Category: Uncategorized

Road to Huntsman – September 2026 Swimming Training Plan

August is complete. I finished the month with 68,700 meters of swimming, approximately 75,131 yards, reaching the 75,000-yard goal I had set for myself. September has a very different purpose.

The Huntsman World Senior Games are getting close, and my first priority event, the 200-meter breaststroke, is October 7. It will be followed by the 800-meter freestyle and 1500-meter freestyle. Instead of chasing another monthly distance goal, September training will be structured around preparing specifically for those races.

Meters still matter because training volume has to be planned and controlled. The difference is that the monthly total is now a result of the training plan rather than the objective of the training plan.

September Training Priorities

There are three primary Huntsman events driving the September program:

200 m Breaststroke – race pace, speed endurance, pacing and race execution.
800 m Freestyle – race-pace endurance and the ability to maintain speed across eight consecutive 100-meter segments.
1500 m Freestyle – aerobic endurance, efficient pacing and maintaining technique over the entire race.

The 100-meter breaststroke will probably still be part of my Huntsman experience, but the September training program will not be designed around it.

The September Training Rules

Several practical limitations determine how the month has to be structured.

One no-swim day every week.
The normal rest day will be Saturday or Sunday.
The rest day can move to Friday when work or scheduling requires it.
Weekday workouts have a maximum of 2,500 meters.
I normally have only about 45 minutes in the pool during my weekday lunch break.
Longer endurance workouts will normally be scheduled for the weekend.
The September meter total is not a goal that needs to be chased.

The final rule is particularly important for race-specific workouts.

When a 200 breaststroke, 800 freestyle or 1500 freestyle race-pace effort is scheduled, it will occur at the beginning of the workout after a very short warm-up.

This is intended to better reproduce race conditions. At Huntsman I will not swim a long training workout before stepping onto the starting block for one of my events. A race simulation performed after 1,500 or 2,000 meters of previous training would measure something different.

Race-specific work performed later in a workout can still be useful, but I will consider that endurance-under-fatigue training rather than a race simulation.

How September Is Divided

The month begins with a short recovery period following the large training load at the end of August. Training then builds toward increasingly specific Huntsman work before the taper begins during the final part of September.

Dates	Phase	Objective
Sep. 1–2	Reset	Recover from August
Sep. 3–9	Build I	Race endurance
Sep. 10–16	Build II	Strong quality work
Sep. 17–22	Peak	Race specificity
Sep. 23–30	Taper	Reduce volume
Oct. 1–6	Final Taper	Freshness + race feel
Oct. 7	Race	200 m Breaststroke

The provisional taper begins around September 23. Tapering will not mean stopping hard swimming. The intention is to progressively reduce total meters while retaining short amounts of race-speed work so that fitness is maintained while accumulated fatigue decreases.

Preliminary September Schedule

The following is the preliminary framework for the month. Individual workouts may change based on completed workout data, recovery, work obligations and how I am responding to training.

September 1–6 – Recovery and Reset

Date	Meters	Goal
Sep. 1	1,800	Recovery + technique
Sep. 2	2,500	Aerobic FR + BR
Sep. 3	2,500	200 BR endurance
Sep. 4	2,500	800/1500 FR endurance
Sep. 5	3,000	Long mixed aerobic
Sep. 6	OFF	Recovery

Planned swimming: 12,300 meters

September 7–13 – Main Build

Date	Meters	Goal
Sep. 7	2,500	1500 FR pace/endurance
Sep. 8	2,500	200 BR race endurance
Sep. 9	2,500	Recovery + technique
Sep. 10	2,500	800 FR threshold/pace
Sep. 11	2,500	Mixed endurance
Sep. 12	3,500	Long 1500 FR focus
Sep. 13	OFF	Recovery

Planned swimming: 16,000 meters

September 14–20 – Peak Training Week

Date	Meters	Goal
Sep. 14	2,500	200 BR race pace
Sep. 15	2,500	1500 FR race endurance
Sep. 16	2,500	Recovery + technique
Sep. 17	2,500	800 FR race pace
Sep. 18	2,500	BR + FR combination
Sep. 19	3,500	Long race-specific work
Sep. 20	OFF	Recovery

Planned swimming: 16,000 meters

This is currently planned as the strongest race-specific week of September. The objective isn’t simply maximum volume. The important work will be performed at increasingly precise Huntsman race intensities.

September 21–27 – Transition to Taper

Date	Meters	Goal
Sep. 21	2,500	1500 FR race pace
Sep. 22	2,500	200 BR rehearsal
Sep. 23	2,000	Taper begins
Sep. 24	2,000	800 FR race pace
Sep. 25	2,000	BR speed + turns
Sep. 26	2,500	Controlled endurance
Sep. 27	OFF	Recovery

Planned swimming: 13,500 meters

September 28–30 – Taper Continues

Date	Meters	Goal
Sep. 28	1,800	200 BR race pace
Sep. 29	1,800	800/1500 FR pace
Sep. 30	1,600	Technique + speed

The preliminary September plan totals approximately 59,200 meters. That number will almost certainly change as individual workouts are evaluated and adjusted. Unlike August, there is no requirement to reach a particular monthly total.

Week One – September 1–6

The first week is already planned in detail. Because August ended with a very large workload, there are no true race simulations during this opening block. The progression is recovery, aerobic work, breaststroke endurance, freestyle endurance, a longer mixed session and then a complete day away from the pool.

Tuesday, September 1 – Recovery and Technique

Total: 1,800 meters

Warmup:
200 Freestyle easy, 20s rest
100 Breaststroke easy, 30s rest

Main Set:
4x100 Freestyle easy, 15s rest. 30s rest after set
4x50 Breaststroke smooth, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x100 Freestyle aerobic, 15s rest. 30s rest after set
4x50 Breaststroke smooth, 20s rest. 30s rest after set

Warm Down:
300 Freestyle easy

The purpose is recovery rather than performance. Freestyle should remain comfortable and breaststroke should emphasize smooth timing and technique.

Wednesday, September 2 – Aerobic Freestyle and Controlled Breaststroke

Total: 2,500 meters

Warmup:
200 Freestyle easy, 20s rest
100 Breaststroke easy, 30s rest

Main Set:
4x200 Freestyle aerobic, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x50 Breaststroke smooth, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x100 Freestyle aerobic strong, 15s rest. 30s rest after set
4x100 Breaststroke controlled, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
2x100 Freestyle easy, 15s rest

Warm Down:
200 Freestyle easy

This returns to the normal weekday maximum while keeping the intensity controlled. The objective is aerobic conditioning and clean swimming rather than threshold work.

Thursday, September 3 – 200 Breaststroke Endurance

Total: 2,500 meters

Warmup:
200 Freestyle easy, 20s rest
100 Breaststroke easy, 30s rest

Main Set:
4x50 Breaststroke build, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x100 Breaststroke strong controlled, 25s rest. 30s rest after set
200 Freestyle easy, 20s rest
4x150 Breaststroke endurance, 25s rest. 30s rest after set
200 Freestyle easy, 20s rest
4x100 Breaststroke strong, 25s rest. 30s rest after set

Warm Down:
200 Freestyle easy

This is breaststroke endurance training rather than a 200-meter race simulation. The goal is to sustain efficient breaststroke while accumulating meaningful race-specific volume.

Friday, September 4 – 800/1500 Freestyle Endurance

Total: 2,500 meters

Warmup:
200 Freestyle easy, 20s rest
100 Breaststroke easy, 30s rest

Main Set:
3x400 Freestyle endurance, 30s rest. 30s rest after set
4x100 Freestyle strong aerobic, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x50 Breaststroke smooth, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
2x100 Freestyle strong, 20s rest

Warm Down:
200 Freestyle easy

The 400-meter repetitions provide the primary endurance work. The goal is to progressively move toward threshold pace without turning the workout into another CSS test.

Saturday, September 5 – Long Mixed Aerobic

Total: 3,000 meters

Warmup:
200 Freestyle easy
100 Breaststroke easy, 30s rest

Main Set:
4x200 Freestyle aerobic, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x100 Breaststroke smooth endurance, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
5x200 Freestyle strong aerobic, 20s rest. 30s rest after set
4x50 Breaststroke smooth, 20s rest

Warm Down:
300 Freestyle easy

This is the week’s longest session, but there is no reason to repeat the 6,000-meter swims from August. The goal is controlled endurance with the ability to finish the primary freestyle work strongly.

Sunday, September 6 – No Swim

Planned recovery day.

This is a complete day away from swimming rather than an optional recovery workout. Normal daily activity is fine, but the purpose is to absorb the first five days of September training before beginning the next build week.

Week One at a Glance

Date	Meters	Focus
Sep. 1	1,800	Recovery
Sep. 2	2,500	Aerobic
Sep. 3	2,500	200 BR
Sep. 4	2,500	800/1500 FR
Sep. 5	3,000	Long aerobic
Sep. 6	OFF	Recovery
Total	12,300

Planning One Week at a Time

The overall September framework is established, but I am not going to lock every individual workout into place a month in advance.

I want each training week planned ahead so I know exactly what I am doing when I arrive at the pool. At the end of each week, however, I will evaluate the completed FORM and TrainingPeaks data before finalizing the following week’s workouts.

That gives the program structure without preventing it from responding to actual performance. Pace, heart rate, stroke consistency, fatigue and recovery can all influence what happens next.

The Shift from August to September

August was largely about rebuilding endurance, establishing benchmarks and discovering what I could currently do. By the end of the month I had a 1:39.5/100-meter CSS benchmark, meaningful training performances at my Huntsman race distances and more than 68 kilometers of swimming completed during the month.

September is about converting that fitness into racing ability.

The 1500 freestyle needs sustainable aerobic speed. The 800 freestyle needs increasingly precise race-pace endurance. The 200 breaststroke needs speed endurance, pacing and race execution. All three need enough recovery that I arrive in October with the fitness from August and September available rather than buried underneath accumulated fatigue.

The distance goal is behind me. September is where training starts becoming racing.

2026-08-30

Road to Huntsman: Recovery Mode with a 100M Breaststroke Focus

Today’s Huntsman training continued the recovery approach I started this week. I again limited the workout to 2,500 meters, but this time the primary objective was the 100-meter breaststroke.

Rather than trying to set another personal training best, the goal was to accumulate quality 100-meter breaststroke efforts while keeping the total training load under control.

The workout included 1,150 meters of breaststroke and 1,350 meters of freestyle. Most importantly, it provided nine dedicated 100-meter breaststroke swims spread throughout the session.

August 12 Workout Summary

Metric	Result
Total Distance	2,500 m
Freestyle Distance	1,350 m
Breaststroke Distance	1,150 m
Total Swim Time	41:31.4
Total Rest Time	8:30.0
Total Session Time	50:01.4
Overall Moving Pace	1:39.7 /100 m
Average Freestyle Pace	1:32.1 /100 m
Average Breaststroke Pace	1:48.5 /100 m

Workout Structure

The first 1,000 meters consisted of alternating 100-meter freestyle and breaststroke repeats. The second portion shifted to alternating 150-meter freestyle and 100-meter breaststroke, followed by short mixed work to finish.

Set	Stroke	Distance	Swim Time	Pace /100	Rest
1	Freestyle	100 m	1:33.85	1:33.85	0:10.57
2	Breaststroke	100 m	1:45.76	1:45.76	0:18.78
3	Freestyle	100 m	1:29.44	1:29.44	0:16.50
4	Breaststroke	100 m	1:46.12	1:46.12	0:23.38
5	Freestyle	100 m	1:29.40	1:29.40	0:18.49
6	Breaststroke	100 m	1:45.12	1:45.12	0:27.60
7	Freestyle	100 m	1:33.01	1:33.01	0:15.67
8	Breaststroke	100 m	1:48.27	1:48.27	0:22.31
9	Freestyle	100 m	1:32.38	1:32.38	0:18.80
10	Breaststroke	100 m	1:47.03	1:47.03	0:22.16
11	Freestyle	150 m	2:18.68	1:32.45	0:19.09
12	Breaststroke	100 m	1:50.26	1:50.26	0:30.88
13	Freestyle	150 m	2:20.00	1:33.33	0:21.67
14	Breaststroke	100 m	1:47.45	1:47.45	0:28.45
15	Freestyle	150 m	2:21.33	1:34.22	0:40.95
16	Breaststroke	100 m	1:48.53	1:48.53	0:19.76
17	Freestyle	150 m	2:21.99	1:34.66	0:21.94
18	Breaststroke	100 m	1:49.33	1:49.33	0:31.91
19–21	Mixed FR / BR	300 m	4:59.31	1:39.77	1:11.37
22	Freestyle	100 m	1:33.32	1:33.32	—
23	Breaststroke	100 m	1:50.86	1:50.86	—

The Main Set: Repeating the 100M Breaststroke

The important numbers today weren’t necessarily the fastest numbers. They were the repeated 100-meter breaststroke performances.

100M Breaststroke	Time	Difference From Best
1	1:45.76	+3.21
2	1:46.12	+3.57
3	1:45.12	+2.57
4	1:48.27	+5.72
5	1:47.03	+4.48
6	1:50.26	+7.71
7	1:47.45	+4.90
8	1:48.53	+5.98
9	1:49.33	+6.78

My current 100-meter breaststroke training best remains 1:42.55 from August 9.

Today’s fastest 100 was 1:45.12, only 2.57 seconds slower than that benchmark. More importantly, three of the first five breaststroke 100s were under 1:47.

That is useful information on a recovery day. I wasn’t trying to produce one all-out 100 and then stop. The objective was to repeatedly return to the 100-meter breaststroke while alternating it with freestyle.

Where Fatigue Appeared

The breaststroke times also provide a clear picture of accumulated fatigue.

The opening breaststroke block was generally in the 1:45–1:48 range. During the second half, most of the dedicated 100s moved toward approximately 1:47–1:50.

That’s a relatively modest decline considering the number of 100-meter breaststroke repeats completed. More importantly, there wasn’t a dramatic collapse in pace.

For a workout designed around recovery rather than maximum performance, that’s probably more useful than producing a single exceptionally fast repeat.

Freestyle Stayed Strong

Freestyle was primarily being used to separate the breaststroke efforts, but the pace remained surprisingly strong.

Across 1,350 meters of freestyle, the average moving pace was approximately 1:32.1 per 100 meters.

The opening five 100-meter freestyle repeats were:

100M	Time
1	1:33.85
2	1:29.44
3	1:29.40
4	1:33.01
5	1:32.38

That’s another indication that reducing total distance this week has not meant losing speed. The workload is lower, but the quality of the swimming remains good.

Updated Huntsman Benchmarks

Today’s workout does not change any of my four official event benchmarks.

Event	Today’s Best Qualifying Effort	Current Best	2025 Bronze	2025 4th
1500M Freestyle	—	24:21.26	25:04.75	25:06.88
800M Freestyle	—	12:40.25	12:32.85	12:56.76
200M Breaststroke	—	3:31.71	3:39.92	4:00.27
100M Breaststroke	1:45.12	1:42.55	1:32.97	1:37.95

Current Gap to the 2025 Medal Standards

Event	Current Benchmark	Gap to Bronze	Gap to 4th
1500M Freestyle	24:21.26	43.49 sec faster	45.62 sec faster
800M Freestyle	12:40.25	7.40 sec behind	16.51 sec faster
200M Breaststroke	3:31.71	8.21 sec faster	28.56 sec faster
100M Breaststroke	1:42.55	9.58 sec behind	4.60 sec behind

Why Today’s Workout Matters

It’s easy to evaluate a workout by asking whether I set a personal best.

That wasn’t the point today.

This is a recovery week following two very large weekend training sessions. The objective is to allow the previous workload to produce adaptation without simply stacking more fatigue on top of it.

Today’s 2,500 meters accomplished that while still providing highly specific training for the 100-meter breaststroke.

I completed repeated 100-meter breaststroke efforts, kept several of them reasonably close to my current best, maintained strong freestyle between them, and stopped the workout at the planned 2,500 meters.

That last part may be as important as anything else.

There was no reason to turn a productive 2,500-meter recovery workout into another 4,000- or 5,000-meter endurance session simply because I felt capable of continuing.

Recovery Week Continues

The pattern this week is becoming clear: less volume without abandoning quality.

Yesterday concentrated on breaststroke with a strong 200-meter effort. Today shifted the emphasis toward repeated 100-meter breaststroke swimming.

Neither workout exceeded 2,500 meters.

That is intentional. The endurance base doesn’t need to be demonstrated every day. Right now the objective is to absorb the previous training, maintain race-specific speed and technique, and emerge from the recovery period ready for the next build phase.

Today’s headline: No new personal best—and that’s perfectly fine. Nine dedicated 100-meter breaststroke efforts, a fastest repeat of 1:45.12, strong freestyle between them, and the discipline to stop at the planned 2,500 meters.

2026-08-12

67 Days Until Event – 2500 Today

I chose to do an on-the-fly 2500M today. I had limited time, so started out with longer breaststroke and freestyle sets and ended up with shorter 50s of both. It was not a day that I would break any time records. I will try to fit in an 800m freestyle as a part of my tomorrow workout.

8/4/2026 Workout Summary

Metric	Value
Total Distance	2,500 m
Total Swim Time	42:17
Total Rest Time	8:19
Total Session Time	50:36
Workout Sets	15
Average Swim Pace	1:41.5 /100 m

Workout Structure

Set	Stroke	Distance	Time	Pace /100 m	Rest
1	Freestyle	100 m	1:23.7	1:23.7	0:21
2	Mixed (200 BR + 200 FR)	400 m	6:46.8	1:41.7	1:02
3	Breaststroke	100 m	1:48.6	1:48.6	0:26
4	Freestyle	200 m	3:17.2	1:38.6	0:21
5	Breaststroke	100 m	1:47.6	1:47.6	0:24
6	Mixed	300 m	5:14.7	1:44.9	0:32
7	Mixed	100 m	1:39.7	1:39.7	0:24
8	Mixed	200 m	3:21.2	1:40.6	0:28
9	Mixed (4×50)	200 m	3:19.3	1:39.6	0:57
10	Freestyle	100 m	1:33.8	1:33.8	0:18
11	Breaststroke	50 m	0:55.5	1:51.0	0:20
12	Freestyle	100 m	1:36.8	1:36.8	0:18
13	Breaststroke	150 m	2:39.2	1:46.1	1:06
14	Mixed (3×100)	300 m	5:12.7	1:44.2	1:12
15	Mixed (2×50)	100 m	1:40.6	1:40.6	—

Benchmark Table

Event	Current Best Training	Today’s Best Relevant Swim	2025 Bronze	2025 4th
1500 m Freestyle	25:46.0 (8/2)	—	25:04.75	25:06.88
800 m Freestyle	14:08.0 (8/2)	—	12:32.85	12:56.76
200 m Breaststroke	3:41.3 (8/3)	≈3:37.2 pace (from the 150 m in 2:39.2)	3:39.92	4:00.27
100 m Breaststroke	1:44.0 (7/26)	1:47.6	1:32.97	1:37.95

Gap to Medal Table

Event	Gap to Bronze	Gap to 4th
1500 m Freestyle	41.3 sec	39.1 sec
800 m Freestyle	1:35.2	1:11.2
200 m Breaststroke	Current best: 1.4 sec behind Bronze • 18.9 sec ahead of 4th
100 m Breaststroke	11.0 sec	6.1 sec

AI Evaluation

This wasn’t designed as a race-test day, but there are several encouraging points:

Your 100 m breaststroke repeats (1:48.6 and 1:47.6) were close to your best training speed despite being embedded in a larger interval workout.
The 150 m breaststroke in 2:39.2 corresponds to a pace of about 1:46.1/100 m. While it’s not directly comparable to a 200 m race, it’s consistent with the strong breaststroke performances you’ve shown over the past week.
Your freestyle remained controlled throughout the session, with late-workout 100 m repeats of 1:33.8 and 1:36.8, indicating good speed retention under fatigue.

Road to Huntsman

Your trend over the past several workouts continues to be strongest in the 200 m breaststroke:

7/19: 3:59.5
7/30: 3:45.6
8/3: 3:41.3 (best)
8/4: Maintained race-quality breaststroke pace during interval work rather than regressing.

The consistency of your breaststroke pace across consecutive workouts suggests that the improvement isn’t just a single exceptional swim—it’s becoming repeatable. That’s an encouraging sign as you continue building toward the Huntsman World Senior Games.

2026-08-04

Day 101 of 2026 – April 11th

I have been remiss in posting for the last two days, the bottom line is there was not much going on. Today, however, was a busy day. I didn’t get everything done I wanted to get done, but that’s OK, it was a Saturday. I started off the day with my normal get up, have coffee, let the dogs in and out, give them their snacks, and then wade through my personal email. do a quick check on work email – I always make sure nothing urgent.

When Jesse got up I too Res on his morning walk, today was a lone walk and we did about 3.25 miles. It was a good walk until Res noticed that I was starting to turn him back to the house, then he changed speed from bunny speed to snail speed. He likes being out and about and when I turn back to the house he notices.

When we got back home it was now Climber’s turn. I took her on a slightly longer walk because she walks a little faster than Res does and she needs her exercise, she needs to loose 9 pounds. We have cut her back on her food a bit. I am being a little stingy on her treats, and I am going to start figuring out how to start giving her more outside time during the weekdays. Anyways, her part of the walk was really good, except for something that I will describe after her walk gallery.

I love our Prairie Dogs, the are cute, they are funny, and even Res and Climber love to watch them. They are harmless. They build their colonies in empty fields, they do not build in peoples lawns, and they have family units. So, imaging my surprise and horror when I see some asshole in the field next to one of the churches up on Tower Boulevard in the middle of the Prairie dog colony.

What this idiot was doing was using a shovel to seal off one end of the tunnels and then he was sticking a long hose with a funnel into the other end of the tunnels and dumping something, I assume poison, down the hole and then sealing the colony into the holes. The way he was approaching it, he has done this before. As soon as I saw what he was doing and started taking photographs of him, his actions, and his license plate, he suddenly put his stuff away and got really nervous.

I want to point out that there are so many things wrong with this. First, poisoning entire colonies of Prairie Dogs is wrong. Second, he did not mark the field so no one knows what chemicals he was using. Third, if another animal gets one of the poisoned Prairie Dogs they will die was well. Poison is forever. Third, this is baby time, this is the time the young ones are born and in the caverns. Given where he was, this apparently is a sanctioned activity by the Church. Perhaps someone should sit down and read a few passages in the Bible about compassion and all that stuff.

I will be filing a formal complaint with all my photos to the State Wildlife Department, the Aurora Police Department, the Aurora Animal Control department, and the State Department of Licensing (wildlife control is a licensed activity and I somehow doubt this idiot was licensed.) There is nothing I can do for that colony of Prairie Dogs, but I can sure follow-up on this and make sure at least this idiot’s actions are seen and noted.

So, after I walked back home from that little discovery, I sat down and had breakfast with Jesse. And then I decided I wanted to go swim. I got to the Central Recreation Center, and believe it or not, got a lane pretty quickly in the lap pool. Unfortunately that did not last long. I had just gotten about 300 yards in when there are kids jumping into the lap pool without looking. It turns out that they had to close the main pool because yet again someone had a bathroom accident in it. This is now two weekends in a row, and that means that the pools will be bad tomorrow.

I gave up and decided to drive over to the Utah Indoor Pool that just re-opened and everyone keeps telling me that I should try. It’s a 25 meter pool, a little longer than the 25 yard pool I have been swimming in, But, it’s about 6 miles from the house and takes me a little longer to get to. I was able to get in a nice 2000 meter swim. I was annoyed, but recovered. I haven’t swum in a 25meter pool in a while so it took me a while to get used to the wall that had moved (25 yards to 25 meters — do the math kids.)

When I got home I decided to tackle putting the irrigation system box in place for the right side of the backyard, one more step to remove some heavy water use from the system (we are moving to drip and micro irrigation for anything that is not lawn area. It’s just not an easy thing to do as the yard is clay and I have to find the lines that I can disconnect and the ones that I need to tie into.

Anyways, then it was time to take Res and Climber on their afternoon walks, and feed them, feed us, and relax for the evening. I managed to get the laundry done, well actually waiting on the last load to finish drying, but one less thing that I do not need to worry about tomorrow. On my list of things I really want to do tomorrow is to dig out all of my hydroponic planting stuff from the shed, figure out where it is going to live this year, and then I want to build the double buckets that are now sitting in the living room still packed. This will be a part of the hydroponic setup this year, and I think that should keep me busy most of the day. I may skips my swim tomorrow, not sure yet on that one. I will see how I feel in the morning. Nothing’s wrong, but I do want to get some stuff done around here at the house.

Anyways, Res and Climber say goodnight and maybe we will see you all tomorrow.

Don’t they look innocent?

2026-04-11
Day 085 of 2026 – March 26th

I almost missed today, I am actually posting this tomorrow morning. I got caught up in a book I was reading and neglected my blog. I must be a bad person. No, seriously, I occasionally miss and have to play catch-up. Not a bad day for work today, there were a few orgizational changes that in the long run will make my life easier, and I am sort of thankful for that.

I tried to go swim today, but once again the pool had a school group over in the ricer walk area, therefor all of the river walkers were in the lap pool and also there was a swim lesson that was taking on lane out of four, and I have limited time at lunch so this was just not going to work. I ended up doing a walk along the Toll Gate trail instead.

I think it may be about time for our visitors to go home for the Summer.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Total distance: 4.04 mi
Max elevation: 5612 ft
Min elevation: 5533 ft
Total climbing: 260 ft
Total descent: -253 ft
Average speed: 4.20 mi/h
Average cadence:
Average heart rate: 111
Average temperature: 29.7
Total time: 00:58:04

The rest of the day was normal. Nothing to exciting and nothing different. I think that will wrap up the 26th.

Day 085 of 2026 – March 26th
18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA

Get directions
From:

2026-03-26
Day 080 of 2026 – March 21st

It was a busy day today. I started the day off in my normal fashion, got up, dogs out, dogs given morning snacks, and then sat down with coffee and my email to see if anything additionally bad had happened overnight. I was pleasantly surprised, my email was not overwhelmed at all. Maybe all of our advance messaging on the app updates at work helped a little.

Doing this out of order, but a little later in the day I did finish my release testing and found a few minor problems and one major one on the iOS app. The Android is fine, I didn’t find anything wrong. I used to have the attitude that I liked Apple products because they just work. My recent experience has been different and I have grown to appreciate the Android product line more and more. Even the apps developed for Android are just better apps. Anyways, got that done and submitted my testing findings to my manager and it looks like the development team was watching the document as well.

Jumping back to this morning, I had my Physical Therapist appointment this morning over at UC Health for my left shoulder. I am now a little more positive about getting ready for the Mountain Swim Series in June. My PT wants me to get back into the pool and start swimming again. He thinks that it may actually help the area in my shoulder that is hurting. He says that I carry my left shoulder in a tighter fashion than my right one, and that is causing pain on my trapezius muscle and he could feel a knot in that muscle that is hard to get rid of. I got 20 minutes of massage and then we did some mild weight work, I think I will be able to follow that in the gym with a few dumbbells. Anyways, he wants to see me again next Saturday at the same time after I swim for the week. I will probably do 4-5 swims between now and then. I am taking one day and going hiking at Red Rocks and that will not be a swim day.

After the appointment I decided to check out a new trail (well new to me) that I have ridden light rail next to many times but keep saying I need to make time to check this out, and this is the first time I have been able to do so. It’s really neat. The paved trail goes North from the Fitzimins R Line station and first goes through the Cotton Wood Discovery Center. I found a few interesting things there but the most interesting one was a series of “Bee Hotels” that are designed for “solitary bees”, I never knew it was a thing, but look it up sometime, it’s really. There are bees that are not honeybees and are not part of hives, but they are still pollinators. These hives, or Bee Hotels were built for those bees.

At the Cotton Wood discovery center there was also a few areas to learn about the cottonwood trees and some of the history behind them.

Leaving the Cotton Wood Discovery center and heading West (I think) we leave Aurora and cross into Denver along the Sand Creek Greenway. There was a beaver that has been busy on one of the trees along the trail.

From there I had a bit of a climb, and finally got to a spot overlooking the creek and had a beautiful view of the mountains. There should be much more snow at a much lower elevation. We are going to have water and fire issues this year.

I finally reached the Bluff Lake Nature center which looks like it is brand new, or has just been rebuilt. I never knew this existed. It’s a trail and visitor center, as well as several learning areas for local school groups around Bluff Lake. Seems also to be a bird watching paradise because there were several bird photographers around with extremely expensive equipment trying to capture the perfect photo. I think I do pretty well with my Samsung Galaxy A24 Ultra Android phone.

I was able to get a few pretty neat 360 degree panoramic views as well. Click into it and look around! See if you can spot the dude with the extremely expensive equipment on one of the banks. Actually he was a pretty friendly guy, was pleasant when I walked by and I think I may have accidentally messed up his shot when the bird took off.

They also had some really neat waterfalls and little rapids in the stream as it went by. I think a few school groups may visit here because they have a locked up area for nets and river shoes.

I took the time to walk all of the trails that are open, there were some areas that are closed and are still under development, it was time to head back. I headed back to the parking lot staying on the Sand Creek Green way, following the creek back in the direction of Toll Gate Park. One of my future plans will be to walk that last 3 miles of Sand Creek Green way where it connects to Toll Gate Trail (which I have done all of). When I had completed all of this I was surprised that I was just over 6 miles walking. I thought it was a bit longer than that given that I had crossed over into Denver.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Total distance: 6.1 mi
Max elevation: 5351 ft
Min elevation: 5289 ft
Total climbing: 397 ft
Total descent: -384 ft
Average speed: 4.08 mi/h
Average cadence:
Average heart rate: 106
Average temperature: 31.5
Total time: 01:33:10

When I got home I saw the Jesse had gotten the front flower bed under the garage window ready for planting. We have held off on doing anything with this because we really wanted to see if anything was going to grow in it on it’s own. When you move into a house you never know what you are going to find. Well, last year all that grew was weeds. We need to see what Jesse has planned to put in here. I think he wants to go with Colorado Native Perennials that are water wise (we really have to conserve water here).

For the afternoon Jesse and I made some needed changes to my VHF antenna on the roof. It needed to be lifted up a little higher, it still needs another 5ft of pole, but I don’t want to do that until after the house is painted and we have it secured better to the gable over Jesse’s office. I also need to run some grounding wires as if it goes any higher it is going to be a lightning attraction issue. Once that project was done Jesse started putting seeds in the seed trays so that we will have our veggies for the Summer growing season which looks like it is going to be longer than normal.

I went and started laying out the changes to the irrigation system that I am going to make this year. We really do not understand why the prior owners watered all of the rock along with the little gardens and lawn. To us this is a major waster of water and money. So, I am going to use drip and micro-spray irrigation in the gardens that are spread through the rock. The other part of this is that the piping that is in the ground is old and is starting to decay. We have 3-4 major leaks that I have already abandoned parts of the system in the last year alone. That project will be ongoing and but I want to get the main part of it done before I put water into the system, which I know I am going to have to do sometime in the next month or so.

To round out the evening we took the dogs for a short walk, it was a little warm for them outside today and with the temperature swings we have been having I do not want to push it with them too much on temperatures. Then it was rest time until dinner. We had hot dogs and potato salad, Climber and Res had their mix of chicken/veggies/rice with kibble. Everyone was happy.

I think this is where I call it a day. It was a positive day, nothing to complain about, and I am grateful every day that we moved out of Florida, that Jesse is here, that we have Res and Climber, and that we are slowly making progress on the things that matter to us most with the house. See you tomorrow!

Day 080 of 2026 – March 21st
18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA

Get directions
From:

2026-03-21
Day 074 of 2026 – March 15th

Got up this morning to a gift from the “Colorado Snow Gods” and found about an inch or two of snow all over the place. Given that it was 80 degrees yesterday and is going to be warm again tomorrow, I am not that worried about shoveling it. The ground was warm so under the snow there is some ice to deal with. The dogs went out, had a great time running around in the yard.

After Jesse got up I did walks, one at a time. Res, once he got over being cold, had a good time playing at the end of his leash in the snow.

Climber, the puppy that she is tried to pull me down a few times, but I did walk off the path a little bit to take a look at little stream that runs through the park. We’ve been here about a year and a half now and I have yet to walk over and look at it.

Of course Climber wanted to go swim, but that wasn’t going to happen in this lifetime. She then decided it was a good time to do zoomies at the end of her leash. I got her home, did a little backyard cleanup and then had breakfast. The snow does not help me get some of the things I had planned on getting done today done as I did want to do a few things in the backyard.

I spent some time trying to figure out what was wrong with the CAT control for one of my radios. It seems there was a version upgrade that was causing me all sorts of grief. So, once that was figured out it seems by Yaesu FT-710 Transceiver is working again. Let’s see if that solves some of the issues I have been having. I still need to resolve the issues with the antenna, but I now have a plan for that as well, that will be taken care of once I can get a post in the ground to help support my tall antenna. I am going to post my configuration files on the KO4YAW menu at the top of this site for anyone that wants them or cares.

And once I figured that all out I finally figured out how to get the packet bulletins to show on this WordPress site. Hey, there are some neat things in the packet bulletins, no advertising, and some really good information. You just have to find it in the groups. Take a look at the group page and see what you find: KO4YAW Packet Bulletins

I am on a roll! I also fixed the API scripts from Weatherflow that handles our Tempest Backyard weather station. That is AWESOME news because now my APRS weather information is being sent out properly.

I will probably figure out a way to create a weather routine for this blog as well. I also need to re-solder the antenna connection for the VHF/UHF radio, Climber pulled it down the other day off the desk and it tore the end off the antenna cable. I suck at soldering so I may ask Jesse to do that for me.

Did the afternoon walks, fed the dogs and then it was time for our own dinner. We had some excellent veggie and beef stew. Good thing we have a few extra days for lunch.

Tomorrows plans, I have work (of course), I really need to try to get back into the pool. If work is not too crazy I am going to try to vanish for an hours lunch break. I really want to get some longer swims in for the Mountain Lake Swim series in June. Today was a pretty good day. I got some things done that were bothering me and I kept running out of time to do it. So, what am I thankful for today? Well, my health, living in Colorado – Florida has gone crazy, the pack (Res and Climber), and Jesse for always being there.

Day 074 of 2026 – March 15th
18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA

Get directions
From:

2026-03-15
Day 054 of 2026

Climber was a lot better this morning. When I got up and let her out of her x-pen (yes, she is in one at night) she attempted to race me down the steps. There is still a little limp, but I really think she is just sore. She loves her walks and perhaps she had a little too much walk yesterday. Anyways, got up with the dogs and did our morning routine: outs, snacks, and then Res goes back to bed, Climber stays downstairs with me. As today is a travel day, I had to get my stuff together. I did most of my packing last night, but I still need to do the cords, the power adapters, and try and figure out if I forgot anything.

Jesse took me to the A-Train and then that is my ride to the airport. Takes me less than an hour from leaving the house to get to the airport, luggage dropped, through security, and to my gate. I love flying out of Denver. Once all the required stuff was done I was able to walk the terminal and get my steps in for the day. I forgot to start my indoor walk activity so I guess the time does not count, the steps will.

Flight boarded and we almost go out on time. Minor delay when they had a hydraulic indicator up front, but that was resolved in 15-20 minutes. I like when things are resolved quickly.

We are now probably an hour or so out of Orlando.

Arrived in Orlando about an hour late. Took another hour to get my luggage, and then it is off to the rental car lot and then the hotel. I have absolutely no idea why GPS took me the way it did back to the hotel, but I saw some new areas of Orlando that I have not seen before.

Anyways, I am in for the evening, so I am going to say goodnight, and tomorrow is another day.

2026-02-23
Day 045 of 2026
Today did not start off as planned. The dogs and I got up at our normal time. Spent our quiet time with snacks and outs. Jesse got up around 9am as normal. And then things changed.

Gizmo started howling. Now, she has been howling a lot lately, but this was different, this went on for about 30 minutes before I went to find her. Normally when she howls she is in the hall and it is obvious, this time she was no where to be found and I had to go look for her. I found her crouched under a night table, amid dried up poop. I picked her up and took her downstairs with me. She ran to her litter box and then projectile vomited all over the place. I found two other spots as well.

I did my morning walks with Res and Climber while thinking through what to do. I despise ER vet visits, but I also do not like my current vet that we started using for the dogs when we first moved out here. I got back to the house, we had breakfast, and I decided that I had to take Gizmo to the vet. I already knew what the outcome would end up being, projectile vomiting is never a good thing with her, and I was not going to put her through yet another surgery. It was not a financial thing, she has good pet insurance, it’s an age a quality of life thing.

I made my initial FaceBook post as I always do as I left the vet. No last minute photographs, I don’t believe in that.
```
RIP Gizmo. 

We will post more later.

Update: Hi all thank you so much for all of your messages and thoughts, but for Gizmo please think some happy thoughts. Seriously I know it doesn't sound right, but she is in a much better space now. I firmly believe it. She has not been happy for some time, she has been sick, she has not been cleaning herself and she has been withdrawing more and more. I make all of our pets a promise when we adopt them, that when quality of life disappears then I will be there with them when it is time. Promise kept. This was not too soon, this was right. This was not a financial decision, she has very good insurance, this was a quality of life.

I leave this post with one last thought

The vet had to sedate her to even place a catheter.  That part was done without me present as I did not want to remember that. But she was still with us when they brought her to me, wrapped in a blanket and when she laid down next to me she started purring. As calm as could be. She purred until right after the anesthesia took hold. She left this word happy.

This is the first time I did not sit with a pet for 10-15 minutes after the procedure. I just couldn't. I really just wanted to remember the last bit of purring. It was as though she was telling me all would be OK.
```
RIP Gizmo 5/4/2008 – 2/14/2026

Gizmo walked into our lives on July 4, 2008 and stole the heart of Bracken. She was raised by a gentle greyhound that let her lay on him and sleep with him without a worry in the world. She welcomed every greyhound since with open arms and taught them quickly…. Don’t mess with me or I will get you.

She ruled the roost when it came to the greyhounds. She thought she was a greyhound and would do the same things that they would do. She would drink out of the same water bowl they drank out of, despite it being raised off the floor. She was known as the clean up crew…. If you left food in your bowl she was going to come clean it up and if you were eating too slow she might just walk between your legs and help you eat your dinner.

She was the best judge of a greyhound when it came to them being cat safe. We knew within minutes if a greyhound visiting the house or was a candidate to join the pack was cat safe or not. She would disappear and go under our bed and would not come out if the hound wasn’t cat safe. If it was cat safe or workable she would sit in the edge of the door watching and deciding her next move. She never took shit off of a hound and always put them in their place if they thought they were king of the house.

She would sleep in the biggest dog beds in the house and even would sleep in the “golden crate”. The dogs knew that if she was on a bed or in a crate you didn’t bother her. She was sharp and would put you in your place.

She expected the same treats that the dogs got and would give them an evil eye if they were getting too close before she got her treat and don’t even think about taking it from her because before you knew it your nose was sore with that machine gun like paw of her’s…. She would slap sense into you before you knew what hit you.

Over the years she still slept with the greyhounds and earned their respect and they earned her’s. She always looked after the pack even when they were outside. If she saw something that wasn’t right she would let out a growl that would get your attention and make us get up and go see what was going on. She was always right… Something was a miss outside with her pack.

She will be missed on calls as she always let her displeasure with management known and had an uncanny ability to know when everyone on the call was displeased with something…. She would caterwaul at the right time and make everyone on the call laugh.

She will be missed by us and the pack!

Gizmo First Photo

Gizmo And Bracken Best Buds

Gizmo And Bracken

Gizmo and Mindy

Gizmo During Florida Move

Cleanup Duty

Communal Water Bowl

Gizmo and Lady

Little Marshmallow

Gizmo’s Portrait

Prime Real Estate

Favoriate Spot in Florida

Gizmo and Res

Gizmo and Res

Goodbye – Run with the Pack

After I came home, I needed to just be outside for a while, so I went for my afternoon jog/walk. Went locally because I really didn’t feel like going anyplace distant.

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Total distance: 5.25 mi
Max elevation: 5649 ft
Min elevation: 5472 ft
Total climbing: 429 ft
Total descent: -428 ft
Average speed: 4.35 mi/h
Average cadence: 59
Average heart rate: 116
Average temperature:
Total time: 01:15:05

I think I am going to say goodnight for the evening and see you all tomorrow. I am hoping for a better day.

Day 045 of 2026
18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA

Get directions
From:
2026-02-14
Day 036 of 2026

It’s nice to be home. But, really not much to talk about today, it was a work day and a very busy one at that. I logged in around 6:45AM MT and didn’t get a break until I was done at 3:55PM MT. I usually log in early in the morning as I work for an East Coast company that starts work around 8:00AM ET and finishes around 4:30PM ET, that lets me work a 6:45AM MT to 2:45PM MT schedule, which makes the afternoons really great. But, lately I have been having an issue just fitting everything in.

I feel bad when this type of day happens because I try to go outside and play with Climber on a daily basis, but that did not happen today. And I was gone for the last week so it’s been about 8 days since I played ball with her. I have to get outside with her tomorrow a bit after I do my appointment. I also need to see if I can get her started on agility training. I think she may be perfect for it, if I can focus her energy a bit.

Have some health news as well, remember a few days ago I mentioned I had a sudden heart rate drop when I was doing two treadmill workouts? Well, my cardiologist was not impressed. I guess I am going to be wearing a heart monitor for two weeks starting as soon as it shows up. I am instructed to do my workouts (with the exception of swimming) as I normally would but to make sure I get a couple treadmill workouts into the mix. The two cardiologists I work with want to see what is actually happening and what is causing it. The last time I had this type of monitor it was a sticky mess. I am not sure why, but for some reason the people who design cardiac monitors do not design them to be worn while working out. Yeah me.

My other small problem is that both of my feet and ankles are pretty swollen. As in swollen to the point of not getting them into my shoes easily swollen. The left one is much worse than the right one, but neither is great. I am not sure why this is happening so badly right now. It could be due to the travel, but in reality I have not been sitting around that much. For the 5 days in Vegas I was very active and my flight time was only around 2 hours of sitting so I don’t think that was the problem. None of my flights were over 2 hours for this trip. I am retaining water in a big way right now. Another topic for discussion with the doctor.

I have two sleeping dogs here, Res is out here in the middle of the floor and for some reason Climber is being a crate baby this evening. Doors open, she’s just decided to hang out in her crate. She does this on occasion. She’s a good girl most of the time, just a little young greyhound hyper. And OFF she goes!

Climber, PLEASE leave him alone!!! He’s sleeping, it’s not play time.

I think that’s a wrap for today. Tomorrow is another day and I may have some interesting stuff to share.

Day 036 of 2026
18394 E Arkansas Ave, Aurora, CO 80017, USA

Get directions
From:

2026-02-05