No tailgaters yesterday. Why? Because I was BAAAD.
It's a good thing that I don't have a Shelby Mustang - I'd kill myself. Anyway, the weather was quite decent so I got the pony out of the corral and took it to do some Christmas shopping. I got stuck behind a very slow incompetent driver (no, I didn't tailgate her). But I did find an alternate route to take. One that is fairly straight for this area. You can see for about 1/4 of a mile which means you can sight out cops and other cars. Nobody was on that stretch of road so like anyone addicted to speed (agility with fast dogs, fast cars, fast road bikes), I opened up the Mustang.
This little hot red vehicle is only a 6 cylinder but it has a manual transmission and I know how to drive it - been driving them forever and used to drive my twin Bro's souped up muscle cars. I believe this Stang is as fast as the cars I drove when I was a teenager. My brother gives it a hearty thumbs up which means alot - Larry used to take his cars to the drag strip. There are faster cars out there but I bet they didn't pay as little for that speed as I did :) Anyway, I had the Stang up to 85 in seconds - in 3rd gear and wasn't even close to red lining it. WHEW - what a rush. Don't worry - I backed down immediately and noone was around.
I got this car for my 40th. Believe me when I say this, it was not a mid-life crisis thing. It was an IT Band thing, can't cycle, can't run, can't do agility thing. It kept me sane during my rehab last year.
I actually went to some SCCA races to see if I wanted to give them a whirl. The gas, tires and pounding on your car stopped me but out of that consideration came a funny story that went around the agility community that I was quitting agility and was going to race my car. TOO FUNNY!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Bumper Stickers
I think I need bumper stickers that match my moods. You can put the stickers on magnets so they easily come off your car. If I had a bumper sticker for my moods, then I could warn drivers that I might be feeling the urge to shoot them, bump them off the road, sing out loud with no malicious intent or drive slow and admire the scenery.
One of my pet peeves is when people tailgate me. I HATE it because I was rear-ended by a very large Chevy going about 45 mph. I was completely stopped waiting for a car to turn out of my lane. I was in a pretty noticeable white Dodge and the girl in the Impala (huge boat of a car) never saw me! The collision totaled my car and has caused permanent neck issues. For some reason unknown to me (ha ha - that is sarcasm), they do it less when I am in my big ass Expedition. When I am in my fire red mustang, they feel the need to drive up underneath my exhaust pipes. Let me just say that I drive fast - like 7 (on a slow day) to 15 over the speed limit with several speeding tickets to prove my prowess. I do not hang out in the left lane unless I am passing someone.
Maybe I could be on to something that would reduce road rage....if everyone put on mood bumper stickers. Oh wait, in this technologically advanced era, all we need is an electronic board on the bumper that you can control from inside the car with pre-set bumper sticker options. New business perhaps? Ha ha.
One of my pet peeves is when people tailgate me. I HATE it because I was rear-ended by a very large Chevy going about 45 mph. I was completely stopped waiting for a car to turn out of my lane. I was in a pretty noticeable white Dodge and the girl in the Impala (huge boat of a car) never saw me! The collision totaled my car and has caused permanent neck issues. For some reason unknown to me (ha ha - that is sarcasm), they do it less when I am in my big ass Expedition. When I am in my fire red mustang, they feel the need to drive up underneath my exhaust pipes. Let me just say that I drive fast - like 7 (on a slow day) to 15 over the speed limit with several speeding tickets to prove my prowess. I do not hang out in the left lane unless I am passing someone.
Maybe I could be on to something that would reduce road rage....if everyone put on mood bumper stickers. Oh wait, in this technologically advanced era, all we need is an electronic board on the bumper that you can control from inside the car with pre-set bumper sticker options. New business perhaps? Ha ha.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Bummer!!
I think I need to have my leg chopped off and an artificial one fitted and then maybe I will no longer have IT Band issues. I just re-injured my IT Band today. LOVELY - attempting to stay fit, I walked and jogged on my treadmill today. I took it slower to get the blood flowing and to try to build some endurance. About 20 minutes into my intervals, I could feel a tight sensation in my leg so I backed off and walked the rest of the time, cooling down. I stretched when I got off and about an hour later - the old familiar stabbing started.
I won't be teaching tomorrow and today I have been icing it off and on and using Aleve. I won't do anything until it feels better which I hope only takes 24 hours this time. Last time, it took a year to recover but that is a long story.
Since I can't even train my dogs, I stood in my kitchen with the window open and gave Gusto verbal commands to see if he could do agility without me in the yard. That was funny - he did really well after screaming at me a little bit. If I can't run him this weekend, I can stand still in the ring and give him commands. Should be entertaining.
I won't be teaching tomorrow and today I have been icing it off and on and using Aleve. I won't do anything until it feels better which I hope only takes 24 hours this time. Last time, it took a year to recover but that is a long story.
Since I can't even train my dogs, I stood in my kitchen with the window open and gave Gusto verbal commands to see if he could do agility without me in the yard. That was funny - he did really well after screaming at me a little bit. If I can't run him this weekend, I can stand still in the ring and give him commands. Should be entertaining.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Realization
I just needed to record this thought whether anyone finds it interesting or not. I took my son shoe shopping for basketball sneakers. The new season starts this Saturday with my husband, Greg, as coach. My son needed a size 6 sneaker. WOW - in another year or year and a half, he will be wearing the same size shoe as me. He is around 4'10 - at age 9.5. So at what point will I be looking up at him? EEK! I'm 5'7+, close to 5'8. I wonder if my husband will ever experience this - he's 6'6.
Keep On
Keeping on. What a great saying. That's my motto right now.
I'm glad I have been tracking my workouts. I went back over the past several weeks and looked at them and realized that I am making progress. YAY!
Someone once told me that everyone needs a theme song for their life. It should be a song that picks you up when you are down or makes you smile. I need to ponder this one and see if I can come up with a great song. I am not sure I will actually post the results of my pondering though - it might be embarrassing.
I'm glad I have been tracking my workouts. I went back over the past several weeks and looked at them and realized that I am making progress. YAY!
Someone once told me that everyone needs a theme song for their life. It should be a song that picks you up when you are down or makes you smile. I need to ponder this one and see if I can come up with a great song. I am not sure I will actually post the results of my pondering though - it might be embarrassing.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
The Dawn of a New Day
I woke up with a sore back which actually started the night before. Wasn't sure how much I could do on my "run" day. I taught my agility class and worked my 2 boy dogs and found that moving around loosened up my tight muscles. I felt much better after I worked my dogs. PLUS they were FABULOUS today. I could list all the things they did well but it might be a bit boring so I will just end the dog training note on a "wow". Picked up my spirits from my whining mood yesterday.
The bike behaved itself today. I was even in the same room with it and I listened to it calling for me to get on and go but I emphatically said NO - I will not cave to your ramblings, you evil beautiful red bike. I behaved myself and just did a light day on the treadmill. Mostly a brisk walk with a few short jog sessions just to test the legs. My lungs feel good - it's the body that feels sort of abused.
The mind is willing so the body will eventually follow - with care.
The bike behaved itself today. I was even in the same room with it and I listened to it calling for me to get on and go but I emphatically said NO - I will not cave to your ramblings, you evil beautiful red bike. I behaved myself and just did a light day on the treadmill. Mostly a brisk walk with a few short jog sessions just to test the legs. My lungs feel good - it's the body that feels sort of abused.
The mind is willing so the body will eventually follow - with care.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Warning - I'm Whining, Just a TAD
I've been doing combination of walk/run/walk/run now for about 1 month. My goal is to be able to run 3 miles continuously without stopping. Not a strenuous goal, not even a large goal. But I confess it is much harder than I thought. I've been very dedicated to this goal - not skipping a running day at all and I do some light cycling on my "off" days to maintain my fitness level.
I now remember precisely why I stopped running back in 2004. IT HURTS! Yes, I'm whining - just a little bit. Running is not easy or everybody would do it. I am definitely feeling that "why can't I cycle" emotion right now. My darn IT Band gets inflamed from any serious cycling which doesn't seem to be the case with running. But because of my tendency towards IT Band issues, I am going very cautiously at building my running program.
I went online to do some research on the best way to build my training program. It is a bit discouraging to know that I am behind the recommendations to date. I'm using my body as a guide though so I have been reluctant to follow a real plan YET. I am going to park the "follow a stinking plan" idea for a few more weeks while I continue to build and allow my body to adapt to the pounding that running requires.
I haven't sold my racing bike yet - I just can't seem to give up that dream. I realize that I will probably never ride it again but I still have hope. I confess, every time I go into the room, the race bike calls my name. No, it is not an inanimate object. It used to talk to me on my rides - we were like one.
Maybe I should move it to the basement in an effort to quiet the voice. No - I will not be selling it; not any time soon, maybe never. While I try to quiet the sound, I will keep running, crawling, walking, pounding ever on to my new goal. And remind myself that this is a fresh start, brand new and one that doesn't require the threat of broken bones to get my blood pumping. It only requires the right attitude and the same perseverance that race training required.
I can do this! Failure is not an option.
I now remember precisely why I stopped running back in 2004. IT HURTS! Yes, I'm whining - just a little bit. Running is not easy or everybody would do it. I am definitely feeling that "why can't I cycle" emotion right now. My darn IT Band gets inflamed from any serious cycling which doesn't seem to be the case with running. But because of my tendency towards IT Band issues, I am going very cautiously at building my running program.
I went online to do some research on the best way to build my training program. It is a bit discouraging to know that I am behind the recommendations to date. I'm using my body as a guide though so I have been reluctant to follow a real plan YET. I am going to park the "follow a stinking plan" idea for a few more weeks while I continue to build and allow my body to adapt to the pounding that running requires.
I haven't sold my racing bike yet - I just can't seem to give up that dream. I realize that I will probably never ride it again but I still have hope. I confess, every time I go into the room, the race bike calls my name. No, it is not an inanimate object. It used to talk to me on my rides - we were like one.
Maybe I should move it to the basement in an effort to quiet the voice. No - I will not be selling it; not any time soon, maybe never. While I try to quiet the sound, I will keep running, crawling, walking, pounding ever on to my new goal. And remind myself that this is a fresh start, brand new and one that doesn't require the threat of broken bones to get my blood pumping. It only requires the right attitude and the same perseverance that race training required.
I can do this! Failure is not an option.
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