Bad, Bad Blogger...and Other Fun Stuff

"How can I spy on you if you don't write in your blog?"
"You haven't written in your blog since November 15."
".....no updates for quite a while. :) Nudge, nudge."
"I've seen no blog updates.......I know you are still alive and pedaling, and even kicking and running....."

Ok, ok, I'm here! Sheesh! I had no idea I had such a captive audience! Lots has happened since I wrote in my blog LAST YEAR, but I'll give you a quick summary then get to the most recent stuff.

November/December - Thanksgiving, my sister's baby shower, snow storms, Christmas, New Years Eve. Notice not a lot of training in that list? Yeah that's cuz I slacked off.

Early January - Pain. Soreness. Exhaustion. Notice now I started my training again. It is unbelievable how quickly you lose your endurance when you slack off. I told Coach Mike I wanted no more rest days in my schedule. I have a race in three months! Yeah, well, I didn't expect him to listen to me. But he did. Workout after workout after workout. More and more mileage...harder and longer intervals. Yikes! It's all good though...exactly what I needed to get back on track.

Mid January to late January - Extreme pain. I was in the middle of the first "long" run of the month - I think it was a 6 miler - and I felt a cramp in my right calf. I stopped the rat wheel (aka treadmill) and stretched as best I could. But apparently my cramps are as stubborn as I am and it wouldn't go away. I had to abandon my run after 4 miles. Then for the next two days, I could barely walk let alone think about running on it. I was still able to do bike workouts, but running was out of the question.

Two days after incurring this injury, I packed up my car and headed east to the southern suburbs of Chicago to stay with my sister while we anxiously awaited the arrival of the first baby in the family. The little bugger was due on January 22, so I thought heading out the weekend before was good...she'd have the baby, I'd be home in a week, right? WRONG. The little monster decided to stay in hiding an extra week, so I was there for two entire weeks. Luckily I was able to work out a nice deal at the local Lifetime Fitness facility to be able to keep up my training. I took advantage of the hot tub at the gym to do some therapy on my sore calf muscle. Combined with a nightly regimen of stretching, using The Stick, and applying a generous amount of IcyHot, I was able to get my calf rehabbed and back on the rat wheel, I mean treadmill. I was also able to take some great spin classes while I was there and use the lap pool to get my swimming done. I was on FIRE with my workouts, getting every single one in.

January 29, 2008 - This was, by far, the absolute best day of my life. This was the day my nephew Gabriel Wesley was born. My sister and her husband gave me the most amazing opportunity to be part of the delivery and bringing Gabe into this world. I can't even begin to explain to them, or to anyone else, how honored I was to be part of that. It was truly an incredible experience. He's so cute I had to show everyone...

February - Back to the training grindstone. I took a few days off to spend with Gabe after he came home from the hospital, but I headed home on Saturday. It was time to come back and get focused on my training again. So here I am. No current injuries to report. Nothing to complain about (ok well maybe that 8 mile run Coach Mike has in my plan for this weekend). So, I think my work here is done. I promise I will be back soon...and not two months later!