Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2011: 5

  Monday, June 27, Bill was up early as usual. The weather looked a bit iffy, with some showers around. Cathy went to her gym classes. Bill waited until around 8:00 AM to drive to the Trail for his first workout of the first training schedule assigned by Nicki:

Monday, 6/27 - 2 mile warmup, 45 minute run, keep your heart rate below 115, this is a recovery run, keeps your heart rate low and maintains your endurance

Tuesday, 6/28 - arm weights, long kayak, 4 - 4 1/2 hours, keep your heart rate below 145 

Wednesday, 6/29 - du workout, 15 min run/20 min bike/15 min run, keep your transition time at 1:30 or less, your max heart rate is 145

Thursday, 6/30 - long bike, up to 75 miles, focus on cadence and maintaining a cadence between 80 and 90 for the entire ride, adjust your gearing accordingly to keep the cadence high, you can go less than 75 miles but 75 is the max

Friday, 7/1 - run workout with speed intervals, this will depend on the track availability, so stay tuned

Saturday, 7/2 - off 

Sunday, 7/3 - easy 30 minutes on the trainer, unlike today's workout!!!!!! Your max heart rate is 115.

Monday, 7/4 - Rusty Rudder 5k

Bill walked for 2 miles and then did the recovery run. It was a slow pace, very relaxed, and enjoyable. We had lunch and tried to take short naps. Jack and Sue Beatty arrived, driving down from Brooklyn, about 3:45 PM. We sat on the back porch and caught up on each other during appetizers and drinks. Later, we drove in the VW to Irish Eyes for dinner. We had a good time a basically closed the dining room. We sat on the back porch when we returned home.

  Tuesday, Bill did his arms and abs workout after breakfast and before anyone else arose from bed. Later in the morning, he received instructions from Nicki about "foot lifts":

Foot lifts. I want you to do them sitting down, lifting only one set of toes at a time (so right foot first then left, or vice versa). With your heel flat on the ground, lift the entire rest of the foot up towards the sky, until your shin is fatigued. For added strength, hold your foot up for a count of 5 seconds with each lift. Do this with bare feet. You're going to start doing this twice a week initially.

Bill did some foot lifts out on the back porch where the other three were breakfasting. We led Jack and Sue to the ferry terminal for their 10:15 departure. It rained, hard at times, while we drove to the terminal and back. Bill got his gear ready for a kayak paddle. We ate lunch and then Bill brought all of our donations to New Life Ministries to the garage from upstairs and the basement. Bill waited until 1:10 PM for the truck that was supposed to arrive at 1:00 PM (it actually arrive at 2:00 PM) and then drove to Angler's Marina. He launched at 1:33 PM and spent 4.5 hours doing 16.78 miles of laps on the Lewes/Rehoboth Canal and the Broadkill River. The weather was threatening when Bill started, the wind blew strongly, and the current ran strong. By the time Bill finished, it was a beautiful evening. When Bill got home, he hurriedly put his gear away and got a shower. We had quinoa and a frozen meal for dinner, which was ready at 7:20 PM. We viewed the very forgetable "Unstoppable" on DVD.

  Wednesday, Bill took his time getting going. He worked a crossword puzzle and slowly got his gear together for the day's duathlon training set. He decided to use a 0.4 mile loop in Eagle Point for a bike and run course and set up an imaginary line at the mailboxes for run start/finish and bike mount/dismount. He leaned his bike against the dining room bay window for the transition area. Bill did the workout and put his gear away. The temperature was in the 80s and it was somewhat humid. We ate lunch and then tried to take naps. Bill was more successful at sleeping a bit. We had pasta for dinner an viewed part "How Do You Know?" until a scratch in the DVD stopped us. Bill reported it to NetFlix and we sent it back. Bill hustled to get his gear and hydration/fuel together for Thursday's workout.

  Thursday, Cathy headed to Quest Labs for some blood work. Bill got out fairly early on a 75 mile bike ride. He was done by lunch time. Cathy had gone to the gym for a couple of classes. After lunch, we tried to take naps. We grilled burgers for dinner and viewed "The Tilman Story" - a travesty of lies by the Bush Administration, top to bottom.

  Friday, Cathy went to three classes at her gym. Bill did an interval training workout in our neighborhood. Bill found it hard work, but enjoyed completing the challenge. After a shower, Bill ran some errands. After lunch we tried to take naps. Bill talked with Son Bill and Alex, who wished him a happy birthday. Bill was 71 on this day. We chilled out for the afternoon. At 5:30 PM, our friends John and Diane Hartnett came over to help celebrate Bill's birthday. At around 6:30 PM, we drove the XTerra to Fish On for a nice outdoors dinner. There was no cake.

  Saturday, Bill tried to sleep in, but only made it to 5:30 AM. He started the day slowly with the crossword puzzle from the paper. It was a beautiful morning. We drove into Lewes to visit the Farmer's Market and the used book store. The town was very busy. We also went to the large art show at St. Peters. We went from there to the Lewes Fish House for shrimp. During lunch, we watched some of the first stage of the Tour de France. Then we drove to WaWa and to Super Fresh. The traffic on Route 1 was very thick. When we returned home, Bill drove the XTerra to WaWa to fill it up. Later, we watched the rest of the Tour. We had a great dinner of shrimp kebabs and rice pilaf. We watched the rest of "How Do You Know" and then viewed "Ticking Clock" - very well done, interesting plot.

  Sunday, Bill slept-in until almost 6:00 AM. He read the paper as he ate breakfast. Later, he rode the bike trainer for 30 minutes at 2/7 as he watched "Animal House." Cathy went for a 6 mile walk. Bill took a shower and started to watch the team time trials for Stage 2 of the Tour de France. We continued to watch during lunch. We tried to take naps afterward. Then we went out to get some wine for Cathy. Bill wandered over to Delaware Paddle Sports and chatted for a while with the owner.

        Bill and Cathy