Angry legs

Though I feel awesome mentally, physically I'm not quite back to normal yet. The peak phase of the training program starts this week, and that means intense efforts spaced out by easy, steady days.

Today was supposed to be an easy, steady day, but it was way more stressful than that. Wattage was low, HR was high ... ugh. In short, it was a bit uncomfortable. So I just got into a decent rhythm and spun it out. More water and more calories today will no doubt smooth things out a bit.

Tomorrow is the Wednesday night Bike Masters hammer ride, so that'll be the intense effort part. I'm also looking at Saturday morning for another hard ride. Probably only three hours or so, but it'll be hard.

So that's the plan. And now, back to work.

Well ... that was horrible

On my way home from work on Friday night, I noticed the legs didn't have much snap. I felt a little sluggish. I figured that had a lot to do with being on my feet, chasing customers across a concrete floor all day.

Later that night, I felt really tired. Like, go to bed at 9:30 tired. I actually made it to 10, but I was cooked. And then, around 5 a.m., I woke up with a start. My stomach was rumbling.

"Hmmm," I thought. "Did I not eat enough after riding home last night?"

Turns out, it was a different kind of rumbling -- the kind where you spend most of the next 12 hours either curled up in a ball on the bathroom floor or laying in bed having weird-ass dreams and sweating a lot. Lucky for me, I got both experiences. It was really great.

If I had to bet on where it came from, I'd say Jack. He had the same thing late Wednesday night and into Thursday. And a bunch of other daycare kids had it, too. I have a feeling Chris is next, mostly because she laid down on the couch after supper last night and stayed there for a long time.

But hey, there's good news in all of this -- I'm better now. I ate a lot yesterday and I'm feeling pretty good. The next two weeks on the bike are the "peak" phase of the training plan. I was originally aiming for Iowa City, but with no money and no looming piles of money in the immediate future, that's out. There are a couple of races on April 18-19 in Lincoln that have my name on them.

Don't know what that means, exactly, but I'll be ready for them ... whatever they turn out to be.

Conspiracies, redux

It's been a week since I started at the Trek Store. And despite my rest week plans (one hour of easy stuff per day), and the amenities available (shower at work), I've yet to actually ride to work.

Monday was my knee, Tuesday I was off, Wednesday was a scheduling problem (and I rode in the morning, anyway), Thursday Jack got sick, which required Chris to go to school to get things ready for a sub. And she didn't get back in time.

But now it's Friday and -- hold your breath here -- I'm planning on riding in. My clothes are ready, the bike is ready, my lunch is ready. OK, I think I can do this.

Riding on the weekend: I'd like to ride sometime Sunday -- probably after lunch, 3 hours or so. If you're interested, start thinking about times/places. And maybe we'll cross-reference with Mike's blog or something.

Live from the Super Sale

Things aren't nuts yet, but they will be shortly. Big sale this weekend.

It's been a strange week. New job, rest week, sick kid (as of last night) ... I'm honestly happy to know what day it is. One thing that will be good is getting back into the training routine. I always feel kind of blah during rest weeks. There's no focus -- no schedule. You just kind of do your thing and at the end, you feel fresh.

Actually, I'd like it to be at the end right now. Eh, I'll get out this weekend. Maybe.

Returning to the scene

If ever there was a good time to start a new job, it's during a rest week. I'm still trying to get the hang of things, so riding isn't a priority right now. For example, I'm sitting here in a Trek shirt. That's kind of freaking me out a little.

Anyway, I got back on the bike this morning. Just an hour's worth of easy spin, so I got up early and got it done. The 2008 Giro was on the television for this one. My knee feels a little funky still, but considerably better.

My bike, however, is misbehaving. The night before the race last week, after switching wheels and cassettes, it was really struggling on shifts. A quick, late trip to Bike Masters fixed a few things, but it still wasn't ideal. And it's not any better now.

Basically, the SRAM stuff I ordered 2.5 months ago needs to get here. Now. Or three or four weeks ago, as promised. And I'm probably going to need a new cassette soonish, too. I picked a great time to need a whole new gruppo.

The finger

Six weeks ago, my finger blew up. It's mostly healed now -- though the x-ray looks gnarly still. I just got back from my last appointment with the hand specialist.

Good news: Don't have to go back, and healing is progressing nicely.

Bad news: It'll never go straight on its own again. And it will likely be sore for a few more months. Awesome.

That's really the biggest news around here. I'm already into the groove at work, though I still have a few things to learn. The best part is that I feel comfortable in almost any situation. I had a guy wondering about clothing for the spring and summer. No problem. And another wanted to know about helmets and gloves and stuff. Sweet.

But I'm still getting the hang of matching the bike to the customer. Of course, I've worked two days. I'm sure it'll come.

On the bike ... well, I haven't actually been on the bike. Rest week here, so I'm just trying to stay sane. I have some writing to do yet this morning (for money, even!), and some other little things. Looks like the weather is perfect for this kind of week.

A new reality

On the way back from the race on Saturday, JP asked me how it felt. As in, was it that much harder than a Cat. 4 race?

I believe I answered quickly, "Yes."

Though there were parts where things settled down for a few miles at a time, it felt intense the whole time. I was more tired mentally than I've been in a long time. And my back ached at the end of those 68 miles.

And I finished ninth, amid a field of strongmen. I guess maybe that means I'm starting to be a strongman, too, but it sure didn't feel that way.

Anyway, it went like this:

After getting ready to roll ahead of JP, EB and Mike Miles, I caught Kim West before the starting line. I had some questions for him. I was the only Kaos guy in the A (Cat. 1/2/3) race. All9Yards and Powerade-IF had full teams. Midwest Cycling had Shim, Limpach and Paul. I had ... me. I'm sure I could have formed an allegiance with the squirrelly guy on the Cervelo who decided upon 404s and a helmet mirror, but for all intents and purposes, I was in this sucker alone.

"So, uh ... Kim? What do I do?"

He suggested I do what any self-respecting new Cat. 3 would do: Pray to the ghost of Fausto Coppi to spare him from the slaughter Just worry about yourself, and follow something if you think it's advantageous to do so. Duly noted. Thank you, sir.

The course was like this: gigantic freakin' hill about a mile into each lap (23 miles -- we did three of them), then a lot of rollers. Like, several dozen. And we finished back up on top of that hill. The picture is of me nearing the top. We started waaay in the background of that monster.

Anyway, nearing the top of the hill the first time, Limpach bubbled off the front (like always), but then kept going. Having ridden with him several times, I know he could have stayed out front a long time. So I bridged up to him, along with a few others, and we were on our way ...

... for about two minutes. Fail. And that was my great adventure off the front. I tucked back into the peloton and stayed there for the next 20 miles. The wind wasn't strong, but because of the speed of the peloton, it was imperative to stay out of it.

All hell broke loose when we climbed the hill the second time. Things got hot and I wasn't as quick over the top as I should have been. Basically, I eased off the gas for a few seconds. Unfortunately, everybody else was bombing down the other side at 30+ mph already. Doh! So I had to chase hard, downhill, with a little bit of a tailwind.

That, friends, sucked. If not for a group of A9Y guys, along with Kevin Burke, I would have been hosed. I jumped onto their train and reintegrated a minute or so later. Whew. And that's where I realized the price of even innocent mistakes: you get dropped. Now.

So I stayed tucked in the rest of the way. I felt good, but not good enough to try anything. And certainly not good enough to be on the front.

Things splintered further at the start of the third lap, when four guys got loose and stayed away. The groups that had been falling off and catching back on again were finally gone for good. There were about a dozen guys in my group now, including Shim and Limpach.

After we formed the chase group and things settled down, Shim came back and looked at me. "How long have you been here?" Umm ... the whole time. "I thought you fell off a long time ago." Nope. I was just staying out of the way.

The last lap was pretty mellow after the group formed. Going into the final few miles, I was thinking mostly about conserving energy and being ready for anything. On the final kick up the hill, Shim started the hostilities and blew everything up.

I should have been up a little farther, but I didn't know how much I had left. I ended up sprinting through about half the group for ninth. I caught a guy just a few feet before the line, too. That was pretty sweet, actually.

And then I realized my knee hurt like hell. I just hadn't noticed it. It's still sore today, which is OK, really. It's a rest week, so I wasn't going to ride today anyway. And I skipped yesterday's ride, despite really wanting to go. I'll probably take tomorrow off, too, and then get back into it with a ride to work on Wednesday.

So there it is. It was a hard race, but I feel good about where I am right now. Still plenty of work to do, but it's March. There should be work to do.

Oh, and thanks are owed to Liz Spray for handing me a bottle and picking up my vest and gloves on Saturday.

The quick word

Ninth on Saturday at the Twin Bing Classic. It was pretty brutal, but I'm pleased with the results. There's still a lot of work to do, friends.

Check Munson's blog for Sunday plans. Go!

Funny how things work out sometimes

A few weeks ago, I stopped by the Trek Store for one reason or another -- but mostly likely because I just hadn't been there for a while. I like those guys, so I stop in every so often. That day, I think I looked at a pair of Craft socks (buy one, get one free) in navy blue, which would have matched the new kit.

Anyway, I decided not to get them because I already got six new pairs of socks for this season. And, really, how many more can you have? Oh, and also because we were keeping things tight on the money front. You never know. That turned out to be a good idea.

In my travels of the past two-plus weeks (OK, really just riding around a lot), I stopped in a few more times. Hey, as long as I'm in the neighborhood, right?

I'm going back again today -- because that's where I'm going to work. There's a full-time position there with my name on it. And though the money isn't awesome, I'm excited to get started. It's something completely different, and won't be without its challenges. But still ... I'm ready to go.

You may say, however, "Bryan, you ride for Kaos, which is sponsored by your very good friends at Bike Masters. How's that going to work?"

It's going to work just fine. Everybody's cool with it. Most important for me is being a good ambassador for cycling. When I'm at the Trek Store, I'll do my job. And when I'm in Kaos kit, I'll fulfill my obligations accordingly.

I mentioned the money thing ... yeah, it's not great. So I'm lining up freelance writing gigs on the side. I got my first one officially last night, and I'm on the hunt for more. I'm going to make it work.

Actually, I have to make it work. Because I'd feel bad if my desire to work with a bike shop completely screwed everything up.

Oh -- race tomorrow. I'll hopefully have pictures or something on Monday. Full report, etc. I'm hoping to not get dropped. Or at least not get dropped in the first five miles.

What does it all mean?

Last night was the first Wednesday night Bike Masters ride of the season. In other towns it's called Wednesday Worlds or something catchy like that. Whatever the name, it's all the same -- full-on hammer-fest.

Since it gets dark around 7:45, we didn't do the full distance. It was still about 90 minutes of pain. Of course, when the pain started, I conveniently threw my chain (to the outside, no less) and had to stop. I chased hard and was quite thankful when I saw the lead guys (Puma, Dave, Spence) waiting. Whew.

After that, I was there the whole time. I sat in for two or three turns on the way back, but was fine otherwise. Tired, of course. And sore today. But I climbed well, sprinted well and generally felt pretty strong.

How that translates into racing on Saturday, I have no idea. I'm two or three days from the end of Build 2, which has been a pretty stressful training phase. Between job stuff and the actual workload on the bike, it hasn't been easy. But I still feel stronger than I did at the beginning of the month.

So I guess it's time to chill for a couple days, line up on Saturday and see what happens. I'm really looking forward to it.

Tales from the road

In between looking for employment, fretting about finances and doing things around the house, I've been riding. I have a pretty good tan going.

It's tempting, when time is of no concern, to ride all day. With one exception, I've avoided that for the last two weeks. I've moved workouts around a little bit to better mesh with planned group rides and such, but really, I've been sticking to the plan.

Yesterday was cruise intervals -- basically little time trials. 12 minutes on, three off. HR in zones 4 and 5a. It's surprising, but I realized that was the first time I did that workout outside. It was a lot harder to control wattage with the wind blowing me around. So I focused on cadence and speed, especially into the wind. It was definitely harder than doing it on the trainer, though I'm sure wattage numbers were better inside.

Today, I'd normally do a 3-hour ride. Just steady stuff, solid tempo. I'm swapping that for the first Wednesday night Bike Masters ride of the season. I'll hit the steady ride tomorrow and then do some technique stuff on Friday.

I'm not sure what's in store for the race on Saturday. According to the plan, it's just a training race. Obviously, I'd like to do well. My hand feels pretty good, at least compared to a couple of weeks ago. So, really, the only barrier to success is how my legs feel that day.

Or, I could just do the 'B' race and try to take the money. That'd be pretty fun, too.

The tide rolls in

Since the ax fell two weeks ago, I've been trying very hard to not be angry or bitter about what happened. To not be negative and mean and nasty. In short, to move on and get started on whatever is next.

I had a little speed bump on all of that yesterday afternoon. Thanks to a small handful of policies best described as "complete and utter bullshit," the time I thought I had to find gainful employment has been cut by two or three weeks. (Note: the small handful spans a number of entities and institutions, so settle down.)

Yikes.

So decisions will be made this week, with work starting next week(ish). I'm lining up all sorts of great projects which, if nothing else, will allow the family to eat.

And what of bike racing? I'm racing in Sioux City this weekend, and in all of the Nebraska races for sure (because they're free). After that ... I'm just going to have to play it by ear -- and by wallet. I really don't see a lot of long-distance travel in the plans. Luckily for me, the training peaks I had planned will easily fit into the revised schedule.

All will be well. Eventually.

At last, some results

Behold! The new Team Kaos kit. As you can see, Alegent Health is the new title sponsor. It was pretty wild seeing the team in blue and white this weekend, especially after so many years of red. Most of the time when we get together we're all kitted up, so wearing something other than red was strange for a few minutes. The shorts, by the way, are blue on the center panels and white on the sides.

The Saturday team meeting came after a morning hammerfest. The big boys were all there, except -- curiously -- Shim. Anyway, we rolled out of town, hit the hills, hit the windy flats, got all sprinty a few times and came back tired. I ended up with 4:15 on the clock and 75 miles.

And I'm happy to say I was right there the whole time. No problem. Yeah, it was hard, but at no point was I worried about getting dropped. That's pretty sweet.

Hey, speaking of getting dropped ... Sunday's ride was something else entirely. I was going to ride easy, because that's what the plan was. Several other guys from Saturday said they were going to ride easy on Sunday. Cool, except ... 27 mph uphill with a stiff crosswind is not easy.

A few guys wanted to hammer, and hammer they did. I stuck with the plan and got three hours of steady stuff in. It was a nice end to the week.

And now this week dawns with 70 degrees on tap. And this is the day I'll be riding in the morning -- for only an hour. I'll be soaking in the sunshine later while doing yardwork. Wheeee!

Let's try this again

Last time a weekend hammer ride was in the works, this was the end result. Not of the ride itself, but of the weekend as a whole. Jesus, what a disaster.

Since then, things have been a little ... odd. I learned how to ride with what amounted to a metal hook on my right hand. Then, the day after the hook came off, I was fired. And since then, I've been spending mornings looking for a job and afternoons on the bike. It's been a strange month.

So it's with a little trepidation that I mention tomorrow's ride: 10 a.m., from the Trek Store. Four or five hours of ... ahem ... fun. Probably going to be hilly and fast and painful and all of that. All of the local heavies will be there, I'm sure. And I guess I'll find out if I should be included in that group.

That's assuming, of course, my bike retains its structural integrity this time.

Gam Jams Reviews: Race wheels I want

One of the best parts of the race day routine is opening the quick-release levers on your training wheelset and pulling a sweet set of go-fast wheels out of the bag. Your bike is instantly lighter, snappier and probably looks fast as hell.

But no matter what you pull out of that bag (Dura-Ace 7801SL for me, by the way), there's always something cooler out there. The dream wheels. The ones you see at races, or hanging from the ceiling at the shop, and say, "someday."

Unfortunately, I've actually ridden the "someday" wheels a few times. I'm lucky to have a shop that helps out the less fortunate (that'd be me, and other poor racers) by loaning out a set of demo wheels if the situation arises. For me, the situation arises during time trials. No TT bike = getting all of the other advantages possible. That means skin suit, TT helmet, aero bars and booties, the whole smash.

And, of course, aero wheels. Zipp 404s, specifically. My dream setup would actually be an 808 in the back and a 404 in the front (referred to as a 606 setup by some). You get a little closer to a disc in the back while keeping the stability in crosswinds and aero bits up front.

The first time I borrowed the 404s, back when I was a very new Cat. 4, I wasn't fast enough to actually take advantage of them. I'm sure they helped a little, but you really have to wind them up to get the full benefit. And when you hit 25 or so, everything suddenly feels a little easier. Smoother. Faster.

With a lot more training miles in my legs now, I can make the 404s go. I nailed a pair of TTs last year with 404s under me. I wonder what the 606 setup would reap? Hmmm ... better go up to the shop and snoop around a bit.

The boxed set

Those of you who have been in my basement know it's not exactly a big place. I can get two bikes in the area in front of the TV, and probably two more behind the couch. As a cycling studio, it's sorely lacking. But for a solo pain odyssey, it's just fine.

As I was getting my bike set up this morning, my eyes wandered to the other side of the room. There, in five white cardboard boxes, lives my career. Clips from the last nine years, some books, notes that seemed important when I cleaned out my desk ... it's all there. And I have no idea what to do with it. The clips obviously need to be saved, but the rest? Beats me. It all has to go somewhere, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to deal with all of that. Maybe next week.

I should mention yesterday's adventures. There was a career fair at the Holiday Inn on 72nd Street. Being a shiftless layabout, I felt I owed it to myself to check that out. And by 'check it out,' I mean 'walk around the room and leave five minutes later.'

Wow. Each of those booths housed a company whose ad I skipped on all of the employment sites. Sell office chairs from my house? No. Avon? Mary Kay? No. China Panda? No. And no also to the military, the resume-writing station and the construction place. No.

That's not to say the day didn't turn out great. I had very good talks concerning a pair of opportunities that may well work out. And I got a phone call that made me feel a lot better about things. Not great, by any stretch, but better. So it's not all doom and gloom.

Of course, it's -4 degrees with wind chill right now. Yikes.

It had to go sometime

It's dark outside. Cold and wet. Windy. Good day to ignore yesterday's set of rules and camp out on the couch with some coffee.

But that's not in the plans for today. I wish it were. I'm in the beginnings of a cold. Just enough to make you feel not so good, but not bad enough to actually force you to the couch. So that's annoying.

Also annoying: Lily. She has a sore on her hind quarters that's oozing a bit. That's a problem. It's been treated and everything, but she has to be watched constantly to avoid staining anything of any importance. It's like watching Jack, but the dog understands even less. Plus, she has a BiteNot collar on (think tall neck brace, so she can't get to the sore), so she won't just go lay down and take a nap.

Add that stuff to the day's activities: job fair, plus a workout later that promises to be nothing short of painful. Ugh. I was wondering when this day was going to come. Turns out it took a week.

That's not bad, considering the circumstances.

Update: Get rid of the cloudy stuff from earlier. Well, except for the literally cloudy stuff outside. I had a good morning and a good early afternoon. I'm going to skip the workout and do it tomorrow. (I rode 3 hours yesterday, and it was technically an easy/off day. It'll be fine.)

I just feel really good right now. Really good.

Wapner is on at 4

Should you ever find yourself adrift in a sea of joblessness, it's important to stick with a tried and true routine to go about your daily affairs. You know, so you don't end up sitting around in your underwear all day and finishing a bag (or two!) of Doritos ...

Anyway, you gotta get out of bed. Seriously. And you have to put pants on and pretend to be a grown-up. If nothing else, it forces you to get into the right mindset. And the right mindset is the one that gets you focused on clicking a lot of links.

So, though it would be easier (and quite awesome), I avoid just throwing on shorts and a t-shirt and instead opt for at least a pair of jeans. And socks and shoes.

Breakfast and reading the paper is at the same time, followed by getting Jack ready to go to daycare. Coffee even comes at the same time. 8ish. And as I leave daycare, I take a right turn instead of a left. The coffee is consumed at home now.

From there, there's no routine. I continue the search as long as possible -- usually three or four hours -- and then go ride. If there's one positive out of all of this, it's that I get to ride whenever I want, for as long as I want. Of course, there's that whole "no money coming in" bit ... gonna have to work on that.

There's only so much you can take

Job hunting is a strange beast. I went through it about nine or 10 months ago, when I was unhappy working nights and editing the same stories every day. Though there were a few possibilities, they didn't pan out. Mostly, I just spent 10 to 15 minutes scanning the listings and moving on.

You know, because I had other things to do. Like work.

But now, with literally nothing else to do, spending the day looking at employment listings is pretty brutal. On one hand, it has to be done. Though we'll be fine for the immediate future, there isn't a lot of time to waste. So let's get to it, right? Right!

On the other hand, it's tiring. I've been cooked by about 8:30 every night this week. Not from worrying. I'm not worried per se -- not yet. It's just that sitting in front of the computer all day, knowing your future depends on clicking on every link that appears to be even remotely possible, wears on you after a while.

So, basically, unemployment makes you tired. I need some coffee.

So ... now what?

Before I go too far -- because I'll forget -- I want to say thank you to everybody who commented yesterday. After I posted that, I didn't check my blog until later in the day. I was heartened to see so many notes of encouragement. So, thanks.

When you get up in the morning and go to a job you really like, very rarely do you think about what else you'd like to do. For me, that was usually something like "go get some coffee." So when people ask me what I'm looking for, I'm still likely to say "coffee." Because I have no idea what I'm looking for.

So I'm scanning the job search sites, making note of possibilities and getting my resume out there. The bonus is that I'm going to spend all morning doing that, then get out for a workout in the afternoon, when it's supposed to be 70. Today is just a short hill workout, so I won't be out for hours like I was yesterday ... when it was only in the 40s. Whoops.

Upward, over the mountain

It was never my intention, at any point during my college years, to be a journalist. I majored in physical education. I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to coach baseball and cross country. Mostly, I wanted to wear Nike pants or shorts to work every day.

But after four years at The Northern Iowan, the college newspaper at UNI, I found I had more experience in newspapers than in teaching. And when it came time to get a job, journalism won. I applied for four or five teaching jobs and got no interviews. I had my first newspaper interview within 20 minutes of dropping off my resume -- I had a message waiting on my answering machine when I got back from the newspaper office.

It was like that when we moved to Omaha, too. The right place at the right time. I couldn't imagine going back to teaching, though I thought about it every so often. Journalism. Newspapers. That was me. Teaching was the fallback; what I would do if I needed a job. In college, it was the other way around. I'd go be a writer somewhere if I couldn't get a teaching job.

Ten years later, teaching still feels like a fallback. And I might have to explore that -- I was one of 38 people who lost their jobs yesterday. I don't remember much after the first couple sentences of the sit-down. I'm not sure how I got home even.

Chris was home, since Jack is just sick enough to not be allowed at daycare. We spent the morning together, reeling. After she went to school -- we planned on splitting the day at home -- and after Jack went to sleep, I was alone with my thoughts. Between making rash mental decisions (cancel the dish, magazines; sell a car; sell a bike; no more eating out, ever) and thinking "what am I going to do?" I started getting notes from friends. Texts, emails, phone calls ... all afternoon. Consolation, encouragement, positive thoughts. And sometimes just silence. I have great friends. Really great friends.

And when it died down a bit, I really got thinking: What am I going to do?

For now, it'll go like this. File for unemployment this morning, search some job listings (and make note of the possibilities) and go ride my bike. It's going to be a beautiful day today. I'd hate to waste it feeling sorry for myself.

Onward. Upward. Forward.

Go for launch*

*gently

Well, the splint is off. Three weeks and one day after turning my right pinky into a splintered, jagged mess, I can finally put a glove back on. As as delighted as I am to have it off -- and to be able to shower without a frickin' WalMart bag rubber-banded around my hand -- it's terrifying. Utterly terrifying.

Why? Well, because it was protected before. It had an aluminum casing that allowed no movement or damage. Now, it's flopping free. And it hurts. A lot. All of those tendons that stayed static for three weeks now have to be restretched. And it's horrible. It's actually worse than having a broken bone.

But there are good things, too. I can wear gloves now. I can ride with any of several comfortable hand positions. I can wash my left arm. All positives.

I celebrated by punishing the trainer this morning. Wattage was up again -- the legs felt strong. And I might even get to ride outside for a bit tomorrow. Hopefully a good few weeks are on their way.

Evidence

In the days after the great finger-breaking crash of 2009, people have asked me how I landed to break a finger where I did. My answer has mostly been: "No idea."

When the ride ended that day, I changed clothes -- very slowly -- showered, cleaned up the road rash, ate and then headed to urgent care. I never bothered to check any of my gear for damage.

For some reason last night, I decided to dig out my gloves and get them into the laundry in anticipation of maybe being able to use them in the next week or so. Along the way, I answered the question of how I landed. Check out the tip of the pinky. That'd be it.

None of the other fingers had even a little bit of dirt on them. The pinky had dirt ground into the seam. So, finally, there's the answer -- I landed pinky first, and it dragged my finger back. Unfortunately, my hand was still going forward.

Back to the doctor today for another look at the finger. It feels pretty good, so I'm mildly optimistic.

And here's Jack from yesterday. He grabbed an old Kaos jersey out of the clothes basket and was trying to put it on. It was cold out, so I figured he could use a thermal hat, too.