Brief Recap--Drive from hell, fun trip, heat, blisters, moleskin, and more!

I feel like life has been just flying by! In a good way. Anyway, I've been making mental notes along the way. So here it is--just to recap:

Mon. 6/26--Day after San Diego International Tri; Not nearly as sore as I expected. Just achy. Mentally pumped. Something got into me that evening, and I was compelled to rock out an awesome hour on the bike trainer and then lift weights afterwards! What the....? I just went with it, against better judgement.

Tues. 6/27--Paid for Monday's idiocracy. Still only a little sore but definitely exhausted. Took the day off, wisely. Went to bed at 9 and woke up at 8 the next morning, feeling very well rested.

Wed. 6/28--Almost did nothing. However, I hate taking two days off in a row. So at 10:30 p.m., I got the urge to just do something and jumped on the treadmill for a great, relaxed 3 mile run. So there IS such thing as a recovery run? Wow. Awesome. Totally love recovery workouts. I feel like I'm doing something but they feel easy. When did this happen? Only thing is that I irritated the blister on my arch. I tried to protect it with moleskin. However, I stupidly stuck the crap to my blister, which then tore the blister right off when I peeled off the moleskin afterwards. God, I'm dumb. How do you use moleskin? Do you normally adhere the moleskin to your sock so that the soft spot directly contacts your skin? If so, I didn't do it right, and I'm embarrassed to admit, I have a Ph.D., and I don't know how to use the stuff. Spent all next day limping around. Note to self--blisters only hurt when they pop. Brilliant!

Thurs. 6/29--Realized will be going out of town for the 4th and won't be able to get on Bluebell the whole time! Sob. In a panic after my late afternoon nap (how do I wean myself off of those?), I jumped on Bluebell at 7:00 and eeked in an hour ride around the neighborhood. So much fun. Again, sort of a recovery ride but also a great workout. Took roads with very little traffic, plus I was close to home so had absolutely no worries. Loving the recovery rides! Hey, it totally still counts!

Fri. 6/30--Headed up north to see my folks in San Jose, about 500 miles away. But before we did, it was just too beautiful of a day to waste in the car so we snuck in an hour bike ride up-and-back on the coast. Good thing too because it was HOT! Very unusual for around here. That So Cal sun can be brutal! We included the damn Torrey Pines hill (can't do it justice without it's appropriate title) for a great hill workout.

Then, jumped in the pool for a quick 1000m swim (had to get it in! have NOT been swimming enough). Swim felt great (lots of really cute girls swimming laps in bikinis--where are they during the school year?) but got my first sunburn---yes, FIRST. Didn't even know it until the next day. How can swimming in the pool for 20 minutes equal a sunburn? Jeez. Had two little tender red spots on my shoulder blades. Thought they were budding pimples! Then I looked in the mirror. Two red spots--which I immediately showed to my family--like a proudly earned battle wound. I was such a baby. It didn't even peel and just turned into a tan over the next few days but it really hurt to wear a bra!

Anyway, then we proceeded to drive north to see my folks. Our first time driving. We were returning the truck we had borrowed from my dad for moving. Bad decision. What should have been an 8-hour drive turned into a 12-hour plus drive (I stopped counting). We left in the afternoon and didn't arrive until 3:30 a.m.! It took us 6 hours to get from San Diego to just north of L.A.! Unbelievable. Put together holiday traffic, accidents, plus a FIRE on I-15, resulting in authorities shutting down the interstate (both ways), and you get epic, record-setting, sent-straight-from-hell, armageddon-like traffic. I think we were moving backwards! Outside of L.A., we could finally go about 30 miles an hour, and when we finally got to the Bakersfield split, we could actually go the, hold your breath, speed limit. But no faster. Middle of farm country 12:30 a.m. and traffic as far as the eye can see on I-5 both ways in the middle of nowhere. Was there a flood or something we hadn't heard about? Some sort of catastrophe causing all of CA to evacuate? It was weird. We were exhausted. We decided to pull off and get a hotel for the night and finish the final 3 hours tomorrow morning. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea. We got off one of the few, desolate exits marked with signs for hotels, and followed a line of cars around 3 or 4 hotel parking lots, right past the "No Vacancy" sign and right back on the interstate. 50 miles, 3 stops, and 9 hotels later, we decided to tough it up and go the rest of the way that night. We found one of the only 24-hour gas stations at the exit and waited in line for coffee, and then in another line to check out. Everyone was very cranky. We did finally make it. I stayed up to navigate and keep Jason awake. We were verrry loopy. It was fun in a weird, sadistic way. I actually saw a shooting star at one point so that was cool. Unless I was hallucinating...

Sat. 7/1--Spent the day shopping and then came home and promptly took a 3 hour nap. Also went to bed early and slept like a log. What can I say? I was tired, and my parents gave us a verrry comfortable bed.

Sun. 7/2--Decided to go for my long run of the week. Had to creatively wrap my foot in band-aids, gauze, and tape to protect the nasty, red blister the size of a half-dollar on my arch. However, unwisely took off at 1 p.m., the hottest part of the day. Ooops. Dry heat but very little breeze and felt sweltering. Meant to go 8 or 9 miles but may have actually been 9 or 10 in total. Don't really know. Planned on running out on the Los Gatos Creek Trail for 40 minutes and then back 40 minutes, knowing I only run 10 -min. miles if I feel very lousy. First half was great. Got into a groove, ignored the heat with ease, dodged lots of bikers, strollers, and kids who don't know how to get out of the way. Indoctrinated one little kid on a recumbant bike to swearing when she pulled out at the last second as I was going the other way on my side of the path and almost hit me. "Jesus Christ!" I yelled. Oops. Ended up running 45 minutes out before I could get Jason's attention and turn around. Why does he always have to run so fast and so easily? Started really feeling the heat on the way back. Didn't have my fuel belt, and it took its toll. Stopped at the drinking fountains along the way and took sips of water, which helped...and hurt my stomach simultaneously. Ran slower and slower. The heat got me. That's all. If I'd been hydrated properly and had run in the morning, I think it would have been different. Slower and slower. The creek was taunting me. Saw a dog plunge into the water and evied it. Maybe I could just sort of fall to the right? It looked so refreshing. Started taking walk breaks. But didn't feel bad about it! Hey, I was doing it! I'd rather slow down and walk before I actually get sick and am forced to. This seems simple but I normally don't. So I got to run for a lot longer than I would have been normally. Still ruan for a solid 80 minutes before things got tricky. Walked the last mile of shame home. Promptly took a hose and doused myself in it. Aaaah. Much better. Rest of the day was spent napping and recovering. Appetite was kind of shot so I know I kind of overdid it.

Mon. 7/3--At the spur of the moment, jumped on my dad's way-too-big-for-me road bike and took it for a spin. It's a nice bike though, and I enjoyed getting the ride in. It's a very pretty red, Specialized Allez (the color is so important, isn't it?) with toe clips, which is good, b/c I didn't bring my bike shoes. Went around the neighborhood, admired the gardens and then hooked up with the Los Gatos Creek Trail again. Went up it for 8 miles before turning around. That thing goes on forever! Cool. Much less crowded than yesterday. Still hot but very bearable on the bike. Came back feeling sweaty, out of breath, and totally invigorated, revitalized, and refreshed. Then, put on a really cute little Nike outfit my mom had helped me pick out (shopping from Sat.) and played tennis (doubles) with Jason and my parents for 90 min.! That's a LOONG time considering we haven't played in years! Oh, my God, it was so much fun! Jason and I can't wait to get out there again. What a great way to get exercise on the off days! Went out for dinner and ice cream afterwards.

Tues. 7/4--Went to my parent's very posh club and swam for a solid 45 minutes without resting. Wanted to see if I could actaully swim 1500 m since I have to for Camp Pendleton Tri in 2 wks. Swam 2000m without a break and felt fine. Didn't sunburn either. It's a little secret of mine I call sunblock. Awesome.
Spent the rest of the day enduring a painful holiday evening with members of my extended family who will remain unnamed. Suffice it to say, I'd rather go to the dentist for a root canal.

Wed. 7/5--Snuck in an awseome, deceivingly diffficult, hilly 4 mile trail run before jumping on a plane to come home. Did crosswords the entire time at airport and on plane. I'm SO addicted to those things! Need to restrict myself to only 1 a day from now on. It was so great to be reunited with the buns (who were very well taken care of by a carefully recruited sitter in my absence)! I missed them so much! Immediately cleaned up, sorted mail, and unpacked before dialing for pizza. Oh, well. Then, had awesome weight lifting session before retiring to bed.

Thurs. 7/6--Spent 1st day back in lab reorganizing and reacclimating. Things are slow. Everyone's on vacation, it's gorgeous outside, my mice aren't ready yet, and it's hard to stay motivated. Had a very nice nap at the end of the day and decided to take the day off from exercise. Sigh. Time to get back into the routine. Looking forward to the Carlsbad Tri this Sunday.