Sometimes you just hafta eat a donut or two ... or three ...

Maybe I shouldn't have picked up that 6-pack of donuts with that coffee on my way back from Quebec City Thursday.

Alright, here's the lowdown of my incredibly busy week. First of all:

Travelling Tip #1

If driving from Montreal to Quebec City on the 40, make sure you have enough gas to cover the entire distance unless you plan to fuel up at the "only" gas station just outside Montreal.

I figured this out the hard way, and at 5 something in the morning, after staring into the rising sun for an hour and ignoring my dashboard, realised that the needle of my gas tank was in the red. EMPTY!! Hoped desperately to find a little town with a gas station. Nada. Finally took my chances and took an exit even though I had not seen any gas station signs. After leaving the highway, I was given a choice - Town A or Town B. Great ... as if I would know which one was a) closer and b) had a gas station. Eanie Meanie Minie Moe and off I went onto some little winding road. I prayed as I went over each rolling hill, hoping that I would have enough gas to get to the crest of each hill where, if I had to, would just roll down.

Finally found a gas station, but heck, it was closed. Tried calling a number on the sign for the garage, but some good that did since it was the wrong number. Tried banging on the door of the house beside the garage hoping it belonged to the owner. Didn't succeed in waking anyone though ... but how sympathetic would they have been to my predicament at 6 something in the morning? Thought about calling CAA but then imagined the conversation:

Bonnie: Hi, I've run out of gas.

CAA: Well, tell us where you are and we'll send someone out to help as soon as possible.

Bonnie: Um ... I don't know where I am ... but I'm parked in front of a gas pump of a garage that has a sign that lists a wrong number ....

Well, long story short, I finally got some gas when the garage opened and made it to "set" more than three hours late, but not after getting lost in Quebec City a few times and having to call the set for directions. Drat that Google map ... Whew, what a morning!

Alright, not much sleep this week, and that's why today I'm totally unproductive and vegetative. Feels good to do nothing. Yay!

So, here's this week's training, though scarce:

Monday - swim 30 min., bike 30 min.

Tuesday - nada ... you kidding? I had slept one hour the night before heading off to Quebec and didn't finish shooting until 8pm then had to head to my friend's place and settle in ... and alright, swing dance a bit too ...

Wednesday - another long day, started at 6am, finished close to 5pm. Not much sleep the night before but still managed to go for a 40 min. swim before supper and swing dancing.

Thursday - finally, a more regular training day. Got in a run, yes, a RUN!! I haven't run since before the accident, Feb. 12 to be precise, and to be honest, I have been afraid for weeks about this first run, afraid how my neck would react. But I think I was good to play it conservatively and not restart too soon. My neck was fine after the 57 min. slow and gentle almost 9k run. It sure was a lot of fun to run again with my Mtl Coolrunner friends through the Westmount hills. Finished the evening off with a 40 min. swim.

Friday - no training, no time. Should have trained earlier today while it was beautiful and warm outside but I needed moreso to sleep and relax and catch up on a few things. Wanted to train tonight but I had to work. Thought of going swing dancing but when I got into my car after work, changed my mind - not feeling 100% ... I hope I'm not catching the cold my son Gustav had last weekend ... Argh!

I'm not dead ...

... I'm just in Quebec City filming "Lance et Compte: La revanche", you know, that Quebec hockey television series. I'd tell you what the next season's plot will be, but ... Hey, have to keep some surprises in life. Greta, my car, got to be a star again ...

Am I training? Stay tuned for when I get back and onto my own computer for the update :-)

(By the way, for those who are into "Quebec vedettes" - Maria Orsini and Denis Bouchard were on set with us today.)

I got cheated!

Mr. SB was there, waiting for me in the living room with a big grin on his face. I wheeled him over to face the television and turned it on ... WAIT!! This is not Gray's Anatomy ... this is CSI!! A rerun!

Drat.

Got in 75 min. of cycling though. I'd like to know what distance I covered but I don't know if it's in kilometers or miles, so um, I'm either doing pretty good or kinda lousy. I'd like to believe the first :-)

I can't believe that woman!

I was driving back home from the pool with the kids and stopped at a red light behind another car that wanted to turn right, like me. The light turned green and the car in front of me didn't move. I noticed that the head of the driver was down between the front seats and thought, "Alright, a distracted driver who hasn't realised that the light's turned green", and honked gently. The car finally turned after a few more seconds of "fiddling".

I passed the car and noticed the driver was smoking AND talking on her cell phone. My empathy for her distraction at the previous light completely vanished. We stopped at the next light and I looked over. Still talking and still smoking, the driver checked out her make-up and touched up her face in the mirror. I rolled my eyes in my mind. End of story.

I forced my wretched body to wake up early this morning to do some writing before the kiddies got up. After breakfast, we drove to SkiBromont for our last precious snowboard outing this season. Not too much "snow" left but it was a beautifully mild day, and albeit the moguls everywhere, we still enjoyed our limited number of runs down the slopes. Lots of work navigating all those humps, the sticky slush held us back like flies caught in a web. Toulouse said he used muscles that he never used before. I laughed - one really did have to grip hard with the quads and keep low, that or fly unexpectedly over each hump. Yeah, with my neck and back, that would have been good for recuperating, wiping out and tumbling down the slope. I am proud to say that today, I stood my ground and did not fall :-)

We made our way back into the city to dip into the pool for half an hour. The kids enjoyed this brilliant idea of splashing about to relax after the boarding. I did too, but there was only so much I could do in "half" a pool. My laps were kept short, so I didn't even try counting, just worked on g-l-i-d-i-n-g. I read somewhere that several short swims are better for improving than a few long ones. I totally agree.

I bought a new cordless phone to which I can attach my headset. I am told that I sound like I'm talking through a big pipe. I figure that I probably sound like I'm in a big hall and there's just way too much reverb. Basically, I sound bad and there's lots of white noise too that comes from who-knows-where. Don't buy the new Motorola digital phone, folks. You might not care about how my new phone sounds as you read this, but you will next time we talk.

Oh my gosh, it's past 10pm! I have a date with Mr. SB and Gray's Anatomy and I'm late!

Another evening on the couch ...

Around midnight, after baking zucchini bread and laundry and cleaning the bathroom and washing the floors and putting down the kids, I decided I would lie down just for a half hour, a wee little nap to refresh me so that I could finish everything else.

Wow, lo and behold, even with setting and resetting my alarm a zillion gazillion times and hoping to get up and be productive at some odd hour of the morning/night, only now am I awake and functional. And that is with the loose translation. I have still had less than seven hours sleep, my nose is runny (is this my son's cold?) and I have not just my copy work to finish, but some documents to prepare for tomorrow's meeting and lunch to pack for snowboarding today and supper to prepare and marinate. Well, at least the kiddies are still sleeping ... so I have some quiet time.

So, Mr. SB did not get a visit from me. I don't know why he's still friendly with me, I've been standing him up right, left and centre.

Mr. Pool is loving me though ... Went for a short dip with the kids and got in a solid 40 min. I'm getting quite good at that one kilometre non-stop swim. I will have to try for a non-stop 2km swim soon :-) I ran into M, another swimmer/marathoner, at the pool and he was impressed with the new triathlon team bathing suit ... no more holes! We made jokes about it faking out the other swimmers who watch me do endless laps ... making them think I was a "real" swimmer ... Ha! Ha! No, no, I'm just a fake Ironwoman!!

Ah ... what a day ...

I had a whole lot of work to do today but that was pre-empted by a sick little boy who stayed home from school today. So no Mr. Pool. My other son was upset not to get the chance to putter in the pool after school but was understanding. And tonight, when the kids went down, instead of rendez-vous-ing with Mr. SB as originally planned (in my head at least), I continued with my copy writing work and lo and behold, it is now super late again and I am exhausted and not too keen on working up my heart rate or a sweat. Maybe it's my yawning that's giving me that clear indication? Sorry Mr. SB ... maybe tomorrow morning during some cartoons? Not as exciting as Friday late night, I know, but ...

p.s. Saw my physiotherapist today ... argh! So frustrating! I still have lots of pain when he presses certain spots that are supposed to be pain-free! Still lots of inflammation because of what he keeps reminding me was a big accident ... Oops, I didn't tell him that I wanted to start running again next week ...

I think I need 39 hours in a day

Can't believe yet once again how the day has flown by ... and what have I accomplished? So much running around and what do I have to show for it besides some nifty new boxers and swim trunks for my sons, which they are keen to try out, and two clean batches of laundry. I tell you folks, I don't know how they used to do it in the pioneer days when they used to make all their own soap and bread and butter, and wash all their clothes by hand.

Talking about baking bread, I think that's what I'm going to surprise my kids with tomorrow morning. A nice hot fresh loaf of bread. Thank you Mr. Bread Machine. It was a fad a while back (do you remember?) and my friends who had owned it previously to me realised that this fad had no place in their lives. My kids and I were all too happy to adopt Mr. Bread Machine and he has since shared many wonderful meals and snacks with us :-)

I wanted to do some cycling tonight, but read above ... two clean batches of laundry, one of which is waiting to be folded before I hit the hay. I sat down on the couch not long ago to relax and within a few minutes, fell asleep sitting up. Then the darned buzzer on the clothes dryer went off. I hate that obnoxious thing. It gets stuck and doesn't turn off unless I turn the dial to the end of the next setting, so I actually can't even let the dryer go by itself anymore unless I'm there to turn it off.

Pardon, did I hear you ask me a question? What did I do for training today? I barely slipped in a half hour swim before an afternoon appointment. I swam about a kilometre or more with warm-up and cool down. Good swim, shoulder felt better. The breathing's finally getting comfy, like I'm just taking a walk. Can't wait until I get faster. Feel the water I've been told, that's the secret.

My little Greta became a star today!!

What a very busy 24 hours I've had. Was on a late conference call for work until way past midnight then had to work on a copywriting contract that I landed. I gave up a little after 3:30am and said, "I have to get some sleep." I lay down and in what felt like just a few minutes later, heard my alarm clock go off. I hit the snooze button. When it went off the second time, I looked up at the clock and read "4:23". Alright, alright, no more pressing of that snooze button allowed. I got ready quickly for my "other work" and then spent a few minutes typing in the last few sentences of what I had been working on before I went to bed and hit "send". I arrived on set just a tad late, at 5:15am. "Blades of Glory" was shooting in the Old Port. I couldn't believe how many extras we were today! It took me 45 min. just to get through the sign-in line. Alright, let's jump forward a bit. I saw Will Farrell. He's tall. Even taller on skates, and he was oh-so-close to my little car Greta and I (because his scene involved passing behind us as we passed him). We had been hired as a tag team for this particular day of shooting. Don't know why we got chosen ... right time, right place, cute names? Well, Greta ended up being in the shot with Mr. Farrell, over and over and over again ... different camera angles, ya know! I'm so proud of her. She got to share screen time with Will Farrell and did not get an inflated ego! And she didn't jump up and down on the couch either! So that's my day. Twelve hour shoot. Tired, but I got to snooze a bit in the car after lunch and that did me some good .... don't know how I would have made it through the day without some shut-eye. What do I do when I'm exhausted? Go swimming! I read that certain IM workouts are to be done when tired to get used to pushing oneself. I met up with my tri team in the pool and warmed up quickly. I hadn't been to a swimming practice with my team since early February and I thought we would be doing the usual set of drills, but no ... Erik. my trainer announced that we would be doing a 1000m test. Great, really great ... me who hasn't really swum much since before the accident, and especially not this distance. I tried not to think about it too much and off I went. Not bad, not bad ... I've lost some speed but I made it through and even included a bunch of flip turns. 23:23. I felt so encouraged, I stuck around after practice and swam some more. Yay, another two sets of 1000m. One got interrupted though by an upset woman. Some guy had been rude to her in the "medium" lane, booted her out for being too fast. She noticed that I had recently changed to the "fast" lane and asked if I too had been ousted by his rudeness. What do you know ... looks like the man wearing black gloves didn't like being passed by women? Hmph! Another swimmer empathised with us telling us he's seen all sorts of things happen in the pool since the twenty years he's been going there. But has he ever seen a man wearing black gloves in the pool? Alright ... total swim mileage ... 3.3km. Not bad, not bad for a woman in dire need of sleep. At least the workout tonight boosted my confidence that I'll be able to cover the 3.86km swim for the Ironman. The friend that I'm hanging out with as I write this just made a joke and called me a dork ('cause I blog, etc.): dork: a dull stupid fatuous person [syn: jerk] I told him I'm not a dork, I'm a geek. geek: a person with an unusual or odd personality [syn: eccentric, eccentric person, flake, oddball] There you have it, the truth comes out ...

In your opinion, do you think a hole in the head is beneficial?

Was busy writing all day, since the sun came up this morning ... yes, I do that on the side sometimes, write. In fact, I do a whole bunch of different things, everything on the side of course. Mainly creative. Mainly dealing with people.

I'm actually quite a hermit these days and have been working too much to really "get out" and enjoy life and relax. I'm still trying to find that precarious balance of work, life, and training. Imagine slipping in the kids aspect too when they're "with me". I think the work aspect is winning hands down these days. That's alright though. Greta, my new little putt-putt, is expensive. But everything's a matter of perspective, right?

Anyway, as you figured, I was too busy to do the training I really wanted to do today. Though I still slipped in an hour and 20 min. session, I feel like I cheated. I wanted to go visit Mr. Pool this afternoon, but work came first. But I eventually managed to slip away from my computer and telephone and replace "dinner time" with a spinning class with my triathlon group, sprints and hills included, long hills. It was good except for ...

Alright kiddies, all together now ... can we say "strained hamstring"? How about "butt cramp"? Ugh.

Finished off my misery with a refreshing 20 min. dip in the pool. It would have been longer except that the lifeguards were shutting it down for the evening. Tonight was a good night for swimming. I felt like I could have gone on forever, probably because I was already warmed up from the cycling and my heartrate had not yet gone back down completely. And my transition in the locker room was as quick as I could make it.

Alright, I have a general question for you folks ... Who out there finds creative writing tedious or arduous, even frightening? I'm just curious, probably because from time to time, I meet those who do feel that way, and that's something I've never encountered. Good thing that I don't have a hole in my head ... all the words I have inside me would leap out and probably scare you, just by the sheer quantity of stuff I can come up with without too much thinking, like all this dribble right now ...

Nope.

No training today. Thought about it though, and would have loved to have swum. But the all-nighter to get the audition tape ready to send to Toronto and then going off to set for 5am, then having to do some writing work when coming back home was enough to send me into work overload mode.

Tomorrow will be better and I will get back on track ...

Just too busy for my own good ...

Just way too much to do and no time to sleep before I go to set for 5am, yes that's right folks ... 5am. Right now, I'm looking for a simple little box to hook up my digital camcorder to my computer so that I can edit my audition that will go to Toronto tomorrow. Today, I had to relearn my Mandarin chinese for this cool role. Thank you, Isabelle Fu. Sorry can't give you any info on it since I don't want to jinx things. Just cross your fingers for me, please.

So, no training today. And yesterday was just as busy ... but I managed to get a heavenly 20 min. swim. I swear, I had fins and scales yesterday. If only it could be like that every day ...

Can't swim without a bathing suit

Went to physio again today and C. did a really cool thing ... pressed certain spots where the ribs join the spine .... OOOOWWW! But GOOOOOD!!! I could even feel it in my shoulder blades. Told me he wouldn't have been able to do that earlier because the injury was still too fresh ... So much tension! Slowly but surely, I'm coming back ...

I am IRONWOMAN, hear me ROAR!!

I went to the pool this afternoon. I started getting undressed and proceeded to take my towel, goggles, bathing cap and sandals out of my bag. It would have been nice to take my neat-o tri club bathing suit out next, but I left that at home on the kitchen table. Doh!

And yesterday, I threw my bathing suit and towels into my backpack, got into the car and went off merrily to the pool, looking oh-so-forward to my little dip. I realised while driving that it wasn't my backpack but my kids' identical swim bag. No turning back ... no time! I luckily scrounged up some change in the car to be able to pay for the swim session but was unluckily forced to wear my son's goggles. A 10 year old's face is definitively smaller than mine, as I realised quickly.

So tonight, before I headed out for Pool Attempt #2, I double-checked. Towels, check. Bathing suit, check. Goggles and cap, check.

Tonight's swim was about 40 min. Lots and lots of front crawl laps but didn't feel like flip turning. Just couldn't coordinate keeping the water out of my nose or that extra lung capacity necessary before I can take a breath. Some back crawl for warm-up and cool down, nice and breezy. I like that stroke. I can breathe. Easily. All the time if I want even. I miss my powerful butterfly stroke though but I don't think I'm going to see that for a while. Getting back to running is still first hope on my agenda. My cardio is quickly waning!!

Caught the last half hour of Law & Order. Mr. SB and I were happy with 9 miles of cycling :-)

Shiatsu, yeah, that's the ticket ...

Came back not too long ago from my massotherapist, Maurice. What a great pair of hands. He did some shiatsu to go really deep and work out all the knots, or as my son Gustav likes to call them, the "crunchies". Felt great to have my spine worked on too. Anyone who's looking for a massotherapist, let me know ... I highly recommend him, 25 years of experience ... and I'll even slip you one of my special $10 off coupons that I get for being a regular client.

Squeezed in a 40 min. swim right before the massage. Felt alright but not great ... okay, truth be told, I felt truly mediocre. Worked on my glide and technique but had some trouble. Dang the return of the HEADACHE today! I felt more tired than usual and gave up on flip turns after the first few, and even popping some pills didn't alleviate it completely ...

Sleep, that's what I need ... I'm crossing my fingers ...

Hurley's with the Montreal Coolrunners

What a day! Didn't stop ... doctor's in the morning, physio in the afternoon, lots of calls to make to make other appointments and take care of SAAQ stuff for the accident. Then barely slipped in a 20 min. swim before going to pick up yet another new medicine (to help out with the nerve pain) and then off to pick up Diane, Mercury's wife to take her to visit him (she's in a wheelchair but insists on "walking" whenever we let her get away with it ... argh ...)

Anyway, went straight to Hurley's Irish Pub for some food and drink and to meet my running pals. And here we are, with the exception of Df7 and Kneejerk, two wonderfully ladies that had to leave before the pics. Thanks for a much needed fun evening out :-)

- This is DragonRouges, but she said I wasn't allowed to post her pic,

and TurtleBoy. -

- This is the delightful Truxx, Chops, and Roly, our Brokeback Mountain fan club. -

Thanks for your funny stories. High point of my evening was Chops "burrowing" into bear fur and those who saw it will know what I am talking about. Those who didn't, sorry, it's one of those had-to-be-there moments.

- And of course, me (Silly Sally) with Truxx and Chops -

Dropped by and visited Mercury afterwards ... he's in stable condition and I think it did his morale some good to know he's got the support and sympathy of his fellow Coolrunning buddies. Diane had brought him some things to make him more comfortable, including a little television, and I'm sure he was happy that she could spend the evening with him. We both chastised him for insisting on trying to continue with his Boston training - 10 laps of the hallway - bled through his bandages. Good one, Merc ... tomorrow he promised he would take it easier and cut back on the speed intervals. We're watching you!!

Watch that ice under that snow!

I had an alright spin class tonight. Didn't do the hills nor the higher spin speed like the others, but I still got in 45 min. Felt good just to move my legs, but I could definitely feel the tension in my neck and shoulders so could only go so fast and tried to sit straight up from time to time.

I drove home afterwards, not particularly fast, not much more than 35kph because of the snow, and when I saw the yellow light, I started braking. Well, you know what? Greta, my little car who only has 4-season tires right now, refused to listen. Seems that she and the ice underneath her had some "issues". I pumped the brakes and was happy to only trespass the pedestrian zone instead of stick Greta's nose out into the oncoming traffic. Whew! I've got a new insurance company, but really, I don't feel like testing them out quite yet ...

My tri club coach, Erik, told me that he had had a really bad car accident as well years back, total write-off with the car wrapping itself around a tree. Told me he was scared of driving for months ... I guess that's sorta where I am ... wary, cautious, a little scared. What doesn't help is that Greta and I are still getting to know each other - she's still an acquaintance! Funny ... she's much harder to parallel park than my old Ford Escort wagon which was much longer, though I guess after seven years of having the same car, one gets quite familiar and comfortable.

This is my friend, Mercury. He's actually the father of one of my best friends and also a Montreal Coolrunner, like me. This past Sunday morning, he had a great run with some of the other members and gave them a "run for their money" even with his injured hamstring. This man is an incredible, well-respected runner and does well in his races, always has.

Why is his pic here? Well, he wanted to say "hi" to everyone and say he's doing alright now. Folks, it's incredible how life can change in the blink of an eye. Less than 24 hours after that great run on the mountain, he got really sick and went to the hospital, got diagnosed with an aggressive bacterial infection, and received emergency intestinal surgery.

I spoke with him tonight on the phone and he mentioned that he was still thinking of running Boston. I reminded him that he had an 8 inch incision and it would take some time to heal after the surgery. Then he said, and I could feel the smile on his face, "A man can still dream, can't he?" Well, Mercury, here's wishing you a speedy recovery, one as fast as you can run ... Everyone now, please send him some warm, positive healing vibes :-)

All dolled up and nowhere to go ...

Had a photo casting call today for Blackberry. I'm not really a girly girl but know how to play the "pretty girl" game. Only problem is that I get all dolled up for these auditions and actually blow-dry and style my hair and then I rarely have anyone to share "looking good" with. I would go for coffee or something with a friend and enjoy my few hours of make-up but I'm one of the few I know with a *liberal* schedule.


Alas, it was back to the house and into my track pants, hair up in a bun (out of my face, ya know), glasses on ... and of course, will be taking the make-up off too which has already served it's purpose today. Have to train later on tonight and don't want the mascara running into the foundation. Don't you hate when that happens?

Actually, what really amazes me is seeing women at the gym wearing way more make-up than what I'm wearing in these shots. And what's worse than that is watching woman put on make-up for their training sessions! Like at TB's hoity-toity downtown gym where the only thing they're missing is white bathrobes like they have at the spa. (Yes, I'm slagging your gym, TB, but you know me, I'd still go join you there and enjoy it with you, that is if you'd ever invite me as a guest again ...)

Mr. SB is A-ok!!

So last night, I was a good girl and Mr. SB and I shared a 25-minute happy moment :-)

Today, I did some work as an extra on a Quebec television series called "Lance et Compte" (to get some $$ to pay for Greta, my new car, ya know.) Long day ... tried to do some reading but we were "used" all day long and by the mid-afternoon lunch break, I gave up entirely.

But that's alright. We ended up finishing earlier than I expected, only 11.25 hours after we started, and I had a chance to visit Mr. Pool before he closed - got in a solid half hour swim. Yippee!! (Hmm ... I wonder what the other swimmers think about my not taking breaks ....)

Then when I got home, there was Mr. SB all sad and forlorn hoping that last night wasn't just a one-off chance encounter, so yes, we got together again and I added 5 min. to my cycling time to make it a *whopping* 30 min.

Tomorrow, no swimming though ... my left shoulder's not feeling too hot and I can feel where things aren't "right". Just when the swimming was starting to feel like it was coming together again ... [sigh]

But that's alright ... I have a spinning class with my tri group tomorrow night!

The Remains of the Day

Met up with TurtleBoy, more affectionately known as Uncle John, for some yummy dim sum ... He was happy to meet me and the kids as we always have great Chinese feasts together ...

This is the first pic that the waiter took of us ... and why he suggested taking other ones:


Here are the scraps that were left ... we got through it really well :-) and I was stuffed all afternoon. I had actually brought my camera to take a pic of the food when the table was full but um ... we were too busy scoffing it all down.



Took the kids swimming at another pool this afternoon, one where we didn't have to be afraid of the locker room. (The kids rejoiced!) Bonus: they ran into classmates so ended up having a blast ... I, on the other hand, was limited to a "quarter pool", just half of the deep end since there was diving on the other side, so my lengths were kept short. I did lots of them though! Probably annoyed those who just wanted to piddle a bit, maybe even freaked out or wowed a few with my flip turns ... Ha, ha! Swam for a total of at least a half hour if I take out the breaks to go say hi to the kids and play with them ...

Yes, it's good to be back swimming ... and it feels so good on the shoulders and back and neck. My left arm's been feeling weak and a little asleep so the water and stretching were great therapy.

Headache's gone today! Yay!

Tune in tomorrow to see if I actually stay true to my new training word and meet up with Mr. SB tonight ...

Bilateral breathing

I was swimming yesterday, a set of continous laps for about 20 min., and then it dawned on me ... I was bilateral breathing like I was supposed to and not thinking so much about it like before. I remember being told by several people that this would happen eventually ... and they were right! A few weeks before the accident, I found myself huffing and puffing by the end of my laps, needing to do lots of same side breathing even after two laps! And then I slowed everything down and started gliding more, kicked a little slower and that bilateral breathing thing started falling into place. And I am so deliriously happy that albeit my lack of swimming, it's still there! ... Like riding a bike.

So I figure since I can't do as much of my other sports, I'll get as fully back into the swimming as physically allowable. One day, I will make myself do 2k, then 3k, then 4k non-stop in the pool and I hope it's sooner than later ...

I was thinking the other day too ... what I consider an abysmal lack of training (a bit of swimming, snowboarding and swing dancing over the past few weeks) is still more than what the "average" person does. Boy I miss my fanatic workout schedule ... I remember the rush of going for a good 12k run followed by an hour workout of kickboxing or swimming ... YEAH BABY !! And I was way less tired then even with my lack of proper sleep than I am these days ...

But alas, it'll just be swimming again today, a little longer though I hope, and if I'm a good girl, I will spend some time on Mr. SB tonight and turn his crank while we catch some "Gray's Anatomy". I just love that show. I was supposed to be a doctor, ya know ...

Just when I thought things were getting better ...

Saw my physiotherapist today and he did another bunch of tests ... this time to my shoulders and arms. Looks like I didn't get out of this accident as unscathed as I would have liked. There is damage and inflammation to certain nerves, which can happen with whiplash, more on the left side than the right, as per my suspicion when I had trouble pouring ketchup for my son yesterday and dropped the bottle, almost spilling my milk.

But I'm allowed to swim, though slowly and carefully, lots of stretching ... which I did happily today - about 20 min. of laps, no drills. No running yet, cycling is allowed though if I don't hunch over the handlebars (Mr. SB, not outdoors). Sigh.

But I told myself I'll start up again with my tri group ... the atmosphere and camraderie will be good for my morale :-)

Cheating death has it's good points, but the recovery just sucks!

March Break ROCKS !!

Been having a fantabulous time with the kids this week so far ... great not having school, strict schedules ... Been doing lots of lounging around and playing and cuddling ... This week rocks!

Sorry for the delay in this entry ... I think it's my most tardy so far, but I was just too exhausted last night after snowboarding and all that *driving*. Worth it though since we had a blast and now the RAINS have come ...

Little bit of a headache today unfortunately though and I can't seem to shake this state of fatigue albeit all the sleep I'm finally getting, but I'm sure it's just due to the after-effects of the accident. Can you believe it has already been three weeks?! Time flies ... I still have a ways to go to recuperate fully, and hope that I will ... cross your fingers for me please. I've scheduled a careful reintegration into my training program starting next week. The rest of this week will just be "playing", i.e. today will be a little swim ...

Still have lots more physio and will see the doctor again soon, but I'm happy to be feeling way better and stronger than how I felt even a week ago, even though it's still far from how I felt pre-accident. It's amazing though how fast muscles atrophy though ... my boots feel loose around my calves!!

The Happy Medium

Went for a swim, yes, a swim today with the kiddies. Lots of lounging around today, relaxing, kept wanting to doze ... zzzz ... guess those two+ weeks of not being able to sleep well have caught up with me and my body knows it needs to heal still.

Before we headed off for the pool, Dirk, my trainer called. He asked me about Mr. SB, having read my blog and already having an idea that I was, um, ignoring him ... Told Dirk of my plans to "swim", albeit what my physio guy told me, and he told me I could if I did not look at the ceiling but just at the benches when I breathed. Those who do front crawl understand this, those who don't, don't. Well, Dirk, I tried, but only succeeded half the time - glugged way too much water too many times - but I think my seeing higher than the benches actually has to do with over-rotation in my valiant attempt to make sure I grab some O2. Don't worry though, I only did about 15 min. of laps ... flip turns are allowed, right? I'm happy that I haven't forgotten how to swim and didn't feel spent at the end of every lap. Spent the rest of the time playing tag with the kids.

Boy, it sure felt good to S-T-R-E-T-C-H out my shoulder and back in the pool, which has kinked up more than before (way too many knots and muscle spasms). So here's the dilemma ... no swimming so as not to aggravate my neck, but not doing any only tightens up my shoulder and back ... ugh. Well, at least I had no headache today :-)

Here's a funny little tidbit that Dirk sent me ...

Did the man say I couldn't snowboard?

Shhhh ... don't tell C, my physiotherapist, but I just couldn't resist! Sun was shining, mild outside, not much wind ... it's March Break with the kiddies! Anyway, it's been too long since I've actually used my legs, and I made sure to go real easy and not fall. Of course, snowboarding is not the same workout as other leg sports (miss that dang running!) but I still could feel it in my quads. I had some tightness in the shoulder and neck (duh!) but quasi-alleviated that with some Robaxacet Platine which is regularly stocked in my medicine cabinet ... Ugh, that is probably not a good sign.

Got a little massage from my son Gustav's little magic hands tonight. He worked on getting some of the crunchy bits out of my neck and back. What a sweetie. He knows that I was lucky and could have been more seriously injured, i.e. break my neck and be paralysed, his reaction to which was throwing his arms around me and saying, "Oh mummy, you wouldn't be able to snowboard with us!" Had a great chat with my mom last night. I remember massaging my mother's back and she told me that she used to massage her mother's back too! I will have to write all my mother's stories down one day ...

Headache gone for most of day today ... I'm getting there ... yay :-) Can you tell I'm anxious to restart training?

I don't think the kids and I will be heading to Toronto this week after all unfortunately. Thursday and Friday call for rain and snow, and there is still part of me that has the heebie-jeebies about long-distance driving. It's one thing to go an hour ... quite another to go six. I don't know if my back and neck could tough it either and I could never forgive myself if something happened with the children in the car. I guess it's normal that I don't feel "ready" yet. Yes, I still have flashbacks, yes, it's still difficult. Yes, I still have lots of healing to do.

Update on my mother: she had her chemo a few weeks back and is now being tested regularly for how her body is reacting before she goes through another bout. Besides not having any appetite, she had sores in her mouth which really worried me as she could not eat. Now that's finally getting better but she has already lost 10 lbs. She's still in a lot of pain, is extremely tired and there are better days than others but I think one of the hardest things for her and for other cancer sufferers is losing their hair. Knowing you will lose your hair is completely different than when you actually do ... It is such a significant occurrence and so evidently marks the reality of the battle against cancer ...

My mother is such a "mother" :-) She's been trying to take care of me long-distance over the phone, worried about how I am healing and how I am getting along after the accident. But what I want so much to do is take her in my arms, hold her and kiss her forehead and tell her that everything is going to be alright ...

Please say a prayer for her. I love love love her so very very very much.

Didn't mean to for it to happen ...

It started simply with just resting my head (still have that headache, ya know) and then it was supper, followed by some dessert and some tea. Then still needed to rest my head, and wow, let's have another bite, and another cup of tea. Lo and behold, the evening is almost over and so are ...

The Oscars!

Thought about meeting up with Mr. SB (stationary bike) as per Dirk's suggestion, but figured the 15 min. I was allowed wasn't worth lifting my head.

Oh, commercial's over ... back I go ... um, to rest my head, of course!

Today's training consisted of ...

SLEEP.

Yup, folks, I slept 13 hours and didn't get up until this afternoon. And then just now as I lay with a warm MagicSack on my neck, I started falling asleep again. Guess all that insomnia is catching up with me. Wish my neck would stop hurting though. Headache is only a ghost again today, but I wish he would go away and stop haunting me.

Dirk called me mid-day to check on me and he reassured me that even with this bad injury set-back, I would still be fine with the IM training, though he would have to readjust my schedule. I'm taking it real easy, but it's hard to do nothing. We, who are both super busy people, discussed the reason why we choose to be so busy ... Well, I like a high level of activity, though I know it would make most people's heads spin. Keeps me on my toes, makes life exciting. You can't say I have a boring life, can ya?! Maybe it's just a way to avoid taking care of this forever growing pile of paperwork on my desk ...

Alright, alright ... I'm getting to it ...

Did the man say I couldn't dance?

Another long day full of lots of running around ... bad news is they can't fit the second ski rack on Greta, my car ... so I will be stuck sticking one of the snowboards in the car after all ... Let's see what solution they come up with at the car dealership next week.

Went to my second session of physio today and C told me that I was much better. He worked with the bones and muscles around the base of my neck ... hurt a bit, but a good kind of pain ... Just wished he could have gone a little bit further with the pressure and cracked it, but I know, I know, he didn't want to cause more damage and had to go slowly. At least the headache is more like just an annoying ghost, but the shoulder and neck muscles are still so tight! C said I still can't go swimming or running yet but I can cycle, if I don't move my upper body at all. Yeah ...

I am going stir crazy with not training, so since I can't swim, etc., decided to go swing dancing tonight. Did more socializing than dancing but it did me some good to catch a few songs. Had to be careful and had to warn all the leads to be gentle on my neck and shoulders. They were good ... and I was happy.

Most amazing thing happened tonight. Had a nice chat with Cat and she told me about her recent revelation. She told me how much the "Follow your bliss" quote on my website had affected her ... and I told her that when I first came across that quote, it had changed my life completely, and I still live by it. Cat told me that she's always wanted to be a doctor and even though she already has a stable career and can even take over the family business later on in life if she wants, she knew when she read that quote, she had to pursue her lifelong dream. She's applied for medical school abroad (European citizen) ... let's cross our fingers for her. She needs to live out this dream - it finally all feels so right. And to all those who follow your dreams, you know how she is feeling right now :-) And I am soooo happy for her. D, her boyfriend may not be the happiest camper about the impending distance, but he is an amazing guy and he loves her a lot so I know they will be able to figure it out. I have no doubts. Love is wonderful!

It's amazing that so many people work jobs and live lives that they hate. No amount of $$$ is worth feeling despondent or even unmotivated or mediocre. You live once and you can lose it in the blink of a second, as I know first-hand ... Take the risk. Do what your heart says. Follow your bliss ... The worse that can happen is that you fail, but you will have tried. But if you really really want something, I doubt you will let yourself fail because you will never give up.

Am I successful at what I do? Acting? Perhaps I'm not bringing in the big bucks, but at the end of the day, I know I made the right choice years ago when I dropped out of university to pursue my dream. Is life hard? Do I hit bad spells? Yeah, you betcha ... everyone goes through those from time to time. But life is transitory, everything must change, and one must always have faith and believe. Do I regret my choices? Absolutely not. I don't need society to deem me a success. I follow my bliss and that is reward and success enough. I have been true to myself. I am at peace and I am happy and I am a very lucky woman :-) Thank you universe.

And thank you Cat for touching my soul in telling me that I touched yours ...

New set of wheels + pain rating of 2 = happiness

Picked up my little Aveo today - she rocks! I had an appointment right after the car dealership, and even noticed someone eyeing her, she's such a pretty colour and looks mean with her roof rack. Help me out folks, she needs a name. Nothing fancy, 'cause she's not a girly girl, and though she's small, she can hold her own (hey, sounds like me!) A practical but sassy name ... but sweet, and of course, totally unpretentious ... How about Greta?

Any other suggestions?

Alright, another busy day for me, but at least I got a good lie-in this morning ... the new muscle relaxant is easing the pain and I was actually able to fall asleep ... on the couch! I think this being able to sleep is really doing me some good ...

Headache scale:

10 = my head wants to explode

3 or 4 = low-level headache, might need some codeine to take the edge off as the day progresses but I can handle that sort of dull but persistent pain

So for the past two weeks, my headache has ranged between those figures, most often at around 7, but some horrible days at 10, and a few lucky days at 3 or 4. Today, I got really lucky and my headache basically stayed at 2 - I was THRILLED!!! No codeine necessary at all today ... I can still feel the headache there but my eyes did not once feel like they were being pushed out of their sockets! Perhaps this is a silly thing to rejoice, but it sure made a difference in my energy level, and increased my faith that I am am going to be A-ok. Told you the other day that I was going to "change my life" ...

Saw a great play with G at the Centaur tonight, "Hellfire Pass", which was really thought-provoking and had super touching moments - I loved it! Acting was amazing, script was superb and finely-crafted. I was riveted. I cried. G didn't ... um, wasn't quite his flava. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it, kinda. I'd see it again if I had the time ... Catch it before the run ends on March 4, this Saturday!!

I was a bad girl afterwards and gave in to my cake craving when we went out for coffee. Wasn't my fault ...that craving has been haunting me all week, what was I supposed to do?! And um, now I feel nauseous, but more likely because of some McDo that I had in the 10 minutes I had to gobble down both lunch and supper before heading off to the theatre ... See what happens to me when I don't train? Confession: I've been eating chips in front of the television almost every night as well ...

Well, wish me luck at physio tomorrow and cross your fingers for me. I'm hoping C lets me go swimming this weekend :-)

Busy, busy, busy ...

I was finally able to get a bit of decent sleep last night ... finally! Eventually had to get up, so much red tape still to deal with to sort out the car stuff. Started the morning with tea and meditation :-)

Anyway, long story short, I have put off picking up the car until tomorrow morning. Good news though is that I've finally figured out who my new insurance company will be ...

Went to physio and realised besides my more evident hurts, that I have decreased sensation and strength in the lower left arm and hand. Weird ... was told a nerve is being pinched in my neck. Well, second session will be Friday ... hope that goes well. I'm chomping at the bit to restart my training. Argh! C, my physiotherapist has disallowed me to swim for a while!

Well, let's hope for a good night's sleep again ... slowly and surely, I'll be back!