August 11, 2011

When people find out how much I enjoy eating out by myself, I get the strangest of looks.  It may seem strange, granted, but there is something entirely relaxing about enjoying your meal, people watching, and taking a moment to sit in relative solitude without having to carry on a conversation or entertain others.  Today was the first time I've been able to do this in a while and I'd forgotten how great it can be.  With a few extra hours on my hand, I decided on a late lunch at Wheatsville: Italian caprese salad with a spicy vegetable sandwich, both of which were deliciously fresh, perfectly fulfilling, and just what I was craving.  I watched the shoppers walk in and out of the store, the hipsters biking along Guadalupe, and dodged the fearless pigeons eyeballing my lunch.  The sounds of the passing traffic was oddly therapeutic, as well, perhaps in an urban-rolling-waves-sound kind of way, and helped me release any tension I'd built up recently.  With a stressful week behind me, it was a wonderful "reset" moment. 

August 10, 2011

A runner's worst nightmare:  a first inkling of a twinge of knee pain.  To be honest, the pain first started the morning after The Falls 30K, but I figured it was a function of running for four hours straight and would disappear with some rest.  It seems I was wrong.  The pain persisted and turned nearly blinding on my run this evening.  Pounding the trails and scaling the inclines at the Greenbelt was no easy task, as the pain would shoot through my knee at unpredictable moments.  As I am won't to do, I let my stubbornness dictate the course and I finished the run.  Five painful miles or so later, I am limping to my car and deciding whether I should ice with frozen edamame or frozen gel beads.  I've thankfully begun to learn my lesson and I will be resting as much as possible before the next race.  There's no reason to risk an incomplete series, and Cactus Rose, for the sake of getting in my usual runs.  Thus, I'll be back on the yoga mat for the time being.