On the eve of CX...

What's happening? Big changes happening this week-end! Lot's of transitional stuff. Some welcome, some not so.

First thing: This is officially my fourth week of running. I am still doing everything my PT has laid out for me to do (takes 1 hr + a day!). This has been super hard as my gym closed for three weeks of cleaning! Three weeks. What kind of gym closes for three weeks? I'm forced to be creative (I hate that). I am using my front stoop for "box jumps". I incorporate my lunges and hops into my runs (what is that strange girl doing in the park???) I have converted my living room into a yoga/ plyometrics gym. And my torture collection that includes The Stick, the foam roller, the extra-long yoga mat, Trigger Point tools, and the slant board have become my living room furniture. I don't sit and watch TV any more. I foam-roll and watch TV. Stick me!

Thing 2: It rained this morning. First hard rain in a long time. I went running anyway. This is a "rest" week, so I dragged a slower, "shorter" runner into the Mac Forest for a training run (his first run in the forest). When I called him, it was pouring. He asks, "Do we run even though it is raining...." Um, yeah. You want to go running in the rain this time of year because it is warm. Acclimate yourself to the rain in warmer weather and you will be more likely to head out when it is just plain awful and all the sensible people are sleeping-in. If you don't run in the rain in Corvallis... you never run.

Third thing: Cyclocross is here! Tomorrow I ride in the first (and only, I think) Cyclocross stage race in the Pac Northwest. I have no idea what to expect, other than some typical craziness and debauchery following. The event is held over two days. There is a 3K time trial and a 1K-30 minute crit on the first day. Day two is a "cross country" style ride with a really long loop course that we will fly around for 1:30. Egads! That's not a typo. I'm hoping there is a feed zone of some sort. No place to put a water bottle on a cross bike!

Fourth thing: Cash for Clunkers... I no longer have my clunker. But, I also no longer have any cash. Instead I have a sexy new Subaru Forester. It is ridiculously new. We are talking, 65 total miles on the odometer new (that was seven days ago....now there are slightly more because I can't stop driving it). It has been a major struggle to bike commute. I only managed it one time this week. Better start soon before it really starts raining or I'll never ride to work again (see previous advice for running in rain)!