lots of updatey things

I'm kind of over my Cervelo crush.

I think after falling off my friend's P2C, the dream has lost its lustre. So I test-sat another bike last week, and I'm feeling rather good about it. Yes, I test-sat my first real tri-bike. It was a size extra-puny, which means 650c wheels for me. It was all carbon, all Dura-Ace, it was good.

About 19.3lb of good.

Fit-wise, my elbows were right under my ears, my back was drinks-tray flat. It did not feel too big, nor too small. Truly, it felt just right.

It was, however, a bit busy, paint wise - three colours is about 2 too many for me. I think that's the only down side, it wasn't the prettiest bike ever.

Does this mean I'm picky?

Here's the thing: the next morning, I woke up with a shocking pain in my neck and shoulder that is still subsiding. Immediately I thought of Greyhound and his bike fit woes - could I have Cervical Facet Syndrome from test-sitting a tri bike?

In retrospect, I was only on the test bike for 20 minutes, so I don't think that was it. More likely, I'm experiencing some shoulder weaknesses. Well, probably lots of muscle weaknesses. What with the broken arm rehab program, I haven't been lifting as much as I used to, so I'm bound to have some weak spots.

Hopefully, it was just a thing. I will, however, take this to be a harbinger of what could happen if I don't get a proper bike fit.

I have also, in the past few weeks, been experiencing some weird pain in my hip and knee. I chalk this up to some changes that I've been making in my orthotics (it's such a saga), and the changes working their way up my spine. On the plus side, the old hip thing has moved as a result. It's not gone, but it did move. I consider this progress.

On the down side, the neck/shoulder thing combined with the hip/knee thing made me feel like I'd been hit by a truck on Saturday. This was especially true since all the pain was concentrated on one side of my body - the same side as the broken arm (the one that is still healing, and reminds me so with an occasional twinge).

The other down side is the worrying knee thing. I've had knee things, they always worry me. (mostly because I hate being injured). This one stops when I stop running. Could be IT band, could be the orthotics. I just don't know, but it makes me very nervous.

sigh.

So I had a weekend of non-epic mileage and a lot of sleep. Very much a recovery weekend.

And today I really wanted to get back on the horse, just so I wouldn't feel broken anymore.

Sometimes when I set out for a training ride or run, it's not about ticking the box or putting mileage in the bank. Sometimes it's about little rewards. It's having that well deserved cup of coffee at the halfway point. It's a ride where the middle 2 miles are through a tunnel of trees. It's that run where the halfway point has a fantastic view of the city. Sometimes it's those miles I want. Those miles are my reward for getting out there and doing what I set out to do. The rest of the miles are a bonus, they got me there and back.

Tonight I had a six mile run on the schedule. It was cold and dark when I got out onto the trail, but it was a full moon. Temperatures were in the 20's. I ran with a headlamp - just to scare off the coyotes - but I didn't need it. I was able to forget about my knee, and settle into a gentle gait to get around it, as I listened to the Cranes chattering and Canada Geese honking, and the ducks quacking along the river.

Tonight, I would have run through broken glass for those miles.