Just one day left . . .

This morning the alarm went off very early. I hit the snooze button at 5:14, 5:21, 5:28, and 5:35. I finally got out of bed at 5:42 got dressed. It was pretty chilly, I wished I had slept with my clothes. Jemma and I were out the door at 5:50 to meet BFF2 for a brisk walk. In a weird way it was nice to be walking in the cold, dark morning. (One of the major bonuses of early morning walks is there is no one to see me throw away the poop bags in the garbage cans that some people keep on the driveway.)

It has been interesting to go from training to doing very little activity. I can really feel it. After walking-with-effort for about 20 minutes there is a little pulling sensation on the inside of my knee. Based on knee pain I had while I was training for a 10k, it means my adductor is tight. Oh, alright everything is tight. IT Bands. Hip Flexors. Quads. Hamstrings. It looks like I will spending some quality time with my brand new foam roller.

Tomorrow I start pushing my body again and go back to Masters. I've gone a few times since June, but nothing remotely consistent. I'm interested to see what I'm able to do in the pool and how long it takes to get my endurance back. My plan is to get in the pool at 6am and swim for at least 45 minutes. I want to push but not totally exhaust myself. It's been so long that I decided I needed new gear. Right? New bag, paddles, suit, cap, and goggles! I'm going to be so coordinated.

I can't completely wear myself out in the pool because I'm also going back to work! Part of me can't believe that I haven't been there since mid-May. I haven't not worked since 1996 when I started grad school. Things have changed at work while I've been gone so there will be a lot to get used to. I've been climbing the walls that last few weeks, and I am ready and excited to go back to work.

It's good to be getting back to "life."