onepinkfuzzy

Man alive, was that a mess. We are in to our new place, and the swamp cooler is working. (A swamp cooler is a cheaper alternative to air conditioning. I think it works by blowing air over water, which cools it down, before it's blown into the house. It works great in the "dry heat" of Tucson - except for during the monsoon season (July and August) which also happens to be the hottest time of the year. So you're miserable for two months, but the rest of the year is great.) Our cat's wounds are healing okay, although we can't get her to take her antibiotics (I've got the scratches to prove it). We able to purchase the washer and dryer we were eyeing (even though we had to use credit, darn it), but it's not hooked up and working yet because we need longer hoses and for the water faucet to be fixed (leaking). Ash is adapting well to life in the new place, and I am loving being in a house - not an apartment. Most of everything is put away, but there are still messy boxes around. We also still have to clean the old apartment before I consider everything "done." We also need to get Internet (I'm sititng in a local coffeeshop right now eating yummy tofu chocolate pie and decaf coffee with creme de menthe syrup, yummy). I'm sure I am incredibly behind on my bloglines - and I have something like 200 messages in my e-mail inbox (darn that ultra listserve). I want to give a shout-out to Jack, who ran his first ultra (50k) last week - way to go!!! He's already looking forward to a 50-miler :)

Johnny and I worked it out that during the move on Thursday, I got at least three miles in, if not more, plus at least 1000 feet of elevation change (we lived on the second story at our old place). I also got major time on my feet (always good training for an ultra). My body was so sore, and the balls of my feet ached and ached and ached for days. Needless to say, there was no running. At least I'm tapering, but still! I wanted 24 miles last week! Ha! I got a whopping 11.4 (of actual running - if I count the move, it's 14.4, not too bad).

The move must have really been an incredible workout. I was starving from Thursday through Saturday. I ate five slices of pizza for lunch on Friday. (Don't worry - it was Angie pizza. Olive oil and garlic sauce on a whole wheat crust with broccoli, green onions, basil and chicken on top. No cheese.) FIVE SLICES! That is unheard of for me with my gallbladder. It didn't kill me for it, though. I've eaten so so so much, and when I got on the scale yesterday, I had lost three more pounds. I was down to 130.5.

I tried to run last night. It was evening and super windy. The three of us headed out to the river path (no longer within walking distance, I'll be driving to meet Paki in the mornings). Ash promptly fell asleep - wrong timing! It was an hour before his bedtime! I was so exhausted and tired from fighting, fighting, fighting my way through my life on these last few days that I totally lost it when Johnny and I had a miscommunication and I realized the plans I had made for last night were ruined by Ash's falling asleep so soon. Thank goodness no one else was on the river path and Ash was asleep as I threw the biggest hissy fit I've thrown in years. (Note: don't throw a water bottle with a gel packet in it. It makes a giant mess.) I turned around then and there, even though I was planning on going an additional two miles. I walked for a long time before I started running, and when I ran, I flew. It felt good to purge all the built-up pain and frustration and rage in a torrent of running. I ended up only going for three miles last night instead of five, which is how I ended up with less miles last week (first week of my taper) than I was planning for this week (second week of my taper).

I am disappointed in my running last week, but I know the move was good cross-training. I am worried about how well I can do S&S. I considered not running S&S last night during my hissy fit, and then decided to hell with it, I'm going to run it. Even if it takes me the full 12 hours to go a measly 32 miles. (I say it like that cuz 12 hours is more like a 50 mile time). I'm aiming for 10 hours, and if I can break 8 on the muddy single track that I've never run in the humid heat, then I'll be in heaven. This won't be as fast as Pemberton - a course I knew, with half of it on dirt roads, run in the dry coolness of winter.

I missed the blogging world while we were moving. I realized how much I've come to enjoy using my "me time" for blogging - writing, reading, sharing, enjoying. The friends I've made via the blogs - although I've only "met" one of them - have come to mean so much to me. Even though the support and cameraderie is "virtual," it's meaningful. I kept finding myself thinking about how I was going to blog about whatever I was experiencing, and then realizing I wouldn't be able to. I can't wait till we have Internet, and things can go back to normal. Thank you for listening to me.