Mish Mosh

So there are two things I want to cover today:

First, my knees are KILLING. I did a two hour run today (on the treadmill) and dang, I could barely get off of the thing at the end. I had physical therapy immediately afterwards (which was slightly embarrassing because I cut time so close I couldn't even shower and then the therapist had to feel all up on my legs and whatnot, and my skin was literally still hot, so I made sure to repeatedly tell him I at least changed my socks). Anyway, the knee problem from bike riding this weekend is still there, which makes me nervous about this upcoming weekend's ride (five hours, in the trainer). This trainer business is tearing me up, I have decided.

So now that the training update is out of the way, on to bigger and better things - mainly, me. I had a lot of alone time today to contemplate my little quirks, which, for some reason, kept coming up all day long. So in addition to the Oddities , I would like to add this to my repertoire of weirdness:

Quirk 1. Despite having lived in Chicago all my 30 years and suffered through some miserable winters (this one included), I do not own a pair of snow boots. Stilettos to go out in? Sure. But trekking through the tundra to the train? Not so much. Weird? There's more: I don't own my own hat or gloves, and got my first winter jacket last year for Christmas (I had been wearing the equivalent of a windbreaker for the last six winters). Yep, that's me - the lone girl waiting for the "L" on the platform, wind whipping her hair across her face, ears bright red, snot dripping, eyes tearing, hopping from foot to foot to initiate circulation in Adidas running shoes no longer used for running, and hands pulled into her sleeves (and if it's really cold, I actually go ahead and pull them all the way into my jacket and hug myself). If you see me, be sure to say "hi," but don't be mad if I can't part my frozen chapped lips to return the salutation.

Quirk 2: I wear makeup three times a year. That's it. Why three? Because I figure that's as many parties I go to in a year's time, and that's really the only time I doll-up. The other 362 days, I might pinch my checks for some natural flush, slap on some chap stick and call it a day. Some people call me low maintenance, but I prefer "natural." I hear (from my sisters) that I might look better if I put some on once and a while, and they are right, I probably would. But why? I work primarily with kids, wear jeans and gym shoes to work, and mostly sit in a windowless office writing reports. Also, with my life currently consumed with training, I spend more time sweating than I do sleeping, so it almost gives me a built-in excuse to go goop-free. That, and frankly, I don't think I really need it.

So that's what I thought about today. That, and how all that "smoking" talk yesterday made me even more aware of people lighting up today. You ever see that movie "40 Days and 40 Nights" with Josh Harnett, where he gives up sex for 40 days, but then starts to hallucinate that all the women walking around on the street are naked or wearing bras and panties? Yeah, kinda like that but with North Face jackets, freezing breath, salty streets, and cigarettes dangling from hands and mouths.

On that note, I gotta bust. It's getting late and I still need that shower (totally yuck, I know). Later skaters.