three things thursday

1. Yesterday was gorgeous.  When I was driving home from the metro, my car thermometer read 51º.  It was sunny and almost warm.  So I decided to go outside for a ride - the first in at least 2 months.  WOW.  What a fantastic decision that was.  I only had time for a very short ride before the sunset chased me inside, but it felt so good to not be on a trainer in my basement.  I got to reunite with one of my best riding buddies, Mr. Jefferson:
And when I got home, I felt the way I always do after a great ride: light and breezy and happy.  Overflowing with joy.  I'm hoping this ride will tide me over for a while, because it's back in the mid-30s today.  


2. I'm also glad to recall this feeling about cycling, because I signed up for my first 70.3 yesterday: the Kinetic Half.  The timing isn't great - only 8 weeks out from the National Half - but I think it will set a good baseline for my summer, and help me figure out what I need to tackle for a fall 70.3.  I'm super excited (slightly scared) but ready to eat it up.
3. I was given the go-ahead for a test swim at PT on Tuesday.  I swam 1000 relatively easy yards last night, 800 of which felt fine.  My mid-back started to tighten up around then, so I slowed it down quite a bit to finish out 1000.  It still felt tight and a bit painful while I was pool running, so I shut the pool running down early and headed home.  A round of advil, ice and heat later, it's feeling better, but I guess it's just going to take a few more days to heal.