Toppling Over

If it's March, it's that time of year again.  And no - I don't mean the month before taxes are due.

Many people around the country are caught up in the craziness of the annual NCAA Basketball tournament. It's called March Madness for a reason, and even at work there are people who have no idea what team is what playing brackets (for fun and profit!)   I'm happy to say that my basketball team is part of the Sweet 16 despite having lost it's center for academic reasons. Still, college sports has an emotion all it's own that make it fun to watch no matter who's playing. Go 'Cuse!

While I suppose that most people consider only Baseketball as part of this madness, each year the NCAA Wrestling Championships are decided in March as well. It is an insanity all its own (see some video here). The finals were broadcast in primetime on ESPN on Saturday night and seemed more like gladiators entering the ring to do battle than anything.  As someone who enjoys this unique sport, it's incredible to watch these athletes, and the 20,000+ people who convene to watch it in person.  It's a whole different kind of Madness - similarly frenzied and no less amazing.   Perhaps only a wrestler can truly appreciate it, but given that I'm headed to a tournament that will decide the final 2 spots at the Olympics Trials in less than two weeks, it was very inspirational.

My own weekend was fairly low-key. By design.

Saturday: 80 degree day just begging to be enjoyed. Pedicure. Relatively light run at the gym. Drive to little Beaufort, SC and spend the afternoon sitting on a swing watching the world go by. NCAA Wrestling Finals.

Sunday: LONG bike ride on the new bike (42 miles). Caught in a downpour. Freezing. Tired. Slept great!

I'll admit that I over-extended myself a bit yesterday on the bike ride, but nothing major. By the time I got done I was soaked, cold, and beyond tired. But a good dinner and a good night sleep did the trick. I'm pretty much back to my usual place today.

I got my blood test results back.  My estrogen level is high, like...over 500.  I need to pull that back.  Yeesh.  No wonder I get emotional.

LDL is 60.  HDL is 99.  Testosterone is 8.  All in all, most of the levels seem pretty good.  I keep all my results so I'll compare these to the last one. 

On less important topics, I've got several pairs of heels that I've come to really enjoy wearing.  I have a hard time with skinny tipped heels.  Most of the heels I like have a thicker heel to them.  I also like heels with a strap or something to keep them on.  Otherwise my feet tend to slip out of them while I'm walking.

It's one thing to live in a world where you wear heels for a night at a time, or as part of an outfit.  It's a whole other thing to wear them every day to work, to shop, and just as part of life.  Practical realities set in really fast, and I've reached a point where I don't need anything too crazy, where comfort is still important, where I don't feel like a clutz when I walk, and where there's some sense of style involved. 

Speaking of shoes, here's a funny story...

Now that I've got this fancy bicycle I've got special shoes that clip into the pedals to improve the efficiency of the pedaling.  I've never had that before.  And for those of us who are creatures of habit remembering to twist your feet to unclip before you can actually put your foot on the ground when you come to a stop is an extra step you've got to consiously work into the process.  Or, you fall.

When I was originally trying on the bike the guy at the bike store assured me that everyone falls at least a couple of times when they're just learning to work the shoes.  I told him I better not fall because (a) I'm fragile and the last think I need to do is fall on cement somewhere and (b) if my bike got hurt in the fall I'd get cranky.

So, yesterday was my first time in these shoes and I did a good job of remembering to unclip when I was coming to a stop.  That is, until I reached the main intersection on Isle of Palms.  There were lots of firemen standing around collecting money and I was watching to see what they were doing as I approached the intersection.  But when it came time to actually stop I realized that I had forgotten the step that involves unclipping so you've got something to put onto the ground.

So, I slowed down ready to stop, I moved my foot to prop myself up when I stopped.  And it's at that moment that I realized that it wasn't going anywhere because it was clipped into the pedal, and I was going to fall over.  Which I did.

I'm sure it looked a little like Arte Johnson falling over on his tricycle in Laugh-In (some might be old enough to remember that).  Because as soon as I stopped and realized there was nothing there....it was just a matter of toppling to the side, still strapped onto the bike.  The good news is that I was next to a piece of grass so the fall was actually pretty soft.

One of the fireman came over and asked if I was hurt.  I told him no.....just my pride.  I was embarrassed and was actually relieved that they were gone by the time I had to go past the intersection again.  Sheesh.

Gonna keep this short.  So much to do....so little time.  :)