My Week that Was - September 13

Two Ironmen. 9/7/2025 dwm

 Saturday during my ride I encountered several dozen triathletes doing the bike section of the Half Ironman race. That's a feat in itself, swimming more than a mile, biking more than 50, and running a half-marathon. I stayed out of their way.

 The Badgers football team won their second game of the season, a game they were expected to win. The team has a tough schedule starting Saturday when they play on Alabama's home-field. That's tough enough, but the Crimson Tide players are expected to take the field, too.

 The Sunday after Labor Day has traditionally been the day of the Ironman Wisconsin, which takes the bike portion of the course through Verona for two loops after a two-mile plus swim and before a ride back to Madison and a 26-mile marathon. 

That afternoon, Green Bay welcomed Detroit into Lambeau Field for the first game of the season. I was hoping for a good performance by the Packers, but they exceeded expectations on both sides of the ball. The offense, particularly the line, was dominating and the defense kept pressure on the Lions all game long. That was a very satisfying 27 - 13 victory. After four sleeps, the Washington Commanders will arrive in Green Bay for game two.

I've been wearing a Fit Bit for a month and there is one thing I can't figure out. There is a function you can activate where the watch reminds you to walk 250 steps every hour, so you get up and move. The watch will buzz when ten minutes left so you have plenty of time to get the steps. What I don't understand is when I'm in an appointment, sitting the whole time, and occasionally I feel the watch buzz because I met the goal! 

That must be connected to my pulse, which might rise slightly during a visit, but picking up 100 steps seems unlikely.  

The Packers played Washington Thursday night, a second game in five days and looked as good, if not better, than they did on Sunday. The final was 27 - 16, but it wasn't that close. Green Bay didn't play a perfect game, but they demonstrated a level of toughness that isn't usually associated with the Packers. 

It's a perfect start to the season for Green Bay. They won't play until a week from tomorrow when they travel to Cleveland. In the NFL, injuries are a given, and Green Bay lost Jayden Reed, a wide-receiver in his third season, when he broke his collar bone catching what would have been a touchdown but was erased by an offensive penalty. Reed is likely to recover, maybe soon enough to play before the end of the season.

Under wraps for 1 hour. 9/12/25 dwm

Friday morning I gave blood for the 142nd time and something happened for the first time. After I
was done, the gauze was wrapped in place with a latex wrap so I walked over to the break area where I set my stuff down then walked to the fridge for a bottle of water. 

When I returned, I felt something. I looked at my arm and saw a trickle of blood. I turned around and three Red Cross phlebotomists sprang into action, lifting my arm, applying pressure, then they removed the first bandage, washed the area, and put on a new wrap. 

That one worked. I returned to drink water and eat a dozen dime-sized Oreo cookies. There's a first time for everything, if you do something long enough, there's a good chance something strange will happen.  

It's been a busy week, next week looks like it will as well - I hope you have a great week!