Step Away From the Cake

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I'd be too big a baby about it. My ankles have been feeling really good for the past couple of days and today on the schedule was a 3 mile run. Now I haven't actually "run" any real distance in a while because of my ankles, I've been walking/running. So, feeling particularly good, I decided my goal was to run the entire 3 miles, speed be damned!! I recently subscribed to a podcast by Steve Runner so I qued that up on my iPod and set off. The podcast I listened to was his Falmouth race and it was perfect. As I ran I felt like I too was running in a race. I could hear the crowd and all the noises of a race, it was awesome. Also, Steve is a great narrator. After a slow start I was feeling pretty strong and halfway through decided to crank it up just a little; and that worked well too. Bottom line: 3.25 miles in 38 minutes. Not record breaking but great for me. This run may not do much in the overall scheme of my training but it has given me confidence. Every walk or

This is a link to Louisana's Emergency Operation Plans for the area affected by Katrina. http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf This outlines what each parish was supposed to do; what the governor was supposed to do; what everyone was supposed to do. Seems to me like noone has read this. Just one item: 5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating. Seems to me like any finger pointing needs to be pointed right back at state officials. In the department of "I'd never thought I''d live to say these words", the head of the NAACP and I agree; help people first, there'll be time for

I was feeling kind of down this weekend because I had to miss two races due to my stinking ankles. That and the fact that my tri is in 2 weeks was wigging me out. A couple of weeks ago I had decided it would be a good idea to haul my bike to Waikiki and ride the tri course before the race. Where I live is pretty flat with only some minor hills and the bike course of the tri is up over Diamond Head; whew, think I need to practice that. So I got up fairly early this morning and decided to go and ride the course. I arrived in Waikiki around 8:00 am, hunted down a legal parking space, got my gear all situated and was ready to go. The first 100m or so is pretty flat but then there is a consistent uphill for a good mile or so. Also, the tradewinds were really gusting today so sometimes I'm going uphill and into a strong headwind, oh what fun!! Got through that and then it's the 18th Ave. hill, luckily going down. Fly down that to Kilauea Ave. That's pretty flat with a slight

around on sore ankles?? It is by far one of the strangest feelings I've ever had in my life. I ran this morning (on the treadmill) and the ankles have been a little achy all day. I can't accurately describe how they feel. Not weak, not shaky, not painful, not really sore, just achy. I keep waiting for them to give out or something but they haven't. I don't know; I took some ibuprofen so hopefully that will help. Today was good. As I said, I ran. My real training schedule called for a LSD run but because of my ankles I was going to swap out something else. Yesterday and last night the ankles felt pretty good so I decided to go for it. It was good. I ran for a total of 40 minutes and walked for 20 in increments. It was good. Tomorrow I have a bike ride on the program and I think I'm going to pack up the bike and head over to Waikiki and bike the tri course. I've never ridden over there and think this might be a good time to do it, before the race. I don