an insane and incongruous five things rant

1. I haven't written much about running or working out for a reason....there's nothing to write about. And that stinks. The only thing to really say about the topic is that I am still trying to adjust to my new shoes and new way of running. Today I have a massive and painful muscle knot in my left calf. I ran 4 miles on Wednesday night (yes, in spite of the marauding burglars on the loose) and did 4 little burst-ish quarters, one each mile, going from a sluggy yet comfy pace of 9:30-10/mile to a brisker yet still comfy-ish pace of 8-8:30/mile. I think the semi-speed work is the culprit because at the end of the 4th quarter thingy, my lower left leg literally stopped working. It didn't hurt and there was nothing to precede this, the leg just stopped working. Such a weird feeling.

2. I've been really struggling lately. Chronic pain is a snarly, rabid bitch that should be put out of her misery. Even though my hip is doing much better, I'm having some weird inflammation issues. I believe my migraines and chilblains are a result of this. I am about to embark on a radical path in an attempt to sort this crap out. And the inflammation issue extends past simply body comfort and on into attitude...meaning that my psyche also feels 'inflamed'. More than a weird feeling, this piece of my life just sucks right now...plain and simple. More on the 'radical path' as I begin it.

3. Seems like I've seen the term "no excuses" a lot lately. Maybe I'm imagining this because I am in a compromised condition...again... and starting to feel like I'm making excuses and so feel guilty or some such crap about that. But is "I really HURT" a valid 'excuse'? Or how about "I really want to hang out with my family"? I guess I just wish people were more sensitive about how they toss around terms like that. Or maybe I just need to turn a deaf ear. Probably the latter.

4. The Olympics. I think because it is a summer Olympics year and the hype has begun, I've been thinking about how different things are now as compared to when I was younger. I miss the amateur angle of The Games. Sure, the Easter Bloc countries used to have athlete 'factories' and some countries subsidized their athletes as a way of trying to gain a stranglehold on the medals. And guess what? Non-subsidized and non-factory-farmed athletes still won. Maybe not as much, but they still did medal and sometimes win. Four-time Olympic gold medalist in the discus, Al Oerter, was one of these amateurs... enthralled with the joy of competing and the journey...

After visiting an Olympic training facility in the 1990s, Oerter rendered his judgment of the professionalism that has subverted the amateurism of his day. According to the New York Times, he lamented, "I saw these athletes in their 30s training full time....That's their life. What happened to the rest of it? I'm happy that I had a normal life, with a career and family. That makes a person whole."

source

Al Oerter, 1971

This is not to say that I am down on professional athletes and professional sports...I just wish the Olympics had been kept 'pure'. Furthermore, I do think there is a difference in subsidizing athletes' living expenses by creating programs like OJOP (which I don't see as an egregious violation of amateurism) as compared to allowing NBA players and track stars with multimillion-dollar endorsement contracts and race winnings in excess of five or six figures to compete (clearly not a shred of amateurism in that). Additionally, I think the doping issues would have been nearly non-existent had there been no massive monetary gain. The Olympics seem now more about money and fame than anything else, and that is sad to me.

5. This descent into crackpot-ness has nothing to do with the burglars. I'm pretty much over that...mostly because nothing near and dear to my heart was harmed or taken. I learned a solid lesson that I am taking with me as I move on. As long as my little people are safe, I'm basically good. 

Even if I am a crackpot. Which I won't be for long. It's a phase. I think.

My naïveté...

...has just bitten me in the ass...

hard.

I mentioned a few months ago that Pleasantville really isn't so pleasant anymore. Now the bloom is definitely off the rose. The gilded lily is thoroughly tarnished. And I am just an idiot, and it cost my family dearly.

The pleasant façade of Pleasantville

Last night, the burglars came calling.

Yes, we live in a very crime-ridden city...but we have The Gate. *she said pleadingly and with a whimper*  The Gate is supposed to keep the unwanted elements out of our little community. The Gate is supposed to make it safe for me to run at night and for my kids to ride their bikes in the street. The Gate is supposed to protect us from unsavories...like burglars.

This false sense of security has led me to do very naïve things... leave my house and car doors unlocked, for example. I've gone off to pick the kids up from school or go grocery shopping without closing the garage doors on more than one occasion. As with many homes, there is direct access to the house interior via the garage...and at our house, there's a ton of crap in the garage...

What it looks like from the street.

This 'path' is currently totally obstructed and has been for months.

Seriously, how could you find anything of value in this mess?

Last night I failed to lock my car doors. While the neighborhood was sleeping, someone went into my car and 'ransacked' it, found the parking change stash and the garage door opener. They opened the garage door and helped themselves to my photographer husband's equipment. He is devastated. And I feel like an idiot.

It could have been worse. They could have hurt us. Thankfully, all they took were replaceable items. But ...and if you have ever been broken into or robbed or the like, you know what I mean... we are left with a sense of having been violated...trespassed upon...and it feels awful.

You can bet I've learned my lesson insofar as locking doors. And on the off chance those wacko Kirby guys had anything to do with it, I'll be sending any and all solicitors packing from the compound with threats of calling the police.

I'm probably still going to run and bike at night though.