All Suffering SOON TO END!

A few weeks ago, a very evangelical group left this wedged between my front door frame and doorknob. At the time, my mood was dour. No recruiters, HR staff, or hiring managers had interviewed me in weeks and weeks, and our house had been on the market since November. I was not able to visualize sitting down in a field with my spouse, gorging myself on pumpkins and apples while my daughters chased moose on horseback.

A few weeks of good news changed my attitude. I've had 3 phone interviews, have another scheduled, and have promises of two follow-up interviews with hiring managers. I am so positive about my job search that I did not feel much guilt at all when I recently did not have a second interview for a Production Manager position. The job and pay were not a fit for my career trajectory. I'm confident that the right position will open up for me, good things will happen, and all job search suffering will indeed come to an end.

Not only is the job search starting to accelerate, my progress on the bike is excellent. I was really worried that being a stay-at-home Dad would cause some of my progress to atrophy. Instead, pulling Lola in the trailer, riding intervals in the morning, jogging a little, and riding a 25-30 mile ride during the week seems to have kept me in shape for hammering on the weekend.

On Saturday, Speedo and I left from Granjeno and met the Team McAllen ride in progress. We rode to Progreso, and about 10 miles from Progreso, three of us broke off the front. I expected Speedo to jump too, but I learned later that Speedo turned around early so he could visit with another rider. After the jump, Major, Dutch, and I pushed along at 20-23 mph, taking short pulls, making sure that the large group of 20 or so riders couldn't bridge. It was a good burn, full of suffering and sweat.

On the way back from the pit stop in Progreso, Dutch and I broke off the front again, but it only required us to pull at 19-20 mph to stay off the front. That is, until we caught 2 other cyclists that we knew, and really started hammering, cruising at 24-25 mph, at times reaching the upper twenties. It was fun, but it was tough. I finished the day with right at 70 miles, and I estimate my average moving speed at 19-20 mph. Unfortunately, my Garmin puked during the ride, so I only have partial data on which to base my speed data. I had a good, hard ride, especially since the temperature was in the 90s for much of the ride.

At the end of the ride, I was cooked. I drank about a quart of water and electrolyte, then jumped in the pool to cool off and get the sweat rinsed off my body. As all cyclists know, even on a good ride, all suffering is NOT soon to end.