Better!

Well, I wouldn't have expected to have a good run today, after yesterday's slogfest. In fact, I initially planned to hit the gym instead. But even though I woke up late and my quads were a little stiff, I felt like giving it a try and I'm glad I did! Six miles with no real troubles until the last half mile, when I started to feel a little tired. Compare that to yesterday, when I was suffering from the very first mile.

Just goes to show that sometimes you're on, sometimes you're not. And there's not always an obvious explanation for it.

Today'sWorkout
6 mile run

Tough Run

In many ways, it had all the earmarks of an excellent Saturday long run:

• I mixed up a great new summer sports drink of Lemon-Lime Amino Vital plus concentrated pomegranate juice. Yum! (CarbPro and/or electrolytes can be added as appropriate.)


• Weather was not too hot, although the humidity had me dripping a trail by the end of five miles.


• I saw the Fourth of July preparations under way along the bayou-- tents, platforms, etc, already set up. They haven't staged the fireworks yet, though. Some year they have them out pretty early, but I guess with all the rain, they're h olding off.


• I met a duck and her duckling. I had stopped to contemplate my options where the bayou had overflowed my trail and the duck and her fuzzy baby waddled right up to me looking for a handout. Made me feel like a real meanie for not having a Clif Bar on me.


• I saw Jack Russell Terrier guy and his two little cuties.


• I saw a mother cat and her kittens crossing the road together in the residential neighborhood.

But in spite of these very fine things, it was a lousy run. I couldn't get my lungs to clear, so I struggled with my breathing the whole time. My legs were tight. And I felt "off" and tired throughout, like I just didn't have enough energy.

I don't know if I'm still adjusting to being back home or if it just wasn't my day, but I ended up cutting this workout short and going home.

They can't all be good, folks.

Today'sWorkout
10 mile run

Bunny Run

The predicted rain did not make an appearance today, other than a few showers. So even though there was still high water in the underpasses and debris all over the walkways around my building, I got in to work without much trouble. It was a pleasant day back, with people being nice to me and all. Ha! Wait until I've been back a couple days!

Anyway, it was sprinkling a bit when I headed home, and so nice and cool out that I decided to go for a run. By the time I got outside the rain was completely gone, and it was pleasant along the bayou.

It was turning out to be a totally uneventful run when I came across some bunnies! They're not usually out in the late afternoon/early evening, so I'm thinking they were probably hungry after being rained in for so long, and with the cool temps and absence of people walking their dogs along the bayou, they felt brave. It was great seeing my little friends for the first time this summer. An unexpected and welcome treat.

Today'sWorkout
45 minute bayou run

Monday Morning Adventure

I was not particularly looking forward to work this morning. It seems like vacations are never quite long enough to renew the desire to return to the office. You go off and do lots of fun things, come home, and it's right back to the daily grind. A real work-inspiring vacation for me would leave me so bored that attending meetings and mucking around with spreadsheets would look exciting by comparison.

But I digress.

I was up late trying to get reacquainted with my writing and then I kept waking up every hour, so by the time the alarm went off at 6:00 I hadn't slept well. And it was pouring outside. By the time I needed to leave, the rain showed no signs of slacking off, so after Dan and I sat on the couch and watched the flooding on the news for a bit, he decided to head in. We work at the same place (different buildings, though) and he drives a truck, so I told him to call me when he got in and tell me how the water levels were.

Well, he called and said everything was fine, darn it. So I headed out. By this time the rain, which had been slackening, had returned in full force. I could barely see to drive, and what few cars were out there were just creeping along. But I live in an area called the Heights, and they don't call it that for nothing. We get street flooding at the side of the road, but we almost never flood. And most of my route to work is on elevated freeways. So after poking along in low visibility for about twenty minutes, I found my exit clear and thought I was home free.

Big mistake.

My office building sits off-campus, and to get there one must go up a sort of elevated overpass, then dip below ground level to go beneath a series of railroad tracks. As I started up the overpass, I saw a big pickup truck heading the wrong way with its flashers on. Then a tow truck zoomed past (going the right way) with its lights flashing. Then another pickup, also heading the wrong way. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on. The underpass was flooded. I waited until the oncoming trucks had passed, then did a u-turn and headed back down.

I turned toward the campus, thinking I would house myself with the nearest IT department and beg a cube and computer from them, since a lot of people were flooded in at home and there would be plenty of space available. But then I thought better of it. I would have to re-build my profile on a strange computer, and unless someone who knew the names of my hidden mapped drives was around, I wouldn't be able to access my data, anyway. I don't keep the names of my hidden drives in my head, after all-- why should I? But my computer at home was all set up and mapped, with virtual private network enabled and all the bells and whistles.

I was going home.

Once back at home, I set up the laptop and emailed the appropriate people. Soon I got unofficial word from my boss that the university was closing. It took another half hour for official word to come out, and then I got it via an IT emergency notification system. The main university notification system didn't let me know until several minutes after that. Efficient? Us? Don't bet on it!

But hey, I ended up with a free day! How sweet was that?

They say we'll have more rain and possibly more flooding tonight, but I see no evidence so far. I have a feeling I won't get off so easy tomorrow.

Recent Workouts
Sunday: 60 min elliptical

Nice vacation! 

Home Again

After getting into town last night, I did as much as I could to clear out the weekend for a bit of relaxation. I just knew I wouldn't want to spend Saturday and Sunday unpacking, doing laundry, shopping and all that other stuff. It made for a very late night, but I knew I'd be glad I did it, and I am!

I went for a late run this morning, since I was completely unable to rouse myself before 8:00 and even that was pushing it. It had been awhile since I had run in the humidity, and my calves were hurting from under-hydrating when I worked out in El Paso. I'm used to having sweat stick to my body in the humid Gulf Coast air, so when my sweat evaporates, I don't know how to gauge my rate of fluid loss. I force myself to drink water in the desert, but I don't have the experience to tell me how much is enough. The result was tight, locked-up calves that still hurt. Until I get warmed up, I walk sort of like Frankenstein.

Anyway, I wasn't going to let that stop me. I planned on a short, six mile run followed by some elliptical, but changed my mind and made it about 11 or 12 miles. It wasn't that I was feeling all that good, just that I wasn't feeling terrible. I slogged along, my skin loving the damp air, but the rest of me hating it. But things got better when some clouds moved in and I got caught in a pretty good shower about 3 miles from home. I don't really like running in the rain, but when the day is hot and the rain is cool, it can be refreshing if it doesn't last too long. And that far from home, what was I going to do anyway? I was already wet. So I trotted along home in the clearing rain, figuring at least I'd get home smelling better. There's a bright side to just about everything.

We went and had Indian food for lunch, driving out in the pouring rain. We hadn't had Indian food in two weeks and we certainly weren't going to let a little water stop us! And the rain made for nice afternoon nap weather.

I've been playing catch-up this evening, trying to figure out the news, friends' blogs and that sort of thing. I hope to settle in and get some writing done tonight, too. I did a little while I was gone, but certainly nothing like my page-a-day minimum when I'm here at home. I had a lot of good thoughts and observations that will be useful for my stories though, and that made it worth it. And it's a good idea to take your brain off the hook now and then and just enjoy the world.

Today's Workout
Long run - about 11 or 12 miles

Heading out, looking for adventure! 

Almost There!

Well, I hate to say it but I'm glad I didn't try to do a long run this morning. I'm clearly no longer sick, but there is just so much to do to get ready to leave tomorrow! I've been going pretty much non-stop, except for a break for Indian food and an afternoon nap. It's frustrating how for everything I cross off my list, I can think of something else, so the list never seems to get any shorter.

But I think we're just about ready. I got dialup working on my laptop so I'll be able to blog and check email even at my Dad's place (no DSL or wireless), and I'm trying to get set up so I can post pictures from my laptop, too.

In other words, I'm trying not to have a repeat of any of last year's mistakes.

Since this is a bunny and endurance sport blog, I'll be posting daily or near-daily updates of our two-week adventure on my vacation blog. (Linkable through my profile, if you forget.)

Drop by and share my adventures, and look for me back here in two weeks!

Oh, one other thing - I don't know why I keep forgetting. I'm all signed up for the Houston Marathon, being held on my 40th birthday, January 14, 2007!

Prelude to a Vacation

Well, I made it through Friday, although of course things got weird toward afternoon and I ended up working frantically, and much later than I wanted to. Oh well. It's over now.

The petsitter is coming Sunday morning to pick up a key and meet Tidbit. Our plan after that (always subject to change) is to head out around noon and hit Oklahoma City by dinner time. We hope to overnight at a B&B in nearby Arcadia and head out first thing Monday morning for Tucumcari, and stay at the historic Blue Swallow Motel. I've read that it's fabulously retro, down to the TVs and the rotary dial phones. I was going to make reservations today, but Dan thought he might be picking up my cold and I wanted to make sure he was still going to be able to head out this weekend. He seems to be okay tonight, and other than a slightly scratchy throat, I'm okay too. So I'll make hotel reservations tomorrow.

I figure it'll take us all day to get to Tucumcari, since we won't be driving straight through on the interstate. No, siree! We're taking Route 66 and stopping at anything that looks interesting. I suspect we'll find a lot of shops and museums closed, it being Monday and all, but I'm really more interested in the things you don't have to pay for, like semi-ghost towns and overgrown abandoned things.

On Tuesday, after overnighting in Tucumcari, we'll head down to my Dad's place in Bosque, just south of Belen. And from there, who knows? Our agenda includes, but is not limited to:

• Sightseeing on Route 66!
  


• Horseback riding in the arroyos near Santa Fe
  


• Hiking to Lake Catherine
  


• Camping in our new tent
  


• A visit to Pie Town and the ghost towns in the vicinity
  


• Tour other ghost towns or Indian ruins
  


• Visit relatives in Albuquerque
  


• Relax on my family's property near Belen (south of ABQ)
  


• Anything else that strikes our fancy
  

We haven't yet planned our route for the return trip. The quickest way would probably be to cut through Big Spring, but we might go via El Paso instead and visit a cousin who lives there.

I'm thinking of blowing off my Saturday long workout, or else doing a fairly short one of no more than an hour. That will give me more time to do things, and there's so much to do! And as luck would have it, I've just broken through a block in my writing where it was a bit of a struggle to keep churning out the pages. So now I want desperately to write but I need to be cleaning house, packing, buying last-minute stuff and all those other things one has to do before heading out the door for two weeks.

Thank God and Dell for laptop computers! I can keep on writing, even if I'm at a hotel somewhere!

I'll be blogging, too, and hopefully posting pictures. More on that tomorrow-- I've got fictional characters I need to torment tonight.

Getting Better All The Time

I felt a little better this morning. My temp was down, although still a low-grade fever. My sinuses hurt so bad I was dizzy, but other than that I felt a whole lot better. I went to work expecting to only do another half day, but to my surprise I felt better and better as the day wore on. So I stayed for the duration and finished getting some things in order. Unless all heck breaks loose between now and close of business Friday, I'm about to be on vacation!

I'll be posting an itinerary soon!