Another really busy week for me, I am still loving my co-op!
He said
Normally I would start my part talking about Emelia since that is the point of this blog, but instead (and unsurprisingly, I’m sure) I am going to steer focus to me and cycling. This weekend, Friday to be precise was the start of our week’s vacation. But, what would a week off be without a bike race? Way back when we were planning this week, and seeing how it would coincide with one can’t-miss bike race event of my season in Reggie Ramble we decided that it would be okay if I spent the first Saturday of our vacation riding 65 kilometres of gravel-clad roads of the Trent Hills. But, the best part was I convinced Danielle to come along for the race—she again volunteered her time for the race to help them out but was able to see me start and finish the race.
Last year was the first time I did the race and while the weather looked good up until a couple of days before the race, rain slipped into forecast. Whereas this year up to and right to the night before the race, the forecast called for hot, sunny and dry for the entire day! In fact there were actually heat advisories all over southwestern Ontario. That definitely made for a much more challenging hydration plan. While I wanted nothing more than a dry forecast, as this point with the temps, I would have gladly accepted rain. The race got started at noon in the height of the heat, and off we were. For the first half of the race I was making much better progress than last year. By the half way point I was already well into my second bottle of LMNT electrolytes, and I was starting to worry if I would have enough to finish and I was already starting to get cramps in my calves. The last 10kms was basically a battle against the cramps—a head-on mind-over-matter battled that I am happy to say I overcame!
In the end, here are the highlights of the race for me:
- 65 km
3h 19 min
3,891 ft of climbs
Top speed 62.6km/h
14 minutes faster than last year.
Those results meant I finished 116 / 276 overall, 100 / 214 for men, and 27 / 78 for men 50+. All of which I am very proud of. 14 minutes faster overall than last year was enough, but when you compare the stats from last year where I was 166 / 245 overall, 127 / 182 for men, and 45 / 66 for men 50+, I improved in every single category measured. And for that I am very proud. But, also because I finished. And as hard and scary as this race was at times (a cycling friend who as in it, missed a turn at high speed and managed to break her collarbone), it was a wonderful reminder that I can do hard things and that I am alive.
Okay, so now to Emelia… this was a week where she got into a good rhythm with her Co-op, job, Cheer schedule (times two teams), and social life. And she was very happy that Danielle finally got her car back this week. Sure made a huge difference in her being able to get to and from all of her places she needed to be. And the part I am proudest of is how she’s managed to be everywhere she needed to be, with us off at bike races and the trailer. But she has her besties in tow, so really she’s getting to live her best life like she dreamed this summer. But, at the same time, so are we!
She said
This week was another crazy and busy week for Emelia. She once again had co-0p all week, both cheer team practices, a softball practice and softball game. She is burning at all ends but is balancing it all somehow. We are beyond proud of her! It is a lot for a teenager to balance, but she is doing it and well. She is now half way through her co-0p and is loving her placement so much. I know she hopes that this will eventually transition into a job at the Boys and Girls club but I also know she cannot wait until August gets here so she can have a bit more of a social life. She has been able to spend any of her free time with her besties Belle, Bri and Ashley.
For me I was still playing catch up from missing so much work being sick, but to add to the workload was an event I was on the planning committee for the last 6 months. The big conference was my focus this week at work. The International ACAC brought counsellors from all over the world to see Western and discuss the experience of students studying in different countries around the world. The event was incredible, I was able to meet some truly amazing people from all over the world. All the feedback we were getting from the guests is that the event was run well, that Western and Canada is beautiful and that Canadians are the nicest people. After endless hours of planning and execution the conference wrapped up on Friday. The team that planned it were sad that it was over but relieved at the same time. But all the hard work really did pay off.
And now to John and I. As anyone who follows John on any social media or reads any of our blogs John is an obsessive cyclist and in the last few years has really fallen in love with bike racing. This year I decided to come along to the events and volunteer to become more of the community. And I am so happy I have. For John’s last three races I have volunteered and got to see him race but meet some of the people who organize and participate in them. It has been an absoulte blast. This past weekend we decided to start our vacation with the Reggie Ramble. After work on Friday we packed up and made our way 4 hours up the highway to the race location. Arriving late we set up the truck tent and planned on crashing pretty early. The tent worked well, the mattress not so much! Needless to say we will be planning different for the next race. The race day was an insanely hot one, I worked the hydration table and we were busy trying to keep all the racers hydrated. After a long day I was happy to see John come over the finish line, I was so incredibly proud of him. It was a hard race and with the crazy heat I could not get over how well he placed.
The rest of this week is all about relaxation for us, it has been such a stressful year for our family, we will try to take some time to decompress this week before going back to London to focus on the move of Helen to her new home but for at least the next couple days we will relax, recharge and reconnect. The next few weeks once we head back to London will be stressful and busy so we really need to take this week slowly and decompress even if for a little bit.