run this amazing day

1. I drink decaf raspberry hot tea every morning in the winter.  Yum. 2. I really hate it when people pop balloons. 3. I get ear infections all the time.  Because I'm 4 years old. 4.  I secretly like that I have just a touch of Scary Cyclist Calf Syndrome. 5. I don't think that I look that different despite the weight I've lost.  I'm still all hips, tits and thighs. 6. If I could take a pill that made me feel full, give me all the nutrients I need and not fuss with food, I would. 7. I think I read more emotion off my dog's face than he is actually feeling. 8. Sometimes I ride my bike with BOTH headphones in.  I KNOW. 9. I buy way too many cheap candles. Especially at Target. 10. I don't like gift certificates. 11. Ever since I had surgery, I've stopped missing running.  I think it's because I know I'll get it back now. 12.  I hate printers.  And fax machines.  And most things Bluetooth.   13. I got 4 tiny cavities

This is a blog about running, right? 1. Like I said, cleared to run.  I only ran 10-20 seconds before having to stop, and my IT has been swollen, sore, and inflamed ever since.  I think I'm going to give it another week (next Tuesday) and try again.  I am not upset about this at all.  It's part of recovery.  And to be honest, I'm not really looking forward to the first week or two back, where I can only run 1/2 mile at a time and my HR is maxed out and it takes me 6 minutes and my heart feels like it is going to explode. 2. Today is 6 weeks exactly since surgery.  Even looking down a long slow comeback, I know I made the right decision. 3. Today is the poet's birthday!  Happy Birthday to a great man.  There is no one I'd rather be walking next to.

Got cleared to run.   Attempt #1 only lasted 10 seconds before the pain kicked in, but I believe in the good juju and will try again in a few days!

I made plans to swim yesterday with the sweet Amy R. at the awesome and huge Wilson Aquatic Center .  I've never been swimming in a 50M pool before, so I was interested in giving it a try.  Physically, my body seemed to "forget" what to do after about 35 yards - on the first lap, I forgot to turn my head to breathe and then flailed for a bit and sucked some water up my nose.  As soon as I went back to counting strokes and breathing, I was fine.  Interesting, body.  I also discovered that it is MUCH easier to keep track of distance in a 50M pool - every time I reach my flip-flops, I add another 100 to my mental tally.  Piece of cake.  I think it's also good to be swimming longer distances without touching the wall (even if it's only a tiny bit longer) as I prep for the open water.  (If you say shark or jellyfish to me I will cut you).   However, after about 400 meters, I noticed that every time I turned my head over my right shoulder to breathe, my dull headach

This was just what I needed to clear out my grumpy stressy funky crabby week. The day before, the same buddy who dragged me through 106.5 miles of ridiculous hell decided to do the ride with me.  We met early, planning on getting an early start to the ride since we both had other events planned for the day.  However, the ride was a mass start, so we ended up just hanging around, standing in the porta-potty line (500 riders, 1 porta-potty.  What?!) and chatting until it started.  It was pretty chilly - 40º at the 9:30am start - and I was one of very few people in shorts because I am still being stubborn about buying winter gear.   My goose-bump-y legs! Warrenton to Rest Stop #1 - 12ish miles A mass start that spends the first 2 miles on a teeny-tiny trail is not what I would call a "good idea."  It was also completely shaded, and I was shivering.  A windy down-to-your-core kind of cold.  Brrrrr.  After the first 4-5 miles, through, the route spat us out onto some less s

I am having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week.  Everything is going wrong, all of my workouts are going badly, and today I had exactly 40 minutes to squeeze in a swim and forgot my fucking swim cap.  And now I get to spend the next 8 hours going "no, I don't know why NOTHING WORKS," but I have to smile and be happy about it.   That is all.

1. I believe in good juju.  After I had surgery, I got rid of all my bad juju running shoes (donated them) and went out and bought a spanking new pair of Asics 2150's.  Last winter, 3 different running stores recommended them but instead I decided to stick with my Asics Gel-3000's.  I'm an idiot. Anyhow, I bought the 2150's and didn't bring them in the house for a while.  I wanted the bad juju to clear out.  When I did bring them in, I put them on the shelf with my lifting/gym shoes and my bike shoes.  I hope they are learning the good juju from them.  LEARN THE GOOD JUJU OR YOU'RE GOING IN THE CHIPPER. 2. My mom, a pretty amazing amateur photographer, has let us borrow one of her "bad" cameras, which is why many of my pictures have suddenly become 4000 times more awesome.  The poet has been doing most of the picture-taken, but I've been able to sneak in a few (see: juju shoes) and I love it!  It's makes G look like a movie star. 3. My runn

Sometimes you just need your girls. Also, photo caption contest time:

We'll call this a Tuesday mash-up! My IT band is still continuing to heal at a steady but slow (to me) pace.  I spent a LOT of time on my feet this weekend while out at Homecoming, and quickly discovered that I'm not quite ready to be that active and I get tired really quickly - and then grumpy - from the pain.  All part of the healing process, for sure, but it felt like a set-back to me.  Driving was also tough - in a car without cruise control, my leg would get really stiff after an hour or so.  I go back to Dr. P next week for my 6 week checkup, and while I'm dying to run, I still don't think I'm there yet.   On the flip side, however, is the good news that I'm back on the bike, I'm swimming faster and longer than I have in quite a while, and my leg lifting days are almost back to pre-surgery weight and reps.  I've been focusing more on lifting in the past 5 weeks than cardio, and I can feel - and see - the differences, both the good in my slightly

  The parade   My girls     Julie rocking the mello Me more holding than rocking   Julie & the 26lbs of kettle corn     Graham getting in on the IU action I had an amazing weekend.  I'm sure I can't do it justice, but it was full of good friends, good music, good football, and lots of good eats.  I'm so happy that I had the undergraduate college experience that I did, and I'm so glad to be able to go back and have weekends like this. Monday: 45 minutes lifting (arms/chest/back), 32 minutes/1500 yard swim. Tuesday: 50 minutes lifting (legs), 62 minutes/15.1 miles cycling. Wednesday: 45 minutes lifting (a/c/b), 20 minutes/4.75 miles on recumbent bike, 50 minutes/2000 yard swim, 25 minutes/2.5 miles pool running. Thursday: 55 minutes lifting (legs), 30 minutes/7 miles recumbent bike. Friday: Rest day. Saturday: Probably 2-3 miles of walking spread out over the day.  Also, ridiculous amounts of eating. Sunday: 12 hours in the car. I didn't workout at all, reall

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby Graham! I remember the day we brought you home.   I wasn't sure about you at first, especially when you immediately tried to pee on the Christmas tree skirt.   You were so small. The first few weeks were really tough.   We had to watch you every single second to make sure you weren't learning bad things. You had your first bath. You had your first huge snowstorm. We took you home at Christmas, where you helped my parents get over the loss of their dog with your sweet face and puppy snuggles. You also learned some bad habits from them. You discovered a puppy in the mirror and barked for the first time. You got bigger. Bigger. Bigger. We got more snow. You love to ride in the car. You are so silly. You didn't get mad when we shaved you. You made your television debut. We took you to the dog park many times.  You like people more than dogs.   You like the water but hate it when your feet don't