Busy Weekend

Sorry for the lack of posting...this was a REALLY busy weekend!

Saturday, we had a pretty nasty nor'easter. Constant rain, gusting winds, the whole nine yards...PERFECT day for a little car shopping, right? Blech. We got up early and grabbed breakfast sandwiches at Healthy Bites ToGo, a new take-out place just around the corner from us. Both of us went with the same thing -- bacon, egg, and cheese on onion bread. Um, let me tell you, there was NOTHING "healthy" about that sandwich...but MAN was it good! They use really fresh ingredients -- pretty much everything is local and/or organic -- and it makes a difference. Since it literally is right around the corner from me, I see more than a few lazy-night stops there when we can't decide what we want for dinner.

Since PhillyGuy and I went into this whole car-shopping bit not really knowing just what it was we wanted, I knew it was going to be a long day. Our tenative plan included as many as FIVE dealerships, depending on whether we found anything we liked. Thank goodness we did -- we only hit up three dealerships, at which point we had it narrowed down to two cars (a 2007 white BMW X3 and a 2008 silver VW Touareg). We left the house at 9am, and it was after 5 when we FINALLY pulled into the garage with our new VW!

The VW was my preferred car. I am a VW fanatic -- in college, I was actually in a VW car club. I had a 99 Passat for a while, but my real baby was my 2003 Jetta Wolfsburg edition, which was mildly modified -- my friends and I installed a cold-air intake in the parking lot of a Chili's at one of our get-togethers. That car was my BABY. I traded her in for the Caddy when PhillyGuy moved up here, because he doesn't drive stick and the Jetta was a little small for him. I still miss that car, but I was SO HAPPY to be driving the Touareg!

But, I digress. Something about the car shopping triggered what turned out to be a NASTY headache for me. I had to chew on a napkin to relieve the pressure in my head while we were sitting in the dealership waiting for the car to be ready, and I was nearly in tears by the time we got home. I thought I was going to be sick and had to lay down in the dark for almost two hours before I felt OK enough to come downstairs.

Yesterday, we woke up bright and not-so-early, thanks to daylight savings time. I spent most of the day running errands...I am embarassed to say that it had been nearly three weeks since I'd gone food shopping! We were really down to the dregs. After getting stuck in insane traffic coming home thanks to the St. Patty's day parade, I managed to get the house cleaned up a bit before heading out for what I intended to be a quick, easy four miles.

But...they can't ALL be good runs, you know? Within the first 3/4 mile, I developed a nagging side stitch/cramp under my ribs that just would NOT go away. Even with the stitch, my first two miles were fine -- about a 9:25 pace for each one, so a little slow, but consistent. After I crossed the 2-mile point, I decided to stop and try to walk the stitch out. And I did...sort of. Except that, when I started running again, I accidentally turned off my Garmin...and didn't realize it until I'd gone about another half-mile. So, I stopped, turned it back on, started again...and promptly felt the cramp return. Walked again. Ran again. Stopped for every GD traffic light on the way home. All in all, the run was OK -- but the best part? NO KNEE PAIN. None during, none after. I was THRILLED! I have no idea what my actual distance and time was, but based on my Garmin readout (you know, when I actually bothered to keep it on), the amount of walking I did, my much faster pace when I *was* running during the second half, and the route, I'm guessing I did about 4 miles in 43 minutes or so.

I have a bunch of hearings this afternoon, so I'm thinking that I might bail out of here and just head straight home after they're done. Depending on how gross it is outside, I think I'm going to try to get out for at least a short 2-3 mile run after work. Our gym is officially closed while they relocate the equipment and get the new gym up and running -- cannot WAIT to see the new setup!

Happy Monday all!