Saturday, October 4, 2008

It's Definitely...

here. The rain. See, people in the great Pacific Northwest like to call it "liquid sunshine". Personally, I think that's a lot of hooey. Gimme the sunshine that causes skin cancer over this stuff ANY day! *Sigh*... well... it is what it is... and this is the place where we have chosen to live and raise our family... SO... there ya have it! Embrace the rain... b/c it certainly isn't going anywhere!

So the week has gone pretty well training-wise. I was finally able to get in to see a sports medicine doctor and guess WHAT? He has no idea what's going on with my foot. I guess the good news, or maybe its bad, is that he doesn't think I have a stress-fracture. So what the hell IS it?! To use his highly scientific language, "Seems like you strained something". Yeah... no freakin kidding right? Duh. So... he wrote me a prescription for a carbon-fiber insert for my shoes AND he referred me to a pediatrist to have my feet checked out. Apparently I have high arches... and you know what they say about guys with high arches. Aqua jogging? Not my favorite. Can somebody please tell me how Coach Liz can make something like aqua jogging painful? I mean seriously.

Went out on a rainy ride yesterday. Though it was wet... it was really mild out so I was able to get away with shorts! Not a terribly taxing ride. An hour and a half in zones 2-3 on a hillier course. What I've really been loving about these bike workouts is that they're really geared toward building leg and hip strength... pushing up those hills seated and often-times over-geared. I'm amazed at the progress that I've made over the last few months in terms of climbing strength. Hills that used to completely wipe me out are now an afterthought... as I'm heading down the backside. REALLY fun for me. This was a really peaceful ride... alone... out on the back roads and highways of the Willamette Valley... me and my thoughts, the cows, the deer, and an occasional redneck. SPEAKING of which... came across the friendliest redneck you ever could have imagined yesterday!

I'm truckin along on a flat section of the ride... literally cruisin at 24.2 mph... feeling just plain good, ya know? Like, "Wow... my life? Is SO good in SO many ways." I hear what could only be a big diesel pickup truck coming up on my left... it pulls up beside me... and just stays there. Uh oh... here we go. I put on my best, nice-guy, give em the benefit of the doubt smile and turn my head to the left. What I see is a rusty, mud-covered, chew-spit splattered hoosier mobile and two BIG dirty guys with matching John Deere hats and tobacco stained smiles. Here's the conversation:

Me: "Hey guys. What's up?" (just like "gay robot" of Adam Sandler fame)
Redneck #1: "That's a fuckin schweet biiike dewd" (in your best redneck Southern drawl)
Me: "Thanks man."
Redneck #2: "How fayast yu tayk dat thang?"
Me: "I dunno... depends on the day."
Redneck #1: "Sheeeeeit. Yur haulin riatch now! WoohOO!"
Me: "Ha Ha! Thanks!"
Redneck #2: "Welp, get to it dewd. Wartch yer back out here."
Me: "Later guys."

Is that the most BIZARRE encounter or WHAT? I swear to god... only in the Willamette Valley would you encounter bike-friendly rednecks!

THEN... a while later... I'm cooling down and this very slick bike-path... lots of families use this particular path so its ideal for a cool-down... it forces you to slow WAY down. Anyway, I'm truckin along and I see this little dude up ahead on his bike. He must have been about 6 years old and his eyes were locked onto me. As I approached, I got ready to wave and say a friendly "What's UP little man!"... I'm 10 feet away from this kid, 6 feet, 2 feet, he hopes off his bike, points right at me, and SCREAMS at the top of his lungs, "BIKE RACER GUY!!!!!!! BIKE! RACE. ER!!!!!". Scared the living CRAP outta me! Seriously. After I got control of myself... I erupted into a true psychotic fit of laughter... I almost crashed I was laughing so hard! You should have seen his little face when he screamed at me... it was a mixture of pure joy, excitement, and intense fear... it was SO bizarre! I'm VERY thankful for that little encounter... b/c the laughter continued for the remainder of the ride and sometimes... if you're not laughing... you're crying... and to be honest... I needed a laugh.

Did I mention that we're going to Disney Land??? Well we ARE! We leave on the 9th and come back on the 14th! It's the happiest place on earth right? Riiiiiiiiight? Right. We need to get outta dodge... go kick Mickey in the nuts... eat ice cream and then go on some rides! YEAH! That's what I'm talkin about!!!!! Needless to say... I'm not going to train a whole bunch while I'm down there. Priorities ya know. I will say however that K has suggested that I jog in place while standing in line wearing my fuel belt... yeah... she's hilarious.... and don't think for a second that I didn't seriously consider doing just that!

Man.
Whew.
I just...
It's so...
There are moments...
That simply...
Whoosh.
Hm.
I like cheese.

Ok... enough outta me! I truly hope that you are all happy, healthy, and whole. Go out. Enjoy. Have a date. Sometimes your just have to put the duvet on the davenport next to the credenza and go with it! Don't hold your tongue... let it OUT!

Breathe...

7 comments:

jameson said...

I hope that foot comes around... and can you give mickey an extra kick in the nuts for me? I was never really a fan of the mouse...

beth said...

ignore what i am about to write: there is a sweet bike trail from disneyland to the coast. it's awesome.


make sure to wear your fuel belt in line with your heart rate monitor (great for rides) and bring a blackberry or something you can watch Kona on...

good luck with the foot, BIKE RACER GUY!!!! i think you are that kids hero, lance.

Anonymous said...

SO glad that it is probably not a stress fx! Geez....hope it feels better though for you, Rob! And, Disney...we were there last November (our kids were just turning 6 then) and we had the BEST time ever! Have fun! :) Jen H.

Anonymous said...

I just have to say- you're pics never fail to entertain. I particularly like the leg shot.
Have a great weekend.
S.H.

GZ said...

Long time reader, not often poster but this is a classic post on several fronts. We are going to be in Disney about a week after that ... uh, except in FL.

Cindy Jo said...

Hang in there!!!! I know I'm trying to!

Jamie said...

Friendly redneck truck driver? Well that throws a big wrench into the whole turf war thing. I'm not sure how to react to that.

Have fun in disney land! If they have those long walking escalator things, they make really fun treadmills...