Country Music Half Marathon report

Way back in December when I decided to run the half as an excuse to visit my sis in Nashville, I was under the impression that it would be just another race, a piece of cake in a full marathon training season. I convinced my sis and bro-in-law to join me on the run; she's done 2 halfs but he's never gone that far in a race. Sandy decided to come along since she needed Tennessee in her 50 state quest; it would be just one of many spring full marathons for her too.

Fast forward to late April. I had no way of knowing that I would spend the entire first quarter of the year trying (only partially successfully) to rehab my painful knee ailments. My bro-in-law was sick in January and February and then developed a bad case of something that manifested as Achilles problems. He would hardly walk a block and didn't run at all. My sis didn't get in training because of a busy work schedule. Sandy's training was pretty slack too; she had shin issues going back to her first run of the season over 10 miles. Her longest training run was in the mid-teens. Sandy and I decided that we were doing our races no matter what; my sis decided to sleep in and my bro-in-law became our chauffeur.

We went to the expo on Friday. It was located at the Nashville Convention Center, which we had to find. Neither sis nor bro-in-law have done much exploring so this was an adventure in itself. We had to drive around several blocks before finding a parking lot with an empty space.

We picked up our race numbers and chips and shirts. The tee shirt was was one of Elite Racing's trademark cheap 100% white cotton shirts. The designs weren't bad, but the shirt is pretty crappy compared to most of the shirts provided at races of this size and cost. Different shirts were provided for each race, with designs on the front and back:
Pickup went quickly and we were herded into the official race merchandise section. There's a pretty impressive selection of branded stuff and if this had been my first (or even maybe my 21st) race I might have bought bunches of stuff. But I have a few Rock 'n' Roll hats (and these looked the same except for the race name), I have a RnR jacket, a RnR mug, a RnR bear, etc. Been there, bought that. I didn't find anything else to buy and headed to the greater expo.

It was good, a varied selection of sports clothing, foods, Saturn (thank you, I already have one), other races. I had been looking to buy a couple of pairs of shorts but the vendor who provides the ones I like wasn't there. In an unprecedented move, I bought not one damn thing at the entire expo. How weird is that? I had plenty of free samples but there was nothing I needed or wanted to spend money on.

The goodie bag was loaded with the usual ads and promotions and coupons but not much else. There was a training log from their local grocery which I kept (who knows when you'll need a new log), some chips, I think an energy bar, and that was it.

Early Saturday morning I was woken by the sound of thunder and bright flashes of lightning. Uh oh. From about 1am I lay in bed for a couple of hours, resting and listening as the storm moved in and then out. At 4am I heard Sandy showering and realized that I had prepared for this race the way I normally do, with no sleep the night before.

At about 5am, after showering, dressing and eating we headed out toward the start area. My bro-in-law hadn't been there before, but he was pretty sure of where we were going, if not the exact place we needed to end up. It was still raining and windy but the thunder and lightning had moved on. We found the start without too much difficulty and were able to park on a nearby street and wait in the car while the sky started to lighten. Finally we decided to find the sweat check trucks and sent my bro-in-law on his way. The trucks were easy to find and we dropped off our bags. After waiting in line at a portapotty, we headed out to the street to find our corrals.

We'd been informed that there would be staggered starts, each corral waiting about 1-2 minutes until the previous one was out of the way. In theory a good idea, but I was in corral 24! Sandy and I split up since she was in 20 and I didn't think she needed to be waiting back with me. I had put my finish time down as 2:35 (hahaha) but there were tons of walkers in that corral too. Not the race walkers, who are pretty much indistinguishable from runners, but the people with seventeen layers of clothing, backpacks, coffee, newspapers and chairs (maybe not those last couple of items). I had my doubts that they'd be going sub-11:30 miles, but people misjudge me too so I kept my mouth shut.
The gun went off at 7:00 and we stood there. Slowly, oh so slowly, we inched forward. The rain had stopped but the wind was brisk, most people were shivering. It took almost 55 minutes before I finally crossed the start line, and my legs were already cold and tight. Sure enough, there were very slow walkers mixed in with the runners. I found my pace to be very comparable to most of the people running around me and only had to dodge the walkers. Some people were passing me, but very few at that point.

My race strategy was something like "just finish before the race is over in 4 hours and don't need surgery." Good plan, hmm? I set my watch at 4:1 intervals, intending to ignore the middle beeps and run:walk a 9:1 for as long as I could. Since I hadn't trained with any real hills, I didn't know how my knee would react. Judging by walking stairs, I was worried that downhills would be my nemesis in this race.

The hills started immediately and continued for most of the race. I remember lots of ups and downs, a few flats, and very few grades. I started out walking up and gingerly running down. That was mostly because my breathing sucked (heh heh - pun not intended). I had three really good miles with no pain, but that was it.

Water stops were plentiful and the volunteers were great. There was water and some electrolyte drink that I was ignoring in favor of my own Ultima, and gels handed out mid-way. There was one point where fruit was being distributed (I think the stop was sponsored by a store adjacent to the route) and that was tough. Picture 500 people eating orange slices and throwing the peels on the ground. Then 500 more people run over those peels, throwing down their own in turn. This leaves a fine, slippery layer of peel/pulp for the next group, which then throws down their apple cores and banana peels for someone else to run over. By the time I came through 20,000 people later, the ground was treacherous. I'm amazed there weren't people skidding through on their faces.

The weather steadily cleared and warmed up. I was glad I had decided on shorts and a short sleeved shirt, and could almost have worn a tank top. I continued with my 9:1 pattern and walked through the water stops. If I walked up or down a hill, I skipped the next walk break and ran instead. My knee was getting increasingly sore and I pretty much whined in my head while continuing to run.

More hills, more pretty neighborhoods, more scenic places. Honestly, I couldn't tell you half of the places we ran by or through. I was watching the crowds, running around people, concentrating on foot placement so that my knee wouldn't get worse. The full marathoners split off after about 11 miles but it didn't make too much difference since there were mostly people running the half (about 25,000 to 5,000).

Long past the point where I had thought I'd be strolling toward the finish in a slow walk, I was still running. Part of that was it hurt a little more to walk on the flats than to run, part of that was I was noticing that I just very possibly could break 3 hours if I didn't totally fall apart. That became my new goal.

I was amazed at how many people were just walking the last few miles, just given up. I think people just aren't training for these big music marathon/half marathon races, thinking that anyone can go 13 miles. They realize their mistake at about 8 miles, keep going on hope for another 2, then still have a few to go before they're done. [I actually heard a couple of women after the end saying "ok, I can cross that off my list, what's next" and thought it sad that they hadn't gotten anything else out of the experience.] I really enjoyed running past all these people, thinking what wusses they were, while my knee was killing me.

Mile 12 was unfriendly, a very big hill when I didn't want one. I ran most of it, only walking when I was breathing so hard I thought my eyeballs would pop out of my head. I kept running, feeling remarkably well (except for the ol' knee). I crossed the line and was astounded to see that I had finished in 2:52ish, right in the range where I normally finish.

I was handed my medal (nobody was draping them around necks) and handed a bottle of water. Chip removal was next. I stopped at their very small medical tent and said I needed to ice my knee. The woman ducked into the tent, came back out with a small baggie of ice, and handed that to me. Now I just needed a place to sit down! I saw people with space blankets and towels but couldn't find where they were being distributed. I think they were just being handed to the full marathoners, but I wanted a towel to help with icing. I finally saw a few in the full marathon secured zone and while he wouldn't let me in, a guard walked over and grabbed one for me.
The rest of the secured zone had food: little plain bagels, muffins, cookies, fresh fruit and fruit cups, more water, bottles of electrolyte drinks, pretzels and chips. Nothing, of course, to carry any of this stuff with. I juggled my towel and ice and some food and kept walking out of the zone where huge crowds awaited. It was hard to tell what was where and signage was nonexistant. I wanted to get my gear, which had my sunglasses and sweatshirt, before sitting down to ice.

It took another 20 minutes before I could find the trucks with sweats, and in that time I didn't see where they had the free beer (although I saw where they were selling it). There was nowhere else to sit except the ground, so I plopped myself down at what turned out to be the 26 mile marker. Finally, about a half hour after I finished the race, I was able to ice my knee which by this point was in severe pain.

I sat, I iced, I drank water, I ate some food, I watched the full marathoners passing 26 miles, I iced some more. I knew I had about 2 hours before Sandy would finish, even if she was having a good day (and she wasn't planning on setting any speed records). After a while I decided to track down the beer tent that had been promised. After wandering around for a while I found the tables distributing small cups of warmish lite beer. Yum? It's the principle - if they offer a beer tent ya gotta go, right? I wandered some more, called my sis to see when they were coming ("after lunch"), wandered more, sat a bit, wandered more.

One very cute sight: a group of young people (why yes, I am 83 years old thank you) who had finished the race were sitting and standing around, congratulating themselves and talking and laughing. One couple was talking when the guy reached into his pocket, pulled out a little case and dropped down to one knee. Dude! You just finished a marathon and you can drop down to one knee to propose? Bravo! While his girlfriend looked on in stunned amazement, their friends started whooping and hollering (with one wag yelling out "Hey! He went to Jared!"). She must have said yes because it ended in a tight clinch of smoochies. Awwwww.

The crowd was starting to thin out and sis and bro-in-law finally arrived. We watched Sandy run up past the 26 mile marker (and almost missed her since she was passing a crowd). They walked to the end to meet her while I sat in the sun getting toasty.

By then there was no problem leaving the lot or the area. Traffic wasn't an issue. I wanted a shower, some food and some ibuprofen, stat. Then a nap. Then some wine and more food. My sis graciously provided all of those.

So to wrap up this long report. Elite puts on a good race, normally remembering to dot the i's and cross the t's. The crowds are enormous and except for the ridiculously delayed staggered starts, were handled well. Good course and finish line support. Nice medals, different for the half and the full. Crappy shirt. The route was hilly but for the half at least, mostly scenic and not horribly crowded.

Knowing that I probably would not cause any permanent damage I ran harder than I perhaps should have, but that turns out to have been the right decision (have to love hindsight). I can't describe how thrilled I was to have been able to be out there racing again. A couple of times I just thought to myself how damn lucky I was to be able to be there. A couple of times I also thought to myself that I wouldn't be doing any long races again very soon because it hurt like hell! But those turned out to be just normal highs and lows of running. I can't wait for my next race!

Getting back to routine. Again. Again.

I've realized I have less than a month now before I start training for my first triathlon and I'm scared to pieces thrilled. This means I'm going to have to kick up both my pre-training and my diet. Not my "diet" as in "so many calories per day" or a certain company's plan, but "diet" as is "what in the world have I been shoving in my mouth??"

So in light of that, Wednesday night I took myself over to the San Ramon pool and swam for almost an hour. For a warm-up I did 200m swim, 100m kick, 100m pull. Then I did 3 sets of our earlier drills: kick/drill/swim, alternating the drills. That was another 900 meters (right? 75x4x3?). I ended it with 100m swim and called it a night. My poor math skillz total that little outing to be 1400m.

The triathlon I'm preparing for is 1500m swim so I'm almost there. Hmm? You say that 25m at a time in a pool is nothing like 1500m straight? Darn, here I thought I had that part of the tri licked! Yeah, it's looking like I'm going to have to find a place where I can swim longer distances without having the nice side of the pool to kick at every turn.

Last night I met Olivia for a run on the Iron Horse. It felt like old times, back when we were training for New York. Except it was cooler than when we trained last summer. And I wasn't breathing as well. And my knee hurt. Otherwise, exactly the same! I had convinced Ms. O that we should go my pace on the outward bound direction so that we could chat, then she could take off at her own speed for the way back. The first part of the plan worked ok, we were going slow enough that it wasn't killing me, but I was pooped on the return. We walked at least a mile of the return and the running part was slower than the first half. Oh well, we got at least 2 good miles of running and 4 miles total on our feet and that counts for something.

Since we had run earlier than normal, I got home at a decent hour and was able to knit my way peacefully through a couple of hours of trashy television. Nice to watch Survivor when it's actually airing, instead of a week later on tape. The project I'm knitting is a simple scarf to see if my body can tolerate the touch of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted. It's one of the tests I'm doing to find the perfect yarn my Wonderful Wallaby. Yes, I will someday knit a piece of clothing. It's just if I'm gong to be using a gazillion skeins of expensive yarn and knitting a project for months on end, I want to be able to wear it. I love the touch of the Lorna's Laces, I'm just not sure I can keep it on my body for hours. We'll see. Even if I have to turn on the a/c to test it!

We're not talking Mellencamp

One of my favorite places to run is Danville, either on the Iron Horse Trail or the streets. Since I started running with people I've run there on at least a weekly basis (not including when I've been sidelined by aggravations, of course). It's a great place to run; safe, wide, well-lit streets or a flat trail. The short-short route that Pam and I have run for years is there and the longer versions are just variations on a theme.

It's not so safe right now. A 90 to 100 pound cougar was spotted along a creek right by where we normally run. That's one big old predator! Partially eaten remains of two possums were found and believed to have been victims of the lion. I'm hoping that the next story doesn't involve small pets or children or killing the big guy. He's out of his element but I have a feeling that the buffet table in that area has some good pickins so he'll probably stick around until he gets into trouble.

So what've you been knitting recently, you ask me? You did ask me, right? I'm not just imagining it? I'm still working on the Keep it Simple Scarf/Shawl. I'd put a link there but it's nowhere to be found online; it's a Valley Yarns pattern for an outdated Valley Yarn and Webs has apparently discontinued the pattern. Anyhoo, it's a very simple (thus the name) lacy scarf/shawl pattern with a 10 row repeat. Easy enough to take with me to Nashville and knit while on the flight. I'm using that delicious Tess superwash merino in the pink/gray that I bought at the last Stitches. The colors are beautiful in this pattern and the yarn is a joy to knit. I'm having just a bit of remorse that I didn't make it wider or narrower. Not knowing the gauge for the mysterious yarn in the pattern, I guessed and didn't guess too well. When I finish (someday) it'll be a very wide scarf. I think I have enough yarn that I could have made it wider, shawl width, but I didn't want to wind up with a fat square. And now I don't want to rip out what I have because, well, I have little enough time to knit without ripping weeks worth just to get a better size. I can't wait to finish and block it and wear it. I should be done just in time for the temperature to hit triple digits.

Crazy movers

As we all know, earlier this month my mom had her entire life packed up and moved from Southern California to the East Bay. She hired a professional moving company to pack and haul everything. I warned her that they would pack every darn thing in the house and she should do some house cleaning and donating before they showed up. Unfortunately she wasn't feeling well and so we've been finding lovely little surprises with every box we unpack.

There are a bazillion full boxes of all sizes in her new house. Lots of boxes have been emptied and their contents either put away or left on counters, tables and floors. When I unpacked the boxes labeled for the kitchen I realized that nothing was left behind. Bottles containing one drop, canned goods that expired years ago, used toothpicks; everything carefully wrapped in layers of paper and placed carefully in the boxes. Labeling hasn't been too good; food in boxes marked "glass" and silver in boxes marked "paper." But the best box got opened tonight.

After work tonight I dropped by to open a couple of boxes and then take my mom out for sushi. There were still a couple of boxes marked "plates" or "kitchen glass" so we unpacked those and found carefully wrapped bottles of hot sauce, baggies of peanuts, antique mugs, pens and pencils in layers of wrapping paper, a coffee maker, bone china, can goods and other non-glass or non-plate items that didn't belong in a kitchen.

My mom really wanted one last small box opened. It was marked "lamp shade" and she thought it was probably an antique hurricane lamp from her living room. While she was on a phone call I carefully sliced through the sealing tape. I lifted off and carefully checked the several pieces of wrapping paper scrunched on top of the lamp shade. Piece by piece I slowly I worked my way down to the shade. Finally I removed the very last piece of paper and found ...


... a very sad, wilted house plant. No lamp shade at all.

Uh oh, it's official now

While I was off on my little attempt in Nashville to race again, Claudia took our registration forms and signed us up for summer season of Team in Training. Yep, there's now no backing out of the fact that on September 13, 2008 I will officially complete my first Olympic length triathlon at the Triathlon at Pacific Grove. Holy schmoley, what have I gotten myself into now??

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is still my favorite nonprofit organization and worthy of all my time and efforts at fundraising. It won't be easy this time, I've committed to raising $3,500 for the cause. I've pushed myself out of my comfort zone -- as much "comfort" as a marathon can be -- and I'm alternately thrilled and terrified of both the training and the fundraising.

Now I just need a healthy left knee and a gazillion generous donors and I'll be all set! Country Music Half Marathon report coming soon!

2:52:21!

My race was considerably faster than I had thought or hoped. Just possibly I let ego overrule good judgment and ran the entire thing, with as little walking as I could manage. I'm thrilled that my first real race of 2008 was a success.

Of course, my knee's so sore that I'm probably not going to be running again for a while. Full Nashville and race report coming soon!

Empty suitcases

I haven't started packing yet. I haven't even started setting aside running things. I think in the whole 4 months that it's been since my last out-of-state race, I've forgotten that starting early makes the night before a flight much easier. Whoops.

I think it still hasn't sunk in that I'm actually going to be able to run a half marathon in 3 days. And that it just might possibly be a race in the middle of a thunderstorm. What do they do if that happens? They can't just cancel it, can they? But I don't suppose Elite Racing wants the performing bands or the tallest runners to become lightning rods, that's bad for business. I've run once in a t-storm and it's a little freaky. I don't mind getting wet (well, I do, but just go with me here) but I don't need to get fried. I think I'll have to sweat check more clothes than usual because for once I'll be waiting for Sandy, rather than the other way around. Right, I've gotten so fast that I'll have to wait for her. No no no, it's because she's running the full and I'm running (walking? wading through puddles? crawling?) the half. I don't think I'll want to sit around for a couple of hours in dripping wet clothes. Even if I'm sitting that whole time in the beer tent.

I'm thinking I'll probably end up with a brand new PW and I don't care in the least. If I can have a good 6 mile run, or a good 8 mile run, or even a good 10 mile run, I'll be thrilled to just be out there. Running again, doing what I love. I'm going to have to keep reminding myself of that when the weather sucks and my knee hurts. Running again. That's all that matters!

Green light

Last night I ran with Pam on our old short short route in Danville. It felt just like old times - if by old times I mean my knee hurt and my asthma was bad. Despite that, I had a great time. We kept it slow, although just how slow I'm uncertain since I forgot to wear a watch. D'oh! It's not like I've never done this before, right? We kept it at my talking pace and slowed down every time I started gasping. I'm counting it as a good run since I'm hoping from now on they're all good runs. It was great being able to catch up on the past several months.

My therapist this morning gave me the go-ahead to do the race on Saturday. Yippee! I was very honest about the pain I'm still having but he thinks that since I did 8 miles on Saturday I'll be able to do the half without causing any damage. He still thinks I'll be able to build up the muscles so that the imbalance, and pain, will go away. I'm not as certain. It's been 10 weeks on physical therapy with me doing the exercises daily, and although there's some improvement there is still significant pain when I run and afterward.

But who cares; I can run (or walk) the half! Just don't tell Coach.

A little running, a little cycling

Saturday morning Bree and I ran 8 miles along the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. After Thursday's painful run I was worried about how my lungs and knee would react so I arbitrarily decided to go with a 4:1 run:walk. I knew Bree wouldn't have a problem with going my poky pace, even though she was speedy the week before. The run went well, much better on the second half when the wind wasn't blowing wildly in our faces. Also, the second half is the downgrade half and is always better. Also, the second half means the end is in sight. My knee was sore from the get-go, still sore from Thursday. It didn't get much worse during the run and happily didn't ache horribly afterward. I made sure to ice and took a couple (or several) ibuprofen which helped considerably. I guess my new normal is that I'm accepting constant pain while I run, it's just a matter of how much that'll make the difference in going or stopping. My lungs were a bit sore from sucking in all that pollen but that's an annual thing and I can't do anything about it. Except run easier and stop gulping air, but that'll take time.

Instead of the nap I so richly deserved after my longest run of the year (and isn't that pitiful, late April and my longest run is only 8 miles) I took my mom shopping. She needs window coverings because there are none in her new house and her bedroom faces east. Bad enough that the sun wakes her every morning at dawn, but this weekend the full moon shone like a spotlight in the evening. She found some blinds she liked and we waited while a quote was written from our guesses about the size of the windows. We wandered around the store and looked at light fixtures too. There's a big ornate chandelier in her dining room that she hates and wants to replace and she saw a simple fixture she really liked. The store was out of stock but we were told the Emeryville store had a couple in stock.

It was getting late so instead of heading from Concord to Emeryvville we went out to dinner. We stopped at a local Chinese restaurant and had a pretty good meal. Then back to her house where I helped her with some paperwork. I finally got home about 9pm-ish.

Sunday morning I went for a bike ride with Bree. Too bad that Saturday's wind storm trailed over to Sunday. According to the paper, the second half of our route should have a tailwind, or possibly just a cross wind the whole time. Getting ready I managed to jam the little strap thingie on my new shoe (cycling shoes can get ridiculously complicated in their closures) but it was wearable so it was ok. We set off and headed north along San Ramon Valley Road.

SRV Road, under different names, goes from way down in Pleasanton to Walnut Creek. Our plan was to ride 20 miles, give or take. It was sunny and very windy and pretty cold. We were bundled up and it was funny to see so many cyclists riding with just shorts and jerseys. I made a mistake of wearing cycling shorts under running tights. Whereas the shorts have a gusset, the tights have a seam down the middle and ouch on the girly bits. I'm planning on a warm riding season so I don't really want to have to buy cycling specific tights, but I may do it just to spare myself the discomfort.

So we rode north through San Ramon, Danville, Alamo and reached Walnut Creek. At the turnaround our bike computers had a difference but we each had at least 10. We'd been zooming along and weren't surprised when the wind was in our faces for the start of the ride back. I think my body would have been pretty happy with 15 miles but 20 was pushing it. We finally got back to my house with 20 miles (21.1 on my computer). Why didn't I use my Garmin? Simply because Mr. Garmin was unable, for the entire ride, to find a satellite. How annoying was that? I'd hoped for a cute little map showing speed and elevation but got nada. All it did was show the elapsed time which thanks, a watch could do that nicely. Technology - sheesh.

And speaking of technology, I could not unlatch my shoe. I had to force it off my foot, then later take it to the bike shop to see if it was salvageable (and since I'd only worn in on 2 rides I was pretty ticked that it already didn't work). When I took it in they fiddled around with it, then ordered a new strap. I didn't know they were replaceable but apparently they break down even without stupid wearer errors.

Bree and I celebrated our ride with some lardy Mexican food. Although it tasted great at the time, it weighed me down the rest of the day. I took a short nap then took my mom shopping for her light fixture. When we got to the store and saw it again, she decided she really didn't like it after all. Oh well, better than returning it. We made another stop trying to find her a file cabinet but that trip was fruitless too.

So I produced 29 miles this weekend. It's a good start for tri training, even though I left out swimming. I don't think I'll be able to swim this week, there just aren't enough non-working days. I'll have to stop at my mom's house, have to pack, and I want to run at least once before I leave. Strangely enough my knee felt better after cycling than it did before cycling, so I think the cross training is working. I guess that means I have to keep it up!

We now (don't) resume our regularly scheduled runs

In theory, now that I'm "running" again I can rejoin Pam for our runs that we've been doing during the week for the past 5 or 6 years. When we started, Pam was slow and I was quicker and we both adjusted. As she got more experienced, Pam became much faster than I am but she'd slow down for the evening runs so that we could chat without me spitting up a lung. We've always had people join us here and there through the years, but mostly we'd set the pace as comfortable for the slower person, usually but not always me.

When I experienced my knee issues I was very concerned that Pam would lose her running partner but Olivia stepped up and they started running together. I'd experience great envy reading Olivia's running reports and started getting worried when I read the latest ones about how fast they were running. I know from my weekend runs with the rest of my running buds that once they start running faster, I try to keep up and I just end up not having a good run.

That was the case last night. I met up with Pam, Olivia and Sandy at the usual time and place. We set off and immediately I could tell that the pollen in the air wasn't going to be reacting well in my lungs. I huffed and puffed as we went along to the place we stretch and caught my breath when we stopped. After the stretch I took off in the lead for a bit but then I let the rest of them go ahead of me. I tried to keep up, pushing my pace. I've lost all of my aerobic conditioning in the last few months on top of trying to be very careful of my knee.

At our turnaround point I told them to go ahead so I could walk, but really I wanted them to go ahead so I could slow down. If they're right there I'd try to keep up but if they were even a few steps ahead I could go my own pace. I was able to slow down until we met back up at the stop light, then we ran the rest of the way together. I know they were running slower than they could, so that I could stay with them, but it was still too fast for me and I had to push too much.

My knee was aching when I finished. I didn't enjoy the run and think I may just go back to the treadmill until I think I can keep up a little better. It ruins the joy of the run when I'm breathing so hard I not only can't talk, I can't hear what anyone else is talking about. I may as well just be by myself. And if I'm by myself, I may as well stay home. Maybe by the summer I'll be able to run with them again.

The day improved

Up until about 4:30 pm, if you had asked I would have said "worst birthday -- ever" and meant every little bit of that. Overwhelming family drama took a day that started off poorly and sent it rapidly downhill. Misunderstanding, anger, blame and all of it ugly. Too many tears and too much heartache.

But the day was saved by my friends. Somehow I have an incredible circle of friends who actually like me. They are all warm and comforting and sympathetic and nurturing. Also lively, and funny, and sparkling; full of laughter and joy. Some of them are young enough to be my daughters much younger sisters, some my age. There are shared experiences with running, or knitting, or both. Not to mention eating and drinking. And talking. You'd think we had all known each other all of our lives, but most of these friendships are only a few years old. The depth of the love is overwhelming.

Many thanks to Jeanette, Claudia, Raji and her sister-in-law, Olivia, Pam, Anita, Bree, Sandy, Ann, Cynthia for celebrating my middle age with me. Thank you for letting me vent when I needed to and changing the subject when it got to be too much. Thank you for all the good food, all the wine, and for not burning down my house with too many candles on the cake. Thank you for all the great gifts, showing how well you know me. Thank you the most for just being my friends. I love you all.

This was the brightest spot of 2008.

Fifty four

When did I get so freakin' OLD?

Staying dry

The City of San Ramon advertises this about their Olympic Pool:

Winter Lap Swim Hours and Fees:

Hours:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 6:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.
Monday-Friday: 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Monday - Thursday: 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Saturday: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

What they don't bother to mention is if for some reason their small pool is closed, or lots of kids show up for lessons, there won't be any room in the Olympic pool. And lessons are held at the same time as lap swim. Tonight Claudia, Phil and I arrived for our 6:30 pm swim. The pool had exactly 5 free lanes and about 30 kids were about to jump in there for their class. We were told that uh maybe there'd be room at 7:00 pm. Claudia and I left. Hmmph. False advertising San Ramon!

Spring arrives, spring goes away

It was gorgeous here over the weekend. Three days of hot, sunny weather with barely a breeze. A perfect hint of lazy hazy summer weather. It's gone now. It's cool, overcast, windy. Oh well, something to look forward to.

I had an active weekend, a productive time. I took a vacation day Friday so I could unpack my mom's kitchen. In a 9 hour day I managed to unpack and put away the contents of all but 2 (huge) boxes so her kitchen is usable, if she so wishes. Since right now she's varying between going out to eat and not eating at all, I probably should have just unpacked another room. But the kitchen is the only place with cabinets and shelves to unload everything onto so that's what I did. I think I cleared out a bazillion boxes but I may have miscounted by a few.

Friday evening I met up with my friend Ellen for a dinner we'd scheduled four months earlier. Since she's so busy with training her dogs and I'm so busy training for marathons (in theory) we have to plan way in advance. We went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant, Casa Orozco in Dublin, and found ourselves being very restrained with only one margarita each. I also had their great shrimp fajitas and one or two (or a hundred) chips. It was good nourishment for my body and my brain. We chatted on for hours and caught up on all the news.

Saturday morning's plan was to meet Bree and Sandy in Lafayette for a run along the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. I wanted to run 6 miles, mostly to see if I could. I planned to walk whatever I couldn't run. They were going 10 miles so at the Senior Center I turned around and they continued on. Despite the forecast for later, it was coolish and great weather. A beautiful morning to be out and running and I was thrilled beyond words to be able to be out there. I try never to forget how fortunate I am to live in such a spectacular area, and to have the capabilities to be out and about to enjoy it. Running was a struggle; my endurance is shot from 3 months off, the air had a lot of pollen, and my knee was sore. No shooting pains, just a steady dull ache that didn't seem to get worse during the run. The trail in that direction is fun since the last mile is a downgrade for almost the entire thing and it feels like you're flying when you're (I'm) really just creeping along.

I had planned to go for an afternoon bike ride with Bree but she canceled because for some reason she didn't feel like riding in 90 degree sunshine this early in the season. Go figure. So that, along with an increasingly sore knee, lots of work around the house to do, a very comfortable couch for napping and dinner plans made me decide that skipping the ride was a good idea for me too.

For dinner on Saturday I had told my mom I was taking her out. As I was driving over to pick her up I was thinking that some place quick and easy would be best; I was beat. When I got to her house she was ready to go. All dressed up and looking lovely. I was in jeans and a tee shirt. She wanted festive. So I took her to a place that had been recommended to me, the Patio in Lafayette. Very good choice. We started the right way, with Mojitos. Then an order of Yuca y Maduros (deep-fried yucca and plantain with an incredible sauce) and an order of Ceviche made with sole. We were incredibly impressed with the tastes and even more so when our main dish, Paella de Mariscos, arrived. Paella is one of my favorite dishes and this was an excellent example of a very good one. Everything tasted fresh and perfect. We had no room for dessert but almost changed our minds when we saw the choices on the dessert menu. I was glad afterward that my mom had dressed up and we had decided to treat ourselves. We'll be returning to sample the rest of the menu!

Sunday morning was the Brenda Donato Rainbow Run 5k in Walnut Creek. It was like old home week to me. I think everyone there was related in some fashion to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Team in Training, or to a person who had done TnT. I saw lots of people I hadn't seen for months. It was well done, not just for a small event or a new event, but for any local 5k. The volunteers all had personal connections to Brenda and were that much more intent on making the event special for everyone. I walked the entire thing, a 55 minute 5k. That may be a record for me. It was another gorgeous morning, warmer than Saturday, very crowded out on the trails.

I had a chance to catch up with Coach Al and spin him a tale of my knee aggravations. I told him that although running still hurt, I was building my mileage back up. I also told him that I thought I could do the half marathon in two weeks. He told me not to do it. But Coach, said I, my therapist said that maybe I could! He replied I'm your coach and I told you that you can't! Hmmm. That's a dilemma! I'd hate to go against what Coach says. But we all know that at this point my intent is to try the race, right?? We may just have to keep this our secret.

After the great meals all weekend I had a much less exciting dinner Sunday night. I was tired, didn't feel like cooking or even nuking. I had a bag of baked Cheetos. Yumm, neon orange nutrition. With a glass of wine.

What she said

Want to know what I did last weekend? Olivia gives a good review, with pictures and everything. Want to know how much I swam last night? Claudia and Phil talk about it. Want to know what else I've been doing? Spending time with mom.

In fact, tomorrow I'll be taking a vacation day to help my mom unpack. It doesn't seem like she's making any headway on her own, although she says she's emptied several boxes. I'm hoping to get all the boxes out of her kitchen, with their contents in cabinets and drawers, and have at least one room completely done.

I have high athletic hopes for the weekend. Saturday I've planned both a run and a ride and Sunday I've planned a run. I anticipate much (careful) icing, much heat and sun, and every other spare minute spent with my mother.

It took long enough, but it appears spring is finally here. I'm excited to get out and experience some of the glory before it goes away again!

Better news on the PT front

This morning I had what I thought was my last physical therapy appointment. I found out that since I've only been going once weekly I have another 5 appointments to go. Yay! I was feeling deserted thinking I'd have to continue this on my own.

I haven't had much chance to do my legsercises, let alone any other real activity, since my mom arrived. I managed many hours of dancing in heels on Saturday night but I don't think that's a good substitute (although hecka more fun). I've stayed up late the past 2 nights legsercising so that I wouldn't have to lie to my therapist. Heh. I didn't want to get yelled at. I've still been having constant dull aching in my knee but I haven't had shooting pains, so that's an improvement.

My therapist pared down my legsercises, deleting some and adding others. When I said that my race was in 2-1/2 weeks and I didn't know if I'd be able to do it, he shook his head. I said I was thinking of running 6 miles and walking the last 7 and he didn't seem to think that was a bad idea. I'm not positive he thought it would be a good idea but since he didn't say no I'm assuming I can proceed.

I'm going to try to run 5-6 miles on Saturday, taking my time and not hurting myself. After that I'm planning on a 20-ish mile bike ride. Just because I'm trying to catch up for all the time off. On Sunday if my knee is still cooperating I'll run or walk Brenda Donato's Rainbow 5k Fun Run or Walk. This is in memory of a woman I wish I had known and is benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, via Brian Kinion's Man of the Year Campaign. A good cause and a good reason to get out there.

Since they seem to be effective I'll continue the legsercises, even if it means staying up late or getting up early. I really would like to run distances again. Soon. And even more I'd like to stop getting up so early! I am NOT a morning person.

Except for those 3:45 am wake-ups for marathons. Those I'll tolerate.

After the party

The Napa weekend was fabulous! I may not get around to providing details any time soon, but the cliff notes version is we ate, we drank, we danced, we drank, we ate, we got very little sleep. The hotel/resort was very nice, the party was grand, my "date" lived up to her lively reputation. Heh!

Then I got home where my mother impatiently awaited me. I don't know when I'm going to have another bit a free time. Maybe after six months or so when she's used to the area. Maybe not ...

Off to Napa

This weekend my company is throwing an anniversary bash for investors and employees and their spouse/guest, at a fancy schmancy hotel resort in Napa. Lacking a spouse, or the current desire to have one, I'm taking Ms. Olivia as my guest. Hey, girlfriend can party! The plans include a seminar, a luncheon, cocktails/dinner/dancing to a semi-famous band and a hangover. I've packed running shoes but I intend to ignore them.

My mom is here, permanently this time. She's staying with me while she awaits the moving van which is scheduled for Monday. I'm thinking she'll probably be with me a couple of days after than while she gets things unpacked. I'm also thinking that she'd really just like to spend a quite day at home doing nothing. Unfortunately she'd like that day to be at her old home in La Jolla. She's not terribly happy with the whole move situation right now. I hope she adjusts. I'll have to admit that she's really doing much better than I'd anticipated; an 80-year-old single not very healthy woman moving to an entirely new area, leaving her friends, doctors and favorite restaurants behind. It's going to be a big adjustment for both of us.

In honor of the Napa get-away I present the Gratuitous Bear of the Week (which is almost getting to be the Gratuitous Bear of the month; it's not that I'm running out of bears, I just haven't photographed them all). I was given this bear as a (semi-joke) birthday present some time when I was in my mid-30's. He's not one of my favorites (don't tell him I said so) because he's so -- so -- fussy looking. But I've kept him around and gotten more fond of him as the years have gone by. Meet Wino!

(Too much) Ice Ice Baby

This could just as easily be titled "Burn Baby Burn." It was very easy to give myself frostbite on my knee. In 60 degree weather. Inside. With an ice pack. It resulted in a big burn on my knee that hurts like a sonofabitch! How in the world, after so many times of icing my knee after activity, did I do this? Dunno. Maybe by using a different type of ice pack instead of my usual frozen corn. Maybe by strapping it on so it wouldn't fall off. It wasn't by using it for longer than normal, it was just too cold. I removed it and I knew immediately I had over-iced.

After it thawed out (yes, my skin was actually white and frozen and ew I don't want to go into any more detail or even think about it and I didn't even tell anyone else about that part) it looked like a bad sunburn. All red, hot, raised. I thought possibly that it would blister and drip but so far the skin isn't broken at all. It's just all ugly and sore. I didn't just manage to get a small area either, it's about a 4 inch circle.

So I tried to find out how to treat an ice burn. I did a web search and discovered it's very easy to burn yourself with ice. Duh. You shouldn't leave it on too long. Double duh. You can hurt yourself badly. Well, why do you think I'm looking for a remedy!?! The one place that actually looked like it might have good advice instead just said something to the effect of "you're pretty damn dumb to burn yourself with an ice pack so don't do it again." Yeaaaaah, very helpful. I'm just going to have to live with the burn. It's not like I can cool it off with ice, right?

The reason I was icing in the first place is that I got up early yesterday and treadmilled. I ran:walked 9:1 with a bit of elevation on the 'mill. I made it through my 3 repeats with no shooting pain, but my knee was sore afterward. Swimming the night before with Sandy also added some aches and pains.

So it looks like I'm continuing with my twice daily workouts on some days, even though I'm losing sleep. I'm only doing legsercises once daily, if that. I'm very enthusiastic about doing activities I enjoy like running, cycling, swimming. I'm not feeling the love for rehab that isn't making my knee feel any better.

Three weeks until the half. Will I be able to run or walk it? Good question. At least the burn should be gone by then!

Not an April Fool

I pulled into our office parking lot this morning and looked around to see if there were any spaces, other than our reserved ones, available. Parking is tight so our earlier employees park wherever they can and the later employees get the reserved spots. Something was odd so I called up to the office. The conversation went something like this:

me: Uh, there are deer in our parking spaces.
Jeanette: Huh?
me: There are two -- no three -- deer in our parking spaces.
Jeanette: I know, April Fools, right?
me: Huh? There are three deer in our parking spaces!
Jeanette: Happy April Fools Day?
me: Just look out our windows!

Three little Bambi's, looking terrified (and hungry) just hanging out and trying to find the nearest Starbucks, I guess. I watched them for a couple of minutes and then they trotted away toward the school. Good thing that it's spring break at the high school or else they would have quite a bit of trouble with the crowds. I don't have much hope for the poor dears (deers), there's a freeway close by and lots of busy roads.

We did not have venison for breakfast here.

First bike ride, and a run

Sunday morning I met Bree over at the parking lot of the Alameda Ferry. I'm used to going there for runs but this morning was different. Instead of running shoes I had my cycling shoes. Instead of a running cap I had a helmet. And instead of taking off on foot I had my bike. Our plan was to go no more than 20 miles, legs and wind dependent. It was cool out, not quite 50 degrees yet, and a cold wind was coming off the water.

I haven't been on my bike for 2 years and that was one little ride. Before that I've maybe been on the bike a half dozen times since I started this marathon business back in 2001. The most spinning I've done has been on my exercycle and the fastest I've gone under my own power recently is around 5 mph while running. I'm used to warming up quickly and under-dressing for the weather.

What a difference going faster makes! I had on shorts, a short sleeved cycling jersey with arm warmers and a bright (very very bright) yellow jacket. Fingerless gloves and normal air-holed shoes completed my outfit. Brrr and brrr again! It's not as much that I'd forgotten how cold it can be to cycle, I just -- umm -- ignored my memories. My big toe still hasn't thawed out and possibly never will.

We hopped on our bikes and made a quick spin around the parking lot. It felt ok so we headed out. My game plan was to just follow Bree wherever she led; I'm not that familiar with Alameda and didn't want to get lost. We wanted an easy ride, as sheltered from the wind as we could get.

We had a nice little Tour de Alameda, going back through a couple of areas just to get in some miles. We ended up with 15 miles and that required one last loop through the parking lot. It was a good welcome back ride. It was mostly flat with one little hill (actually an underpass) that we took in both directions. We were on main roads and through neighborhoods and along the water. Very lovely this time of year with wildflowers and green grasses. Also leading to a bit of achooing and wheezing.

My bike felt very good. The adjustments David made were great. I need to readjust my cleats (and I'll probably be readjusting them every ride, until I find perfect placement). I couldn't get my computer to work, and I'd left Mr. Garmin home because I hadn't charged the battery recently, so I didn't have my stats that I love so much. I fiddled with the computer once we finished and wouldn't you know it, I got it to work.

I was tired afterward but not sore anywhere. I don't know if that's because of all the legsercises I've been doing or because the ride really was short and flat. I felt much better afterward than I did after Saturday's run.

Speaking of which, I ran on Saturday, YAY! Well, it's way too soon to celebrate. I met my peeps out at the Lafayette-Moraga Trail. Sandy, Anita and Mary Ann planned to run 10 miles but my goal was a simple 3. I ran 1-1/2 miles with them, doing 9:1 run:walk, our old pattern. The first mile was slow as molasses, even though it felt to me as if I was going fast. I have no endurance after 3 months of not running. At 1-1/2 miles I hugged everyone good bye and sent them on their way. We all know how tempted I was to continue with them but my better sense prevailed. Didn't know I had better sense, didja?

As I ran alone I kept looking at my watch to see if the pain would strike again at the magic 28 minute mark like it had the last couple of treadmill runs. 27. 28. 29. 30 31 32 and no shooting pains in my knee. I was thrilled and kept running, trying to keep my pace slower than I normally do on that last, downslope section. I got back to the start and although the shooting pain never occurred my knee was pretty sore. I walked back to my car and stretched for a while, then went home and iced.

My knee got more sore as the day went on, including when I was called to work to taste wine (don't ask) and when I went shopping. I iced again in the evening but it was so sore I skipped my legsercises entirely. I ended up having to get up after I'd gone to bed to get some advil since the ache was keeping me awake. It felt better Sunday morning and surprising well even after the ride.

I don't know what my plan of attack will be for further knee rehab. I'm thinking of just discontinuing the legsercises and only doing my normal workouts (swimming, running, cycling, abs and the odd strength training here and there). I need to do the regular workouts just to maintain what little aerobic conditioning I had now but I'm afraid the reason my knee didn't hurt after cycling was because of the therapy. Oh, decisions, decisions! I would just take it a day at a time and do whatever I feel like but we know the result of that would be lots of sofa time. I don't know what to do, but I know that Saturday morning out running with the girls was one of the best times I've had so far this year.

I'll let you know what I decide!

Sunny spring days

There is one thing sure to bring a smile to my face. I love the sight of our deep green spring hills. I love the fields of mustard shining in the sun and blowing in the wind. I love the deep purple blue spikes of lupine. I love the clumps of bright orange California poppies signaling warmth and long days to come. I've been seeing all this every morning on my way to work and it starts the day off right.

It's been a bit deceptive though. It's actually only about 40 degrees right now, not really a warm spring day. The light breeze looks like it's going to become a heavy wind and it's even possible we're going to get some rain. That's fine, it'll wash the yellow pollen off everything save me from having to water my lawn.

I'm officially declaring the experiment of regular twice daily exercising a failure. I just can't get up that early day after day. While I'm used to sleeping poorly and averaging 6 or so hours of sleep per night (even though I need 8), getting less than that regularly turns my brain to tapioca. I drag all day and I don't feel that by the afternoon I can be responsible for any work or decision - which isn't very good for my job when I'm as busy as I've been. And doing the legsercises twice daily makes not one iota of a difference in how my knee feels. So I'm going to back to only doing a weekday morning workout when I know I can't exercise that night.

That didn't happen this morning. Although I know I'll be busy tonight I couldn't talk myself into getting up and treadmilling before work. My knee is pretty sore from yesterday but I don't know if it's the fault of therapy or swimming. So I reset my alarm and got another 45 minutes sleep. It surprisingly made a big difference in how I felt when I finally got up.

Last night Sandy joined me for a swim. I instructed her in all the drills Claudia and Phil and I have been doing and told her each lap what do do on the next lap. We only did 2 sets of the drills instead of 3, since Sandy hadn't been swimming in a long time. And since it was cold and I was tired and ready to take any excuse available. I was a tough taskmaster and afterward Sandy told me I suck. You're welcome! Heh. I miss her telling me that after we've finished a long run that I scheduled.

I think my physical therapist is about to fire me. My knee isn't improving and he doesn't quite know what to do next. I have one more appointment then I'll go see the doctor again. I have a feeling I'm just going to have to deal with the pain and hope it magically goes away. I'm sad and frustrated and really want to run long distances again.

Short sleep, long exercise

Last night's swim may have suffered a bit from my lack of sleep. Claudia, Phil and I hit the pool last night (Phil literally hit the pool). Not a single one of us was peppy or enthusiastic but we swam back and forth for almost an hour and completed our entire workout. I'd like to say I felt great afterward but that would be a big fat lie. I went home and spent another hour doing legsercises and finally sat down with my dinner and an ice pack after 9pm. Yawn.

I got up early this morning and hit the treadmill again, with the exact same results I've been getting. Doing a 2 minute walk, 8 minute run, at 28 minutes into the workout I got the stabbing knee pain. Cripes. It was that fleeting pain again and I was able to finish the last 4 minutes of the treadmilling and also do almost a full set of legsercises before it was time to get ready for work.

Tonight was going to be another swim night but Claudia's not feeling well, Phil can't make it and Sandy is saying she'll meet me tomorrow night to swim instead. I'm going to go home and immediately go to bed do the squats tape and my second set of legsercises. Tomorrow morning I'll get up early and drag my exhausted butt to physical therapy where I'll tell my therapist that his twice a day thing isn't working. Isn't working for my knee, my sleep or my temper.

I got my allergy shots this morning and it was a great chance to knit. I took along my mistake rib scarf (the Lorna's Laces one) and was able to knit away while I had to wait to see if I'd go into anaphylactic shock. I've been getting injections since I was a teenager and I've never had a reaction, but they make me wait regardless. It was a nice break where I was forced to just sit there for a full half hour, but now I'll have to work late to make up for it. Yawn. I love the yarn and hope I'll be able to tolerate it on my skin. It's one of three (two? four?) that I'm testing for my future Wonderful Wallaby project.

Hey! Remember when my nephew (ok, my step-nephew if you're being technical) was doing the Man of the Year Campaign last year? He's engaged now. He proposed a lovely and unique way. Check out his story! Congratulations Noah and Garen!

By the way, I miss running ...

Long hours and short nights

This week I decided to try to see what it would be like getting up early in the morning to exercise, then going to work, then exercising again at night. My physical therapist insists that I complete my legsercises twice daily which is almost impossible to do; right now they take way over an hour to complete the set, and that's ignoring my right leg completely.

Monday morning I arose early and did my squats tape. The doctor had said not to do squats but then the therapist added them in so I figured wtf. I've been doing this tape for many many years and am very careful with form and it's never seemed to bother my knee. It's a great workout and I've missed it. After finishing I did abs and then about 3/4 of a legs workout, leaving out also the stretches. I worked late (again) and when I got home I did the 30 minutes on the treadmill thing (repeats of 2 minute walk, 8 minute run), then did a full set of the legsercises and stretches. It was 8:30 pm when I finished up and I was exhausted.

I decided that rather than start preparing my taxes I'd rather finish up my beaded silk stole. I only had the bind off row to do but since it was well over 200 stitches I knew it would take a while. I had been knitting it with size 11 needles and decided to try to get a looser edge than I normally do. I tend to bind off tightly and it looks bad on a loose project. I switched the needle to a 13 and I think that did the trick. It took a long time but the stole is off the needles now. I didn't even look at it because it was so late. I need to weave in the ends then it's done! I'm hoping it doesn't need blocking; I'm not in a silk-blocking mood and I want to wear it in less than 2 weeks.

I didn't make it out of bed early enough today for the morning workout. Instead I hit the snooze button a couple of times, then got to work early. I'm hoping to get a set of legsercises done before swimming tonight. Tomorrow I'll try again for the twice a day workout. Sleep? Who needs sleep??

It's tough getting old

This is what I learned this weekend after spending it with my 80 year old mother: being old absolutely sucks. It's bad enough when your sight is going, you can't hear, your body aches sitting still or moving. Add to that your mind flitting off on tangents, unable to think of words or phrases or ideas. You don't remember anything, but won't admit it. Your temper is on edge all the time. Any perceived slight gains prominence. Foods and drinks you like upset your stomach. You have no energy or balance. Your sense of humor is missing and your tolerance has disappeared. Your independence is gone and your reliability is past.

How was your weekend?

Spring is colder than I remembered

It's beautiful and clear and windy here, but only in the mid-50's. We haven't had one of our normal early heat waves yet and it looks from extended forecasts like it will be at least April before that happens. It's fun watching the white flower petals from the trees blowing in all directions as if it's a freak snow storm. I feel sorry for those in the mid-west who are getting the actual snow. I guess I shouldn't complain, having grown up in an area with late spring snow, but I'm acclimated to California and expect more. Darn global warming, changing all our weather patterns!

Last night's swim was very breezy and it was nice being in the water instead of out where it was nasty chilly. Claudia had determined that we weren't swimming nearly enough; we were apparently only doing enough mileage for a sprint triathlon. Whoopsie! We didn't increase drills last night (in fact we cut them by one set) but we increased our warm-ups and cool-downs. Phil joined us last night and he couldn't believe we had to double and triple what we were already doing. So smart Phil did the math and figured out that we were counting the sets incorrectly. Whew! I'm just going to follow behind Claudia and do whatever she's doing - no mathiness impinging on my brain while I'm going back and forth!

My physical therapist has decided that I have a weakness in my entire left leg, hip down to foot, so now he's added more legsercises (that's my new word, like it?) to my already takes-too-much-time grind. And he's insisting that I need to do them twice daily, even if it means giving up sleep. Right. I know that I'm the one that will benefit from really working at it but c'mon, I just don't have that time in real life. As much as I want to be ready for the half marathon next month, I can't see getting up at 5:30 am every day to get in an extra set of strengthening and stretching. I treadmilled 2 minutes walking, 8 minutes running today, repeated 3 times, and I'm still getting that shooting pain in my knee. I'm getting very frustrated.

I'm going down to San Diego to visit my mom this weekend, probably for the last time. I'm helping her get ready for the big move scheduled for the first week of April. I'm going to bring back some stuff that she doesn't want to have the movers ship and she can't handle when she flies up here. I'll miss the area down there but it will be much easier having her here, even though that will be even more added to my weekly schedule.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Full moon madness

Is it just me, or are people even crazier today than they normally are? I'm trying very hard to keep my nice on and believe me, it's a bit of a struggle. I feel like someone has to jump out and tell me I've been punked because otherwise, today is too strange.

But at least tonight we've got Stitch n Bitch to celebrate! Yay and I can use some good yarning. I'm having a small group of the ladies over tonight and we'll eat good food, drink excessive amounts of good wine and knit. I think instead of tempting the yarn gremlins with fumble-fingered wine induced clumsiness I'll just play with my Malabrigo. I had two big bins of only Malabrigo but then shopping and Stitches West happened. I was totally unable to cram the new purchases into the bins and so I bought another. Well, two actually. Room for the yarn to breathe. I think I'll just rearrange the yarn tonight while everyone else knits. And feels envy for my wondrous stash.

Last night was a treadmill night and I bumped it up from 3 sets of 4 minutes walking/6 minutes running to 2 minutes walking/8 minutes running. My knee was a little achy beforehand (it's always just a little achy these days, I think it's the deep tissue work by my therapist so I ignore it) and the first couple of sets didn't make it hurt any more or less. About 2 minutes before I was done I got an excruciating sharp jolt of pain that just came and went so I was able to pretend it didn't happen and finished up. Then I did all the stretches and the leg exercises and iced, just like I'm supposed to do.

Today my knee doesn't feel any different than it did yesterday; a little achy and just not right. I'm getting plenty sick and tired of all of this. It's supposed to be ALL BETTER by now! I've been a patient patient and followed all instructions and done everything and it doesn't seem to be any different than when I started this rigamarole 6 weeks ago. I want to go back to running more than 20 minutes at a time, preferably 10-20 miles at a time instead. I don't want to even think about my knee. I want it to be a non-issue. Wah.

It must be the moon.

Fitting it all in

I think when Daylight Savings Time started this year we lost an hour. No, not just that one hour we lost on the Sunday that time changed. I think we've lost an hour each and every day since. Only 23 hours every day. Otherwise there's just no reason why I'm not managing to get things done. I'm certainly not sleeping more, I'm certainly not running more (or any). I'm not knitting more, or paying bills more or arranging my taxes more. So why is it that I feel each day that I'm a little farther behind?

I am swimming, although it's working out to only once or twice a week. Last night I met Claudia at the pool. I had a good workout and my legs felt like pudding when we finished. Sore pudding, because of a small workout I had done on Sunday. We're going to start increasing our workouts again, try to toughen up before training starts in May. I think neither of us wants to wuss out in the pool when we're in real training.

The thought of the triathlon alternately terrifies and bores me. On the one hand it's "yawn, I can do any of those events in my sleep" but on the other hand it's "oh crap, it's a triathlon!!" Swimming is getting easier and faster and feeling more natural. Our first bike ride in a couple of weeks will probably be about 25 miles. The first ride. If my knee wasn't messed up then 6 miles would be a training run. An oh-well-we-have-nothing-better-to-do run. I really think the training is going to be much harder than the actual event. I can't wait to look back in six months and laugh at my current nightly fears. I will laugh, won't I?

Oh where oh where did my weekend go?

I just noticed that it's Sunday night already. How did that happen? Geez, I can see if I get up early and go run umpteen miles or stay out late but man, I didn't even accomplish half of what I intended to finish. Let alone start. It's almost time to go to bed and start the work week all over again.

I "ran" twice, if you can call doing 3 repeats of a 4 minute walk/6 minute run on a treadmill "running." To me it's a warmup for the rest of the strengthening stretching exercises I'm doing. It means that over two days I ran a total of 36 minutes. Woofreakinghoo. It's almost not worth getting my clothes all sweaty, but I'll continue doing it until my knee cooperates and stops hurting. Which it'll do soon, right? I missed two races this weekend, a short one across the Golden Gate Bridge and a shorter one out in my 'hood. With longer days and brighter early evenings it's getting harder and harder to be on the injured reserve.
My bike is done! David fixed it up, tuned it up, cleaned it up, made it look less like a bike from last century and more like a clean, beautiful classic. It looks fabulous and I can't wait to go for a real ride. New tires, new tubes, new tape, new thingamawhatchy (oh please, like you know what all the parts are called), new brake pads. Oiled, lubed, adjusted and all those things you do to make it run better. Er, I mean that a friend does to make it run better.I wish the detailing showed up better in the pictures - the paint and decals are still in fantastic condition. Can you even tell that the model is a Triathlon? Or that the paint is a lavender fade? Somehow it just seems right that my purple Triathlon bike will take me through my first Team in Training triathlon season.

David didn't have cleats for the pedals he was going to use so he put my old ones back on. They work fine, I was just hoping for a new, lighter, less stiff pedal. I brought the bike home, screwed a pair of cleats onto the new shoes I bought and went out for a short spin around the block. The wind was wicked so I didn't go far, but the bike feels great. I foresee several tumbles in the future but the bike is strong. I'm sure it'll take a while to get readjusted and remember how to shift and how to brake but I'm ready for it!

Swim a little (whew) run a little (ow) knit a little (yay!)

Tuesday night Claudia and I met for our usual swim. We decided to finally swim the complete 4 sets of drills that comprise the first week's workout on the official schedule. Yep, took us this long to work up to the first real workout. After his amazing century ride over the weekend, Phil joined us for his first swim in a couple of years.

It turns out that swimming 4 sets of drills, plus warm up and cool down, is pretty tiring! Phil didn't do the entire workout since he was pre-fatigued from his ride, but he did a great job for the first time back in the pool. I'm working hard at correcting my form. I'm good at either breathing, kicking or pulling with my arms, but not so good when I throw all of them in together. I also have a tendency for my legs to sink and I'm working on keeping them at the top of the water instead of deep down and dragging. We're all trying to find the most efficient way to swim and get a good workout at the same time. When we finished we were all tired. My legs were wobbly when I left the pool, just like the first swim a few weeks ago.

After eating dinner and doing all my leg exercises and stretches, and icing my knee, I picked up some knitting. My arms were shaky from the swim but I wanted to at least get in a few minutes of knitting. I'm working at finishing my beaded silk shawl and I'm just about to attach the 4th and final skein of yarn. This is the pattern where you increase 2 stitches every row and now I have a bazillion and three stitches on the needles. Really, I counted! It takes forever to do one row now. I was thinking of ending the increases but I like the shape that I can see and don't want to square it up. So one more skein should be about 3 rows. Heh. No, it'll be more, but I don't feel bad about only knitting a couple of rows each night when I only have about 45 minutes to knit.

Last night I attempted the treadmill again, with 4 minutes walking, 6 minutes running. It went fine, my knee hurt no more when I finished than when I started. I did 3 sets and quit, just like I was supposed to, then did all my exercises and stretches.

At PT today I told the therapist about my Saturday run fiasco and last night's run. My knee was hurting but not horribly. He did some ultrasound on my knee (ahhhhh) and some deep tissue work on my IT band (ouch). Then I mentioned the odd fact that when I was doing one of my exercises I noticed my left leg doesn't turn out as much as the right. That got me some deep tissue work on my hip and ooh boy, that hurt. Still hurts. There's lots of tissue to get through before he hit the muscle and every bit of it feels bruised.

My instructions for the week are to slowly increase my run to walk ratio while still only doing 30 minutes, and to do the run part a little slower. Also to add a couple of stretches, continue the exercises, continue swimming and pay attention to my knee. If it hurts, stop running. Pretty sensible, right? I think this time I'll even follow the instructions!

Pimp my ride

As part of getting prepared for triathlon training I thought it would be a good idea to actually find out if my old bike is in good enough condition to ride without falling apart (the bike or me). The bike is a pretty Peugeot Triathlon that I bought when I started cycling in 1989. Or thereabouts. I'd put some big miles on it back in the '90's but I hadn't touched it at all for at least 2 years. And hadn't done any serious cycling or maintenance for 5-7 years. It's been hanging upside down in my garage, occasionally bopping the unsuspecting passerby (usually me) upside the head.

My bro-in-law (on the step-side of the family) has become a bicycle fanatic. Several years back he started riding for fitness and now is riding centuries and collects and rehabs bikes. He works as a bike mechanic at a local sporting goods store and was the bike mechanic when my nephew did his Ironman Triathlon in support of his Man of the Year Campaign. I didn't really want to bother him with my bike issues but I wanted an honest opinion about whether it was worthwhile to put a little money into my bike now, or whether I should just cut my losses and go get a new one.

He enthusiastically agreed to take a look at my bike so last night I went over to their house for dinner and a bike discussion. He was expecting a bike in much worse condition than mine and agreed that with a little attention and a few parts it would be good as new and ready to ride. He did recommend that when I started doing more triathlons or longer triathlons I should get a time trial bike. Whoa! I haven't gotten to the first one yet, I'm surely not ready to plan future ones! Hey, I can't even run 3 miles right now, an Ironman doesn't seem like it's in my near future. Or distance future. Or any future, I'm too slow.

First off David had me sit on the bike and he adjusted the handlebars and brake positions. I basically bought the bike off the rack and although there were a bunch of customizations, it never was easy to get to the brakes in the drops so I just didn't ride that way. Amazing what a little tinkering will do. We stripped off the handlebar tape (boo hoo, it was pretty!) to reposition the brakes and he'll replace it with a gel-filled tape. Then he started going through part by part and most parts are in great shape. Of course I'll need new tires and tubes, since the old ones are too dried and worn, plus he's recommending a different type of tire. The chain is good, the gears are good enough, he might replace cables, and so on. I decided to get new pedals since mine have always been very stiff to release (and they're on the lightest setting); my knee won't take the twisting necessary to get out and I fall enough, I don't want to have either my knee torqued up or foot stuck. I definitely need new shoes since the old ones are way too small.

All in all it's going to cost me very little for the parts and I'll have a great bike again when it's all done. With this beautiful weather I'm looking forward to getting in the saddle again, but I know it'll take a while to get my road nerves back again. Especially with the tragic accidents recently. I think that'll be the hardest part about getting going. Even tougher than hills, which have always been my nemesis. I've turned into a big scaredy cat but I think practice will help there.

I'm getting closer and closer to being ready to start training!

Overly optimistic

I'm usually not the type to be brimming over with optimism. I'm usually much more of a realist which represents as pessimism to some. A couple of months ago I was pretty sure it would be a very long time, if ever, before I got back to running any type of distance. So when I was feeling on Friday that la di da all is well with my knee and it's better because of all the therapy and rest and exercises and I was planning races and ready to get going, I should have thought twice. Because bam! It all blew up in my face.

Saturday I was allowed to run 3 sets of walk 4 minutes, run 6. My therapist had said when he initially assigned the program that I could do it twice if I was feeling good. To ensure that conditions were contained I decided to use the treadmill and so I popped a couple of programs I'd taped last week into the vcr and started going. The first set I felt a little stiff, but good. The second set I was warming up and still felt good. The third set I felt great, so I decided to do one more repeat and call it a day. A few minutes into the run part I got that big shooting awful pain in my knee, so I stopped. It was too late.

Before all this PT and exercising and strengthening I could go just over 3 miles with no problem, then the shooting pain would start. Now I can go -- just over 3 miles. Great. I spent the rest of Saturday icing and adviling and by Sunday it was feeling a little better but still sore and swollen. Yeah. No improvement here. I not only won't be running the race next Sunday, I'm highly doubting I'll be able to run the half marathon in April.

In my achy knee sadness I thought that a little retail therapy was in order. I decided to go to Sports Basement to try to find another swimsuit, a tri bag and maybe cycling or tri shorts and tops. I found a great (huge) tri backpack that will carry, um, I think a spare body if I need one. I got a case for my swim goggles, some body wash for after swimming and a pair of tri shorts that are actually big enough. But darn it, no swimsuit so I headed over to the Swim Shop where I had bought the first one. I figured I could breeze in and out and just buy the exact same suit but they have to get it from another shop so I won't have it until later this week. That's ok, it counts as buying it, doesn't it?

On Sunday I indulged in another bout of retail therapy but this time for my nephew. I never got him a Hanukkah gift so we went shopping for that. He's really gotten into music and playing instruments. No, I mean in addition to Guitar Hero. He likes playing a real guitar and his (indulgent) parents just bought him his first electric guitar. He wanted a stand so we went to Guitar Center and I thought his little 10 year old heart was going to burst with joy. He really liked it there and we wandered through a couple of times before he decided on a stand and a new strap. He and his friends are starting up bands this summer. Rock bands. Yeah, my nephew is a rocker. We were talking about bands and he and his friends don't play any of "that old stuff." Uh huh, but even the guys in Green Day (among his current favorites) are getting to be "old stuff." Warms my heart that I was the first to play American Idiot for my unsuspecting nephew (and heard about it from my bro!) and the title song is one of the first he learned to play. I'm so going to be that auntie who gets her nephew his first tattoo or piercing ...

Swimming solo

We all know that despite the fact that I love to run, if I'm not meeting someone after work I'm just as likely to stay home with my bottom firmly glued to the sofa. I was afraid that swimming would be the same, since the first time Claudia couldn't make our scheduled swim I didn't go either. Last night was a swim night and I knew Claudia had other plans and wouldn't be there. My brain and body wanted nothing more than to nap for a long time, then go to bed. But I got up, put on the swimsuit and drove over to the pool. I did our full set of drills all by myself and felt just like a big girl. Maybe I've proved something to myself and now I'll be able to get out there and do my workouts, even if I'm alone.

Or maybe I just felt like swimming last night.

We lose an hour on Sunday when daylight savings time resumes. Wouldn't it be nice it we could chose which hour to lose? I'd be very happy giving up the house cleaning hour. Or maybe the grocery shopping hour or the physical therapy leg exercise hour. I certainly don't want to lose a knitting hour, or a reading the Sunday paper hour, or the taking my nephew shopping for a belated Hanukkah present hour. Or the eating hour or a sleeping hour. Good thing it doesn't work that way!

Improving

Today was my last regularly scheduled PT appointment and it went well. So well that I got to schedule more appointments, weekly for the next month. I think my therapist just doesn't trust that I'll be sensible on my own about my return to running. Gee. Wonder where he got that idea.

Maybe it was when he said I could increase my walk/run to a run/walk and be at full running, for a short distance, in a few days. I had to push it and ask if I could run a 12k in 2 weeks. He gave me a look and said maybe, possibly, if I didn't have any problems before then and treated it as my long run and took it easy. Heh. Take it easy. That's how I do most of my runs. So I was thrilled beyond words at the thought that I could make such a quick comeback and then I got to the office and realized that the race isn't in 2 weeks, it's in 10 days. Whoopsie. Maybe I just won't tell him it's about a week sooner than I'd thought. Or maybe I'll use the common sense I was born with and do the right thing. Any guesses which path I'll take?

Hey, remember when I was knitting? It feels like I haven't done any since Stitches West - as if I burned out with all that yarn. No, I just haven't had any knitting time except for maybe a row here, a row there. At an average of 2 rows per evening, not much to write about. Maybe I'll get some done tonight!

Alone in the dark

I had a great swim last night. Claudia and I met up and did 3 sets of the first group of drills, plus a couple of laps to top it off. It felt pretty good and is getting easier and faster, although I think my form is still darn sloppy. I'm working on keeping my legs up, improving my arm stroke, and not swallowing any water while I'm concentrating on other things. For the first time there was someone in the lane next to me creating waves and splashing. The first few times I was splashed it startled me and I noticed I was working harder to go straight when there were waves. I guess having company in the pool is a good idea since it's better preparation for the real race. Where people will actually be kicking me in the head.

There were a few times in the back-and-forthing last night when it felt as if I wasn't moving at all. My perception was that I was just floating there with no forward progress. I'm pretty certain that wasn't true since Claudia would have been even further ahead than she was, but it's a strange feeling. I often feel like I'm running backwards when people pass me by so I guess I'll get used to the feeling in the pool too. Yeah, probably on the bike too.

After swimming I headed home to do my leg strengthening exercises and stretches. I finally finished them (with a break for dinner) at at 9:45 pm. Way too late. I had just gotten comfortable on the sofa and grabbed the remote to turn to the news when the lights flickered. I thought it might have been my imagination and I ignored it, but it happened again. Then again. Then all the lights went out for a minute and came back on. I was getting concerned and got up when the lights went out again and didn't reappear. I found the nearest flashlight and then looked outside. It was pitch black, not a light anywhere. There was a haze so it was hard to tell if the lights on the hill were out or if the lights across town were out. It seemed like they were out too.

I walked outside. Because walking outside in the pitch dark at 10pm is a good idea? I dunno, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. It was perfectly still and I couldn't even hear freeway noise. None of the other neighbors shared my idea of bonding in the dark and it felt like I was the only person awake in the subdivision. Oooh, spooooooky! I went back in and locked up, but I wasn't sleepy enough to go to bed so I found my running headlamp and settled in with a book.

I keep my bedroom pretty dark and it's normally quiet but nothing like when there's a blackout. No reflection from the clock, no electric hum or the fridge cycling on and off. No bits of ambient light from outside. Very odd. Comforting and creepy at the same time. When I finally went to bed I quietly tried to fall asleep, tossed and turned and after a long time heard a kind of bump and realized that even with my eyes closed I could tell there was a light on - the light from my clock seemed that bright. The power was out for about an hour and a half and I have no idea whatsoever about the cause, or the extent of the outage.

When I get home tonight I have to reset all my clocks. And my televisions and vcrs. This couldn't have happened on Saturday night when I'll be resetting everything??

Good news for once

My knee hasn't had any major pain in a while and it seems that the physical therapy, exercises and stretches I've been doing are working. I've sorta been given the go-ahead to start running. Why sorta? I'm starting off with a walk/jog of 7 minutes walking, 3 jogging. I did that 3 times last night and there was no pain. The problem is that the shooting pains only showed up when I'd been running for a few miles so it's not a great test. There's a progression to my training; next time I can do 6 walk/4 jogging, then 5/5, 4/6, etc. until it's all jogging. Then I get to "run"/jog with the same progression. Run, jog; it's pretty much the same to me. So far I'm doing this on the treadmill every other day. If (and this is a big if) there's no pain at all I'll be able to increase to a real run with longer than 30 minutes at a time. Yippee and yay! Just in time for daylight savings!

I'm starting to get my life and house back in order after the family filled weekend. I treadmilled and did my PT exercises last night, despite my exhaustion from getting up at 4:30 am. So I didn't really get much straightened away but at least my exercise room is no longer functioning as a spare bedroom. Nice to get all the equipment back in one room. I also got a great night's sleep which left me feeling like an aware human being again.

I'm cautiously beginning to think of future races again. I miss planning my trips and my marathons and miss traveling and seeing new places. I think that even with the tri in September I'll be able to get in a couple of late fall marathons. The spring and summer seasons are shot for long races though, I'm not in good enough shape to pull off 26.2 by July. Maybe I'll find a local half here and there but I think that this summer I'll be busy enough with tri training. I've seen the schedule from last year and yikes, those triathletes really train for their races!

I'm looking forward to swimming tonight; I think next week the pool will start getting more crowded with daylight savings time enlightened people. The weather is so nice right now that I'd think everyone who swims would want to use the pool. I think we'll just have to get there early enough, like we do now, and claim our lanes.

Hangin' with the family

This weekend was all family, all the time. We ate, we drank, we drove together to the next destination, ate some more, went to another destination, ate some more, gathered together, ate some more, talked, went out, ate more then went out to eat. Seeing a trend here?Like most families our best times revolve around food. Probably because sitting down to eat represents a time when we're all together, all as relaxed as we're ever going to get. Even without a cocktail or glass of wine (or two) to soothe the way.

My sis, bro-in-law and mom all arrived Thursday afternoon. My uncle (mom's older and only brother) also flew in for the festivities. Along with my brother and his family, throughout the weekend we went to Casa Orozco in Dublin for Mexican food, had sushi and Chinese take-out at my bro's house, went out for the big birthday dinner at the Slanted Door in San Francisco (Vietnamese food), had dim sum for lunch at Tin's Tea House in Walnut Creek, picked up pizza from Zachary's in San Ramon, had a couple of lunches and breakfasts and snacks at my house and generally stuffed ourselves so full we had no time for anything else.

It was a lovely weekend with fewer problems than you'd have expected. Or fewer than I'd have expected. There were a couple of temper flare-ups, a few sharp words, some exasperated fits but mostly everyone was sincerely happy to see each other and spend time together. As long as they got a break here and there.

Sis, bro-in-law and I got away Saturday morning and walked 4 miles at Inspiration Point. It was a cool, overcast morning, perfect for running. We had a lovely walk, enjoyed the gorgeous views. We saw the earliest wildflowers, the bay and bridges and reservoir (I love to show that off to out-of-towners), a couple of bunnies and no cows to interrupt our walk. As an added bonus my knee felt fine the entire time, yay for me!

Tomorrow morning I'm getting up at 4:35 am to get my family to the airport in time for an early flight, then it's on to the office with physical therapy in the middle off the day and allergy injections afterward. I'm looking forward to getting home at last, collapsing in a chair and pretending to put my house in order. In reality I'll probably feel just like this: