A Collection of Random Talking Points

SUNDAY
Again, I spent much of the day consumed with grown-up stuff and packing in preparation for my move away from DC in late May. Why so soon? Well, I will be out of town for at least 3 more weekends between now and would rather start too soon than too late. Plus, I'm going to try and sell half of my belongings so I have to make time to deal with that process.

I was able to squeeze in a run and a short gym workout. I raised the rehab bar by turning in 1.5 miles @ 7.0mph at 1.5 incline. Definitely felt good and definitely felt the ridiculously rusty running form start to show through towards the end. I hope to continue with 1.5 mile efforts for the remainder of the week. If all goes well, I'll raise the distances up first thing next week. (crosses fingers).

That afternoon I was also able to find the time to give my bike a total rubdown while watching some college basketball. I hadn't done that (the cleaning), well... EVER. Don't get me wrong, I've cleaned and greased the components many times, but this was the first time I've ever done the FULL-body treatment. It was a strangely emotional experience that left me feeling closer to my bicycle. Or, I could have just been reacting to an hour of sniffing Citrus Degreaser.

I then made meatloaf.

MONDAY
I had a good swim today and I'll again attribute it to the fact that I was able to keep a more positive attitude throughout the workout (sans watch). Thanks to some advice I received in a previous post, when fatigue started to set in I made sure to get the most out of my form as possible. I also did lots of stroke counting to keep my mind occupied... which also worked.

My calves were really sore today from yesterday's run. It's a great feeling and something I haven't had in a while. Oh, for the day when I can run respectable distances and have that be the reason for my sore calves.

TUESDAY
Today was just a quick 1-hour on the indoor trainer. I played with the idea of taking the trainer out in the backyard but it was supposed to rain (which is why I was indoors to begin with) so I didn't.

I spent the majority of my evening (~4 hours) helping to write 32 pages of Elaine's dissertation for her. And when I say write, I mean lay out and label a few hundred images she had captured with an electron microscope. It was rough work that required heavy reliance on a variety of Adobe products, but if it means Elaine graduates sooner then I'm ALL FOR IT.

OUR NEW CAR
Elaine and I are now the proud new owners of a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta Sportwagen TDI. It's an awkward feeling because I was so irresponsible/uninterested with cars growing up, yet I feel such a strong sense of pride-of-ownership and responsibility with this one. Unfortunately, Elaine is in Michigan with the car so I have yet to actually see it in person. BOOOO! Until I'm able to descend on that nice piece of German engineering with my nice piece of Japanese technology, this photo will have to suffice.

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice!

In my excitement, I started looking up highly-rated rooftop bike-racks and JESUS, those things are expensive. We're talking $300+ just for the hardware to hold 2 bikes, and slightly less than that for only one. DAMN. My internet research led me to the Yakima Steelhead. Anyone got any other recommendations? One way or another, it looks like I'll have to add the rack of choice to my wedding registry.

OTHER
Wednesday = run, then swim.

Thursday = outdoor bike ride: laps around Haynes Point.

Friday = visiting family in PA for the weekend.

Someday = update the banner photo for this blog - I'm tired of looking at the pool!