Big Week

Yes, blogging went to the wayside in the past months. To sum up: Chester has been training so hard his bike has been ridden into the ground. He needs to replace: his shocks, rotors- front and back, brake pads and extract the water from his front fork. Riding in forest park for hours in the rain back to back days every weekend apparently takes it's toll. Rather than go into a full description of what I did or did not do to train...suffice to say my new Superfly, has some mud on the frame, but would still pass as a "New" bike. So with that going for each of us we are off, Wednesday morning, for the races. My goal is to ride 100 miles. Chester's goal is 12 laps. Each lap is approx 17 miles. Chris Barney- who also enjoys a healthy bike going into the race, if you catch my drift, hopes to complete 6 laps.

Before we fly out, I have one more not so minor detail to meet. Today, in a short two hours I will appear before a panel of Chief's for my Captain interview. Although it has added an undercurrent of additional stress as we packed for not one, but two vacations (more on that later) I will be relieved to have the process complete before we leave Portland. This has been a year long succession of: studying, written test, assessment center (scenario-based drills, oral resume and written communication problems) and now will finally close with the Chief's Interviews. We, meaning myself and the other candidates, assuming we pass the Chief's Interview, wait on a ranked list for retirements. Then, as positions become available, we are placed according to our rank. I am number 5 on the list.

AFTER THE RACE Chester and I will head from Tucson, AZ to Tortola Island in the British Virgin Islands. We are meeting three additional couples for a week long sailing trip on a 52 foot Catamaran. As you can imagine, the packing alone was quite a challenge for this two week hiatus. But both the sailing trip and the race have also been in planning for a year. So three goals will be met and dreams played out as the next two weeks progress.

I am thankful for the opportunities I have to pursue such adventures as well as to challenge myself and develop as a leader at PF&R. In the past I would not have chosen to juggle three major undertakings at one time. My focus was narrow, singular, and strong. These days I've noticed some drift in my approach. Though there is room to reinvigorate and visit the singular goal, I'm enjoying the balance and diversity I've welcomed by gaining a wider perspective. Or maybe this is just another verbose excuse for not training. :) Catch you when we return...Thanks for reading.