Memories of last year

Great collage of pics from last year's trip.  It was great to have time with my favorite person in the whole world as well as my best supporter / kayak guide.

Crazy that the economy's timing has made Lake Las Vegas a virtual ghost town.  The casino is completely closed down, the restaurant that looks like an Italian hillside wine bar / restaurant is just a bit of the scenery now.

The new bridge over the Colorado was just opened the weekend before our trip.  We actually were routed via our GPS through Laughlin because of the delay, then went via the dam on the way back home.  Good trip.

I was proud to have completed the event.  My time was certainly no where near the top or even the middle, but I still wore my medallion for completion with pride that evening at the buffet we chose.

This year will be pretty low key.  We have a hotel on the strip, but will not have a big budget to blow at the casinos or shows.  Vegas is a great city, but not one that you can have too much fun with a tight budget.  We'll still be happy.  The drive will be great.  The time together without the kids will be a well deserved break, especially for Taressa now that her major school projects and classes are coming to an end.

Last night's swim was awesome.  I did 6600 yards (6000 meters) in 1:45 - easy to convert to time per 100 at 1:45 / 100meters.  This would place my swim time near 2:20.  I definitely gutted out the last 1000 having not fueled for this distance.  I believe I'm right on with a shot of fuel at about :50, 1:40, then finish.  I'm counting on Taressa to keep us going super straight to each of the next turn points so I'll not have to add too much distance.

Weight is down to 161.2 as of last night.  Started at near 190 when I began training again. My diet has been much better than average, but not perfect.  Taressa helps with her greens and grains and veggies she prepares most meals.  My cookie habit is awful. 

All in all, I'm very proud of my commitment and my identity as a swimmer.  Next year will bring an increased attention to more distance, more open water focus.  I still have Catalina in mind for the summer of 2013.

Wednesday PM practice:

6KM straight: 1:45 (1:45 / 100 m pace)