A Load of S*** - Really!

It's TRY training time again at the Y in Vincennes - preparing for the June 12's SIS Women's TRYathlon sponsored by the Knox County Community Foundation. This involves trips to Vincennes on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings - about 35 miles each way. Last year there were the 4-5 of us that carpooled and had a fun time, this year there is 1 other lady from town but we aren't always able to go together.

So a week or so ago I was headed out after missing the first 3 sessions for one reason or another. I was bound and determined to improve my attendance record and was really flying along lest I be late. About 15 miles into the drive there was a horrible smell - I knew I hadn't hit any dead animals, hadn't stepped in anything getting into the car, there were no sprayers out in the fields - BUT - there was an 18 wheeler with an open trailer ahead of me. Divining that this was the source of the stench, I backed way off instead of following at a normal distance. I was soooo far back that cars started passing me (even though I was still driving a smidge over 60), getting a whiff of what they would be following, and then passing him!

Just after the Lawrenceville turnoff, the 2 lane road goes through an area with no real shoulder, steep drop offs into a then flooded area, and curvy section that is impossible to pass in. This is the area where cell service goes to die as well. Since no one could pass there were perhaps 6-8 vehicles behind me, none of us wanted to get to close to the manure truck. All was well until the truck hit a bump in the road at a bridge and the back gate opened! YES! That's what I said too while slowing down before plowing through several inches (could have been a foot - the road was completely covered) of you-know-what! Chunks the size of golf and tennis balls were bouncing around the road (mostly under my van) and it just kept on coming and kept on coming out of the back of the truck.

No where to pull off, oncoming traffic - no choice but to keep going through it until about a mile up the road where we got 2 lanes and I could pull out to the left lane. Of course I laid on the horn and tried to use appropriate hand gestures (used all my fingers) to indicate that his gate was open but since he didn't pull over I don't think he got the full message that the other drivers who also pulled into the left lane and I were trying to convey.

I went through the automated car wash twice before going to the Y - not wanting to contaminate their parking lot - but as soon as I hopped out of GiGi I realize all the car wash did was smear it around - looked like I had been mudding all day with 'icicles' of you know what dripping from the wheel wells and a horrific stench. I turned her right around and headed back home where it took $8 (4 minutes hot soapy wash for $1) to clean her up (and crouching in the dark wash bay with the trigger spray in one hand and a flashlight in the other you just know I tipped over several times so that when the car was clean I certainly was not!). Then I pulled her out and squandered another $1 to clean up the wash bay for future customers.

Parked her on the street facing into the wind so that in the morning I could tell if anything was dripping (you know, the little things like brake fluid - I'm funny about that) - plus had I parked in the driveway the wind would have blown the remaining odor right into the house!

Didn't seem quite so bad the next day when I went to and from work but boy when I pulled into the yard the next night our dog was all over the van. He sure tried to find the intruder that had been around 'his' car but settled for spending most of his night 'marking' every part of it he could reach (so back to the car wash)!

By the next trip to the Y the stuff had been pretty well spread out (and carried away by other cars!) but the odor remained for quite a while! I consider myself extremely lucky - had I been following at regular distance when the gate opened, I could have been killed - or worse!

Pain Free Gait Analysis!

Since there is absolutely no hope of improvement in my 'swimming' (every time I get in the water is a victory for me given my aversion to being where I can not touch bottom!) and I have in the past been somewhat of a 'runner' (that would be 35+ years past in the high school days!), I decided that this year I would make an effort to improve my 'running'. For the 2010 events I simply walked fast although at the Watermelon Run in Vincennes I was compelled to jog a bit to keep the ladies in front of me in sight since I didn't know the course and there was no one behind me!

Knowing that it wasn't as simple as ordering the pair of cute pink and purple shoes off the Internet, I took advantage of a visit to Ultimate Fit in Evansville (shares space with Gilles Bikes at 1308 South Green River Road) for a 'gait analysis'. They had me walk in my present 'running' shoes and watched how I did that. Then I repeated the activity at a 'run' (and no one laughed!). Then they had me take my shoes off (socks stayed on - no partial nudity in the store!) and looked at how my fit hit the ground when I was seated. Then they measured my feet - yes - both of them, because apparently everyone's feet aren't necessarily the same size.

After a moment the gentleman came out of the back with 2 pair of shoes that he recommended based on what they had done. One shoe from one pair went on the left foot and one shoe from the other pair went on the right foot. They laced/tied them and sent me off to 'run' again (and still no one laughed!). I liked the left shoe better than the right and turns out I have a narrow foot and the shoe on the right foot had a wider box. So we put both of the shoes from the left foot pair on and did some more 'running' and was pronounced good to go.

So, looks like I'm a New Balance girl! Our local cross country coach really likes the Asics brand, so I asked the gentleman why I wasn't going home with Asics, since they are so highly regarded. He quickly agreed as to the good reputation of the brand but my narrow foot/feet are too small for the Asics structure! The gentleman then wanted to know who the xc coach was and, small world, turns out they ran together in college!

I am sure there are MANY other places that will carefully fit you for your shoes - but I can personally recommend Jim Nolan (manager/fit specialist) at Ultimate Fit. Their web site is www.ultimatefit.biz and their phone number is (812) 431-0201!