C'mon Spring

January nearly in the bag. I've done well on keeping up my run. The Sunday trail runs with Kami and Peter have been good. I still get discomfort and post-run pain in my left big toe but without a specific diagnosis, what the hey? Just live with it. I've also gotten back to my swim. It's not hard with such miserable weather and the pool right there on campus. It also helps to relieve frustration after my Japanese class. (I'm not doing badly. I'm just a perfectionist and hate not feeling on top of things.) The one thing I have not kept up as much as I should is the bike. I think I've had one outdoor ride all month. The remainder have been on the trainer, which is never a big thrill.

One other thing I've done is to restrict my diet again. The cheeseburgers and fries were getting out of control. It helped that I got a refreshing hing dose of info on the damage caused by the modern industrial diet. (Thank you Michael Pollan!) I've been inspecting food labels for all the bad things, most especially High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). The organic foods are pretty good about avoiding such, but others.... I looked at one can of "Healthy Choice" soup and nearly went cross-eyed. Healthy indeed!! So I went to the store and bought a basket of vegetables--eggplant, squash, onions, and red bell pepper--and roasted them all in a pan with Italian seasonings and olive oil and served it with brown rice.

My biggest weakness is Diet Coke with Splenda. It's not the worst thing but giving up all soda would be ideal. I have been drinking more hot teas--green tea with lemon and ginseng in the morning, decaf green tea with lemon in the afternoon. But I like that morning dose of caffeine and sweetness. I guess we all need one "bad" thing. Oh, and there's also the oatmeal cookies, but I don't plan on baking any more after I finish the last two in this batch.

As for races: I have paid for Gateway to the Bay and Athens, and secured a motel for two nights for Gateway--expensive, but there it is. I am keeping a log of all these expenses--registration fees, travel, lodging--so that perhaps I can plan better in future and save up in advance. Pray now for good weather, especially at Athens. I am REALLY tired of rain and cold! Just once, can't it at least be in the 60s?

Anyway, I am looking forward to spring and being able to ride my bike more. I can get in so much more enjoyable training riding the roads and literally smelling the flowers.

New Year, New Season

Tis the season to make big plans. Or just plain plans. Yes, after my overweening dreams of doing a HIM crashed and burned, I am being more cautious this year. I am also broke, which admittedly has a dampening effect. I will do the Athens Tri on March 6th, though I haven't got the money yet to pre-register. (It won't fill up before February but I won't get a low race number.) I did pre-register for the Gateway to the Bay Olympic race on April 11th. (I had to send in a check cuz my credit cards are maxed out.) I feel sure I can complete an Oly without killing myself, either in training or the actual event--and I am going to try very hard to just have FUN. Matty Reed is going to be competing and I will get to see him, maybe get a photo. Don't know yet where I will stay or how long. Part of me thinks I should stay two nights, gving myself at least an afternoon and layover to recover from the race before driving back, but as I will be alone, it could get very boring. We'll see. And after Gateway comes Four States in May. My goal there is not to die on the run as I did this past year. June is empty. I don't know if Jim plans on vacationing anywhere but anyway, the slate is blank just in case. In July I will return to Jefferson with a goal similar to that of Four States (can you tell I stink at running in the heat?), and I will put aside whatever grudge I still have about them shorting us on the hardware last year. (Hey, third place is something for me!) Then it's nothing until Rose City on September 11th. After that, run run run! Getting ready for the big marathon (in my case, half) planned here in Tyler for October. Then maybe White Rock in December.