Perfect day

Today was a perfect day, awesome from start to finish (or at least as of now!). I got up early today and met Michelle for breakfast at CJ's. Her husband was home due to the holiday and so she was able to get out of the house without the kids. I know she likes that time away, so I invited her to come with me to the shop afterwards. I had to vacuum and mop. I insisted that she knit and not do any work. She did and I think she enjoyed the extra time. I enjoyed the company.

Following that I went to the Starbucks in Gulf Breeze to meet Coach Mark and Coach John from the Multisport Performance Institute. I asked them to coach me and help me improve my half marathon time. I am happy with my performance and I know that I can do well at Seaside, but I do not have the knowledge on how to take my running to the next level. I'm excited about it! Mark and John love what they do and their enthusiasm is contagious. They laughed as I told them about my finish line moment and I think they are as proud of my performance as I am! I am really thrilled for them and their business and I think they will do well. They are going to put together a specialized plan for me, including tempo runs, intervals, and all sorts of other training so that I can improve my running.

We discussed cycling too, which led to the inevitable, a discussion on triathlons. I told them that I don't know how to swim and I am scared to death of the water. I told them that I want to get over this fear and learn to swim. It is possible we'll move in that direction. I think it would be worth it, but it isn't going to happen right now. I want to get through the next few months first, do well in my next half marathon, close the shop, and have a great vacation. Then I can focus on other things, and learning to swim is on the list.

Does this mean I'm going to do a triathlon? I don't think so. Not in the near future, anyway. But knowing how to swim is a valuable skill. If I were to consider a tri, I would start with a sprint tri (1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run). I think I could do the second and third parts with little trouble, but that still means I have to swim for a half mile! That to me seems impossible now. And the swims are done in the open water, so not only do I have to get over my fear of water, I have to get over my fear of the open water and learn to swim amongst the fishes, sharks, killer whales, and all the other inhabitants of the sea.

First things first. I want to do well at the Double Bridge Run and at the Seaside Half Marathon. Mark is running the DBR. I told him that once he finishes, to get a beer, take a shower, change clothes, take a nap, and then look for me at the finish line. No, I told him my goal is to finish in under 1:40. I got excited for that run as I drove over the bridge to meet them today.

We talked about the pain in my feet and they indicated that there is some tightness in the calf and shin, which may be related to the pain in my feet. So I need to massage the lower leg as well as the feet. So I will try that this evening and see how that goes. I know it is going to take a while for the feet to heal. I just want to make sure I'm not doing any more damage.

After the meeting I came home. I was afraid of what I would find. I left Tawny with access to the whole house. I closed off the kitchen, opening the cat gates, but she had access to everywhere else (except the two spare bedrooms, which are always closed off). She did great! She didn't ruin anything. That was wonderful! What a relief.

I had gone to Home Depot this morning to get a new controller for the Malibu lights. While I was gone for Christmas the TV crapped out, the Myth box crapped out, and the Malibu lights crapped out. I got our multimeter working last night and determined that the problem was in the controller box. There was not output voltage at the screw terminals. The box of lights we bought a few months ago contained a photosensing controller so I plugged it in and got an output voltage. So I got a new controller this morning. It has a photosensor, but I am going to use the timer. This means that if there's a power outage I have to rest it, but that's no big deal. I went to the window a minute ago and the lights were on! Yay! I'm really proud of myself.

After that chore was done, Rava, Tawny, and I went for a walk. The weather was beautiful!! It was around 60 degrees and sunny. Perfect, perfect, perfect. If only we could have this weather all winter! I wanted to go for a run, but I thought I would rest the feet a little more. Mark was impressed that I took a week off. He said that I should take time for recovery. Some elite marathoners only do two races a year so that they can properly recover in between. Anyway, the dogs and I really enjoyed the walk.

After that I cleaned out the vacuum and cleaned the house. I tried out the wine chilling unit Bill's parents gave us for Christmas. It is pretty neat. Then I cooked myself some tortellini with asparagus. Did you know that Marco and Abby really like asparagus? Interesting. Oh well. Time to kick back and enjoy dinner.

What a great day!