Wisconsin Fun

I got up early today to enjoy the empty Madison streets before the tourists flooded in. I was at Lake Monona by 7:30am, but there were no swimmers. I thought I was either too early or too late, but after a few minutes I spotted one in the lake and a few others arrived and started getting into their wetsuits. We chatted a bit and talked about the Ironman. Watching them swim made me a little sad I didn't have my wetsuit and another good arm!

I hit the elliptical and then another long day at the Taste of Madison. It was hotter today so we found a nice spot in the shade. We needed to keep my little nephew cool. It's been so much fun spending time with him. I just wish it were easier for me to pick him up. He weighs 16 pounds now so he either needs to be handed to me or I need to be sitting.


I checked out a local bike shop to do some more dreaming. There was a sales guy that just loved to talk gear so I got all the finer points of differentiation between the Zipp 404s that I really want, and the Flashpoint 60s that I really should get instead due to the massive price difference. He also talked about the proven increases in speed and efficiency gained by wearing the Giro Advantage aero helmet. Who knows if it's true, but it sure makes you look faster. I ended up sticking with cheap items instead and got an assortment of new gels, bars and recovery mixes that I haven't seen at my local shops.

The weather is supposed to be great for race weekend. It will also be cooling off just in time for me to get back into running. I am aiming for a Thursday or Friday run depending on how I feel. My shoulder has improved over the past few days, but I still have a lot of pain in my ribs. I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Elliptical

Distance - 4.5 miles

Time - 45:00

Taste of Madison
1 order fried cheese curds with paprika dipping sauce
1 bratwurst (allegedly the best in the world)
1 22-ounce beer (a local amber)
Unknown amounts of kettle corn
1 small gelato
More beer...