07-15-2025 Walk/Hike

Travel day. I woke up around 3:40 and decided to go for an early morning walk to get most of my steps in. Walked around the neighborhood, and Ann was up when I got home around 5:00. I was busy finishing packing up and putting my bike on the roof rack. For a short while, it didn't look like it would fit, but I figured it out. Got all my stuff checked off and packed and made some coffee for the road. Then I packed the cooler and we hit the road. We got to Valley Pkwy before I realized I had forgotten my coffee and left the coffee maker on. I turned around and drove back, got my coffee, and we were truly on our way. No traffic until we approached the 91, and we had another wait on I-15 around the intersection with the 60. From there, it was smooth sailing. Stopped for gas in Adelanto and had a restroom stop before we got to Lone Pine (the rest area was closed). Ann started driving then. We stopped for lunch at Amigos Mexican Restaurant in Bishop. I  had a couple of short naps in the 2+ hours it took to get to June Lake after Ann started driving. We got there right around 2:00, made pretty good time. Had the camp set up around 3:00, so we relaxed for a bit, took a short hike down by the marina. I had another short nap in the tent, and we started making dinner around 6:00 after a big lunch. Heated up chili for the meal, then we made a peach cobbler in the Dutch oven for dessert. It was slow to cook the topping, perhaps because of the altitude (7700'). I cleaned up all the dishes and packed our stuff into the bear locker, then got ready for sleep. Sheets on the mattress and a sleeping bag for a comforter, and it was fine for the night. 

07-13-2025 Ride/Walk

Had an early planned start to a ride with Paula, Catalin, and Rob. Rode through the neighborhood to Matinal Rd and took it to W Bernardo Dr to get to RB Rd. Down to the Albertson's parking lot, where I was early enough to get a coffee before the ride. Once we were ready we took RB Rd back to Bernardo Center Dr and turned right off Duenda Rd on W Bernardo Dr. Across the pedestrian bridge and over to Centre City Pkwy the usual way via Kit Carson Park. We took it out to Country Club Ln, with me and Rob getting out ahead the waiting for them to catch up. Left turn there, taking it until we got over to El Norte Pkwy. We stayed on this road until Borden Rd, then turned right onto Richland Rd. This is a nice way to get to a twin Oaks Valley Rd via Mulberry Dr and Olive St. We got onto Buena Creek Rd and took it over to Rancho Santa Fe Rd for a short jog onto Robelini Dr, which turns into Sycamore Ave. Under the 78, then we took a short bathroom break at an AM-PM, and I bought a Clif Bar. Stayed on this road until turning left on Brookhaven Pass, which got us to Faraday Dr. We turned left onto El Fuerte St and took it down to Gateway Rd, where Paula had us turn to stop by Bressi Gazebo Park for a picture. We continued on Town Garden Rd until turning left onto Alicante Rd and taking it down to Poinsettia Ln, where we turned right and rode for a short distance before turning left onto Estrella de Mar. This is a nice little street through an old neighborhood. We got across Alga Rd, waited for Paula and Catalin to catch up, then rode down into the Omni La Costa resort, stopping for another picture before taking Costa del Mar Rd over to El Camino Real. Continued heading south until we got to Olivenhain Rd, where we were back on a familiar route, albeit in the opposite direction. Back into RSF via Rancho Santa Fe Rd, El Camino del Norte, Lago Lindo (another stop to eat some food and take a picture), El Montevideo, and reverse Stud Loop to VdlV. We took Via de Santa Fe and El Apajo to San Dieguito Rd, then rode fairly slowly up Three Witches. Regrouped at the turn onto CdS, then took it to Paseo del Sur, turning there. On that slight climb to the turn, Paula showed that her fitness is definitely increasing. She has more endurance and can push harder on climbs when she needs to. Over to Potomac Ridge Rd, then to Camino San Bernardo via Nicole Ridge Rd. To RB Rd and down the hill. Before we got to W Bernardo Dr, Rob got a screw in his tire and had a flat, so we helped him change it before continuing. Right on Bernardo Center Dr, then left on Lomica Dr and left again on Acena Dr to get to Callado Rd, which was thankfully downhill, turning into Rios Rd. We then turned left onto Bernardo Oaks Dr, which took us back to RB Rd and to the Albertson's parking lot. Everybody did fine on this longer ride, Catalin probably had the most difficulty, but he will be fine for the actual ride, just likely slower than his riding colleagues. I rode home via the RB Rd and W Bernardo Dr route, legs fine at the end but overall tired. This was a fairly low-impact ride for me, nearly all time in first and second heartrate zones.

Avg speed =- 13.9 mph. Total mileage = 60.6 mi

Avg power = 110 W. Weighted avg power = 143 W

Total elevation gain = 3670'

Avg heartrate = 105 bpm

Relative Effort = 53

Training Load = 222

Intensity = 65%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15104257568

Ann still wasn't home from church when I got home, had a little bit to eat and a short nap in the early afternoon. I wanted to get my steps in, so I went for an hourlong walk, fairly slow-paced, down to the park and looping around a couple of times to watch the baseball and softball games going on. Later in the afternoon, I drove us down to Coronado to see Cassie B in concert at Spreckels Park. We put our seats down and then walked a little further into town to have a drink and some chips before the show started. We had a picnic dinner once the concert started, then ended up dancing for roughly the second half of her show. She has an amazing voice, and the band was also really tight. Not exactly my favorite music that she performed, but the show was a good one. Ann drove us home, and in the evening I got the camping stuff down and started piling it together before calling it a (long) day.

07-11-2025 Run/Walk

Woke up early after decent night's sleep, Ann slept in late so I decided to go for a run down at the park. Rode my scooter over there and then ran four laps on the extended loop, getting just about 4 miles in. Ran slightly negative splits for the first three miles and then pushed myself harder on the last mile. It was overcast during the run, there were a fair number of people walking or running around the park. Humidity was noticeable, so I was sweating pretty good at the end.

Avg pace = 8:00/mi

Total distance = 4.02 mi

Elapsed moving time = 32:12

Avg heartrate = 130 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 12

https://www.strava.com/activities/15080079867

When I got home, I did some chores around the house and then read in bed for a little bit (<!>). Ate some breakfast, then I finished preparing the bike rack and mounted it on the car to judge how it fit. So far, so good. I'll put a bike on it over the weekend and see how that goes. I worked on the computer for a little while, then I went out in the back yard to go after the pepper tree suckers. This time, I focused on a small patch near the fence by the original garden bed, where they were intertwined with the chain link and thus a mess to get rid of. I took a break after that. I set up the four water sensors under sinks and connected them to the hub that will alert us if they detect water. In the early afternoon, we drove to the credit union and met with Jeff Ross, who has taken over for Brett Everhart. Jeff is more approachable and friendly, but I don't think he is as good at understanding all the market forces and making recommendations as Brett has been for us. He may also want to make his mark in our portfolio by recommending more changes, so that will bear watching. We tried to get our free Slurpees on 7-Eleven day, but theachines weren't ready. I watched some TV in the afternoon and then ordered new battery-powered security cameras after having been refunded the money for the other Tapo cameras I bought and returned. I also checked out the details of Wednesday's ocean swim to gauge the actual distance better. It looks like I swam pretty close to the distance logged in Strava, not what showed up in the Zepp app. It was a little over 2 miles, which is probably still my longest swim but not by a lot. I think the choppiness of the water is what made it a bigger effort. I still have a little rash on my neck where my wetsuit was rubbing against my rash guard and irritating the skin underneath. Will need to figure out a better solution there. I'm also seeing pretty different results from when I directly download the Zepp file into Strava vs. when I save it as a GPX file and then import it. I think the latter approach is preferred, since it doesn't appear to include the times when I wasn't actively swimming in my elapsed moving time. Watched some TV after dinner and then we tried to get our free Slurpees again, but that that store they stopped the promotion at 7:00. So it was a quiet evening. I was settling down when I noticed that I still needed more steps, so I went out for a short evening walk.

I'll catch up here on some books I've read but didn't include in the blog.

John D. MacDonald, A Purple Place for Dying - Travis McGee investigates the murder of his client Mono Yeoman at a place out in the undefined west, perhaps Arizona.

Mark Synnott, Into the Ice - Synott sails a fairly small fiberglass boat from east to west through the Northwest Passage, with various crew members to help him along the way

Ian Douglas, Galaxy Raiders: Abyss - military SF book following Alexandra Morrigan as she wages war against a galaxy-wide conglomerate known as the Galactic Authority, ultimately getting to a point of cooperation by winning numerous space battles

John D. MacDonald, Bright Orange for the Shroud - McGee's old friend Arthur Wilkinson is swindled out of his money, and McGee works with him and others to recover the money

Steven Barnes, Star Wars: Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss - I'm currently reading this book. Mace Windu, who was played in the Star Wars movies by Samuel L. Jackson, travels to a world in the Rim Planets, where nearly everybody lives underground, there is a substantial criminal element, and the planet's main export is high-strength silk

07/10/2025 Walk/Swim

Woke up after a decent sleep, some effects from caffeine ingestion at lunch. I wanted to get most of my steps in before it got warm, so I took an hour+ long walk around the neighborhood. When I got home, I had a little time to get ready for a swim with Avi at the WWC. No intent to push really hard during this workout. I swam a warmup 250, then we did 5 100s on 2 minute turnaround. Next were 3 100s where we alternated arms for 25 yds, did arm catch for 25, and standard stroke for the last 25. Two more 100s with lengthening strokes, the latter using arm catch strokes. The last drill focused on alternating breaths from both sides, and here Avi gave me good advice about how many strokes to insert between alternating breath sides. I did two 100s by starting with alternating breaths every 5 strokes, then I breathed every 4 strokes on one side, every 4 on the other side, finishing up with alternating again. One final 50 with alternating breaths every 5 strokes. Need, in the future, to work on alternating breaths every 3 strokes, which could be better for longer swims to get more breaths in. Good workout and discussion. Here are the times:

Warmup 250

    4:41

5 100s at 2:00 intervals

    1:43

    1:47

    1:49

    1:50

    1:41

3 100s using arm catch

    2:12

    2:04

    2:03

2 100s with successively lengthened strokes every 25 yds

    1:50

    2:09

2 100s with alternating breathing sides (with pull buoy)

    1:47

    1:50

1 50 with alternating breathing sides every 5 strokes (with pull buoy)

    0:57

After I got home, I ate some cereal for breakfast and relaxed before driving the new car over to Mossy Nissan to get a smog check. I misunderstood the date that Ann had set for the smog check (she did too), but it worked out okay, after the service guys figured out how to charge the service back to Mossy Toyota. It took about an hour and a half, then I was on my way. I stopped at an ATM to get money and then filled the car up with gas before driving home. Had a little break before turning around and heading back to Escondido on my scooter to have lunch with Earl at Firangi, a new Indian food restaurant on Grand Ave. Food was very good, this place just opened. We talked about AGI, the meaning of consciousness, and our families. I hope he enjoyed the conversation, I sure did. Rode home, getting gas for the scooter on the way. Later in the afternoon, I rode over to Phil's BBQ for happy hour with HP and ex-HP folks. Avi, was there, as was Aadi Nath (for the first 45 minutes or so), Britt and Bill C. I had a soda and chatted with a guy, J.J., who I remember seeing around B65 and who works for customer quality for the webpress business. Got back home around 6:00 and worked behind the backyard fence clearing out pepper tree root suckers for a while before heading back in and eating a light dinner. Watched a little TV as well. I also got the old bike rack that mounts on top of a car down from the attic and checked to see if it will work on our new car (appears so). I started mounting protective fabric-reinforced rubber strips to the metal on the bike rack so it won't damage the car rack cross-members when it's attached.

07/09/2025 Walk/Swim

This was an exceptional day. I didn't sleep all that well, got up and ate some cereal and read, but did get back to sleep. I woke up in time to have plenty of time to get ready for my ocean swim with Charlie. Left early to avoid some traffic and got there around 7:50. I walked on the beach and through the nearby neighborhood until about 8:30, then got my gear and walked over to the meet-up point. Charlie got there soon after, and we geared up and got into the water. Seemed about the same temperature as last week, but it was a little more shocking getting in, since the choppy waves poured some water under my wetsuit. We had more difficulty getting through the shore break, and even beyond the break the surface was more choppy. I had much better success with my breathing, got into a steady cadence and swam longer distances before stopping to wait for Charlie. We ended swimming all the way to La Jolla Cove, close to where the sea lions were in the water and on the rocks. There were several sea lions who come up to breathe very close to us, which was cool and a little disconcerting. Lots of sea birds as well, very cool. Then we swam over to the caves and swam through and out the normal exit point, where we saw Garibaldi fish in the kelp beds. Then it was time to swim back to La Jolla Shores, and that was a workout. We avoided the kelp beds this time, much better, but my arms were pretty tired at the end. They held up, I got out of the water further south than Charlie. We walked to the showers and rinsed off, then split. This was my longest swim ever, Zepp says it was 4273 yds, but it was really a little over 2 miles. It also looks like my watch stopped tracking the swim at times for some unknown reason. In any case, it was epic. I got back to the car and changed into dry clothes before driving home. Not as much need to rush when I got home to get ready for my volunteer shift. I got to the hospital early enough to stop at the cafeteria and have some snacks before my shift. The shift was unremarkable, slow at the start but busier near the end. After I rode home, Ann drove us down to Balboa Park for a picnic before going to see Noises Off at the Old Globe Theater. Traffic was pretty rotten on the way down, Ann drove. We had salad for dinner, then walked over to the Old Globe and sat down. Ann had bought $25 tickets, which were in Row 2 but on the left end. They were fine for the first and third acts but pretty limiting for the second act. It was a good show, well acted but not exceptionally well. The play was a farce that apparently we had seen back in the day in Gainesville. Fun, then an drove home and it was to bed.

07-08-2025 Ride/Walk

Got up fairly early, around 5:40, to get ready for a longer bike ride. I decided to ride up to Santa Ysabel and back. Made electrolyte drink and took some food with me, then headed out, actually starting the ride at 6:15 after stopping a couple of times to come back and replace batteries. It was a simple route, down by the park and over to Highland Valley Rd, then up to the 67, turning left there and riding into Ramona until I turned right on 3rd St to get to the Old Julian Hwy. I was about a minute and a half slower than my PR on the entire Highland Valley Rd eastbound segment, would have liked to be a little faster but it was okay. I tried to stay more in the saddle on the steep climbs to build my core strength, not sure how successful that was. Through Ramona without issues. The stretch on the Old Julian Hwy was tough as always. The road condition was quite poor, awful in some places, and it was generally uphill with just a few flat or downhill stretches where I could recover. Weather was decent, not too hot on the outbound part of the route. There isn't much of a shoulder on the 67 in places after I got onto it past the Old Julian Hwy, and that was a little dicey. The climbing segments there weren't as bad as I remembered them from previous rides. Got into Santa Ysabel in about 2:37 without stopping other than at intersections and for a brief time before the Old Julian Hwy to unwrap a nut bar. I got a 32 oz Coke fountain drink and sat outside Don's Market (they sell sushi there) to drink it and eat the rest of my food (dates and dried mango). On the return on the 67, I felt good, a little refreshed from the food and perhaps aided by a modest tailwind. The climbs there were all minor, even the little ones on The Old Julian Hwy weren't as significant as I remembered. Back through Ramona and to Highland Valley Rd, where I had a headwind when I turned onto this road. It slowed me down on the flats and gentle rollers leading to the more significant climbs, which I took at measured pace and didn't have the strength to really attack. The downhills were fun, as usual, no incidents to report. I was also not super fast on the flats back to Pomerado Rd, but I made it okay up the last two climbs and got home feeling fine. Legs were tired but not sore or cramping, which was a good sign, as expected.

Avg speed = 15.7 mph. Total mileage = 66.7 mi

Avg power = 151 W. Weighted avg power = 178 W

Total elevation gain = 4660'

Avg heartrate = 127 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 115

Training Load = 292

Intensity = 81%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15048538462

Ate just a bit when I got home, wasn't particularly hungry then. Ann was gone running errands, so I watched a little TV and hung out. Had a light lunch later on and then spent the afternoon finishing getting up to date on my 2025 Event Log, as well as planning a route for this Saturday. I talked at length to Ben on the phone, just checking in. He can be really difficult to talk to. He lives by a credo that he must be true to himself, which can devolve into pushing his own agenda and opinions without taking others' concerns into account enough. I have difficulty getting this point across, at some point I should stop trying. Watched a little TV later in the afternoon, then went for a walk after dinner to get my steps in.

07-07-2025 Swim/Run

Slept pretty well, although I did wake up in the middle of the night and read (<!>). Got ready for a longer swim at the WWC and rode over there, it was a little cool. Lots of people there when it opened, the pool lanes were totally full, so I shared a lane with Blaine. It was fine, I was concentrating on steady pace for longer times. I lost track of my lap count a couple of times and ended up swimming 2150 yds without pausing. I thought I set my watch to track the swim, but apparently I didn't hit the Go button, so I used the camera results instead. Here are the splits for the four 500s and the last 150: 9:22, 9:30, 9:44, 9:46, 2:50. I could definitely feel myself tiring in the latter half of the workout, need lots more distance swimming to get that endurance I've had in the past. Got home, had a light breakfast, then got ready for a run. This was a mental challenge, since I would much rather not have run. But I got started, and the rest followed. Ran down to the park and did 5 extended loops, then ran back. I had negative splits for the first 4 miles, the fifth mile was just a little slower than the fourth, but the sixth mile was a fair amount slower. It was starting to warm up, and I forgot to wear sunglasses. Eventually, I hope I can get to a point where running six miles isn't a big deal. The last little bit of the run back up the hill was torturous and slow.

Avg pace = 8:00/mi

Total distance = 6.28 mi

Elapsed moving time = 50:17

Avg heartrate = 143

Relative Effort = 50

https://www.strava.com/activities/15036860417

Ate some more when I got home and rested for a bit. Watched some TV in the early afternoon. In the mid-afternoon I worked for quite a while on updating my 2025 Event Log, which is pretty time-consuming. Still more work to do there. Around 4:00 I went into the back yard and over the fence to start chopping away at the Pepper tree sprouts as well as my attempt to cut back the root sections where the sprouts were coming from. Lots still to do there, I'm wondering if it's a hopeless cause without more serious equipment to dig into the ground and take out the extensive root system. After I stopped for the day, I had a shower, then Ann and I drove to Yanni's off Scripps-Poway Pkwy to have dinner with Emily and Caleb as their way of thanking us for watching the cats. Dinner was fun, good conversation and food was decent. Home from there, and I put together a draft of a route for me, Paula, and Rob to ride on Sunday in preparation for the Padres Pedal the Cause ride.

07-06-2025 Ride/Walk

Woke up around 5:40 and got up a little before 6:00. I made coffee, ate some bread for breakfast, and got ready to drive over to Stagecoach Park to meet Paula and Catalin for a ride. I saw them riding on the way to the park, and I was basically ready when they got there. We headed to Calle Acervo and took that road, first up and then down, to RSF Rd. A left turn there, following it until it turned into Manchester Ave. We stayed on this road through the turn and under I-5, circling back to the bike path that runs west of the freeway and taking it down to Lomas Santa Fe. We kept going down to Stevens Ave and took it to VdlV, continuing on to Jimmy Durant Blvd and taking that road behind the fairgrounds and into Del Mar. I was out in front for much of the first half since we were following the route I'd mapped. Down to the coast and up Torrey Pines Rd, where Paula successfully went for a PR. Then it was back down the hill and a stop at the restrooms by the park entrance before continuing on PCH back into Del Mar. Catalin took us on some neighborhood streets and alleys west of PCH to bypass the village, then we got back onto PCH and took it to Chesterfield Dr, where we crossed over to the walking path (not really a bike path) running by the railroad tracks. That stretch involved dodging a lot of walkers, many with dogs, until we crossed PCH to get to K St. Through the neighborhood west of PCH in Encinitas to get to Neptune Ave, following the same route that Paula and I rode in a previous ride. Back to PCH via Grandview St, then a turn onto La Costa Ave. It was a fast ride for me and Paula on this section, Catalin was out in front of us. He kept going on this road past El Camino Real, Paula wanted to turn and take another way up the hill. I was happy with Catalin's choice, the last climb up to RSF Rd was not as tough as I remembered. He was slow coming up, and Paula took a really long time to get to us. We stayed on La Costa Ave until Camino de los Coches, where I turned to head back to the park and they continued on. Was a decent route but way slow. My Wahoo died somewhere between Del Mar and Encinitas, so I don't have stats for the ride other than distance and elevation.

Avg speed = 12.0 mph. Total mileage = 34.0 mi

Total elevation gain = 1930'

Had some snacks for lunch, watched a little TV, had a nap in the early afternoon. I went to nt for a walk to get most of my steps in, then I hung more shade cloth by the first garden bed. In the late afternoon, Ann and I drove over to Lake Poway and walked to the park there to watch the Blue Breeze Band, a pretty good R&B cover band and to picnic in the park. We danced quite a bit, then walked back to the car afterwards. I was pretty tired by the end of this day. Watched some TV and went to bed.

07-05-2025 Ride/Run

Slept okay, not perfectly, after a pretty good Fourth of July day. Got ready for the Bisikleta ride, I was the route leader and had planned it. Rode over in light fog through the neighborhood and then the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. Perse and Nel were already there when I got there, and James, Rob, and Charlie showed up for a ride as well. We headed down Camino del Sur, at a generally slower pace than the previous day. On this ride, I was in the lead almost the entire time, probably should have dropped back and spent more time chatting with the others, but I am currently focused on building strength in preparation for the rides while we are in Spain and France. Down to Carmel Valley Rd, turning right there. I waited for James to make the turn, then pushed pretty hard to catch up with the others. Another right turn onto Del Mar Heights Rd, taking it down to Carmel Canyon Rd, where we turned left. Rob has been having intermittent difficulties getting his front derailleur to shift, and he stopped to try and fix it at this point. After that, we rode down to Carmel Country Rd and took it south for a short bit, making a small U-turn and then turning onto Del Mar Mesa Rd. I had never ridden up this road, and it's really steep at the start, up to 14% or so. I couldn't shift into my lowest gear, so I had to get out of the saddle and push up the steep part. It leveled off fairly soon, and this is a nice little road to ride on, with some pretty views. We rode it up to the intersection with Del Vino Ct (aka Carmel Mountain Rd) and waited for James to catch up there. Then it was a general downhill to Ocean Air Dr, where we turned left and, after a little climb, had a steeper downhill to enjoy to get to Calle Mar de Mariposa. This got us over to Vista Sorrento Pkwy, where we turned left and continued downhill, eventually turning right on Sorrento Valley Blvd to get to Sorrento Valley Rd. Left turn there. It's not really noticeable when you are on it, but this road has a slight uphill to it. We stayed on it until turning right onto Carroll Canyon Rd, where the modest climb continued until it got to a short, steeper section once we were on Carroll Rd. I was pushing harder than the others and got out in front again. Took it to Camino Santa Fe, where we gathered up again and then turned right. Down and then up to Miramar Rd, where we stopped for a water and bathroom break. I bought some expensive water and passed it to the others. Nel noticed his front tire was really soft (he hadn't been riding, was just back from the Philippines) and put some air into it while we were there. Then we continued on Miramar Rd, perhaps for the first time with this group. Perse was trying to stay with me, and he wasn't too far behind. We rode over to Black Mountain Rd and turned there. Past Little India, down the little hill and a turn to stay on this road, taking it to Carroll Canyon Rd, where we turned right and rode up to Scripps Ranch Blvd. The sun was out by this time, and it was getting warm but not uncomfortably so, at least not for me. Left turn onto Erma Rd, which we took to the entrance to the bike path that runs on the east side of I-15. We stayed on the bike path until we got to Poway Rd, staying on the sidewalk and then turning left onto Sabre Springs Pkwy. I slowed down a little bit at this point, was still out in front of the others, who were also slowing down. From here, we followed the time trial route for a while. Rob and Nel, both of whom had ridden to the starting point, kept going at Paseo Lucido, while the rest of us got on Camino del Norte and rode back to the starting point from there. I stayed just a little bit at the end, then rode home the normal way.

Avg speed = 15.9 mph. Total mileage = 50.1 mi

Avg power = 138 W. Weighted avg power = 174 W

Total elevation gain = 3070'

Avg heartrate = 118 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 64

Training Load = 231

Intensity = 79%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15017695119

Had some lunch when I got home, then I had a fairly quiet early afternoon. I took a nap, read a little bit, and swapped out the chains on my Canyon bike with my back-up chain, which was re-waxed. Then I cleaned and re-waxed the main chain as well as the other chain for my Fuji bike. I also checked the wear on my front disc brake pads, and they look okay for now. Will keep an eye on them. Helped Ann hang the drapes for the kitchen to keep it cooler in the summer days to come. In the late afternoon, before dinner, I walked down the hill, then ran to the park and did three extended loops around the park at slower pace before running back to the turn onto Aguamiel Rd. This was to get my steps in, mission accomplished, although it was still a little bit warm on the run.

Avg pace = 8:56/mi

Total distance = 3.74 mi

Elapsed moving time = 33:29

Avg heartrate = 125 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 8

https://www.strava.com/activities/15020030590

Watched some cycling on TV, including TdF Stage 1 highlights and an episode of Unchained. The rest of the evening was quiet.

07-04-2025 Ride/Walk

Had a pretty good night's sleep (<!>), and then I got ready for a special July Fourth Bisikleta ride. Through the neighborhood and then the extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood to get to the normal starting point, where Perse and Ray were already there. Fritz, Rob, and Jed A. also showed up, so it was a smaller but strong riding group for the day. Simple out and back route, to the coast via CdS, San Dieguito Rd, ECR, and VdlV, heading north once we got there. I was generally conserving my strength, not responding to attacks from others, like Jed and Fritz mainly. The original plan was for a Zone 2 ride, but this rarely works with the group for long. We were a little slower on the coast than normal, Fritz was out in front and riding hard, it's good to see him back in form and leading with attacks and strong riding. We stopped for donuts and coffee at Broad Street Dough Co, which was pretty decent (Ray paid for all of us), and while we were sitting there Tony showed up as well and joined us. It was a nice break, then we rode over to 2nd St and started heading back. We stopped by Paula's campsite and said hi, she was really happy that we stopped and chatted with them for a bit. The pace on the return was, generally, more moderate, although just before Solana Beach four riders jumped out in front and raced up that little climb. I just watched them, saving some energy for the Saturday ride. I led the group up VdlV, then we had a fairly well organized pace line on San Dieguito Rd, not stopping (Yay!) at the gas station and continuing on to Three Witches. Again, I kept my pace down for the first two climbs while Fritz and Tony got out ahead. On the third section, Jed passed me and I decided to respond. I put it into high gear and had my fastest time up that last climb, but it was an effort to keep pushing all the way. Jed and Tony split from us at the turn onto CdS, and the rest of us rode back to the starting point, with me and Fritz leading out and eventually gapping the others. We stayed a short time in the parking lot, then Rob and I rode back, taking CdS to RB Rd and then down the hill to W Bernardo Dr, where I split from him. Home the normal way from there.

Avg speed = 16.9 mph. Total mileage = 43.7 mi

Avg power = 137 W. Weighted avg power = 170 W

Total elevation gain = 1780'

Avg heartrate = 121 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 59

Training Load = 170

Intensity = 77%

https://www.strava.com/activities/15007132251

When I got home, I watched a little TV, then had some lunch before reading and taking a nap in the early afternoon. In mid-afternoon, I had to get a lot of steps in, so I took a longer walk down toward RB Town Center and back, listening to a couple of podcasts. Got back and took care of some errands, including topping off the oil in the Sportage, talking to Mom, mapping out a route for the Saturday ride, and doing a little bit of additional organizing around my tool bench. In the evening, we went over to Joe and Cathie's place to have dinner with them, the Hawkins, the Pauleys, and the Dijaks before driving into downtown Escondido to watch the fireworks from Mary Anne's office.

07-03-2025 Walk-Run

Woke up early with the intention of getting most of my steps in early. I went for a walk-run down by the park and across the pedestrian bridge to the freeway before turning around and coming back the same way. Had breakfast when I got back, then I went into the back yard in the morning and worked on the sumac stumps. With a fair amount of effort, I was able to take one of the stumps down to its base, but I think it significantly dulled the chainsaw chain. Will try to sharpen it again and see if that helps. Otherwise, I'll buy more chains to keep this effort going. Had leftover pizza for lunch, then I rode to Walmart to get some stuff, including motor oil for the Sportage and tissue paper for the birthday gift bag for Paula. Had a quiet rest of the afternoon, then in the early evening we drove down to meet Paula and her family while they were camping at San Elijo State Beach. On the way, she texted me that they were running late, so we stopped at Las Olas and had drinks, guacamole, and chips to kill some time. We showed up at the campsite around 6:40, and they were just starting to unpack the food. Paula's older daughter and her friends had camped the night before, so the campsite was already somewhat set up. We met her husband Catalin as well as her daughters Maria, Andrea, and Ivana. Catalin grilled burgers and some veggies, and I ended up having a zucchini burger with lots of fixings to kill the taste. It was fine, and the conversation was pretty good. We stayed until about 9:30, then I drove home. It was tough driving on the streets where there were no streetlights, especially when cars with halogen lights were coming from the other direction. I took it easy, and we made it back okay.

07-02-2025 Swim/Hike

This was an exhilarating day. I woke up and had an easy prep for an ocean swim down at La Jolla Shores with Charlie. I was a little nervous about the swim distance and pace. Got there a little after 8:30 and went on a stroll by the seawall. I checked in with Charlie and then walked back to the car to listen to a podcast and then get ready for the swim. I carried my stuff down to the beach, got ready and met Charlie a little after 9:30. We started swimming around 9:40 and headed for the caves. I was swimming faster than Charlie and would wait for him once I got far enough ahead. It took us a while to get to the caves, where there were a bunch of kayakers around. We waited for our chance and the swam into the caves. The tide was out, so we had to watch out for rocks. Swam around in there and then got out before we got beat up on the rocks. It was really exhilarating. We took a shorter route back, through the kelp and rocks, which was a little sketchy but probably what Charlie needed. On the way back, he saw a small shark swimming under him. I think I would have freaked out, but he kept his cool. We got back to the shore and walked back to where he had stashed some clothes and a towel. Then we walked back to my car and I gave him my bike bag to borrow. I drove home after changing in the car into dry clothes. Had a quick shower and some food before heading to the hospital for my volunteer shift. Got there right around 12:30. The shift passed fairly quickly, but there was a lull in the middle when it seemed like the clock had slowed down. Stayed just a little late to finish several last tasks, then rode home and changed to meet Emily for a hike at RB Community Park. We hiked the usual trail, she told me about the Maryland trip, and I told her about the sprint tri. It was a nice hike, time passed fairly quickly. Got home, had dinner and watched TV to relax after a very busy day. 

07-01-2025 Run/Ride/Walk

Woke up quite early, was able to get back to sleep briefly before getting up and heading out for a run a little before 6:00. Down to the park and the longer loop around three times before heading back. Each mile was successively faster, but the last little distance up the hill to home was slower and hard.

Avg pace = 7:26/mi

Total distance = 4.36 mi

Elapsed moving time = 42:25

Avg heartrate = 135 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 18

https://www.strava.com/activities/14973004222

Got home and had some toast, yogurt, and coffee for breakfast before going into the back yard and putting up the solar cloth over the original garden bed. That went quickly and smoothly. I relaxed for a bit before getting ready for a ride with Joe. Also stored the spare bathroom tiles in an empty plastic bin to clean up some clutter by the tool area, Ride over via the pedestrian bridge to the Via Rancho Park n Ride, where I waited for a little bit before he showed up. We rode on Beethoven Dr to BVP and then up to San Pasqual Valley Rd, turning left there and riding through neighborhood streets to get to El Norte Pkwy. I was riding at a slower pace keeping close to Zone 2. Headed west on El Norte Pkwy down toward the freeway, Joe had a blowout just past Ash St, and it took a while to repair it. We couldn't see the damage to the rear tire, but it was there. We found that out after continuing, when he had a second flat past Bennett. That was time to call Cathie and have him get picked up. I decided to meet him back at his car. Took Bennett Ave to Rock Springs Rd and then over to Nordahl Rd to get to Auto Park Way. Then it was down to Valley Pkwy, turning right there and riding up to 11th Ave, where I turned left. Up that little climb and then the nice descent along the freeway to get to Bernardo Ave. Into that neighborhood, where I made a miscalculated turn and had to backtrack before inding Hamilton Ln and getting over to Felicita Rd. Back to the starting point the normal way from there, where Joe had only been waiting a couple of minutes. We ended up eating at Chito's Taco Shop, a forgettable establishment, but the conversation was good, involving some politics and tying back to a book we both recently read. Home after the lunch and talk, and it was toasty on the ride back.

Avg speed = 14.3 mph. Total mileage = 27.0 mi

Avg power = 105 W. Weighted avg power = 135 W

Total elevation gain = 1560'

Avg heartrate = 107 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 23

Training Load = 85

Intensity = 61%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14977592939

I cleaned the kitchen and had a chill rest of the afternoon. Went for a short walk after dinner to finish getting my steps in, then the rest of the evening was quiet (<>). 

06-30-2025 Swim/Walk/Ride

Woke up around 6:30 after waking up earlier but getting back to sleep. I didn't make the mistake of eating breakfast before my swim, headed over to the WWC to be there when it opened. It's pretty busy now that we are in summer months. I saw Blaine there for the first time in a long time, he looks well, has been swimming later in the day. Needed to get some distance in, in preparation for an ocean swim at La Jolla Cove on Wednesday morning with Charlie and his friend Dave. I ended up swimming 2100 yds, lost count on the second and fourth 500s. Here are the splits for the four 500s and the last 100: 9:30, 9:39, 9:46, 9:44, 1:51. I think I am getting closer to syncing the splits that I measure using the camera with the ones from my watch, but this only works if I pause and finish the workout fairly quickly. Those added seconds are included in the Strava moving time, which is unfortunate. The heartrate data are still questionable but useful to analyze. My heartrate climbed steadily in the first 500, then stabilized for the second 500 before starting to climb gradually in the last 100, with a sharper increase right near the end of the workout. I need to put in more distance swims, including going beyond 2000 yds, which is going to be a challenge until I get used to the longer distances. My stroke count was also noticeably higher to me in the last 500, where I couldn't consistently get to 20 strokes/length. Could feel the effects of the workout in my shoulders later on. I had breakfast when I got home, then went out and, after watching a couple of videos, attempted to sharpen my new chainsaw chain. Fingers crossed that it improves the cutting performance. Later in the morning, I went out behind the fence and worked on cutting back another sumac stump while it was in the shade. I also cut back yet another stump on the yard side of the fence. Still more work to be done. After the sumac will come the pepper tree stumps. Watched some TV in the early afternoon and had a short nap, then I went for or an hour-long walk to get most of my steps in. Walked a Ross the freeway and around the neighborhoods over there before walking back. After dinner, I had to talk myself into going for a ride. Initially planned on a relatively flat route, heading down by the park, where I saw a coyote crossing the road into the park. Ended up riding out Highland Valley Rd and up to the turnoff for Cordiano Winery. I tried to stay in the saddle for as much as possible, only getting out when it was really steep. Worked up a sweat, so it felt good on the downhill return. Retracted my route home and had a quiet rest of the evening.

Avg speed = 15.0 mph. Total mileage = 14.3 mi

Avg power = 145 W. Weighted avg power = 180 W

Total elevation gain = 1230'

Avg heartrate = 116 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 18

Training Load = 64

Intensity = 82%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14968364023

06-29-2025 Swim/Run

Woke up after a fairly short night of sleep, stayed up late the previous night and got up early. I had some breakfast and read for a bit (<>). Then I got ready for a swim and a run. Headed over to the WWC, it was busy at the opening for a change. I got a lane but the pool filled up pretty quickly. Did a 550 and then a 500, followed by a 250 with the pull buoy. Short breaks to recover in between. Here are the splits: 10:16, 9:21, 4:30. I felt like my stroke was decent, although it degraded at the latter stages of the first two intervals. Just need more arm and shoulder strength. After the swim, I got ready for a run in my tri suit. Added a number of cul-de-sacs into my normal 5k route to extend the distance, and I slowed my pace down as well. Ended up running a little over 4.5 miles, would be good to figure out a good 5 mile loop from the WWC.

Avg pace = 8:18/mi

Total distance = 4.57 mi

Elapsed moving time = 37:57

Avg heartrate = 128 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 10

https://www.strava.com/activities/14954811457

Rode home after the run, I was pretty hungry, even though I had eaten breakfast earlier. Still, I had a relatively light lunch. I cleaned up my tool bench and installed a number of additional hooks on the pegboard as well as a couple of shelves, one for the chainsaw that is a little sketchy. After that, I went over the fence and hacked at one of the stumps of the sumac plants. This is definitely a long-term project, especially if I want to take all, or nearly all, of the stumps down to ground level. It's a workout, but in the mid-afternoon I get to work in shade, which makes it easier. Later in the afternoon, we drove over to Old Poway Park, set up our chairs, then stopped for a beer at the Hop Stop before watching a free outdoor concert with Gregory Page. I was a little buzzed from the beer and wine, but he put on a decent show, not his greatest but enjoyable. We had picnic food, and I was starving. It was a quiet evening after we got home.

06-28-2025 Ride/Walk

After I woke up, I started getting ready for the Bisikleta bike ride, not so rushed. But when I went out into the garage, I found that my rear tire was flat, so I had to scramble and change it pretty quickly. Mission accomplished, but it caused me to take the fast route to the starting point at the 4S Target, through the neighborhood and then straight over. Jamil was there and wondering if he got the right starting point. Others started showing up soon after, and on this day, leaving from Target, we had: Jed, Jed A., Jamil, Rob (rode over), Fritz, Andy, Arnold, James (rode over), and Aaron (showed up just as we were leaving the parking lot). We headed to Del Sur Ridge Rd and took it to Lone Quail Rd to get to Dove Canyon Rd. Down the hill there, where we met Kamal coming to meet us, then up Bernardo Center Dr until we turned right onto Camino del Norte. That little climb was pretty easy for me, I am starting to feel a little stronger in my baseline riding. We took Camino del Norte over to Carmel Mountain Rd. General tactic of me waiting at key turns for everybody to show up, then working harder to get back to the front. Arnold and Fritz were in the front quite a bit as well, and on the flats and downhills James was there as well. We took Rancho Carmel Dr and Sabre Springs Pkwy to its end, then rode up Springhurst Dr to Springbrook Dr to get to Scripps-Poway Pkwy. I was at the back again, but the others waited for us just past Pomerado Rd. On the subsequent climb, Aaron, who was on his heavy commuter bike with fat tires, just blitzed it, and I couldn't keep up. I waited at the top for everybody to make the turn onto Kirkham Rd and somehow missed Andy passing me. So I waited for another couple of minutes until I realized that he couldn't be that far behind. I again pushed the pace to try and catch up with the others, took a turn early while I was following a rider who I thought was in our group (he wasn't), then got back onto Scripps-Poway Pkwy and rode to Danielson St, where others were waiting. We all regrouped here, and at this point Jed A. turned around and started riding back to Mira Mesa while the rest of us headed east on Scripps-Poway Pkwy. Down the hill, with James in the lead, then we turned onto the little access road that got us to Sycamore Canyon Rd. I led us on this mild climb up to the trailhead, Fritz and Arnold weren't far back, and Fritz and I made it to the top first. We had an extended break here, there's a restroom and shade, while Rob figured out why his front derailleur wasn't shifting. I lent him my spare SRAM battery, and that seemed to work. Then it was down the hill, with James riding on his aero bars down a 12% grade to Garden Rd, where we turned left and rode to the 7-Eleven. Another short break there, surprisingly nobody needed water. We turned left onto Poway Rd and rode down to Community Rd, taking a right there and riding over to Twin Peaks Rd. Took it up to Espola Rd, I was in the lead here, and we waited for everybody to make the turn north. Several riders got out front, and I pushed to catch up to them until it was just me and Fritz working to get to the top first. I surprised him with a burst of speed near the top, but he wasn't too far back. We turned onto Titan Way and then right onto Riparian Rd to ride through a nice neighborhood. Another right on Lake Poway Rd followed by a left onto Summer Sage Rd to get to Bridlewood Rd, which we took back to Espola Rd. Down the hill, feeling the effects of a headwind coming from the southwest, until we turned right onto Pomerado Rd. I was powering on this stretch and didn't hear that Jamil turned off and rode home from there. We took it all the way to the bottom, then climbed W Bernardo Dr to the park. A right turn on Aguamiel Rd, then we rode by our house (Ann was in the front yard weeding and saw us riding by). I was at the back with Andy and James, slowed down a little bit to stay near them. A right turn onto Duenda Rd, where Rob split off to ride home from there, then we took it to Poblado Rd and a right turn onto Matinal Rd to climb out of the neighborhood. Andy's DI2 battery failed at this point, so he rode straight back to the starting point, while James and I took the originally intended extended route through the 4S Ranch neighborhood. I had mapped some extra distance in my original route but missed the turn and ended up doing just the extended route. Back to the 4S Target, where Kamal had already headed home and the others were in the shade getting out of the heat. They had gotten a little lost in the 4S Ranch neighborhood but eventually found their way out. I didn't stay too long, as it was quite warm and windy. Took the new normal way home at moderate pace, legs felt fine at the end but I was tired.

Avg speed = 16.1 mph. Total mileage = 47.8 mi

Avg power = 149 W. Weighted avg power = 175 W

Total elevation gain = 3120'

Avg heartrate = 124 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 78

Training Load = 234

Intensity = 80%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14945071424

I was hungry near the end of the ride, although I ate a banana and a granola bar during the ride. But I didn't eat a big lunch, stomach was churning a little. After lunch, I went upstairs, had a little nap, then in the afternoon I went for an hourlong walk to get my steps in, listening to a podcast. Got home, shaved and showered, to get ready to have dinner with the Guys and see Enrico Lopez-Yanez direct the San Diego Symphony for the program Music of the Knights at the Rady Shell. Dinner was fine, Kay sure is a talker, but at least I haven't heard all of her stories numerous times, like I believe Ann has. Earl looked better at dinner but was pretty washed out by the end of the evening. The concert was pretty good, a couple of the singers were much better than the others, including the emcee, who was a little too much for me. We talked with Ruth and Cassandra, Enrico's fiance, before the show, and with Enrico after the show. All in all, a pretty nice evening. I was really hungry from a non-filling meal at dinner, so I stayed up, ate some more, and watched TV after we got home, making it a fairly late night for me.

06-27-2025 Ride/Walk

Wanted to get an early ride in, so I was rolling by about 6:15. Started out on a reverse of the time trial route, which I find is generally more difficult. The climb up to the HP site was a little difficult, the rest not so much for a while. I kept going on Sabre Springs Pkwy, turning right on Springbrook Dr and taking this climb at more than my usual effort. To Scripps-Poway Pkwy, turning left and riding down to Pomerado Rd, where I turned left as well. On this road until I turned right onto Stone Canyon Rd to add a little more distance. Left on Del Norte, which turns into Avenida Florencia and took me to RB Rd. I turned left and rode down to Bernardo Center Dr and turned right there, home the normal way from there. This was not a great day on the bike, I tried to push on the climbs but without a lot of success.

Avg speed = 15.5 mph. Total mileage = 20.8 mi

Avg power = 148 W. Weighted avg power = 175 W

Total elevation gain = 1390'

Avg heartrate = 111 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 18

Training Load = 93

Intensity = 80%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14932553890

Had some cereal and a banana for breakfast, then it was a chill morning. I packed up the Tapo cameras to return, got gas for the scooter, and went to the post office. Had a shower before taking the scooter to Convoy St to meet Charlie for lunch at Tasty Noodle House. Food was good (I paid). We talked about his trip to Scotland, general retirement life, my race last Sunday. Then I rode home and watched a little TV before heading over to feed the cats. Traffic was absolutely terrible, thankfully Ann drove. We drove home through light (thankfully) traffic. When I got home, I needed some destressing, so I went out for a walk around the neighborhood, to get my steps in. Keeping the step count above 10k is going to be a regular challenge, this watch is fairly meticulous about counting them. Later, we went to T&T for dinner with Rob and Isabelle. Dinner was a little late, but the conversation was good. Home after that, and bed.

06-26-2025 Run/Swim

Slept in (a little bit) and got up around 6:00. I rushed to get ready for a run and then rode my scooter down to the park. Ran 6 full laps around the park and a little bit more to try and get past 10k. I was able to maintain negative splits throughout, although the middle miles were only slightly faster than the previous ones. Pushed harder on the last mile, which was my fastest by a fair amount. Legs felt fine, feet were a little sore afterward. I tracked the run on my phone via Strava as well as with my Amazfit watch. The watch recorded a little less distance and a significantly higher heartrate. I think I trust the Coospo heartrate band numbers more.

Avg pace = 7:48/mi

Total distance = 6.35 mi

Elapsed moving time = 49:31

Avg heartrate = 133 bpm (Coospo), 151 bpm (Amazfit)

https://www.strava.com/activities/14923206581

After the run, I rushed home and got ready for a swim (Ann was still asleep). Then I rode over to the WWC, where several others joined me in waiting for it to open, including one swimmer, Shannon, who asked me about my recent triathlon, which was nice of her. I was disappointed in my swim time, which was slower than I hoped it would be. Granted, I was intentionally swimming at a slower pace with longer strokes, but I thought the dropoff wouldn't be as much. Ended up swimming 1950 yds, my longest distance in a while, must have lost count of laps at some point so I didn't get to 2000 yds. Here are the splits (taken from video footage) for my 3 500s and the last 450: 10:00, 10:05, 10:13, 8:58.  Was a minor good sign that my last 450 wasn't the slowest of all. The data from my Amazfit pool workout are not quite as accurate as the video data, but maybe they are accurate enough when I'm doing longer swims without breaks. Again, I don't trust the Amazfit heartrate data, might try to tighten my watchband and see if that helps. Will try some intervals tomorrow at a faster pace. I rode home, had some breakfast (was pretty hungry) and took a shower before riding over to the HP site for coffee with Brooke and Gary. Nice conversation, Brooke has done a lot of cruising, including a cool cruise through the Grecian Isles that might be a future possibility. Sue had an arthroscopic procedure done on her back on Tuesday to relieve the pain in her legs. So far, pain has subsided, now she has to wait until her back pain from the surgery starts to lessen. Got home and relaxed for a while. I ordered Padres tickets, refunded some more ey to Johnnie using Venmo, inquired about returning the Tapo cameras that I ought (thinking they were battery-powered), and scoped out some possible places to have lunch with Charlie on Friday. In the afternoon, I watched some TV after eating a leftover calzone for lunch. Then I went over the backyard fence and chopped at one of the sumac stumps using the new chainsaw blade. It is much sharper, and the sww works great with a sharp chain. I also hacked at the stumps with the axes and the reciprocating saw. That is not such easy work, but I made some progress before stopping for the day. It was a quiet rest of the afternoon. After dinner, we drove through crappy traffic over to Emily and Caleb's to feed the cats, then it was a quiet evening.

06-25-2025 Ride/Walk

Slept well, cat was annoying in the morning, which got me out of bed a little earlier than planned. Got ready for a ride, was on the road by about 6:45. Down by the park and over to Highland Valley Rd for a climbing workout. I took it easy on the flats and pushed harder on the climbs. On the descent towards Ramona, it seemed like I was riding into a head wind. I ended up turning left onto Rangeland Rd to see where it led. Rode for a couple of miles, including a short stop to eat a banana, until it started seriously tilting up, so I stopped there and carefully turned around. Reversed the route and rode home, going more slowly up the little climbs but enjoying the descents.

Avg speed = 15.2 mph. Total mileage = 29.8 mi

Avg power = 152 W. Weighted avg power = 186 W

Total elevation gain = 2600'

Avg heartrate = 118 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 38

Training Load = 144

Intensity = 85%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14912757284

Ate some cereal for breakfast, then caught up on blogging before I needed to get ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. I also swapped in a repaired inner tube on the rear wheel of my Canyon. Second patched tube also looks good. Ann went to the beach, I had a shower and then headed over to the hospital for my shift, which was pretty consistently busy. I was a little worried that there wouldn't be enough to do, since there was another PathTaker volunteer, JoAnn, who was there for most of the time. But I was able to keep busy, no problem. A nurse, Greg, showed up later, who I haven't worked with much. He's short, stocky, and has dark hair. Seems nice enough. Got done with my shift, and I was quite tired. I had originally planned on going for a run after dinner, but that wasn't going to happen on this day. So I went for a shorter walk to get my steps in plus a little more, while Ann was talking to Laura on the phone. I watched some TV, including staying up a little later than usual to watch more.

06-24-2025 Walk/Ride

Woke up after a good night's sleep (<>) and went for an hourlong walk (talked to Ben on the way), to the west side of the park and then on trails down to the pedestrian bridge and over before returning, to get most of my daily steps in early. After I got back, I had a little time for breakfast, and I also shaved and patched a couple of inner tubes, then I got ready for a bike ride and lunch with Joe. Rode over, the normal way, to the Via Rancho Park n Ride, got there early for a 10:30 meet-up. He showed up and got ready, then we took off. Up Via Rancho Pkwy, taking it pretty easy on legs that were feeling the effects of the previous two days. We turned left onto Lake Dr and enjoyed the short, steep downhill and subsequent ride closer to the lakeshore. The little climb up Rancho Dr to get to Del Dios Hwy was steep, I saw 14% gradient on my Wahoo. After we made the turn, I pushed the pace a little bit to give myself some separation from Joe so I wouldn't have to worry about him on the descent, which has been tricky for me lately. This time, it was fine. I pulled my sleeves down and probably benefited from riding into a slight headwind that slowed me down. No front wheel instability and I didn't have to brake as much as previously. I kept going across the flats and the little ascent to the high point on the outskirts of RSF. Stopped there to wait for Joe, then we continued on together on Paseo Delicias until turning onto VdlV. This was another nice little downhill with sweeping curves to navigate. Around this time, he mentioned that he had to pee, so I started looking for a place to stop. Thought we could use the Porta Potties at the fair parking lot off El Camino Real, but the gates were locked. We ended up stopping at a Circle K gas station just before the freeway, on the righthand side. Then we continued on, turning right onto Valley Ave, which turned into Stevens Ave and had a little climb before we turned onto San Rodulfo Dr. Used this to get to the parking lot by Micheline's Pita House, where we stopped and had lunch. I told him about the triathlon, and he updated my about Shane's birth (all are doing great). Then we discussed Timothy Snyder's On Freedom, which he had just finished. Snyder makes the case that freedom has to be for everybody or it's for nobody. He talks about 5 key forms of freedom: sovereignty, unpredictability, mobility, factuality, and solidarity. He also makes a big point about the close relationship between our concept of freedom and the way we view others, either as Leib or Korper, tying back to our ability to empathize with others and see them as individuals with their own values. I was getting a little chilly, so it was good to get on the bike and start heading back. We generally had the benefit of a tailwind on the return ride, which was a straight shot - Lomas Santa Fe, Linea del Cielo, Paseo Delicias, Del Dios Hwy - back to Via Rancho Pkwy. I was feeling energized by lunch and the caffeine in the soda, so I pushed the pace harder on the return than on the outbound ride. I waited for him at the top of the first climb, normal stopping point, then gapped him again and kept riding all the way back to the Park n Ride. Set a number of little PRs on these climbs, largely helped by the tailwind.

Avg speed = 15.5 mph. Total mileage = 40.9 mi

Avg power = 130 W. Weighted avg power = 164 W

Total elevation gain = 2790'

Avg heartrate = 117 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 53

Training Load = 176

Intensity = 75%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14905609366

It took Joe a while to get back to his car, and we chatted for a bit before I headed home the normal way, albeit at a much slower pace. Legs were tired by this time. I took a breather, then called Mom before dinner and talked to her. She brought up the topic of assisted living, as she had done when she talked to Ben earlier in the day. Seemed in decent spirits. After dinner, we headed over to Emily and Caleb's apartment to feed the cats. I dropped Ann off and went to park the car, and in the meantime she messed up one of the automatic dry food feeders, the one for Kenzo. It was really frustrating to see her try to figure out how to fix it. I kept out of it, let her eventually get it back to normal, by texting with Emily. Then we drove home, stopping at Home Depot on the way for me to buy a new chain for the chainsaw to see if that improves its cutting ability. At home, I finished watching an episode of Grantchester and called it a night.

06-23-2025 Swim/Ride/Walk

Slept pretty well, even though I had a nap the previous afternoon. I did wake up early, then I was able to get back to sleep, waking up again a little before 7:30. That hadn't happened in a while. When I did get up, I got ready for a swim at the WWC, intending to start building up my uninterrupted distance swimming again. I got there around 8:30 and swam 1500 yds. Had my own lane, but it was starting to get crowded by the end. Apparently, the lifeguards do swimming lessons in lane 1, and there was another swimmer giving a private lesson in lane 6 when I got out. Didn't set any speed records on this day, but my stroke count was generally good, and I think I am close to figuring out how to use my watch to time a swim interval fairly accurately (Strava doesn't exclude the time when the workout is Paused, which is a bummer). Was able to complete the 1500 yds in a little over 29 minutes, but I don't think my watch tracked my heartrate accurately, it seemed quite high. Here are my splits for the 500s: 9:36, 9:51, 9:46. I'll keep an eye on this metric. When I got home, I took a short break, ate some breakfast, then went into the back yard and over the fence to do some trimming of the sumac stumps. I have most of the trimming done, but the chainsaw isn't effective at cutting the stump bases down, so I'll try putting a new chain on. Had some lunch and an easy early afternoon, then I drove over to Paula's house, on Atherton St off Double Peak Dr, for what was supposed to be an easy ride. We headed down the hill on San Elijo Rd into San Elijo Hills village, then kept going down toward Melrose Dr. On this descent, I picked up a glass shard in my rear tire and got a flat. Had it changed pretty quickly, but I was slow in pumping it up, since I couldn't get my CO2 cartridge head to work properly. Then we were off, me with a slightly soft tire, turning right on Melrose Dr and taking it down to Rancho Santa Fe Rd, turning right there. I stayed with Paula on the first part of this climb and got a little separation on the second part, waiting for her at the right turn onto Camino del Arroyo Dr. Through the Lake San Marcos neighborhood, left on Hermosita Dr, left on San Marino Dr, which took us by the lake, then left on San Pablo Dr. We took a right at the tee to stay on San Pablo Dr, then turned left onto La Noche Dr. A left on McMahr Rd took us to Discovery St, where we turned right and took it up to Craven Rd. Up the slight hill to Santa Barbara Dr, taking a right and starting the more serious ascent, which got pretty steep once we turned onto Sunstone Dr. This took us to Twin Oaks Valley Rd, where we turned right. I hadn't ridden up this climb in quite a while, but Paula assured me that it never topped 7%. Wrong! Actually, I don't think it really ever dropped below 7%. Was pretty hard on my tired legs, but I took it easy. I could also feel it in my lower back, again probably residual stress from the previous day's ride. Got up to the parking lot by the trail up to the top of Double Peak, where I waited for her, then we rode the rest of the way together back to her house.

Avg speed = 11.9 mph. Total mileage = 11.2 mi

Avg power = 111 W. Weighted avg power = 148 W

Total elevation gain = 1130'

Avg heartrate = 105 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 11

Training Load = 48

Intensity = 67%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14895492333

After packing my bike up, I drove over to Emily and Caleb's apartment and cared for the cats. It all went smoothly. Drove home, had calzones for dinner, then I needed to get my steps in for the day, which was a chore. I took a short loop around the neighborhood and added a little at the end to get close. That was definitely enough exercise for me on this day.

2025 San Diego International Sprint Triathlon

Well, this was a special day, one for the memory books. I didn't sleep well at all, anxiety dreams about the upcoming race, particularly related to remembering everything I should bring with me. I added a couple of items to my list,, one thing I forgot to bring was a water bottle for the bike ride. Got up around 4:45 and started getting ready. Had a banana and a nut bar, took some water with me. Packed all the stuff into the Sportage and was heading down there by 5:15. I parked at Liberty Station and got my bike ready there, then packed up my gear in my backpack and rode over to the starting point at Spanish Landing Park. It was pretty hectic, but I found a spot to hang my bike and put my stuff in the transition area. Applied lubricant around my neck, wrists, and ankles to help me get my wetsuit off, talked to a guy named Ted, from Washington, who was here for the swim and run (didn't want to transport his bike). He sounded like a regular event participant. Got everything pretty well laid out and left the transition area when they closed it at 7:30. I walked over to the beach where the swimmers were leaving to get to the open water start. A number of people were in the water warming up for their swim, but I decided not to do that (turned out to be a good idea, I think). The international distance waves went off first, interspersed with some of the specialty event participants. Then the sprint distance waves went off every 3 minutes or so. My wave was the last one, which was a good thing in the water. I wore the Xterra wetsuit and had no problem with cold water, which was about 70 degrees anyway. At the start of our wave, there was some thrashing and it took me a little bit to get clear of others. Started with standard breathing but soon switched to breathing at every stroke. I was reasonably able to follow the buoys, but my initial understanding of swimming through the two buoys was incorrect. I made the correction in time and swam around the left buoy, then over to the right buoy to turn back toward the finish. Was in a pretty good groove by then, following the line of buoys defining the left side of the swim course to the final buoy. I had caught up with swimmers from the earlier wave, but I really had no idea where my position was relative to my own wave when I exited the water. I suspected it was about middle of the pack. Had started my Amazfit when the swim started but forgot to turn it off as I exited the water. Later, I was able to crop the activity on Strava to show that I had a really good swim, averaging under 1:40/100 yds.

https://www.strava.com/activities/14881796545

 The wetsuit's buoyancy helped a lot, as I didn't really feel like I was needing to propel myself with my legs very much. Got out of the water okay, jogged over to where my bike was while I was pulling the top of my wetsuit off. That went fine, and I got one foot out easily, but the left foot, where my tracking device was, proved to be problematic. I wasted some time getting that leg off, then quickly put on socks, shoes, helmet, and phone in arm holder, and started riding out of the transition zone before they told me I had to run with my bike to the Mount line on the course. Once I was on the bike, I worked my cycling gloves on (may not use them next time), adjusted my trisuit, and put my sunglasses on. This course had much of its relatively small elevation gain after a flat first 1.5 miles. When it started to tilt up, I went to drop into my lower chainring, and my chain came off. Couldn't get it back on by switching back to my upper chainring, so I had to stop and put the chain back on manually, which was frustrating and time-consuming. From there on, I stayed in my upper chainring to avoid repeating the issue. It did give me an adrenaline boost, and I was pushing some serious power on these modest gradients. Nobody was passing me, and I was passing a fair number of people, doing my best to let others know I was coming up on their left, to avoid any accidents. The roads were closed off, which was excellent. I got through the bulk of the climbing and got into my aero drops to make time. Out toward Cabrillo National Monument, riding a little way past the entrance before turning around and riding back to the start on the same roads. The return was net downhill. I think my average speed at the turn was about 17 mph, and I pushed the pace on the return, either in the aero drops on the flats and slight downhills or keeping pedaling when the gradient got steeper down. I didn't have my heartrate monitor on, so my Wahoo was not sync'ed to the heartrate on my watch, no Relative Effort data.

Avg speed = 20.1 mph. Total mileage = 11.9 mi

Avg power = 200 W. Weighted avg power = 212 W

Total elevation gain = 580'

Training Load = 55

Intensity = 96%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14884207047

The bike ride seemed to go by quite quickly, and I was back in the transition area hanging my bike up and switching to my running gear. That second transition went more smoothly, I kept my sunglasses on and put on a cap as well. Ran through the other transition zone, through the beach, and then on sidewalks that largely ran by San Diego Bay. I was already warmed up, and I ran the first mile in 6:57. Was regularly passing folks, trying to pay attention to those runners who might have been in the same wave as me. I knew it would be very difficult to have a negative split run after this first mile, so my intention was not to slow down rather than try to speed up. Second and third miles were only slightly slower. After mile 3, I was starting to feel fatigue in my legs and had a little bit of a stitch in the side, but I kept going and saved a little something for a final kick to the finish line. I think one or two younger runners passed me near the end, but other than that I held my own. Ended up with a PR for 5k, which was gratifying in itself. Got to the finish line feeling good and also feeling like I didn't leave too much in the tank.

Avg pace = 7:01/mi

Total distance = 3.49 mi

Elapsed moving time = 24:30

https://www.strava.com/activities/14882489178

Again, unfortunately, I don't have heartrate data from this run, would love to know how far I pushed it. I went and stood just past the finish line, dropped off my tracking device, then walked over to the area where the live race results were available. It was here that I saw I had placed first in my age group (65-69), which was unbelievable and truly gratifying. I went and found some shade, let Ann know I had finished, and savored the moment. She showed up in about 15 minutes or so, and we walked over to the race results tent where she saw what I had done. She was really excited, texted the girls and Kathy as well. My official time was 1:16:49. I had hoped to be under 1:20, so mission accomplished. Was particularly gratified by the swim and run legs, where I outperformed my expectations. We stayed around for the awards ceremony so she could get a picture of me on the top step. Thankfully, the second and third place finishers were there as well, so it was a good picture. I sent the pic out to the Bisikleta group and got a lot of nice comments back throughout the day. Also very gratifying. We walked to where Ann had parked, then she drove me back to Spanish Landing, where I had to jog some more from where she dropped me off to where my stuff was. It was all good, gathered everything up and rode back to where I had parked the car at Liberty Station. On the drive home, the feelings of exhaustion and hunger started kicking in, but they were manageable. I ate a relatively light lunch when I got home and kept drinking fluids through the rest of the day. Had a nap in the early afternoon, then Ann and I went to Orfila to have a glass of wine and listen to music on the patio. We found a table that was far from the music, but it was still a nice little interlude. Then we drove to Emily and Caleb's place to check on the cats. Max was friendly, Kenzo less so. Were there for about 20 minutes or so, then we drove home. Dinner was light, evening was blessedly quiet.

06-21-2025 Ride

Slept pretty well after having coffee the previous day (<!>). I had plenty of time to get ready for the Bisikleta ride, including catching up on blogging. Drove over to the starting point to reduce my miles and effort. It was a small group, a number of other riders were riding with SDBC. Just Rob, Charlie, and Andy. Straightforward route, down to San Dieguito Rd and then the normal way down to PCH. Charlie split from us there to get more miles in, and we turned left to ride through Del Mar to Carmel Valley Rd. A short break at the head of the 56 bike path before heading back via Carmel Valley Rd. Was taking it easy and still got out in front of Andy. We turned on Dove Canyon Rd and rode up to Dove Creek Rd, taking it to 4S Ranch Pkwy. We rode up to Camino San Bernardo and turned there to get to Nicole Ridge Rd. Back to Paseo del Sur via Potomac Ridge Rd, then to the Target. Was a nice ride, a little chilly at the start but fine once I got warmed up.

Avg speed = 15.5 mph. Total mileage = 29.4 mi

Avg power = 126 W. Weighted avg power = 146 W

Total elevation gain = 1460'

Avg heartrate = 111 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 25

Training Load = 95

Intensity = 66%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14872471852

My intention here was to get some miles in but not to push myself, knowing that I had a race the following day. The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house for the most part. I did need to get my steps in, so in the mid-afternoon I hiked on the trails around Lake Hodges, taking an alternate way back that had me climbing more than I had expected, but getting some nice views in at the top of the hike. Ended up hiking for about 75 minutes. Evening was quiet, I spent some time making a list of things to take for a triathlon race and packing my gear up. I also decided to ride my Fuji bike the following day, living with the chain and bottom bracket noise to have the benefit of the aero bars.

06-20-2025 Walk

Got up early and checked to make sure I had the right bus routes for getting from the RB Transit Center to downtown, as well as deciding on which restaurant to go to for breakfast. Ann didn't know the plan until we got on the bus and she found out it was a Summer Day celebration. The bus ride downtown was smooth and relatively quick, and the downtown streets were pretty quiet when we got there. Breakfast was decent, not great, the coffee was pretty good for cafe coffee. After a leisurely breakfast, we walked west and then headed to Seaport Village, cutting through there to get to the Embarcadero. Again, not so many people out in the relatively early morning, folks were just getting set up for the day. We headed north past the Midway and the Star of India, eventually getting to Grape St, where we sat for a bit and then walked a short distance to catch a bus back across town to the stop where we could get the bus back to our starting point. This one had more stops but still wasn't too burdensome, and it went smoothly, not so crowded. To get downtown and back only cost $5 apiece, which was a good deal if you can handle the bus schedules and travel times. When I got home, I gathered up the stuff to replace the stopper in the upstairs hall bathroom with a pop-up model I'd bought at Home Depot. The replacement went pretty smoothly, just one iteration to get all (?) of the leaks to stop. Had a little nap in the early afternoon, then I drove to Road Runner Sports to pick up my packet for the sprint tri on Sunday. I also bought some fast-tie elastic laces and a lubricant stick to help me get my wetsuit off quickly. When I got home, I had a little time before I started the charcoal and then grilled the chicken, tofu, and vegetables. Emily and Caleb came over a little after 5:30 (Emily was still dog-sitting in Scripps Ranch), and we chatted for a while before eating dinner outside. It was a nice evening out, and the conversation was generally lighthearted and fun. I got a little annoyed toward the end when they started bashing other people, many of them at the church, so I left to clean up the dishes. We had spumoni for dessert and wished Caleb a happy 27th birthday. And that was the evening.

06-19-2025 Walk/Swim/Ride

Had a decent night's sleep, woke up slowly and got ready for a walk around the neighborhood, leaving the house a little before 6:00. I walked for a little over an hour and then got ready for a swim at the WWC when I got back home. The pool was more crowded on this day, but I had a lane to myself. Swam 2 500s with a 2:00 break in between, and here are the splits: 9:12, 9:11. I felt a little sluggish about 100 yds in, which is fairly common until the blood starts pumping. The water was really warm, don't know if they heated it up for the summer or if the higher temperatures during the day did it. I think I figured out how to pause and restart my pool workout timer, but I still lose a couple of seconds doing it, and the export to Strava doesn't recognize when I pause the workout, which is unfortunate. After the swim, I rode home and made a smoothie, ate a little breakfast. Then I used the smallest of the chain saw files I bought at Harbor Freight and made my first attempt to sharpen the saw chain. I also took the tensioning plate off and cleaned the gunk that had accumulated. Will be interested to see if this improves its cutting ability, which was recently disappointing. Watched a little TV, had pasta for lunch, and then had an early afternoon nap before getting ready for a ride with Paula. We drove in her Tesla to the parking lot by the corner of Paseo del Sur and Camino del Sur. Left from there on a breezy but nice day, heading to San Dieguito Rd. I was riding my Fuji bike, shifting worked well after a small adjustment to the front derailleur. Down the hill and over El Apajo and Via de Santa Fe to VdlV, riding up to Stud Loop in lots of traffic, with road work also going on. Turned onto Stud Loop and took it at a much more leisurely pace than usual, it wasn't so tough under these conditions. We got to Paseo Delicias and crossed over, turning left onto Mimulus, which is a nice winding road generally leading downhill. It got us to Avenida de Acacias, where we turned left and took it into RSF. To La Flecha, turning left there and then right onto Via de Santa Fe, which we took back to VdlV. From there, we retraced our route back to the car.

Avg speed = 14.1 mph (14.3 mph) Total distance = 17.0 mi

Avg power = 110 W. Weighted avg power = 135 W

Total elevation gain = 1160'

Avg heartrate = 105 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 13

Training Load = 50

Intensity = 61%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14855080163

I didn't get a lot of time to spend on the aero bar drops, still not sure which bike I'll use on Sunday. The ride back up Three Witches was slow, at Paula's pace, I wasn't in a hurry. She drove me back home, where I watched some TV and, after dinner, wet-vacuumed the downstairs floors. That was basically it for the day.

06-18-2025 Ride/Walk

Woke up (<>) and got ready, casually, for a bike ride. Intent was to ride a big loop that included Escondido on the way back and use it to pick up my phone from the cell phone repair shop. It was cool at the start but warmed up pretty quickly during the ride. I rode through the neighborhood and then up to Ralphs Ranch Rd in the 4S Ranch neighborhood before getting back to CdS. I took it to San Dieguito Rd and headed down into Fairbanks Ranch that way, taking El Apajo and Camino de Santa Fe up to VdlV. I rode up that little climb and then stopped briefly at the beginning of Stud Loop before riding it over to La Valle Plateada to get to Paseo Delicias. A right turn there to get to El Camino del Norte, where I turned left and took it to Rancho Santa Fe Rd. Was keeping a pace I would describe at moderate plus. I turned right on Rancho Santa Fe Rd and stayed on it through the right turn that led to San Elijo Hills. Turned right on San Elijo Rd and rode up to Melrose Dr, turning left there and adding a little distance to the ride. Then I rode up into San Marcos, staying on Rancho Santa Fe Rd all the way to Mission Rd, where I turned right. Had a little tailwind heading toward Escondido. I turned right on Woodland Pkwy and then left onto Barham Dr, again another little juke to add some miles. Did a final little juke by turning on Meyers Ave and taking it to Auto Park Way, adding in a couple of streets through this industrial area until I got back to Auto Park Way and then back to Mission Rd. Into Escondido, where I turned right on Escondido Blvd and then left on Woodward Ave to get to the cell phone repair shop. They weren't open when I got there, had to wait about 10 minutes or so before somebody showed up and opened the shop. She checked the phone thoroughly, I paid for the repair, and then I was on my way. Down Escondido Blvd to Fifth Ave, using it to get over to Centre City Pkwy, and then home the normal way over the freeway. First time in a while that I had an average speed of 17 mph.

Avg speed = 17.0 mph (17.0 mph). Total mileage = 45.9 mi

Avg power = 145 W. Weighted avg power = 174 W

Total elevation gain = 2570' (2860')

Avg heartrate = 117 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 48 (50)

Training Load = 183

Intensity = 79%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14841288631

I just had a little time to shower, shave, and get ready for my volunteer shift at the hospital. It was steadily busy throughout, a fair number of room cleanings and helping with ED visitors. Finished close to on time and rode home, where I talked to Mom for a bit. She is looking to regulate her blood pressure better, which is a good thing. Evening was quiet, I took a short walk in the neighborhood to get my steps in.

06-17-2025 Swim/Ride/Run

Had a quiet exercising morning for a change. I ate breakfast and did a little sprinkler repair work in the front yard before scootering over to Harbor Freight and Home Depot. I bought some round files at the former to use in sharpening the chain saw chain edges, and I got some miscellaneous pegboard hangers as well. At Home Depot, I bought a pop-up drain stopper for the upstairs hall bathroom as well as some drip sprinkler supplies. Later in the morning, Ann and I drove down to Ventura Cove in Mission Bay, and I went for a swim there. I wore my spring suit, which was fine for warmth but didn't seem as comfortable or buoyant for swimming. Swam two 500s (approximately), then rinsed off and met Ann at the car. I ended up swimming about 980 yds in 19:43, averaging about 2:00/100 yds. This workout seemed much harder than the previous one with the wetsuit, perhaps because of the buoyancy difference. I found myself, most of the time, having to breathe during every stroke, and I think that also slowed me down. When I finished, I wasn't quite as wobbly as the last time in getting out of the water and over to where I'd left my flip flops. I changed clothes, and we rode bikes over to the Boardwalk and headed north. We rode up toward north PB and then had lunch at Mission Baja Tacos, which is a pretty decent place with great horchata. Then we rode back, this time on the bay side, and added in a ride out to Bahia Point and back before packing the bikes into the car and heading home. When I got home, I got my old phone out and started charging and updating it, since I needed to use it while I took my new phone in to replace the charging port. Took it to a place in Escondido by Sushi Yama and dropped it off, since the service tech thought he would need a couple of hours to replace the board in the phone. I drove home and got ready to drive over to Lake Miramar for a run before meeting Emily at the house where she is dog-sitting Jerry and Odie. Drove over there instead of riding, to save time. It was warm when I got there, ran counter-clockwise around the lake, which meant running more into the wind on the second half of the run. I wasn't feeling super, seemed to be laboring a little but maintaining decent speed through the first four miles, each faster than the previous one. The last mile was hot, and I slowed down a little bit due to exertion and some overheating.

Avg pace = 7:17/mi

Total distance = 5.00 mi

Elapsed moving time = 36:27

Avg heartrate = 148 bpm (Amazfit)

https://www.strava.com/activities/14839233280

I didn't wear my heartrate band, so heartrate wasn't sync'ed with the run data in Strava. Sat and recovered by the lake after the run, heavily sweating. Then I drove over to the house where Emily was, and she and I took the dogs out for their walk around the neighborhood. Nothing much discussed, but it was a nice cooldown time. We chatted a little further back at the house before I drove home and had a light dinner and a lot to drink over the course of the evening. Watched some TV, read some, mostly relaxed.

06-16-2025 Swim/Run/Walk

Woke up after a fairly good night's sleep, was worried that too much caffeine during the previous day would have interfered with my rest, but it was okay (<!>). I got ready for a swim at the WWC and a run afterwards, headed over there under overcast skies. I was the only one there when Heidi opened the gates, and I had the pool to myself for the first 500. Cathy and Terry joined after that. I swam two 500s, with a break in between to catch my breath. Felt okay, stroke wasn't particularly strong, but I guess I was consistent enough. Splits for the two 500s were 9:09 and 9:10. I could feel it in my shoulders later. After the swim, I kept my trisuit on, put my running shoes on, put my backpack in a locker, and went for a 5k run using the normal loop from the WWC. Intent was to run at decent pace but not push it. By this time, the sun was out and it was a glorious day. Each successive mile was faster than the previous, which was as usual. I forgot to bring my heartrate monitor, so no heartrate data included.

Avg pace = 7:49

Total distance = 3.18 mi

Elapsed moving time = 24:52

https://www.strava.com/activities/14817828054

Had some cereal and a banana for breakfast when I got home, then I went out in the front yard and pulled weeds near the southwest corner of the house for about 40 minutes. After that, I took a break in the house. Later, I went out beyond the backyard fence and chopped at the sumac stumps for a short while before stopping due to heat, which was oppressive. Came back in, had some lunch, then went into the garage to replace and adjust the rear brake pads on my Canyon. It went smoothly, but I had to adjust the pads relative to the rotor a couple of times. I watched some TV afterwards, then went back into the garage and adjusted the front derailleur on my Fuji bike so it would shift properly. Then I replaced two drip sprinklers in the front bed by the walkway, got them adjusted, and Ann came home. That was it for the daily chores. It was a quiet evening. Ann and I went for a walk around the block to get my steps in.

06-15-2025 Ride/Walk

Got up on an overcast foggy morning and got going for a bike ride early. Was on the road, on my Fuji, by 5:45. Rear brake was rubbing on my Canyon, thus the other bike. I rolled down the hill and found I couldn't shift to my upper chainring. So I stopped and did it manually, then stayed there for the rest of the ride. My legs were really tired and a little sore, so no records on this day. I rode the extended time trial route, spending time on the aero drops to feel more comfort there. It stayed overcast throughout and was foggy at times.

Avg speed = 16.4 mph (16.5 mph). Total mileage = 19.6 mi

Avg power = 139 W. Weighted avg power = 160 W

Total elevation gain = 1090' (1200')

Avg heartrate = 111 bpm (Coospo)

Relative Effort = 14 (14)

Training Load = 64

Intensity = 73%

https://www.strava.com/activities/14807686058

Got done just before 7:00, which gave me a lot of time to have breakfast, clean the kitchen, shave, and shower before church. It was my last time seeing Ben Camp preach, and I stopped to wish him well after the service. Talked with a couple of people in the patio, then the three of us went to Pieology for Father's Day. Was a nice conversation and good pizza. On the way home, I figured out how to set up Android Auto on Ann's phone. It also works on mine, but I can't get the USB cable to stay connected, so more work needed there. Low-key early afternoon, then we drove down to Carlsbad to see a concert at Pilgrim UCC, with Tim Flannery opening and Berkley Hart Selis Twang as the main act. Tim was decent the main act was great. Good musicianship decent songs, and they all seemed to enjoy performing together. After the concert, we drove to downtown Carlsbad and had shave ice for dinner, then drove home. I went for an hourlong walk when we got back and talked to Laura about her job (big proposal for funding just completed) and Joe adjusting to his new job. Sounded like they had an enjoyable trip down to Florida, even though Laura was stressed about the proposal presentation.