Rough (training) week

To say last week sucked was challenging would be an understatement.  The week started out bad and only got worse.

Rough training week - day 1
On the way home from work on the bus I started to feel a little nauseous.  This happens to me once in awhile (I hate the bus), but I usually feel better once I get off.  Fifteen minutes later, after getting the Noggin from daycare, I felt worse not better.  After realizing this feeling was not going to go away, I called the Russian and asked him to come home ASAP.  The Noggin can be a bit rambunctious and I wasn't feeling like I could deal in the state that I was in. ASAP ended up being about an hour.  In that time the Noggin showed me what sympathy looks like on a three year old.

Me (while lying on the floor): Sweetie, mommy feels sick.  Can you please not jump on my head?

The Noggin: ha ha ha (crazed laughter while jumping on my head)

Me (inside my head): WTF? WTF?

Needless to say, I did not go to the pool for my swim.  I went to bed at 8:30 feeling like a truck (or a Noggin) had run over my head.  I don't do well with unplanned rest days, but no training was happening that night.

Rough training week - day 2
Following the miserable day 1, I was still feeling not that great.  On top of that, my hip that had been vaguely bothering me the week before became very angry after an unplanned 11 mile run a few days earlier.  I'm never this judicious, but I thought it might be a good idea to take another unplanned rest day and give myself and the hip a break.

Personally, I like my schedules and my training plans.  A training plan feels like a safety blanket.  I feel that if I put in the time and follow the plan, at the very least I won't die on the day of the race.  I don't take kindly to missing training days, especially with this half-iron distance as it freaks me the F out has me a bit nervous.  The Russian says that my Monday breakdown was because the training and life was leaving me too exhausted and that my body was telling that I needed to rest.  Well, I have this mug which says, "Coffee - I'll sleep when I'm dead", which is pretty much how I lead my life.

Rough training week - day 4
Nothing happened on day 3.  I went for a swim, which felt good and I thought maybe I was getting back on track for the week.  Day 4 was supposed to be a track day so I went for a hill run with my running group.  That angry hip did not like the hill workout at all.  In fact, that angry hip became a "you won't like me when I'm angry" hip. Let me tell you, I did not like it when it was angry.

I decided after that fiasco that I was going to skip my runs for the next week and take lots of Advil. This freaked me out a bit because the race is less than 5 weeks away and I've done hardly any long runs.  I guess with running you always have the option of walking (which is what it looks like I'll be doing in the Nike women's marathon at the rate that this whole "training" thing is going)

Rough training week - day 7 (the culmination)
Days 5 and 6 were again, uneventful.  I stuck to my no running plan (ack, more missed training!), but was pretty excited about my long ride planned for day 7.  Through a woman I had met at the pool, I had arranged to meet up with this all women group for a long ride.  For many reasons (that's another post) I love training and racing in all women groups.

Day 7 I got up a early to make sure that I made it to the meeting spot (~45 minute drive away) with plenty of time to spare and ended up being the first person there.  About fifteen minutes before the ride was supposed to start, the ride leader rode up and asked me to park closer to where they normally meet.  No problem.  I hop in the car, drive to the next parking lot over and get out.  I go to get my bike down from the roof rack and put my front wheel on when I realize I didn't have my front wheel.  Again, WTF?

Before the group leader had ridden up I had gone to use the bathroom and was getting ready to  unload my bike.  In doing so, I had taken out my front wheel and leaned it up against the side the car.  Long story short - I ended up with a wheel and this somewhat essential piece separated from it.

No - that end of the axle is not meant to snap off like that. Unless, of course, you run over it with a two ton car.  Then in that case, you have to wonder how the wheel didn't get completely crushed, which it wasn't.  Well, with the axle bent inside the hub and the end snapped off, I was riding nowhere fast.  I hung around for a few minutes to meet the women in the group (they were nice), called the Russian to tell him what a fool I was, and then drove home in a funk.

When I got home I was met by the (much more sympathetic than on day 1) Noggin.

The Noggin: Mommy, don't cry.  I'm going to buy you a new wheel.  I'm going to bring three moneys.

Okay, that was pretty darn cute considering the Russian swears he didn't tell the Noggin to say that to me. Times like that I think that kid does actually like me.

The family went to our local bike shop, Strictly Bicycles, with the slim hope I could get the wheel fixed, but with the more realistic idea that I would be buying myself a new (cheap) wheel.  Amazingly, though I was ready to buy a new wheel, they were able to fix mine in about half an hour.  WHOA.  Those guys are great.

Even though the week went downhill fast, it didn't end nearly as bad as it could have.  I had a fixed wheel and some time to ride (on the trainer).  In addition, we came home to Furbaby 1 guarding my sad, incomplete bike...

...which is just too darn funny.  Yes, she guards things furry-white-belly-up.