My power went out and the wallet gives me an error and closes when I try and open it.  It's done this before and I just let it reload the blockchain and it's good to go again.

I have noticed that for that first minute after I open the wallet, it syncs like crazy.  After a minute or 2, it almost seems to slow to a standstill.  If I close it and open it again, it will tear through the blocks for a few minute, then its right back to a trickle. 

Is that normal, or do I have some configurations out of whack?