Glorious Monday

First and foremost I must proclaim that.....MY BACK SPASMS ARE GONE!  I woke up on Friday morning and felt a lot better, but still wasn't right.  I ended up going to my sports doc and was told to just keep doing what I was doing, applying heat to loosen up the area, take Advil as needed (if needed), and try running on Saturday for no longer than an hour.  Sounded like a plan to me, so I went home and worked the rest of the day from there and was quite productive.

Saturday I was up at 7:00AM and found my running things laid out on the floor beside me.  Yes, I was eaget to get out and run since it had been a full week since I last ran.  Out I went for a six mile run, where I really didn't care, I would just figure it out as I went.  It was an amazing start of the day, 46F and sunny skies.  I felt a bit odd at first, quick on my feet but just a bit off.  I pushed on and with each step I felt a bit more comfortable...funny what a week off from running will do to you.   All in all it was a good one and I finished the 6.04 miles (somewhat hilly course) in just about 48 minutes flat (7:58/mile).

From there it was off to coach my daughters soccer game, which was starting at 10AM.  I will say this much about the game, they girls all had fun, at least that is what they told me.  We didn't score a lot of goals (actually only one) and quite a few found their way into our net (too many to count), but all of the girls kept their head up and we made the best of it.  About half of the girls haven't played soccer yet, so it is a bit tough, not just for me but also for my daughter who knows what the other girls should be doing but they just aren't.  We will get better as the season progresses.

The rest of Saturday I spent outside, mostly with my youngest daughter.  After I took care of some bike issues, we just played in our yard, drawing with chalk on the driveway, throwing a lacrosse ball around, playing catch with a big red ball and just laying in the grass wrestling.  We had such a good time.

Sunday was another great day and I was up and out the door by 7:30AM for my run (another six miles).  I was a little tired but made the best of it, finished the six in just under 48 minutes again (7:48/mile).  I think I have said it before that I am not a morning runner, I would much rather head out after a bagel and some Gatorade or juice.  However, my Saturday and Sunday runs were simply great.  I didn't run really fast and I didn't feel great at the start of either run, but the weather was perfect and everyone that I passed had a smile on their face and was eager to say "Hello". 

The rest of the day was pretty busy, me and the family all went to church, then it was home to change out of our "church" clothes and into our "have fun on Sunday" clothes.  My wife took the girls with her to go shopping while I gave my car a much needed washing.  Then around 1:30PM, I had to run out with the family to do a few errands.  Then when we got back, all of the neighbors were out, so it was playtime for all of the kids (while I washed my wifes' car). 

Then around 4:00PM I put on my cycling clothes and headed out for a long over due ride.  Oh how I miss riding my bike outside, this being only my second outdoor ride since the end of 2009.  I rode down to the river and over to New Jersey.  From there I headed up, up, up for about three miles for the sole purpose of being able to descend Federal Twist, one of the steepest roads in the area. 

Here I am about half a mile from where the road drops off (yes, I have my game face on, I am not messing around).  To cut to the chase, I started down and I glanced at my Garmin every few secons to read my speed...35MPH...39 MPH...42MPH...45 MPH...47MPH!!!  Wow, I was flying, that is until a deer started to limp across the road, its front right leg looking injured.  Immediately I tensed up and applied the brakes hoping that I wouldn't come remotely close to it.  I ended up easily missing the deer (by about a good 30 feet), but the thought of me plowing into a deer while riding 45PMH+ was really disturbing and my neck and shoulders were all achy and sore from tensing up when I initially saw the deer.

I continued on the remainer of the descent and then made my way back to and over the river via the walking bridge (see me and my unusually large-looking nose on the right...I probably should have taken the helmet off for that picture), then the 6 mile gradual climb back home.  Those last two miles were tough miles for me, I was just exhausted.  Probably from my morning run, coupled with all of the outside activity I had engaged in earlier on in the day and the run in with the deer.  I finished the 21.4 mile ride in around 1:16, 16.9MPH average (a bit misleading because of a combined 1/2 mile where I had to walk my bike over the PA/NJ walking bridge).  Regardless of my time and speed, I had a great time just riding my bike outside and not in my basement.

I was all but useless for the rest of the night.  My wife and I got the girls into bed at 8:00PM (they were asleep by 8:30PM) and then we putzed around for far too long before I think I fell asleep just short of 10:30PM.

Today:  I was up at 4:45AM this morning and in the pool by 5:45AM.  I put in 1,800M in 36:54 (~2:03/100M), give or take a few seconds.  For not having been in the pool in a week I felt really good.  I did my best to relax and swim as such. 

Phew, that seems like a lot of writing for a few days.  There has been some other things going on that I just don't have time to write in detail right now.  Here are the shopping highlights:

• Bought new Shimano Dura Ace 12-21 Cassette for an extra wheel I have.  Should benefit me for the terranin in Arizona.

• Bought new pair of K-Swiss Keahou II's thanks to Road Runner Sports April Fool's Day extra 10%.

• Bought H2O Audio case and headphones for my iPod Touch.  Used them for my runs and ride this weekend.  Will use it in the pool some time later this week.

Should be a relatively easy week of running this week, Unite Half Marathon is on Sunday and I am hoping to kick ass and set a PR.  Peace out!