It had been cloudy on the way over, humid but not too hot yet. When we rode back, the sun was out, so it was noticeably hotter but not yet uncomfortably hot. We rode down to Escondido Blvd and then took it to El Ku Ave to get to Kit Carson Park. Home the normal way through the mall and across the pedestrian bridge. Cam and I split off at W Bernardo Dr, while the others headed up Pomerado Rd. I got home around 9:30, pretty good timing for the expected heat coming during the day. 

Avg speed = 13.9 mph. Total mileage = 19.2 mi

Avg power = 111 W. Weighted avg power = 143 W

Total elevation gain = 980'

Avg heartrate = 110 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 19

Training Load = 68%

Intensity = 65%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20090321240

Also on a positive note, my brakes didn't squeal after I made the adjustments the previous day, and my shifting was also a lot smoother. So, new wheels are working well. With this knowledge, I switched back to my DT Swiss wheels, using the new rotors. I also swapped out the SPD MTB pedals on my Fuji bike after charging the Assioma pedals. We talked to Jeff Ross about our investments in late morning, made only minor changes. I had a quiet afternoon, read both books in progress, avoided napping. Later in the afternoon I used Claude's assistance to modify my cycling analysis code to display a route map and elevation profile that are linked to display position on the map, distance, and gradient simultaneously. It is actually pretty cool. I watched some TV while Ann was at bells.

09-07-2026 Ride

Slept okay, even with the previous day's naps. I woke up a little after 5:00, read for a while. Then I got up and ate some bread and cheese for breakfast. Then I received a text from Rob about meeting for a ride. I got ready and then rode over to his house the normal way. He was ready to ride, so we headed up to RB Rd and took it at measured pace to Dove Canyon Rd. Rob was slow but had been riding some, so he wasn't that slow. We rode over to CVR and took it up to Black Mountain Rd and then down the hill. Rob wanted to keep going straight, so we rode on to Rancho Santa Fe Farms Rd (not counting a false turn through a neighborhood) and took it over to the 56 bike path. Headed back to CdS, again at Rob's pace, not pushing it. We then took CdS all the way back to RB Rd, turned there, and rode to Mostra Coffee (Rob's preferred shop), where we stopped and had a nice conversation about recent activities and some work topics. We headed home after that, through the neighborhood. It was a nice little ride for me, I hope he enjoyed it as well.

Avg speed = 13.5 mph. Total mileage = 22.9 mi

Avg power = 109 W. Weighted avg power = 134 W

Total elevation gain = 1460'

Avg heartrate = 107 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 19

Training Load = 68

Intensity = 61%

https://www.strava.com/activities/20076306805

Got home, read some more, then watched a little TV and had some toast as a second breakfast. In the late morning I went out in the garage and tried to readjust my rear brakes so they wouldn't squeal and wouldn't rub either. Made some adjustments, we'll see how they work out. If this doesn't work, I'll swap out the rear rotor with my older rotor that doesn't have as much wear. I also tried to change the rear derailleur Microadjust setting to optimize it more for this wheel. Settings shown below.

DT Swiss wheel rear derailleur Microadjust setting - 5

EliteWheels wheel rear derailleur Microadjust setting - 12

In the afternoon I looked through my paint cans to find the right one for painting the gate caps. I think it's the large Sherwin-Williams can with beige paint, the color seems to match. I also used Claude to modify the elevation profile display in the cycling analysis program to dynamically show the distance and gradient. With its help I got it to work, looks decent. After that I went out in the garage and painted the gate caps. Later I applied a second coat, should be enough after the two coats of primer, so my fingers are crossed that this paint will last and not flake off. Started reading Earl's book, it's pretty well written but dense with fantasy and alternate world elements from the start. After dinner Ann and I watched TV, and the rest of the evening was quiet (<!>).

09-06-2026 Swim

Slept all through the night, woke up a little after 5:00 and read for a bit before getting up around 6:00. I watched some TV and had breakfast. Eventually I got ready for a swim at the WWC. Headed over there in a very light drizzle, and it sprinkled on me while I waited for them to open the gate. I was a little surprised at how many people were there to swim, lanes were almost full before too long, but I got lane 3. Started with a warmup 500, and I could tell my legs were tired. So I focused on my stroke form. I followed this segment by a 300 using the swim pads, am going to include these more to try and strengthen my shoulders. I followed this segment with two 100s using alternating arms and tap-to-touch with a final normal 25, using the pull buoy. Then I finished with a 500 followed by an extra 150 for good measure, all with the pull buoy to reduce the strain on my sore legs. Here are the times for these segments:

Warmup 500

    9:32

300 with swim pads

    5:44

Two 100s with alternating single arms, tap-to-touch, and standard stroke, with pull buoy

    2:02

    2:00

500 with pull buoy

    9:20

150 with pull buoy

    2:54

I didn't record the second 100 on my watch, so my Strava workout only shows 1525 yds (it probably also didn't capture the 25 yds when I was windmilling the non-watch arm).

Avg pace = 1:55/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1650 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 31:32 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (maybe these numbers are right)

Relative Effort = 14 (perhaps)

SWOLF = 37

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.48 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20063738749

Got home, had coffee and toast while watching some more TV. I was weary and dozed during the TV show. In the early morning I had noticed a big leak spewing water out of a surface line, so I turned the sprinklers off. In the afternoon I had Ann turn the sprinkler on while I watched to see where the water was coming from, then I spliced fresh line in and buried it to reduce sun exposure, which causes the line to be brittle. Later on I pulled the caps from the metal front gate, since the paint was peeling from them. I scraped the paint off and then used wire mesh to remove the rest of the paint, then I primed all of the caps with primer paint, including a second coat on the top. Will let that dry and then paint them to match the rest of the gate, which as far as I can tell was last painted on 10-14-2024. Read for a bit after that task was done, then I talked to Mom in the early evening. She had a great time at Ben's house, stayed Friday night and went to Matthew and Lauren's house for a baby shower for Hannah on Sunday (?). Ben drove her home after the shower, she wanted to sleep in her own bed. Was a decent phone call, she didn't talk too much about her health issues. After dinner I tried to read, aiming to catch up on my latest book, Gregory Benford's Shadows of Eternity. I fell asleep early and then couldn't get back to sleep. So I got up and watched a little TV before retiring for the night.

09-05-2026 Grape Day 5k

Slept okay, had quite vivid dreams throughout the night. Woke up around 5:00 and laid around in bed until 6:00. Then I got up and got ready for the Grape Day 5k. Ate a banana and drank some water but didn't eat a big breakfast. I made sure I had the necessary items to take loaded on my scooter. I left a little before 7:00 and, after navigated around some blocked roads, was able to find a spot pretty close to the start. It was a very cool, not quite chilly ride over the bridge and into Escondido. I got to Grape Day Park and did some stretches to loosen my legs up. Then I met Caleb and chatted with him until it was time to line up. I got in the 6-8 min/mi group, and we were eventually able to move up to the start. The national anthem singer was not good, we were off right around 8:00. I started fast, pulled along by other fast runners. I think they shortened the course on Grand Ave, so it wasn't a full 5k. Nick agreed at the end of the race. Ran a sub-7 minute first mile and then put in a big effort on the second mile, which had some significant little climbs that really hurt. Came down 5th Ave after the climbs and didn't have a lot left. The rest of the course was flat, and I could see a couple of older runners ahead of me. I caught and passed one but didn't have enough of a push to catch the second one (he finished second in my age group). Tried to stretch it out on the last mile with only limited success. According to the time keepers I finished in 21:05, and I think the course was about 3 miles. So I averaged a little over 7 min/mi, which was my target pace. Felt pretty good about that, didn't know if it would be enough to place in my age group. I cooled down for a bit, had some chocolate milk, a granola bar, and an orange segment, then I saw Nick cross the finish line. I congratulated him, then we stood around until Caleb came across the line. Not too long after that they announced the people who placed in their age groups. My group was the fourth last to be announced, and I was happy with the third place finish. Another guy in my age group finished a second slower than me, so I just made it on the podium. Overall I placed 33rd out of 662 male runners, also a nice accomplishment.

Avg pace = 7:09/mi (Zepp)

Total distance = 2.97 mi

Elapsed moving time = 21:17 (official race time was 21:05)

Avg heartrate = 148 bpm (Zepp)

Relative Effort = 28

https://www.strava.com/activities/20048810159

After the race I rode over to Grand Ave and met Nick and Caleb at Burger Bench for brunch. In hindsight, this wasn't the best restaurant choice, it was jam-packed with runners. We waited a long time to place our order, then waited an even longer time for our breakfast burritos to arrive. They were decent enough, nothing special. We chatted about F1, the church's upcoming anniversary, our Houston trip, and some Escondido history from Nick (he grew up in this town). It was pleasant conversation for the most part. After the meal I rode home, temperature was ideal for riding on a scooter. Got home, Ann was still out, so I ate a little more and watched some TV. In the afternoon I rested but avoided taking a nap, was still energized from the morning run. I put my aero bars back on my Fuji bike, it went much more quickly than in times past. Caught up on blogging and watched some TV before we drove up in the late afternoon to Barona for a Native American celebration. The event was at the Barona Sports Complex, which is separate from the casino. It was hot when we got there but cooling down, we walked around the large number of booths selling mostly Native American arts and crafts. Then we went back to the car to get our camp chairs and set them up to watch the dancing. We got some food and ate it before the dances started, ended up moving our chairs to get a better view. We watched a number of gourd dances, which involved drumming, chanting, and stepping around the arena in time with the rhythm. There were some long-winded speakers interspersed with the dances that we had to listen to as well. Then there were some small drum and chanting circles that got brief spotlights before the big Native American procession in costume, which was quite impressive. There were some smaller processions around the arena after that, and we decided to leave around this point. Google Maps had us going back through Ramona, and the section of Wildcat Canyon Rd leading back to Ramona was winding and unlit, not easy to navigate in the dark. I made it, although there was a car tailgating me the entire time down to San Vicente Rd. We turned left there, let the car pass us, and then drove down to Warnock Rd, turning left and following it to Dye Rd and then to Highland Valley Rd. I don't know if I've ever gone down this road in the dark, but it helped to have ridden it many times, so I knew where the sharp curves were, for the most part. Home the normal way from there, arriving a little before 10:00. It had been a long day, and it wasn't long before I was in bed and asleep.

09-04-2026 Swim

Slept okay, woke up but got back to sleep. I looked at the computer code to display multiple charts in one window, had some success but ran into a problem displaying the underlying street map. It appears that something has changed in this code that will need to be investigated. I got ready for a swim at the WWC, started a D: drive file backup before I left home. Met Avi there, it was a little crowded but we got adjoining lanes. I swam four 250s with pauses in between to chat. He has lost weight on a GLP-1 at a lower dose than recommended. His daughter is adjusting well at college. Here are the splits for the four 250s, the last one with a pull buoy: 4:27, 4:29, 4:27, 4:29.

Avg pace = 1:47/100 yds (Video)

Total distance = 1000 yds (Video)

Elapsed moving time = 17:52 (Video)

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (probably too low)

Relative Effort = 14 (too low)

SWOLF = 35

Avg stroke rate = 20 bpm

Avg pull distance = 2.52 yds

https://www.strava.com/activities/20035283778

Got home and watched some TV before heading to the clinic for a blood draw and urine sample at 11:00. Got home and I was pretty hungry, hadn't eaten since early the previous evening. I had lunch and felt better after that. Was tired in the afternoon, so I ended up reading and napping alternately for about an hour. Eventually I got up and decided to work on my cycling analysis code problem of the street map underlays not displaying. It turns out that the map library I've been using has tightened its restrictions on usage. I used Claude to help me find this issue out, and I also got a referral to an alternative street map database that appears to be richer in features, albeit it's slower to load. With this fix I tackled the issue of displaying two different displays of gpx data in the same window and had success here too. Now I have a plot that displays power output over a street map and shows the elevation profile for the route next to this map. It would be nice to link these two maps so that I could trace the elevation profile and follow on the map where I am. For a future project. We went out to dinner at a Nepalese place on Via Rancho Pkwy. Food was good and plentiful. Watched some TV together after we got home, then we settled down for the rest of the evening.