Weekly Recap: 10/2/2017 - 10/8/2017

PT on Monday morning was interesting.  I had peeled off the tape, it's NOT KT, it is some other heavy duty, nothing but nail polish gets the glue off sort of tape, not at all pliable.  I get a little of the stiff tape on my leg, but the under tape peels off nicely.   Friday I was really having problems with my balance.  This upsets me on a variety of levels and that then messes with my mind and my balance even more.  Sue put some tiny wedges in the inner side of my shoe, at the heel.  It was like freaking magic.  I was completely stable.  Even with a taxed quad, I could still balance on my right side.  I have one for my left now, also.  The kinetic chain.  I ran 3 miles, figuring this was a big difference to what I am used to and to not overtax a well taxed right side and a now coming to the party left side. It felt good.  Way better than my run on Friday, historically I'm spent by Friday and my Friday runs are nothing spectacular anyhow.  My knees are never going to get better, it is going to get worse, there is nothing to prevent that, well never running again.  The PT is to deal with strengthening the quads and loosening up the hammies to prevent the falling I've experienced while starting to run and even attempting to run across the street.

Gus wasn't so much for his walk and then he was and then he wasn't.  He's 10, he's old.

Finish Run for the Pumpkins 5K
Shhhh don't tell Sue I didn't have on my tape
Photo by Jana Walker

Not a running day on Tuesday, a meeting day, which worked out ok.  I went to the noon circuit class and that was fun.  Learning to work within my 30% bend in my knees while weighted was interesting.  I'll get it, eventually.  My late meeting was canceled so I went home early and took a bike ride out to Watch Hill and back.  I had just about enough time before sunset and dog dinner time.  Sunset is the more important variable.  I donned a warm jersey, snuggly warm, and it was perfect.  Of course, I had the wrong gloves so my hands weren't happy.  I'll get it all figured out, how to survive winter road rides.   A small investment in some appropriate outerwear will be a good use of that bonus I got a few months ago!  I knew that would come in handy.

Jax taking advantage of a higher vantage point to see what's going on.
I kept thinking he should yell STELLA!

Hills with Ro are Wednesday's fun! It was another day of crazy meeting times so we moved up our hill workout an hour and that worked out well.  This was the first time I managed to out bright Ro with my orange shorts.  Usually, she is so multi-colored bright you can see her 1/4 mile away!  Much better walk than the heat of last week.  We had gone out to dinner on Friday and she came over to my house to go for a Gus walk.  She was surprised how big the boys are!  80 lb dogs are big, I guess.  She said the pictures of them make them look small.  They were as gentlemanly as they could be and she said she enjoyed the stroll with Gus.  I'm never sure about letting anyone into this house, it's a disaster, well it is VERY lived in, by humans, dogs, and a few spiders (based on the webs in the corners - sorry Sheila, I'll clear them out when you visit!)

Faith and I were going to make a trek up to Treehouse Brewery, but the only thing they canned were IPAs.  Not my thing, or her thing.  We will go another time.  Jax got a hike and Gus got a long walk.  He is still limping but it isn't slowing him down and the bump on that leg doesn't bother him when I mess with it.  Again, he's 10, this is what happens...

Gus sad he hasn't seen the Bob Tailed Squirrel in a few weeks.

Back to PT on Thursday and I took a walk around the exercise loop on campus afterward.  I wanted to be outside and this worked for my purposes.  Finally made it to a Jealous Monk run.  Met up with Faith and we started early with the 5K loop.  I'm so painfully slow it's frustrating to watch everyone spread out in front of me plus it gets dark early these days and I have that tape on my knee and really just want to hide.  The loop was a hill loop and actually not that bad, I like the long slow climbs, the short steep ones, not so much.  We had a beer the Jealous Monk brewed and called it a night.  On the way home, I decided to get gas instead of scrambling to get it in the morning.  I picked up a razor blade in my tire.  I heard the air escaping as I drove to the gas station 2 blocks, then called Dave as I was pumping gas and he suggested I come home.  I wasn't sure if I would make it before all the air escaped.  5 blocks and I was a 2 lbs of pressure.  Dave changed the tire (thank you I can but I don't want to - kinda like he can vacuum but doesn't want to) and that's when I found the razor blade.  Loaded the whole thing up in the back of Eddie and crossed my fingers this wasn't going to turn into an ordeal like everything does with cars and me.

Razor blade in my tire is how Thursday ended.
Glad I was close to home!

While Friday is a running day, I was really more interested in the circuit class, Ro was teaching, I did that and then went off to deal with the tire.  I made an appointment, but then never asked for the tire size.  I was sure this was going to be a saga, tires and I are always a saga.  I hunkered down waiting for them to page me and tell me the saga.  The page was that my vehicle was ready.  What?  Are you kidding me?  Seriously?  It was.  The hole wasn't pluggable so they replaced the tire, stored the spare and the jack securely and appropriately (no shit!!) and plugged the small leak I had in the front right tire.  I've never bought a lottery ticket, but I should have on Friday, for sure!  I can fill a book with my tire sagas, maybe my life is going to have less tire drama for the next 50 years, the first 50 had more than one person should endure.  I went for a quick bike ride on the Tour de Farms loop, 3 miles of chip seal makes it a bit slow and a bit rough, still a nice ride and a nice way to end a good day I started convinced it was going to be horrible.  :)

The Bob Tailed Squirrel!

My running club's trail race, Run for the Pumpkins, was on Saturday,  I ran the 5K version of the race and it was good.  I enjoy a run in the woods and on marked trails where I'm most likely to NOT get lost, even better!  It was not a spectacular run, although I didn't fall at the start so that's something, right?

Me and Carol Ann Gray
Photo by Jana Walker

The rain on Sunday killed my plans to ride with the Narraganset Bay Wheelmen, I don't like riding in the rain, no one does I imagine.  I went out early from home and got in a decent 30-mile ride with the last mile being in the rain.



Reading:

"The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy"
by Jeanne Birdsall such a nice light cute novel a nice break after some heavy stuff.  Looking forward to the other three books in the series.

"The Great Escape" by Paul Brickhill pretty heavy subject matter delivered in a very well thought out book.  I loved the movie when I saw it years ago.  Definitely, one I want to see again.  Hogan's Heros was definitely a light-hearted version of this reality.

Knitting:

Continued working on the lilac sweater.  I really should expand to a new pattern.  I like this one...

Mileage:

Feet:  26
Saddle: 66

Clearly, the -3 in weight means I am behind on my beer drinking.  Which was one of my most favorite sign-offs from my mother when she wrote me every day in college.

All in all a good, week, mostly because the joint pain seemed to disappear on the 7th, it was nice waking up not feeling like hell.

Sincerely,
Beth, behind on her beer drinking