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! 

Weekend Update

Well, I'm definitely still sick, but I think the worst of it may be over.  I'm coughing a ton and very congested, but at least I don't feel quite so awful.  Not ideal considering what this week holds...

Over the weekend, I mainly tried to rest.  Lots and lots of napping.  I also attempted a long run.  I don't know if I've said much about it, but I'm planning to run the marathon in San Antonio. 

On Sunday.

Ugh!  I'm very much not prepared to run a full, but such is life. 

Going into this weekend, I hadn't run over 13.5 miles since the last marathon in September.  I had done 13 miles twice, but both times were a mess to say the least.  Once was the trails half marathon in California last weekend, with over 3000 feet of climbing.  The other was a very slow group run that I almost quit.

So I decided I really need to get at least 14 or 15 miles this weekend, and then I'll do a kind of rapid taper this week. 

Sunday morning I made plans to run the trail near our house once alone, and then meet up with a couple friends for 7-9 more miles. 

It was ugly and slow, but I managed to get 15 miles in.  The marathon is going to be a mess.  Thank goodness I'm not doing it for time and it should just be a fun run, probably with friends.

The rest of the day Sunday was coffee with friends, lunch with my godson and his family, and an HOA board meeting.  The board meeting was stressful.  We need to cut down some trees that are inhibiting ground cover and everyone gets mega-pissed when we talk about cutting "their" trees.  Of course everyone agrees trees need to be cut, but everyone says not the one in front of their condos.  Stressful!

And on top of recovering from the plague, this week is going to be crazy important at work.  Almost like a mini-audit.  Only 15 of my files at issue (and I finished reviewing them all last week), but if it goes well, I'll eventually have more files on this program.  Of course this also means a work dinner this week -- at a steakhouse.  Ugh.  Probably lots and lots of wine, which isn't a recipe for marathon success for me.

And on top of all that, I had committed to going to a law firm event one night.  One of my boot camp friends works there and was pressured to invite female potential clients -- as in someone who retains outside counsel.  I do that.  While I never use my friend's firm (and never really retain counsel in Texas), when I worked at a big firm, I remember that kind of pressure, so I agreed to accept her invitation.  So a networking schmoozing kind of night.  And then the boozy steakhouse dinner the next night.

What a week!   But when I fly to San Antonio, I'll be able to leave it all behind...

FMM: Food Matters

We had the best week (well, 6 days) in Northern California, it was very hard to come home last night.  And it was even harder because on Sunday morning, I woke up with what seems to be a cold, and because I feel jet-lagged again -- only 2 hours time change, but plus daylight savings, meant my body clock was off by 3 hours.  So instead of going to be bed like a 6 year old, which I normally do, I was awake way too late.  So of course I had no hope of really waking up at 5:00 to go workout this morning.  But given this cold, I couldn't have worked out anyway.  But I need to get back on track in terms of sleep ASAP.  If I skip a workout because I'm sick, that's fine, but if I skip because I was up too late, that's inexcusable in my book!

The half marathon this past weekend was tough.  California is a HILLY place!  I haven't uploaded my Garmin data yet, but I think the 13.1 miles had more elevation gain than any run I've ever tracked on this watch (i.e., any run I've done since Jan. 2011).  I was walking at times because it was just so steep -- and not just the uphill.  Some of the downhill miles were on stairs.  Fine.  But trail stairs?  Not fine.  They were uneven and sandy/rocky, so several times I had to slow to a walk.  But the scenery was spectacular! 

Since it's Monday, here we go...

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section here at: www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

Food Matters

 

1. Are you familiar with GMO’s? Is it an issue that matters to you?  Yes, I am somewhat familiar with it (though of course I'm no expert and could stand to learn a lot more), and yes, it matters, but of course it's all relative -- lots of things matter more, but I think more information for the consumer is usually better. 

2. List a few items that are typically on your grocery list. Fresh baby spinach, grapes, frozen individual packages of peas, frozen meals for lunch (Amy's or Lean Cuisine), frozen fruit (for smoothies), soy milk, protein powder, chia seeds, Greek yogurt. 

3. What is your favorite place to shop for produce? I consider myself very fortunate to say that I don't grocery shop.  I put what I want on a list, and it magically appears in my home (hubby's contribution to household labor time every week).  He buys most produce at a store called Central Market, which is owned by HEB and I guess considered upscale. 

4. Do you eat processed foods?  Yes.  Probably less than the average American, but still plenty. 

5. Do you look for the “organic” label when you shop?  My husband does and almost always buys organic.  I sometimes request non-organic things because he shops about once a week and sometimes organic produce goes bad too quickly.  And because for things like baking potatoes, the non-organic ones can just be so much bigger. 

6. What did you eat for breakfast this morning?  I had oatmeal with chia seeds and raisins.  Every weekday that I've been home for YEARS, I've had the same breakfast -- a smoothie with spinach, frozen fruit (strawberries, cherries, blueberries, peaches, grapes and pineapple), soy milk, chia seeds and Vega protein powder).  But last night we got home from the airport so late that we didn't grocery shop and had no spinach in the house.  I suppose I could have made a smoothie with just fruit, but I think that would have been too sweet. 

7. How many meals per week do you cook at home? I guess it depends on what is considered "cooking."  If you count making a breakfast smoothie to be cooking, then 6.5 breakfasts per week.  If you count using the microwave to heat up a packet of Indian food or leftovers or a frozen meal, or eating something from the prepared foods section of the grocery store, then I also cook 3 lunches at home per week (Fri, Sat, Sun), as well as 6.5 dinners per week.  But if you mean cooking from scratch and making something other than a smoothie, about 1 dinner per week.  I guess my point is that we very rarely eat out, get delivery, or bring in food from a restaurant. 

8. Do you think that foods that have been genetically engineered should be labeled? Yes. 

9. What matters most to you when you’re choosing a restaurant?  Menu.  As a vegetarian, I prefer if there's something I can eat that sounds good on the menu, rather than having to ask that a dish be modified or created.

10. What is your favorite meal to cook at home? I like cooking tons of stuff, but my favorite would probably be something like a soup that doesn't require tons of chopping but sits on the stove for hours and smells good. 

Now it’s your turn to answer this week’s questions! Don’t forget to come back and link up in the comments, and have a happy Monday!

Pre-race Prep

So here is today in a single map:  

Of course we haven't stayed at the same spot but wine tasting all day very well might kick my butt on the half marathon tomorrow.  And even when we drive or run somewhere that seems crazy high, it's still not even close to the elevation chart for tomorrow.  Ugh.  Oh well, at least I don't have to worry about my time!