Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Grin and Bear It

The good news is that it was damn near 80 degrees today and I managed to sneak in a quick 20-mile bike ride. I could've easily blown it off because I had a million things to do but I stuck to my plan and made it happen. Yes!

I have a system that works well. Since I pick up my kids at 3:30 and their school is out west where I like to ride, I put my bike in the back of the van and drive to their school and leave from there. Today I was slipping into the I-don't-have-time-to-ride mode and I threw all my gear into the car and took off.

And there's a lot to do before riding (why running is so handy). I have to get my bike down from the hook on the ceiling, pump up the tires, and check the brakes. I have to put on the right clothes: bike shorts, top, jacket and sleeves when its cold, socks, and special bike shoes. Then, grabe my cell phone, water bottle with home-made Gatorade in it, sports bar, and bike gloves and put bike in the car (until Kurt puts our bike rack on the back).

It may not sound like a lot but it is a LOT more than what you do to go for a run. I'm proud to say that today I did it all within 5 mins and got out the door.

I rode to Windsor and had a fabulous ride!  The only problem was that I had eaten such a big lunch that it was kind of uncomfortable to ride hard with a full stomach. And belching up black beans and salsa when you're int he aero position is not so fun.

I'm glad I got the ride in but I'm bummin' about my hip. I've decided to not run all week and see what happenes. It didn't hurt very much today so that's promising but when I would move certain ways, I could feel significant pain. I wish I knew how I pulled that muscle!

I am worried about how I will train for an Ironman with this injury. Everyone keeps telling me that its ok to take time off now and they're right, it IS best to take the time off now. But I haven't stopped running in 25 years (seriously) and I'm honestly wondering how I'm going to do it.

What I miss most is the Saturday morning long run. I've been doing that for 25 yrs now. I think I have missed only a handful of Saturdays in all those years. I don't how know to function without that long run. It kind of "sets" me for the week. I feel a little panicky when i think of not running long on Saturday or Sunday morning. I find myself thinking about sneaking out to do the run...what an endurance junkie I am!

So, we'll see how it goes this week. Hope to swim tomorrow and Friday, bike on Thursday and maybe Friday with a friend, and I guess bike again on Saturday. I really want to run!!!

ARRGGGHHH!!!!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Maybe you should just sprint around the neighborhood Saturday until the hip snaps and then you won't physically be able to run. Maybe that will be easier mentally for you. :)

Cindy Dallow, PhD, RD said...

Well that made me feel better, Dan.