So...it's been awhile. I didn't intentionally leave the blogosphere, but when I logged on just now to see that it had been 10 months since I'd done so, I wasn't particularly surprised.
It's no coincidence that my posts trickled to a stop as my job was revving up - a job that grew to be very difficult and derailed many of my attempts at staying healthy. It's been 10 months of frustrating circumstances, but the end is near and the weather is nice. And, to a (albeit former) triathlete, this presents many opportunities.
Step 1: Get back in the pool. CHECK.
I've been swimming 4 times in the last 10 days, and it feels GREAT. I've been using my Swim Workouts in a Binder book, and to my pleasant surprise, I've been able to complete every workout in the time I had available to me (I've had to shorten every workout in recent memory due to time constraints) and I've also been faster and more powerful than I'd expect with the sporadic nature of my endurance workouts over the last...ahem...7 years? Swimming is my happy place and it feels so great to be able to push myself without having to rush myself.
Step 2: Get a new bike. CHECK.
I've been avoiding cycling for years. Cycling is one of my favorite pastimes. It marks me as a member of a community in which I rather enjoy membership. It's great exercise. It feels good (after the initial butt pain relaxes). And I make up amusing limericks a la "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" as I ride. What's not to love?
Well, the time commitment, for one. In order to get in a good, solid ride, you just need more than an hour. For right now when I'm building up my wind and my muscles, an hour will get me 13 miles which is just fine. But as a cyclist gets stronger she needs more of a challenge; sometimes that even involves a drive to a better cycling experience than I can find on the congested streets near my home.
The main reason I haven't picked up riding again, though, is because of the unpleasantness of kneeing myself in the post-baby gut with every pedal stroke, and the nausea that followed. It just felt gross. "When I lose my gut," I'd tell myself, "I'll get a nice bike and start riding again." I'd always wanted a nice bike - a carbon, true road bike rather than the secondhand aluminum tri bike I brought with me from my former life. But I didn't want to spend all that money on something I wouldn't use because it made me want to puke every time I used it.
Turns out I just had a poorly-fitted (read: not-at-all fitted) bike. I went to check out bikes, test rode 3 of them, and realized there was no problem with any of them. Kinda sucks to think about all those rides I've missed out on over the years. But, water under the bridge - right? I spent the money, got a sweet bike, and have been fortunate to be able to ride 4 times since I got it 5 days ago. This excites me more than anything else.
Step 3: Recommit to putting great food into my body. Check-ish.
For the most part, I have been strong with eating yummy paleo foods and avoiding sugar and grains. Too often I will mow down on an ice cream sundae or a jar of candy just because it's there, which I know I shouldn't do. But, I'm working on resisting more often - and not putting myself in situations in the first place where I might make bad decisions.
As always, food addiction is the aspect of my health that presents the biggest obstacle for me. But I am happy to say that during my absence from the blog, I wasn't absent from my goals. In retrospect it seems like I was waiting for something to happen to miraculously make it easier to take care of myself. Then I remembered: The miracle that needs to happen is for me to commit to my health despite all the challenges and obstacles that throw themselves my way.
This is me, doing that.
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