I haven't done any garden updates for awhile, so here you go! The hot weather after weeks of rain really gave it a jump start.
Romaine over on the left, weeds where the carrots are supposed to be next, radishes at the back left. Variety of lettuces in the middle, kale in the back middle. Rosemary and sage being obscured by the leaves of the romaine and the cauliflower. Cauliflower there up front right and broccoli behind that. Walla Walla sweet onions on the right. Space being saved for tomatoes -- can't plant those for a week or two yet. I need to plant more radishes, kale and carrots.
Here, finally, is a picture of the Jaywalkers I was working on until I decided to finish up some larger projects. Since I hopefully won't be wearing socks for three more months, I'm in no rush to finish the second sock. Plus, they're being knitted on US 1s. Oy.
While I don't have a photo to accompany my training update, suffice it to say I've made it through some pretty tough workouts lately, and I feel like this is a good indicator of my fitness, both physically AND mentally. Two weekends ago, I did a half Ironman simulation workout and came home to an ice bath. Trained all week as normal and then last weekend after a normal long Saturday ride with a brick run afterwards, I woke up *very* early Sunday morning and ran 16.5 miles, then sped (literally) to the Hagg Lake Open Water Swim. G did the 2K race and I raced the 4K. Well, I didn't actually race it, but I swam strongly. Damn, that open water swimming is a *completely* different sport than swimming in the pool! My upper back was pretty sore the next day and I am hardly ever sore after a pool workout. I placed fifth with a 1:03.57, so was pretty pleased with that time for an indicator three months out from Ironman. I did not expect to go as fast as that, but felt strong and was working solidly the entire time. A nice sign.
G also ran 16 that day, out at the lake, while I was swimming. We both walked around like zombies the next day!
On the bike, my climbing seems to be improving and on the run -- well, I'm a little faster this year -- let's just hope that translates into a faster marathon overall. I want to knock over 12 minutes off my time overall, so if I can be down any time on the bike from last year, and down a little on the run, I may just have that licked. There are so many variables, though. The weather for one. My nutrution and hydration have been pretty spot-on, so I'm not very worried about that. The weather and other uncontrollables? Ya, worried. But nothing I can do about those things, other than more tire-changing practice.
Finally, here is a photo of one of my coworkers. She's busy helping me and is ensuring that I'm a "green" worker, as she protests loudly when I print. It is so noisy wasteful, after all.
