The excuses

So one of the things that was the best about going off facebook this year was getting away from people who seem to do nothing but complain.  So obviously that's not what I'd want to have on my blog, particularly since I feel extraordinarily happy and content with my life.

But it's like the hits just keep on coming these days!  At least as to my general fitness and eating routine.  It's like I can't just have a normal 2 week span where I can work out and eat normally and starting clawing my way back to where I feel like I was only two months ago. 

This has been my chronology since late September:

September

• Half a week in Berlin, moderate food, no alcohol.
• Marathon.
• Week in Munich, unhealthy food, tons of Oktoberfest drunkenness.

October

• Week in Italy, moderately healthy food but insanely large quantities, lots of alcohol but no intoxication.
• Wrap up of the trip in Amsterdam, more unhealthy food, more alcohol.
• Long trip home.
• Jet lag for an entire week because I made the mistake of falling asleep at 3 in the afternoon the day we came home.  Which meant I was wide awake by 1-2 a.m. every single day.
• Digging out at work.  Over 100 emails needing attention.
• Attempting to get back into the groove at boot camp and with running.
• Three weekday group runs; average pace drops 15 seconds on each day, so steady improvement.  Heart rate and effort are high, but at least the pace is becoming sustainable.
• Long run of 11.5ish miles.  Not horrible.
• Serious ankle sprain at boot camp.  Uneven pavement on which I was doing running high knees.  Lots of pain and inflammation.
• No activity at all for 4 days attempting to get the swelling down.
• Long run of 13 miles and change.  Slowest run I've done in years.  Almost quit a million times.  No particular ankle pain when stepping on level surfaces. 
• Fly to California for 6 days in San Francisco and Napa.  Unhealthy food, unhealthy quantities of food, unhealthy amounts of alcohol.

November

• Half marathon on trails with over 3000 feet of climbing in California.  Slowest half ever I think, but that makes sense given the terrain and elevation.
• Wake up coughing and sick day after half marthon.
• Long trip home, 3 hours time difference given the extra daylight savings time change.
• Jet lag for most of the week because I made the mistake of staying awake until about 2 a.m. Dallas time the night we got home, feeling like I was still in Cali staying up late and having fun.
• Sick for pretty much the entire week.  Coughing non-stop.  Unable to breathe.  Some congestion.
• No working out for an entire week because of illness.
• Long run (two days ago) of 15 miles and change.  Probably slowest pace for a run of that length in more than 5 years.  Felt like death.  Sore afterward.
• Boot camp yesterday where I skipped almost all the running but still ended up sore and winded.
• Insane day of work, auditors coming into town Wednesday.
• Run with a friend this morning at insanely high effort level given the relatively slow pace we ran.  And the run was extra fun because a huge cold front was coming in during our run.  26 mph winds.  Starting temp of 54, ending temp of 47, and we only did about 7.5 miles, so all that was within an hour.
• Watching the news, drinking a smoothie for breakfast, and while not chewing anything, somehow chip the outside of one of my back teeth.  Seriously???  What next? 

Looking ahead

• Attending law firm event tonight, expecting to be hit up for business.
• Big steakhouse dinner tomorrow night with the auditors, dinners usually average about one bottle of wine per person...
• Attending another law firm event Thurs night, expecting to be hit up for business.
• Flying to San Antonio.
• Marathon on Sunday. 

So yeah, that's why I suck at blogging lately.  And why my clothes are too tight.  I haven't commuted to (or from) work on foot since September 18.  And basically a few weeks of vacation in Europe, followed by a sprained ankle, followed by a week of vacation in California, followed by a week of being sick means that I'm guaranteed to have a miserable marathon this weekend.  Thank goodness I never planned to do it for time.  But yeah, being out there that long is going to suck.  To make matters worse, the starting temp is supposed to be in the 60s.  At least if it were cold, there would be a chance I could pull something moderately respectable out of my @ss.  But with that kind of heat, it will just be a mess. 

And, as to the tooth, of course I just went to the dentist the day before I sprained my ankle.  My husband said you can't see the chip at all, but if it's uncomfortable, the dentist could probably smooth it out.  Ugh.  I can feel it with my tongue, even though it doesn't really hurt. 

So I can add that to my list of things to deal with -- along with a chip in my windshield and a garbage disposal that doesn't seem to work right.  But the credit card bill that's headed my way has dinner for two at The French Laundry on it, so I'm really thinking I should defer any unnecessary expenses for a little while.  Plus that whole Christmas thing is coming...

Obviously, all my complaining is all small stuff in the grand scheme of things, as I've said before.  Having this big audit at work means I'm doing well and potentially getting more to do.  And gaining weight on vacation is just fun to me, not the end of the world, I don't mind buckling down afterward to lose it.  And I will be able to pull off the marathon, just not quickly, even by my "quick" standards, which are much slower than some people's.

So I promise I'm not bitching.  But within one week of the marathon finish this weekend, I need to buckle down big time.  If I'm going to make another run at my marathon goal time in Houston, I will have about 2 months to train.  Unfortunately, Christmas and 9 days at home will be right in the middle of those 2 months, but of course, who am I to complain about more than a week at home with my mama?  It just means I need to be even more focused for the 6 or so weeks I'll have to train in Dallas.  Oh my... 

This is going to be quite an unusual year end for me!