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I would love to say I haven't posted because I have been super busy, but I really haven't said anything because I haven't had anything to say. I know this is odd for me. However, when I stop to think about what I've been up to, maybe I have been busy. Oh well.

Monday night was boot camp and yoga. Led by someone who had been in the military and actually gone to boot camp, I was honestly expecting more of a workout. I mean, yeah, we ran a mile (with no walking, thank you!) in flight formation, but that really wasn't so bad. Especially since, hi, I'm a runner. Anyway, went to yoga afterwards then came home.

Tuesday I had planned on swimming, but the weather looked iffy, so I got on the bike instead. This was the first time I had really tried to get in an honest to God bike workout, not just trying to put in some form of cardio. I did 35 minutes on the "Alpine Pass" setting with the resistance somewhere between 6 and 8 (depending on how it felt and the bigger hills), and came out to about 15 miles. My quads were burning but it was so worth it! Afterwards, I had my lovely Polar body assessment... apparently, I am walking around in a 26 going on 31 year old body, with the possibility of going down to a 26 going on 20 year old body. I have great flexibility and nice calm blood pressure, but a horrible VO2 max and not a whole lot of strength. Between lifting weights, swimming, running, biking, and yoga, you'd think I was the most in shape person ever, but not so much.

Thursday, however, I think I might have met the most in shape person on the planet. Our boot camp instructor for the evening, Kaleigh, has to be the fittest person I have ever met. This girl could do mountain climbs, weights, and all the ab work in the world with her sunglasses still on her head and without breaking a sweat. This girl is unreal, the total picture of what healthy and in shape is supposed to look like. She's got to be like 22. I'll tell you right now that I wasn't in that good a shape at 22, and there's a pretty good likelihood that I never will be, even if the Polar assessment says it's possible. But it won't be for lack of trying.

I think the scale is finally catching up to my food intake. It is always kind of an eye-opener to see that you are carrying around 46 lbs of fat - makes you think about all the chicken wings, Zaxby's, brownies, and beer you're inhaling. And while I would love to chalk my 4 lb weight gain up to getting more muscle, I am pretty sure that's not the case. As much as I want to eat well, and have already mentioned that I run better when I do, I know that I go through phases where I am on a steady diet of junk. I try to blame it on PMS, but that only lasts a week and my junk food binges can go on for like two months. I am lucky I have low cholesterol and blood pressure and I need to enjoy it while it lasts, but more importantly I need to make it last longer and make it work for me while I am trying to work out, be healthier, and go the distance. And folks, nutritionists aren't kidding when they say that Diet Coke isn't good for you - one gulp will kill my craving for water all day. I just won't want it when I'm drinking soda - I just want more Diet Coke!

It's going to be hard to break these habits getting ready for Peachtree, but it's necessary. I am afraid to be dehydrated in the concrete jungle on the most crowded, scorching day of the year in Atlanta, and I am afraid that when combined with a low glycogen store from not enough good carbs, I am going to have a mental and possibly physical meltdown that will turn this lifelong dream into a grueling torture fest. I don't want that. I have looked forward to this so much and for so long that I don't want anything to ruin it. The same thing goes for the marathon - as we get closer and closer hydration and nutrition are going to become more and more of a performance factor for me. While I'm not trying to win any medals for finishing first, I am trying to go the distance with the least amount of misery involved. Why not prevent it by eating well, drinking water, and getting back on the wagon? So, after eating at three of my favorite North Georgia culinary empires - the Varsity, Henry's, and Buckner's - it really is going to be time to get serious. Again. For real. Finally. I just need a way to be held accountable. Any suggestions?

Getting ready for Peachtree is also going to involve some hill training. I want to charge up Cardiac Hill the same way I charged up the hills for the ING Atlanta 1/2, and since there aren't any hills in Northeast Florida to train on, we get to do the man-made variety - bridges. So, without further ado, here is my planned run for tomorrow, starting and ending at Panera so I can treat myself to a well-earned souffle: (*note, this isn't 100% exact, but it's darn close)

Pain Is Weakness Leaving The Body

...or so I'm told.

Boot camp kicked my butt. I am almost always dehydrated, and only having a small bottle of water was a bad idea (wasn't I just talking about hydration??) I got overheated to the point that I almost tossed my cookies. Probably the only reason I didn't was my fear of kneeling in front of a public toilet (NASTY!!!). I guess I wasn't the only one -

Drill Sargent Patrice: "Where'd you run off to?"

Private Josh: "Oh, no biggie, just had to puke."

According to B, that was the line of the night.

We did an obstacle course consisting of running across a line of Bosu balls (very hard to keep balance at first), around the outside of scattered rings in the floor (slalom running), over a line of steppers (jumping from one to the other with two feet), and then a kind of tire run, where you have to hit every hole as you run across (Sorry, I know this is requiring a lot of imagination). We did some marching, jumping jacks, tae-bo moves, and free-weight lifting. And then more obstacle course. It was pretty tiring. Maybe I am not in as much shape as I thought (maybe? Definitely!) but I can now say I know just where my anaerobic threshold is - and it's pretty low!

I begged B to stay for Monday night hippy yoga since we needed the stretch and I really missed it from last week (random Jewish holidays that fall on Mondays interfere with my hippy yoga. Makes me miss it.) I think it was good for us to stretch and relax and try to get some of the kinks out.

Of course, we decided not to come home and defrost our pork tenderloin, had to stop by the mall so B could get a big honkin' water bottle, and, well, "we earned it", so dinner was Chick-Fil-A. Can't say that we should have done that, what with the possibly undoing some pretty hard work, but between a run, boot camp, *and* yoga, there was no way I was cooking. And at least B talked me out of a quarter pounder with cheese (mmmmm!).

Tonight, we swim! Which reminds me, I need to find some more drills than swimming 250 m on my side. Time to move up in the world (or at least, the pool)!

Undefeated.

So the ankle sucks. Ice is helping A LOT, and I think learning some stability poses in yoga will really help my ankle, as will P.T. (signed up to go on Friday!) I keep trying to think in terms of what's coming next, like the Peachtree, or Vegas... but then I read this.

Jerks.

I realize the message board is a bunch of people who are probably at the worst end of things - seemingly a bunch of surgery folks looking for someone to tell them anything - but when you read that some of them are never the same again, especially as distance running goes, it's really heartbreaking for me. I am taking that pretty hard. And I know that those people are different than I am, and mine may not be as bad, and I may not have to have the surgery, or I might and it'll be good as new, but between my being impatient and my ability to latch onto the worst case scenario, I'm just not excited.

However, let's keep in mind here the things I CAN do.

Bike.
Yoga.
Weights.
Swim.

All things I enjoy, even if they are just distractions from what I really want to be doing. I just can't let the defeatist attitude get a hold of me.

Dr. Google, M.D.

So I went to the ortho, who poked and prodded my foot and ankle and came up with the determination that I have messed up my peroneal tendon.

Didn't I say that like two weeks ago? Just call me Dr. Google, M.D.

Anyway, I get to wear a super awesome (not!) ankle brace, some heel pads in my running shoes to turn my ankle the other direction, and some physical therapy to teach me exercises to strengthen my ankle. Oh, and my regular doc still wants an MRI of my ankle, so I'm going to get that done. (Hooray for being over the deductible! Free MRIs all around!)

The REALLY important part of all that is that I can still bike to keep my cardio up, I am following my regular doc's suggestion that I take more yoga (see B's first yoga experience here!) and when it stops hurting on a daily basis, the goofy brace can come off, then I can start walking... then "running slowly". (I didn't tell him that's the only way I run.) So while I am not there yet, I am still pretty darn excited!

And then I read this article. Then I was pretty darn not-so-much excited. Darcey forwarded it to the Zappos CEO (a Twitter friend of ours), who said "we are investigating and trying to learn more about devine's situation". Um, I hope so!!!

Where was I on things that excite me? Ah, yes. My friends Joseph and Tiffany had their little bundle of joy last night at 1103 - Madelyn Elizabeth, 6 lbs, 8 oz. Yaaa! Another kid I can spoil then send back to it's parents. I have 18 years to get her to defy her parents and go to Auburn instead of Georgia... better get started on that!

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

In light of giving relationship advice to a friend and a great article by Kristin Armstrong in Runner's World, I have to think about my short-term (but too long-term in my eyes) break up with running.

The doctor said I probably have tendonitis, recommended an x ray, MRI, an ortho appointment, more yoga, and physical therapy. I have the first one out of the way, the MRI is probably coming (waiting on insurance, naturally), the ortho appointment is Tuesday, yoga's no big deal, but the PT, that's going to take... weeks. Ugh.

My doctor also reminded me that I'm not 20 years old any more (FYI, I'm approaching 27 at a pretty good clip). I have feet issues. Stretching and flexibility issues. And, now, ankle tendon issues.

The article made me think about relationships and how some of them can translate to running...

Example: A friend of mine has a lot going on. Probably bit off more than he can chew.
Running: Someone like me who has too many racing endeavors.

Example: A single friend who thinks everyone has a significant other, except for him.
Running: Everyone out running when I can't.

Example: Breaking up to see other people.
Running: Stopping running to try other sports.

Example: Two people who just can't seem to meet each other on the same level, having difficulty understanding each other.
Running: Having inconsistent or bad runs (aka, heavy in their running shoes)

Example: Charlie Brown and the Redheaded Girl
Running: No matter what you try or how hard, you can't catch that runner who is leaving you behind.

Example: Trying to impress a guy/girl and always coming up short.
Running: Training for certain races and not making it. (For us, last year's marathon).

Example: The bad boy/girl you should probably stay away from but can't.
Running: The race/distance that kicks your butt every time, and you keep coming back for more.

Example: Swingers.
Running: Triathletes.

Viva La Off-Season

Running has a lot of benefits people don't tell you about. Sure, you've heard about bone density, muscle endurance, increasing your oxygen intake, weight loss... the ability to eat tons of ice cream and still look stick thin (assuming you were stick thin to begin with, but I digress). But I think there's one you don't often hear about:

Running, and the health benefits it gives you, causes you to want to keep that up. Running makes you healthy, and, in turn, you want to do other things that make you healthy.

I am really proud of all the positive changes I have made. I have stopped drinking soda, and mostly only drink water or tea and the occasional beer, wine, or latte (notice I said "occasional" - so not daily like I used to before I started running). I pretty much stopped eating meat except for special occasions and instead seek out soy protein, dairy, more vegetables, and grains to keep my body healthy from the inside out. I go to bed before 11 most nights, I don't drink very much when I go out, and I usually only watch interesting things on TV and not just crap to fill my time. I even started taking better care of my skin! And, best of all, I am not spending my off-season sitting on my butt in front of the TV eating everything in sight - tennis, weight lifting, walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, pilates. Trying lots of new things and loving every minute of it. I am even looking into fun things to do on my upcoming cruise that involve getting out and having some fun - can you imagine me on a zip line in the jungle? :o)