Day Dreams

A random list of things going through my head recently, in no particular order (of importance or time).

• I can't wait to have a garage. I will put a treadmill in it (which is already waiting for me at my parents). And hang our bikes on hooks and pretend we are organized people.
• Related, I really like running on the treadmill (in moderation).
• Jillian Michaels - you bitch. You tricked me into thinking I wasn't THAT weak with Level 1, then BAM! Level 2 is SO MUCH HARDER.
• We've finally agreed on a house. Small miracle. WHY IS TIME GOING TO SLOW, release new models, dammit.
• Not complaining! No negotiating, set price, awesome deal. Please karma, let this work out for us. We really really really are good people.
• When did working 8:30-5pm make me so damn tired? Oh yea - Now, bc I've never really done it before.
• New job was strange. And awkward. Now it's better.
• I've been limiting myself to buying lunch 1/week and it's actually working. 
• I pay 45.99 per month for one of my gyms and I've been exactly 2 times in the past 6 months. You do the math.  
• But it's a shower near work! Says the girl who can't organize her life enough to run to work.
• In theory, I really want to start swimming again. But I can't seem to make myself do it.
• I miss riding my bike. 
• I have had a few really good long runs and it makes me SO HAPPY.
• I'm really excited to have the house to myself for a few days. 
• LONG WEEKEND!
• I really want to go to ride my bike for a long weekend in Colorado. I also am being cheap because I want to save all my airline miles for an extravagant far-away trip somewhere I've never been (Cinque Terra) sometime in the not-defined future.
• Gold's Gym sort of grosses me out.
• It scares me to think about finding new running routes. 
• I'm SO BORED with my current 3, 4, and 5 mile loops
• San Fransisco so many times this year!! SO EXCITED.
• I hope I find my motivation to train for Lake Placid. Because I really want to. But I am starting to get worried.
• Fingers crossed starting to pay someone again to tell me what to do will help.
• I'm currently more excited to do the Diabolical Double than I am to do Lake Placid. IMMT only took me about 2 hours longer last summer. I'd like to make them closer together this year (slower DD, faster IM?) However, I am not sure it is physically possibly to go slower on some parts of the DD = can you stay upright riding slower than 4pmh?
•  I've cut wheat out about 80% of the time. Why is that last 20% so difficult?
• Trader Joe's Gluten Free Granola (loaded fruit and nut) SO GROSS.
• Trader Joe's Gluten Free Waffles? SO AMAZING.
• Bob's Red Mill GF Pizza Mix? Pretty darn OK.
• Naked Pizza GF Crust? A weekend post-long run lifesaver. [Chicken, spinach, tomatoes and red onion nom nom nom]
• Gluten Free Turkey and Spinach Lasagna tonight? Wish me luck.

Ch-ch-changes.

Big changes going on in these parts. After 6 1/2 years, I will be leaving my first 'real' job this Friday. It was a bittersweet decision, as the company has 100% supported my growth, both professionally and as a human being. My company has literally put the world at my fingertips and I will be forever thankful for the people I have met and the places I have visited.

My work isn't a job - it's a passion, a career and something I am fully vested in. While the past few weeks have been hard, I am ready to spread my wings, be challenged and take on the unknown. I am also very lucky that in a very small, niche field an opportunity has presented itself to stay in the exact field of research I have been working in since graduate school.

This will mean some life changes. The new gig will involve a very different type of travel that I am used to - this will be more constant, weekly/monthly trips within the US. While it pains me that for the first time in 5+ years I am not sure when I will step foot back in Africa, a continent I feel very connected to, I am very much looking forward to the longest potential plane flight being 5 hours. It will be a challenge to fit Ironman training into this new lifestyle, but I am confident I can make it work and am excited to see how things play out.

Another major change will be the commute. No longer will I have to drive across the city every day. My new commute (when I am in town) will be 6.5 miles, 97% on the Mount Vernon Trail. The plan is to have a majority of my run training happening to and from work. The level of stress contributed to my old commute that I am relieving myself of is worth its' weight in gold.




Some other major changes have taken place in my household in the past few months. For various health related reasons, the other member of my house has fully committed to a gluten-free lifestyle. This is not the result of following a fad diet or looking to 'eat clean' - this man loves nothing more than a heaping bowl of pasta, pizza and beer. But the change has been medically necessary and there is no doubt it is the best thing.

While I committed to cleaning the cupboards of wheat and gluten, I hadn't been strict outside of the house. However, after the millionth run together while I complain about my tummy and needing to find a restroom NOW - he challenged me to fully give up wheat. Why not? So for 2-3 weeks, I committed. Even through Thanksgiving. I may have had one bite of Pumpkin Pie, but otherwise, gluten and wheat were out of my diet. And I can't say I noticed much of a change.

How quickly we forget.

Last week I was in NYC wrapping up work projects. I totally gave up on eating wheat-free. And I couldn't sleep a WINK. I felt lethargic and gross. I could hardly push myself out of my hotel to run in my most favorite place in the world. And I came home and struggled through a 90 minute run. It's amazing how I really couldn't put my finger on a difference when I cut out the wheat, but this week confirmed it's the best decision for me. Willpower when it comes to food is something I struggle with, but I know this change is for the best and while it may take baby steps and I KNOW I will have some setbacks, I really want to make this change for good.

Training...is happening. I haven't been in the water since my last race, and have been on my bike once. But I have rekindled my love affair with running and it makes me happier than anything, I know I have 20 years as a swimmer in my back pocket, and hundreds of hours on the bike coming next year, so for now, running in enough.