Catalytic Converters and Monroeville

Over the last two weeks our (newer - 2007) car was starting to run pretty loud. We couldn't quite pinpoint the exact issue, but knew that (in spite of it still keeping its great 31-32 mpg) there was something wrong. We were worried as it was getting louder by the day/week.

So, what to do? The normal routine is to drop off the Saturn at the dealership that's about 2 miles from my school. I take in clothes and food the day before and just jog up after dropping it off in the morning. Then, after practice, I jog back over and pick up the car. This works most times for both the Saturn and the VW (just a block down the road).

However, we have had some snafus. Like the time they had know clue about the Saturn Car Care plan or the time the VW people never read my note that said to call Beth because I couldn't get to my phone and I show up at 5:30pm all sweaty at the dealership and they were still waiting for our permission to start the work.

So......with this being a potential big issue, we wanted to take it back to the original dealership in Monroeville since we bought it there (and if there was any warranty issues). The problem with this is that Monroeville isn't on the way to work for either of us. Fortunately, a fellow teacher comes to school this way so I was able to hitch a ride with her. The only issue was that it was this cracked catalytic converter that they didn't have in stock had to be replaced. So, they couldn't repair it until Saturday. So.......plan B was fortunately okay in that I got dropped off in Oakland after work and went home with Beth.

This put us one car down for Saturday and we had to go down to Monroeville to pick it up at some point. We were able to work it out in the morning--Beth used the car to go swimming and then I drove out to Ohio for the team's XC race. Our guy finished 2nd--gave a solid effort, but got passed with about 400m to go. On the way back, I was able to listen to the PSU game (decent effort on defense, but offense still has some question marks).

Then, I went home and Beth and I spent our evening in Monroeville. First, we went back to the Cornerstone Church in Export (great music and message about putting family #1). Then, off to Boston Market (who by the way has a free meal for teachers in September w/ the purchase of a meal), Sam's Club, and picking up the car. We were just crossing things off the list left and right.

And, by virtue of going to church Saturday night, we slept in on Sunday. Beth got up earlier, but I don't think I rolled out of bed until after 8am. On to Sunday where I had my run. With the upcoming weekend of travelling to California, we figured the 20-miler wouldn't fit too well into the race weekend, so I flip-flopped my training weekends and just have 13 for next weekend. It went well, but I felt pretty sluggish today. It may have something to do with my last three weekends have been 20 miles, 16 miles w/ 12 at race pace, and 20 miles. I'm hoping the upcoming week of lower mileage will help me recover some.

Why the lower mileage? Well, the travelling to California this weekend of course cuts in to it. We've got a big XC meet for the section title Tuesday (so no real running for me other than spectathlete-ing). Finally, on Wednesday, I'm going to a college fair to serve as an alumni rep for Elizabethtown College. I enjoy sharing my stories (and my younger sister's) about Etown with the high schoolers.

So, busy week and the a fun weekend to watch Beth race this weekend. Cool BOUS preview talking about Beth here: http://minnesotatrinews.blogspot.com/2009/09/top-5-state-teams-at-best-of-us.html

Okay, my favorite non-sports show is coming on--the Big Bang Theory. Look for a blog this weekend about the trip.