november at a mile high

Checking in...


November Goals
Do not spend one single second stressing about training.  Move for fun, be healthy, love activity, and do not worry.  More than a check on this one.  How I feel about training has changed a lot lately.
Do not go crazy selling stuff on Craig's List (anyone want a microwave?  some bookshelves? a queen-sized bed?)  We still have a microwave that needs a good home...
Lots of puppy FaceTime is going to be necessary.  Oh, and husband and friend FT.  TONS of puppy FaceTime this month.  Not quite enough.
Stop whining about adjusting to altitude and just go run.  Only just put the Garmin back on.  Still feel sluggish and low on oxygen but I'm pumped about getting back into a training schedule.
It's probably time to stop fueling your body like a drunk locked in a candy store.  Small changes to swing back.  Small changes have been the name of the game.  Spent the later half of the month following the 90% rule.

And suddenly it's December and my life is completely different.

October 20th until November 25th is roughly what my off-season looked like.  In that time, I swam once, and my training log says 30 minutes easy was how it went down.  Once.  One time I got into the water and paddled around.  I probably needed the time off after how cranky my joint was, but whew, do I have a lot of work to do in the next month or so.  I've got some big goals for my swim in 2013, and most of them involve swimming faster than I ever have before.  Over this last week, I've been in the water four times, and each time feels a tiny bit better than the last.  I'm still not quite where I was when I left off, but a few more weeks of consistent work should hopefully bring it back.  Then it's time to knuckle down.

I got on my bicycle this past Saturday for the first time since October 20th.  Now, I love the bike.  I love riding, when I first became a triathlete it was because I fell in love with being on two wheels.  But three years in a row now, I've taken 5-6 weeks off in the late fall/early winter.  I think it helps me recharge, especially as my seasons have gotten longer, and every year I get to a point where I miss it and can't wait to hop back on.  Or maybe it's just, "how can I miss you if you won't go away?"  I finally put the wheels back on and pulled all the B2B stickers off and rode, and while my HR is running wild because of how rested I am and how much fitness I do not have (and how different it is to be riding with no blood cells and more wind than I am used to), I was ready to reintroduce my ass to the saddle.  And the run.  My 5ish weeks off included two without any movement at all, and most of the rest of what I did was running.  I was fighting with a pair of cranky shins for most of November, and I am bemused to report that the minute I put my HR monitor back on and started running at or under MAF they disappeared.  Coincidence?  Maybe, but I believe in MAF and I believe it helps to keep me out of Dr. P's office in tears, and this is just one more instance where I think it is true.

I'm ready to buckle down and work hard again.  I'm ready for my schedule, although December is going to be quite a difficult month to keep to it.  I'm heading back to DC pretty soon, to sign all the papers that sell our house and visit all of my favorite restaurants one more time and get drunk with all my girls and then pack up the other half of our house to bring it out here to CO.  We'll move into our new house at the end of the month and I'm strongly considering putting up a Christmas tree on December 28th because of how sad I am to miss decking out a house in red-and-green crap.  And finally, I'll have my family back, all in one place and in a house that we will someday turn into our home.

November
Miles run: 63.7
Rest days: 10
Days I went to bed before 7pm: at least 10
Yoga classes attended: 1
30/30 runs accomplished: 21
Times I climbed on a scale: 0
Pants that continue to fit (although perhaps a bit tightly): all
Boxes of spinach eaten since moving to Boulder: 5
Cupcakes eaten: at least a dozen

December Goals
Swim.  A lot.  Far.  Often.
Start keeping an eye on body data again (dig the Restwise doohickey out of the storage bins).
Work a little better at not eating crap while life is in flux (ahem road trip Doritos ahem).
Don't complain about the wind.
Learn how to cook high-altitude pizza from scratch.
Stop being indecisive.  Pick an iPhone case and just buy it already (suggestions?).
Vegetables.  Just buy one that is not spinach.  Start there.

What are your goals for December?