36

So today is my last day of being 35.

Turning 36 is really no big deal. I mean, it's not like I'm going up an age group or anything. And 35 or 36... whatever... still "mid'30's", so not like turning 39 or 40. Not that turning 40 is bad (I know many of you are doing that soon or have done that already and believe me, when I turn 40 I won't be the least bit sad about it)... I just mean that 36 doesn't feel like anything I need to really go out of my way and make a big deal of.

So other than the typical birthday workouts (ahem, 36x100's anyone?), this birthday should pass by quietly and peacefully and when I wake up tomorrow morning, I will still be Scott's wife and Moana's mom. Though I guess one fun new thing about my birthday this year is that I get to make some of my athletes do my birthday workouts with me... I probably caught a few off guard when they read their swim workouts of 36x50's or 36x100's... so if you're reading this, go to the pool and get it done. And thanks for celebrating with me. :)

I got a Bosu ball for my birthday (thanks, mom!) It arrived in the mail yesterday. I pumped it up right away, much to Moana's amusement, and practiced balancing on it. Pretty cool, that thing. Makes plank a heck of a lot more interesting, and push-ups on that thing are HARD. I've been standing on it with one leg and trying to balance... Moana is intrigued and actually stood on it by herself today too.

You know what I'd really like for my birthday? A new calf muscle. Mine is still bugging me. I thought it was ok. I ran 3 times last week on the treadmill at the gym. Gasp. I know. Who runs on a treadmill at the gym in Hawaii when it's 75 and sunny? People who are injured and are afraid of mid-run calf pain and don't want to have to walk home, that's who. So last week Monday I ran 20 minutes, no pain. Got off ahead of the game before I felt any pain because I'm smart like that. Waited 3 days. Back to the treadmill on Thursday for 30 minutes. No pain. Sweet. Wait 3 more days. Back to the treadmill on Sunday for 45 minutes. Ok, a little tight this time toward the end there but no acute pain so I think I've licked this thing. Take another day off running and then hit the road outside Tuesday morning and 1/2 mile into my run BAM. Calf pain.

I don't like to swear on my blog b/c my mom reads this, but this warrants a really loud F&*K.

So of course now I'm being all 'crazy injured woman'. I mean, seriously, it's been 5 weeks since that initial calf strain/tear injury. I've been able to run some here and there, but you could NOT call it 'training'. I think the original acute tear has healed but now it's adhesions or something like that. Clearly time to see a professional about this because it'll feel 100% walking around for a couple of days so I'll try running and then re-injure it so it hurts again. But not exactly in the same spot as the original injury. It moves around. Isn't that weird?

Anyway, my thoughts at this point range from A)Forget it. I'll just swim and bike this year since obviously I'll never be able to run again... to B)I need to go see an ART person and get this taken care of... I should not try to run again for several weeks and meanwhile I will focus on building strength and doing what I can... to C)Screw it. Give me some advil and I'll just harden up and run through this thing.

'C' is NOT an option because the pain I feel when it starts to hurt is excruciating. I'm tough, but this is not an injury to run through. So it's either A or B. I'm thinking I'll try 'B' and if that doesn't work, well then, 36 will be the year where I tear up a bunch of ocean swims and bike races.