Genius Material. Right Here.

I've been slightly more than just absent on this blog lately.

I've been fairly absent in terms of training and motivation.

To make a long story short, the triathlon I'd set my goals around and planned to return to this year isn't happening. Add that to cost and priorities financially and I'm not headed to California this November.

This sucks in a whole lot of ways.

The biggest problem for me is I've totally lost my focus. My back really started acting up on the trip to California--combine a couple of 17 hour drives with a bunch of other factors and I started taking my pain medication again--yep, the same stuff that gave me migraines that I had to quit taking back in December. The migraines didn't kick in until after I got home and they were doozies, with all of the unpleasant symptoms from before, although fortunately I didn't have to leave any biohazards out in public this time.

Prior to my trip to California, I'd managed to get my chiropractic visits down to once a month and while I totally love Amazing Dr. Amy, it was nice not needing to see her.

I've been trying to rebuild my back, without pain medication this time, and it's going better than before, but I've just been so disheartened by my loss of focus that instead of making progress, I'm now playing catch up to where I was.

Judging season for gymnastics is just around the corner and I don't have meet assignments yet. I'm holding off on scheduling any more events until I know when I'm judging.

While I'm listing excuses, I've had some problems scheduling time to go work out. Some of it is just simply that I don't like going in the middle of the day and having to wait for equipment or a lane to swim in. Some of it is that I don't always have someone to watch my daughter. Some of it is that when I plan a night workout, it magically conflicts with my husband being gone at the same time I want to or with my daughter's bedtime.

Most of it is simply making excuses and a lack of motivation. Which frustrates me, and I have flashes of inspiration and motivation and then they fizzle out before any significant action is taken.

However, there are a few things I've been working on. I'm trying to ride my bike more places. That, I do have a valid excuse for, which is that I've had SIX *bleeping* flat tires now, the last of which was more frustrating than any of the others because I replaced the tube, the tire, checked the rim and rim tape for problems, and got it all set. The next day when I went to ride it, it was flat. I hadn't gone ANYWHERE on it and I literally carried it from the living room, where I fixed it, to the driveway, where I got on and discovered the flat. I gave up and drove that day. And went and bought another tube and tire.

(My tube and tire replacement costs could literally pay for a single triathlon event fee now--even a mid-high range one.)

Because I had so many problems getting moving again, I actually (somewhat intelligently for a change) decided to start slowly, by taking the dog on long WALKS and not running or trying to run, since I tend to go out and overdo it. That's been one good thing.

Then today, I finally got several pieces in place for a new piece of an exercise plan. My sister had left a bike trailer at my dad's house last Christmas. Dad was complaining about it just sitting out in the barn (not that he has any animals that need the space). My sister said I could have it if I wanted. Of course!

This conversation happened a month or two ago and just this past weekend, my dad and I were at a family event and he brought the trailer for me.

I was so excited when I got home. I immediately hauled it into the living room and began to set it up. Guess what? BOTH tires were flat. Oh well, I'm used to this now. I left them and got the whole thing set up, the wheels on it, and . . . couldn't figure out how on earth to attach it to my bike.

I emailed my sister, who emailed me a link to instructions online and I quickly discovered my problem. I was missing a piece that attaches to the rear skewer. After some more emailing and phone calls, we figured out that the trailer had last been attached to my dad's bike, and the part was still there.

I met up with him today and retrieved the part. When I got home, I managed to get it on my bike, get the trailer attached, fix all three flats (I hadn't fixed the sixth flat on my bike yet), and then took it for a test ride (empty) around the neighborhood. I kinda had to chuckle when a very kind and concerned individual yelled out that my trailer was empty. I said, "Yeah, I know. I thought I'd take it for a test drive before I put my kid in it--it's my first time riding with this attached."

His face changed from concern to impressed as he said, "Oh! That's a good idea!"

Shortly after I got home from my test ride, my husband came home. I dressed my daughter for Pajama Storytime at the Library, loaded up an extra tire and 2 tubes (with my luck, I figured I may well need more than that, but it was all the spares I had), my good large pump (with 4 tires to be concerned about, figured that would be a heck of a lot easier), our overdue library books, and outfitted my bike with lights. I loaded up my daughter with her helmet, strapped on my own helmet, and rode on my merry way to the library.

I was feeling fairly clever for being able to plan ahead, master getting everything together, and arrive on time. I was congratulating myself on my genius capabilities.

I unloaded everything, lined up the bike and trailer with the bike rack, pulled out the library books, got our helmets off, took all the parts off my bike that could potentially be stolen (computer, lights) and went to lock it up. This was the first time that I realized that my bike lock was still on the other bike--the uncomfortable one I rode a couple of weeks ago when I took my daughter to the Art Splash. Suddenly not feeling so genius.

I called my husband and begged him to retrieve the lock and bring it to us. My other options were to ride home (and miss Pajama storytime) or hook everything back up, ride to the bike store, buy a new lock, ride back, and miss most of Pajama Storytime. He was not thrilled, but bailed me out anyway.

The library is not a long distance and the ride there was easy. Because it's downhill, mostly.

The ride home is the same distance, but not so easy because it's uphill, mostly, or sure as heck feels like it.

Granted, I was towing a 30-pound kid in a 10-pound trailer, with several pounds of bike gear in it as well. And much as I love my new bike, there are no "granny gears" on it, so I literally had to stand up to pedal--in the easiest gear--to get up a couple of the teeny tiny moderate hills in my neighborhood at four miles an hour.

Pathetic.

In good news, even though it was a short little pathetic ride, it was actually a challenge for me. Meaning that I had to push myself some, I got my heart rate up, my muscles were burning, I was tired--but I don't feel like I overdid it.

So maybe, just maybe, I'm learning. Or at least not making quite as many mistakes.

Aside the lock, that is.