First of all, no Presley. To say that our hearts are broken is an understatement. We look at the front door all day long, thinking he will be waiting there for us at any moment. Emails have gone out- flyers have been posted in the neighborhood. It is hard not knowing what happened to him. My wish is that he is happy and safe, or that death was swift and honorable for him. We are not giving up yet, but the window of time for finding him is getting smaller.

Yesterday I went for my longest run since surgery- 8.5 miles. The great thing about it was that I was not just tolerating the run, I was enjoying it. My muscles and bones are starting to gain strength, so the impact of running is not as harsh as it was 3 months ago- or even 1 month ago! I continue to have huge amounts of swelling from some leak in the back of my knee- but I am not going to give up on it and just accept that as part of the deal.

I have also found that it is really helping to switch my long bike to Sundays, thus leaving Saturdays open to run. For a couple of years I have been riding long on Saturday, followed by a long run on Sunday. It is just what everyone does! With the long run offering the most impact to my joints, I don't know that it made sense for me to do so many on tired bike legs. The risk in switching days is not having that big group for long rides. But, I guess I can tolerate some solo riding if it helps my running come along. So, I am aiming for more running on Saturday, and more riding on Sunday.

okay- so now I just have to actually motivate myself to go riding. Easier said than done when I just want to be lazy on Sunday.

Presley :(

Totally bummed....more than bummed, really. Very sad.

Presley has been missing since Tuesday night. There has been a pack of stray dogs in the area killing cats, so that is a huge worry. At this point, we aren't sure if Presley: 1. is lost, 2. was killed by dogs, 3. up in a tree, never to come down 4. prey to some horrible human, or 5. living with a nice foster family.

Since there are about 100 stray cats in my neighborhood, the chances of #5 are slim, but since that would be the best option right now I hope he is safe and happy.

In the meantime, I am a wreck. Dave and I both cry daily and spend our free time searching for him. Coming home to the house is the worst, because he is not here waiting for us.
Most people are scared of Presley. He is one tough tom-cat. He is also my baby- we have spent almost 10 years together. We miss him and want him to come home safely.

Little Bits

I rode my bike to work today for the first time ever.  It was so much fun (minus the sucky Memphis traffic).  It was really a fun way to start off my day, and it gave me a few bonus miles!  I felt so green today! 

I am still trying to juggle a workout schedule that gives me enough recovery to heal this right leg.  I wanted to run tonight, but I have learned that running the same day as a hard ride just makes me miserable.  2 years ago- work out hard back to back... no problem.  Today- work out hard back to back...feel miserable.  

So, throw in the bike ride to work, and I get a nice, easy ride that is broken into two pieces to make it even easier!  I get a few bike miles into my day without the backlash of real ride.  

The nice commute allowed me to go to track without feeling beat up.  I did not set foot out of my house without writing my projected interval times on my hand.  I do not make these up- I get them from Daniels.  I ran exactly what I wanted to run tonight...an appropriate pace for 8 x 400 from the Daniels' formula.  

I realized, as I was running my warm up to track practice tonight, that I cannot expect my body to do the things today that it could do healthy 2-3, or even 5-6 years ago.  I need to give it a chance to do the small things right first.  I need to be able to run comfortably.  I need to be able to do some miles.  I need to be able to recover and run more than 2 x week.  This realization eased my mind as I stepped onto the track and ran the times that were applicable to today- not what I ran years ago.  

And hopefully the fast stuff will come with time.  And I will be ready for it! :)