Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2010: 10

   Monday, September 20, Bill's legs were a bit sore. Cathy still had a cold and stayed away from the Y. Bill went out for a 40 mile bike ride, divided into two 20 mile segments. He took it easy to be kind to his legs. The north wind was vicious and made the "back" segments very tough.

After lunch, we went for a 5 mile walk on the trail. Afterward, we stopped at Starbucks. We had quinoa and a frozen meal for dinner. We viewed "The Jacket" on DVD and enjoyed the rather bizarre movie.

   Tuesday, we were scheduled to spend the day in New Jersey so that Cathy could visit the dentist and the retina specialist. Bill went out early for a two mile recovery run:

We took the Gearcar on the 9:15 AM ferry on a very smooth Bay. The temperature warmed quite a bit as we crossed to Cape May. Bill dressed for a run and walked off the ferry as a foot passenger wearing his trail running belt with two bottles of G2. He drank one of the bottles as he walked into Douglass Park. He saw John, one of Joe and Maria's neighbors and chatted for a while before leaving his belt and running a five mile recovery run along the Bay:

Bill was pleased with his discipline in keeping at a slow pace throughout. He saw Maria Link riding her bike along the Bay and explained why he was in NJ. Cathy was back from the dentist by the time Bill returned to Douglass Park. He changed clothes in a porta-potty and then we drove to the Links' house. We chatted with Joe and Maria for a while before heading to Starbucks for lunch. Bill had a couple of bagels and Cathy had a pastry. Bill talked with Jan Nebus and Kevin Sands regarding our Park Model and Florida Room in Naples. After lunch, we drove to Cathy's retina specialist in Cape May Court House. Bill waited outside in the XTerra for a couple of hours, reading the NY Times and doing the crossword. Then, he went inside to go to the bathroom. Cathy was finally done around 4:30 PM. We drove to the ferry terminal and caught the 6:00 PM ferry back home. We had a late tortellini dinner and then made preparations for the visit of Beth and Bob Finlay on Wednesday.

   Wednesday, Bill attached a blinking red light to his bike bag and headed out at dawn for a 40 mile bike ride. The SW wind was fierce, so the "out" segments were tough, but the "back" segments were fast. Bill's legs allowed for 40 miles but no more. When Bill got back, he lifted weights in the basement to compensate for a lack of kayaking in recent days. Cathy went out to buy fish for dinner. We drove to the ferry terminal to meet the 11:00 AM arrival of Beth and Bob Finlay. We took them home, gave them a house tour, and then enjoyed a Grotto Pizza lunch out on the screened-in porch. After lunch, we took a tour of Lewes, Cape Henlopen State Park, and Rehoboth Beach. We stopped at a coffee shop in Rehoboth and walked on the boardwalk for a very short time. When we got back home, Cathy presented a wonderful baked haddock dinner. We dropped Beth and Bob at the ferry terminal for their 7:45 PM ferry back to Cape May. Bill viewed the well done "Shutter Island" when we returned home.

   Thursday, Cathy went to the Y for a Pilates class. Bill drove to Wolfe Neck intending to run 2 miles and then 5 miles, but his legs argued that 2 miles was enough (or more than enough). Bill stopped by VP Running in the outlets to order a pair of size 13 Nike Zoom Vomero+5 running shoes. He had noticed that his Mizuno training shoes were worn out on the outside of the heels. Later in the morning, the VP store called to say that the shoes were in. After lunch, Cathy and Bill drove to VP shoes for the Nikes, two pairs of Thorlo Pads socks, and speed laces. We drove to Wolfe Neck and walked for 5 miles. The day had turned hot and humid. We stopped by the Mill Outlet to buy a gift and then drove home. Bill watched some of Ken Burn's "National Parks" series on streaming NetFlix until dinner. During dinner, we started to watch another streaming NetFlix movie.

   Friday was a day of rest for Bill. Cathy went to the Y for her classes. Bill started to pack his stuff for the trip to Cape May. Bill also lifted weights in the basement for a while. After lunch, we drove the Gearcar to Don and Bern's to drop off the remainder of a yogurt pie. Then we drove to the ferry terminal, bought tickets, and boarded the 2:45 PM ferry as foot passengers. Joe and Maria Link picked us up at the Cape May side and drove us to their home. We settled in and enjoyed some good conversation. At about 5:45 PM, Joe and Maria dropped us at Jim and Fran Lewis' house. Bill drove Fran's car to Alfe's, where we enjoyed dinner without any incidents. We were back at the Links by 8:30 PM. We talked for a while before heading to bed.

   Saturday, Bill got up at 4:15 AM and started getting ready for the Cape May Beachfront Run. Joe was already up and had coffee on. Bill and Joe ate breakfast and chatted. Cathy and Maria got up around 6:30 AM to join the guys. Bill and Joe drove to Cape May at around 7:15 AM and parked in Frog Hollow. They picked up their packets, which Joe brought back to the car. Bill walked up the promenade to loosen up and warm up. Bill did the 2 mile and the 5 mile races. Joe did the 5 mile race. Bill started out the 2 mile race running at 7:20 min/mile, but didn't have enough in his legs to maintain the pace. His average pace for the 2 mile was 7:53 min/mile and for the 5 mile was 8:17 min/mile. Bill took 1st place in the 60+ division in the 2 mile and 2nd place in the 70+ division in the 5 mile. Cathy and Maria arrived shortly before the 5 mile race started. We all headed back to the Links for lunch. Bill got an outdoors shower and felt pretty good. Joe and Maria headed to their bedroom for a nap. Cathy called our friend Margaret and arranged for her and Shelley to pick us up around 3:15 PM to bring us to Jim and Margaret's house warming party on Jonathon Hoffman Road. We were very impressed with their new home on the Canal. We partied until shortly after 5:00 PM, when Shelley dropped us off at the ferry terminal. We had a beautiful crossing viewing the setting sun from deck chairs in the balmy evening. We stopped at Fish On for an outside dinner before heading home. By the time we got everything organized, it was time for bed.

   Sunday had rain in the forecast, so Bill headed out at 7:45 AM for 63 miles of bike riding, the last 15 in the rain. Bill divided the workout into 3 parts. Meanwhile, Cathy went to the store and had a rainy walk over in Henlopen Landing. We ate lunch as the rain turned off and on. Bill viewed "House of Sand and Fog", which was an excellent Shakespearean style tragedy. Cathy didn't watch it because she thought it would be scary, which it wasn't. We grilled burgers for dinner in a very hard rain ("Men are waterproof."). During and after dinner, we viewed the first half of "Lawrence of Arabia", a stunningly beautiful film with an amazing cast.

        Bill and Cathy