Monday, March 22, 2010

Back in the Saddle

So it’s Monday after the big storm and the even bigger birthday party over the weekend, and I’m headed back into the office for the first time in a week.  Feels a little strange to be back on my routine, but it’s good, too.  Don’t get me wrong: it was nice to take a little break from the normal.  But at the same time, I got off my routine, had to put my game and my tri training on hold, and was generally at a standstill with my life all week.

If you’re wondering, my daughter Emma’s 5th Birthday Party was a whopping success.  We had it at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT, our local zoo, and while I think the zoo folks in general could have been a little more accommodating, I also think the kids had a good time.  The party was short and to the point—and we managed to have the party without destroying our house in the process, which is a bonus when you’re dealing 5-year-olds.  On top of that, the kids all got to see some really cool animals.  The zoo has a pair of tigers which are right near the carousel building where we held the party, and then, too, the party’s main attraction—aside from Emma and the carousel itself—was a giant blue-tongued gecko that everybody got to pet.

After we got home, I loaded up Scooby Doo: Where’s My Mummy on my laptop via Netflix, and Emma, Hannah, and I sat down to watch it.  And I gotta say this: Emma LOVES Scooby Doo.  Hannah, on the other hand, had started to feel a little under the weather while we were at the zoo, and with that in mind, Where’s My Mummy was just too much for her.  She got scared (of Scooby Doo!) and eventually started crying—and she’s 6!  After the movie, I put her down for a nap, and that seemed to help, but she still had nightmares, eventually crawling into bed with my mother, who was in town for Emma’s birthday.

The other news of the weekend is that I finally got my bike back from the shop and got back into the saddle.  It seems that when I did my 8-miler two weeks ago, I pulled a muscle in my lower back and groin, and after running on it on Thursday last week, I was pretty sore.  So getting my bike back was key, especially since the pounding of running was making me hurt worse.  So Saturday afternoon, I headed out for a little ride, putting in about 13 miles and basically taking it easy.  That seemed to help.  Sunday I headed out again, this time for about an hour and twenty minutes, which was even better.  Sunday evening I felt better still, but I’m still sore, and at this point, I’m starting to think that I have a real injury and will have to do real recovery if I want to get better.  Argh.

Meanwhile, racing season is right around the corner.  So I need to get better ASAP.  There’s a little duathlon I want to do in late April and then a 10K in early May and a much bigger duathlon at the end of May.  Bottom line, I don’t have time to be foolin’ around with no injuries.

In other news, the Sellswords finally defeated Scylla the Black Dragon.  It was touch-and-go there for a while, but as is often the case with upper-Heroic Tier characters, they started using their Daily powers and turned the tide pretty easily.  That said, they don’t know what’s coming next.  It’ll be interesting to see what they do now since they’re pretty much out of super-powers. 

Cue the evil laugh: Muwahahahaha!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a question for you, and it may make you laugh, but here goes: If a triathlon has three events and a duathon has two events, why don't they call it a "bi"athlon?

DannoE said...

Duathlon was so-named to avoid confusion. Biathlon is actually a much older sport--older than triathlon or any other modern "multi-sport" racing by several decades. You've probably seen Biathlon in the Winter Olympics. It's the weird former military exercise that combines cross-country skiing and shooting, and it's still a major sport in Northern Europe.

Duathlon involves running and usually cycling. Occasionally, you'll see a duathlon that's running or riding and canoeing.