DEE-EL

The theme of this week has been "reassess" and what better way to finish it off than with a brand new injury, right?!?!  Hahah... Oh man!  March was shaping up to be so awesome!  I was super satisfied with my new goals sheet when I posted it on Tuesday afternoon and *then* I felt SO GREAT about my performance at track practice Tuesday night.  But - oyoyoy - one day and one little baby recovery ride later and I found myself suffering from a mild case of 'turf toe' on my right foot.  I've been RICE-ing and going easy on it ever since Thursday and there's still no sign of the pain going away any time soon.  Meh.

Okay okay - so, I admit that I may have needed a little reality check...  Maguy discouraged me from double days last year and I've been aware I'm pushing it with these back-to-back bricks on Tuesdays.  So, here I lie, on this couch, in this oh-so-familiar position (with one leg up and tingling in my toes from a tightly wound ace bandage).  Ugh!

For the next few weeks, I'll be fine-tuning my weekly workout routine to avoid a double day.  The problem will be deciding which Tuesday workout to retain!  I've been loving my morning jogs with Vala and the Tuesday evening track workouts with Oakland Triathlon Club (OTC) have been so enjoyable and so intense.  Look!  After doing a mini brick in the morning *and* riding 12 miles to Berkeley I still ran my fastest recorded 400 meter (1:12) and my fastest 1/2 mile (3:16):



So you can see what I mean...  I'd like to keep both workouts in the mix somehow (maybe with one 3 miler day and a 5 miler day?).  Once my foot heels, my plan of attack will be to get some new shoes, and maybe custom orthotics, and ask the OTC track coach about how my form can be improved to avoid reinjury. Alright - that's enough wah wah wah for now - more later!

Catch Up If You Can

On Tuesday morning I met a good friend from college to jog along Shoreline Drive in Alameda.  It's a beautiful and bustling trail along the southwestern coast of the island that has breathtaking views of the San Francisco bay. We jog/walked and went about 3 miles in thirty minutes.  It was a great catch-up session where I heard all about her new pet sea turtle, her path to buying a home in the Bay Area, and tales of grandbabies and middle management and losing 50 lbs in a year.  Incredible!  When we said goodbye we agreed to a weekly meeting when the weather is nice.  This turned out to be a mini-brick (which means a bike and run workout back-to-back) which is fantastic - and it was oh so fun to see an old friend's face!

This week I'm looking forward to tagging along with Dan for a Thursday morning workout with the Vitruvian club at Lake Merritt *and* Billy and I are also talking about going on a long ride this weekend (somewhere between 40 and 60 miles) so I can barely contain my excitement for that.

It feels so good to be training again.  I can feel my body coming back one day at a time.