That's just swell(ed)

Last weekend was yet another where I was constantly going, going, going. Friday after work, I headed to Fort Worth to meet my old roommate, who was in town from OKC for a conference. We went out for dinner and drinks and were able to catch up on things. It was the first time possibly since I graduated college that we'd gotten to hang out just the two of us, and it was great. I miss her!

I had to get up early the next day, so we called it a night before midnight, which was awesome. I got up at about 8 the next day to ride in a cycling group. The MS150 is only three weeks away, so I had to get some good riding time in. I went on a 20-mile ride, and I was doing great. I was in the very front of our group with three or four guys. I was riding along just fine when I switched gears and managed to pop my chain off. I pulled to the side of the road, and the guys I was riding with rode on, unaware of what had happened. It was no big deal, though, since we were with a big group. I knew several packs were behind us, and someone in those groups would be able to help me out.

I stood patiently on the side of the road. I tried fixing my chain myself, but I wasn't quite sure what I was doing. I was worried I'd mess it up more than fix it, so I decided to wait for someone who knew what they were doing and could hopefully explain it to me so I could get myself out of this situation next time.

Well, the next group to ride past me was a group of 6 or 7 men. And they all really did just ride past me. "Awesome! Thanks for your help! Real chivalrous there!" I called after them.

I decided I'd have to be more vocal with the next big bunch of people. When the next group, which was probably about 15 or so cyclists, passed me, I yelled out, "Does anyone know how to fix a chain?" Everyone ignored me. I stood in disbelief. Jeremy called me right then (even when I'm on my bike, my phone is right by me in case K calls). I answered my phone since I was waiting for the next group, which was several hundred yards away from me. As I explained to Jeremy what was happening, I found myself on the verge of tears. If no one would help me fix my chain, what was I supposed to do? I was almost 10 miles away from my car. I'd either have to ask Jeremy to come get me and pray that my bike would fit in his car, since I certainly couldn't leave it, or I'd have to walk my bike 10 miles. Neither sounded good to me.

I hurried to get off the phone so I could catch the next group. As they rode past me, I called out, "Can someone please help me?" A man on a bicycle built for two said to me, "Do you need some help?"

I was relieved someone had finally answered. "Yes! Please!"

I was even more shocked when the man responded: "Sorry! Can't stop." Was he kidding me?! Why had he even bothered asking?

The eyes were just starting to spill over in frustration when I noticed a cyclist had turned around to come back to me. She asked if I needed help. "I guess no one else was gonna stop," she said. She told me she didn't know how to fix a chain, but she couldn't just ignore me. She'd try to help -- and she did. She fixed it.

Just then, the final stragglers of our group slowly rode past with one of the leaders of the group. He asked if everything was OK. I told him yes, finally, thanks to the woman beside me. I told the leader how everyone else had ignored me. The leader told me it wasn't really their fault, since they're not supposed to stop during the ride. He said it could be dangerous if three or four people tried to stop at the same time (hello? that's what hand signals are for!). I told the leader he didn't have to worry about that on this ride because everyone who was on it that day was a jerk except for the woman who helped me. (And I meant it!)

Anyway, so the rest of the ride went on without incident. We stopped halfway through to get the whole group together again. The leader asked if anyone was interested in riding 9 additional miles. I figured if I have to ride 150 in three weeks, I better be able to handle 29 right now, so I went. We had a headwind for most of the ride, and there were a few hills on our route as well. It was tough, since I'm not really where I should be training-wise. All of us on the ride were crawling along by the end of it, but we finished. Hopefully the ride will be easier (and free of bike malfunctions!) when I do it again next weekend.

After I was finished riding, I immediately headed to a yummy burger place so I could scarf down a huge cheeseburger and fries. I had just enough time to take it home and enjoy it there before I had to hop in the shower and run to Bed Bath & Beyond. Then, I headed to Miss Heather's wedding shower. It was relaxing and fun, and I managed to stuff myself with a ton of snacks, food and cake.

I headed home for a bit before a 6:30 haircut appointment, and of course as soon as I had pulled into my parking lot at 5:45ish, the hairstylist called to ask if I could come early.

When my haircut was finished, I felt bad for having Piper cooped up all day. I took her for a walk at this nice park near my apartment. We walked 2.25 miles. Then, I got some really great pictures of her that I'll have to post tomorrow.

I came home at about 8 p.m. and laid down on the couch. I wound up falling asleep. At 11, I got up and got ready for bed, then went to sleep.

Sunday morning, I got up early to go to a class at church for people who are interested in becoming members. I haven't decided if I'm going to join or just keep attending as a very (very) regular visitor. (Partly because I'll only live here for a year longer.) I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to go, though, in case I decide I do want to join. Plus, the class teaches more about the church in general, which was the clencher in my decision to go.

After church, I came home and did a few things around my apartment. I took a 40-minute nap and then did more things around my apartment. Then, at about 5, I headed to Jeremy's to run 5 miles with him. We'd run the same path last Thursday, but we'd finished in 53 minutes (almost 54, actually), which was over a 10-min. mile. He wanted to beat that time, so we picked up our speed. Early into the ride, my calves were feeling much more tired than usual. I wanted more than anything to stop running. I tried to think of an excuse to quit. It wouldn't have done any good, though -- my car keys were in Jeremy's apartment, which he had the key for. What would I do, run back to his place and sit on the steps?

So I kept going, even though I didn't want to. By the end of the 5 miles, I was exhausted, but I had finished it. We had shaved almost 7 minutes off of our previous time. Those 7 minutes made a world of difference! Thursday, when we had finished, I felt fine. I wasn't out of breath, I had enjoyed the run, and I felt like I could have easily run farther. At the faster pace, though, I was gasping for air by the end (especially since we picked up the pace a bit more at the very end) and felt I couldn't have run any farther. I'd hated the entire run.

In one hour from the time we finished our run, I stretched, headed to W@l-Mart for grocery shopping for the week, headed home, took the world's quickest shower (had to hold off on washing my hair for later that night), gathered my laundry and laundry soap, took Piper out, and headed back to Jeremy's for dinner. I did laundry while we ate and watched the movie I Am Legend. It was all right, but not really my kind of movie.

The movie finished right about the same time as my laundry (10:30 p.m.), so I headed home and started getting a care package together for K, since I hadn't had time on Saturday. I sent him the crappiest care package every last week. It just had a bunch of snack food and a quickly scribbled, boring letter. This one had to be better.

I baked him some peanut butter cookies and wrote him a long letter. I added some new pictures and included some other snacks and things he'd requested I send. By the time I'd done all that, changed my sheets and put my laundry away, it was 3 a.m. I rushed through my real shower (washing my hair this time) and got ready for bed. At 3:30 a.m., I was finally able to go to sleep.

Sometime while I was baking last night, I noticed my left knee was swollen. It didn't feel like I'd injured it, but I could definitely feel when I put my weight on it that it was swollen. I was relieved when I woke up this morning to find that my knee was back to normal. The last thing I need through all this stuff I've got coming up (the MS150, a 15k) is a messed-up knee.

Only the swelling returned at work today. I have no idea what the deal is, but my best guess is that I just put too much pressure on it this weekend. A 29-mile bike ride followed a few hours later by a 2.25-mile walk and then a 5-mile run the next day is a liiiiiiiiitle bit more than the normal amount.

I'm thinking I'll take it easy on my knee for the next couple days. I'm hoping that will help the situation. Heck, even if a little rest doesn't help my knee, I'm pretty sure it'll help the rest of my body!