odds & ends
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 ripped shoulders and the bad in my slightly fluffy stomach area.
October is my favorite month of the year, but so far, it's been the busiest month of the year. Every weekend is booked solid, all three of us (me, Graham, and the poet) are celebrating birthdays, and school is keeping me a little extra busy this semester. I love that our lives are filled with all of these things, but I'm looking forward to a weekend with little on the schedule. Maybe in January?
As far as the overwhelming extra surprise of awesome, we are still talking. But I've noticed that I feel much calmer and less terrified about the idea now that I've been given the space to figure it out in my head. All good things. We have decided to put off the dog #2 decision yet again - I think we have enough going on in our lives right now, and I don't want to bring a puppy into our family until we know that we will have the time to welcome him the right way.
I have a huge house project going on right now that I am very excited about, but the wires and dust and furniture all over the place is driving me crazy. I think I'm just going to hibernate in the office for the next week until it is all done.
And, to chime in with the rest of the universe, I've been following the Boston drama via FB/Twitter like everyone else. I am at least a year - if not 2 or 3 or 4 or ever - away from having any personal interest in the race, but I was surprised to see all the negativity from runners yesterday. If 18K or 20K or even 30K people have trained their asses off to qualify for this race, and then are prompt about making sure they can run the race that they've spent time, money, sweat, and probably tears to be able to run, then GOOD ON YOU. And if the qualifications end up changing because the gods of BAA decide it to be so, then fine - we'll all train to run a 3:30 or 3:20 or 2:10 or whatever. Raise the bar, and we'll all rise up to meet it. Because THAT, more than anything, is what running is about. Challenge yourself to do more. And that's all I have to say about that.