Bump in the road.

I can tend to be a bit...dramatic. Especially when it comes to aches and pains and bumps and bruises. However, after not being dramatic ENOUGH about an ache that turned into a serious stress fracture, I learned the hard way to err on the side of caution when it comes to my body.

Saturday, I took a spill. Spill may not be the right word. Topple? Collapse? I had one foot clipped in, pushed off on some gravel going downhill, all while chatting away - leading to my falling over on my clipped side, directly onto my knee at about 0mph. It stung at the time, and was a bit bloody, but a quick clean with some wet-wipes and I got through 2 more (not-so-pretty) hours of my scheduled ride (I had already done 30 minutes before the fall).

Stopping about an hour into the ride to refuel, I could immediately feel my knee stiffen up and it continued to ache the next 15 miles back to the car. It actaully felt better when I pushed the pace a bit, so I tried to settle into the prescribed 70.3 race efforts. Proceeding straight to Rite Aide for alcohol wipes (BAD idea), followed by a second purchase of baby-formula no pain cleaning solution, the gash looked quite bad and my knee was starting to stiffen up.

While on Saturday I was worried about the gash and the blood and the potential scar on my knee (vanity trumps all) - Sunday morning I woke up and realized what I should have been worried about was the bruising. Turns out, falling with all your body weight [plus your bike] directly on your knee is quite traumatic, no matter how fast [or slow] you're going. As the day wore on, moving my knee at all became agony, and the pain radiating behind my knee started to really make me worry. Google confirmed I cleared had ripped, torn, or shattered something. Boyfriend confirmed I was a hypochondriac and told me to just let my knee heal up.

So two days of pretty complete immobility, an easy 30 minute run and an easy swim this morning - and it definitely still hurts. And the damn scab is in the perfect spot on my knee that it rips every time I bend my knee, so pretty much all day every time I move. However, I am in no rush. My next race is still about 2 1/2 weeks away, I have time to get in some solid training, and if it's not the race of my life - who cares. I signed up as a bonus and to keep me training through the fall and there is no urgency. My knee still feels a bit 'twisted' and hurts behind the knee cap, which continues to have my worried, but also is getting a little better every day.

So, in summary, I fell over going 0pmh and am being a drama queen. But this did in fact, hurt. And it continues to hurt. And yes, it has forced me to change my expectations for my race, but I don't think I am down and out and could possibly still have a great day.

More than 3 things.

IT has control of my computer right now so I have some time to kill.

1. My foot hurts. Dammit
2. Having not run anything near tempo pace in months - last night I remember how it hurts so good. And makes 'race pace' seem impossibly fast.
3. There has been good news in my house this week and it makes me really happy.
4. Driving out to ride in Poolsville is so worth it.
5. As is stopping at Vie de France on the way home for fountain soda and pastries.
6. I realized my wrists have been hurting in aero for a variety of reasons: new, slippery tape on bars and arm warmers. Basically, my arms are slipping further forward than usual and I'm holding my bars at a different spot, causing my wrists to bend. Deep thoughts during my ride on Saturday.
7. I ate a Honey Stinger chew off the road on Saturday. It passed the 5-second rule, and I was HUNGRY. Those suckers are hard to open when you're riding!!
8. See this. Related, Saturday's ride was the best in a really long time.

These are my deep thoughts of the day, via iPhone. Apologies for spelling errors.

OH! One more, I've almost officially give up on morning work outs. No doubles on my schedule, wanting to spend more time with my man-friend when he gets home from work and the darkness in the morning have convincing me that working out from 5:30-8pm is where it's AT.  A blinking tail light plus a head lamp is all you need.

Also, this is how I've felt at work all week. It's a very productive attitude.

Confessions of a recreational triathlete

I have taken my recovery from IM to heart. With another IM on the calendar for next year, I am in no rush to get back to structured training. However, after a long pow-wow with my coach, we have mapped out the way to Lake Placid, and this includes racing a HIM in October. After three weeks of pretty close to nothing, I got the next two weeks in my inbox and I'm excited and motivated and looking forward to see how my Ironman fitness translates to trying to make it HURT over 70.3 miles.

But I have a confession.

During my three weeks of recovery, I remembered how much I really like TO DO NOTHING. 

I LOVE sitting on the couch, playing mindless computer games and watching mind-numbing TV.  I can get home from work at 5:30, sit down on the couch, and be perfectly content with not moving except for dinner. Tuesday, in fact, I couldn't even be bothered with cooking, so I made a smoothie for dinner. Ironman gave me an awesome excuse to be a hermit, to go to bed before the sun went down, and to turn down invitations to happy hour and trivia with friends. 'I have to swim' and 'I have to get up early' were built in excuses. HIM training this fall isn't going to consist of super high hours, doubles or lots of miles - it's more about learning how to make it hurt - but I find myself wishing I had my 'Ironman training' excuse.

This morning I set my alarm for 5:45. I had a brick I had to get done so I can join colleagues for a happy hour that has been planned for weeks. During IM training, I did most of my longer bricks at Hains in the evenings. It cuts off the crappy trail riding I have to do before I get to Hains, and allows for an extra 2 hours of sleep. I debated for 15 minutes before getting up and out the door - it would just be so much easier to do it after work. But I forced myself up, knowing once I'm out the door I love morning workouts. And of course, I loved my ride (cool weather, amazing sunrise, I LOVE fall riding) and watchless, speedy run.

And now, at 3:30pm, I am looking for any excuse to NOT go to happy hour. I just want to go home. To my couch. And watch the Voice.