I ran and biked a total of 114.5 miles last week. Wow. When I think back to where I was seven years ago... Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I'd be able to do things like that.

Today was a typical example. Car is in the shop, we wanted to go see a movie, and Roy needed to go back to his classroom to unlock the piano because it's Baccalaureate today. So rather than sit home and watch gardening shows and DVDs, we hit the road at 9 a.m. Ran to the movie theater and watched Sex and the City (loved it). Then we ran on to his classroom. (Well I ran, he biked. He's still not able to run due to his knee.) He unlocked the piano and we ran out to lunch. Stopped by the pizza place and split a personal pizza (BBQ chicken) and had salad bars. After a nice lunch we ran home.

Tomorrow must get to work, so I'll be biking it again. I sure hope it isn't cold, but it will be so I just have to accept that and deal. I don't want to put anyone out driving me in, and I don't know the phone numbers of any colleagues coming from Marysville. I just hope I don't get a flat. I put a tire on that has that slime in it, so I hope that means I won't have problems. I also patched the other tire, since I was able to find the hole, and hope that will hold if I DO get a flat. Heck, if I get a flat I can call work and someone can come get me with the van. I work in a great place that way.

I just feel so blessed to be able to do all of this. It's interesting because someone said to me the other day that I am "lucky" to be able to. On the one hand, yes. I am fortunate that I have a healthy body, the leisure time, and the support to keep fit. But health is NOT about luck. The more I learn about health and aging, the more I understand that most age related health problems are really NOT age related. They are lifestyle related. But I think people want to believe that a person who runs by them, looking thin and fit, is "lucky" because then that lets them off the hook. Blessed? Yes. Lucky? No. I work hard to stay in good condition and while I enjoy it, it is very calculated. I plan to live a long time, and I want to be healthy doing just that. So I choose to control everything I can control related to my health.

But I do honestly feel blessed. While I was frustrated to hear my car wouldn't be out of the shop until Monday, I knew it wouldn't necessarily mean the weekend was shot. We managed to go out to breakfast yesterday morning, run to the store (to get a new tire for my bike), and spend the day gardening. Today we managed to run an errand, see a movie, and go out to lunch. (Ha! Have to say, "This pizza lunch made possible by 9 miles of running.) I love that I was able to say "Sure" to all of that because nine miles isn't that big of a deal.

I have a triathlon on Saturday of next week, and I'm very nervous about it. But I realize that really, it's just a "busy day" for me. I can swim a mile, bike 24, and run 6.3 with no problems...so why am I so nervous?

Sunday we want to run the Furry 5k. We'll run without Maddie this year, which is very sad. But the boy s will have a blast and we'll run in her honor. Maybe I'll bring some cash with me to make a donation to the animal shelter in her name. I miss my Maddie. The house still feels so empty without her.