Stress, Changes, and A New Beginning

This is a loaded, long-winded post, so make sure you're properly caffeinated if you choose to read on...

A LOT has happened in the past 4+ months. A lot. Which is the primary reason I'm delinquent in updating this blog.

Check out the goose egg on the right foot!!

• I fell and sprained my ankle while running about 2 weeks prior to Thanksgiving. It was ugly and painful and SUCKED because it was right before the Turkey Trot 10K and the Silver Bell Fun Run- which I was taking a kid to with me. She was bummed out, I was disappointed- stuck on crutches AND a walking boot. It was just bad all around. I didn't just let myself down, I let down a 9 year old. And SHE was the one to comfort ME.

 
• The man and I parted ways right before Thanksgiving. I still don't really know what happened there, but I've grown more confident in the assumption that it had nothing to do with me. I'm not being cocky here, rather, I'm choosing to believe what he told me. It is what it is, and I'm over it-- and actually can look back to the relationship with some fondness. There was some good in there- along with some bad.

• Ending things meant I had to move out of the house- and in with a friend in Williamston. I stayed there through the holiday season (well, between there and my parent's place).

• I then moved AGAIN to a friend's place in East Lansing. I've been there since January, and I'm looking for a permanent home for me and my dog. PS- home shopping on a limited budget isn't too much fun.

Jingle Belle Run 2013- Attack of the Christmas Elf!

I'm still training and going strong but it was dicey there for awhile, especially with the moving and being 30+ minutes away from work and the gym. But things have settled down. I finished a fun run in December (Jingle Belle 2013), ran in the Bracket Buster 5K last night (best time yet: 32:34!), training 6 days a week- normalcy has returned.

Because life has changed course, I thought I should pick a few new goals for 2014.

1) I will complete my first triathlon this June. I'm signed up, starting to collect gear, and gathering information. The panic started escalating when I registered for the race last month.

2) I also signed up for my first marathon (Detroit). Holy. Shit.

3) I'm completing 2 trail half marathons prior to the tri and the full marathon. Because I apparently don't want to be able to feel my legs until November.

4) My weight and whatnot need to go down. I'm losing inches everywhere but the scale is stuck. Trainer Amy swears it will fall off but I don't believe it.

5) My cholesterol is better than it was last year but it still needs to improve. More flaxseed and fish oil!I'm on supplements to assist my healthy eating, but have been told to keep eating nuts, oatmeal- stuff that keeps the bad cholesterol away. But Jet's pizza is TOO DAMN GOOD to cut out completely!

6) I'm going to be mindful of going out of my comfort zone and trying new things. I tried oysters yesterday, jumped on a plane to Tallahassee at a week's notice, signed up for some scary races (trail half-marathons? triathlons? Just drop me off of a cliff), finding "hidden pockets of lovely" in the city limits... Why not try things at least once, right? Within reason, of course. I'm not going to be crazy and jump out of a plane or anything.

I'm scared of my upcoming schedule, but it's a new start. And nothing good has ever come from doing the same thing day in, day out. Time to surprise myself a bit.