Still not running

I really miss running. I miss the peace. I miss the rhythm and power of my body while I'm running.

I don't miss the pain. The bad pain, that is. There is good pain that comes from running, the kind that reminds you that you exerted yourself and that your muscles are going to heal stronger than they were before.

But this stupid pain I've had in my hip has really sidelined me. It actually doesn't really hurt while I'm running, but later and the next day it is extremely sore. So, until I can get it fixed up with physio, I'm going to stay off running until my race in three weeks' time.

It seems crazy that I'm not going to run at all in training for a race where I'll have to run 21 kilometers (13 miles), but it takes me too long to recover from each run I do, so I don't want to risk doing anything that will aggravate the injury.

The good news is that I can increase my cycling mileage and that will have positive cross-over benefits to my running. So, I plan to spend some quality time in the saddle over the next week-and-a-half.

Yesterday, I rode 94K (about 57 miles) with a couple of friends. CL bailed on me at the last minute (she was going to ride the last 40K with me), so I thought I might have to do the ride entirely on my own. Luckily, there were two other friends who showed up at the spot where I started my ride and we rode together. Three of us did a 55K loop together and then one of them left and the other woman and I did a final 40K loop.

It was actually refreshing to be the fastest cyclist in the group for a change. Usually I'm the one bringing up the rear. But I actually felt very strong (not feeling the chain, as they say) and dragged my fat ass up the hills with greater ease than normal. I'm sure part of my strength was psychological because I was in the lead rather than playing catch-up.

I went over to CL and KL's for dinner last night. I had a couple of glasses of wine and got to bed later than I really wanted to considering how early I had to get up this morning.

I got up at 5:20AM to drive out to Cobourg to volunteer at a triathlon that a few friends were doing. My first volunteer job of the day was the best one - body marking! For the uninitiated, every athlete has their race number written on their upper arm and their age on their right calf. I got to mark up some of the hottest 15- to 59-year-olds in the area! There were some racers over 59 but I never got to mark them. Then it was off to the bike course where I had to stand on a corner and yell, "Stay to the right of the pilons. Oncoming traffic. Stay to the right. No, not that right, your OTHER right! Sheesh!" There was only one near collision as cyclists were coming both ways around the corner. It was also raining like the dickens, so the road was quite slick. There were two wipeouts on the corner - one minor, but the other one quite spectacular. But the second guy managed to get back on his bike and continue on (even though he nearly caused an accident while trying to merge into the pack of cyclists). I got to hang out with an OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) officer and chat for two hours. We had to wait until the very last rider passed in each direction. The last three riders were painfully slow (although real troopers). The woman who was in last place was being followed by her husband in a van (that was so sweet). It was her first race and she hadn't really trained properly, so he follower her. They haven't posted the results yet, so I don't know if she finished.

But that brings up an important note: there were all kinds of people - men and women - of all ages, sized and ability levels in this race. Each one was racing against their own potential and for their own reasons. Honestly, if there's anyone out there who is thinking they can't enter a race (of any kind - not just a triathlon), put those thoughts out of your head because anyone can do it.

After the race, I was paid a huge (but somewhat unbelievable) compliment by my friend SM (whom we call Mr. Bond). We were talking about the category they have in races called Clydesdale/Athena, which is for men over 200 pounds and women over 150 pounds (this is the category I won in last month). He said, "You aren't much over 150, are you? You can't be more than 155." Oh, bless your heart, Mr. Bond. He kept pushing me to tell him how much I weighed, but that was not something I felt like revealing. I would LOVE to weigh 155! Someday, I know I will (and I will look HOT and be even faster than I am now).

Oh, I just have to report on something from Friday night. I did go to the pool after doing laundry (yea, me!) and had a pretty good swim. I wasn't as fast as I'd been, but my form was great as I got my stroke count for 50m down to an astonishing 40 strokes! Now, for anyone who is a non-swimmer, that probably means absolutely nothing to you, but the fewer number of strokes you can take per length the better your form is. I used to take 52-55 strokes per length in that pool, so getting down to 40-44 is outstanding! Now if I can only work on my form not going to shit when I pick up the pace and go faster...

Plans for this week (OK, J, go take a nap now): swim tomorrow; bike commute, Gravity and bike workout on Tuesday; bike commute, elliptical and open-water swim Wednesday; Thursday - off; Friday bike commute, gym and maybe a bike ride in the evening.

I'm totally bummed that I'm not going away for the weekend next weekend. I was supposed to go up north with CL, KL and KH to CL's parents' place for a weekend of swimming, biking and not running, but I'm going to see Cirque du Soleil on Saturday afternoon, so that throws a monkey wrench in the whole works. Grrr!