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.