Run, drive, sleep

I think that's all I did this past week. Well, except Tuesday, just drove and slept because it was a "rest" day.

Monday, woke up and checked in with the plant to let them know I was parked out on the street and that I was going for a run--I always let Terry know what road I'm taking so they know where to look for me if I'm not back. Decided on Amos Hamlett, it's hillier than Crescent View but has more trees so stays a little cooler. Great run even with the hills so ended up with 5.15 miles and a little more scenery than I'd taken in before. Also got greeted by a very friendly yellow lab mix and a noisy dachsund.

When I got back to the plant I noticed everybody was cranky and asked what was going on. Well, they have a manager on nights now who is from one of the Michigan plants and he brought that Detroit attitude with him to my nice laid back friends in TN. He evidently cusses everybody out and fires people with very little provocation so now they can't keep people on that can run the tote box machine without messing the boxes up and the factory in Mexico is complaining about the product being damaged. So come Monday morning the day shift is getting their butts chewed and they're having to repackage about 1/2 of my load. There were 2 supervisors out on the floor changing out the product in addition to Terry and DeAnna and each row was being photographed as it was being loaded onto my trailer. This results in me getting out of there 3 hours later than normal. 3 hours doesn't sound like much but it adds up. To be fair I do have until 0800 Wednesday to deliver but if I want that trip to be on Friday's paycheck I have to deliver before midnight Tuesday and there's the advantage of getting back home on Wed. night late or Thursday morning.

So I end up sleeping at Prescott, AR Monday night which means I can get to Laredo, drop and hook Tuesday but that's it for the day. Hit Austin and San Antonio rush hour traffic that afternoon so that didn't improve my mood any. But there were no lines at our yard or Penske and I didn't have to get any trailer work done, so I guess it evened out. Woke up Wednesday morning drove to Cotulla and ran a very difficult 3.23 miles (hmm, it's listed as an easy run on my log but it didn't feel easy). Called medical dept to schedule my D.O.T. physical for Thursday afternoon (fun, fun, fun) and made it back to Prescott last night.

Ran 3.33 miles at sunrise this morning in Prescott. The view was beautiful but my legs were sooo tired and it was soooo humid that it ended up being one of those runs where you ask yourself why are you doing this. Managed to slog through it even though I just wanted to stop and walk. I was able to find a parking spot at the Love's afterwards, very unusual, it doesn't start clearing out until late in the morning. AND there was no shower wait, doubly unusual. But it gets better, I get to Concentra and it's not packed to capacity, I was in and out of there in 1.5 hours. But wait, I decided to get my truck washed at the Blue Beacon afterwards and I get out of there in less than an hour, YAY!!!! I think I was getting some good karma too make up for my bad run this morning.

The physical went okay but it's just a pain to get it done. Blood pressure was 122/70, a little high, but I was stressing out about being there, something about doctors' offices does that to me. Don't know what my pulse rate was because they did it by holding my wrist and counting, why don't they have that neat machine that does it all? I love it when it beeps that my heart rate is too low. I actually had to do the cough test for the hernia today, usually they just prod around my stomach. Finished up with 2 deep squats to prove that I can get in and out of my truck and was told that I'm exceptionally healthy and I was certified for 2 more years. While I was at the yard today dropping my trailer I was watching one of our drivers walk across the parking lot. She was so heavy that she had to stop a couple of times to rest before getting to her tractor. It always makes me want to ask why the government requires these physicals when they just pass people willy-nilly. It's not uncommon to be in a truck stop and you look at the truck next to you and the driver is sleeping sitting up in his or her seat because they are too large to get into their bunk area. That scares me to think they are out on the road with me because you know they're not getting proper rest.

workouts for the week

Sat. 7/26--34 mile bicycle ride in 2:16:19 (a.m.)
Dam Night Run 5k 26:37 (p.m.)

Sun. 7/27--2.78 mile recovery walk/run in 38:15

Mon. 7/28--5.15 mile run in 51:06

Wed. 7/30--3.23 mile run in 30:26

Thurs. 7/31--3.33 mile run in 32:45

Should have rode the bicycle this afternoon but this week is catching up to me and I decided I needed an easy night of laundry, internet, and t.v. instead. I had 2 nights where I was woke up by somebody needing a bathroom break between 3 and 4 a.m. and I'm hoping it doesn't happen again tonight.