2nd Opinion, Bike Ride, and Training Plan Philosophy

Note: Pics are not my own. Left is pic of Penasquitos Canyon (example of what I saw yesterday) and right is Lake Miramar. Jut to give you an idea of the sights from my ride.

2nd Opinion on Feet:
I was rather displeased with the 1st podiatrist's diagnosis last week, which was basically, "I don't know what's wrong. Just ice it and see if it gets better." So I went to a place that made custom orthotics. The owner used to run marathons and he was recommended to me by a friend so I thought I'd check it out. I am so happy I went. He evaluated my biomechanics and foot structure as well as my shoes. Turns out, my foot is narrow with high arches, and extremely flexible, which is a bad thing, because I don't have any support when I land. This makes me overpronate and supinate; ever heard of that? Great. I do both. Figures. I have weird feet. I'm sticking with my Brooks Adrenaline. However, since they're stability shoes for overpronators, he's making a custom orthotic for the supination as well as giving me arch and metatarsal support. Plus, the left foot will be different from the right--each orthotic is made for the foot. I'm so excited; I can't wait. I pick them up next week.

Awesome Sunday Bike Ride:
Yesterday, I finally gave up trying to get Jason to go on a ride with me and resolved to be brave and go it alone. I mapped the course out, wrote it down, and stuck it in my jersey so as not to get lost (brilliant, I know; however, it's taken a few wrong turns for me to figure out this strategy). I took off and rode past the Pensaquitos Canyon, which was gorgeous, and then headed up and around Lake Miramar before heading back. There were just enough hills to give me a challenge, and the roads were fast and smooth. It was so relaxing. (See pics above).
Interesting Details:

• Riding on the shoulder of the interstate to get to Sorrento Valley Rd. Yes it IS allowed on that section of I-5 but it's a little freaky. Plus, there was a ton of glass in one section, which royally sucked.
• I saw a gorgeous royal blue and gold Macaw parrot riding on a lady's shoulders as she walked around the lake. I said, "What a beautiful bird!" She said, "Thank you!" He said, "Hello!" It was a precious moment.
• Somehow, on the way back, I got turned around and ended up going 12 miles out of the way in the wrong direction, up very steep hills (both ways). It sucked but I did discover a) a gorgeous little golf course and driving range and b) a pet cemetary (creepy).
• By the time it was all said and done, I had gone 38 miles (2:40) and was exhausted and starved. I met Jason on campus, and we ran to Islands and brought home cheeseburgers, milkshakes, and fries--great post-recovery meal. I then nursed my sore legs while watching the most awesome episodes of Desperate Housewives and Gray's Anatomy--yes, I'm addicted.

URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=183506.

Salvaging a Not-So "Perfect" Plan: On my last post, I was pretty upset about not working out according to my "plan." Many of you had very helpful comments. I think I was pretty tired after last week's race, and my body simply needed more rest. I still had a productive week; I just took more days off than intended. But it's all about listening to your body, right? I have such an all-or-nothing attitude that when I take an unintended day off, or even miss a morning workout b/c I slept in, I feel like my whole week is ruined. I get depressed and feel hopeless. Then I don't want to do any workouts b/c what's the point? Then I skip more workouts and feel even more guilty. It's a vicious cycle. My instinct is to double up on workouts to make up for the ones I missed, which you ARE NOT supposed to do. Then, I get overwhelmed with all the workouts I'm supposed to do. Again, I end up doing none of them b/c I don't even know where to start or where to begin. The moral? When I skip a day, skip it, and be done with it. Then, move on. Begin from the next day's workout. It's not productive to ask your body to do double the workouts in half the time. After I had an awesome swim and run on Friday and very good bike on Sunday, I began to feel a lot better. Then I realized how silly I had been. I guess the moral is--stop dwelling and planning and just get out there and do something! From now on, I'm going to try and practice what I preach--when I miss a workout, I'll move on from there.