Eating and Drinking

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but it never ceases to bring a smile to my face.

So let's get to the crux of this post. I get tired of eating and drinking in order to sustain the mileage and workouts I'm doing. Sounds weird, I know, but I truly get tired of it. Drinking more means more trips to the bathroom, including getting up in the middle of the night to pee. And since I already don't sleep very well, getting up to pee is a problem.

Eating - It's not that I don't get hungry; I just get tired of trying to figure out what to eat, when to eat, what kind of stash I should keep at work so I can eat little bits throughout the day, etc. I'm also one of those people who has a wholly unrealistic (translates to "I'm an idiot") idea of what her body looks like, so I'm always "afraid" of gaining weight. Besides, extra pounds means more to lug around on the trails.

Anyway, this is becoming has become an issue I need to get a handle on now rather than later, as I know I am sabotaging myself by my lack of eating and drinking as needed.

This picture epitomizes my life the last 10 months. My husband and I fell into such a deep, dark hole, that at times there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel. But we fought our way back, separately and together, the light continued to grow with each passing day.

Shorty has been back home for almost four weeks now. The changes in him are phenomenal. He smiles, he jokes, he has energy, he's content, he's happy - something I didn't think would ever be possible. He's happy. It may seem a small thing, but when you've been with someone for almost 27 years and, during that entire time he has never been truly happy, it's . . . it's indescribable.

I was reading an article of an interview with Sharon Stone in AARP Magazine today while waiting for my counseling appointment to begin. She said, "I thank God every day for what he has given me, and I thank Him for what he has taken away." This struck me at my very core. Shorty and I have lost a lot, but we have gained so much more! I have my husband and my friend back, we have a rejuvenated life together, we have each other.

I am so very proud of my husband and how far he has come. God has truly, truly blessed us.

Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

Endurance Intervals - An Evil Necessity

This was my second week of Intense Endurance Intervals = E-V-I-L. Warm up for 1 mile, run hard for 1.5 miles, jog back to the start, run hard for 1.5 miles, jog back to the start and finish up the mileage for the day. Let me tell ya, they suck. I did better this week than last week, as I had more control over my speed; that is, I ran slower this time 'round. This week and last week, it was 5 miles with two intervals. Next week we up the ante to 7 miles and three intervals.

I don't like speed work, but Coach has assured me the payoff of doing these will be well worth the effort. He better be telling me truth . . . I know where he lives . . . .

Cats, Weather, Running

The other day I was thinking it's a little sad Goofy and Wilson don't snuggle with one another like they did when they were young. They will sleep near each other once in awhile, but no longer hang out on the same tier of the cat post like in this picture or curl up with one another on the couch.

Another stunning day here on the ole North Coast. It's nice not dealing with the rain (especially when running), but we need it or we'll have drought conditions this year. Hopefully, we don't get torrents of rain when it decides to come.

Another wonderful weekend of running. I do love to run out at Headwaters. Fourteen peaceful miles, including about six half mile loops at the top. It's beautiful up there in the middle of the old growth redwoods. Saw a couple of people on my way out, but came across the majority of the folks during the last three miles heading back.

The eight miles at the McKay Tract on Sunday were less than ideal. My legs had multiple personalities - sometimes heavy, sometimes just okay, sometimes great, back to heavy. I got the miles done, though, and that's the main thing. I just have to remind myself once in awhile that I'm coming back from a 6-month layoff, which, actually, I think did me a world of good. I'm feeling strong and healthy. But never fear! The days of feeling like total crap will be upon me soon! It's an inevitability when training for ultras. You accept the crap 'cause it makes the good days feel even better. :o)

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes, Knees and Toes . . . .

Saw the ortho yesterday. Conclusion re the knees - stop doing squats and lunges. "They'll ruin your knees, kid. Or at the very least make your uterus fall out." I'm kidding. He didn't say that, but he did say I needed to stop doing squats and lunges.

So I'm on the hunt for exercises that will still develop strength in my upper legs without the added knee stress.

He squashed around on my foot, and although it was achy later in the day, it didn't bother me too much. He figures my foot is about as strong as it's gonna get, but said "possibly" when I asked if the ligament tear made it more susceptible to injury (he's a man of few words), so that's something to look forward to.

And as far as the little toe is concerned, ya just gotta get through the pain (which I already knew). And as bad as it hurts, I'm convinced I broke the little sucker. Ah well! Whatcha gonna do, amputate?

Ringing in 2012

Well, I can't say I'm sad about seeing 2011 leave us. Good riddance to a bad year! Okay, maybe not all bad, 'cause even in the darkness there were rays of sunshine, and those rays continue to get brighter and brighter. And while I learned many valuable lessons in 2011, let's just say I've had enough lesson-learning for awhile.

The toe is feeling sort of okay. It's better when I tape it to the 4th toe. The bruising has now crept into the top of my foot, which helps explain why the foot was a bit swollen last night.

But I didn't let it stop me as my last run of the year consisted of 12 peaceful miles on the Elk River Trail in the beautiful Headwaters Forest. I love that place. After the first 3 miles, you climb for 2.5 miles, then get to run downhill with wild abandonment if you want to. Usually, I have that whole section to myself, but toward the end of today's downhill festivities, I came upon four walkers who were gracious enough to step aside and let me continue my dance.

I ended the year with 647.6 miles under my belt, which ain't too shabby considering I was out of the game for six months.

So as we leave 2011 behind and take our first tentative steps into 2012, I wish you and yours all the love, happiness, peace, joy, and prosperity you so richly deserve.

And It Keeps Getting Better . . .

As I was walking through my living room this morning (walking with a purpose, I might add, as sauntering is rarely in my vocabulary), I managed to slam/jam my left little toe into our ottoman (yes, the same foot I injured back in March). In the same instance, I heard a cracking sound, although that could very well have been my brain registering what I'd just done. As I instantly fell - okay, slammed - to the floor, grabbed my foot, and yelled "OW! OW! OW!" over and over, I couldn't help but think, "Really? REALLY? Has this really happened?"

Now it's the afternoon, and my toe has swollen quite nicely and is turning a lovely shade of blackish-blue. I can finally walk without limping, but it does protest if I scrunch up my toes. Is it broken or just sprained really bad? Dunno. But I intend to test the waters on my run this evening.

And thus continues the "Fatozzig Journal of Injuries."