I catch up with work and motorcycle races throughout the week. On Tuesday after work I get out for a run and on Wednesday, Halloween, I get in a high repetition, light weight workout to try and relieve the stress on the joints yet still load the muscles. Tonight I just shut down the lights and ignore any trick or treaters.
Since I'm a bit under the weather and I had good workouts on Tuesday and Wednesday, I expect to sleep well on Wednesday night. And all goes according to plan until 1:30 am on Thursday morning. I wake up and cannot sleep. Finally just after 2 am I get dressed, send a text to Person Ti_Ca that I am going out, and I go walking. It is peaceful and quiet and I walk for almost 45 minutes. When I get home I go to bed and still cannot fall asleep for the longest time. Needless to say Thursday is a "drag myself through it and try and stay awake" day though I make a good presentation at noon (except that my voice was rough and gravelly throughout). When I leave work I dress to go run and have a discussion with Person Ti_Ca before I walk out the door saying, "I am so tired. Why am I going running?" But I get out for a 36 minute run and hope for great sleep on Thursday night.
I again wake up at 1:30 am on Friday morning and cannot sleep. For the longest time I toss and turn but I don't go out walking. Eventually I fall asleep and am jarred awake by the alarm near 5:15 am. I drag myself through work and manage to stay awake at all of my meetings because they are small meetings and there is no back row to hide and nap in. When I get home I mow the lawn, take an Actifed, and relax for a bit. Person Ti_Ca and I go visit the First Fridays celebration for a short bit before returning home. By 8:30 pm I am dropping off to sleep so I go to bed and sleep well until 7:15 on Saturday morning.
Saturday starts with qualifying for the F1 race in Abu Dhabi. My favorite driver ends up a disappointing third but cannot get back to the pits. Eventually I re-check websites and learn the expected - he must start from the back of the field because he didn't get back to the pits under his own power and give a fuel sample for checking. It will be an interesting race on Sunday. I get out for a long ride to the pier and feel strong throughout. The rest of the day is spent realxing, cleaning parts of the house, and helping Ti_Ca with homework. At one point we drive to a theatre to see a movie but it doesn't work out so we return home. Tonight I take a Zquil from Person Ti_Ca and hope for deep sleep with the extra hour of returning to standard time.
The Saturday night sleep isn't that great but it has to do. I get out and ride north on the Los Angeles river until I run into Derrick. Then I turn around and ride with him down to the Long Beach pier and back. On the way back from the pier we pick up another rider and take turns pulling against the wind. When I get to my exit I pull off and slow down and give my goodbyes for the week. The extra rider says, "Beautifull bike. A REAL bike!" I just thank him and tell him it is 26 years old and then I go home. I watch an exciting F1 race from Abu Dhabi where my favorite starts last, climbs up the field, has a front wing problem and changes it to drop to last again, and climbs to third at the end (and taking out a styrofoam DRS board in the process). The rest of the day is spent relaxing and doing some web programming.
The work weeks goes very fast. I have some productive days and some non-productive periods. On Thursday there is an almost all-day review and I contribute a lot. Because I have been around for so long and been through a lot of space-based programs, there is a wealth of information that I contribute that is both inside and outside my domain of expertise. After each day at work I get in some average workouts - two high repetition, lightweight workouts with the weights and some long walks. I am glad when THursday evening rolls around and the work week is over.
Though it rains over night and the pavement is still wet, I start riding at 7 am on Friday morning. It is a cold and windy ride but I enjoy it and feel fairly good throughout. After the ride I edge and mow the lawn and tidy things up after the rainstorm. I grab a shower and run errands including a stop at the library to return a book and to get another one. And at Vons the pharmacist gives me a 20% coupon for groceries so I try to stock up on some items that are needed. Person Ti_Ca is shopping and having dinner with a friend in the afternoon so I have a quiet afternoon tidying things up. I should be doing some web programming but I can't quite get into the mood until later at night when I make a fair amount of progress.
I wait on Saturday morning for the sun to come out and the day to warm up a bit before going out cycling. It is still cold when I leave after 8 am but it is bearable. I have a great ride to the pier and back and feel strong throughout. After the ride I sweep some of the driveway after the rain and I cut and trim roses for the house. After a shower I get lunch and then help Person Ti_Ca with some homework. After a couple of hours we've made progress and I get down for a 90 minute nap. Late in the evening Person Ti_Ca and I drive up to Hollywood for Person L_M's birthday (along with Person C_T and other friends). We eventually have a 12 person dinner for Person L_M's birthday. It is a fun dinner with various people interacting with each other. Later some people go to a club but Person Ti_Ca and I have early SUnday plans so we drive home and get down for sleep near 1 am.
I'm out of bed at 6:30 am on Sunday and start riding north on the Los Angeles river trail. I intercept Derrick and we ride down to the end of the Long Beach trail and turn around and head for home. The wind is out of the north, so I am slow to start with but eventually Derrick has to battle the wind on his own to get home to Montebello. Nonetheless we have a great ride! I get home and watch the final MotoGP race of the season from Valencia where there is rain and different tire strategies and a fun race. The Moto2 race is just as wild and entertaining as the track continues to try and dry. I have a relaxing day until late in the evening when I do some indexing and web programming.
Monday is a blah day. I go through the motions at work and am relieved when it is time to go home. Today I cannot get motivated and just have a long walk. I almost feel tears welling up in my eyes and in my throat throughout the day as I feel lost.