Running and Wheels

Alrighty. So yesterday ran a 10k race. It was fun. My friend Audrey ran it with me, and she had a friend Angela, that also ran too. We all had a ton of fun. I really wanted to dress up in Santa hat and bells, but didn't get the Santa hat in time, so just had the small bells that the race provided for us. Oh well.

We decided to ride the MAX to the start. It was fun. For those of you who don't know, the MAX is the public transportation of choice here in Portland. It is the train that runs East-West. You can get most places from it, but it can take a long time. For instance to get from my place in Southwest Portland area, to the airport (Northeast Portland area), it can take about 1 1/2 hours. Luckily, this was just downtown, about half that distance. I think it was maybe 30 minute ride. It was fun though, we were just chatting away.

So, the run. Yes. It was good. A little rainy, and a lot windy. That part totally sucked, but we managed to get through it. The first three miles were the worst. Uphill, against the wind. Yeah. But, once we got past that, we were flying. We managed to finish at 1hr 11 minutes. Which is just under a 12 min/mile pace. Slow for most people, but I was happy with it. If I can keep that pace up for the winter, great. Then, when I start training again early spring or late winter for my next marathon, then I will be set. Hopefully I can start losing weight again too.

Moving on. Went and got my brakes done. I dressed in my running clothes thinking I would run while they fixed my car, but when I got there, it was pouring rain. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't mind running in the rain, but pouring rain...no thank you!

I waited. It wasn't bad. I brought my palm this time, so I could play some games. I did have a bag of that popcorn I mentioned in the above post. I couln't help it. It stared at me, and begged me to eat it. So I did!

Well, when they were done. They guy told me my Left wheel bearing is going bad, and it needs to be fixed soon. I knew something was wrong, because my car had been running loud lately. Before it sounded like a smooth car, now it sounds like a rough truck. So, of course with my luck, they couldn't get the part, except through an authorized Pontiac dealer. No one sold them. So, he was nice enough to call and get a quote. The guy said without ABS, and a front-wheel drive system, they couldn't order just the wheel bearing, they had to order the whole hub system. I don't really know what that means, but whatever. I do know, that it needs to be fixed, and he is the first one to tell what is wrong. I have asked several people, and no one knew why it was making that noise.

So, he went ahead and ordered the part, it will be in on Wednesday. I can take my car in again on Thursday morning (for another 2-3 hour wait), to get that fixed.

Another $300 down the drain. Okay, maybe not down the drain. My car is an investment, and I do need to take care of this investment. An investment I will be keeping for a very long time!!