They’ve issued an excessive heat warning for the Phoenix area. Really? They think 107 is excessively hot?Note to self: do not leave your sunglasses on the seat of your car if that seat is in the sun, especially if the earpieces are metal.
Branded.
This morning’s 42-mile ride went better than Wednesday’s 30-miler. It was almost anti-climactic. Now I have to figure out which of the variables accounts for the difference. I fought my natural impulse to push it and kept my pace very moderate. I drank more water and I ate small amounts more often. (Fig bars are easy to eat while I ride.) But it could also be that clouds kept the sun from beating down on me and there was no wind. Time will tell which of those factors was the key.
I watched some coverage of the Tour de France after I got back. The peloton (the term that describes the main pack of riders) was going slightly uphill at a speed of 35 mph. I can’t go that fast downhill! How can anyone argue that this isn’t the most grueling sporting event? Riding almost every day for two and a half weeks, most days on a route at least 100 miles long, many of them up mountain roads with up to a 10% grade. Insane.
I read an article online about how to give dogs a pill, something I have to do with Al twice a day. It said you should never call the dog over for the pill because you don’t want them associating coming when called with a negative experience. Open their mouth by pressing on either side and place the pill as far back as possible. Then hold their mouth closed with their nose up while you rub their throat. This will encourage swallowing. Follow with a treat to make the experience a positive one.
I swear Al is wearing a watch, because most days, exactly at 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., he starts to follow me around, whining. If he’s not, he comes running the instant he hears - not my reaching into the box for a dog biscuit but the lid coming off the pill bottle. He associates the pill bottle with the biscuit. And in true Pavlovian style he starts salivating instantly. I’m concerned about the day we’re done with the meds. He’s going to be thrown completely off. And he’ll come running every morning when I take my blood pressure med.
Short post tonight. My head is in tomorrow morning’s service and I want to go through things again.
Tomorrow night: pictures! We’re doing something fun tomorrow afternoon.
2 comments:
Your title reminds me of something a guy named Roger Walker said one day about the Greek II class we were in together at GBC. I still remember it word-for-word. He said, "I could pass a cement (pronounced see-ment, with the emphasis on the see) block out of my system easier than I could pass this class."
Hahahaha...! Sue, I haven't thought about Roger Walker in a loooong time. That's hilarious!
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