Injured. Again. Sigh.

Well, after last week's awesomeness, there has been nothing but heartache in the world of sports.

Saturday's race did not go as planned. We did beat out a good many rec canoes, but came in third (last) in our class. In addition our time was TWO MINUTES OVER last year's, and that's with a lot of upgrades to the boats. Dr. Z and I consoled ourselves with the fact that even the boys college team only had an 11-minute-mile pace. Must have been the conditions.

That was followed by an absolute breakdown of my leg during Monday's run. The weather was perfect and I was in the middle of a breakthrough, so I was on a a PR-busting pace when I noticed that my lower right leg was bothering me even more than usual. I could feel that calf muscle really tightening up, either from the pain or trying to compensate. I was trying to run through it when at mile 3.5 my calf muscle SPASMED and wouldn't unclench. I had to limp the rest of the way home.

Needless to say, I haven't been running or doing Karate since. I have an appointment at Sports Medicine today to see why I have that sore spot on my tibia that caused the muscle spasm to begin with. I'm really afraid it's a stress fracture. In addition, although I was amazingly lucky to get in a mere two days after calling (their usual wait time is 2 MONTHS) it's with a doctor that screwed up Dr. Z's treatment when he injured his back. I'm now afraid this guy isn't going to be any help. We'll see.

Then on Tuesday we had a terrible wind on our canoe route and posted a nearly season-worst time.

Talk about one of those weeks that makes you just want to become a couch potato.

ZOOOOOOOM!

BROKE 25 IN MY 5K TODAY!

I am so, SO happy. I had been banging my head against the wall at an 8:07-8:08 pace no matter whether I ran 3.1 miles or 4. Today the weather was perfect - cool and sunny - and I shattered my previous PR by 33 seconds, with a time of 24:42.

I also registered for The Mountaineer's 3.2 mile fun run today. I'm definitely not ready for the alternate 11 mile up a mountain and back down race that's the main event. It filled up in under two hours anyway.

In other news, we should be getting the Cajun back after she's been in the shop since Sunday getting repaired and upgraded. Hopefully we'll be able to test her out tonight and work out the kinks before Saturday's race.

In Karate, I FINALLY got a stripe on Monday. Took six damn months. AND we sparred. AND last night we WORKED BO FOR AN HOUR. And there's been NO self-defense.

So, happy happy happy in the world of sports.

Slightly Out of Commission

Good New:

Little River Ramble was on Sunday. Dr. Z and I not only placed second, beating out a college team with a lighter canoe, but took nearly three minutes of last year's time. We came in at 19:14, whereas last year's time was 22:23. Nice!

Twisted my ankle during Monday's four mile run, but still beat Friday's time by a lot, coming in at 32:30. That night we had sparring, where I kept ahead of one of the twins and IronDad and got my ass handed to me by Dr. Z and Sensei SixPack, putting me about where I should be as a brown belt.

Tuesday's 5K wasn't at a much faster pace, unfortunately, with a time of 25:15. I was disappointed, but a lot of it was having trouble breathing. I think that although I don't have allergies, the extremely high pollen count is giving my airways mechanical irration. On a positive note, Dr. Z and I did our first canoe training on Mirror Lake for the year. I also saw that The Mountaineer is putting on a race that includes a 3.2 mile event. YAY! Registration isn't until May, but I can't wait.

Yesterday my ankle REALLY started hurting and I put the pieces together with Monday's run. I took the day off completely, even skipping Karate. I want to be 100% for Freihofers. On a positive note, I mailed in my registration for Freihofer's. VeggieSis can't compete with me, unfortunately, but she said she'd come to cheer me on. YAY!

Today is supposed to be running, but I'm taking an extra day off to let things heal. Dr. Z and I might canoe instead. I'm itching for exercise of SOME sort!

New 4 Mile Route!

I've been wanting a slightly longer tempo route ever since I broke 30:00 on my 3.6 mile one. Last night, that wish came true.

Dr. Z brought his bike and used its computer to figure out a 4 mile route for me. This one goes down Sentinel Road/Rt 73 instead of up Main Street to the lake, but I really like it. For one thing, it's something different. Literally all of my other routes go the other way. Secondly, it's mostly FLAT. As opposed to running up to the lake. I saw "mostly" because at the halfway point there's a bitch of a long hill. Basically I run down it, then turn around and run UP it.

Anyway, I did it in 32:43 which I'm pretty happy about considering that 1.) I'd never done the route before and 2.) I've never run four miles without stopping before. I think have Dr. Z behind me helped to push me along and resist the temptation to take a walking break.

Tonight is still up in the air - hopefully running while Dr. Z roaddogs.

Running? Yay! Karate? Boo!

Ended up not running on Tuesday - Dr. Z never had a chance to get back to me about whether he was going to roaddog or not and when he got here he was way too tired. (It ended up being too cold anyway.) I did get a good amount of walking in though, which felt good on the sore legs.

However, the extra day off must have done my legs some good, because yesterday I blew away my season PR for the 5K by almost a full MINUTE. Last week? 26:40. Wednesday? 25:41. Oh yes my friends - only 25 seconds or so off my PR of ANYTIME.

I did play hooky from Karate last night though. My job has been uberstressful and the last thing I needed was the address stress from my issues with the school and the general stress of being a brown belt. I got some desperately needed "me time."

I used part of the evening to fill out forms for two footraces - Freihofer's Run for Women and the Adirondack Marathon. (I'd be doing the HALF marathon, thank you.) Unfortunately Dr. Z pointed out that the date of the half-marathon would conflict with his annual trip to Colorado. That took the wind out of my sails a bit, but he promised to help me find another one. I haven't sent out the Freihofer's one yet because I'm still waiting to hear from VeggieSis if she's still up for doing together under the "sisters" category. Bitch isn't answering her e-mail so I'll have to call her ass tonight.

After my run with Dr. Z roaddogging, of course.

Running Outside...Finally

Saturday was my last day of treadmill work. (At least, that's what I *think*.) I ran 3 miles at 7.2 mph and then did an extra .75 miles at 7.3.

Sunday ended up being a rest day after an abortive attempt at Owl's Head. Believe it or not, this little bump of a hill would have required crampons. The path was sheer ice!

Yesterday I ran my 3.6 mile route in under 30 for the first time. Go me! 29:35, for the record. Also had Karate, but not much happened there. I was tired and cranky and ended up having to teach the entire time. Blech.

Today - more running! With Dr. Z roaddogging! Yay!

Outdoor Running...Finally.

Well, this week I've finally been able to get some outdoor training in. It's about damn time.

On Sunday, JewishMom, Dr. Z and I snowshoed up Whiteface Highway. The views were spectacular and as for the weather, I actually got a sunburned face.

My calves were burning on Monday from Sunday's workout, so I took the day off and only went to Karate. It was a low-key class working forms, which is exactly what I needed. Plus, Sensei Six-Pack worked with me on Kusanku-Sho. Finally.

Tuesday, Dr. Z Road-dogged as I ran my first outdoor 5K in a very long time. I finished it in 26:40, which made me very happy. I'm literally minutes ahead of where I was last year.

Wednesday was Karate again. (Once again, I was too sore from the workout of the day before to do anything else.) We had SPARRING! Followed by BO. AWESOME.

And today I ran my 3.6 route for the first time since last summer. (Seriously, my logbook starts in early September and I have no 3.6 times in it.) Time? 30:04. Kills me that I didn't shave those four seconds off to be under thirty. That would have absolutely rocked for my first try. I'm still very happy with that result though.

Tomorrow will be my 5K route (in what looks to be a 40 degree rain...sigh)and maybe a private Karate class with Dr. Z, which we haven't done in months.

Undecided

It's supposed to be near fifty and sunny today, but I can't decide whether to run outside or not. It usually wouldn't even be a question, but I enjoy having Dr. Z riding his bike next to me while I use his treadmill. (Unfortunately it's still too cold for bicycling outside.)

Skipped Karate last night - realized I had an important assigment I had to get in at work right before class. None of the Senseis were there anyway, so it shouldn't ding my brown belt reputation too much.

Still Snowshoeing

Went snowshoeing yesterday for the first time in months. JewishMother, Meg, Dr.Z and I went up Mount Van Hoevenberg, which was about 2.5 miles each way. The weather was great - forties and sunny, but the snow was heavy and clumpy, giving me an extra workout. (I had about two pounds of snow on each shoe most of the time.)

Friday's treadmill run was pretty damn awesome - started off at 7.0 and ended up having to crank it up to 7.2 on the second mile when I realized I had been easily chatting with Dr. Z the entire time. My cardio is really coming along nicely.

Tonight is Karate, although lately I'm really starting to wonder if this is the right school for me. Sensei sent an e-mail over the weekend forbidding us from sparring when he's not around AND has said that he's purposefully holding back promotions of people who seem overeager to get their next rank. (Supposedly it's a test of spirit.) I just really don't even want to go. Sigh.

Treadmilltastic

Ran 4.25 miles yesterday at a good pace - 6.9 the first mile, 7.0 for the rest. Felt a little "heavy" thanks to a big greasy lunch at the local diner, but otherwise it was a great run.

I was hoping to run outside today, but it is SNOWING, believe it or not, so back on the treadmill I go. I'm hoping to stay at 7.0 for the entire time. We'll see. I just can't wait until I can run outside.

Sparring!

With Sensei gone for a month, we were actually allowed to spar last night. It felt great since my legs were itching for a workout after not running much this week.

Unfortunately my rust showed. Both Dr. Z and Duncely got in way more shots than they usually do. It wasn't until my final match that I finally got in the groove. I told Dr. Z that I definitely want to go back to working on sparring on Fridays.

It's warm enough to run outside again, but I want to get some distance in so I'm going to use the treadmill. I don't have enough muscle yet to do more than 5K of my hilly route. Can't wait!

More Food than Running

Didn't get any exercise for three days straight, believe it or not. My life was just insane Saturday through Monday and included eating way too much on Sunday.

Managed to run outside for the first time in almost two weeks today. I did my 5K route in 27:40. Considering that I hadn't run since Friday AND barely ran outside I was very happy. To put it in perspective, I didn't even break 30 minutes until May 29th last season. I'm way ahead from where I was this time last year. Yay!

She's a Little Runaway

I wonder how many more running puns I can come up with considering it's an in-between-season time of year and running on the treadmill is pretty much all I can do. (Aside from Karate, which is only 2 or 3 times a week.)

Ran 3.5 miles yesterday. I did a 6.7/6.8/6.9/7.0 routine but didn't make it the full four mile minimum I like to hit. I guess I've hit my speed wall for now and am going to work on getting back up to four miles before increasing the speed again.

I was hoping to do my usual outdoor Friday run, but despite being late March it's windy and 13 degrees out so it's back to the treadmill once more. I'm also hoping to work on Kata with Dr. Z tonight. We'll see.

Still Snowing

First day of Spring and we have snow. Sigh. Ironic that the Speedskating Oval's been closed for the season. If they had waited out the rain yesterday they could have been open at least another week, looking at the forecast.

Karate was pretty good last night. We got to work on bo, which is alway fun. I love weapons. Gets me thinking I need to get out my sai again - I haven't so much as held them in months. The test never happened - Sensei simply forgot. (He's a bit scatterbrained like that.) I guess having five more days to prepare isn't necessarily a bad thing.

FakeDaughter brought in the design she wants on her black belt. First of all, it wasn't until yesterday that I noticed she had received a FOURTH stripe at some point. (They're not exactly easy to see on brown belts and hers are all really close together.) Secondly, I've never heard of designing your own black belt. At Tae Kwon Do they were all the same - you just got to dictate how your name was printed (i.e. middle initials or not).

Anyway, today is running on the treadmill yet again and maybe some weight training down in the basement, although I'm still feeling Tuesday's weight workout.

I hate March

Ugh...so sick of SNOW. (And yes, we just got some more snow. Despite the fact that tomorrow is the FIRST DAY OF SPRING.)

Anyway, I did run on the treadmill last night, doing 6.6/6.7/6.8/6.9. I really felt it though - I think I'm reaching the point where progress on my speed is going to start slowing down. I'd really love to be able to run four miles at a 7.0 pace though.

I also used my new weight bench for the first time yesterday. It is so nice to be able to just go down to the basement and work out.

Well, tonight is my Karate test supposedly. Update to follow tomorrow.

Yet Another Week Passes

Not sure what's up with these Tuesday posts all week, but all I can say is that my personal life has been too topsy-turvy crazy to update regularly.

Anyway, I've been really focusing on running lately. Unfortunately mid-March in the Adirondacks means that I'm still doing almost all of it on treadmills. The weather has cooperated enough for me to do outdoors runs the past few Fridays, but that's it. My outdoor 5K is 29:11 as of last Friday, which is miles (or minutes, as the case were) ahead of where I was last week. It's almost four minutes off my PR, so of course I'm still not happy with it. Perfectionist much?

My treadmill work has been slowly but steadily increasing. Since last Tuesday I've gone from a M1 - 6.3 M2 - 6.4 M3 - 6.5 M4 - 7 M 4.25 7.5 workout to a M1 6.5 M2 - 6.6 M3 - 6.7 M4 - 7 M 4.25 - 7.5 workout. Tonight will be another treadmill workout. I'm planning on doing the first two miles at 6.6 MPH with the rest the same and seeing how I feel.

Not much new has happened in Karate, although I did find out that my second brown belt test will be tomorrow. I've been working my upper katas and am feeling pretty good about them. Last Wednesday we actually had sparring, which rocked. (It was because Sensei was gone. Not so much into the sparring, Sensei is.)

That's all for now. Tomorrow: the test!

Another Week Flies By

Spent pretty much all of last week trying to catch up at work after being gone for so long.

Not much new - the weather has been terrible so I've only run outside once the past week. Otherwise it's been TreadmillsVille, Population: PipTook. My running is progressing nicely though. Tonight is gym night, so we'll see how much I can do. I'm very well-rested after taking yesterday off (aside from Karate, of course).

Karate was pretty cool last night. FakeDaughter and I got kata training from Sensei, which I was really happy about. We went over PURPLE BELT kata though after I told him I needed work on my brown belt kata. Oh well. I also found out that I'm going to be taking my SECOND brown belt test tomorrow or Monday. For those keeping track, I just took the first brown belt test last week. Damn. In addition, Dr. Z told me that Sensei wants to promote me. (To what, we have no idea.)

I'm not complaining - after all, I haven't been tested or promoted since October, but - DAMN! It's all happening at once.

No Good Title Today

Just a quick blurb. I did indeed test yesterday. No stripes as of yet though, which is extremely frustrating. Sensei said I passed, so I'm not quite sure what to make of that. I am getting frustrated with this. I haven't received as much as a stripe in almost five months now. Grrr.

Gym tonight, which is good since the weather is unfit for running - we have an ice storm that's starting today and really picking up tomorrow.

Over and out.

Back from Buffalo

97 miles in 4.5 days of paddling. Wow. It rocked. We got back Saturday night and I've spent every moment since trying to get everything back in order after being gone for ten days.

I have, however, found time to go for a 5K run yesterday and today. Yesterday was 28:56, giving me hope on being way ahead of where I was at this time last season. However, I was quickly brought down a notch by today's run, which was a surprising 29:22. I say surprising because I felt pretty good (if a little sore) and the weather was even better. Oh well. Better luck tomorrow!

Tonight is Karate. I could very well be testing tonight, although I'm actually hoping Sensei waits until Wednesday so I have more time for review. That's one thing I just haven't had time for yet. We shall see!

Tomorrow: Gym. I think.

Off to Arkansas

We actually got to spar in Karate yesterday, which was AWESOME. Man was I out of practice. Best class we've had in months.

I was going to go speedskating today, but unfortunately I have to run to the dentist instead to get my permanent crown on before my trip. (No, I do NOT want to be in the wilderness with a temporary crown held on with light cement.)

Well, I'm spazzing out with stress wrapping up everything, but as of 7:00 tomorrow morning I'm off to canoe the Buffalo River for five days. With two days of driving on each side, that means I will see you suckers on Monday the third.

I'm outtie!

Nasty Ice

Running didn't go that great last night. I'm still eeking out a ten-minute mile for a 5K distance. I think what got me was having McDonald's for lunch. Evidently I haven't learned from The Great Post-Race Popcorn Hurl of 2007.

Went skating this morning. The ice was terrible. All pebbly and no glide whatsoever. It's been worse, but what gets me is that on cold days like this, all they have to do to fix it is flood the Oval and it's fixed in an hour. The reason ORDA didn't do it? The guys where too busy TEARING UP THE BASKETBALL COURT FLOOR. What the fuck EVER.

Anyhoodle, I have Karate tonight. Anyone want to bet that Sensei WON'T spend 90% of the class on bunkai? Yeah, didn't think so.

I was hoping to skate tomorrow, but found out they'll be closed in the morning and am not sure that I'll be able to make the 4-6 timeslot. We'll see.

Okay, I'm done bitching now. Man, I DO need to go on vacation.

Time Flies

Didn't realize it had been almost a week since my last post. I went to Karate on Wednesday - we spent the entire class reviewing the bunkai to the first four or so moves to Nahanchi Shodan. And that includes the set. Talk about mind-numbing.

Thursday and Friday were speed-skating, which went really well. I did my usual "2 pace laps one rest lap" for an hour. Friday also included a kata review at the dojo with Dr. Z.

Saturday I spent time with my family, so that became my de facto rest day.

Sunday I went to the gym, where I amazed myself with my distinct lack of any cardio fitness right now. Dr. Z says to not worry about it - I'll get it back in time for the running season.

Yesterday was Karate, where we continued to work bunkai on Nahanchi Shodan. Once again, SNOOZE. The one item of interest is that Sensei plans on testing me when I get back from vacation. Don't know how many stripes I would be up for - we'll see.

I also went for a walk of my 5K route, figuring that because it was 50 and rainy the Oval would be closed. Silly me. There were speedskaters out there when I passed by at the end of my walk. Oh well.

Tonight is the gym. Hopefully my run will go a bit better than Sunday. Like Karate, I have to get serious about running when I get back. It WILL be March, after all.

Tae-Bo Time

Monday was extremely cold, making speedskating impossible and I missed Karate class due to not feeling well and taking care of Dr. Z. Luckily I had done Tae-Bo that morning so I got SOME exercise in.

Yesterday the Oval was closed (as usual) and Dr. Z still wasn't up to the gym, so I put the Tae-Bo tape back in the VCR. I am REALLY hoping to get back into running soon - I'm scared of how much cardio I've lost.

Tonight is Karate class, assuming it's not cancelled due to the storm. (Sensei already sent out a warning note yesterday saying he might cancel.)

I'll be hitting the Oval as well for the first time in a while. (Hopefully THEY'RE not closed because of the weather.)

Karate Klass

After two days in a row of running, I decided to take yesterday off from it. I went to Karate instead. We did a lot of kata review, which is exactly what I needed. I actually felt like I had snap, which was nice. It's funny - there's a new student who, like me, studied Tae Kwon Do for years and he's having all the same style issues that I had when I first started - too much bouncing and jumping and telegraphing kicks.

Tonight I'm planning on doing some light speedskating at the behest of Dr. Z. (I was originally planning on giving myself the day off because my legs are sore.)

Run Run Run Run Run Run Run Away...

...Psychokiller, qu'est que c'est?

Sorry...anyway, the past two days have actually been warm enough for the rare February run. I ran 5k in 3:44 yesterday. A terrible time, but the sidewalks were covered in a half inch of ice the first 3K AND I hadn't run outside in a month. I decided to not go to Karate as I didn't want to overdue it with being sick last week. I am planning on going tomorrow though.

Today the sidewalks were still icy, but I managed 30:05 and that was WITH stopping to chat with a neighbor. A definite improvement over yesterday.

Tomorrow looks like it MIGHT be warm enough, but I'm going to go speedskating again, followed by Karate.

Sick

Sorry for the lack of posts this week, but I've been sick with the nasty virus that's going around town. It hangs on for two weeks with fatigue, aches, coughs and lack of appetite (and in my case bouts of outright nausea.)

Aside from a Karate class on Wednesday that nearly wiped me out completely (and that was with taking two breaks to sit down on the bench), I just have not been well enough to exercise. Argh.

Hopefully I'll be back to my old active self soon.

Busy Weekend

This weekend was full of activity!

Friday night Dr. Z and I spent an hour reviewing kata at the dojo. I've lost my pop but I'll get there.

Saturday I went snowshoeing with JewishMom and two other women. We were original going to climb Algonquin, but one of the women wasn't in quite the physical condition she thought she was, so we turned around at the intersection of the Wright and Algonquin trails. It was less than a mile short, so we didn't mind turning around. Considering my soreness on Sunday, it's a good thing we did. It was still a 6.2 mile snowshoe.

Sunday morning I met Dr. Z at the gym. I kept it light since I hadn't run since my muscle pull two weeks ago. I did a light, leisurely three miles and called it a day.

Today should be warm enough to run. Of course, fitting that AND speedskating AND Karate should be challenging, to say the least.

Quiet Week

Not much new here. Thanks to stuff going on in my personal life, I haven't gotten in nearly as much training as normal. (I feel it too...bleh.)

I did make up with Sensei last night and assisted him in teaching the kid's class. I worked with a boy who's new but eager to learn and very focused. He was a pleasure to teach. Sensei didn't have time to give me any training afterwards, unfortunately, but at least things have been patched up with him.

Not sure what today's workout will be, but tomorrow is a long snowshoe up Algonquin. Yay!

Zoom!

It was even colder on the Oval today thanks to a strong breeze, starting out at a windchill of -15 when I got there. Even now Weather.com lists a windchill of -4. Once again, I sacrificed speed for endurance and bundled up in my ski gear. Even today I ended up having to take my ski parka off.

The upside of it is that with all this supercold weather, the ice is AMAZING. I had John Dimon sharpen my blades yesterday and...DAMN. ZOOM.

I followed yesterday's workout and did another hour of 2 pace/1 rest laps. I didn't want to expand yet since yesterday was my first real workout in a while and I'm adding Karate tonight. (Which I haven't been to in weeks.)

Speaking of which, I need to go off and write a note of apology to Sensei so I can patch things up with him before showing my face tonight.

Tomorrow is the gym, assuming Dr. Z is feeling well enough to go. I must admit that it will be nice to have a warm indoor workout after the past couple days of cold.

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Brrr...windchill of -4 at the Oval today. It was surprisingly warm once I got going though. Having the sun out definitely helped! There was a nasty wind coming down the "front" of the Oval, but otherwise the ice was hard and fast with great glide. At least, for those of us who DIDN'T have to drop off their skates for sharpening afterwards. I was skidding all over the place!

Olympic Mike complemented my crossovers, which, well, when he gives you a complement or hell, even constructive criticism, you take it. In any case, I was stoked. I managed almost an hour of 2 pace/1 rest lap training. Considering how out of shape I am right now I am very happy with that.

Well, off to watch the playoffs. Speedskating and Karate tomorrow!

Changing Tracks

You may have noticed an...err...slight change to the look of my blog. Very subtle, I know. If you're not looking, you'll miss it.

Okay, sarcasm aside I have decided to change the focus of this blog from general ramblings of my personal life (which I've decided for several reasons to keep off the Internet) to my training in various sports. I thought that also updating the look would be fun.

So, enjoy the new focus and hopefully I'll have an update later on today's workout.

The Beat Goes On...

Not much new. Had another intense discussion with Dr. Z that didn't feel like it accomplished anything. Argh. I know he's in a very uncertain place right now and therefore can't make any guarantees, but it's still frustrating as hell. I just don't want us right back where we were before we broke up.

Other than that it was a pretty normal Monday. I skipped Karate once again, which was moot since Sensei never even showed up and Dr. Z ended up running class. Oh well. My leg needed another day of healing anyway. I'm going to walk 5K today and if that goes well I'm speedskating tomorrow. I'll also go to Karate if I can get up the stones to apologize to Sensei.

Have my dental cleaning in a couple hours...fun. God I hate the dentist.

Misery

Ugh. Didn't do much this weekend at all. Spent a lot of time with Dr. Z, who spent the entire weekend pretending everything was back to normal, which was very aggravating. I'm starting to wonder whether it's even worth it since he seems to have no interest in making changes.

Pulled a muscle or something running on the treadmill after work on Friday. That means although the skating oval is back in commission after being closed all week due to unseasonably warm weather, I won't be able to speedskate. Combined with my not being ready to deal with Sensei yet, I'm looking at another week stuck in the fucking house. I am going to walk so I get some fresh air.

Can I exchange this life for what's behind Door #2?

Thank GOD It's Friday

...seriously. I spent pretty much all yesterday afternoon continuing to hash things out with Dr. Z. It was exhausting and we still have more discussions to go.

Then last night I found out that there are some major changes going on with the account I support at work so now I'm trying to sort all THAT out.

I can NOT wait for the weekend, even if I have nothing planned.

Wednesday Blues

God do I hate Wednesdays. Mondays and Tuesdays you're still fresh from the weekend, and Thursdays and Fridays you can see the weekend in sight, but Wednesdays are kind of in the middle of nowhere. It doesn't help that Wednesdays are my big meeting days.

To be more upbeat, I had a hell of a run today. It was tough and I felt like I was sucking wind the entire time, but I managed a 27:09 5K despite wind gusts of 30-40 miles an hour. I didn't feel like running because I've been super-depressed since Monday, but I forced myself to go because it's the last day of our Indian summer before we go back down to the 20's and now I'm glad I went.

Yesterday the handyman came and fixed the basement door, making it less drafty without purchasing a storm door. (Although I do eventually want storm doors on both doors, I'm more than happy to save that money right now.) He also looked at the crack in the basement ceiling and said that it didn't look like water damage to him, so I should be fine to patch it.

Well, that's it for now. There's a whole thing with Karate but I just don't feel like getting into it. Maybe tomorrow.

A GOOD Monday?

Well, it's a damn productive one so far, anyway. Friday was so good that I was already ahead on some of my Monday work. In addition, I took advantage of the Indian summer (46 degrees, but rainy) and went for a morning run. 5K in 28:10. A horrid time for summer, but okay for off-season, I guess. (She said grudgingly.) I would have broke the 28:00 mark if the sidewalks hadn't been so damn icy. (Also, I'm just realizing I haven't run since last Tuesday and that was on a treadmill, so I guess not bad after all.)

Called the village and it turns out that they do NOT do Christmas tree pickups, so I will have to Chainsaw Massacre my tree (currently sitting in the backyard) until it fits into my car and take it to the dump. Joy.

I also have to call ORDA and find out if the skating oval will be open. It *IS* refrigerated, but you never know.

Yay! Weekend!

Went skating last night for the first time in over week. It felt good, but I could definitely tell I had lost some of my leg muscle. A middle-aged woman introduced herself to me telling me that someone had told her about me. I can't believe I'm already a name at the rink.

Dr. Z arrived at the rink earlier than expected. I saw him watching and promptly did a faceplant on the ice. I am Teh Suave and Sexy. I did a few more laps so he could watch and then packed it up so we could go to dinner. We ate at Pasta la Vista, and I finally got to use my gift certificate. The prices on the bill were much higher than on the menu, which was weird. If I hadn't had the certificate I would have raised a stink, but I let it go.

Dr. Z and I had yet another tough discussion. Well, it was mainly me laying some ugly truths on him, but yeah. Anyway, we'll see what happens.

In other news, today is going to be ten degrees higher than yesterday. And the next four days or so are going to be even warmer - yay!

New Year, New Me

...yeah right!

I always hope for that, but the truth is people don't really change, in general, including me.

The holidays were pretty good, all things considered. The Christmas Eve party rocked, as always. This year's featured drink was pomegranate martinis. As with last year, the Partridges kept refilling my glass. As with last year, I was the last non-twenty-year-old to leave.

Christmas I went down to MomTook's. We just hung out for a bit and then went to Geritol's sister's house for a huge ham dinner. Yum! I almost never get to have ham, so it was a real treat.

Took the rest of the week off work, which was nice. I thought it would drag by with nothing to do, but I ended up being surprisingly busy. I went up to Plattsburgh on Friday to do my Christmas shopping during the after-Christmas sales (Sweet) and picked up VeggieSis a set of dishes and a set of wine glasses. I also bought toys for PoopsALots I and II.

I went straight from there to MomTook's, and this time it was prime rib, twice-baked potatoes and yorkshire pudding. Okay, people? The ribs literally FELL OFF the meat it was so tender. Probably the most amazing meal I've ever had, and I'm including $40 filet mignions in that statement.

Saturday was the big get-together, we were all running late (I had a GAZILLION things I was trying to get done that morning), except CrazySis who, uncharacteristicall was an hour early instead of her usual hour late. We grazed on food all day, opened gifts, played Pictionary and watched the Pats game. It was an amazing time. I finally headed home at 10:30, and none too soon since I (sssshhhh...) nodded off at the wheel a couple times on the way back.

Oh, and my gift? MomTook pulled my name and bought me an amazing set of Cuisinart stainless steel knives with sharpener. It also includes a set of steak knives in a detachable mini-block. It's absolutely beautiful and the stainless steel with black block (instead of wood handles and block) is totally my style.

New Year's was really quiet. I patched things up with Dr. Z on New Year's Eve and we had makeup sex, so that's one way to ring in the New Year's. More on that later (not the sex, you pervs), but I've already written a book.

Christmas Eve!

Well, it actually doesn't feel too Christmasy - I'm working today and since the fam isn't getting together until Saturday I haven't done a lot of shopping yet. At least today's the only day I'm working until the 2nd.

Went to the skating oval this morning (they have morning speedskate hours this week), but they were closed due to bad ice. (It was ridiculously warm yesterday - almost fifty - and then it dropped FAST overnight, ruining the ice.) Between that and no Karate due to the holiday, I'm going on the rare trip to the prison gym with Dr. Z in a couple hours.

As I mentioned, it was wonderfully warm yesterday, allowing some of the built-up snow to melt. It's cold and snowy today, which is appropriate for Christmas Eve.

Received a box of cookies from one of my college buddies. Last year was Lindt truffles, this year a tin of Mrs. Fields. She always outdoes herself.

At least there's The Patridges' most awesome Annual Christmas Eve Bash tonight. I'm really looking forward to it!

Sucktastic!

Okay, okay. I'll start off with a positive item. I went running yesterday and managed to knock nearly a minute off my horrendous 31:28 time despite extremely sore legs. I came in at 30:31. Yay! It also looks like warm-enough-weather is staying for a little while so I should be able to get a little winter training in.

Ah, one more good thing: Last night's kid class required almost no instruction since Sensei was basically letting the very lightly-attended pre-Christmas kid's class play games. I still got some good bo training in afterwards.

Now, the suckalicious items.

1.) On Saturday I found out that MomTook is most likely moving to Florida in the spring because of a job Geritol has been offered down there. Added to the recent blowup with Dr. Z and the moving-away of CrazySis, I'm feeling abandoned.

2.) During class yesterday Dr. Z said he wanted to speak with me after class. I spent an hour with my hopes up on finally having some news on his situation. Turns out he just found out his youngest son is having a baby and he needed someone to talk to about it. I'm like, "way to use me, dude."

3.) This morning, I have my annual performance review and instead of getting "Above Average," which is what I've received for the past three years, I get only "Average." Not only does this make me feel like shit, it directly affects my raise and bonus for next year. So much for making headway on that second mortgage.

Merry fucking Christmas to me, eh wot?

Heh...

...the first two titles I picked for this entry (Almost Friday and And So it Goes) popped up in the autofill, which means I had used them before. Man am I losing my creativity.

Went running yesterday for the first time in over a month. Took a ridiculous 31:30 to run 5K, but I'm so out of shape I shouldn't be surprised. I'm also paying for it today - boy are my legs sore! I'm going out again today though - have to take advantage of this weather while I can. (Not that it's even above freezing, but around here we consider upper-20s a heat spell this time of year.) If it were going to be this warm regularly I'd ease back into running and take today off, but I don't dare.

Speedskating is going well. James told me I'm picking it up very fast. Another regular (can't remember her name) told me that my short, powerful build actually makes me better-suited to short track, which I had never considered. Something to think about, anyway.

Karate is meh. I'm getting sick of having to teach, never sparring anymore, and all the refocusing on bunkai, which I thought we had finally gotten away from at least a bit. I'm also sick of looking at FakeDaughter's three stripes while I have none. Not that Sensei ever seems to want to promote me. I mean, seriously. He always seems to put up as many obstacles as possible and then grudgingly gives me a belt long after it's due. The only reason I'm as far as I am is because of Dr. Z.

Not much else to talk about. Work's been exceedingly quiet this week, which isn't surprising this time of year. Next week will be even deader, but I'm only working Monday. (More just to use up my vacation time I will otherwise lose than to actually go anywhere.)

Snore

So...yesterday was quiet. I ended up not going to help out with the kids' Karate class. I just wasn't up for it. The fatigue, joint pain and pile of hair in the towel yesterday has me thinking that going on The Pill has thrown off my thyroid levels. Luckily I have a phone consult with my endocrinologist tomorrow.

Got on the ball with getting stuff done this morning though, so that's something. It's actually supposed to hit the magicial 25 degrees, so I'm planning on going on my first run in ages. I also have speedskating and karate, so I may be exhausted by tonight.

SNOW

Well, we did indeed get pounded with snow on Sunday. JewishMom ended up cancelling the snowshoe because she had to get out to Plattsburgh for Monday before the snow hit. I ended up going to MomTook's instead. Saturday night I went to a wine-tasting party. I originally just did NOT feel like going because I was just exhausted for some reason, but I took a disco nap and managed to drag myself out there.

I ended up having a lot of fun. As JewishMom had mentioned, the group was actually women my age. Unfortunately they were all women my age who were married with young children. They were all talking about baby/toddler stuff so I felt kinda out of the loop. Oh well. I'll go to next month's get-together just to see if I click better the second time.

Didn't do too much on Sunday with the storm except to shovel. (Which I also did yesterday.)

Yesterday was a pretty boring Monday - work, Karate, etc.

Snow, snow and more snow

It's been a pretty busy month so far. I've gone snowshoeing with JewishMother the past couple weekends and am going again tomorrow. I've also been busy with speedskating. I'm really enjoying it, although I have much to learn. SkateCoach has me working on my glide. Being the stubborn ass I am, I'm also trying to pick up crossovers.

This weekend was originally going to be fairly busy, but with a nasty storm coming in on Sunday, it's looking like it's only Saturday that's going to be crazy. (Aside from the snowshoeing, I'm going to check out the speedskating race in the morning and then have a wine-tasting party to go to in the evening.) I was originally going to help MomTook bake cookies, but she doesn't want me traveling in the bad weather.

Speaking of snow, I had to call the highway department because their tow trucks knocked over the already-precarious snowbank between me and EvilNeighbor. They weren't very helpful as they're totally swamped, but I was all, "Still need to be able to get out of my driveway, chief." Actually, while I was writing this I managed to snag a plow and they called a tractor over. I'm laughing because instead of actually carting it away, they just plowed it onto my yard. Oh well.

"I Have a Skater Here..."

...yes, this was in reference to ME. As of yesterday, I am a speedskater. Awesome. Expensive, but awesome.

I had been saying for awhile that I wanted to take up speedskating, as I miss blading and am in desperate need of a wintertime aerobic activity. Also, I live a two minute walk away from the skating oval in one direction and a two minute walk away from the skate store in the other direction.

So, I went to the store yesterday afternoon all, "I'm totally clueless here, but heard you were the guy to see." And by "the guy to see," I mean the owner, who's skated competitively for thirty years. He spent an HOUR with me trying on different skates (except the $975 Olympic model), going over the equipment, technique, what to wear, the skate hours at the Oval, and just EVERYTHING. Not only that, he had the blades sharpened and rocked in under two hours so I could skate that evening. He rocked.

So. The actual skate. I fell, of course. I have terrible technique right now, of course. But I LOVED it. I just can't wait until I feel as comfortable on skates as I do on blades. (Of course, I haven't put on my blades in years, so that doesn't help.)

Also? The people there were few, but they ROCKED. Here's to you, James, for helping me with my technique out on the Oval. And here's to you, P, for commiserating with me as a "newbie" although you had just made the upgrade to Olympic-style skates. You guys rock. And here's to the Olympic wannabe and the former Olympian for showing up just as I finished so that I wouldn't have the embarassment of sharing the ice with them.

Hoorah for Friday

Yay...finally Friday! Of course, I have a nasty head cold so will be taking it easy tomorrow. Sunday I'm supposed to go hiking with JewishMom. First time since backpacking in September, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I put up some Christmas decorations yesterday, including a gorgeous "crystal" wreath I bought in a post-Christmas sale last year. I also bought some "candle" lights to put in the windows. I broke the bulb in one almost immediately, but but two in the bedroom window and one in the master bath. Pretty!

In other good news, the sun is actually out.

Catching Up

The blind date ended up being a bust. The guy himself was nice enough, if a bit rednecky, but he's jobless, in the middle of a legal battle to get his kids, and trying to move from Atlanta. In addition, he has this large lump on his head from shrapnel (which was conveniently airbrushed out of the picture he sent). Oh well.

Thanksgiving Day was nice - went up to CrazySis's. With all the depression I've been feeling I was extremely grateful to not have to spend the holiday alone. (Even if I felt a bit like a loser for tagging along.) It was a blast though. What a crazy household with a toddler, a newborn, two dogs and two cats!

Friday I ran around getting ready to host Thanksgiving II - spent over a hundred dollars at the grocery store, a new record for me. I also cleaned the house so that it would look decent.

Saturday got a late start as VeggieSis and BabySis didn't get up as early as expected, but was fun. MomTook hung the shade I bought for the bedroom, so I finally have some privacy. (All I have for curtains right now are sheers.) We also played Scrabble while waiting for the turkey to cook. I actually won, despite playing against someone with an English degree (VeggieSis)and a grammar Nazi (MomTook). Dinner itself was delicious, of course. Afterwords, we watched Christmas Vacation, as is the tradition. All in all, a lot quieter than last year's get-together, but still fun.

This week has been extremely boring. I still haven't gotten my brown belt, thanks to Sensei's printer going belly-up (meaning he can't print the certificate). Otherwise, it's just work as usual.

I Am Blue (Ba da dee dah dee dah)

Sorry I haven't been posting as much lately. It's just that nothing much has been happening and I haven't really felt much like writing.

I was hoping to get my brown belt last night, but of COURSE that didn't happen despite me stating to Sensei that I was indeed back for good now. His excuse is that his printer (for the certificate) is giving him problems. Again. I've had belts delayed before for the same exact reason. It's like, just give me the damn belt and we'll worry about the certificate later. It ESPECIALLY irks when FakeDaughter has THREE FUCKING STRIPES. In TWO MONTHS. I'm sorry, I don't CARE that she's been going four nights a week. That's fucking RIDICULOUS. If everything else in my life were going fine, I wouldn't really care, but this is just like the icing on the suck cake that is my life lately.

Anyway, I'm going to help out with the kid's class today, not just for brownie points but because it's the only other day this week I can go. I have a blind date tomorrow (more on that in a sec), I assume Thursday's class will be cancelled, and Fridays are no longer happening.

And yes, tomorrow is a blind date with one of MomTook's coworker's brothers. I've seen his picture and he looks pretty nice, so there's going to be an after-work get-together at the local watering hole. I must be desperate to agree to a blind date basically set up by my mother. Should be interesting to see how it goes.

Already Getting Cabin Fever

The snow looks pretty, but with it now too cold to run and Sensei not being in class yesterday, I have cabin fever.

I did check out the local gym yesterday. Three months would cost just as must as getting a season pass to the speedskating oval so I think I'm going to do that instead. Unfortunately, it hasn't opened yet.

I'm going a bit nuts because in addition to not being able to run, Sensei was out yesterday and also doesn't teach the Friday class. With Dr. Z and I now on the outs that means way awkwardness if Sensei's not there, so I'm not attending. And then there's freaking Thanksgiving next week. Since people aren't coming over until Saturday because EVERYONE ELSE in the family EXCEPT ME has in-laws to go to on Thanksgiving Day that means two days off with no Karate or work so that I may more properly dwell on how pathetic and non-social I am. Thanks holidays. Not. God I enjoyed Thanksgiving as a single much more when I came up from Boston and everyone got together either ON Thanksgiving or Christmas depending on the year. Now we do neither.

On a more positive note, I did by some new "walking around town" boots yesterday. The first snow of the year reminded me that I have nothing between "sneakers" and "butt-ugly Sorells that make me walk like Frakenstein." The northern about-town boot comes in two styles - Uggs and the fur-trimmed ones with pom-poms. I bought khaki pom-pom ones. They're actually pretty cute. AND were only $60 because they were 40% off. Score!

PoopsALot II Has Arrived!

Well, actually he arrived Monday, but I just haven't been in the blogging mood as of late.



He did end up having to be delivered by c-section, but mother and baby are doing just fine. In fact, CrazySis and PoopsALot II should be going home today.

In other news, winter is finally here. It had been delayed a bit (yesterday was in the mid-fifties), but a winter storm has come in and the forecast doesn't have it getting above freezing again. Looks like yesterday was my last outdoor run for the year. (Going to the gym and signing up is on the List of Things to Do today.)

False Alarm

Well, CrazySis went off to the hospital last night with contractions. Turns out it was a false alarm though - she was only dilated one centimeter. Poor thing - MomTook told me she was crying. Not that I blame her - she's five days overdue at this point.

Oh well. MomTook's convinced it will be on Friday since it's a new moon. (You know, women's cycles and all that.) I, being the pessimist, think it ain't gonna happen until they induce on Monday.

First Snow

We did have some flurries a couple days ago, but overnight we had the first "sticking to the ground" snow of the year. Thankfully it's only an inch because CrazySis started having contractions again last night. (Still 25 minutes apart, but as always, I'm poised and ready to run.)

Anyway, that is all. God my life is boring sometimes.

Posting Goal Reached!

For 2007, anyway. My goal was to average a post a week. With this being post #52 of the year, I've made it. (Thanks to crazy posting last month.)

STILL waiting for the call from MomTook. PoopsALot II is now four days overdue. Poor CrazySis. Hopefully they won't have to induce.

Voted today...yay, I guess. It was all fairly minor offices with little or no competition.

Back to work now.

The Weekend

Went out to CrazySis's house with MomTook on Saturday. Her new house is gorgeous - a definite step up from her last place. She was happy about the "big girl bed" we brought for PoopsALot, who also loved it. Poor kid is already suffering from new baby syndrome - she thought it was for PoopsALot II.

Did a bunch of stuff around the house yesterday - laundry, vacuuming, mopping - that sort of thing. Went down to Station Street to watch the big Pats v. Colts game and found out that thanks to Sunday Ticket, I could watch the end of the Packers game. (Which was an awesome game.) I will now be heading there for my football needs as they will put on any game you ask for. Plus? They have GUINNESS ON TAP. Love.

I only saw the first half of the game as I had to go to JewishMom's dinner party. It was pretty fun, although all the other "single women" were middle-aged or older divorcees.

This week looks to be pretty busy - aside from being on-call for CrazySis, work has picked up, voting is tomorrow, and I have my post-op appointment on Friday.

Nothing

Still nothing new here. I did go to Mad Pup in Plattsburgh to get all my hardware (except my belly ring) back in. They rock. Not only did they replace the nose stud I bought when I dropped and lost it five minutes after purchasing it, they refused to accept a tip and instead directed me to a donation jar for a local shelter. Did I mention this including putting 4 CBRs in my ears with one pissy piercing that bled everywhere AND having to repierce the second half of my nose? They rule. Go there.

Work has all of a sudden picked up, so that's keeping me busy and out of trouble.

In other news, I'm heading to CrazySis's with MomTook tomorrow to keep her entertained and her mind off the fact that she will officially be overdue.

Still No Baby...

Argh...the suspense is killing me. Oh well. Shot an e-mail over to MomTook and CrazySis has a doctor's appointment today so maybe that will get things going. MomTook also said that's she's ready to head over there and feed her spicy food and take her for rides over bumpy roads. Hee.

Did get about a dozen trick-or-treaters last night. It still surprises me how late they come nowadays. I was still getting stragglers wellafter seven. (Which doesn't sound late, but I went at like five when I was a kid, not to mention the fact that around here it's pitch black out at that time this time of year.)

I'm hoping to go shopping and get my hardware all put back in during lunch, but I'm afraid to go. Just like when I went for a walk today I was afraid that was when I would be getting the call from MomTook.

Almost Here!

Well, PoopsaLot II is about to make his grand entrance. CrazySis reported that not only has he dropped, she had contractions that got down to eight minutes apart Sunday night. Her due date is Friday, but since PoopsaLot was two weeks late (and even then had to be induced), I wasn't holding my breath. Now, the breath is held. I've packed an overnight bag and am waiting for the call from MomTook.

In other news, the bathroom is supposedly done. I'm not happy with part of the trim work, but it is otherwise finished. Yay!

Only Tuesday

Gah...it's only Tuesday morning and I already feel like this week has been lasting FOREVER.

Got my new phone set up yesterday, but finally found out that I'll need a $30 kit to be able to transfer music to it. Blah. So much for a quick fix to the broken iPod problem.

Kermit the Kontractor came by yesterday to look at some weird creases in the surround of the new tub. He said it should be fine. I made it pretty clear I'd be calling him if it broke in a few months like the last one did. One of his guys installed the new rain-style shower head, so all that's left is the shower rod, which should be happening today.

Went to Karate last night. All I could do was watch, but I learned some good stuff I intend to put to use in sparring. I also helped out with teaching kata because IronDad was a bit overwhelmed with people to train. I got the expected "You just couldn't stay off the floor, could you?" remarks.

Well, that's it for now. Brown belt and surgery done. Tub supposedly done today. Only the Dr. Z thing left. And two more days of this month. Thank GOD.

PipTook's Back (All Right!)

...Sorry. Had to go for the Backstreet Boys joke.

Anyway, surgery went really well. Got to the hospital at 11:30 as they requested and was given a "room" (really a curtained off alcove large enough for a couple chairs and a bed). MomTook was endlessly amused by the fact they had put me in a children's room, completed with Pooh posters and toys.

The nurse was hysterically Ditzy Granola. She took my stats and hooked me up with an IV. It was a crazy busy day there, so I ended up waiting around for a looooong time. It was almost 1:00 before the doctor even came around. I ended up having someone I knew as my anastesiologist. (He's the father of one of the brown belts.) Chatted with him a bit and described my previous issues with general anastesia. He verified my weight and said that I might have been overmedicated.

I was finally given some Versed around 1:45 or so. Best. High. Ever. I believe my words were "They have GOT to put this in pill form!" I was quite amusing while on it. I was wheeled to the OR around 2:15. I said something to one of the surgical RNs about it being awkward knowing BrownBeltDad since my girly parts where going to be on display.

BrownBeltDad injected the sedative and next thing I know I was waking up in Recovery with just that extra-groggy feeling you get if you've napped too long. In fact, the nurse said that I was "bright-eyed and bushy-tailed" and that she didn't see too many smiles. I was just so relieved to not have any nausea or extreme muscle weakness like last time I had surgery.

Was wheeled back to my "room" before too long. MomTook said that both the doctor and BrownBeltDad talked to her. (Anastesiologists don't usually talk to the waiting person, it's true, but it was probably just because of my history with general and our concerns.) She also told me that while I was in recovery for about an hour, last time (when I had an awful time with the lingering anastesia) I was in recovery for FOUR FUCKING HOURS. Overdose, anyone? Especially since I was STILL weak and vomiting when I left FIVE HOURS AFTER SURGERY. My mother suspects they were just desperate to not have to keep me overnight.

Anyway, I got dressed after doing the "liquids in, liquids out" requirement for leaving after outpatient surgery and went to MomTook's house. I even felt well enough to eat some Chicken and Stars and bread for dinner.

I had no pain during the entire recovery. I did sleep a lot though. The only problems I had was some shaking on Friday morning (probably withdrawal from all the meds they gave me) and irritation from the catheter.

I came home on Saturday morning and by yesterday was actually getting antsy. I'm back at work today and the only way I can even tell I had surgery is my hilariously glued-shut navel that prevents me from standing up straight.

It is Time...

Last night I tested for my brown belt. I was told by Sensei I unofficially passed.

I'm off to the hospital. See you on the other side.

On Edge

Man, my nerves are just SHOT. I cannot wait until this freakin' month is over. Well, on the list of "shit I have no control over," most of them will be done by tomorrow. My brown belt test is tonight (Item 1), surgery is tomorrow (Item 2), and the tub should also be finished today (Item 3). Item 4, the Dr. Z thing, won't be taken care of until we talk post-surgery. It's a shame the thing that's on my mind the most is the last item to get cleared up. I just keep telling myself that at least it's keeping my mind off of all the other shit. Like, I'm just now starting to get nervous about surgery. Usually I would have hit the ceiling about a week ago.

So, I'm on edge, but within a week it will ALL be done. Thank God. I can't maintain this level of stress any longer.

Misc. Stuff

Well, I spent most of yesterday recovering from staying out late watching the ALCS. Go Sox! PhillieFan was hurting too so I made us a hey-uge pot of strong coffee. I ended up falling asleep in front of the MNF at 9:00. I woke up at 11 and went to bed and didn't wake up again until 7:20. Talk about needing sleep!

Went to Karate last night and got some work in on my kata, although we spent most of the class on two-step kumite. I found out that I will (finally) be tested for my brown belt tomorrow. Yay! Most people wouldn't want that stress the night before surgery but I welcome the distraction.

Spent a good chunk of the day trying to find a somewhat-affordable option for replacing my cellphone. Verizon gave me a new Razr for half price with a contract extension. I didn't like extending my contract, but it was better than paying the full $220 for the phone.

I'm also doing some last-minute items before Thursday - grocery shopping, laundry, that sort of thing. Amazing how much you have to do just to take four days to recover.

Lowe's...My Favorite Store

Didn't do too much Friday night or Saturday morning due to fighting off this damn cold. (Which, not a cool thing to have FOUR DAYS BEFORE SURGERY.) I did go for a walk around the lake before it started raining though. When I got back, I called MomTook to see if she wanted to ride along to Lowes and Bed Bath & Beyond with me. Figured it was a good time to make the trip since it was crappy out anyway. She needed to get out of the house herself, having been abandoned by Geritol for hunting, so I picked her up and off we went.

First off was BB&B. I found a very nice shower curtain and liner for the bathroom since Kermit's going to replace the doors (which I didn't like anyway) with one of those bow-shaped curtain rods. It's a simple white fabric curtain like what they use in hotels. (Their "hotel brand" white curtain was fifty damn dollars, but they had a nearly identical one just a few curtains down that was only twenty, so I nabbed that one, of course.) I also found one of those rain shower heads. I figure since they had to remove the old one anyway they can just put up the new one instead. With all these additions, I'm going to want to shower there instead of in the master bathroom.

Then it was off to Lowes. I got some more knobs to replace two that were broken from Kermit the Kontractor's guys going a bit haywire with the drill. (Not that I mind replacing the cheap wooden knobs he used on the closet doors anyway.) I also picked up white paint to brighten the archway between the dining room and living room. Oh yes, and a can of silver spray paint since the two curtain rods from my old apartment that I was going to use in my study are the same design but TWO DIFFERENT FINISHES. (Yes, I am an idiot. A forgetful idiot.) Basically I picked up little things to finish little projects around the house.

Afterwords, I hung out with MomTook at her place. She of course fed me. Of course it was delicious. I was going to go out to watch the ALCS when I got home, but decided it would be better to relax and heal a bit. Plus the Sox always seem to lose playoff games when I watch them in a bar. (Hey, it worked didn't it? They POUNDED them!)

It's clear and unseasonably warm today, so I'm outta here.

Finally Friday

Although nothing's been fully resolved, PhillieFan has indeed shown up the past two days. Hurrah! The cracks are slowly but surely being fixed, just as my bathroom is almost looking like a bathroom again.

It's unseasonably warm for the second day in a row. Yesterday hit the low seventies and today's supposed to be even warmer. It's not even nine and it's already 64 degrees outside. In October. In the Adirondacks. Amazing. I may even *gasp* sunbathe during lunch.

Anyway, I'm hoping to take it easy this weekend because I'm in such bad shape for my surgery as it is. Dr. Z wants me to come along to the martial arts tournament, but I have to weigh which is less stressful - getting up at 5 in the morning and driving a total of six hours but having an all-day distraction from things or sleeping in and resting but risking getting caught up in all the shit that's going on. I have to decide soon though. Argh. In any case, at least Sunday should be restful.

Going Nuts with the Waiting

Ended up not going to Karate last night. I just couldn't deal with teaching kids after just teaching on Monday. Got an e-mail this morning from Sensei saying he was going to be there, so it looks like my Brown Belt test is going to be delayed yet AGAIN. Hence with the waiting.

Dr. Z still hasn't made any decisions and is pretty much pretending issues don't exist. I need to pin him down at least a little bit so that I can eat and sleep again. In the meantime, with the waiting over here.

PhillieFan is supposed to show up tomorrow, but we'll see. In the meantime, waiting for a working tub.

Surgery is a week from tomorrow. I'm dreading it but all there is to do is...say it with me...wait.

I hate waiting on things I can't control. Sigh.

*Snore*

Quiet Tuesday here. On a positive note, we finally had a sunny day after almost two weeks of heavy clouds. It's not supposed to last, but it certainly was nice while it lasted.

Found a Mexican tortilla soup recipe to conquer in my quest to learn how to cook. I just need to go to the Big Grocery Store for green chiles. (The Local Health Store didn't have them.)

I'm going to help out in Karate tonight. With so many things out of my control right now, I want to exercise what control I DO have with getting my brown belt. Not that I have any say, but at least there's something I can DO to sway things my way. (Unlike the Dr. Z thing and the surgery thing and the tub thing.)

Well, that's about it. They can't all be interesting days, after all.

Just Another Manic Monday...

...wish it were Sunday. Not. With everything up in the air I'm glad to be kept busy. Had not one but TWO pre-op appointments today. Joy. The first one was with the pre-admission staff. At first I did NOT get the warm fuzzies because after waiting for a while I finally called THEM and the person they first transferred me to took a message. The woman who called me back though was really good.

Then it was time to go to the doctor's office. After a rushed visit with the petite, perfectly groomed, fake RN (who was TOTALLY in a sorority in college and probably a cheerleader in high school), I went for bloodwork. I did find out that I won't be able to do physical activity for two freaking weeks. Great. As if I'm not out of shape enough. I also found out that all my piercings are going to have to come out. Pain.

At Karate, I showed Sensei my kata (since I was literally the ONLY STUDENT who didn't get any training during the class - I trained some orange belts on THEIR kata and then when Sensei grabbed the black belts, who were the only other ones training people, I had to go with the colored belts and WOW is this a run-on sentence of Dickensian proportions) and he was VERY pleased with what he saw. He made noises about scheduling a brown belt test, but we'll see if it actually, you know, HAPPENS.

A Good Saturday

The sun was actually out for a brief time yesterday morning. It inspired me to get a lot done, including going to the dump. (I even did all my recyclables.)

Went over to MomTook's fairly early as CrazySis had woken up at 4:45 in the damn morning and was on the road by 6:00. It was great to see her and PoopsALot even if I missed out on a road trip. Of course, since CrazySis is due in a couple weeks I'll be making a road trip up to her place soon enough.

Left around 4:00 or so and chilled and had dinner before going out to see MMAMusician's band. They rocked, as always, and were playing the Maroon 5-type stuff that was perfect for the sucky week I had. However, I bumped into these three girls out together and this couple who had just gotten married that day after living together for twelve years and having four kids. We all had a blast and I even got up and danced for a few songs. Since I was wearing my hot new jeans, I did not mind shaking my ass in front of MMAMusician. (See: Smoking hot.) The bride was making all these comments back to him during one of the songs and at one point he goes, "I'm being sexually harassed up here!" Hee. Too bad his hot girlfriend was there and accounted for.

I left around 11:30 shortly after the other girls did since the set was going to end at midnight anyway. Came home and watched the ALCS until it went into extra innings at 1:15 in the damn morning. They got CLOBBERED in the eleventh inning anyway, allowing SEVEN RUNS, so I'm glad I went to bed. Thank god there's five games left.

Since it is SNOWING, I plan on staying in and watching the football all day. And eating. A lot. I weighed myself this morning and thanks to all the stress of the month instead of gaining back the weight I lost backpacking, I've lost another pound and am down to 99. Not good.

I Hate This Week

Well, Day Three of contractors is going on. I got my ass out of bed at 6:30 but they didn't show up until 8:00 today. Of course, I'm just happy they showed up at all. (I've now had enough experience with contractors to not take that for granted.) Kermit the Kontractor also showed up. Turns out I'll get to see PhillieFan next week as he'll be back to patch the drywall yet again.

I ended up not going to Karate last night. Even some most righteous tunage just couldn't get me pumped up enough. I almost did it...I was like..."YEAH! Let's GO...ummm...sit on the couch like a lump." Oh well. Between the contractors being here and them using the spare room as storage, I haven't been able to practice my kata anyway.

On a positive note, I'm pretty much all caught up at work. Just have to finish up my monthly report. Yay!

Also positive? Tomorrow's Friday. That means the end of the Week from Hell. Double yay!

Blah

Well, on a positive note, I finally got around to setting up my receiver. The surround sound doesn't do much with cable, but the difference while watching DVDs is awesome. Still can't get the optical cable to work for some reason. It appears to be carrying the light signal, but maybe it got damaged somehow.

Once again, it was a day of distraction with the contractor here. It was good because it forced me to work and keep my mind off of things. Otherwise I would have spent yet another day crying off and on. Looks like I'll have a third day of distraction too - although things are looking a lot better, they still need to do all the finishing work.

So...yeah. STILL no resolution on anything. Well, I'll drag (and I mean DRAG) my ass to Karate. Who knows? Maybe I'll actually get promoted. I ain't holding my breath though.

In Media Res

Yes, everything's still up in the air. With Sensei out last night, no brown belt nor resolution on the FakeDaughter issue. Dr. Z and I had another very tough discussion where we clarified things further, but still no resolution on that either.

And finally, the tub. I thought it was going to be a one-day job, but not so much. I got your in media fucking res right here:



I will say that as distracting as construction is, it's exactly that. Distracting me and taking my mind off of all the shit that's going on.

So, yeah. Everything's to be continued. Argh.

A No Good, Very Bad (Mon)day

Ugh.

Well, good things first. Yesterday was beautiful as promised and I managed to put away the hose and lawnmower for the year and take out about half the screens. I was surprised at how much more light comes through after taking out the screens and washing the windows. Dinner with JewishMom was also very nice. We had barely seen each other all summer and it was good to catch up. In addition, the Sox and Pats both won. The Packer lost, but you can't get them all, I suppose.

Today, however, has SUCKED. First off, it's been gray and drizzly ALL DAMN DAY. Secondly, my run, which I thought was going well, ended up being a terrible 27:19 5K. Then to top it all off, Sensei sent a note around noon saying he wasn't going to be there for the adult class tonight. There's yet another couple days I have to wait for my brown belt test while fucking FakeDaughter fucking smirks at the purple belts who are a HELL of a lot better than her.

So...yeah. Sucktitious Monday here, folks. God, I can't wait for it to be over.

Next up: Whether Kermit the Kontractor shows up tomorrow and my tub actually gets fixed after being broken for a YEAR.

Boring Weekend

The other awesome thing about Friday that I forgot to mention was the fact that it was sunnny, dry, and EIGHTY-TWO FUCKING DEGREES. In the Adirondacks. In October. Awesome. Not so awesome? Having Mr. Z run me through my kata later that night and finding out that I've forgotten about four of the middle kata. Well, didn't forget completely, but extremely rusty on them.

Also not awesome? Trying to get back into running after nearly a month off. Friday I ran 5K in 27:31. That's over two minutes off my PR, but staying under 28 after being out of it that long isn't bad, and I got it down to 27:05 yesterday. I should be back to my old sub 25:30 times before too long.

Yesterday it poured (and thundered at times) all day, so between that and angsting over the Mr. Z situation, I did absolutely nothing aside from the running. Seriously. I started off strong, with the running and a little vacuuming and even some reading, and then 2:00 hit and it was Couch Potato City and I was the mayor.

Today is supposed to be a beautiful fall day - dry, sunny and 50's, so I'm doing some of my winterizing projects. The duvet and kitchen rug are in the washer for one last wash (they can't go in the dryer and have to dry outside) and since I already did the last mow of the year I'm going to hose down the lawnmower and bring it in. I'm also going to start taking the screens off of the windows I don't usually open. Window washing, trimming down the garden, and doing one last hedge trimming before I bring THAT in for the year are next, but I'm not sure if I'll get to them.

And...while I was writing this JewishMom called. We'll be getting together for pizza and perhaps a movie tonight. Coolness. I need to get out of the fucking house.

Postivia

Well the handyman Dr. Z recommended not only showed up when he said he would - he was EARLY! On top of that, he fixed three doors that needed realigning due to settling for TWENTY BUCKS. That's right. Less than $7 a door. You rule, Ed.

In other good news, hey, it's FRIDAY! Yay! Nothing planned for this weekend and I'm alright with that. The forecast has changed from unseasonably warm and sunny to rainy and cool anyway. Maybe I'll do more house projects.

And so it goes...

Not much has happened since Monday. I did find out on Tuesday from Mr. Z that Sensei is considering promoting me to brown belt again. I thought it might happen last night since that's about the amount of warning one gets, but Sensei didn't say a thing about it. We sparred last night and ClimbingSensei clocked me good on the back of the head. I had to take a couple seconds to shake off the stars. RetiredSensei wasn't wearing a shirt under his gi and I had the disturbing revelation that at 65 (or so) he has an amazing chest that most 30 year old men would kill for.

Managed to get ahold of the handyman yesterday to fix the doors (and potentially the support walls outside that need to be remortared.) He's supposed to come by around 11. I also pinged Kermit the Kontractor about replacing my tub, but we'll see if it happens in the next two weeks like he originally promised. I've now been tubless for a year.

Well, that's it for now. We'll see what today brings.

Coming Back with a Vent

Wow...I knew it had been a while, but I didn't realize that I hadn't posted at ALL in September. Well, I'm back, but having the shittiest week in a long time (and it's only Tuesday morning).

Good stuff first: The Colorado trip was pretty awesome. I climbed my first 14er, which was tough but so worth it. It was only Dr. Z, Slave2Fashion and I, unfortunately. Three people just isn't enough when they're the only ones you're going to see for five days.

Now all the bad shit. In barely over twelve hours, I shit you not, I found out that FakeDaughter got promoted to brown belt while I was gone, Dr. Z and I had a major falling out (I still don't know what's going to happen), and my Title Insurance just got back to me saying they don't have to help me with the Zoning Board issue.

First, FakeDaughter. It was bad enough when Sensei hurried to promote her to my level and then said we couldn't spar, but giving (and I do mean giving) her a brown belt when he said *I* wasn't ready was a real slap in the face. And I feel like by waiting until I was gone he went behind my back so that he'd be able to promote her first. When I saw her belt last night I literally had to go to the ladies room to compose myself.

Then after class I had it out with Dr. Z. I won't go into it except to say I finally called him on all the bullshit he's put me through in the past year. Once again, I have no idea if I'm going to retain my one close friend here or not.

Oh, and in addition I found out yesterday that I have no choice but to go under general anastesia for my surgery at the end of the month. This despite the fact that I have a history or horrible recovery from it.

So like I said, suckiest week ever.

Last Busy Weekend

Well, this was the last busy weekend of the summer. Sigh. We had our last canoe race of the year on Saturday. It was awesome - we took 8 minutes off last year's time and that was with a nasty headwind. (Yes, two extremely windy races in a row. Ouch.) In addition, I somehow reinjured my wrist two days before. Amazingly enough I was still able to paddle. My wrist certainly isn't happy with me today, though.

MomTook was supposed to come up in the afternoon, but because it was the first hot enough weekend day of the year, they had decided to put some turkey in the smoker and she had to watch it since Geritol was out. I ended up coming down for dinner. I had never had smoked meat before, and...wow. It was turkey breast, which is usually the driest meat on earth, but this stuff was so juicy and tender it practically fell apart. Yum! I got to take some home with me and I can't wait to make a sandwich with it.

Sunday was a monster hike up Noonmark. We ended up getting rained on, but made pretty good time. It was the longest hike I've done all year. My legs were killing me, but then I realized that I had run a ridiculous amount last week and my muscles needed a break. Hence today I will be only walking into town to buy VeggieSis's birthday gift.

Farewell, Fun Runs

Today was the last Fun Run of the season. Sigh. I did pretty well - did the 8K route in 42:01. It was a meatgrinder of a course. I do not exaggerate when I say that the entire first 4K was uphill, and not a gentle climb either. The one good thing is that it was an "out and back" route, so the entire second half was downhill, which is where I finally got ahead of a guy I had been chasing the entire first half. (Not by much though. He was only 30 seconds or so behind me at the end.) Everyone else was either way behind or way ahead of me, which has been the case most of the season - I'm a better than the casual runners, but nowhere near the raving lunatics. Lex Luthor said I did amazing for my first year, which is high praise coming from a hardcore runner like her.

It was just hard to believe that I won't see her, FakeGay, Coach Hottie, or the track teams till next July. It's also sad because it's the first summer activity to come to an end.

Not that I'm going to stop running anytime soon, of course. Even up here there's still plenty of warm enough weather to continue for quite a while before I take it inside.

Hump Day

I usually hate the phrase "hump day," but this week feels like I am indeed trying to get over a mountain and over to the downhill known as "the weekend." I can't believe it's only freakin' Wednesday. (The fact that it's cool and overcast doesn't help.)

Made my calls to the contractors yesterday. IronDad promised to show up this week. Turns out there was a nasty storm upstate so he's been by the border cleaning that up. Kermit the Kontractor still hasn't returned my voicemail.

Dr. Z and I got a new personal best around the lake last night - under 26 minutes to complete a lap. Yay! Of course, we almost got rammed by a couple who obviously didn't know how to steer a canoe. I canNOT wait for the tourists to leave. Two more weeks.

Tomorrow is the last fun run of the season, followed by Saturday being the last canoe race. I can't believe summer is coming to an end already!

I Hate Contractors

Since nothing much happened yesterday, I'm going to bitch about contractors, this rant being brought to you by seeing Kermit the Kontractor's truck parked in SneakyNeighbor's driveway across the street.

First of all, I've been waiting since last OCTOBER for my tub to be fixed. Yes folks, I haven't had a bath in NINE MONTHS. (I DO shower, so save the BO comments.) I saw Kermit a couple weeks ago (only because I was outside about to go for my run and he was once again parked across the street, not because HE EVER CONTACTS ME) and he said he'd be around soon to fix the tub. STILL hasn't come. I know it's the busy season for contractors, but maybe he should have kicked Tony the Tub Guy's ass back in winter.

Secondly, IronDad STILL hasn't shown up to look at the two dead trees in my yard. It's been a MONTH. Once again, I know he's busy but godDAMN. Unfortunately, because he's also a friend I can't really yell at him.

In any case, I'm going to force myself to call both of them today.

Man, I have GOT to learn how to do this shit myself.

Blech...Monday

Had a ridiculously busy weekend. Friday night was Karate and italian with Dr. Z, as usual. Saturday was the toughest canoe race in my life. Not only was it freezing cold with windchills in the 40's, the wind was so bad that three boats capsized. And these were three hard-core racers who know how to paddle. The one other couple in our class beat us, but our terrible trim really sets us behind on windy days.

Got home late Saturday afternoon in time to have Celena pick up my old hand-powered lawnmower. It's nice to get it out of my yard now that I have an electric. Barely had time to eat supper and relax before the Mole called me. We hadn't talked in a while and ended up chatting for like two hours. By the time I got off the phone it was almost bedtime.

Yesterday was hiking. Unfortunately Dr. Z wasn't feeling well so we kept it short. (He, of course, was far too stubborn to call it off despite the fact that he's STILL sick today.) We chilled and watched television in the afternoon until I kicked him out to go have dinner with MomTook and BabySis. It was delish, the redone kitchen looks amazing, and it was great to see BabySis. Once again, I got home just in time to catch the season finale of Ice Road Truckers and then hit the hay.

So far it's been a quiet Monday. Thank God...I need the rest!

I Deserve a Good Paddling

Just spoke to Grace over at Mac's and my paddle will be ready for Dr. Z to pick up at noon. She still hasn't cut it - guess it's the whole Adirondack pace thing. (Considering I need it for tomorrow's race.)

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to having my own racing paddle. Not only will it be lighter and sized more appropriately than my old laminate one, it will be one less thing I have to borrow from Dr. Z.

Still haven't gone for a run. It's a beautiful cool, crisp day, which means I can give my legs a rest and go later without frying in the heat. (And yes, up here you can feel autumn and the leaves start changing in mid-August.)

Other than that, it's shaping up to be a quiet Friday, which is not a bad thing.

Hurlage

Just got back from the Fun Run. Although my time was still better than the last time we ran this particular course, my stomach was bothering me the entire time. And I, Pip, for the first time ever, crossed the finish line and puked. Yeppers. Hurlage. Blowing chunks. The technicolor yawn.

I think it was the popcorn. I ate a bag of microwave popcorn around three. I thought three hours would be plenty of time to digest, but I guess the "extra butter" part takes a bit longer.

In other news, I bought a graphite racing paddle after the Sundowner on Tuesday. Although they said "no problem" to getting it cut to size before Saturday's race, I STILL haven't heard back from them. Considering it's Thursday night and they're all the way out in Lake Clear, I am NOT impressed. I will have to call tomorrow. And most likely make a hell of a long trip. (Which is better than if they call and the damn thing's not ready.)

Sigh

Well, it's been a shitty couple of days. Last night I got to Karate after reviewing kata all day for my brown belt test only to have Sensei pull me aside almost immediately. I thought it was to officially tell me that he'd be looking at me tonight, but turns out FakeDaughter thinks I've been hitting her too hard in the ring and doing it on purpose. Like I would have something against a twelve year old kid young enough to be my daughter. He told me he wanted to talk to me, her and Dr. Z after class, so I assumed the test was off.

Wrong-o. After being forced to run warm-up yet AGAIN and getting through class, turns out it's on. Too bad I failed for some unknown reason. I mean, last time this happened I forgot a kata, so at least I knew what I had to work on. This time, I did the katas I was asked, and thought I did pretty damn good at them. So after failing and trying to hold back tears, THEN I get to get yelled at for going too hard on FakeDaughter in the ring.

Then today I only knocked off 13 seconds from my 10K time despite the weather being that perfect cool and dry weather where personal bests are set. I know a big part of it is that my leg muscles are really sore, but between that, the bad race result on Sunday and last night's debacle it makes me wonder what the hell I'm spending an average of three hours a day training for.

Weeks like this just make me want to be a couch potato. Sigh.

Ack! TWO WEEKS?

Augh...can't believe it's been two weeks since I've updated. I have a legitimate excuse though. We had the rare dry hot spell all last week, so I used it to FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY stain the deck and porch. And now that I've gotten up close and personal with the sanding and staining, I can tell you that pressure-treated wood will indeed become water-damaged if not sealed. That wood just drank up the stain. It looks great though - I am really happy with it! However, it just took hours and hours to do, thanks to all the 2x2 railings. Exhausting!

In running, I had two awful weeks at the Fun Runs thanks mainly to the same heat. Finally got back up to speed (pun intended) tonight and cranked out 4.2 very hilly miles in 32:25. I definitely needed it as I was getting discouraged.

Had a canoe race on Sunday which marked the one year anniversary of my canoe racing. Unfortunately we were the last boat in. Sigh. We did knock four minutes off our time from last year, so I suppose that's something.

And in other athletic news, I must retire for the evening because there's a high probability that I will be TESTING FOR MY BROWN BELT TOMORROW. Insanity!

Zoom!

Not much new since this weekend.

Monday and yesterday were both very boring, which is probably what I needed after a weekend that included a canoe race and the Ironman.

The only real news is that I did break my personal best on the 3.6 mile route yesterday - 30:17, baby! I'm taking a break today though because I am starting to get bad aches and pains in my legs. We'll see how the Fun Run goes tomorrow.

I also assembled and tried out my new electric lawnmower. It was a bit awkward at first because in my almost-thirty years I've never used a power mower, but it cuts SO much better than my old hand-powered one. Good thing, too. My lawn was starting to resemble a meadow. Now I just need to get out there and do the edging.

Awesome Weekend

Hey All,

Wow, what a weekend. Friday night I got all the way through Chinto with Mssrs. Z and S. Happiness! Of course, we'll see how much I retain.

Saturday I was up early for the first canoe race in over five weeks. To bad it sucked muchly. First of all, forget our specific class; there were NO other rec canoes at ALL. So now Dr. Z is all upset about probably having to move to stock class. Telling him that I went to the Wenonah website and priced the stocks at $2000 didn't help. Oops. I did offer to go in with him on it, seeing as it's only used for racing and I'm his partner. Secondly, the people running it were MORONS. They were SO disorganized (paperwork not there until right before the race, failing to give classes the correct start time, and an inability to read the results) it was ridiculous.

Sunday I went for an early morning hike up Ampersand. It was perfect timing because I left just as the IronPeople were getting out of the water. The bike route is a terrible time for cheering/spectating/etc because they get really spread out over the 112 miles and you only see them for an instant. We ate lunch at a new outdoor grill/cafe place and then I was able to watch the marathon section with JewishMom. It was great. I took a break from 5-8, and then headed up to the skating rink to watch the IronPeople come in. It was SO much fun.

Rain...Still...

Yep folks, it's still raining. And not yesterday's "patchy rain with sun peeking out occasionally" rain but "dark and gray and soul-sucking neverending rain."

Had sparring last night in Karate, as predicted. I did eehhh...accidentally hit FakeDaughter in the eye several times. Don't know what the hell was up with that. I was trying to avoid it but it was like she kept hitting me in the fist with her eye. Got ten pushups for that one.

Went out to SL for lunch with Dr. Z. The hotel restaurant we usually eat at out there has gone to pot under the new management, so we'll be switching over to Granola Healthy Restaurant in the future.

Still haven't decided about this week's Fun Run. I hate to miss two weeks in a row, but it's pissing out and their routes are always a stretch for me. Combine those two and it's a good recipe for getting sick right before our first canoe race in five weeks. I'm leaning towards not going, but I know Dr. Z will be disappointed.

Rainy Wednesday

Not much new...the Sundowner time trial went fairly well. Dr. Z and I posted a 59 minute 6-miler, which is a good time for us. It was definitely a good practice for Saturday's race.

My title insurance actually got back to me yesterday. I nearly had a heart attack that somebody actually responded to me with The House Thing. Maybe I can finally get started on putting this whole thing behind me once and for all.

Didn't go for a run this morning. I was supposed to do a light 2-mile jog but it's rainy and cold out and I'm feeling run down. I suspect my thyroid is off again, dammit. Unfortunately my next appointment isn't until September. Tonight will most likely be sparring night at Karate anyway, so I'll still get a good workout in.

Other than that, it's just a cold, rainy, boring Wednesday.

New 5K Personal Best!

Had Karate last night...not much new there, although I started learning Shinto. Oh. My. God. OVERLOAD. I'm psyched to be learning a new kata, but god DAMN am I going to be on this one for a while. Mr. Z made me feel really good by saying that my Gojushiho pattern was miles ahead of FakeDaughter's.

Ran my 5K route today for the first time in two weeks. (I've been doing a 3.6 mile route.) I blasted through my previous best of 28:26 with a time of 27:01. That's right, bitches. It's amazing because just a month or so ago I was trying desperately to break thirty.

Tonight's the first Sundowner Series paddle, whatever the hell it is. Mr. Z aren't sure, exactly. It's not really a formal race, per se. Oh well. It's paddling and that's all that matters.

Okay, break time's over. Back to work!

I Don't Feel Like Blogging

Don't know why, but lately I just haven't felt like blogging.

Anyway...

Picked up my new dresser and rug on Saturday. They both look awesome! I'm especially happy with how the rug looks in the living room. It's PERFECT. The dresser is a bit more particleboard than I'd like, but is the perfect size and style for my bedroom.

I also finally got a real lawnmower. It's electric instead of gas, but I think that will work out a lot better for me, especially with my teeny tiny lawn.

Went for a long hike with Dr. Z yesterday. We needed it though - we're severely undertrained for September's Colorado backpacking trip. The plan is to do a long hike once a week until it's time to leave.

Oh, also - received three more stripes in Karate on Friday. Found out that when FakeDaughter showed Sensei her katas, she received a total of four, so Dr. Z was a bit pissed (since he seems to think I'm better) and gave me three to match her rank. I'm going to work even harder on my katas and hopefully get ahead of her again.

In other news, I was sick as a dog last Wednesday. I managed to make it through work, but just barely. I crashed all evening. Not surprising since I had had body aches and a fever of 100 degrees all day. (Doesn't sound like much, but my temp usually runs around 96 on my thermometer.)

Alright, work is busy so enough updates.

Update (Mostly Bitching)

Went down to Connecticut for Fourth of July. It was a long (five hours each way) trip, but well worth it. I had an absolute blast, got to see my extended family for the first time in years, and got the hell out of Dodge, as the saying goes.

Shit has been stressful here. The situation with the house has reared its ugly head after months of nothing happening. In the meantime, neither Zoning Board member nor lawyer will return my letters or calls while Evil Neighbor keeps harassing me. Also, in the past month I've had to scoop up THREE piles of dogshit from my yard. Dr. Z says there's no dog deterrent and the only thing to do aside from fencing my yard in is to call Animal Control and rat out Evil Neighbor for letting his dogs run around unleashed.

Screwed up my kata in front of one of the senseis in class last week, preventing me from getting a promotion. What really bugs my shit is a.) this has bitten me in the ass before and b.) it will probably be forever until I get another chance. I am SO pissed off at myself.

Also, thanks to several unexpected medical and dental bills, I'm down to pretty much NO money until Monday.

Gee, aren't you glad I updated?

The Week So Far

Sunday, MomTook came over and we spent several hours planting the stuff I bought on Friday at the farmer's market. We also added two more buckets of horseshit for fertilizer as most of the flowerbeds are in sand. In addition, MomTook brought some evening primroses and a whole bunch of irises, which we used to fill out the south bed. I also went for a short paddle with Dr. Z. It was supposed to be two full laps around the lake, but I wore out too quickly. Guess those two weeks off affected me more than either of us thought.

Yesterday was work and karate. Nothing much of interest happened. (Except Sensei seems to be pushing more and more towards self-defense, which is making me nervous as I don't want to change schools, especially with the next-nearest ones so far away, but I don't want to be miserable either.)

Today is HOT. I mean, 88 degrees hot. My run was really tough, even though I went at 9:30. (It wasn't just the heat - it was very windy AND I stupidly didn't hydrate or eat beforehand.) Tonight is paddling - I'm sure the lake will be super-crowded with this weather, but it will still be awesome.

Oh, and just found out - CrazySis's bun in the oven is a BOY! Hooray and congratulations to her!

The Strongest Woman I Know

Okay...so...

Went hiking today with Dr. Z and JewishMother. It started off as normal, although it was my first long hike of the season.

About a third of the way up, a guy coming down tells us that a woman has seriously broken her leg near the summit and that the bone is nearly breaking through the skin. Dr. Z of course takes off at a dead run, having medical training. After clearing things with JewishMother, I ran up a rock face to catch up with him, figuring it would do no good to have the one person on the mountain with medical training injuring himself while rushing to help someone.

After sprinting about three miles and 2000 vertical feet we get there and a guy with at least first aid training has nicely splinted her leg and the group of a dozen hikers have covered her with coats. Seeing that she's shivering from shock, I add mine. Now, this woman has a tib-fib break so nasty it's nearly a compound AND SHE'S LAUGHING AND JOKING WITH EVERYONE. I mean, god DAMN. You'd need to hook me up to a morphine drip to be that comfortable with an injury like that. And this is a SIXTY YEAR OLD WOMAN. Wow.

Anyway, there were very high winds today, so we didn't think that they'd be able to Medivac her out, but low and behold, the chopper came. After some of the most impressive piloting I've seen, they get close enough to drop a guy out with a gurney. We get her in and then he has us basically line up along the trail and hand her up until they get to the copter. I'm at the bottom of the line so I don't see them get her in, but when they take off they have her HANGING OUT ALONGSIDE THE CHOPPER. Craziness. I thought they'd at least have her IN the copter with her head and feet hanging out. Afterwards, Dr. Z saw blood on his hands and think it might have been a compound (i.e. piercing the skin, i.e. VERY much worse). (Not that we were going to remove the Ace bandage to find out.)

We actually did end up finishing the hike after they flew her out, but even the amazing views were anti-climatic after that. All I can say is that I hope to be half as tough as this lady. Oh, and this mountain that took us almost all day because it's so long and steep? She told us that she does it as a "morning walk" in an hour and forty. WOW.

Randomania

So far it's been a fairly quiet week. Such is how it is for me in the summer. Just the nature of the job. Spent most of yesterday getting ready for next week's trip down to Atlanta. Now that I'm prepared I'm looking forward to it rather than dreading it.

Had sparring at Karate last night. TattoedButSweet and I went to kick at the same time and got tangled up. I ended up landing right on my lower back and pelvis and am still paying for it today. On the bright side, Sensei finally was free to help out the adult class and gave me mondo instruction on the art of fighting taller opponents. (He himself is only 5'4".)

Ran my 5K in 29:05 today. That was WITH high humidity and a stiff back. Unbelievable. Once I break 29:00 I'm going to slowly lengthen my run. I'm also bringing my training shoes with me to GA. (I called the hotel yesterday and confirmed they have a free gym with treadmills. It's going to be too damn hot and humid to run outside.)

Will hopefully be paddling after work seeing as I have a 9 mile race on Saturday. Don't know though - we had thunderstorms all afternoon and although they've left, the wind is still pretty fierce. We shall see.