recent oddities

During the 'big push' phase of Ironman training, things tend to become very routine. We plan our week, nearly in its entirety, on Sunday and know when and where we are training, what meals we are cooking for dinner, which nights we actually have to cook and which nights we have left-overs available, even how we will commute to and from work each day (bike, "scooter," or carpool). Everything becomes so planned, so much a part of our routine, that any changes or deviations from plan are sometimes thought provoking.

Like waking up at 3 am and not getting back to sleep (!#&$^ legs!), again.

Or forgetting to buy the weeks-worth of bananas at our weekly grocery stop (E told me to do fruit for lunches, I thought that meant he was getting the bananas, for some reason).

Or wearing your planned race kit for your longest training run and getting "saddle sores" (What! Yup, you just read right.... saddle sores from RUNNING. Seriously? Why are my awesome, never-failed-me-yet shorts doing that, there? Who would have thought that the seam at the chamois-short interface could be so rough? It's a thin pad, true it can handle 112 miles in the saddle, but it usually also great for running. What now, with only 2+ weeks to go?).

Or getting dizzy during the 3rd of 4 1000 m intervals in the pool (not fun, nearly made me nauseous).
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On another note, having a roommate is going great, but it does make me realize how weird some of my habits are.

Like recycling EVERYTHING.

Or watching TV every 2 weeks or so (non-Olympic time of the year, of course!).

Or wearing the same t-shirt in the evenings after work for a few days if it does not get dirty or smelly (I have lots of nice clothes, but tend to drift for comfy over fashion after work, and why make more wash and use more water when I really don't have to?).

Or washing my hands with cold (we have long pipes and you run a lot of extra water waiting for it to get warm, cold works fine, even feels GOOD this time of year, but how do you explain that to someone without seeming weird?).

Not putting knives, pots, pans, or wooden-handled items into the dishwasher.

Only running the dishwasher when it is FULL (once or twice a week with just the two of us).

And letting the hand-wash dishes stack up on the counter for a day or two (or seven).

Hanging up most of the laundry to dry, with the exception of towels and regular socks and undies.

Washing almost all the laundry in cold, regardless of what the tags say.

It's kind of like looking at yourself with a magnifying glass, things pop out at you that you never even noticed before. Now, we just need to find out what to do about the things we learn about the habits of 2 old married people that have been together for many, many years! Should be good, in the end. And fun/interesting along the way.

Change is good! And our roommate, who I'll call AL, is an awesome person to have along for the ride!

-A

Oh, and for fun, here is a pic of us at IM AZ back in April:

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