Detours

I was going to title this post - The End of the Road - since my holidays have ended and I haven't posted a blog in a very long time. I don't want to end this blog, however, so I'll just have to accept that the posts will be less frequent.
I was also thinking as I biked here this morning that if anyone reads this blog, though I'm pretty sure no-one knows about it, they would think that my whole word is made up of cycling and running. While I do do those things perhaps more than the average person - whatever "average" means - I'm not so into it that these sports are my whole life. There are so many other things that fill my time and thoughts.
I'm back at school getting ready for the fall semester. The students are back on Tuesday (right after Labour Day) and I feel that I'm pretty much prepared. Inevitably during the first week, I feel hopelessly under-prepared, no matter what, so I won't be surprised when that happens next week. There are always I few things I forget to do. It takes me a few classes to get comfortable again with the timing and just speaking to a large group for two hours. I am looking forward to it, though. This is good because I'm entering my 10th year of teaching and not feeling bored with it yet.
I know it's cliche, but I honestly can't figure out where the summer went. I expected that I would feel hopelessly bored after so many weeks home but I never did. I was shocked to realize it was time to go back to the college. Now I feel that I didn't get enough truly summer activities in. If I could do it again, I would get to a lake or beach more often, and perhaps plan a camping or cottage trip. Perhaps next summer.
We've been cautious with our spending considering Peter has made a switch to catering full time. It means less money but I've never seen him so happy. We'll be fine. We just have to think about our spending which will take a bit of practice because we weren't doing that very well. it's actually good to have a fresh financial start. We have a new system now and we've both made a commitment not to use credit cards. My hope is that we realize we don't need half the things we think we do.
On Sunday, Michael had us all for dinner. It was a treat to have someone else host. Michael seems to be doing much better. Now we're worried about Nicholas and how he's handling being a single Dad. It's always something. At any rate, I got to spend time again with Astrid. That always makes my week. Maybe next weekend - the long weekend - we'll get in one more family picnic before the season is truly over.

Another Road Race

On Saturday I participated in a National Capital duathlon. This was a duathlon I wasn't very excited about. I signed up because Frederica wanted me to join her. Frederica did the Sprint Tri, so I said I would do the Sprint Du. I didn't do any special training - just continued to cycle and run.
To my delight, the race was a lot of fun. I felt strong, confident, and fast - especially on the bike. I was able to shave almost five minutes from my time for last year's 20k cycle in the same event. I came in first in my age and gender category and 14th overall (out of 48). My run time hasn't really increased by much, but the cycling is significant. I think I am just more comfortable on my bike and know a bit more about how to handle it and get up my speed.
This will likely be my last race until October. Peter, Frederica, and I are thinking about racing in Prince Edward County. Peter would do the marathon, and Frederic and I the half-marathon. It would be a good tune-up race for my New York marathon. I just have to make sure we can afford the trip, as money will be a bit tight this fall with Peter's new employment situation. I'm going to try not to stress about it too much now. Things have a way of working themselves out.
This long weekend was pleasant - no major plans, but lots of time outside and as we often do, we ate really well all weekend in our little backyard. As I type, my stomach is quite full of Peter's barbecued ribs, corn-on-the-cob, roasted sweet potato and fingerlings, and my cornbread muffins (which turned out particularly delicious this time).