1 Flat & 1 Rolled Ankle Later ..... But it's not all bad news

I have tears in my eyes right now because I rolled my ankle again, the same one that's just getting over a sprain. [Update: Just fyi, I'm not crying anymore. Sh*t happens. I'll cope.] I'll get to that later... because it's been a great week up to that.

The highlight of my week was speaking with Jim Felt of Felt Bicycles (duh). I've had some issues with my new bike, and, long story short, Nytro rocks and Mr. Jim Felt himself got wind of my situation so he got in touch with me. We talked a couple of times, and he is the nicest, most down-to-earth guy ever! It's great that the man at the top is so willing to take the time for all of his customers. Truly an amazing guy. And it looks like I'll be getting a new bike. More details on that as the story develops.

As for training, the pool I swim at is fixed, so it's warm enough to comfortably last for a full 3,000-yd session. So swam twice (total 6,000), got in a killer AT trainer workout on my CycleOps Fluid 2, a 90 minute hill ride, an 80 minute hard run w/ intervals and drills, and a couple strength-training sessions of about 30 min each. And all that while studying (cramming) for and taking a gnarly anatomy/physiology exam and doing stuff for my master's program. Sleep suffered. So by Friday night I prepared for the big training weekend by making homemade beef stroganoff (my dad's favorite, and I owed him a favor) with steamed asparagus. Putting the recipe at the bottom. As much as I ate, I still had room to indulge -- that's right, frozen yogurt. I polished off a large container while getting my iPod ready for Saturday's long ride.

I'm on a training plan that called for a 270-300 minute ride, so I set off Saturday in the right state of mind. But I'm realizing this weekend was a test of how I cope when things go wrong. Ten minutes into my ride -- pop! -- a blow-out flat in the front. Luckily I didn't crash (still riding Nytro's Cervelo). Glass was the culprit I'm assuming; the hole was so bad I had to put on a new tire too. Thankfully, my pit crew (mom & dad) were only about 4 miles away at home and brought me the spare tire and another tube for the rest of my ride since I was using the one in my kit. From there, all went smooth, thankfully. I went from my house in Lake Forest, up to John Wayne Airport then U-turned and went south to San Clemente State Beach/Cristianitos Road, then back up through SC, Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano and inland to my house. Good litmus test of the amount of nutrition I need: Water bottle with Cytomax, several Hammer Gels, Bear Naked granola, almonds and, of course, gum! I had to stop to refill on water a couple times too.

Overall my riding time was about 3 hours, 45 minutes and a total of 70 miles. But I was gone for almost 5 hours factoring in the flat, stopping at a billion stoplights and peeing/eating in San Clemente.

Saturday night I was invited to a "Wine & Wellness" dinner party with some girlfriends. I skipped the wine and loaded up on sushi, chips & guac and a killer salad--one of those that are a meal in itself (inspired by this: Marcy's Salad). The "wellness" part of the evening was a consultation on Juice Plus. I'm almost convinced to jump on the bandwagon. Hm.... Later, as I was driving home at the oh-so-late hour of 9 p.m., I laughed thinking how my life has changed. Three years ago, I so would have been out partying and drinking till God knows how late on a Saturday, no doubt. Now I'm talking nutrition instead of chugging beers, wearing casual sportswear instead of skirts and tube tops, and aiming to be in bed no later than 10. And I couldn't be happier. So got home, polished off a bag of popcorn while making fun of my parents for renting "Pineapple Express" and to bed....

Sunday. Not a fun day. I was scheduled to do a 2-hour run; that's not the "not fun" part. I was amped for the run; however, I got going and I'm not gonna lie, my legs were buuuurning and my pace wasn't up to par. But I would survive, or so I thought. Ha... 5.5 miles into the flat street run, I rolled my bad ankle off the asphalt into the gutter. A familiar pain. Uh oh. I cringed as my ligaments throbbed and and fell into some nearby grass, rolling around, grabbing my ankle and letting the tears flow. I was crying about the implications of this dumbass move more than the pain itself. So Pissed!! My PT warned me that if I rolled my ankle again, things could get nasty for my running life. I first sprained the same ankle about 6 weeks ago, so I it's a "high-risk" situation, very susceptible to re-injury (why I've done NO trail running). To top it off, I was 5.5 miles from home when I rolled it with no pit crew (parents) around to save me and no cell, and I don't know any one's number by heart. I went to a hotel across the street and they let me borrow (sweat) all over their phone. I remembered my friend Lindsay's number, and thank God she answered. She lives right by me so she came and picked up my crying ass. So grateful. ....R.I.C.E., Ibuprofen and more tears followed. Who knows what will happen now. We'll just wait and see..... 1 month till Ironman California. Crap.