Jam-Packed June

So far, this month has been like jumping beans. Last Sunday (which actually was May 31), I did the 8K Run Like A Girl trail run at Pocahontas State Park. My time was 4-5 minutes slower than last year, but except for the third mile, I maintained a decent pace and finished 6/13 in my age group. The top 3 women in the group did the run in 40-45 minutes, while everyone else took at least an hour. I finished the day with a one-mile swim at the JCC.

Then on Monday, my essay in the Mindset Triathlon Anthology was published. I was disappointed I wasn’t a top 3 prize winner, but I did enjoy sending my free author’s copies to various friends and family members. However, the process of downloading the digital book was so complicated, I’m not sure anyone but my son the engineer has actually read the essay.

Tuesday morning found me at the UR fitness center for nearly an hour of indoor cycling with KG. Wednesday morning we were back at UR for a Masters swim class. The class, the first one I’d attended, went better than I’d thought it might. Of course, the four of us in the “granny” lane did about half as many laps as everyone else did! Then there was strength training on Wednesday evening at MMF and a TG run on Thursday morning. The highlight of the run was our relay races. I did one quarter-mile in 2:38 and felt like I was really running, instead of my usual slow jog. My time for the half-mile was a respectable 5:28. By Friday, I was ready for a rest day.

On Saturday I decided to forego biking at WC and do a 6-mile run instead. I’m doing the swim and run parts of an Olympic distance tri in Iowa on June 28; one of my sisters will do the bike part. My other sister was supposed to have done the run, but she changed her mind last month. A great believer in “signs,” she thought this meant we shouldn’t do the triathlon, but I said, “not likely.” However, I haven’t trained for the distance nearly as much as I should have, so doing the WC loop seemed like a good idea. Then I came home and cleaned house before going for a short swim at UR.

Later on Saturday my daughter arrived for a week-end visit. In addition to shopping, our main event was baking a nine-layer cake for one of my co-workers who will be 50 on June 8. The cake is a traditional Smith Island (Maryland) recipe, and the layers are quite thin. My co-worker prefers frosting to cake, so this recipe seemed perfect for her.

Now it’s Sunday evening, and another busy week looms ahead. After June 12, I’ll be at a conference or on vacation until July 1, and I have numerous projects to finish before I go.