I woke up today with no voice, no sound, nada. This hasn't happened to me in a long time, but it sure brings back memories...of the last time I lost my voice. It totally sucks, especially if you have to talk to people on the phone. You are trying to tell them you lost your voice and they keep saying, WHAT??. Today was supposed to be a rest day, so I actually took it. I only walked the dog a couple of times and did some core exercises and stretches, but basically took the day off of exercise.

This weekend is packed with plenty of long riding, running and swimming. I am also slated to finish the painting at my new business. Yeah!! I just bought some paddles for the pool and will try them out tomorrow. I am trying (as always) to build some upper body strength. I think swimming is such a great way to balance out either running or cycling(or both), but unless you take it pretty seriously, you still have an imbalance of upper and lower body strength. It seems that most people spend more time running or cycling, than they do in the pool, so, I guess you either have ot weight train or swim more. I guess the alternative to that is to just be scrawny on top, which seems to suit most cyclists and runners just fine, as it seems to make people faster. I am beginning to think that balance is more important than speed at this point of my life. It also allows you to pick up new sports more easily and reduce your chance of injury.

I plan to get out on the bike fairly early tomorrow, so I finally bought some knee warmers. I have been freezing, seriously FREEZING on the bike if I get out too early. My hands can barely grip the brakes and my toes are unrecognizable to my brain as anything but blocks in my shoes. I'm hard pressed to venture forward because I'm not sure if I will even be able to grip the water bottle to drink the block of ice that has formed in my once liquid water bottle. So, I'm thinking the addition of the knee warmers may help me to feel warmer, though things may still be dangerously cold. I know it sounds silly, but let me tell you, you can still see the snow on the mountains here, and that never happens.