Nothing But Pain From Now On

Another good week of rehab and recovery. Swam three times and did weights once last week during lunch. On Tuesday I ran about 4 miles, doing loops on Heights Blvd. It was raining, so the temps were a little cooler. Wednesday I got on the bike (outside) for the first time since the accident. I rode from the house to Heights blvd and did loops. I saw Tina there--looked like she was doing a run/bike combo. At first I was a bit sore, but as I got warmed up, the motion became more familiar. I got up to 27mph at one time--I had to do it as sprint intervals since there were several lights along the way. It felt good. I was very amazed that this outing went so well. Friday I ran the Memorial jogging loop twice. Again, amazed that my leg was okay for that long--it was more of my loss of conditioning that was hampering me.

Saturday, I took the day off to plan for our PQ viewing/House warming party. Its amazing how it took the whole day, all the way up to 6pm when we were opening the doors to visitors. We even moved the Esperanto out of the house (I thought it would be nice to keep it inside--"now that's an adventure racer!"). And as you would have it, Matt and Nancy were there, punctual as could be expected. The thing that took so much time was making the sushi. We had, in hindsight, overestimated the fervor for sushi and we had a lot leftover. Even though I was a HUGE fan of sushi, there was no way I was gonna finish that all by myself, so we eventually had to throw it away. Sad. Mo had made very tasty guacamole and onion dip, and we supplemented this with some store-bought dip, chips, and crackers, so we were not in short supply of food by any means. Matt and Nancy bolstered our beverage selection with two full coolers, so this too wasn't in short supply. It was a good turnout, about 15 altogether. Any more and I think the house would have been too small.

Primal Quest was the main attraction, but Nikko seemed to be the big hit. She was so social and didn't hide at all despite all the new people! I was so proud of her! She played with everyone who wanted to play and the laser show got oooohhs, aaaahs, and boisterous laughter. Too funny. That's our kitty on crack. Nikko even convinced at least one person at the party that they should get another cat. :)

While the party seemed to be a hit and fun for all, a disturbing phenomenon started to reveal itself. It began when I first went to use the bathroom. There, on the foam soap dispenser, was a cutout of my head. I stared for a second then laughed out loud. It was hilarious! Next thing we knew, the heads were showing up everywhere: in the cupboards, on pictures, and also in the microwave! Not only heads, but full body cutouts! The best was the one of the Warship with his apparent new tattoo, "Out For Blood". Hilarious! They wouldn't fess up to it, but I think the Hyper Turtles had a hand in all of these shenanigans.

Sunday morning was supposed to be paddling. It had rained all night long and was still raining when we got up. We laid there in bed. I hoped that Lisa wouldn't call. But she did, so I wasn't off the hook. We loaded up the boats in the driving rain and met Lisa at Starbucks. From there we headed over to Lake Woodlands. Along the way, I had noticed that our new red solo boat was moving, so I told them to keep an eye on it. The bars were slippery, so I don't think they had a firm hold on the boats. Eventually, the red boat slid perilously off of the bars and was barely hanging on. I had to make an emergency stop! Sacrificing my life on the side of the freeway, I tried to quickly tie down the boats more firmly this time around. I'm sure the nasty wind and rain had something to do with the boat getting unseated.

We finally made it to Northshore park and since the rain was still driving, Mo had decided to pass on the paddling--she gets sick easily. So it was just Lisa and I in the wonderful rubber duck called a Sevy. We had a good hour paddle despite both our seats losing some air due to leaks. I'm still pissed off that we have to paddle these damn boats at Nationals. WTF. Anyway, we got back and we unloaded the two solos so I could try the red boat. Since Mo wasn't going to paddle, Lisa tried the eliminator. She loved it--its a fast boat! I had issues with the more tippier red boat--I actually tipped it the first time and struggled to keep it upright the whole time. My last attempt I was able to paddle for a good distance without fear of tipping it. Man, I doubt I could paddle that thing in choppy weather. So after a short trial paddle, we loaded back up and headed back home.

The rain was non-stop! Our driveway was starting to flood--we are definitely redoing that if we do buy this house! When we drove to work Monday morning, White Oak bayou had jumped its banks--that park right there at I-10 and I-45 was no more. Craziness! Our Nationals team was planning to go to HART practice that day, but it had been cancelled by Rick. Yes, amazing. That tells you how bad the weather was. We instead went to HART last night. It was a good outing for me, especially for my first practice after over a month hiatus. I was strong for most of training, but got a bit winded during the last mile of the final run. Oh well, can't get it all back at once I guess. I was still happy about my progress. But it is going to be nothing but pain for me from now to November. I don't mind. As long as we finish the race I will be happy.

That's it for now. Wouldn't you know it, the weather gets all hot and humid again as soon as I'm ready to get back out there...love it. PS. here's the Drive+Play installation (the display is on the dash and the control is that round knobby thing on the lower right). Its sweet, all except the FM transmitter. Can't wait to get it hardwired!