Wednesday
Wednesday was just a total gong show. I saw a doctor in the morning who didn’t see a point in getting an x-ray on my hand. Then I went into work and my boss immediately said, “It looks broken to me.” It seems like half the people in my group have broken their wrist at some point or another. After spending the entire duration of a Society of Petroleum Engineers lunch and learn worrying I left work in the afternoon to get a second opinion. And an x-ray. After my x-ray I was just about ready to cry in the car on my way back to the doctor’s office. I was convinced that I was going to get bad news and I was trying to prepare myself for the fact that my race season might be over. Imagine my surprise when the x-ray delivered good news! I was supposed to have a bike ride on the schedule and was going to ride the trainer…but I was just mentally exhausted. Let’s just call it a rest day.
Thursday
It was my final swim class, but I had other plans and couldn’t make it. I had a 22 km (13.6 mi) run on my schedule. The best way to fit the run in would be to run from my house to work. I had left a bag of clothes and toiletries at the office on Wednesday so I wouldn’t have to carry anything with me besides water, nutrition, my wallet, cell phone and keys. The biggest bonus about running into work would be the net 353 feet in elevation loss. I had hoped to leave at 5:30 or so, but didn’t get out the door until just after 6 am. The run went really well though, and my splits were the most consistent they have been in awhile, ranging from 9:34/mi to 10:18/mi. Not bad considering this route was not flat. My plan was to pick up my gear at the office and run the final mile from the office to the Y…but since I had left left I was pushing it for what time I would be starting work at. I may or may not have borrowed a pass to shower at the gym downstairs…ahem… So I was short a mile, but the run into work was a great way to get a long run done on a weekday. I then took the C-train home to the brand new Crowfoot Station. I contemplated walking home from there, but since the skies were just starting to open up I hopped the shuttle bus to my neighbourhood.
Friday
There are not a lot of open water swim options around Calgary. All of the lakes around here are private and you have to be a resident of the community with the lake in order to get in (or you have to know someone who lives there who can sign you in). Luckily Angie was able to get a few of us in to swim at Arbour Lake this evening. The clouds looked nasty and I was worried it would start to rain, thunder and lightning at any time, but things held off. After struggling to get into the wetsuit it was time to swim. I went for one lap around the perimeter of the lake and didn’t feel too bad overall…until I stopped. I felt tight in my chest. Angie figured it was probably due to gulping air. This explains why I keep feeling like I have to burp during and after an open water swim. As I tried to burp Angie gave me some tips to help avoid gulping so much air, and sent me on a bit of extra swimming to try it out. Thank you Angie for giving us the advice, then making sure we used it right away instead of letting us out of the water, quitting and ending the swim on a sour note. When I really focused on making sure I was breathing all of my air out I felt a lot better. Just as I was about to swim away from Angie she asked me, “Leana, what is on the back of your head and under your swim cap?” Er…um…it’s my Garmin… I think I may have earned the title of biggest numbers nerd on the team now… All in all, about 1290 meters done! From there is was on home to kick back, enjoy some sushi, and put my feet up in some compression socks to relax for tomorrow. 
