Back Off, Buffalo!

It's my back off week. Last week I topped out on mileage after 3 consecutive weeks of building up, so it's time to take it easy and run only about 50% this week. That works out well since this is a busy work week for me. I'm feeling a lot better today than I was yesterday. I ended up taking the day off from running Monday.

Dennis made some improvements to the front of the woman cave over the past week. Steps to the front door, gravel, flower box and flagstone path. Nice. Once the weather cools down it will be comfortable enough to work out there again! Next year he's considering air conditioning. I'm so spoiled...

Today is tempo day and normally I'd be running with Shannon (aka Wheaties Boy) but he is recovering from an awesome run at Wasatch over the weekend where he finished in 29 hours and change. And that is quite the accomplishment as Wasatch is a butt kicker course. I am sure he'll be blogging about it soon. Shannon fared well but his feet didn't do so well, he sent me this picture:

photo credit: Shannon Price

Congratulations, Shannon, awesome job for a first time mountain trail 100 finish in the western U.S.! Shannon is from Virginia, so altitude and real mountains are still new for him. He's an amazing road racer too, and I know we'll be hearing a lot more about him.

So today I went over to the track, since I need to do some of that with my 12 hour race coming up, and did my tempo run. Being my 50% week, I ran only a 6 mile tempo run. Usually it's 10 or 11 miles. I averaged 8:04 pace and felt pretty good.

Yesterday was double brain fog Monday. I got so tired after my run at Bacon Strip but it was more brain-tired than anything. I had to work yesterday, it was an extra shift for me and I was hoping I'd get called off, because I was so brain fogged.

But I didn't get called off, and I went in. I survived the shift, including two chemos, but when I got home, I was toast. I don't know why but it seems like the day after I run a long run I always have brain fog. Must be all those inflammatory chemicals floating around in my body after stirring things up.

Today is September 11th. I remember what I was doing in 2001, we lived in Arizona, I was between personal training clients that day. I arrived at my second appointment of the day to my client glued to the TV. We watched the planes crash into the World Trade Center instead of doing her workout. I still remember how surreal it was.

I also remember how for the longest time after that, someone had draped a banner from their backyard wall near 96th St and Shea Boulvard in Scottsdale that said, "Someone Get Bin Laden", that was visible to all the heavy traffic going by. That banner stayed up there for a long time.

What I also remember were the calls for peace and understanding, for cooler heads, for a serious look at why someone would want to do this...along with the onslaught of yellow ribbons and Amercian flag waving, the anti-Muslim sentiment and hate crimes, and the numerous divisive, ugly American actions...I can remember the feelings I had, watching these responses, and the stupid stuff like freedom fries and boycotting the French, among other things, that made me feel really ashamed of my own country.

Not a time I care to repeat.

But there were good things too, I remember that we had just gotten Isabelle 5 days earlier, she was a little 9 week old puppy and Iris was 4 months old. That was about the time they became The Buffaloes.

And speaking of 9/11, I am reminded of all that from these two relics:

No, not a time I care to repeat. Relentless forward motion.