Of Moose And Men
The Best Laid Plans Of Both Often Go Astray

Got the new tires on the car with no issue. Hadn’t realized how rough the old ones had gotten. Nicest part was just popping in and having it done, and not having to worry about the cost because they’d already been paid for.

Past that, getting back to swimming, and trying consciously to improve my swim stroke and speed this year. Taormina’s Swim Speed Secrets has been pretty good thus far, and I’m seeing a bit of improvement, which is nice after years of steady state mediocrity. But swimming’s been it thus far this season, mostly because of how cold and gross it’s been. I’m unmotivated to sit on the bike in the trainer in the living room, and it’s been just plain ugly outside between snow and cold (and a head cold) so I haven’t wanted to go outside to run in the morning, either. Hopefully today was the last of the cold snaps this spring, and the last of the snow as well, so I can get back to running & biking.

This week is the first set of evaluations for my minions. They’re all doing well, so it’s thankfully been an easy process. New minion #1 started this week (my first hire!), and new minion #2 starts in a week and a half. Haven’t scared off the first guy yet, so I suppose I’m doing okay there. The hardest part of this management thing is learning what to let loose from my own portfolio and give to one of the minions to handle. And after almost 15 years of handling ever more matters, I’m not yet in the comfort spot when it comes to handing things off. But I’m getting there.

Keeping myself busy with work and training and attempting to get sleep. Last night was the first good night of sleep I’ve had in about a week and I’m hoping to follow up on it with another good one this evening. Between a weather front that’s been passing back and forth over DC (hot, cold, hot, cold, and always wet) and just being drained at work I was a mess the past week. It seems to be evening out finally (though the oil spill is not helping…), and I keep reminding myself that the work front should be busy but in a different way once the other fiscal attorney comes on board after Memorial Day.

I’m a bit disappointed with where my biking is at the moment. I’m mostly happy with swimming and running. I took a run clinic earlier this month from the guy who wrote the book on the style of running I use and that was enormously helpful. I’ve continued to try and focus on form while I run, and just by that I’ve been a bit quicker than I was before, though I’m having to watch the heart rate. The beepy-thingey has been my constant companion (a metronome like thing that allows me to try and turn the legs over at a certain rate), much to the amusement of other people on the trail I’m sure. Swimming’s been okay, and the changeover I did to 100s, with each one a focus on a particular aspect of the stroke, has also helped. Biking, on the other hand, I feel behind on mostly due to scheduling things on the weekends. Not sure where I’d make it up, though if I keep waking up at 3 am and not being able to crash I might just do it in the morning rather than the weekend. Silly body.

Continuing to read like mad on training stuff. And I’ve started doing some reading into Buddhist notions of the self. Interesting take on things, and one which seems to resonate. Not sure where that will go, but the reading is interesting.

Trying to play through the video game Infamous on both hard mode and trying to play it as the good guy, and it ain’t easy. My old tactics while playing the evil side (blow ’em all to hell as quickly as possible) don’t work; I keep getting an “execution” bad karma hit that throws the entire mission off. Very annoying. But, challenging, and I’m keeping at it off and on. That might go to the side though, I just got a copy of Prototype to try out.

Had a date or two. Trying to decide which way a crush is going. But nothing definitive on that front at the moment. Which may be for the best; once the new triathlete stuff is done this year, training starts to ramp up a lot.

Training, that is. Ran and swam yesterday, biked this morning, running a long run tomorrow. Definitely feeling it tonight; almost didn’t do laundry as planned, but managed to get off my butt and get it done (yay for clean sheets). It’s a good kind of tired though – good, honest physical exhaustion from exercise.

Work’s nuts, which seems par for the course these days. I wonder if all political transitions are this crazy or if the economy being in the crapper has substantially added to it. I’d prefer not to find out for a while. What would be nice is to stop stress eating (why couldn’t I be one of those people who can’t eat when they get stressed instead of the opposite? silly body).

Long run planned for the morning, first in a while. Was prepping things for it tonight (water bottle, etc.) and I think I need to hit Conte’s or the like and pick up nutrition this weekend – down to two gels and two things of shot blocks. Not enough to make it through training or the two races, by a long shot.

Did a final push tonight to ensure I can do Columbia on Sunday. Swam a little over a mile (3×500 as the main set, with about a minute rest between each), got home, changed, zipped out for a run of about six and a half miles (a little more than what I’ll be doing Sunday, though on flat and not hills like Columbia will be). Not bad, though I predict I will be a bit sore tomorrow. If nothing else there’ll be a small blister on the left foot from the new orthoses. I think next week will be time for new shoes, too. And hey, should sleep nicely tonight.

I got a pretty nasty little sunburn on Sunday while driving back from Tidewater. It’s fading, and isn’t quite as red as it was on Monday. I keep slathering it with aftersun lotion (and sunscreen when I go out), and no peeling, either. Yay moisturizer. Made an appointment for early June to get the mini’s AC fixed so I won’t do that to myself again.

I want to spend some time next week going through my uberlist for this year. Some things have been completed, and some have changed or been rendered moot. And it’s time for a review, after getting through this first race.

Another beautiful morning for a run. A light mist, low 50s, quite nice. Stretched to 5 miles this morning, and was doing well save for a hot spot caused by the new orthoses. Forgot to put body glide on my arches this morning, and it showed at the end. Not, I suspect, a mistake I’ll often make again.

Set myself up for a massage tomorrow. Yay. Haven’t had one in forever (last summer?), so this should be a treat.

Started tracking my cash spending again after a year or so absence from it. The lack of phone/quicken interface has been a definite hindrance there. I miss having pocket quicken to sync up the two devices. So far, though, I’ve done pretty well in remembering where I’ve been spending cash. Is good to have that awareness again.

Swim went okay this evening. First time back to the pool in 2 weeks (thank you, allergies/head cold). Still did okay, though I’m pretty darned tired this evening. Should sleep nicely. Got a pointer about arm position from a club member who often teaches swim lessons at the pool while I’m there. Was an interesting change, and it actually felt pretty good. Something new to concentrate on while training (and while racing), and I think a helpful thing.

Haven’t made time to write because I’m either getting home & being a total veg because I’m wiped out from the work day or I’m going out to see friends or maybe even a date or two. Work continues to roll along at a crazy pace. I’ve given myself a big assignment that I’ve not been able to start yet because of other fires that keep popping up. It’s needed, but finding time is a challenge.

Training is almost non-existent at this point. I’m swimming, but with the colder temps I’ve not gotten out to bike in the mornings and I’m unmotivated to haul the trainer back out. It’s not supposed to be this bloody cold in late Smarch in DC, damn it.

Much has also been on my mind about dating and the extent to which one compromises versus standing firm. After BC there are some things I consider to be vital to my well being which are not precisely the norm (Body Electric comes to mind), and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about those things and how and when to introduce them. With a couple guys I can tell there are distict differences in relationship styles that I don’t think will ultimately be compatible. And how does one express that and not sound cliché?

Took a sleep aid last night, and for the first time had a bad reaction to it. Woke up groggy this morning, went in late, and by noon I hadn’t really woken up, despite coffee, so I went home and napped. Oh, and while on the way to work I managed to leave my badge at home, so I returned to get it rather than go through the rigmarole that work inflicts upon you when you forget it. Nothing like walking back and forth to Metro twice. Totally not my day today.

Once I got up, I did go swim this evening, doing a mile once all was said and done. Felt good to get moving again, and I think it worked the last of the stuff out of my system. What a mess. Won’t be using that again any time soon, which is a shame, because it had worked okay before.

On an unrelated note, if clementines were more readily available, I’d eat more fruit on a regular basis. Love those things, was happy to see them at Safeway on the way home from the pool.

Okay, getting back to exercise = one tired Moose.

Biked yesterday, swam tonight (aside – I don’t seem to smell like chlorine as strongly as I did when I swam at the old gym. hmmmm…). All good stuff. It helps that the USAT Club Challenge started today (swim month!), so I have more pressure motivation to get in the pool, at least. And while “running is my prozac,” swimming and biking are definitely helping.

Spent a good part of the weekend straightening and reorganizing and throwing stuff away. You see, I stopped after brunch at a couple of furniture stores and purchased a couple lights and some shelving, so it all had to get put into place. Oy. Happy with the purchases (one lamp had to get ordered, so will be here in a couple of weeks), and how the integrated into the place. Almost panicked over the shelves – bought 4, but only 2 fit in the space for which they were intended (and did not want to have to drag them back to the store), but the other two fit nicely in another spot where they actually (*gasp*) match the furniture, unlike the shelf which was there before. Decorating is hard, and I’ve not the gene for it, but occasionally I get it right. And, bonus, now it’s finally bright enough in here to knit with dark yarns.

Partial success – they’re going to reimburse me for the items lost. When I take the receipts (and new items) in, I’ll give them some suggestions on how they can avoid this in the future (i.e., mark the rented lockers so when they do a “sweep” of lockers they can tell who’s paying and who’s not). Ludicrous that it would’ve gotten swept in the first place since I pay them, but at least they’re owning up to the goof and reimbursing me for the lost stuff.

Did get in a short (1/2 hour) swim. Probably should have done more drills, but it went pretty well, considering I’ve been off for three months. The new nipple piercings did well, too, which was a relief. Felt a slight tug on one push-off, but otherwise they weren’t noticeable (to me) at all.

I know people aren’t suppose to complain about this, but my pants are starting not to fit. As in, I’m shrinking out of them. And it’s not like I’m not eating, because I most certainly am, yet the increase in activity is changing me. For the better, mind you, but it’s annoying feeling like my pants are either going to fall off, or are staying on but too far cinched in. And it’s even better at work with the blackberry on my hip.

Completed the first 4 week cycle last week with a nice down week. Popping down definitely worked – I felt much better running this morning, though tonight’s swim was a little rough at first (wasn’t feeling balanced when I started). In any case, good stuff today, and nice to see confirmation of the wisdom of the 4 week cycle (three weeks of gradual increases with the fourth a drop back a step to recover).

In non-training stuff, BC and I headed out to a DC United game yesterday with friends. Was lots of fun (they won). Tried taking some pictures, but we were too far up to get any decent ones with my camera. Took tons of pictures on Saturday at the club’s training tri, some good, most mediocre, but it was still fun to take ’em, though I ended up napping a good bit of Saturday afternoon after it.

Looking forward to dinner with Dean tomorrow, haven’t seen him in a bit and it’ll be nice to catch up.

Heard from the parental units tonight, they’re up near the Grand Canyon in Arizona and were about to go out swimming with my niece, whom we’ve taken to referring to as “DP,” or “Disney Princess.” After an initial period they finally sat her down and had an attitude adjustment talk which seems to have helped – she was feeling full of her 11 years at the early part of the summer, so an adjustment was definitely needed. Sounded like she was doing much better, though. Also spoke with my brother earlier today (a rarity – we just don’t talk that often on the phone) and he’s doing well, which is a welcome change from last year.

Anyway, off to bed here so I can get up and bike in the morning. Pickups tomorrow – small bursts of speed surrounded by moderate biking. Speedwork is always fun, so I’m looking forward to it.