Bill and Cathy McArthur on the Road 2011: 5

  Monday, February 7, was another in a long string of warm, humid days. Bill awoke at 5:00 AM and worked out the two crossword puzzles in the Naples Daily News and the online Times crossword. Cathy went to her exercise class. Bill joined Cathy at the clubhouse for a meeting of the "Thriller" group for the Mardi Gras parade in Rock Creek. Later in the morning, Cathy had a doctor appointment. Bill rode his bike for 20 miles. He had intended a speed workout, but a fierce south wind prevented him from attaining higher than a 16.9 mph average speed. After lunch, Cathy and Sue went over to the hospital gym. Bill ordered a TiVo Premiere. We had a very early quinuoa/frozen meal dinner and went to country line dancing at 6:00 PM after a short stop at the Bridge for Happy Hour. Afterward, we helped set up the clubhouse for Tuesday's Ladies Luncheon. When we got back home, Bill watched "24: Redemption" until after 10:00 PM.

  Tuesday was sunny, cool, and windy. Bill did some duathlon training:

1M walk, 1M speed walk, 5K run @ 9:00 min/mi, 40M bike @ 15.5 mph, 5M run @ 9:12 min/mi, last mile @ 8:28

Bill stopped riding after 16 miles and went over to the clubhouse to set up Cathy's computer for the Ladies Luncheon. Then, Bill ate lunch and continued the workout. After a shower, Bill walked to LVCC for his tutoring session with Primo. We had pasta for dinner and viewed "Robin Hood" - overly long, but well-done.

  Wednesday started out at 48 degrees. Cathy went to some exercise classes. Bill went out in the kayak for a 5 hour, 17.3 mile paddle to Rookery Bay. He fished on the way out and simply paddled on the way back. Bill wore his wetsuit and was chilly for the first hour, but then the day became sunny and warmer with an increasing east wind. It was comfortable paddling for most of the ride. When Bill got back, he showered and ate lunch. He watched a couple of episodes of "24" and then went out for a cappuccino and to pick up a prescription for Cathy. We stopped at the Bridge for a few minutes before setting up in the clubhouse for the computing workshop. When we returned home, we had tortellini for dinner and viewed "Salt" - an excellent action movie.

  Thursday was warm and humid with some sun. Cathy had an early meeting with her Mardi Gras Parade group. Bill went out on a 60 mile bike ride along North Road. Bill's goal was to make a 60 mile bike ride seem commonplace and "no big deal" in preparation for his half distance duathlon in Sarasota on March 20. When he was finished, he ate lunch, watched a couple of episodes of "24", and took a shower. He walked over to the office to get our mail. Then, Bill walked to LVCC to meet with Primo for tutoring. We both met at the Bridge for Happy Hour. We grilled burgers for dinner and viewed an episode of "Pillars of the Earth." Later, Cathy watched politics on MSNBC while Bill watched "24."

  Friday was a rest day for Bill. Cathy went to her exercise classes while Bill worked on Session 6 of his computing workshop. We had rain off and on most ot the day. Cathy had another portrait sitting with our friend Ron the artist. After lunch, Bill dropped Cathy at her Retina Doctor in NCH. Bill went home and setup our new TiVo box. Bill picked up Cathy later in the afternoon. We stopped at a drugstore on the way home. We went to Sushi Thai for dinner and dared, for the first time, to order our own sushi meal. We ordered three large rolls: Spicy Tuna Roll, Yellow Dragon Roll, and Spider Roll. We started out with an order of vegetarian Spring Rolls. It was an excellent meal and like fast food as it came out of the kitchen very quickly. We watched an episode of "Pillars of the Earth" and then Bill watched an episode of "24" after we returned home.

  Saturday was another rest day for Bill. We went to a thrift shop to get an outfit for Cathy to tear and wear in the Mardi Gras parade. We also went to the party store for "ghoul teeth" and fake blood capsules for Bill to use in the parade. We stopped at Home Depot for some clean dirt to use to muddy our parade clothing and ourselves. We also went to Starbucks/Publix for some shopping. After lunch, we worked on cutting Cathy's clothes. Bill spent some time cleaning and lubing his bicycle. Tom and Jean Reilly arrived at 5:15 PM. We went to the bridge for a few minutes and then headed to the Valentine's Day dance in the clubhouse. Bill brought his own quinoa pasta with red sauce and dates and walnuts. We had a good time at the dance, but Bill only danced a couple of slow numbers in order to save his legs. We went to bed early.

  Sunday came early for Bill as he arose at 4:00 AM, quite a bit before his alarm setting of 4:30 AM. Bill got ready for the trail run and left a bit before 6:00 AM, heading for Collier/Seminole State Park. He stopped for gas en route. It was a chilly 43 degrees at the race site. The course was only 10.2 miles, far short of the advertised 20K, because the original course was occupied by nesting eagles. Bill only fell once when he tripped over a root. He ran at a rather slow pace and enjoyed the race. He came in first in the 70+ age group by default. Bill stopped at Starbucks on the way home. After lunch, we picked up Jack and Sue and went to the play, "Unnecessary Farce" at the Gulfshore Playhouse. We laughed throughout the performance. Afterward, we went to Rosa Pomodora for a good Italian dinner.

        Bill and Cathy