Triathalon Day

Today I'm grateful for...
This wonderful day
Super weather, and lots of sun
Spending the night and having dinner with the family
having a place to live and food to eat

Lulu has been doing well since Thursday's surgery; however she been complaining that the swelling around her right breast and arm is hurting. The two or three days immediately after the surgery she was fine, but last night she started to feel like the pressure was increasing. I'm wondering whether the relief of the pain she experienced immediately post surgery was related to the anesthesia and post surgery oral pain relievers? Now that the anesthesia is totally out of her system she feels the discomfort that was always there? I told her that she needed to call the UCSF clinic first thing Monday morning to see if this is normal (we don't want any infections getting out of hand again and spending three days in the hospital). She promised that she would give them a call. Hopefully, we won't have to make another unscheduled trip down to the clinic to check on the healing? But of course we will do whatever is needed to assure she heals properly.

We have also had to adjust Lulu's schedule at the office, again. She was scheduled to work this Tuesday through Thursday, and now I will be taking her schedule for the remainder of the week. I felt that the the surgeon wanted Lulu to take at least three weeks off (recovery, rest, and rejuvenation), but after we talked (well mostly Lulu talked and I listened) the decision was final; Lulu was to see patients starting on October 21. I really tired to convince my wife to take more time for recovery, but she really misses the patients, parents, and the staff. I'm here to support her in whatever way she needs me.

The above picture is at Discovery Park in Sacramento at the Golden State Triathlon that I participated in Today (Sunday). I'm loving this stuff, and can't wait to better my times in the next one (which will most likely be next March, but I'm doing a 50 mile Mountain biking race in two weeks?). Funny thing happened just before the swimming portion of the race. As I stood in wait deep water awaiting the start of the race, I looked over to my right and recognized a person that I knew from 25 years ago. I lived in the dorms my first two years while at UC Davis, and this guy I was sure was a dorm mate that I shared second floor Tercero dorm with in 1984. I said to him, "I know you (original I know), your name is Tom", well his name wasn't Tom, but that's what 25 years will do to your memory. He said his name was Paul, and he knew may name instantly (this really made me feel stupid). I guess that I had made quite the impression on not just Paul, but most of the other dorm mates, because he started naming off all these things that I had done that year, and he seemed kind of impressed by them all? (I couldn't remember most of the half dozen or so escapades, another memory thing I suppose?). Unfortunately, the race was just ready to begin so we need to go swimming, but we promised to meet after the race to exchange contact information. However, after the race, I could not find him again (maybe I was bump into him at the next event?). I have never ran a crossed anyone from my college days until now (even though I have spent many hours wondering what might have become of many of the friends I made those 4.5 years at Davis?).

As for the race. I about drowned in the .5 mile swimming portion of the event. I haven't much experience in "open water" swimming (I don't think that the last race in Lake Tahoe with 2 or 3 foot waves count?), so I was struggling with the mass of swimmers around me. The effects of 15 or 20 guys both ahead and behind you can be described as the feeling you get immediately after you hit the water falling down while water skiing behind a fast jet boat. I got kicked in the face, and I'm sure that I delivered a kick or two? The second sensation that I dealt with was not swimming in a straight line. A couple of times I swam into other swimmers to both my right and my left (I don't think that they were too happy with me taking their space?). After the first few hundred feet I had to begin swimming side stroke instead of freestyle, because I was struggling so much with the chaos. I ended up liking this new stroke so much that I continued for 3/4 of the .5 mile (I did finish strong passing two or three swimmers in the last quarter mile). Once I got on shore and my legs under me, comparatively the rest of the triathlon was a piece of cake.

Biking and running were fun and I rode and ran strong, I finished with more in the tank, but was unsure this being my first road race triathlon (and the drowning part kind of freaked me out and made me hesitant). I drove back from Sacramento thinking about how I could improve at my next race, and I vowed to train harder in the swimming).

I have happy that I found something that is enjoyable and at the same time motivational. I guess this is another thing I should have put at the top of this journal entry as something to be grateful for?

Tune into the saga later this week, because I have an idea that Lulu's post surgery healing might not be totally without more complications? One day at a time, what more can you do?