Updates & Such

After spending a grueling 7 days in Boston (grueling because a) it was cold & b) it was full of all day work meetings - and by all day I mean 7a-7p followed by team dinners) I returned to Austin last Thursday night. Very nice to be home, in my own bed, drinking my own coffee, not having to worry about which clothes were clean or not.

While I was gone I had my car repaired. I figured it was probably the best time to do that, so I wouldn't be forced to rent a car locally from Enterprise (we all know how well that went last time...). I'm not really happy about it, but my insurance is continuing to work with the other victim's insurance to try to get this guy. But he's not returning phone calls, or acknowledging anyone: not even APD. As I've mentioned before, he has a record full of accidents. All filed under different insurance companies, and all where he was "mysteriously" not the driver. Dude needs to stop loaning out his car, I think. Whatever.

Also while I was gone my home phone died. Needed new batteries or just ran out of warranty. Problem was I had a work meeting first thing. And car was still in shop. Then my iPhone decided to act up (I must've hit some magic button that turned the audio completely off). So, then I'm thinking: how the hell am I gonna pull this off? A frantic call to my mom while testing the audio on the iPhone, and the next thing I know she's at my door. I explained to her what was going on, and she immediately went to Radio Shack to get batteries for my phone and a new phone in case that didn't work. Naturally, they weren't the right kind of batteries and the new phone takes an hour to charge (it was then 30 mins before my meeting), so off she went to Walgreen's. She came back with the right kind of batteries, but the damn phone still didn't work. Long story short, we found a solution, but I am so lucky to have a mom that, in the middle of her busy work morning, would drive to my house to help me like that. Thanks, Mom!

Next up: Austin Marathon. I don't know why on earth I am running this thing. Well, yes, I do. It's for the Biophysical 250. This test will be so good to have, and the only catch is that I have to complete the Austin Marathon. After running Dallas just 8 weeks ago, I personally have no business running this race. But I want these test results, that would normally cost about $4500. The screening will be for a whole list of things found HERE. I cross the finish line and immediately head over to get blood drawn. No stopping for water, no gatorade, no nothing. That ought to be interesting. If this thing takes me 6 hours to do, I will do it, just for this test.

But in all seriousness, while others are "running this as a hard training run" and others are "trying to break 4 hours", I am the opposite. I just want to finish. I am giving myself permission, ahead of time, to walk in 2 places - the short steep hill from LAB to Enfield, and the hill on Exposition before Westover. Now matter how often I run these, they give me such angst that I can't control my heart rate at all. I know some people say "tsk, tsk," but this race isn't about "some people." Giving myself this permission now is relieving a great deal of pressure. Of course, if my body falls apart like it did in Dallas, who knows how much of this course I will walk? Whatever the case, I won't be embarrassed at all. Then 3 more blood draws following Sunday and I'll be done and can see what sorts of things are going on in my body. Thyroid problems run in my family, so does cancer, high blood pressure, Crohn's, and celiac disease. And I want to know as much as possible.

Anyway, that's all I have.