It has started

With NOLA now about 14 weeks away, I'm getting into some 2-a-day workouts and work outs that are 2 hours or more. Right now, I do my long swim and a long spin on Sundays, and then on Tuesdays I double up as well. I do morning speed work with KT and I spun (is that the right word?) last night, too. Soon I'll be doing long bricks on Saturdays and adding a short barefoot run on Sundays instead of spinning, along with adding another shorter spin session during the week. I've been trying to do yoga at least twice a week, too. So far no foot problem, knock on wood.

All this training means two things:
1. I need to sleep more. Last night I went to sleep a little after 9 and I slept like a rock! I'm such an old lady. I hope by going to bed at 9 once or twice a week I can hold off training-induced fatigue. It also means limiting the alcohol I drink before bed. But I've been pretty good with that since I decided to try to lose 5 lb. Ah, the sacrifices we make!

2. I'm hungry. All the time. The training munchies are back already. I've never had to deal with the hunger issue in the winter and it poses a problem. Besides the problem of always having food in my mouth when a co-worker stops by my desk during the day. If they didn't know me, they'd probably think I have some type of food addiction or oral fixation. Luckily, they've gotten used to that. The problem is usually I stock up on fresh fruits and veggies and snack on those throughout the day. But nothing is in season and fresh produce is so expensive in the winter! Right now carrots, cucumbers, apples, and clementines are staples in my lunch bag but I'm starting to get bored. I might have to start using cereal, nuts, and dried fruit to make my own snack mix. Is there some kind of healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe out there? That's what I'm really jonesing for.

One of these days I'm going to actually upload my run data from the Garmin. I want to try to program the custom workout for a brick and see how that goes. So far I love it. I haven't been paying much attention to it while running, other than to check my HR. The paces I've been running with all the slushy snow are pretty depressing when compared to where I was this fall. I've also been told my Vibram's are supposed to (finally!) arrive this week, possibly even today! If they do show up, I'm taking them out for a run this weekend! Toys and gadgets help me stay focused and motivated when the weather is crap and one workout generates enough dirty laundry for a full load. Embrace the suck. It will be April before I know it.

Now, I think I saw an M&M laying on the kitchen floor. Maybe it's still there...