Second time biking

The rain temporarily stopped today, so I got out on my bike for a second time.  This time I did about 6 miles.  I'm not sure that my gears shift, though.  Anyways, it hurts my neck, maintaining that crouched position.  I also worry about being in that position with my herniated disc in my back.  The ride was fine, though.  I considered it a win simply that I didn't fall.  I did 6 miles and it was painless, other than the discomfort in my neck and back. 

It was a perfect atmosphere to bike today.  The roads were closed off because of flooding on the Potomac River, but my little portion was opened.  So, I got to ride alone, which was really nice.

My lower hip/upper thigh still hurts.  It better get better before the National Marathon on Saturday.

Run: 0 miles
Swim: 0 miles
Bike: 6 miles

Injury #1

Uh oh.  I hurt myself.  I went to Mexico to an all-inclusive resort (meaning that I could eat and drink all I wanted).  I got on the treadmill with probably a few too many drinks in me.  I felt a pain in my upper thigh, right below my hip.  The next day I could barely walk.  My MD sister says its greater trochanteris inflammation.  So, I haven't done any exercise in four days.  The biggest problem is that I have the National Marathon next Saturday, so I need to be healthy.  I don't think I have ever gotten to the start line of a marathon without some kind of injury.  Sigh.

I guess the lesson is just to relax on vacation.  Yet, I feel better on vacation whenever I work out.  In fact, I even try to time my vacations to coincide with marathons, so that I can participate in out of town events.  So, perhaps there just isn't a lesson in this.

Monday run: 6 miles
Tuesday run: 6 miles

Look out Ryan Hall

My Nike+ sportband says that I did 12 miles at a pace of 4:30 today.  The treadmill says that I did 6 miles at 9:40.  I'm gonna believe the Nike+ sportband and call Alberto Salazar to coach me.  Keep in mind, I still doubt that I could beat Meb Keflezighi, but I can crush Ryan Hall since he always chokes.

Run: 6 miles
Swim: 1 mile
Bike 0

iTunes Audible.com book review: Game Change

I listen to audio books when running to stave off the sheer boredom (plus, the last thing I need is to be alone with my thoughts).  As such, I have listened to a ton of audio books from audible.com.  The latest one I "read" was Game Change ( http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1779199324.1267747467@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccckadejkjdleelcefecekjdffidfji.0&productID=BK_HARP_002102).
This was the best political book that I have ever read.  I really did not understand the 2008 elections until I read this book.  I have a tendency in life to assume that people in high places all have their act together and work each day on some master plan that they are simply executing.  This book, however, certainly proves that my assumption is wrong.  It was amazing to me how poorly some of these politicians managed their campaigns.  My favorite parts were: 1) John Edwards pulling Obama aside during a debate to tell him that he needed to bring his A game to take down Clinton; 2) the sheer honesty between Hillary Clinton and President-elect Obama when he offered her the Secretary of State: "I can't control my husband"; 3) Palin's debate prep: Lieberman prays with her after her meltdown; 4) McCain's disasterous response to the Lehman Brothers collapse, demanding a WH meeting in which he says nothing and even Bush wonders why he wanted to cancel the Presidential debate for this; 5) Palin's convention speech after her teleprompter broke. 

Run: 3 miles
Swim: 1 mile
Bike: 0

Nike+

Nike+ kind of sucks.  It is a sensor that you put on your shoe that measures how far and how fast you've gone.  In theory, it is amazing, especially because you then upload the information to nikerunning.com , which keeps track of all your runs.  Moreover, it even connects with Facebook to display how many total miles you've run, your fastest run, your longest run, etc.  The problem is that there is no precision.  The same run will register as 5 miles or 10 miles for me.  Granted, I don't care all that much about accuracy: I'm not looking at splits or really caring one iota how fast I go, just that I finish.  It is a bit demoralizing, though, to feel like a liar on your own Facebook page because you pushed yourself doing a 10 miler, yet Nike+ says you did 20 miles.  I know there are Garmin watches that track via GPS, but I am not looking to spend $500 on something that I don't actually need, especially since it equals the cost of my bike. 

Run: 3 miles
Swim: 1 mile
Bike: 0