Welp... Time to get back at it, I guess.

Running, knee surgery, COVID, gaining 50lbs, and now running again. It's time to go for a run.

I haven't been in an organized run in more than 5 years. I'm goinng to complete my first 5k in 16 days.

Goal? Finish. Goal 2: finish in under 45 minutes.

Medium term goal: 33 minute 5k on June 14, the Stars and Stripes 5k.

Longer term goal: PR a 5k, under 25:56. That's 3 consecutive miles at under 9:00. That was a pretty good run. I felt GREAT for that one. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Anyway, I was once a runner.

Now I'm back.

And I still hate running.

Ok, so here's the deal

I’m not limping around.  There’s a little bit of tenderness around the outer part (anterior?) of the ankle, so it’s not healed, yet.  We’re coming up on a month since I rolled it the second time (12/8 was the day) and if it takes a month to 6 weeks to heal then I should be in the clear in a couple of weeks.  I’m eyeballing the weekend of 1/13 to go out and do some light hiking (with a brace on).

 

Running with physical, structural pain is a bad, bad plan.  That’s a good way to set in motion a cascade of other ailments that just wreck you.

 

Of course, that’s not the same as running with emotional pain.  I can’t tell you how many runners I know who are literally running FROM something and the only way they can quiet their demons is by pounding mile after mile out, day after day.

 

No, that’s not me.  Sorry.  I like my family.  I like my life.  I’m just trying to not be fat sick and dead and maybe make the world a better place while I’m at it.

 

So, anyway…

 

The plan as it stands is to do some light hiking on MLK weekend out at Lake Livingston.  Then, if everything is holding up and in working order, go out and try to ease my way back in to a mile.  After the mile, I’ll start stretching out for weekend long runs. 

 

I’ve been growing a beard for the last 2 or 3 months (I can’t remember when I last shaved).  I’m getting kind of tired of it because it’s long(ish) and scratchy.  What I think I’ll do is shave when I start back out on the streets and then grow a “50 mile beard”.  That might be fun.

Ok, so where things stand

Want to know something fun?

I took care of my Achilles tendonitis and properly stretched and treated that annoyance.  Things were feeling good.

Then the week before thanksgiving I go with the fam to Enchanted Rock (people not from Texas, google it) and do some camping and hiking.  It was awesome.  Enchanting, even.  I hiked the summit, then around the Rock.  It was pretty boss.

It was SO boss that I decided to do it again the next day.  That’s when, as I was walking down the steps toward the trail that goes to the summit, I sprained my ankle.

Derp.

 

Left foot rolled under, leg collapsed, I fell down 3 steps, ended up square on my ass.  It was painful.

 

No…  painful would have been an upgrade.  It was white hot throbbing bolts of lightening up the outside of my leg into my hip agony.  We had a 4 hour trip home.  And we were stopping to camp overnight halfway there because we thought that would be fun.

 

My god I was in so much pain.

 

Then about 3 weeks after that, as everything was slowly getting to the point where it wasn’t completely painful to walk on it again…

 

I reached down to pick something up and my foot rolled under me. A white hot bolt of searing agony ripped through my leg and I ended up ass over hips laying in the street.  I took a couple of pain killers, iced it, wrapped it, drank some whiskey, and laid down for a long winter’s nap.  That was about a month ago, now.  I’m MOSTLY pain free, with just a bit of tenderness around the ankular region.  The limp is gone.  I have nearly full range of motion.

 

I feel old and broken down.  I’m only 42.

 

I need to get out and be active again.  This is driving me absolutely nuts.

Uhg...

So…  The Galveston Causeway Toughest 10k…

 

Yea, I totally overslept.  The week was exhausting and instead of going to sleep early to get ready for the early wake up call I crashed and crashed hard.

My lovely wife tried to wake me up twice.  I reportedly groaned something incomprehensible and put my arm over her.

So…  That’s that.

 

There will be no half marathon in November.

 

I’m going to set my sights on a series of 5ks in the spring and get my times down toward the 30 minute mark and gear up for the bridge series in 2018.

 

Eventually I’ll get the trifecta.

Eventually.

Ugh.

So I overslept.  Bloody hell.

 

Overslept and missed the entire goddamn thing.

 

Oh well…  Time to get on with next year.

You can't always get what you want

Ok, so I’ve been taking it easy the last few days resting and icing.  My last proper run was 10/2, but later that week I spend an evening walking up and down stairs moving someone out of a house and then 2 days later literally ran back and forth around town.  So that kind of counted as a workout.

But per usual, my foot was KILLING me on Sunday a week ago when I woke up, so I went the precautionary route and iced and rested for 3 days until there was no pain at dawn. That got me in to Thursday and the next day was a business trip.  I brought my running gear so that I could get in a few miles at the hotel only to find out I FORGOT MY DAMN SHOES!!! 

 

GAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

 

I have a 10k in 6 days.  I am woefully underprepared for THAT, but worse I have a half in 5 weeks and may have to skip out on that one again, which pisses me off greatly.  I may show up and slog my way through, taking it easy so that I don’t hurt myself and collecting the hardware.  I don’t know…  I feel like garbage.  This sucks.

 

Anyway…  planning on logging another mile or mile and a half tonight.  Then dosing with ice to make sure I’m safe.  I don’t even know right now…

All better, I think

The tenderness in my left heel is gone.  I skipped maybe 4 miles of runs (Wednesday, Friday, and a 2-3 mile long run over the weekend), obsessively iced, compressed, rested, elevated and basically laid off my foot as much as I could.  Today (and yesterday) I woke up with no pain.

 

Hallelujah.

 

Tonight, if time permits, I’ll go out for a mile.  That’s the plan.  One mile, easy does it, nothing fancy.

 

But if I don’t have time, I won’t worry about it.  I’ll get out there Wednesday.

 

AAAAHHHHHGGGG!!!!

Ok, the good news is this tendonitis is not the same tendonitis as before.  The bad news is that this tendonitis is not the same tendonitis as before.

 

Before it was right at the base of the Achilles tendon where it meets the heel.  This time it’s off to the side, between the Achilles and the knob of the ankle, along the side of the heel.  I mean…  jesus fucking Christ.  Can I just be pain free in this goddamn foot for a change?

 

Anyway, ice every 2 hours.  Ibuprophen as much as I’m allowed.  Epsom salt bath (because, maybe witchcraft works?) every other night.  I even got a compression brace to wear.

 

I skipped the weekend long run (because I’m lazy) so that I could rest and let the tendonitis get right.  I got a 1 mile run in last night and it HURTS LIKE A MOTHERFUCKER today.  The mile was a 12:00 mile, though, and I felt really good running it.  I’m looking forward to the Wednesday mile and hopefully next week or the week after I can start extending some of these shorter runs by a little here and there.

 

Ugh...

Yep.  Tendonitis.  Left Achilles tendon.  Bloody hell…

The morning after the rest day

Yesterday was a semi-scheduled rest day.  One of those “I’ll run if I ‘need’ to, if I have too much energy and have to burn it off, but don’t want to and probably shouldn’t” days.  It was an insane day filled with all the stress.  I probably should have whipped off a half mile, at least.

 

But I didn’t.

 

I did ice my Achilles tendon as a preventative measure.

And helped my son with his homework.

And spend a solid 2 GODDAMN HOURS WITH TECH SUPPORT UPDATING MY STUPID FUCKING COMPUTER!!!!!

 

But whatever…   Tonight I’ll whip off between a mile and a mile and a half. Then tomorrow (or Sunday) I’ll blow out a nice, long 3 miler.  That’ll give me between 5 and 6 miles for the week (1.5, .5 – 1.5, 3) which should fall squarely within the “not overdoing it” category.

 

There was some minor tenderness in the tendon this morning and I’m hopeful that it’s not going to become a thing.  Ice, stretching, compression…  easy does it old man.  You’re not 28 any more.

The Trial of Miles BEGINS!!

Last night the first 1.5 miles of my 90 mile quest was logged.

It wasn’t great:  18:11 for an 11:30 pace.

But it wasn’t bad, either.

 

My biggest concern following the Kemah 10k was my left leg in general.  That peg has had a twisted ankle, plantar fasciitis, plantar fasciosis, Achilles tendonitis, patellar tendonitis (though I think this was a misdiagnosis), a torn meniscus, arthroscopic surgery, shin splints, and a strained groin.  And it all started with that twisted ankle way back in the day that derailed my marathon training.

 

Specifically I was worried about Achilles tendonitis, but that has been pretty subdued.

 

The diagnostics aren’t completely clear—there’s a little bit of soreness on the front of the ankle/low shin/top of the foot.  The interwebs say that’s extensor tendonitis and can be treated easily enough with stretching, strengthening, ice, and compression.  So I’m doing that.  Easy peasy.

So I feel good.  And that’s what’s important right now.

 

I haven’t done this stuff in years.  Last time I tried to run any significant distance was 2014, and that was mostly a “fall out of bed and do a 10k” type of idiocy.  Frankly the tendonitis was an excellent excuse to back out of the half marathon. I’d have liked a less painful excuse, but it is what it is. The last time I put in REAL miles for REAL training was probably 2012 when I ran my last for-real half marathon. I think that was the Houston Aramco course.  I can’t remember just now.

 

Anyway, that’s where it’s at.  1.5 miles in to a 90 mile journey that ends in a 13 mile run and a .1 mile dash to the finish line.

 

I’m itching with excitement.

Post run diagnostics

48 Hour Post Run Diagnostic:  optimistic

No major aches or pains, and certainly no “bad” pain.  That’s a good thing!

There is a minor issue on the left foot (again), the extensor tendon is a little bit tender.  That’s the one on TOP of the foot that lifts the toes when you’re stretching out your calf.  There’s a little bit of tendonitis there, and maybe a touch on the heel.  But a little bit of ice and a nice wrap at night should take care of that. It’s not a sharp pain, it’s more like an ache.  Like …  like a bruise. Or the way a muscle feels after a REALLY bad cramp.  I should be good to go in a day or so and then I’ll be right back out there. Over the next month I’m going to focus on short runs of about a mile and punctuate them with 2 or 3 mile long runs on the weekends. This should count as “not overdoing it” while still putting in enough miles to qualify as “taking it seriously”.  Eh, whatever.  I’ll do fine for the next 10k in Galveston.  The one I’m really worried about is the La Porte Half marathon.

 

Time target for Galveston:  1:14:00

That will put me at 2:45 total for the first 2 runs and leave me with 2:22 to run the half marathon.  I should be able to pull that off.  Maybe.

 

Oh yea, about that.

 

In 2014 I attempted the Texas Bridge Series (Kemah 10k, Galveston 10k, La Port Half Marathon) which crosses 3 iconic bridges in the Houston area—the Kemah causeway bridge which is roughly 1 mile long, the Galveston causeway bridge which is roughly 2 miles long, and the Fred G Hartman bridge, roughly 3 miles long.  After the Kemah run I had a bit of acute Achilles tendonitis that took about a week to get right before I could comfortably walk.  Then after Galveston that pain was just as sharp and took 2 weeks before I could walk.  So, after that I backed out of the La Porte run.  Well, my brother ran all 3.  In 2015 I decided to have a hurt knee and didn’t run any significant distance.  Finally in 2016 I got my knee cut on and going in to 2017 I’m FINALLY feeling right enough to attempt to do dumb things (like running over 3 bridges) again.  When considering this series my brother said “bet you a dollar you can’t beat my cumulative time”.  That time was 5:07.  I can totally beat that.  Probably. And besides, I’m not motivated by his stupid taunting and childish challenge to beat his time.  I’m a fucking grown up.

 

Anyway, I totally took the bet (and the bait) and signed up for the entire series having run a cumulative total of 7.5 miles prior to the Kemah 10k over the course of 2 years.

So, there.  Take that.

Time to step back in to the mix

It has been over 4 years since posting in this forum.  In that time I’ve attempted to run the Bridge Series (Kemah and Galveston in 2014, backed out of La Porte), suffered achilles tendonitis (that prevented me from running La Porte), rehabbed that at the end of 2014, started running again in the middle of 2015, pulled up lame with a gimpy knee, tried to rest and rehab that, went to a doctor for a cortizone shot, tore the meniscus in March 2016, got surgery to fix THAT in September 2016, and started back on the bike in March 2017 and now have stepped back into running over summer 2017.

 

Holy crap, what a journey.

 

So that’s basically from December 2012 to Winter 2016 of some kind of pain somewhere in my left leg that limited my level of activity.

 

I’m a physical wreck.

 

I logged 7.5 miles in Strava since the beginning of August and just completed the Toughest 10k – Kemah in a respectable 1:31 (considering the relative wrecked-ness of my body).

 

I’m enjoying reading my old posts.  Enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would.  But now it’s time to start a new chapter.  It’s time to start running again.

 

I’m one race into the Bridge Series for 2017.  The greatest challenge is going to be that half marathon, and it’s 60 days away. I’m 24 hours past that first 10k and the diagnostics look promising. No “bad” pain. A few troublesome aches in the left ankle.  The mantra is “take it easy, take it easy, don’t over do it.”  I’m sticking with that.

I’ll give a recap for the 10k soon.  But the next thing on the agenda is an ice bath for the feet and one more day of rest, then a series of 1 mile runs over the next several days. Moving in to the last week of September and the first couple of weeks in October I’ll supplement the 1 mile runs with 3 mile weekend long runs leading in to the Galveston 10k.  After that, preparations for the La Porte by the Bay half marathon.

 

I’m back, baby!!!

I am strong!

I am mighty!

NO POWER IN THE VERSE CAN STOP ME!!!

 

So, here's the thing.  The folks who run the BCS Marathon (in Bryan College Station) had this idea that today runners should wear blue and gold (the colors of the Boston Athletic Association that hosts the Boston Marathon) and do what runners do--run.  There's this story and their facebook page here. So I grabbed my blue shirt and did what runners do--I ran.  I ran 4.09 miles, because that was the number on the clock when the bomb went off.

I'm under no delusions that I changed the world out there by staggering through 4+ miles (very slowly, I might add, 12 minute miles, sheesh).  The world is still a generally decent place full of generally decent people with a few scattered assholes who are just hell bent on shitting on everything good and decent because that's what assholes do.  No money was raised.  No hearts were healed.  No bodies were mended.  No fuckwad terrorists were caught.  It could be fairly interpreted as a meaningless, empty, symbolic gesture devoid of any real meaning or substance.

But something did happen today.

Runners went out and did what runners do--they ran.  They lived their lives.  They picked 'em up and put 'em down.  One after another.  Again and again.  It's what runners do.  And no terrorist can take that away.

Not.  Ever.

And we also wore blue.  In a kind of show of solidarity that said instantly "yea, we're with you, Boston.  You may not have been allowed to finish, but here's a few more miles for your runners."  (And, according to the BAA twitter feed there's a replica finish line for runners to cross when they come to pick up their bag, so there's that.)

But there's more.

The thing about this that pisses me off most, I think, is that it wasn't just a bomb in an office tower or bus stop or hotel lobby.  Don't get me wrong, that sucks, too.  But this was different.  This is like that uncle who gets drunk and ruins your wedding.  Or a hurricane that destroys the chapel where you were going to get married next week, except the hurricane is a dick with a bomb and the chapel is the finish line of the Boston-fucking-Marathon and the wedding is you crossing that finish line.

It wasn't just another day.  It was a day that these people trained for over the course of MONTHS.  They had to qualify for this race, so they had to train and prepare for THAT one first.  Then they had to train and prepare for this one.  It's a big commitment.  Their families were there waiting for them or rooting them on remotely.  And then some fucker comes and blows up a pressure cooker and just takes all that away from them.
Well, fuck him.  He can't take that away.  I'm with you, Boston.  Here's an extra 4 miles for your runners.  And, God willing, if I ever figure out how to drag my fat ass through a race fast enough to qualify I'll come up there and be with you in person.  No fucking terrorist will take that from us.  None.

On the mend

So, I told that podiatrist to go pound sand.

I did get used to wearing the splint, but that didn't help.  I went out and got a new pair of shoes--new brand and everything.  That seemed to help, some.  I even went out for a run--barefoot.  That didn't hurt a lot, just a little.

Then after about 2 weeks and 4 runs of about 2.5 miles each, I went to a new podiatrist and filled him in on the whole story going all the way back to July.  The new diagnosis:  plantar fasciosis.  It's the chronic version of the fascitis and basically is what happens when that goes untreated for too long.

Treatment:  platelet rich plasma therapy.  In 2 weeks.

So, I have 2 weeks to play.  I go get a pair of Vibrams and started using them around the house and office.  I could actually feel the difference in the way they made my feet work when I was wearing them.  Parts of my legs were sore in ways they hadn't been sore in ages.  I took that as a good sign.

I even started running again.  Because I figured if it hurt when I didn't run, and it hurt when I did run, then I might as well run.

Interestingly enough, the pain wasn't that bad.  At first.  After a couple of days, though...  YOWZA!  Yea, I definitely still needed the treatment.

So, 2 weeks later (just last Friday), I went in for the treatment.  And what can I say?  It hurt like a mother.  I couldn't put any pressure on my foot for a full day and the thing throbbed relentlessly for another day.  But I'm several days on the other side of it and I dare say that I'm mostly pain free.  Not entirely, mind you.  But this morning I woke up with zero pain.  The proof in this particular pudding will be when I string together several days with no pain.  I'm not allowed to run before Friday, and I may take the weekend off just to be safe, but if I can get through a run that's pain free, that'll be fantastic!

Ok, here's the story

A lot has happened since June.

A lot.

Not the least of which I bought a house and moved.  That put a kink in everything.  I also lost my means of measuring progress, which means I lost interest in making progress.  Which means I not only quit making progress, but I actually gave up hard fought ground.

But now almost all of the dust has settled.  We've settled into the house.  Much of the "happenings" have stopped happening.  I've gotten a new scale.  I've even seen a podiatrist about this nagging foot injury...
About that injury.

Last July I twisted my ankle.  That led to a change in my gait which caused a retro calcaneal spur and inflammation of my Achilles tendon.  Consequently I scaled back my marathon training and "only" ran a half marathon.  I hung up the shoes until March when I took a short run, which turned out to be a big mistake.  It revealed that my Achilles still was a bit tender, but I had also developed an ache on the bottom of my foot.  I decided to rest through the summer and let it get right.  The Achilles feels fine, but that pain in the bottom of my foot nagged and nagged and nagged.  It was a kind of slow, dull, aching pain, like a bruise.  I accommodated the pain and ignored it, but it didn't go away.  Finally I decided to do something about it.  I looked into various foot ailments, and sure enough, even though I've heard plantar fascaitis described as sharp, hot, needle-like pain in the bottom of the foot, this, too, fit the bill.  I take it to the primary doc who suggests the typical physical stuff that we all know to do--stretch, ice, rest, massage--and it wasn't getting better.  In fact, on some days it was worse.  A month goes by and I take it back, and she sends me to a podiatrist.

The same podiatrist that wanted to put me in orthotics when the Achilles thing was acting up.  The same podiatrist that I had told that I didn't want orthotics then and I still don't want orthotics now.  But it was a different ailment, I figured it'd be a different treatment.

Nope.

Dude asks me to describe the pain on a scale of 1 to 10.  I tell him that it's not unbearable, but there are mornings when I can't put any weight on the foot for a couple of steps.  Then it stretches out and relaxes and I can go about my business until after about 5 or so steps and it pretty much goes away.

"Well, we don't give shots until the pain is a 7 or more."

What??!!!???  You base you decision to give shots to take away the pain on a subjective description of pain?  

"Take this night splint, and come back if it doesn't go away, and we'll fit you with some orthotics."

"Doc, I don't want orthotics.  I want my feet to WORK PROPERLY!  I don't need orthotics for the right foot, it's fine.  I want the left foot to be fine, too.  Just make the pain go away so I can walk normally again.  Is that too much to ask?"

Apparently it is too much to ask.  But I shouldn't be surprised.  You go to a hammer store, they try to sell you hammers.

So, I'm going to promptly, and naturally, ignore him.  I tried using the splint and it was SUCH a pain in the ass.  I could barely sleep and it came off after about an hour.  We'll see if it gets much more use.

Meanwhile, I'm going to work on the old mechanics, strengthening and stretching the muscles and tendons of the lower leg and foot to try and get this thing working right.  Worst case scenario the pain doesn't go away and I tell the doc "it's a 8" on the magical subjective pain scale.  Best case scenario is that my feet and legs get back to working like feet and legs have evolved to work and I can call the doc and tell him to stuff his magic shoes up his ass.

Another wasted weekend

The plan was for a good long ride, but things didn't go as planned.

Sleeping in turned out to be a better application of my time.

Despite not getting in the long rides, and taking a nice dinner-and-a-movie date with The Lovely Wife, I still hit my interim weight loss goals.  Not taking in the long ride, though, is going to present a challenge for the longer term goal of dropping a full 15 lbs for the month.

Nonetheless, I'm going to go back out there and hit it again this evening.

Probably.

Another set in the books

Good ride yesterday.

Really good ride.

I took in 18 miles, to bring the total for the week to 35 (and a new top speed on flats of 25 mph!).  That brings the weekly mileage completion ration to 35%, the hours in the saddle ratio to 33%, and the week is 42% complete.  I'll likely not ride tonight (unless I get lucky and can squeeze out an hour), but I'll hopefully get in a ride tomorrow of a solid 15 to 20 miles.  That'll leave me with a good, long ride to do over the weekend of 40 miles or so.

Oh, and as a bonus, I've already dropped 30% of my goal weight for the month.  Sure, most of it's water weight, and that's fine.  The first 5 comes off quick.  The next 10 will be slightly more challenging.  And the 30 that follows that will be even more challenging.  But no sweat.  I can swing it.

The better news is that the heel is almost pain free, even with the added activity and exertion.  Cycling puts almost no strain on my Achilles tendon and there's hardly any impact to inflame the connection at the heel.  If this keeps up I should be in shape to tentatively start running again in the fall.  Plus, if the weight loss continues apace, I should be a leaner and trimmer runner--more so than I've been since picking it back up.

The real question won't be whether or not I can run, but whether or not I want to get off the bike and into the road flats.  The thought of it is just...  ugh.

Follow up

I got the ride in yesterday.  I made my way over to the picnic loop (and enjoyed every bit of the irony of sitting in traffic with a bike on the back of my car) and logged 17 miles.  As of today, with 28% of the week completed (Monday counts as the start and each day is roughly 14%), I've logged 17% of my mileage target and 17% of my time-in-saddle target.  Tonight I'll log another 15 miles at least in probably another hour in the saddle, which will will give me 32% mileage and time at the completion of 43% of the week.  If things continue on pace, it looks like I'll have hit 35% of my weight loss goal for the month by Sunday, too (no weekly targets on that).

Data driven results, baby.

I certainly like riding more than I like running.  Sure, there's a simplicity in running--just grab some shoes and something to keep your junk from bouncing too hard and you're out the door.  And biking is far more complex with the machinery and the gear and the maintenance and blah blah blah.  Running is cheaper (shoes [$100] and not much else) and biking is way, way, way more expensive (bike [>$300], shoes [>$75], pedals [>$50], helmet [>$50], bike maintenance [>$200/yr], glasses [>$75], padded shorts [$>$40]).  And there's that whole primal biology thing about running when the endorphins blow up and the eyes dilate and you salivate and the thought of catching that beast you've been chasing for the last hour or so....  or maybe that's just me.

But when the wind is whistling in your ear and you're flying at speeds that man was not designed to achieve and the only thing protecting you from the elements--the hard, unforgiving, abrasive element of concrete--is a thin film of lycra, there's just something beautifully dangerous about that.  It's a different kind of primal.

And to think just 2 months ago I was considering selling my mount.

Silly me.

The schedule is a challenge in and of itself

So, when you have a loving wife, and two beautiful children, all of whom you actually like, it's exceptionally difficult to get an hour of daylight to yourself to go out for a bike or run.

Well, it's hard for me, at least.

This weekend's ride didn't materialize.  
First, there was the construction meeting.  Then there was lunch with the extended nuclear family.  Then there was the obligatory socializing and nap time (I should have taken my bike to the meeting, then I could have gotten the ride after lunch).  Then it was back home to ready the house for the birthday party.
Then it was up early for lawn work before it got too hot.  Then it was watching the boys while the Lovely Wife went to the store for supplies.  Then it was more house cleaning before the big shindig.  Then there was the shindig.  Then there was cleanup and more obligatory socializing with some really great friends.

I know.  I have a pocket full of excuses.

But I didn't gain a single pound over the weekend.  I held steady, which is good enough.

Now, yesterday (Monday) was another set of issues entirely.  I didn't sleep on Sunday, so I was garbage all day yesterday.  I ached, and had a headache, and couldn't focus my sight (almost like a migraine, but I don't get those), and I was even a little nauseous a couple of times.  All in all, it was not a good day.  Compounded by the fact that I had to get my dry cleaning after 6, so no ride in the morning, no ride at lunch, and the possible time for a ride in the evening was consumed by a combo trip to the dry cleaner and grocery store.  Arriving home at 6:15, then baths for the boys, dinner, and next thing I know I don't have an hour of daylight left to get a ride in.  FML

But today I've planned it out differently.  I have my gear bag and bike at the car so I can snatch a quick hour ride during lunch (maybe 15 miles).  Failing that I'll knock off at about 4:30 and grab an hour then, getting home between 6 and 6:30 so I can grab the oldest and get to baseball practice.  It'll be tight (4:30 - 4:45, change and prep the bike; 4:45-5:45, ride like the wind!, 5:45 - 6:00 towel off and cool down, 6:00-6:20 drive home as fast as I effin' can, because 6:30 is baseball practice.  Ugh!)  Needless to say, if the ride doesn't happen at lunch, there's a VERY good chance that the ride doesn't happen at all.  

Maybe I drop off the boy and hit the road while he's at practice.  That doesn't seem quite right, though.