Monday and Tuesday are very productive days at work. And after work. On Monday I lift weights. On Tuesday I leave work a bit early to babysit a termite inspector, paint some wood trim, and get out cycling. I start down the Los Angeles river trail towards the aquarium with a couple of surges until I realize that I'm feeling strong enough not to require the recovery periods. So I have a continuous surge against the onshore breeze down to the aquarium. And I just crank away on the downwind leg back towards home. When I get home my legs feel tired, but I feel good.
Wednesday and Thursday are reasonable days at work and good ones afterwards. I lift weights on Wednesday and then I trim and mow the lawn. On Thursday I work on core strength and then get out for a long walk. Each day is a bit better than the previous one as I try to climb back up to the strength level and endurance level that I had before the Hepatitis B hit me in late June or early July.
On Friday I go give more blood to the doctors for evaluation and come home and start sanding a window for subsequent painting. When the weather has cooled down just a bit I go lift weights - it's a good session but the strength is coming back slower than the endurance. After a cool shower I relax for the evening and take or miss calls from Person C_T and Joe.
On Saturday I'm out the door just after 7 am to get in a long bicycle ride before it gets hot. This is the first time that I've ridden the loop ride just short of 30 miles) since I got sick. I crank along and notice huge number of riders out early today to also beat the heat. My legs are getting a bit tired towards the end but my time is within a couple of minutes of a very good time for this ride. I sand and wash down the windows for painting, grab a quick shower, do the laundry, pick up a submarine sandwich for lunch, have lunch, and then paint the windows (inside the air conditioned house). Later I get down for a nap and when I wake up it takes me the longest time to regain consciousness - the nap was that deep.
Later in the afternoon I get out for a very long walk before relaxing. There are phone calls from Person T_U and Person Joe, but I'm sticking to my guns of not going out this week. It appears that Joe is going to head out to the club on his own, but I do not budge and stay at home. I'm in bed and, after reading some of the latest Scientific American, turning out the lights at 9:45pm.
I'm up on Sunday at 7 am and get out for the aquarium ride. Though my legs are a bit tired from the previous day's longer ride, it is still a good ride. But there are not nearly as many cyclists out at this hour as there were yesterday. After a quick shower I head to the grovery store for the newspaper and other supplies. I strike up a conversation with a guy that just starts with how hot the weather is. After a few minutes I'm heading for my checkout line and he's heading for his. After paying for my groceries I see "my friend" lurking near the exit and by the time that I am taking a step outside the store I am receiving an offer of the effect of, "I want you to be my master and I'll be your slave. I'll do anything that you want me to". I wonder if this offer includes him painting the rest of my house, but regardless I decline the offer and head for home.
After reading the newspaper and watching some of the CART race, I finish the weekend's painting and relax a bit more. In the middle of the hottest part of the day I do some abdominal and "core stabilizer" exercises because my lower back is hurting a bit today. Then I get out for a long walk in the mid-day sun and water the roses when I finish. It is hot, so I down some ice cold water, turn on the air conditioning, and take an ice cold shower. Now I am refreshed and ready for the MotoGP race on tape.
The MotoGP race is close between the arch rivals valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau. They exchange first and second many times throughout the race and with 8 laps remaining they are as close together as can be and my heart is racing. This is looking like they both might end up in the gravel trap. But they exchange places a number of times again until Valentino Rossi takes first place on the next to last lap. And as they approach the section where Gibernau has said he would pass, he suddenly slows. Depending upon who you listen to, either he ran out of petrol or his fuel injection system didn't get the last of the petrol. I am relieved! But why couldn't this race, taking place in the Czech Republic, been this exciting last year when I was there?
For the rest of the evening I finish reading the newspaper, talk with Person C_T, and try to go to bed early to get unto east coast time for the upcoming trip to Washington, DC.