Updates.

All the uproar about Google Reader going 'away' made me remember I had a blog. For the record, I don't think Google Reader is going away...I think they will introduce something else.

Things have been quiet. In the history of my history, quiet means things are GOOD and there is no need to talk about them, or something is really BAD and writing it down means it's real so I avoid writing about it. Currently, I feel like I'm in a constant state of IN BETWEEN.

First the bad. I took February basically off of running. I have drafts saved in blogger about how 'YAY YAY January was my highest mileage month in years and I FEEL SO GOOD and I want to PR and go 1:3:x:xx in March and I am confident' Then February started and I was on an easy run and I had sharp pain in my foot that wouldn't really go away. X rays were taken and very.bad.things were ruled out, and the advice to take '4-6 week of rest' simply made me laugh. So I decided to take 2 weeks off. Focus on biking. Find my swim mojo (still searching for that...). I was dreading the time off. I had finally found my love of running and love running high miles. The week I go above 30 miles, I drop 3-5 pounds, it's like magic. Awesome magic. But the truth is, and I have learned the hard way over and over again, my body just can't take high mileage.

Part of the reason I hired a coach for IM was to save me from myself. I know I don't know when to say when. I also know, and have the MRIs and Xrays and scar tissue in my hip to prove it, that I also often choose to ignore aches and pains and push through majorly serious injuries and I have been conditioned by years of swimming to try to 'ice away' aches and pains. So my coach saved me last year. He showed me that I can be successful and happy at the end of the day running 20-30 mile weeks. That a marathon is possible on a long run of 16 miles. That success and happiness, FOR ME, for an Ironman equals lots and lots of hours in the saddle and no junk running miles and one FULL real rest day every week.

But I decided to focus on running this winter. Without a coach. and BAM, I went from the HIGHEST mileage month in years to the LEAST miles in years.

But surprisingly  for 14 days - I didn't miss running. Biking feels great. And I'm slowly and smartly (with the help of coach) adding back in my miles with no rush. I had some awesome tempo miles tonight that had my mind wandering to visions of still trying to race this weekend. Silly, silly Sarah. I will be on my bike, staying far, far away from any running races.

Another reason I didn't miss running? I was busy. You know how they* say that starting a new job and buying a house are two of the top 5 major life stresss? (*They...you know...THEY).  Well I decided to do both in a three month span, on top of trying to train for an Ironman and deal with an injury.

So needless to say, my head is NOT in the game right now when it come to training. I'm going through the motions and getting most of the work done (not in the pool), but I honestly am a bit freaked out by the idea that I'm doing an Ironman in a few months. I know it will all come around. We will move and things will settle down and I can just focus. And it will get warm and I can swim outside and I will be fine.

But right now. I just feel so IN BETWEEN. I'm so so happy about the house. We close in two weeks. But I'm stressed beyond belief. About stupid non-issues (couches and paint) and real life issues like being booked to travel 15 out of 20 work days in April.

I just want to take a deep breath, exhale and have it be May. Warm, race season, with long training weekends on the horizon. Oh, and probably another 15 days on the road.

Things to do during a 45-60 minute commute.

The first few years I lived in NYC, I commuted cross-town via subway and bus. The best days, it took 30-35 minutes. If I left a little too late, or if something was amiss with the trains or car traffic crossing Central Park, it could take 60+ minutes. But I really have no memories of dreading the commute, it was just a part of my daily life. I would check my phone/email on the subway, and then read or zone-out on the bus.

So in the spirit of the possibility that I will be re-introducing a 45-60 minute bus ride commute into my life, a list of things to convince myself I'm OK with it:

1. SLEEP.  Wake up 6am, catch the 6:20 bus, sleep en route. Arrive in DC at 7ish, run/gym, at desk by 8:30ish.
*Bonus of this plan - I don't have to give up the DC trails (Mt. Vernon, C&O, Potomac Heritage) that I love.
 
2. WORK. I'm planning to talk with supervisor about making this part of my work day - being on email and starting the work day when I 'sign on' via the wonders of 3G. I don't think the full 2ish hours would fly, but if it meant leaving my desk a bit before 5pm to make the 5:01 bus or arriving a few minutes past 8:30, it may be a possibility.

3. READ. Eh, not sure about this one, I tend to get motion sick when I read in the car unless it is dark out, so this will be a winter-time possibility.

4. WATCH TV. We have recently talked about getting rid of cable and using Netflix/Hulu. My new obsession is The Following - 1 episode would be a lovely 1-way commute. And I have hours of popular shows I've never watched that could keep me entertained.


A lot of people, some of our family included, think we are crazy for considering the move we want to make, but for us it's a tradeoff between space, cost of real estate and planning for our future. Related, during a majority of the year, I will be traveling 2-3 days per week, so this will not be a 20-day per month round trip commute.

ALSO, it will put me 30 miles CLOSER to multiple rural, beautiful biking options that I spent last summer driving 90 minutes to enjoy.