Day 2

Well, I made it through my second day. Phew.

I'm blessed with very good kids. Sometimes they get out of hand, but by and large, it's been fun. And, I never realized how great it would be to hear the words, "Miss TriZilla"!

This blog is going to be set aside for a while. There is no real training going on, and there will not be until... well until I'm not drowning in real life. I'm happy now, just very challenged, and I need every spare second to get caught up.

It might only be a few days, who knows!

I have this race thing on Sunday.... It's going to be fun. I've made up my mind. Just fun.

Maybe next week I'll be able to settle in a bit! Here's hoping! Hope you are all doing well.

Too Close.

What a tragedy. What senseless destruction.

It touches our lives daily. It makes us struggle to find sense. Reason.

This time came a little too close. Too close.

I panicked. I prayed. I called (wanting to know, but afraid). No breath.

And that wonderful sigh of relief came when I heard he was ok.

My heart goes out to those that do not get that sigh. That will forever have to wonder why.

Update

and it's a doosey!!!

Lotsa news:

- I'm living in PA now. In case you didn't know.

-I escaped grad school. It's been 6 lovely months now. I'm moving forward.

-I got a job!!!! I am now a teacher (or will be for the next 2 months) in Chemistry in a local High School. I'm soooo excited (and scared). My first day is Wednesday.

-I'm doing a triathlon this Sunday. Should be fun since i think the last time i was in a pool was February. Haven't biked in a while, and certainly not 16 miles. Eh! Oh well! Should be interesting, at the very least. Anyway, I'm there for my friend. It's her first!

Hmm, I guess that's it for now! I'll keep you posted on how my first day goes... Back to lesson plans!

Getting Back...

How many times does this happen... Derailment followed by getting back on the wagon. But, I have to say that getting back into the swing of things feels so so good!

I figured out that my body does not like running two days in a row. I've finally run 3 times in a week with NO pain. You have no idea what a blessing that feels like right now. (Well, maybe you do.) :)

So, I've scrapped the 1/2 marathon, and I'm using the next 3 weeks to get in tri mode. Good thing, since there's a tri scheduled on 4/22. Don't worry, Karen, I'll be there. It might be ugly (small fields make me nervous...), but I'll get there.

Lessee, in other news, I got the stitches taken out of my finger. I'll post pics if you want... let me know. I was also just recently certified to substitute teach... and since I can't get fingerprinted for the FBI clearance yet, it looks like I'll be going to the city first. GAH! Should be interesting, to say the least, folks!

One

One run.

Just me.

No watch, no ipod.

It felt good to go slow and enjoy the weather.
It felt great to feel my legs carry me.

I'm not going to even think about races or anything right now. Just being good to myself.

(So as a reward, I'm enjoying a strawberry, banana, oj smoothie! YUM!

What am I doing?

Ugh. Not a good time, right now. And, I hate it. It's spring time, things are supposed to be getting better.

I'm job hunting. It feels hopeless.

I'm not working out. At. all. Haven't for 2 weeks. Don't feel like it.

I don't want to get out of bed.

It will get better, I know. It has too.

But in the meantime, I'm watching my race schedule get shorter and shorter. The 1/2 Mary is not going to happen. Wow. At this rate, I'm not going to be racing at all this summer.

i can't win

short one here... mainly b/c typing is at a minimum...

i managed to slice well into my left index finger yesterday afternoon...

5 stitches and a few darvocet later... i'd like my break now, please!

Frustration Strikes Again

Well, this week, I've been side-lined ONCE MORE by something that felt frighteningly like a heel spur. I'm guessing that this came on the heels (ha ha) of my last run... too much too fast. This is getting old, old, OLD. I can honestly say that I've never had this many problems with injuries...

And it's getting scary. I have a race in six short weeks. A big race. One that I can't just show up to and hope everything turns out okay. Beyond that, I have the biggest race thus far in August. And there is no base. None. Every time I get going again, I have some other annoying injury that needs rest and ice. I'm really not sure what to do.

Meaning... I'm starting to think that I can't do the 1/2 marathon. I need a rhythm. I need to get it going. I just seem to be going in so many other directions right now.

Deep Breath. Ok. Well, it is what it is. I'm actively searching for a job. That is showing some promise, but honestly it's like having a second job. It takes time. It takes workout time, some days.

Well, the good news is that after three days of rest, ice and ibuprofen, my foot feels great. I'm glad I didn't run yesterday, as that would have been pushing it. I need to figure out the cause of all of these problems.

1. Too much too soon. Pretty sure this is the cause of the PF and shin splints before, but I was trying so hard to be careful this time... Maybe I just can't do speed work until after the 1/2 Mary...

2. Not enough variety. Or not enough stretching. I know I function better with yoga. I didn't go this week.

3. Not enough focus. Or not the right focus. Perhaps PRs aren't the way to go this year... Maybe I should just enjoy the experience and get settled with job stuff.

4. Shoes? Nah...just got new ones, they seemed better.

5. Current job is very physically demanding already... It could be that the demanding nature of speed work (or sometimes any workout) might just be too much (ack! it sounds like I'm getting old!) I've finally gotten to the point where my legs and body don't ache morning, noon, and night just from working. That's progress. Perhaps I just need to take it more slowly for now.

So, where to go from here:
Foot is better. I will get to the gym tomorrow and run for 30 minutes. Do stretching and crunches. I will eat a good diet and drink water. Focus needs to be injury prevention and consistent base building. Speed work needs to wait, me thinks.

Okay, thanks for reading through that. I was in a bad spot. It's going to be fine, but coach, I could use a phone call :)

I hope every one had a wonderful St. Patty's day!

So Far, So Good

So far, it's been a good week. I've gone running 2 times (little or NO foot or shin discomfort), and I started that new class, PiYo - I felt like I was in heaven when I left!

Eating and sleeping are going moderately well.

As far as the time goal goes... Err, well, I dunno. Maybe I should start thinking about that in a week or so after I'm back into the swing of things...

I hope all of your weeks are going well, and that you are braving the snow/cold well. Here in PA, the state has shut down again due to the whopping 3" of snow we received this am. :) It is beautiful, though.

I cannot WAIT to get on my bike again!

Interesting Night

Whew, what a night. I honestly felt like I jumped down the rabbit hole tonight. It's amazing what too much alcohol and stupidity will do to a person. Thankfully, I was sober. Boy, ppl can be dumb. I had to actually yell at a good friend. I hate doing that. I'm already feeling old.

But it gave me pause enough to think about what I'm doing with this 1/2 marathon coming up. Thanks, Joe, for your words. It can still be done. I think that's what I needed. A little hope.

I realized that I need to be kinder to my body. I met my goals for last week. I got to bed almost every night by midnight and got up (spontaneously the past two days!) at 8:15-8:30. It's good to have that back under control.

Eating is ehhh. Better, though. I'm back into my mode of eating only what I take to work, so that's a great start.

I also realized that I need to have a fluid schedule, seeing as my work hours change day to day. So, I mapped out a strategy for this coming week. We'll see how it pans out.

So, I'm going to follow Crackhead's strategy and set up some managable goals for this coming week:

• In bed by 12. Up at 8:15 - 8:30.
• Follow a flexible schedule. Rest days when I work 12-15 hour shifts (duh).
• Focus on good eating habits.
• Get excited about my time goal (and figure out what that is).

I think that's good for now. I have a lot of other things going on right now, so I'll keep it simple.

Focus!

Ok. Phew. I guess I just needed to vent or something.

It's nothing that a hot bath and a good night's rest didn't cure.

That, and I just got my gym's publication in the mail today. I asked a while ago about these pilates/yoga classes they have and was told that even with my super membership that I'd have to pay extra. I was *not* happy, knowing that my body is SO tight right now, and also knowing that the cure to that tightness was being held in front of my nose.

Until today.

I opened up the gym publication (nicely done, just a lot of typos) and read grudgingly about the class... until I get to the part that it's FREE for fitness/pool members! FREE! What a wonderful word!

I called just to make sure. :) There is hope after all.

So, that's my focus, along with getting to bed by midnight and getting up at 8:30. Let's see how it goes...

This is really not good.

Not good at all.

My eating is out of control.

Every time I run I get twinges of PF and shins.

The new shoes I just got suck.

I feel terrible.

I can't seem to find balance in my life.

Let alone discipline to go to bed and get up and to effing PUT THE FORK DOWN!!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to be able to run a half marathon in 8 weeks.

Oh yeah. And then there's timberman.

Forgive me for being negative but right now things SUCK.

suckity suck suck.

Getting back on the wagon

Here I am again...
More discipline.

That's all I need. And more sleep. Less screwing around. Less being fearful of what I really can do.

So, I went for my second run this week. 45 minutes. Was beautiful, but not a lot of fun besides that as it seems that my HRM is broken (whatever, man), and I'm a snad out of shape due to the shin splint hiatus. But if it gets me to my goal, so be it. Going to try a 60 min run on Monday. Fingers crossed folks!

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

I've had it!

Okay, before you all yell at me...

I couldn't take it anymore. I was turning into that bearded-goat-woman-from-hell. I needed to run.

AND, I actually LOOKED at my shin the other night... Turns out the sucker was bruised, probably from me slamming around at work. Bruised right on the bone.

You can see from my workout log, that I was a good patient. I haven't really run for over a week. I've been resting, and icing, and praying. I think I'm good

So, I did it! And it felt great!!! Now I'm stretching my butt off, and hoping that I have dodged a bullet. :)

Also, Rocket Pants and Random Moments... I'm giving serious thought to doing Ashland on 6/17... Whaddya say?

Life is going well, I suppose. It's busy though, and this current job does not give me a whole lot of free time to get stuff done.

PA got slammed with a nasty storm this week. As I was "shoveling" through 3" of sleet and freezing rain (while it was snowing), I was cursing that darn pink line that PA always seems to get stuck in. It *was* a super workout for my back though...

In other news, I have a very slight shin splint. I've had them before, but never had any sensation so close to the bone. So I'm resting it as much as possible (when I'm not shoveling). The last thing I need now is a stress fracture.

Has anyone ever had these? How much pain is it really? I honestly am not sure if I'm being a baby or not.

Race Plan?

Well, it's finally coming to fruition... The ever looming race plan. For once, I let it go until the end of January... Kind of freakish actually.

Workouts are going well. Still struggling a bit with PF, but icing and stretching seem to be keeping it at bay. Doesn't help that my uber nice gel inserts I use for work POPPED the other night. Gah. Suckers are supposed to be guaranteed for life or some such nonsense.

So, to be fair, I only know of three races so far. The others depend on timing (i.e. How fast can I run to make it in time to be in a friend's wedding... Probably not that fast, eh?)

4/22 - Tri for Kid's Sake (Sprint)
4/29 - Runners' World Half Marathon (was my first, for you long time readers...)
.
.
.
8/19 - Timberman Half Ironman

There will likely be some olys thrown in there... maybe a few other running races. For now, I'm trying to tame my bread eating (it's the only thing at work that satiates the hunger), and focusing on toning this new body. Thankfully the weight loss has stabilized!

Hope you are all doing well, and that your builds are going smashingly!

My new dessert

It's ALmost better than chocolate. I could eat a million of them, but want to stop after one.

They are fun to peel.

So juicy.

Not an orange, but it's kissing cousin.

The GRAPEFRUIT!!! So super yummy! I think I'm hooked for life.

Anyway, just had to share! (and, no i'm not on the grapefruit diet, I just think they are super duper yummy! And fun to eat in sections WITHOUT sugar!)

:)

Let me paint a picture...

Sometimes the best runs are spontaneous, beautiful works of art.

I started out this morning. The sky was grey, and I knew it was going to be windy. I was tired, and was soooo tempted to hit the snooze button one more time, knowing that if I did I would miss the bus.

But I didn't. And I'm oh so glad.

I decided to strike out on a new path. I wound my way toward town, along the strip mall, and then made a quick left. Suddenly it was as if I had left that old crazy world behind. The car dealership was replaced by silos. The pizza shop was now a farm. I was in heaven. It was warm (but not too warm). The breeze blew through my hair.

I crossed the railroad tracks with Alison Krauss playing in my ear. And then I saw them. Big beautiful green fields, covered with sea gulls. Still. Eating breakfast. As I came up to them, they started to fly low to the ground next to me... first one, then two, then 10, then 20... hovering just inches above the ground. I felt as though I had taken flight.

I hope you all get a chance to "take flight" this week. I can't wait to revisit this run. I know it won't be the same again, but just the memory of today's magic will make it special every time I return.

Since Christmas...

Ok, ok, get over the shock. I'm back. For today. I've found that that's all I can promise for now. Some things have been hard lately, but unfortunately there is no rest for the wicked. I said I had to figure my life out, and that is what I've been trying to do. So, bear with me... :)

Some good news, though...

-The drastic weight loss has slowed (never thought I'd say that was a good thing, but nearly 20 pounds later...). I'm still losing, but I'd like to think that I'm eating better (i.e. eating at all) and replacing a bit of the muscle I'm sure I lost.

-I'm in a great routine of getting to the gym. I love it there. There are sometimes 3 or 4 spin classes A DAY. And a tri club. And a masters team. And, and, and...

-I'm thinking again about the job search (since I actually have the time to do it).

-But first I'm reading a great book: Now discover your strengths by Marcus Buckingham. I don't have time to do the tag (sorry Rocketpants), but if you have a chance to read this book, DO IT. We, in our society, find so much more time to focus on strengthening our weaknesses... Why not focus on making our strengths STRONGER? Loving it so far.

-I'm ALL ABOARD for Timberman. Eating (better). Working out (loving it). It feels good to be back, ya'll.

Christmas is here!

Phew, I made it.

Actually, I think I might have been getting used to all of that! Crazy.

A wonderful Christmas to you all, and thanks for following me along the way. I'm glad it's over, but I'm stronger for having gone through it.

And the greatest thing is that well, all of the clothes I have no time to wear no longer fit.

:)