Dedication and Food Hangovers

I went to the gym Sunday morning. It was supposed to open at 8 so I got there at 7:55 to be one of the first folks through the door and into the pool. By 8:10, the front desk lady hadn't showed and there were about 10 people standing outside loudly commiserating on the lack of open doors. By 8:15, people said they had other things to and started leaving. And by 8:20-ish we could finally enter. So how would you rate that dedication? On one hand, I could definitely agree that I questioned leaving with aggravated feelings because I could have stayed in bed longer. But on the other hand, I knew I could still get something in even if I had to cut my workout short. So what is the time cutoff? When are you OK to throw in the towel? When is it too soon to say forget it, I'd rather get a coffee?

On another note...

A friend of mine from high school is visiting right now. It's been wonderful and I hope she can get a job here soon. The only downside has been the amount of food consumed last Sunday. I pretty much ate like I was in high school all day long. And promptly regretted it the next day. This is how I came to know that a food hangover does in fact exist and that they are not very awesome. My whole body felt heavy and weak the next day. My pores felt clogged. My legs felt like they were swimming through mud the next day at a workout. All in all, I had a lot of crud to sweat out of my skin. I never thought before that I was an overly healthy individual. I know I enjoy lighter foods and I know I eat generally healthy, but it never dawned on me just how much of an impact my healthier lifestyle has had. Interesting.

Know what happened today?

THE

BOOT

CAME

OFF

Finally!!!!!!!!!

I am allowed to do my normal day to day walking this week. Then next week I can walk for fitness. And the following week I start a 1:1 jog:walk. Then should be back the next week. Can't wait!!!

I'm still planning on IronGirl and just doing what I can.

Patience

I don't have any.

But. I'm trying. Had my foot check up on Tuesday and was sent to an MRI on Thursday to rule out a torn tendon versus a strained tendon.

My mother called me an athlete. This was and is still new to me. I don't think of myself as an athlete. We were talking about my foot issue and she very simply said, "well, these things happen to athletes." Hmmm.....gotta process that one. I think that's a goon that will take a good minute to evict.

Lastly, what the heck is up with runner's amnesia? After cheering on the runners at the Publix marathon today with my church at mile 22, I got this urge to go big again and find a 50K to attempt again. Something less hilly. Something more manageable. Maybe even a 50miler. Hmmm...maybe I need to read my blog on that race to get a dose of reality. ;-)

Goggle-Hickey

Your new word for the day is Goggle-Hickey.

Definition: The reddish mark left on the skin around your eyes after wearing goggles for an undetermined amount of time.

Used in a sentence: After 45 minutes of painfully slow kick-less laps in the pool, the goggle-hickeys astound even the cashiers at Publix half an hour later with their sexiness.

And, you're welcome.

Goggle Review/TNT/Caffeine

Goggles

A friend of mine gave me 3 pairs of goggles to try out and that just about made my day. I've only checked out two pairs so far, but here is my brief review:

The first pair I tried were called Hydra Vision from Blue Seventy. Long story short - these suckers ripped at my hair (yes, it was pulled back and not down like the pics) and felt way too big for my face. I didn't even try putting my head under water because they were just awkward. Plus, they look awfully silly, huh?

The second pair I tried were the Tyr Orions. Um, heck yes!!!!! I LOVE these goggles! They initially felt like they might be too close together over the nose, but fit comfortably and I felt like I had nothing over my eyes when my head was under water. It is such a clean view with these babies!!! And I like the fact that I look like a speed racer in these babies.

I have a swim tomorrow, so if I can tear myself away from the Orion's long enough, I will try out the third pair. And maybe some day you can get a non-goofy goggle inspired picture of me.

TNT

I was asked the other day if I would like to be a captain for the Team in Training Savannah Rock n Roll marathon in November!! After talking it over with the S.O. I said heck yes I would!! I have a really awesome coach I get to work with and I was already stoked about the Savannah RnR. I'm really looking forward to another season with the team raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and encouraging people to cross their first (or another) finish line. Can't wait!! Training starts in May!

Caffeine

Lastly, I unintentionally figured out one of my triggers for vertigo today. I have recently seriously increased my coffee intake and looking back, realized that with that increase, my anxiety has increased and so has the frequency of dizzy spells. Of course, that didn't cross my mind until earlier this afternoon.

Last week I had a random thought to switch back to decaf and bring in my own coffee each morning - an action I do every couple months or so. Last Wednesday was tough but already by Thursday I'd gotten over the caffeine withdrawals and was digging my clear head. Then today I grew a wild hair, went for a small cup of regular coffee in the afternoon, and about 20 minutes later was fighting off a serious bought of dizziness.

So, it's looking like this chick is now super sensitive to caffeine, which lets be honest, really sucks, but I'm digging my decaf dunkin donuts coffee made at home with some good stevia sweetener and french vanilla creamer.

Timeout

There will always be speed bumps in life.

And even though sometimes those bumps feel more like mountains, the reality is, they're just bumps.

A slight pull in my foot became a full on sharp pain last week that came off and on. Went to a really awesome doctor here and after looking at X-Rays, he's pretty sure it's not a stress fracture and most likely a pulled tendon with some possible tearing. Thank goodness it's not a fracture! Means 2 weeks in a walking cast. Which also means no running, no swimming using the legs, and no real biking that could involve getting out of the saddle. That's OK though....

2 weeks is just around the corner...

Lent and Knitting

This year will be the very first year I participate in Lent. More because I never knew about it from a Christian standpoint and less because I didn't want to. So, for my very first Lent, I will no longer be eating after 9pm and I will not be weighing myself.

I typically eat after 9pm for no other reason than being bored, depressed, stressed, happy, or because I simply breathe. And I rarely make good choices. So through Lent, I will plan on going to the Word when I want to eat for emotional reasons and to water for everything else.

Weighing myself will be harder than anything and a real test of faith. I completely understand that not many others will understand that - but for me, this will really be a test. The S.O. was way behind this one and even took it a step further by hiding the scale. Yeah. It's that bad in this house.

And guess who can be domestic?! I can! My mother was in town this week for a training and took some time to show me knitting basics. I wanted to knit a hat my the S.O.'s mother as she is going through chemo, but I think I need to just finish a scarf first. It's an interesting process and I feel like I don't nearly enough focus, but I think it will be good for the soul. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.

I even flaunted my wanna-be domestic skills at Starbucks this morning. And I'd like to give a side note that I would absolutely choose an independent coffee shop over the Bucks if there were one close to home. But I still love me some good old skinny vanilla lattes.