Loess Hills Ride and Lake Z 20 miler

Ended up skipping my Monday pace run as my foot was not in good shape after the 19 miler. Didn't get my two swims in either. On the plus side, MTBed to the shrine with Jodi and Mike, ran fartleks with Jodi, and snagged a long bike and a long run over the weekend.

The Saturday trek was Onabike, "Western Iowa's Largest 1-Day Ride." Had a choice between a flat 29 miler and 63 through through the Loess Hills. Mike, Jodi, and i chose the latter. We were all up late Friday night while celebrating Jodi's birthday at Gallup where i worked on the monthly code release and Alicia joined us for two tight Scrabble matches, but we made it up early enough to drive north 90 minutes for the start and a police escort out of town. Crowded flats gave way to some fun rollers as the pretty countryside rolled by. Was this Ireland? We stopped in Pisgah for some loose meat sammys, lemonade, and cookies. Then, we posed for a pic before descending Murray Hill. It was the longest ride of the year for all three of us, so we were glad to be done.

On Sunday, Jodi and i arrived at Lake Z before sunrise to finish our long run before church. Jodi hiccuped the entire first mile but overcame to run the first 12 with me. As steam rose from the lake, nature abounded: fish jumping high into the air, 4 deer just steps away from us, and a swan slapping the still water with its wings on takeoff. i finished with 20.75 miles, my final 4 the fastest.

Goal for the week: stretch my left foot by rolling its arch over a tennis ball. Been bothering me lately.