"The body does not want you to do this. " ~ Jacqueline Gareau, 1980 Boston Marathon champ

Today was the first day of Week 2 of the Couch-2-5K. My hips and butt are killing me and I thought I was going to die. The way my body reacted, you'd have thought I added 30 minutes of running to the program, but I only added seconds. Adding a mere 30 more seconds to a 60 second run doesn't seem like a lot, but to a fat, old lady it seems like an eternity. I'm glad there were only six intervals because half-way in to each one I kept thinking, Okay, where's my cue to walk??? I don't think I could have done anymore more. And, even though I went earlier than usual (7:30 AM), it was hot! It's humid, too; about 82% humidity I think the weather report said this morning. Somehow, I didn't mind the humidity as much when I wasn't outside running in it. UGH!

The bike ride Sunday was a real nice change of pace. This is my bike. My son, Mike, bought if for me several years ago. It's an antique, just like me, and I love it. It is just like the bike I always wanted when I was a kid. The only thing I added to it was a new "granny ass" seat. You know, for a little extra padding.



It is complete with the original bell and horn.

How cool is that?

So, rather than drive the SUV with the bikes in the back, we rode the bikes down to Tucker Creek Bike/Walking Trail, rode all the way to the end of the trail and back, then rode home again. A full 5 miles. It was a lot of fun. Just the change I needed from the Couch-2-5K. My only difficulty was the last hill up the road to our house. When we got home and I got off my bike, I was still huffing and puffing and the tops of my thighs were so tired that I could barely stand up straight. But after a couple of minutes, I was back to normal and feeling really good about the ride.

Saturday, we launched our ski boat at the marina. I know I've made mention of the excessive rain we've had this season. So much of the shoreline along Greers Ferry Lake is flooded, all the marinas have shuttles to get boaters to their boats and slips because the ramps and walkways going to the docks are not long enough to reach the shore.

Flooded? Yes, flooded. This photo provides a graphic representation of what has happened this season.



Uh, yes, that is a speed limit sign, and about 5 or 6 feet below that is a road that circles nearly the entire marina, except for the outlet.

Saturday morning, Dick, the owner of the marina, told Tom that he and his wife had a celebration the night before. The lake level went down a whole three inches last week. Whooo Hooo !! And sources are saying that we might reach normal lake levels sometime in October... just in time for the rainy season again.