Guess Who’s Back
Man it feels like ages since I’ve blogged. But I have been a busy girl, moving back to my training base last weekend.

I drove my car back and was on record pace for the ten hour drive, based on traffic and no stops. However I was stopped at customs and searched all because my part of an entry document on my visa was MIA.

I looked at the officer and pleaded with my eyes “I haven’t needed this thing in eight months are you really gonna seize me, guy?”.

Buddy sure did.

So I obediently drove my Subaru to parking spot #2.

What’s In A Purse?
I have a massively big purse. I left my vehicle unlocked but took it with me. Big mistake.

This officer with whiskers coming out of his nose (that were long enough to blow in the wind, no lie!) aggressively approached my person demanding where I was going with “that!”.

“Umm?!…I want to know what you guys are gonna do with a bag full of Red Bulls, Vanilla flavoured Bonne Bell lip gloss, and box of flat bread?”

But rather, I threw the cumbersome thing in the back seat. And left them to spill its contents and hope dude found my tweezers, and got a clue.

It’s Me!
Once inside I felt criminal, though guilty of nothing. So I was much pleased while being processed, two men beside me, who were also being processed overheard me explaining, where I live and what I do for a living. Suddenly one of them exclaimed: “I knew it! Perdita we love you!”.



Jackpot!









I winked at officer Johnson. “You see that big boy?--Now Chop-Chop!”.

Then I flashed my signature smile at the men and politely said “Thanks guys”.

















Neighbours Gone Wild
Seven hours and one stop later I was back to my house in Illinois. I found a car in the driveway, so I parked on the street and stayed up waiting for someone to come retrieve their car. I was much to tired from the drive to ring door bells to ask who owned what had to be a 1990’s Celebrity.

Evidently the neighbours were pimping my property as a parking spot. In eight months they had figured out a pyramid system for who got to use it. I was back and they didn't expect me, like a thief in the night.

The gig is up people!

I know this because my training partner lives across the street and had the same woes when she went to Europe to race this summer.


Siphoning H2O
I also found strange hoses hooked up to my front and back water spickets that were not leading to my front and back lawns.

Like really, who steals other peoples water.

Amber Alert For Tree?
As well I have a small tree in my backyard, well I did. It is gone. Yes, my tree is missing and I sure didn't take it with me to Canada when I left.

The nerve of some people, I should go to the home owner's association. My neighbourhood is very safe, but they sure are trifling!

Training
This week we jumped right back into things, no rest or mercy for the weary. Which is part of the reason I didn’t get a chance to up date sooner. I am layed out on the couch by the time I get back from training. Fingers too weak to type, or even open my front door. I find my self rationing energy for the next day.

Tuesday Hills


But I am glad to be back, the focus is better here and so is the quality of each session. The most intense part of Autumn training will be doing hill workouts twice a week. Normally we only run hills on Fridays, 300m long, 6-7 times.

Now I have them on Tuesdays too. Shorter, yes—-but on a Tuesday?! Dude thats sacrilege, can a sista get an ab circuit?!

My butt was burning so much at the end of this past Tuesday’s hill runs, that I wanted a golf cart to take me the near distance to the car. As well have someone drive me home, since I wasn’t sure I could press my car’s clutch.

Friday Hills
And for Friday, imagine my shock when I see a hill run that is 500m long. I have no clue what 500m looks like, where it starts, where it ends, why people use that distance…blah blah blah.

The longest I have ever run was a 400m in 2001 as a freshman and it was the ugliest thing anyone that day had ever seen. It was for testing and the girls on the team can atest to how bad I rigged up at the 250m mark. After that coach never subjected my body to anything more than 300m.

Plus I am certain it embarrassed him.

So what is this 500m thing about? Does he want me to shame him again? Because I am all about the seven-year shame. Not deliberately or out of spite, but by genetic make-up default.

Remember?!

Sigh.
I may complain, I may challenge, but at the end of the day I always do what I am told, and I always do it 100%. So 500m hill here I come…


…like a lamb to the slaughter,
Perdita