CATASTROPHE DIVERTED

since i've been back from NYC, things have been pretty mellow. last week was the first week of my official Ironman base training. it came and went without much fanfare except that i thought i pulled something in my back my first day back to weights while trying to figure out my new 1 rep max at several different exercises. talked to coach about it, and we agreed i'd hold off on the weights, take a day off and then resume with swimming. i wouldn't even attempt to run until the weekend, and by then my back should be fine. went for a mellow ride saturday after i coached. back felt ok mostly in aero position, and i came home and iced immediately. that night i went to a friend's going away party, had two glasses of wine over the course of the evening, and was home by..... well...2am?? all i needed to do was get a 75 minute run in on sunday, so i decided i'd sleep in and go for my run sunday evening to really let my back rest up. in the middle of the night, i started to feel a pain in my left leg and hip, again like i'd lifted too heavy a weight or something, but i hadn't lifted in days!!! slept in until the housekeeper showed up around 10am, and when i took the first step outta bed, THE PAIN WAS AGONIZING!!! i was limping so bad, it felt like i had a serious leg length discrepancy. all day, i could not get comfortable, not even laying on the couch, and still my back was a mess. there goes that sunday evening run. i started to get depressed that i'd missed so much of my first week of base and could not for the life of me figure out how the hell i did this to my hip and leg. hopefully, i'd feel ok enough by monday to go for my drill swim, low impact ya know.....

monday i woke up with no pain in my leg...POOF!!! WTF??? how could i be limping like i was and then just be fine the next day?? i'm not complainin' though. so i got my drill swim in with still some pain in my lower back, but by now the pain is pretty acute and on my right side, right about where my..... yep..... dammit..... fuck... shit... fuckshit.... KIDNEYS ARE. i've had this pain once or twice before but not in years, and i've never sought a doctor for it. for one, unless my tonsils are drippin' with puss (sorry for the gross out), I HATE TAKING ANTIBIOTICS. i'm not going to my quack of a doctor, who already doesn't like that i have low resting heart rate from all this swim-bike-run stuff (note to self: must find new doctor), just for her to prescribe me some strong antibiotics that may get rid of the infection but kill all the good stuff goin' on in there too. nope, not gonna do it. cranberry juice and acidophilus should clear it right up. and by today, the pain has lessened considerably, so i went to my shoot early this morning and then came home to rest some more before i'd attempt a run on the treadmill at the gym tonight. i even decided that if the impact felt too much for the back, i'd switch to the elliptical doo hicky. packed up the bag: socks...check, shorts...check, bra...check, singlet...check, ipod...check, shoes...check.....and i was off.

so imagine my absolute horror when i dumped out my bag and found this:

the mismatched shoes

i have several pairs of these Asics DS Trainers, so many so that i write the dates on them to keep track and then phase the old ones out. so in my rush to get to the gym, i grabbed two shoes that were sitting in a pile.....



the one on the right, dated 9/07, is from the most recent pair that i ran the NYC Marathon in (see the chip still attached), and the one on the left, dated 5/07, has at least a half marathon, some 5ks, an olympic distance and half ironman tri in them. and has NO SHOE LACE because i'm cheap and swap out my Yankz from pair to pair.

SHIT.FUCK.SHIT.FUCK.SHIT.FUCK.FUCK.FUUUUUUUUCK!!!

but then i looked down at my other shoes i had on. thank god i hadn't picked my slip-ons to wear today.....


...and my old school Vans save the day!!

and imagine the look on the woman's face next to me in the locker room when she saw me taking several pictures of my shoes!!! got my 30 minute run in, but man did my two feet feel REALLY DIFFERENT.....

CATASTROPHE DIVERTED.....CARRY ON!!!

btw, the pics above were taken with my new digi point-and-shoot camera. i can't tell you how friggin' happy i am. my old one died months ago, and i've been reduced to the camera phone for on-the-go shots. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT KILLED ME TO POST CRAPPY PICS HERE?? i really wanted to get something new with a good lens on it and video capabilities for training rides and what not. saturday, a few of my runners that i coached presented me with a really thoughtful gift of a gift certificate to our big camera store here in L.A. so i'm back in bidness!!! stay tuned for more exciting pics and video as i train through the winter...... as soon as this kidney thang clears up.....UUGH!!