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.

'The Office'

Yesterday was one of those Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Days. The kind of day where you want to bang your head on the your desk, over and over again, but the only reason you don't is because you're too vain and your boyfriend is coming this weekend and you don't want huge bruises on your forehead.

The result of this bad day included taking a second day off of running last night (letting a sore foot heal up on my rest week), eating way too many mini chocolate chips while watching the Biggest Loser (oh the irony, there was a chocolate temptation challenge), and passing out in my clothes, lights on, at 10pm. This morning, I knew my day from hell meant today was going to involve lots of e-mail, phone calls and busy work in anticipation of a Friday deadline. In addition, it was 'feels like 6' outside when I left for work. So I went with my go-to outfit:

Long wool tunic, jeggings, and Uggs. My office is casual. As in, half-the-people-wear-lab coats-and-sweat pants casual. Except my jeggings were MIA, so I wore my most comfortable skinny jeans (which were newly washed, thus not so comfortable). Then:

I waited 30 minutes in the 'feels like 6' weather for a damn bus. Oh well being early to work for some quiet time. 7 express buses passed while I waited. I should have walked the three extra blocks to the damn express stop.

I was too busy for the last 3 hours to go to the bathroom. When I finally got a chance, I almost had an emergency situation because I went to pull down my jeggings (ie no zip) and forgot I had real jeans on. Close to a disaster :)

And now, as I drink my daily diet hot-chocolate (sugar free, with water and a spash of skim) and snack on almonds, dreaming of my marathon race weight, someone is making a Stouffers Lasagna in the pantry.

fail.

Corporate Challenge 2009.

Last night was the Corporate Challenge in NYC. I ran this race with my company my first week of work in 2006 and thought I was going to die from the humidity. I have been a cheerleader the past two years due to injury so was excited to run this year. We usually have a solid group of 20-30 runners/walkers, and it's a fun way to spend some time with colleagues outside of the office.

Or at least, that is what I think when I sign up, however, the reality is, the 3.5 mile course in Central Park with 15,000+ people is a complete klusterf%c!. I learned my lesson the first year, when it took me 10+ minutes to even start to 'jog' and got an 'elite' sticker this year so I could head up to the very front of the crowd. I started about 5-10 yards back from the front, but was still surrounded by those walking - I don't get it.

I was, however, able to settle into a nice pace right away. I hadn't decided if I was going to 'race' or get in a good tempo run, as I have been really tired and been having some soreness in my hip the past few days, but there were a number of women right around me running the same pace, so I went with it. After two sub-7 minutes miles (6:48, 6:53), I decided to pull it back a bit in the third mile (7:30).

I finished with a 7:05 pace over 3.5 (3.6 according to Garmin) miles. With the 5ks and this race, I am really seeing the progress with my speed and confidence, and it's really nice with the hard work I have put in the past few months.

A few other women from my company came in about :15 and:30 seconds behind me, so there is a chance we could qualify for the championships- something like the top 10% of teams in each city, based on the average (or total, I'm not sure) time of your top 4 or 5 runners, qualify to run in the Championships, which is held on Park Ave. in October. Pretty cool for a little 'ol non-profit running in cotton t-shirt in 100% humidity :)

Full Bloom.

Whenever spring comes into full bloom, the campus I work on turns into a little wonderland in the middle of Manhattan.

Confession...

Sometimes, I will sit at work for 7 hours (yes, the beauty of a 35 hour non-profit work week), and do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

...OK that is not entirely true. I will keep up with email. And add things to my to-do list. And check Facebook. Add more things to my to-do list. Perhaps go to a meeting. And read blogs. And check Facebook again. And add something else to my to-do list. Then read Perez Hilton. Oh, and definitely peruse the wedding section of the New York Times, and then the Real Estate section, because hey, a girl can dream, right? (about NYC real estate...not weddings! ha)

Then, at around 3pm, I will do something on my to-do list. Just so i can cross something off for the day.



Yes, this is coming from the same girl who used to put 'shower' on her to-do list in college so she could 'check something off'.

Hills

Did 25 minutes of Harlem Hill Repeats last night- kept it all under 80% and under control. Made sure it was a STRENGTH workout- NOT SPEED. Feel really good today, my legs are a bit tired after the 8 miles Sunday, then strength Monday night and a good amount of running yesterday. But it's just sore- no pain in the hip or shins. Good stuff.



Work stinks right now. I guess we all have our issues at work, and I can hardly complain b/c I really do have my 'dream job' at 25. But sometimes I think it makes it harder to deal with bull$hit at work when you are so passionate about your job. I just love what I do, so it is so frustrating when people lose track of the ultimate picture (HIV prevention), and get caught up in stupid details or can't see past their own egos. I've been doing a really good job at not getting caught up in petty drama and email exchanges, but I just fear some of the issues that are brewing could really turn this into an unhealthy environment that is not productive to my professional development. And that is scary b/c I believe so much in what I do and the company I work for. I have been doing a good job just checking it at the door when I leave, need to keep on that way.

And I have another trip to South Africa (and possibley Uganda!) on the horizon in the fall, so that will give me something to look forward to in the meantime.

Home again, home again.

I just arrived home again from Philly, and getting in two hours earlier than expected is just the BEST thing ever sometimes. I never sleep very well in hotels, and my leg has been hurting (obviously) and I think I ate more at this training than I have in a really long time, so I am very much looking forward to being a blob on the couch tonight.

Overall, the training was really useful, covered many of the activities I will be doing for the first time during my three weeks in South Africa, but the trainings through this company are also a great way to network and hear of other people's work experiences in various parts of the clinical drug research process, and, to me, that is very enjoyable. It is always interesting to hear how different companies operate, and especially for me, coming from a very different place than most, if not all, of the other attendees (the non-profit side), it's always an interesting comparison to hear what it is like to work in a world of profit, without budget dictating most of your activities. Half the time I think I can see myself working in 'industry' in the future, on the sponser side or on the actual clinical side, however, the other half of the time, I just cannot imagine it. So I always try to keep my ears and eyes open during this trainings, making mental notes about job functions, companies, etc.

No improvements on the hip front. I have still been taking 1/painkiller a day, at night, b/c I have been having trouble sleeping due to pain. I DID get some really good news when I was gone though; I got a call from a doctor (Dr. M) that I had emailed a few weeks ago who is a good friend of many of the friends I have made through triathlon in NYC, and he is a well VERY well respected ortho.

After telling him of my experience last week, Dr. M told me to cancel the spect scan I had scheduled on Monday, and to make an appointment with his office first thing Monday and we would get to the bottom of it. He said the Spect Scan won't provide much more info past the bone scan, that I shouldn't get that much radiation anyways (esp after the xray and bone scan last week). He said the MRI is the best way to see what is going on and will tell us all we need to know.

After talking with him, I got to thinking. I am pretty appalled that the ortho I had been seeing did not read my bone scan, or even look at it, just the radiologist. I feel like, if this is a fracture, it is a pretty serious injury and for the ortho to send me off, walking on it for a FULL week before a final diagnosis, is just not the best way to handle the situation. I feel 100% comfortable transferring my care to Dr. M. He is also a triathlete himself, with multiple Ironman finishes, including Kona, and multiple Boston Marathon's, so it will be nice to be treated, whatever the final diagnosis it, by someone who 'gets it'.

OH! I also am going to get my hands on electronic copies of my x-ray and bone scan to take to his office, so hopefully I can keep a copy for myself and show everyone what is going on!!