Fashion Update

Thought I should probably post something here.

The bike shoe shim experiment goes well. I expected various muscles to object to the change in stress, but they are gradually acclimating. My left VMO was very upset for a few days making my kneecap hurt, but I knew it was that muscle, worked through the trigger points, and all is well. My left QL is also reactivating and getting upset, but my massage therapist digs what feels like a knife in there and it, too, will be fine. At the same time, I am feeling subtle changes in my back that I can notice when doing core work and swimming. I seem to be picking up a little bit of speed in swimming, that I would attribute to my spine being more stabilized which is key during rotation. Biking (all on the trainer now) is coming along well. My calves are starting to hurt, which is pretty normal when I am doing hard intervals. Nothing I can't stretch/work out myself. I feel so much more centered and comfortable on LGL now that it is quite the treat!

Running is coming along, too. When I run shorter (:30-:40), my top end speed is coming back, and that is without any sexy training! Although I am back on Wednesday tempo runs that are sandwiched between Tu/Thu hard trainer rides, and I'm enjoying the resulting muscle soreness.

I've been putting in a lot of hours at work, and I'm tolerating it only because I'm taking some time off soon. I am really looking forward to cooking and recovering well from my workouts.

Next Sunday is Ride 'n Tie, which should be a buzz. My teammate is putting pressure on me to do well, but I will approach it more as fun plus some hard running.

Today I'd scheduled a 1:40 run. Yesterday I ended up working over half the day, and didn't begin my bike ride until about 12:30. I was tired from working so many hours the prior days, so I used some Infinit for 1:30, which got me through the 2:15 ride, but which then had the effect of keeping me awake well past my normal bedtime. I think I slept 6.5 hours, which is so far from my typical 8.5-9 that I felt like crap when I woke up, compounded by having taken Advil PM. I felt like I had a hangover. I didn't want to use Infinit for today's run in order to guarantee that I will sleep well tonight, so it was just Gatorade.

I went to Greene Valley again, and it was in the mid 50's already when I started around 9:15. I felt like ass. I was tired, my stomach was fucked up (I drank a Coke figuring I could use the extra calories plus some additional caffeine, and I'd eaten a bunch of garlic yesterday), and after 5 minutes I wondered how much I could actually run. My muscles felt fine, but I had this sense of wanting to puke for over an hour. Still, I was running about 9mpm, which is fine for me for a long-ish run. Even though I had short sleeves on, I was sweating a good deal, but there was a good, stiff south wind that helped. The clouds in the sky were beautiful! Maybe it's just me noticing more, but the clouds we've had this fall have been spectacular. It must be the fall skies.

After running for just over an hour, I felt a little better, but still pretty much like ass, but at least I knew I could complete the run. I went to the Y after and swam 1000 just to chill out, ate lunch and went to the grocery store. The checker rang up my 2 mangoes as 32 mangoes for $32.00! Luckily I caught it on the screen, pointed it out, and then she proceeded to try and charge me for another 32 mangoes for $32! I was trying my best to be jocular. To the next woman in line I said, "I bought all the mangoes they have." Meanwhile, the checker is now waiting for a manager to void the errant transactions. I knew I didn't have $150 of groceries today! Luckily I was so tired I didn't care, and things got straightened out and now I'm home and just chillin' and watching football.

In other news, I have a new neighbor in the house next door which was foreclosed. She's a nice girl, recently divorced, and I gave her a bottle of wine yesterday to welcome her. She is already busy making improvements to the house and cleaning up the yard, which is so nice, since it's been about 5 years since that yard was taken care of! Meaning I won't have to pick up someone else's leaves or do extra weed control! That is so nice!

I also reconnected with my little sister, and it's hard to say how much joy that brings me. It's been over 2 years since we'd spoken, and I am just relieved to know she's OK, and hope to plan a visit as soon as she's up to it. She asked me if I still wanted one of her fruitcakes, and I was like HELLZ YEAH!!! I cherish things that other people have made with their own hands more than any other gift I can ever think of, because it's the gift of their time. She makes the best fruitcake (soaked in copious amounts of rum), and I enjoy fueling my training with it for a few weeks.

One more week of hellacious work and then I get some well-needed time off. It was supposed to be for Ultraman Hawaii, but I am OK with not going anyplace this time. I want to feel what it's like to not work, to train and rest, to cook and work in my yard and visit a few people. Sort of test the waters for being retired. Sounds like a good enough plan to me!