First pike contact

I picked up running again this week which feels great!!! I have also had one of my biggest bike weeks ever and was hoping to have one of my biggest swimming weeks ever. Unfortunately I forgot about the 4th of July (Happy Birthday USA). The pool was closed for 3 days.


Thanks to my friend Pam, I ended up doing 2 open water swims in Lake Mary :-) She really helps me to get more compfortable to swim in open water in a non-race environment (in races I can turn off my fear :-). Friday I made first contact with a PIKE!!!

Like this one:

Or this one:

OK OK OK...mine might have been a baby...maybe 15 lbs...but still a PIKE!!! A fishermen close to shore caught one and was swearing...I asked Pam if we could swim there to look at the fish while he/she was still in the fishermen's hands. She is brave and led the way. When we got to the boat the fish looked way bigger...the fishermen was swearing because the Pike bit him in the finger and he was bleeding...that was pretty much it for me. I asked the men:" Mister, could you hold on to the fish until we are back on shore and then let him go? PLEASE?" I was sooo scared...pike licked blood...might want more... He...let...the...pike...GO!!! And I was still there!!! I think I swam my fastest 100m ever, without my goggles on and screaming!!! What an A$$!!! He just let it go even though this was supposed to make me feel safe...thanks a lot for that Mister-by-the-way-I-saw-your-butt-your-pants-were-so-low!!!

Oh well. The pike disappeared.

Saturday was the group ride. It was fast and small. I made it up our local KOM in 5th in the mens :-) I liked that. Quick transition run and done.

Saturday evening I was invited for dinner: grilled shrimp, perfectly made with some homemade sauces, rice and veggies. And a movie. Grant Tourino!!! Great movie!!! Thank you so much Shannon and Pam. I slept at their house -JR is in Boston :-(

Today was a 6 am rise and shine day. I got on my bike and met my open water swim teacher at 8 am. Lake Mary had NO waves...like a mirror:




We swam across for the first time, back at an angle. Then another bike ride. Then a run. And then another bike ride. I made it home after 1 pm and wasn't even that pooped :-)

I spend the afternoon cleaning out our garage, so that JR can walk in there again when he is working on bikes. I will pick him up tomorrow again which is great. Being alone is no fun. I get really homesick :-(

Oh, here is a picture of our baby birds who grew so quickly. This was taken right before they dove off into the world:

We watched them go from naked to grown ups :-) They already started building a new nest. I had no idea that they keep breeding all summer. I thought they would only do that in the spring...mhhh...oh, I learned today that a dragonfly only lives 24 HOURS (when they are in the stage where they fly). INCREDIBLE!!!