Monday, May 31, 2010

WATER!!!


H20 seems to be the source of lots of happiness in the last two weeks. Not in the sense of drinking it, thou I do love my Mendota Springs or La Croix lime or lemon carbonated water. We have had the warmest spring in a long time ( who am I kidding i just remember that last spring it was cold and it never really warmed up! IMO) and the open water around town has reflected that warmth.

Two Weeks ago my buddy Steve went to the lake to test it out.

Foot note...I swim with STEVE.

Steve in a Speedo...foreground.
Steve ( Not ) in a Speedo...Far Right
Bullet Steve, aka Polar Bear of Steve Not in a Wetsuit. Far left.
The female in the Right foreground is Mary. Steve (Not) in a speedo's sister.
IF your name is Steve, you need to contact me to swim:)
SIS's wife Sarah is in there too, ready to go ride since she is training for the Liberty HIM and was just voted or elected or chosen to be on TEAM EVO-TRI! Awesome Sarah!! Congrats!

Last week when Marit was our guest, we had temps in the low 70's.
Today we had temps in the mid 70's, about 73-74! We also had another guest:

NO. Not a Shark.

Now Marit makes lovely music with her Violin. This guy/gal makes lovely music with his/her call. I cant tell you how awesome it is to hear this while you are swimming. If you have never heard a loon call, you need to contact me and come swim with us:) At one point the loon was less than 15 feet from us, and when i pulled up and stopped my fellow Steve's I was quite Awestruck to see how BIG the bird is. We kept swimming and the loon took a dive into the warm water to keep on searching for whatever it was searching for. Maybe just some holiday time alone with out me saying "Hi Loon, hi how are you?" I was waving at it, and Steve in a Speedo said i wasnt the "mate"he was looking for. Oh well.

In other water news....before hitting this lake:

I got to hit this lake: Where there were no Steve's:) But the temps were in the high 40's, and the air at night was low 50's. You Tempe or Kona or Oahu peeps that need some good old sleeping weather call me! I managed about 20 sec in Lake Superior and quickly knew there were no ice baths for me until at least July. I think the snow melted last week up there!



We did manage to do some river dipping tho and at 62 degrees that felt pretty nice compared to the lake. Before we did that Rich decided to do some light yardwork ( thanks Cheryl, too funny) and started moving this tree down the river. All i will say is it didnt end here. It spent the night downstream and then the next AM was finished off with a chainsaw in bare feet in the river. My sister stood watch with 9-1-1 ready and i couldnt watch. My dad couldnt have been prouder, while the women folk ( hahaha) didnt want to watch. Men and their chainsaws. Sigh.




Mid work break.
The River comes down stream to the lagoon which empties into Gitchi Gummi.
Meanwhile its not a cabin trip if you dont have a sudden change in weather, ie drop 15 degrees, rain and a few naps. Ruby never lets her toy's go far so here she is asking my sister for some loving.
We drove down last night with our stop at the Burrito Union ( 4th and 13th in Duluth, yum better than Chipotle) and got in while it was still light.

There ya have it. Memorial day weekend to this point.

I am going to Kansas next week to race. On a sad note we lost another Uncle this weekend. My dad's younger brother ( he had 2 younger brothers, Angus being the baby) Geordie, passed away late friday night/saturday Am.


He had struggled with some health issues for many years and was losing his spirit. He died beside his beloved Dusty Mairs and we will miss Uncle Geordie's dry wit and humor.
When we were kids he used to always bring us candy and crack funny jokes.

So the funeral is thursday afternoon. I am not sure when i am leaving for Kansas now but will be racing this race for Uncle Geordie and Dusty. I do have some goals, but ya know how things kinda just seem less important when you see a time goal in the big scope of real life. That doesnt mean I am not going to bust my tail ( light a match or two or a whole book. right Stine? under my butt) but I know i will do what i can do with the conditions presented. It seems I am getting TOO accustomed to racing with some emotional baggage, and i hate to call it that, bc losing a loved one is hardly baggage. If anything it just helps me realize how lucky I am to be healthy and able to do what i love. No matter what the outcome.

I am staying with this little dynamo, Leslie, so I am sure we will have some fun in her playground of Kansas. And maybe I will get Chrissie to give me my medal!

16 comments:

Marit C-L said...

Hey Julia - I'm so sorry about your uncle...I know how close your family is - and that's always tough. Hugs to you guys.

On a VERY different note - it was GREAT swimming with you and the Steves and Pharmie last week! I can't believe it was just last Wednesday. SO much fun! :) And yes - I loved the lake, loved the loons, and loved the fact that there were no sharks. :)

Have a great time in Kansas - and ENJOY. You've put in all the training...trust yourself, trust Jen - and have a great race! I'll be cheering for you!

Next time I'm in MN one of the FIRST things we're doing is going back to that lake... just sayin'...

Running and living said...

Good luck in Kansas! You'll rock it!!!!
Love the pics, especially the ones with the river! And I can't believe you guys are already open water swimming. It's still cold, you know?

Beth said...

So sorry to hear about your uncle! Thinking of you guys. You will have that much more motivation to race hard in Kansas now though - to honor him and his memory! Take care Julia!

Melissa said...

Hi Julia. I'm sorry to hear about your uncle. It seems like your family has been through a lot this year.

With no good smooth transition...

Good luck in Kansas! I was thinking about you earlier today when I was driving around in the AWESOME weather, wishing I was racing Kansas this summer, and wondering if my friends will be doing it again next year. It's such a fun course, you are going to rock it! I can't wait to hear how it goes. I wore my Garmin last year on the bike, so if you want to see a detailed map and elevation info, let me know.

Totally jealous of the open water swimming. It sounds so refreshing too.

cheryl said...

What an awesomely cool weekend up north. ok, except for the loss of your uncle. Very sorry for that. Keep your chin up next weekend in Kansas, keep the matches lit, and kick some a$$!

Steve Stenzel said...

Marit, that loon TOTALLY bit my toe! Just like a shark! ;) Julia, I love that photo of Rich taking a break sitting in the water! What fun you guys have up there!

Thanks again for the swims!!

Betsy said...

Sorry about your uncle.

I got in the lake for the first time last night. Nokomis is already so green and nasty. And I cut my finger on the fins of a dead floating fish while swimming. Gross! My OWS ended pretty much then.

Have a great race :)

Angela and David said...

So sorry about your uncle. Hope you and your family are celebrating the memories.

And you live in a water wonderland. We don't have anything nearly as pretty here.

Good luck in Kansas! You're going to rock it - especially with your healthy perspective. I suggest getting some books on tape and an adapter so you can listen to music on an iPod or iPhone for the drive. Mistakes I made on my trip.

Trigirlpink said...

Ohhhhh. Sorry to hear about Uncle Geordie. He looks like a sweet guy in that picture. Speaking of pictures... I LOVE the mid work break shot. That is so funny!! Good luck racing this weekend.

TriGirl Kate O said...

I'll try and call you later. So so sorry about your uncle. That must be hard for your dad to be the only brother left. Please give him my love and let him know your blogger friends are thinking about him.

The ocean was a very refreshing 65-67 degrees this weekend, and the pool a little warmer than that. When are you coming down?

You'll do AWESOME in Kansas, and please give my best to ADC!
xoxo

JV said...

I am sorry to hear about your loss.
I love the story of the loon. I don't think we have those up here! Have a great race in Kansas!!

jennabul said...

Ah Julia, sorry about your uncle! I hope you have a great race in his honor this weekend. Your OW swimming looks like it's warm and fun. Glad you didn't have to take anyone to the ER with all the chainsaw fun. Take care!

The Triathlon Rx said...

I'm pretty sure I just caught up on your blog for over an hour. I'm not really sure how I got to it... I think through a comment left on my blog, and you commented on *their* blog. ?! Either way, I'm glad I found it! I've actually seen you race before, but didn't know who you were at that point. Haha how's that for creeper?

I'm sure I'll see you at more races this summer!!

-Erika

Ange said...

I'm so sorry that you lost your Uncle. Condolances to you all.
GOOD luck in Kansas!!!! You'll do awesome. You're ready. OF course. thanks for tire advice. :)

Jennifer Harrison said...

Isn't OPEN water swimming the best, yes yes! :)) TIME TO smash the yellow brick road! :))) GO GO GO!!!!

Running and living said...

Congrats on kansas. Wow, what an amazing job you did! Awesome!