It's been almost a month...

This month has been a little crazy and I just haven't made the time to update the ol' blog. So I will do a quick rundown of the month's events.

The rides - I showed up for a good 102 mile ride through the Piney woods of East Texas the week before the MS ride only to have a major mechanical at the start with my bike. I had just checked everything out the night before. It turns out that my gear shifters had somehow incurred sweat from my hands and jammed a piece in the mechanism. Once it was fixed, it was like buying a new set. So...off to the Bike to the Beach the following weekend from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. 

It was a great ride. 3500 cyclists out pounding the pedals for MS. I saw some very moving moments. Two people in particular up a pretty good hill on the first day...riding a recumbent and using their arms to pedal as they had no legs from MS. They rode all 160 miles this way...inspiring.

Work - This has been the most roller coaster year that I have ever experienced. In the almost 10 years of doing this, consistency is usually the biggest struggle of any recruiter. When you throw in an economy that is touchy, a housing market that is dead in a number of different areas of the country and the fact that 90% of the people that I place are relocations, well...consistency is more than a challenge. God has been good as usual. He dropped a retainer in my lap in July and hopefully this week, I will close that deal. Keep praying...it is not done yet.

Family - Chandler has had a great year at Creekwood so far. He is enjoying theater, cooking and he loves his AP History class. I am a blessed dad to have such a great son. Spencer will be three this coming Friday. I am still blinking my eyes to the day he came into our lives. He loves to laugh and play with the hot wheels and yesterday, for the first time, really started enjoying playing with a basketball! Chandler was playing catch at 6 months old. They are so different yet so great together. 

Christa is basking in the backwoods this weekend in TN at a Tai Chi retreat. She so deserves this and I wish it could be an entire week for her. She sent me a picture of the cabin. It overlooks a nice wooded area with a creek flowing through. It must be so peaceful. 

Work and the Bike...

Work has been pretty frustrating since August. It is a good thing that I ride my bike. It is a therapeutic way to deal with the stress. This year has been interesting with the housing market in the toilet, it is difficult to relocate people. This is definitely the most challenging market I have experienced since being in the world of executive recruitment. I still have time to hit my minimum goal for the year, but I am running out of time of hitting what I really wanted to do.

This brings about some stress as it is challenging at times to keep spirits up for sure. I had a horrible thing happen this week as a candidate of mine came down with cancer and obviously pulled herself from contention on a position that she was about to have an on site interview. This is awful as the cancer has run in her family. Bad for my biz, but I can always get back on the phone and find more candidates. My heart just broke for her and her family, so Christa and I are definitely praying for her as she will start chemo soon. The wind is a little out of the sails today as my heart is a little heavy. This is why I decided to take a break and blog about it. Keep Jeanie and her family in your prayers.

The bike definitely helps. Next weekend is going to be nice as I embark on the two day MS 150 Bike to the Beach from San Antonio to Corpus Christi. This weekend I will do some long rides to train and get that last bit of training in before I hit the road next Friday for the Hill Country. Tomorrow morning I will ride about 40 or so miles and then Sunday I will do 100 miles in the Lions Club Biking for Sight ride out of Montgomery. It is a great tune up ride that I have done before...good hills and great support.

The challenge this week started on Sunday afternoon. Christa and I went to the Humble Blood Center and I gave blood. Probably not the best timing with only two weeks to go at the time before the Bike to the Beach, but I felt like I needed to after the hurricane. I am O-, so I am the universal blood type. Therefore, whenever I go, they ask the inevitable...either double red cell donation or red cell and double plasma. This time it was double red cell. When they do this, the donor can not give again for 4 months instead the normal two. It really takes a lot out of you. I attempted to ride the next morning on my trainer and bonked 30 minutes into it. I was exhausted all day. I quickly adjusted my diet to something rich in iron and high in protein (spinach and chicken salad every night this week!). I have also had about two yogurts every day, oatmeal every morning and tuna at lunch. This has helped a ton as yesterday I hopped on my TT bike and went all out for 30 minutes, did 11 miles and felt great afterward. I will know more as I get to mile 50 or 60 on Sunday...lol