View of the World from a 15-min Mile

I have been forced to really slow down this past week. It has been very refreshing, though when I see friends out riding and running, I do get a bit envious, especially with the amazing weather we are having. BUT, it is only January and it is a long season. The past four days I have enjoyed 1 hour long walks each day. It is incredible how pleasant and invigorating simply 'walking' really can be. I frequently just walk from our house, in a 4-mile loop that involves no lights or intersections, and watch the cars, the people and life go by me. It is much easier to 'think' when you are walking vs. running or cycling. When (if) I take my Ipod with me, I find myself advancing my song choice from The Killers to Tom Waits; or from Lady Gaga to Simon and Garfunkle, from Ben Harper to The Avett Brothers. A bit of a more mellow tone, yet one to keep me moving along. Today, I took the walk down to Town Lake Trail, which anyone in Austin knows is a hugely popular running trail. I started at 6:15 and finished about 7:30, so I saw it turn from dark to light; to go from the anonymity of solitude to the light of day when people 'notice' eachother (I must say, darkness is nicer in the morning, when the added fear of tripping is taken out of the equation with a decreased speed).

I have had a few setbacks in the past 8 years of triathlon, the most notably being in 2005 with a double compound fracture of my arm, which included 3 surgeries spanning 9 months. This past gall bladder surgery is seemingly minor (or so I hope in another weeks time!) but each and every time, I find that the first few days are extremely frustrating, and then after about a week I fall into a great routine. I actually start to 'enjoy' the setback, or maybe I just find a way to accept it because that is the only option. Try to take any setbacks you encounter this year (we'll all have some at some point, won't we?!) and make them into a positive. When it comes to injury, the best question to ask is, "What CAN I do?" Use the down time, and the change of pace and make yourself better in some facet, even if it is not in just a physical way (ie: swim better, cycle better, etc). I have devoted some more time to a class which I signed up for at Texas State this past week as well; finally cracked the books from having signed up in December (not a good idea before the holidays!). It is actually pretty easy to find some good out of what may seem 'bad' initially!

Thanks for stopping by... time to indulge in a taste of a new beer, "Hercules Double IPA" from Great Divide Brewing Company. We'll see how the lack of gall bladder stomach likes THAT!