Lola, Work and Socks

Clever post title, I know.

I was thoroughly enjoying sleeping through the night, something I hadn't done in 12 years because of Newman, when I decided to adopt this little monster...

it's hard to get a good picture of her because she's never sitting still!

If last night is any indication of what's to come, my peaceful nights of sleep are long gone. We rescued this kitty not to replace Newman, because no cat will ever take his place, but more to save an animal and give it a good home. I also thought it would be nice for Lainey to have company during the day while we're at work. But based on the sneak attacks on Lainey last night, I might have been wrong. Lainey is dealing with the new kitten wonderfully though and is being very patient with her. I'm sure things will work out, she's only been with us a few days, but we do need to train her to sleep during the night. Oh, and we named her Lola, which of course is from Seinfeld, too. Anyone know which character that was without looking it up?

On another topic, I recently received some really good news. For a while now I've wanted to go part time at work. Currently I work at least 9 hours a day (usually more) and have off every other Friday. I've been doing this for years and while an extra 1.5 hours a day might not sound like a lot, there have been many times that I just wanted to call it quits at the 8th hour and go the heck home. Those hours made for a long day when I start my day at 4:40am to work out and I found myself working on most of my Fridays off. I didn't want my arrangement to affect our lifestyle too much so I proposed taking a baby step and reducing my hours down to 32 hours a week (8 hours a day, every Friday off). I found out late last week that my request has been granted. I'm beyond happy about this and am so grateful. I work in a great group and have an incredible boss; I am very lucky*. The new schedule starts March 1st and having an extra hour plus back to my day and every Friday off seems huge to me. But I'm sure I'll have no problem filling the time up with clients at the Y and Ironman training.

And lastly, if anyone out there is having issues with PF or tight calves...I highly recommend the Strassburg sock! I mentioned the other day that I started wearing it on my right foot. Well, not only has my foot been feeling better, the increased flexibility in my right ankle is crazy. I went out this weekend and bought another one for my left leg. It's not very comfortable sleeping with the sock on both legs, especially if you're a stomach sleeper, but based on the improvement in such a short amount of time, I'll suck it up.

*I also have an awesome husband who supports anything that makes me happy. I really lucked out here.

I Need To Relax

This most recent little blogging hiatus wasn't necessarily my fault. We had to unexpectedly leave town and head to Michigan for a funeral. We were in the process of picking a weekend in the next month or so to head out there, before training really picks up, so this unfortunate event just made the decision for us. We had a nice visit but I also had a few days off from working out and no veggies (unless you count the iceberg lettuce I had...I personally don't consider this a veggie). So needless to say I am happy to be home and back to my routine. When I signed up for the Ironman I made the decision that there would be no traveling this year with the exception of visiting Andy's family in Michigan. While it kills me to think of a year without Jamaica and short trips with friends, vacations and training just don't mix well for me. But now that the Michigan trip is in the books, there's only one travel date this year that I'm thinking about...

My Coach sent me my "goals" for March and I can't believe another month is almost over. I'm struggling with the base building because I don't feel like I'm doing enough. I know come the summer I'm going to be drowning in workouts and I should appreciate this time, but it makes me go a little stir crazy and actually makes it harder for me to stay focused. Don't get me wrong, I'm working out a lot (swimming 3x/week, biking 3x/week, running 2x/week, misc cardio here and there, and lifting 2-3x/week) but without the hard efforts I'm used to in marathon training, I feel like I'm not doing enough.

I also think the fact that I have no idea what I'm in for freaks me out a little. I'm not one to relinquish control and that's what I have to do that with this training. I need to trust what my Coach tells me and keep reminding myself that he has a lot more experience with Ironmans than I do. I sometimes find myself comparing my workouts to other people and I get worked up that I'm doing less than someone who isn't training for an Ironman. But this year is about me and my workouts so I've stopped paying attention to what anyone else is doing.  My goals for this year are to stay healthy, injury free and not burn out mentally. Although it's hard, I know that following my Coach's direction is what's going to help me reach these goals. 

I actually feel a little better now that I wrote that. I've been so worried lately that I'll be under prepared for this race. I know that's not a rational thought, but I've never claimed to be rational. I think there's just a lot of uncertainty and fear that are making me a little more nutso than usual. The important thing that I need to remember is that each time I've tackled a new distance, I've never gone into it without being both physically and mentally ready.

*Sigh* As my Dad would say, I need to relax.

3 Things Thursday

1 - My attempt at making a come back at blogging isn't going so well.

2 - After baffling yet another doctor with my insanely tight, non-flexible calves, I've been told to spend my all my free time in this:

While it looks like a straight jacket for the feet, it's actually called the Strassburg sock. It's to help with PF, Achilles tendonitis and tight calves. I can barely pull my toes back but even that little bit created a pretty significant stretch in my foot. I'm supposed to wear it on both legs but I'm testing it out first on the craptastic right one to see if it makes a difference. At this point, I'm willing to try anything.

3 - I forgot to mention that I received some really cool news right before the Holidays...I'm a 2012 Hammer Nutrition sponsored athlete this year!!!

I started using Hammer products over the summer during Tri training and they saved me from my reoccurring stomach issues during long workouts. I'm so excited to be a part of this program but I have to admit, I'm also slightly intimidated to be grouped with such a collection of incredible athletes. Even though I'm only base building now with my training, I've been incorporating Hammer products to help with refueling and recovery and I've been feeling really good. I'm using these light months of training to also get a base line with nutrition and to make sure I'm refueling properly after each workout...something I've struggled with in the past. Anyway, I'm grateful to be a part of this program and will definitely share what's been working for me since I know I'm not alone with the stomach issues.