Four blizzards in one day??

Mother nature was stuck on some crazy loop today: Blizzard, then all evidence melted away and then repeat. I was biking away on my CT (Ironman Switzerland course today) and couldn't believe my eyes as I looked out the patio door. A massive amount of snow blasting sideways across the yard -- and Mandalay was still outside!! Mandalay is one of my cats and I have to pay particular attention to her. She has this blood disorder where small little red bumps appear on her skin and the itchiness drives her so crazy she licks most of her fur off. Well, just on her belly, and behind her front and back legs. The poor little thing -- it looks as though someone took a razor to her. She gets a special ear cream twice a day for the rest of her life -- I just wish that her poor fur would grow back. :(

I hopped off the bike and opened the back door, calling Mandalay to come in -- and she came barreling in. She wasn't covered in snow because she has this special hiding spot by the deck. It is the opening for the old coal chute into the basement - it's propped open a bit and is another of the million and one things we have to fix. The only thing about that special spot is that the skunks of Frank like it a lot too. Knock on wood -- Diva and Toby haven't been nailed so far this year.

We did have a couple of close calls though. The other night, I let Diva out at some ungodly hour, when suddenly the piercing smell of skunk penetrated my nostrils. Man!! That stink is so powerful it can pass through concrete. We were quickly wide awake -- Mike ran to the back door, I ran to the front and we both hollered for Diva. She same in right away and had not been skunked!! You have no idea what an ordeal it is when your animal gets sprayed by a skunk -- of course with my two girls, they always get nailed head on in the face. We have this expensive skunk stuff from the vet and it works magic. Last time Diva got hit, it was around 4:00am -- (she's got a small bladder (like me!!) and as she gets older I have to let her out more frequently) and we didn't have any skunk remover. It was miserable outside so we couldn't force Diva to stay outside all night -- so she slept inside and WHEW and HOLY MACKEREL!!!! I was sick out of my mind with this terrible head cold and even I could smell it -- although the pong distinctly reminded me of green peppers?? LOL!!

As soon as the vet's opened, Mike went to load up on some de-skunker juice. On the way, he stopped at Fas Gas to grab a coffee, and as he was adding his cream and sugar, someone piped up, "Holy S*&^! Someone smells like skunk!" LOL!! I don't know what was more terrible for Mike -- having to publicly explain about how his blind dog stumbled into a skunk and then stunk up the whole house, or the realization that he had become somewhat accustomed the stink!! LOL!!!

I was really pumped about my bike workout today -- IG is increasing my power again. Yeah, baby, yeah!! This time, the increase was not only in the duration of the individual sets, there was also an increase in the power output for the 5 minute between each set:

Total bike: 2.5 hours
Main set: 6 x 10 min @ 150-165 W/ 5 min @ 110- 120W

I have to laugh though -- when I first set up my Computrainer, the manual tells you to warm up at 150W for 10 min. I always warm it up for 10 minutes, but not anywhere near 150W. Maybe by the end of the season I'll be ready to just warm up the CT for a "real" workout? LOL!!!!

I had big plans for my pushups after the bike -- the first set I cranked out 12!! I was thrilled, thinking, oh yeah, I can do three sets of 12 this week! Then, Peanut saw me on the floor and I panicked --- I've got to do this fast because Peanut's making a beeline for my back. I could only do ten. :( Before my third set, I walked back and forth from room to room trying to lose the Nut. She finally got bored and retired to the heated bathroom floor. I could barely make it to ten for my third set. I guess my puny little arms are taking a beating from all that pool arm-twirling!! LOL!!

After all this time, I opened the front door, and what did I see????