Sunday, July 1, 2012

Tri training: no electricity or running water required!




As my father likes to say, it's "hotter than the hubs of he**" around here.  On day two of no power or running water the house has become our storage unit and the kids and I are sleeping at my mother-in-law's house or friend's houses in town and Robert stayed home with the dog. We are hearing it could be as late as Saturday before we have power again. Our swim club is without power and closed so my swim workouts will move to open water. Coach Jim is in the same situation and coming into town to find Internet and keep tabs on all his athletes.

No excuses....just do what you have to.

I came home this morning to get the bike and head out on a long (50 mile) bike ride but did not start early enough to beat the heat. With no body-temp-lowering shower option at the house afterward, the cool concrete of the garage was the next best thing -- right there by the chainsaw and gas can, yes, it is a glamorous life! Trixie thought it was a good idea and joined me.

Heading out, I was a little concerned about road debris and although I saw SO many downed trees and power lines, most things were at least pushed off the road. My Clif bar and 2nd Surge Gel ended up being not enough nutrition, so I kept my eyes out for wineberries that grow wild around here and are just about at their delicious peak. Twice I stopped and ate my fill!


You never know what you will see on these rural rides. I turned around to snap this photo -- 3.1 bathrooms?! LOL!


Mostly what I saw were horses, cows, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, some deer, a vulture, very few cars, and ZERO traffic lights from my doorstep to the turnaround and back. This area offers great riding.

After I cooled down, we cleaned OUT the fridge and freezer. I "outsourced" some stuff yesterday (see Solar Connexion below), but much of it got the heave-ho. It was very sad. I do not like waste.


Despite this being a super-weird week, training wise it was pretty hefty - 13 total hours:
  • 3:05 swim (4x)
  • 5:15 bike (3x - 98 miles total)
  • 2:28 run (3x - 19 miles total)
  • 2:15 gym (2x)
That's all from here. Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!


Thanks to Bryan Walsh of Solar Connexion for storing a bunch of my freezer stuff since his solar arrays and battery bank allow he and his family to function pretty normally even with the power company down. They still have hot and cold running (well) water, A/C, freezer, refrigerator, Internet, etc. (see recent video of his house) For anyone thinking of solar....do it! I suspect power disruptions will only become more common and widespread. We need to work toward energy independence through efficiency, conservation, and renewable energy options like solar.  After this experience, you'd better believe I will be.....

End.soapbox.