COC, Wood-in-a-Sak, and Field Trip

Tuesday evening Jake ran at the COC meet in Reed Springs while Ian had a baseball game in SGF. Deb and I decided to make Jake's meet and Ian went to the game with some teammates. We taxied Andie and one of her friends to the meet. Jake's leg has flared back up a bit so he is still only runs the open 800m. He ran a bit off his recent times and finished 3rd. He was pretty bummed, but quickly rebounded on the way home. He is really struggling to stay upbeat about the remaining meets, but he is looking forward to running with the 4x800 team as those are some of his best friends and feels bad for not being able to run with them more this year. With Jake replacing the slowest current member they have a legitimate shot at making it to State, but that is down the road and we'll see how it goes...

Got word on the way home that Ian's team won their game (and the league championships); still undefeated. Two weeks and they start a kid's pitch league at the highest competitive level in SGF.

After getting everyone home Deb and I headed back to the office to do some database recovery/repair. She hit the bed around 1am and I ended up staying after 2am. With an early morning wake up I was dreading the morning.

Wednesday morning was Jim and Linda's last day in Bolivar (heading back to SD) so we all met them at Brenda's for a farewell breakfast. The rest of the day was focused on not falling asleep and not ever a thought about riding.

Ian finished up BHS youth basketball camp and had a great time. (Ian is circled in red below)

Wednesday evening Deb and I went over to a friends home (they will remain nameless to protect his manhood and will make sense in a minute, keep reading) to celebrate Cinco Di Mayo. Incredible food and good fellowship. After chowing we headed out on the deck for a little evening air and enjoy a nice fire. When Mrs A (let's call her) asked Mr A to grab some wood for the fire I told him I would give him a hand... "No need my man, I've got it." I was surprised when he returned with something in a bag, dropped it in the pit and lit the wrapper (glad he didn't catch his skirt on fire). I promise in all my years I had no idea they sell 'log-in-a-bag'; light the wrapper and watch sawdust burn... sad, truly sad.

At the office zero-dark-early as I am a chaperon for Ian's 3rd grade eco field trip. It was a fun morning and the trio pictured below were glued to me non-stop. My favorite question of the day to the conservation agent was from a mom/parent who desperately wanted to know if the swans were mating or just goofing around... immediate diversion of attention by agent.

After work I headed out for a road ride and ended up with 43+ miles east of Bolivar. While most of the ride was good I had forgotten why I don't ride FF and EE hwys - crazy rough (even for Polk County levels). Odd wind blowing yesterday out of the southEAST, but mostly the east (that is rare for anytime of the year). I was pretty cooked when I got back as I kept the effort high for the entire ride.

.

The Giro starts this weekend and it has quickly became my favorite TOUR. I think for me the draw is the tough twisty finishes for the sprint stages (where as TdF is usually wide open run ins) and the climbing usually will include some type of dirt road or something straight up. I have no favorites or picks as there is no one dominate force, but I imagine Cadel has the best shot at getting him an overall, but Sastre is the big unknown.