I'm retired from racing. Really.

Lunch- rainy day, only 6 people at frisbee so we played hot box. My team lost 5-1 first, then won 5-0. Final game was 5-4 win for us.

AM- about 6 miles on slightly-muddy GE trails at 8:30-ish pace. Felt much, much better than on Tuesday. Saw 4 deer and 1 turkey, no people. I enjoy seeing the wildlife right in the middle of town- it's a nice respite and a testament to nature.

Lunch- not a week to remember for my frisbee play. 17 people, my team had 1 sub, other team had 2. Lots of good players. I played better than Monday but still poorly- I dropped a beautiful long bomb, another touchdown, and had a number of bad throws (not as many as Monday, but still too many). Plus the guy I was defending caught the winning score. My team lost 5-4. Like I said, not a week to remember.

I often spend a few minutes before a game mentally picturing myself playing well. I haven't done that for a while, and I think it helps when I do. I used to do that before big ultra races and it prepared me for the adventure ahead.

Lunch 4 miles. 8:45 ish pace.

Lunch- 13 people at frisbee, other team had a sub. They had an extra fast guy. It was hot today- mid-90's, with Feels like of 100F. I played a bit better than last week but still had 2 bad drops and lots of bad throws- I'm in a bit of a funk right now. Game to 5 saw my team give up 2 points, then battle back on a very long point, then go down 4-2 before tying it up 4-4. We had our chances on the last point but lost 4-5.

Am 6 miles on GE trail. No deer, no turkey, no people, nada. I did see some squirrels and other birds, though. And ran through a few spider webs. 

Lunch frisbee. Hot again today, Feels like of 100. 5v5 with a sub on the other team. I'd say the other team had a bit of a speed advantage but both teams played pretty well. I had my first good game in a few weeks- no drops, no bad throws. Game was tied 3-3 before we gave up 2 straight for a loss. Hot.

AM 7 very slow miles- 9:ish pace. 4 deer, 2 people.

After 2 weeks, I finally had a game where I feel like I played great- no drops, good short and some great long throws, and a number of defensive blocks. The teams were a bit skewed with my team having a small advantage on speed and throwing (the other team declined a swap) but fairly even 7v7. At the game to 5, my team had some very lucky throws/catches (I'd say 3 of our points were off trash throws). We won 5-1 in a drubbing. 

4v4 for second game which was definitely skewed towards my team, and we won 3-0 ending with me throwing long to Strode for a sliding catch in the endzone with his wife watching. The catch of the game was Alex somehow snagging a poor hammer off the ground for a score- I still don't know how he caught it. Fun day. 5 degrees cooler, which is nice, though a bit muddy (we had 2 inches of rain last night in 30 minutes- it was impressive, and kept Zach and I from going to McDonalds before our movie)

AM 6 miles around house, 8:20-9:00 pace

Lunch- frisbee. 5v5, my favorite number. Not as hot as last week but still plenty warm. Slight advantage to my team (partly cause the best player on the other team was having catching and throwing issues). We won 5-2, aided by two bad turnovers by the other team near their endzone. I played well- my long throws were going where I wanted, and no drops.

AM 8 miles on GE trail. First 4 with Barry- we were moving very well, he was pushing the pace. 7:45-ish. Then 4 more by myself, a bit slower. Saw 4 deer, 2 turkey. It was almost cool this morning, 65 deg. First run under 70 deg since May.

No run, slept poorly last night and left early for amusement park with my two oldest. Note: I don't recommend going to an amusement park if you're a bit sick with headache and stomach ache. After 2 roller coaster rides at the start, I was nauseous and sweating profusely. I spent the next 4 hours lying on the grass. Finally joined in for the water park in the afternoon and then 1 more roller coaster, but that was it for the day. My girls had a blast, I'm just glad I didn't puke. Didn't get home till 11 pm, and promptly went to sleep. 

AM- felt a bit better than yesterday. Slept in a bit then ran GE trail. Unexpectely felt like I was moving fast and timed myself at 7:45 pace- wow. First run I've felt good on for a while. Saw 3 deer and 2 people. 6 miles.

Lunch- I wasn't sure if I should play frisbee as I've been dizzy and had a headache all day but decided to give it a go. Teams were probably stacked a bit towards my team, 7v7 with each team having a sub. Fairly even warmup, but then game to 5 started and my team dominated. The other team made a few costly turnovers, and our speed started frustrating them which generally results in forced/poor throws. We won 5-0.

AM 8 to 8.5 miles (gmap-pedometer said 8.7). Felt good- clocked 1 mile just under 8, then two others around 7:40-7:45. Drizzled a bit during the run.

Lunch- not as hot today, a little breeze. 6v6. The other team had better throwers (my team had the 3 weakest) but my team had a bit more speed. Good battle with some long points. We played tight defense but they had good passing, so it seemed we were on defense for long stretches, would get a turnover and almost immediately give it right back, followed by another long defensive stand. We were down 2-1, then up 4-3, then tied 4-4. Both teams had chances to win, but my team finally scored the last point to win. Fun, tiring game.

AM 8 miles on GE trail a bit slower- 8:30-ish pace. 5 deer, 1 turkey, no people. Overcast all night so it was warmer this morning, uppper 70's, and humid. My clothes stink by the end of the day.

Lunch- 11 people at frisbee, my team didn't have the sub. It was a battle today though both teams made some unforced errors- my team had some easy drops, and some bad throws. We were down 4-2 before tying it, but the other team won 5-4. Too much sloppiness today.

AM- 8 slow miles (generally 9-ish pace, a bit faster by the end) on GE trail. Wasn't feeling great, took a few breaks. One of those days, just getting through. 11 deer, including 2 fawns, 1 turkey, 0 people. Weather is starting to get cooler, it was only 65 this morning.

AM- I think it was below 60 deg this morning. Felt wonderful. 4 easy miles, 8 deer, 1 worker, no turkeys

Lunch- 16 people for frisbee. A few more drops/turnovers overall than usual. At the game to 5, my team was down 3-2 after both teams kept dropping it, then we scored 3 straight for the win. 5v5 followed, my team got whupped 0-3.

AM 4- saw a fox right at the start, then 4 deer and 7 or 8 female turkeys. No people

Lunch- frisbee game 7v7. Hot, hottest day in a few weeks. Wore some short, split-leg shorts just for fun. Both teams played poorly, but especially my team- we had a comically large number of bad throws and drops. We got killed in the warmup. In the game to 5, we also were down 3-1 and 4-2. Tom and Dennis kept getting open for passes, at least. I threw away some bad ones. Then I had a long bomb to Tom that he made a great catch on, and we started chugging back. Didn't play a ton better, but the other team started overthrowing it in the endzone. We worked our way back to a 4-4 tie, then we somehow got the winning point. One of the poorer games for me where my team stunk but we won. I guess I'll take it, but I prefer it when we all play better. Oh well, still fun.

AM 6 miles. I had planned on 8 but my left ankle/achilles was painful the whole time so I cut it short. Not sure what to make of my ankle- annoying. I saw 8 or 9 turkey, 5 deer, plus I saw a fox on the trail while I was driving to park.

Lunch- hot again, 12 people for frisbee. As poorly as I played on Monday, I played that well today. Other than a couple of exceptions, my throws were on par, I didn't drop any, and played good defense. I think I threw or caught all but 1 of my team's 5 points. Nice to be throwing well today. The teams were pretty even (the other team said they thought they had a slight advantage, but I don't agree). Game to 5 was tied at 3 before my team scored 2 straight for the win. Then we did a 10 person game to 3, with my team winning 3-1. Felt much better about my play today.

Achilles/heel is bad enough that I've started icing it again. It seemed to respond to the ice.

AM- a few minutes on the bike. Very busy at work right now. 

Lunch- 5v5 on another hot day, plus my team had a sub. My team was struggling with throwing and catching at the start- comically bad. I had a lot of bad throws to open people, dropped one, and even tripped over my feet and fell down. Game to 5 started and we did a better job being patient and making good throws. We were down 2-1 but came back and won 5-3. Controversial finish on a catch near the end which was ultimately ruled good and then my team scored.

Highlight of the day- I was covering Mike Sherman when he went up for a hard hammer catch but tipped it up accidentally. He landed and leaned forward, putting both hands behind his back, and the disc fell right into his hands. It was awesome.