Run Around Hell

Actually, it was called the Run Around the Lake. We try to do this race every year. It's a challenging 4 miler. It's never a completely flat race. You are either running up a hill/incline or down an incline. There are no real downhills here. Each year I think "this is the year I will conquer the hill at mile 3" and each year that hill owns me.

So this morning the Wingman and I got up early and had breakfast. Last night my GI system was 'upset' so I made sure (at least I thought I made sure) that I had enough water this morning prior to the race. I didn't want to go into the race in the heat already dehydrated. I brought along a 20oz bottle of water to drink. I probably should have made it a bottle of Infinit. We got to the race and picked up our packets. The last few years they had a nice technical shirt in the bag. This year they went back to the cotton shirts that are the most hideous colors known to man. I joked before we got there about hoping to get a nice bright orange shirt this year. Well, when I looked in the bag, I wasn't far off the mark. It was a yellow-orange color. They must get a discount on the shirts if they pick ugly colors.

The only other thing in the race bag (besides the flyers) was a small box of Wheaties Fuel. We dropped the stuff back off in the car and watched the start of the kids 1 mile fun run. After that we began the walk to the start of the race. We hung out in the shade and I was still optimistic about my race. The last two weeks my workouts have been really good. I can feel my speed improving and I owe it all to the negative energy generated by my clinical affiliation. Every time I have a bad day, I have a great run. So Friday started out good and ended kinda bad. And when I say it ended bad, it's not that I screwed up with a patient, but according to my CI, I didn't do things exactly the way he would have done it and he let's me know about it. I take in his comments, filter them, and extract the information that is useful to me and chuck out the rest. So this morning I tried to relive that conversation in my head.

When the horn sounded I got stuck in some human traffic. I decided instead of burning some extra energy weaving in and out, I would just wait until the road widens a little bit and then get some room. About half a mile into the race is the first hill. I eased up a little to save some energy for the other hill later. Also, this is the last section of any kind of shade. The rest of the run from mile 1 to the end is out in the sun. When I cruised past the mile 1 marker, I looked at my watch. I was right on pace. At this point I was actually thinking I could hold it. I also started to notice I was soaked. I was sweating heavily today. And I have just begun to run in the sun.

At this point I am out on Portion Road heading towards the now defunct Bavarian Inn. I am still feeling decent, but the heat is wearing me down. I am drenched and in desperate need of water. Another aid station won't be coming up for another mile. I tried to hang in there, but I suddenly started feeling lightheaded. I eased off the pace and it still didn't help. I noticed that I was no longer running a straight line. The wobble run had begun. I decided to walk for a minute just to collect myself and let my heart rate come down. When I started running again, I noticed on the median the sprinklers were on. And I wasn't wearing a white shirt. BONUS!! No wet t-shirt contest for me. I ran up onto the grass and through 8 sprinklers. I felt like I was 4 years old again. What a wonderful feeling. Problem was it was short lived. Once I was back out on the road, I was suffering again. I hit the aid station near the drug rehab facility. For some reason, they always have the best water on the course. The other 2 stations have hose water, but the addicts have some good water. Plus it was very cold. I don't know what their secret is and I don't want to know. I just had to hope that the USADA would not be at the finish line. I grabbed two cups and drank them both. I got to the mile 3 marker and started feeling better. Problem was, my nemesis hill was looming. It's not a big hill, but one of those slow inclines that wears you down, beats you into submission.

The hill had me early. I felt like I was dying out there. Some guy ran by, looked back at me and said "Come on." I did my best to follow, but my legs were having none of it. All I kept thinking was "every year this race gets hotter and the hills get bigger." When the top of the incline came along I started to pick up my pace. I knew there was about half a mile to go. I wanted to salvage something out of this race. If I could finish strong, it would make up for the 1.5 miles of hell that I just went through. 

Then, a great song came on and the beat was perfect for me.

I was able to run to the beat and accomplish my goal of a strong finish. I was able to escape the clutches of hell. I crossed the finish line and went straight for the water area. I reached into the bucket and grabbed a bottle of water. Then I went back in for some ice. I put a few big cubes in my hat and on my neck and was feeling much better. I downed my bottle quickly and went back for another for the Wingman. There were none left. Uh oh. I ran back to the car and grabbed his bottle and then ran back to the buckets with ice, grabbed a few cubes, put them in his bottle and shook it. I saw him coming down the finish chute and handed him the bottle. He downed it in no time. We swapped race stories as we made our way over to the BBQ area. This is something they started last year and decided to continue it. If you are registered for the race, you are entitled to the BBQ. We were one of the first ones on line as Wingman said he was hungry. They had cole slaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, hamburgers, hot dogs and a bunch of sodas. It was only 10am, but that burger was good. 

While I didn't have the race I wanted, at least I got myself to finish strong. I'm not a good hot weather runner no matter how much I try to get used to it. But next race in the heat, I will be sure to choose a different prerace drink. On the ride home I told the Wingman that perhaps we should decide at the last minute next year if we should do this race again so we could see what the weather would look like. But he said we should just do the race anyway, no matter what the weather is. So, let's cross our fingers for a cool day next year.

No Regrets

That was my mindset going into the race this morning. I didn't want to get to the end of the race and think "I wish I ran faster" or "I should have swam harder." I just wanted a nice solid effort. Yesterday the Wingman and I decided he would stay home for this race. He is still dealing with his infection and has had trouble sleeping. I figured he would be more comfortable staying home. So I was going without my Wingman.

Last night I was asleep around 9:30p with my alarm set for 4a. I learned my lesson last year about not eating much for breakfast so I wanted to be sure I was up in plenty of time to eat. So at 4a, I hopped out of bed, ate, then jumped into the shower. When I got out of the shower, Wingman was up. He said he would help me pack the car for the race. What a guy!! I kissed him goodbye and then was on my way. I put on some good pre-race music to get me 'in the mood' to race. Before I knew it, I was at the marina. There weren't many cars there yet so I picked a good spot and backed in. I unpacked the car, dropped my stuff of in transition and made a bee line to the bathroom. The nice thing about getting there early is you have a choice between the porta-potty and a real bathroom. Obviously I chose the real bathroom. Took care of business then went back out to setup my transition.

My setup doesn't take long. After I finished I went over to the water to check the temps. The water felt great. I decided to only wear my wetsuit bottom and ditch the top. I also noticed the water had a chop to it. The wind was kicking up the water and I also noticed that we'd be swimming against the current. It didn't look too bad so I decided not to give it another thought.

I went back to transition and grabbed my wetsuit, cap, goggles, shot blocks and an ear plug. I felt an eerie calmness come over me. Usually I have some butterflies, but today I didn't. I climbed into the water to warm up a little bit and wound up cutting my toe on the big blocks in the water. I took a look and saw that it was along the side of my toe, not the bottom so I would be OK for biking and running. Phew!

I was in the 4th wave so I watched the others go off. I tried to stay focused on the swim start and finding a good place. When the horn went off so did I. The chop got to me a little in the beginning. When I would turn my head to breathe, the water would drop me down from a swell so it would make me a little nauseas. Great, at this rate I'm ready to puke in the water. I got to the first buoy and made the turn unscathed. I noticed now that I was up on people from the previous wave. Between the 1st and 2nd buoy was a lifeguard on a surfboard. I almost laughed out loud when I saw 8 men hanging on. No women, just men. Really guys?!?! The swim wasn't that bad and it was still early. It picked me up and I felt a little stronger now. I got to the final buoy and made my turn into the final stretch. I was now swimming into the sun and misjudged where the swim finish was. The lifeguard got my attention and I corrected my direction. It got a little tight near the swim finish and I may or may not have gotten a little too familiar with another swimmer near me. He wasn't wearing a wetsuit (just a tri suit) and when I went to begin my next swim stroke I can say with confidence that he does not have an enlarged prostate. Phew, I am sure he'd be relived to hear that. I should sent him a bill for a copay.

Once I made it out of the water I ran to transition to get my bike. The wetsuit came off easy and the transition went smooth. I grabbed the bike from the rack and was on my way. My goal for this race was to go out hard on the bike and see what I could do. Only problem was I got caught up at times in packs of beginners. The race people went out of their way to educate racers about proper bike conduct. It was in the race packet and mentioned again at the pre race briefing. You have to stay to your right. So many riders today were riding all the way to the left and at times riding two abreast and chatting. Hello people!?! This is a race, not a social outing. There'll be plenty of time to talk later. This only fueled me to ride harder and faster at times. I could hear the Eminem lyrics in my head:

No more games, I'ma change what you call rage
Tear this motherfucking roof off like 2 dogs caged
I was playing in the beginning, the mood all changed

I started to worry that I would blow myself out before I got to the run, but I had to get away from them. Then one woman almost brought me to a grinding halt. I was coming up on her so I said "On your left" as I was about to pass her. She decided to move left as well. I was now near the double yellow line and kept saying "on your left." Dumb bitch never gave me room and even had the balls to say "I heard you. Why don't you move more to the left." Oh no she didn't!?!?! I wanted to stop and beat the crap out of her right there. Instead I just picked up my pace and got out of there. The final half mile was rough because the road is narrow and you really can't pass anymore.

I made it to T2 and thought about how my tri almost turned into an MMA event. I think I had enough rage to take her down!! But now I had to run first. Got into my running shoes and made a mistake before leaving T2. In my anger/rage, I pulled my laces waaaaaay too tight. I didn't realize it until halfway into the run.

The run is a super flat out and back course. My goal was to just be comfortable out there. I started running as soon as I exited transition. I made my way down the boardwalk and out of the marina. I ran in fear of that woman tracking me down. I also ran in fear of my competition. I saw her in T2 and wanted to get as much distance between us as possible. I knew if I walked at all, she could possibly pass me. SO no walking today!! I made it to the turnaround and looked for my competition. When I made it back to the main road I saw her. There was a good distance between us, but now I wanted to put the hammer down and bring it home. No regrets today. At this point I could feel my foot going numb. Dang nab it, my laces were too tight. I made a quick stop to loosen them and the continued on. Didn't really lose any time over it. I was now nearing the marina again and could hear the finish line area. I just focused on hanging on. The last 1/4 mile is on grass. Great, nice unstable surface for me and my numb foot! Actually I got the feeling back in my foot by now, but really didn't want to run on the grass. As I crossed the finish line, I felt good knowing that I executed a good race plan. I knew right away that there wasn't anything I would have changed about the effort I put out today.

I got out of the finisher's area and went over to look at the results. Mine wasn't posted yet so I went to the car to get my post race recovery drink. By the time I made it back the times were posted. I shaved 7 minutes off my time from last year. Gotta say I was pretty happy about that. I was proud of what I did today. I was able to stay in the moment and not think too far ahead. It really fired me up for the rest of the season. My next race is the Montauk sprint. I'll take a look at last years results and review it with Jen to come up with a good game plan to take some more time off.

But for now, I get to celebrate my victory today:

Who cares about the hardware, I won some cookies!!!

Swimming in a fog

This morning I got up early to swim in the lake. Wynn & Teresa wouldn't be there since they were heading up to NH for a race this weekend. Ian would be there, but I can't keep up with him. He's fast in the water. He'll do laps around me so he keeps me in his sight, but I was hoping someone would come down that was somewhat my speed in the water. Wynn's friend Dave came down. He's slightly faster than me, but enough that I have someone to stay near. I certainly needed it this morning. This was by far the craziest swim I have ever done. There was a little chop in the lake from the wind, but the fog was super thick. I couldn't see anything. Ian pointed out the general direction for us to head in. You could throw sighting out the window. All I saw when I looked up was white. I could see along the surface of the water and a little bit ahead so I could see Dave, but Ian and John swam ahead of us and were out of sight. I finally made my way over to the other side and they were waiting for me. We chatted about the ridiculousness of the fog and laughed. Then we were on our way back. This is where it got strange.

Dave and I stayed together for the swim back. We were constantly stopping to orient ourselves. The conversation went something like this:

Me: I have no idea where we are. Do you know which way?
Dave: Not too sure. I think it's this way.
Me: Do you see a white house? That's what we need to swim towards.
Dave: Are those road signs over there? That's the road.
Me: Well, if we can't find the shoreline, we can swim to the signs and get out and walk back ;-)

I laughed the rest of the way back to the beach. I swear I didn't even see it until I was ~50 meters out. I just followed Dave and hoped for the best. I have to say it was probably the most memorable swim I've had. I've been in that lake dozens of times to swim and it's not that big. But today it was huge. Amazing what a little fog can do.

When I got home I took a little 'power nap' since I didn't feel like I slept well last night. Once I got up I changed for my run. Once again I completely forgot I have a race Sunday and wanted to wear my new DS Trainers (running shoes) so I had to break them in. I wore then today for a 4 miler and man, I love the way new sneakers feel. It was a little humid out, but there was a nice breeze blowing so I felt comfortable most of the time. It was a solid run and I'm feeling great about Sunday. My goal is strictly to use it as a training day and will not go into it with the mindset of racing. It's the first tri of the season for me and I want to gauge where I am at. I definitely feel better than I did at this time last year. My only goal for Sunday is to not fall apart on the run. Last year was a miserable run and it looks like a lot of it was due to barely eating prior to the race. Got that under control now so I'm hoping for a solid effort.

A "Good Luck" shout out to Wynn & Teresa up at Mooseman this weekend. I did that race back in 2006 as prep for Lake Placid. It's a great race and they should do well. Wynn is doing the half and Teresa is doing the olympic. Good Look Warriors!!

KATN

Kickin' Ass, Takin' Names

That sums up my ride this morning. I got up early and had something to eat. Then I made my way downstairs to replace the xlab brackets on my Cervelo. Once that was done, I changed and went out for my ride. On the schedule was a moderate 1 hour effort with a few 90 second bursts thrown in. I can tell these workouts are having an effect on me because I am faster much earlier in the season than I was last year. I also feel like it's less effort to ride as well.........unless I am pushing for the green jersey of course. 

I cruise for my warmup and then I hit a nice patch of straightaway. Someone might have well been waving a green flag because I was off and flying.

I felt really good out there. The only downer was Wingman had to go to work so I was riding solo. I was doing our usual out and back ride. I made it to the turnaround over a minute faster than normal. I was looking down at my speed from time to time and saw some nice numbers. My goal was to maintain speed for the 2nd half of the ride. After I turned around it felt a little difficult to get that intensity up, but then I saw something ahead. Another rider on a tri bike. It was as if I smelled blood in the water. I get so competitive at times when I am riding. 

All I could think of was "reel him in." The goal of the workout was gone. There was a new goal. I knew I wouldn't be riding hard for too long - maybe another mile - so I went for it. I came up behind him and noticed he slowed down. I waited a second then passed him on the left and said good morning. Then I dropped the hammer. I channeled my inner Fabian:

Every once in a while I would drop my head to look back to see where he was. DOH!! He was still right behind me. I guess he was using me to pick up his speed as much as I was using him. I flew down to the next intersection and waved goodbye. The TT was over and I won.....well, can't really say that if he didn't even know he was racing, can I? I used the last 15 minutes of the ride as an 'easy' cool down. 

I made it home and had another breakfast. Legs are feeling good and I'll head out to take some pictures today. I took a few yesterday and put them up. Let's see what today brings me.

10K meltdown

The weekend started off with a bang. I woke up Saturday knowing the Wingman was coming home. I showered, ate breakfast, and went to the supermarket. The weather was unbelievable. My mood was lifted even higher. There was no one at the supermarket so I got in and out quick. I zipped over to Target to pick up a few more things. The cashier range it up and told me my total. Then she said "Oh wait, I've got a $1 off coupon you can have." BONUS!! I thanked her and left with a smile on my face. Things were looking up for me. I went over to 7-11 for some liquid crack (diet pepsi) and when a woman held the door open I said thank you. She was shocked. She looked at me and was so happy that someone finally said thank you to her. I don't know, I thought if someone does something for you you're supposed to say thank you. Go figure. I was feeling good that I made someone's day. Man, can it get much better. From here I went over to the bike shop to pick up my bicycle then over to the lake for the first swim of the season. I wasn't there to swim, but as the 'official' photographer of the loonies in the lake. From here I went to the airport to pickup the Wingman.

The one thing about this weekend was it seemed like someone flipped the weather switch. We went from 50's to high 70's in a matter of two days. Most of my running has been in cool weather and now I am tasked with running a 10k in the heat and humidity. The weather people were reporting 79% humidity for Sunday with temps in the 70s. If you run, this is not good. And if you haven't been running in heat, this is really not good.

The alarm went off at 5a and I went straight to the kitchen to eat breakfast. I kept thinking about going back to bed and skipping the race. But I really had no good reason to skip it. So I hopped in the shower and then got dressed. Now I was feeling ready to race. I grabbed my water bottle and bag, said good-bye to the Wingman and headed out to the race. I got there, found a good spot and walked to the starting area. I was looking around for the Warrior crew (Teresa, Wynn, Ian and Joan) when I heard my named being called. I thought "That doesn't sound like Wynn". It wasn't. It was actually my P&O professor. He started running this year and signed up for the half. I wished him good luck and set off again to find my group. A minute later I found them. I asked Teresa what time she was aiming for. I knew it was a little too ambitious for me but I told her I would run a few miles at her early pace and then tail off at some point. The start was very anti-climatic. We were chatting and I said "I think that was the starting gun". Seems like everyone on the 10k side missed it. No one was moving at first. 

Finally we got going and I followed Teresa's pace. I could tell when she would speed up a little but she quickly would catch herself and slow it down again. I could feel the humidity immediately. The air felt really thick and difficult to move through. I suspected by mile1 this would not be a good race. 

Mile 1

For the most part it's flat with the exception of the small overpass at the start. We cruised easily down the road. We didn't chat much because that would take more energy than I wanted to expend. Teresa had a time goal, I had a survival goal so I told her to stick to her pace and if she drops me, don't look back. Keep going, save yourself. I've lived a good life. Sorry, I get a little carried away.......

Mile 2

It was here where we noticed the cops gawking at the women as they passed by. Quite frankly they looked like perverts staring. Or perhaps we were just jealous they weren't staring at us. It was here that I told her I was dropping back. I already felt like I was suffering badly. At the water station the drinks were cold. I grabbed two cups - one over the head and the other to drink. I only had 4 more miles to go, but it felt like 40.

Mile 3

I kept convincing myself I felt a breeze. I was desperate. I tried to think frozen thoughts to try to keep my  body temperature down. I thought about slurpee's, italian ices, ice sculptures, etc. Nothing worked. I came upon the 5k marker and saw another aid station. Grabbed two more cups. When the cool water hit my back, I could feel my pace quicken. Problem was it didn't last long. A short while later I was dragging my ass again.

Mile 4

Is that a breeze I feel? Why yes, it's a slight headwind. And I mean slight. But it was welcome. I started to cool down a little bit but I was still on fire. I kept looking for the entrance into the park. The route here is not quite scenic. It's the jail and lot's of barbed wire. I can't imagine how someone would be able to scale that fence without ripping their limbs to shreds. But the bright side is, that thought kept me busy for 1 mile.

Mile 5

Back into the park. Whoo hoo. Almost home free. Just gotta run 1.2 miles and this nightmare is over. Just run carefully and in no time I'm done. OUCH!! I thought I said run carefully. There was a wide crack in the path and I thought I landed my foot strike to miss it. Nope. The ball of my foot was in the crack and I felt a lightening bolt shoot up through my foot - like the pain from a neuroma. Oh, man. Now I had a hot spot in my foot when I ran. The same hot spot in my foot from the last race. I gotta get new sneakers. I notice the photographer up ahead. I quickly check my hair, make sure the shirt looks good, and I took Sinead's advice and made sure to wipe the snot from my nose. I even picked up the pace as I approached so I would look like I was running at a decent speed.

Mile 6

Oh man, the park is so disorienting. There are so many twists and turns that you can't quite figure out where the finish line is until you're close to it. People are cheering and I'm thinking "where's this timing mat. I want to go home."

I finally crossed the finish line in what has to be my worst 10k time. I was so disappointed in myself. I had been running well up until this race. I know the weather was part of the problem, but I didn't think I would be that slow as a result. I am still ashamed that I actually ran that poorly. I had a hard time staying positive while waiting for the warrior crew to finish their races. I really wanted to go back to the car and cry.

After everyone was accounted for, I bid the crew farewell and went back to the car. I called the Wingman and told him of my misery. I drove home and he took me out for an omelet. Then I came home and passed out on the couch. 

PS - the race organizers really went over the top with the post race food bag. It was a really nice cooler bag with the following items:

1. large bagel (300 calories)
2. apple slices (40 calories)
3. banana (100 calories)
4. pudding (100 calories)
5. peanut butter crackers (180 calories)
6. cinnamon raisin danish (336 calories)

There were more calories in that bag (1,056) than I burned off in the race. I stuck to the apples, banana and my recoverite and brought the rest home.

Follow the leader

I had a ride planned with Teresa and the "B Train" (aka Ian and Joan). I was to meet up with Teresa around 5:15p and then we'd meet Ian and Joan at 5:30p. Well, around 4:30 I heard rumbling. I went into denial and just said "I must be hungry" and continued to get ready. Then I saw a flash and again in denial, just said "Must be having a stroke" and still continued on my way. I packed my bike into the car and left. Teresa called while I was enroute and said Wynn told her a storm was coming. We decided to move forward with the plan to ride, but change the route so we were never that far from her house.

The sky looked pretty decent when we left. We made our way down "the hill" and found Ian and Joan waiting at the bottom. Teresa mentioned a route to follow and off we went. I had my tri bike so I had to maintain a little distance from the group since I would be in my aerobars.

The B Train led the way. When we got to Mill Road, I thought we were going straight, but they made a right. I looked back to Teresa and she said she thought they would go straight. So we followed along. When we got to Edwards, they said let's make a left and then double back. I mentioned to Teresa why don't we make a right and head back that way. She shot me a look that if she had daggers for eyes, I'd be dead instantaneously. Making a right would mean eventually she would have to ride up "Mount Ventoux" or as most folks would know it as the hill on 51. So I zipped it and followed the leader. I wasn't sure exactly where we were heading so I could never ride up front. I sat in the middle and would occasionally help Teresa bridge the gap back up to the B Train. 

The weather held up nicely. We unanimously agreed that Wynn should quit his day job and become a meteorologist. His prediction was just as accurate as the guys that get paid to do it.

Tomorrow I have a busy day planned. There is no session at the lab so I am off, but I have a doctor's appt for a physical and then an ortho session with Sinead.

"it's been a long, cold, lonely winter....."

Great words by George Harrison. For a while it seemed like my working weekends was never going to end. Today was the final day. I made a big push to get all the returns done that were sent in last minute. Wingman and I went in Friday evening and stayed until 11:30p, then worked all day Saturday and Sunday. Everything is done that needed to be done. And now I get my weekends back!! Next weekend I plan on getting out with the camera and take some photos. I am way overdue in updating my photo site. This morning my mother's client was a professional photographer. He saw samples of my work (I gave her a digital frame for her birthday filled with photo's I have taken) and gave me some nice compliments and ideas for future shots.

My sister brought in her dog today so I spent some time going upstairs to get Holly Yoda (I refuse to call the dog by her real name) riled up and then go back downstairs. I had to play nice though as she recently came back from the vet and still had the stitches. By the end of the day, the poor dog was pooped. You could see her energy levels were down. She stopped doing sprint laps around the desk. Sad thing is, I could relate to that. I had the same energy level as that dog.

Wingman and I made it home in time to see the end of the Masters on TV. It was nice to see Phil Mickelson win his 3rd green jacket. Last year he took some time off away from golf to be with his wife while she get treatment for breast cancer. Classy guy.

Now we're watching coverage of the Paris-Roubaix bike race. I am exhausted just watching it. These guys race over many sections of cobblestones. You can see how it jars their bodies as they ride over the stones. It must be so physically demanding to do this race. Unfortunately I am only half watching it. Late this afternoon my electro professor sent out the article we have to read for tomorrow and prepare for a discussion on it. So I have to get this thing read. Plus I have to prepare for my neuro practical later this week. But more importantly, I will be heading to sleep early tonight!! 

It's go time

I was back in school this week. Spring break is over and it was time to get back to the grind. I was fortunate enough to ease back into the swing of things this week. My usual Monday 8:30a-7p turned into 5-7p. And my Wednesday morning class was cancelled. So I gained some valuable study time for my ortho practical today. Practicals are tough enough, but this one seemed to be the hardest. It covered the entire spine from occiput (head) down to the sacrum. We could be tested on assessments and/or treatments. When you are called into the room, you can feel your pulse rate quicken. Then you need to pick from 2 sheets of paper. They are turned upside down so you have no idea what they say. You have to use some psychic powers to help you pick. But then again, Uncle Murphy will always strike and you will pick a card that has a technique you are just not that good at. And once again, I was bit in the ass. My sheet had two elements on it:

1. Perform an ERS MET to the cervical spine (I got to pick direction and segment)
2. Perform the long sit/standing marcher's test

Needless to say #1 was not my strong suit. I performed #2 first. And again, my dumb luck, the results of the two tests don't match. The professor asked me what I would do. I first told him I would do a standing flexion test, but he wanted a different answer. I then said I would retest the two exams I did. Bingo. Onward to my nemesis. For the most part I did fine with this intervention. The feedback I got was my elbows could have come out more to the side. It would have made the intervention easier for me to perform. No worries, I did it and it's over. Monday we start the upper extremity. Can't wait for that.

I thought April would be a 'light' month, but turns out I will be busy. Next week I have my Neuro practical covering NDT, PNF and Task-Oriented Approach. Each Wednesday for the next 3 weeks I have to go observe/evaluate/treat a 2 year old in physical therapy for my pediatrics class. This should be interesting. Pediatrics is an area I want to run screaming from. April 30th we have a field trip to Helen Hayes Hospital and their spinal cord injury rehab department.

Then my final exams will come up sooner than later. I got the schedule emailed to me just before spring break:

1. 5/10 - Ortho written final
2. 5/13 - Ortho practical
3. 5/17 or 5/19 - Eletrotherapy practical
4. 5/17 - Neuro Practical
5. 5/18 - Cardio rehab written final
6. 5/18 or 5/19 - Pediatrics practical
7. 5/20 - Pediatrics written final
8. 5/20 - Neuro take home final due
9. 5/21 - Electrotherapy written exam

Wow, come to think of it, this is coming down fast. My first final is only a month away!! It's go time!

Ode to a total badass

On our group ride Sunday, we started out as a group 7 riders and by the end we were down to 4. Along the way there was a bike crash and Teresa went down. She banged her arm, leg and hand pretty good. Ian (who from this day forward shall be known as MacGyver - I believe he was actually thinking about using some chewing gum to hold the spokes in place) managed to temporarily fix her broken spokes so she could ride home. That's right ladies and gentlemen, Teresa rode home. Wynn and Wingman rode ahead to get the truck to come back to pick her up, but we wound up making it back to almost a mile from the house when Wynn pulled up. They loaded up her bike and then the remaining 4 of us (me, Crazy Mark, 'MacGyver', and Joan) made it back to the house. Teresa showed some serious warrior spirit by riding home, so we awarded her the warrior hat for the group ride. MacGyver earned the other warrior hat for his ability to repair the spokes and then he and Joan rode in front to shield Teresa from the wind. Now here's a little insight into what makes Teresa a total badass (in case the ride home wasn't clue enough):

- Teresa doesn't mow her own lawn, she stands out there and dares it to grow
- Teresa counted to infinity - twice
- When Teresa does pushups, she doesn't push herself up, she pushes the world down
- Teresa once broke the land speed record on a bike that was missing a chain and the back tire
- Teresa can sneeze with her eyes open
- Teresa ordered a Big Mac at Burger King......and got one
- Rudolph has a red nose because Teresa kicked him
- Teresa doesn't run from tornados, tornados run from Teresa

I chatted with her yesterday and she is feeling better, which is always good news because I need my running partner on her feet!!