Oh, Hi!

As I say at the beginning of all posts recently, I apologize for my absence! Law school definitely interfered with life for a minute there. However, I can now happily say that that problem won't happen again! I got hooded yesterday!



It was awesome! I now have two months of intense studying before I sit for the bar in late July, and then I'll be a real attorney! (But please don't ask me about your legal problems! I can't give you advice over the internet!)

Anyway, since my last post (seven months ago!), so much has happened. I won't bombard you with everything now, but there's been a lot of racing, a lot of training, and a lot of traveling. I'll get you caught up soon!

At the moment, I'm just finishing up my first week of Ironman training. Yep, Ironman! I know it's insane, being I just started running a year and a half ago, but I know I can do it if I stick to the training. I'm a pretty fierce chick! I was looking for a fall race, and I found an iron-distance triathlon in Maryland in September called ChesapeakeMan.



I'll actually be living in DC in September (Yes, I'm moving! Another story to tell...), so it's quite convenient. I started a 20-week training plan from BeginnerTriathlete.com on Monday, and I'm loving it so far. It's hard work--don't get me wrong--but I love training. Since Monday, I haven't really been able to do anything except sleep, eat, drink water, and rack up mileage. Seriously, if I sit down for more than five minutes and am not eating or drinking water, I fall asleep, no matter where I am. It's crazy! I hope it gets easier in subsequent weeks!

So far, training has gone like this:

Monday: run and swim
Tuesday: bike and run
Wednesday: swim
Thursday: long run
Friday: bike and swim
Saturday: REST!

Tomorrow I have a long ride, and then Monday starts Week 2, which follows nearly the same pattern. The workouts are specific as to time and/or distance, but I can get into that later.

Honestly, I had almost completely forgotten how much I love triathlon training. I spent all of last summer training for a fall triathlon too, Ironman 70.3 Augusta, and never in my life did I feel healthier. I was eating right, training a couple hours a day, practicing yoga regularly, and I felt like I just glowed all the time.

Even when I was dirty!



Although I've been consistently training for endurance running events since Ironman 70.3 Augusta, I've slowly let myself go. I ate junk for a couple days after my race because I felt like I deserved it, and then I never really stopped. I pretty much quit biking and swimming. I practiced yoga maybe once a week, but I was mostly just going through the motions. Despite the fact that I trained for and ran two marathons and a 50K ultra-marathon between then and now, I quickly became out of shape. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, and I was forced to confront the fact that I had put on almost fifteen pounds and could barely walk up a flight of stairs. It was definitely time to start triathlon training again!

I'm not going to post a picture of me now, which would essentially be a picture of what I consider to be "Overweight Me." I could, but I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea. I'm overweight for what I consider to be a good racing weight, and the subject of healthy weight is definitely one where your mileage may vary. Healthy for me isn't about what my body looks like but what it can do, and, right now, it can't do anything!

I'm hoping to drop between fifteen and twenty pounds before ChesapeakeMan in September, and I don't imagine it will be too difficult. I lost two pounds in the first week! The workouts are only getting harder, and I'm just going to keep eating better. I'm eating about 80% raw at the moment, and I'm absolutely loving it. I know I don't talk about food much on this blog, despite it's title referencing my choice of diet, but I certainly will if anyone has any questions about what it's like to train for an Ironman as a mostly-raw vegan. Just ask!

The last thing I'll address today in order to get you mostly caught up is a new and important character in the story of my life. My darling, Rusty.



Rusty and I have been dating since last fall, and I have a feeling you'll be hearing a lot about him in the future. He currently lives in Baltimore for work, so he and I regularly travel between here and there so that we can spend as much time together as possible. Also, I totally got him addicted to running, so you'll get to hear about his races, too, from the perspective of a spectator!

That's all for today. I have to go clean my apartment--my landlady already wants to start showing it to people, even though I'm not moving out until July!

The last few weeks

ACK! LAKjfa;lskd;laskjerlkjlKSjdlakflka!!!!!

It's finals time. [sigh]. Normal (and sane) posting will resume shortly. Until then, I leave you with a few pictures of how I've been spending the last few weeks...

















The end! I cannot wait for this semester to be over!

First bike ride and new running booty!

Today was a bit hectic. I have a (fake) trial on Friday that I (and my witnesses) are tragically unprepared for, so I was working with them and working on the trial all day today.

Note: When I say I'm tragically unprepared, I don't really mean it. I'm a bit OCD and extremely type-A when it comes to work/school, so I mean unprepared by my standards.

Anyway, I decided to go for a bike ride this afternoon (a) to clear my head and (b) to keep my muscles working. I know it's an off day for marathon training, but I have trouble going a day without exercise.

I've been bike training at the gym for the last few months, but today I decided to dust my bike off and go for a real ride!



Isn't she precious? I got her off craigslist last fall. I love me a little vintage Raleigh action. :-)



The bike ride was awesome! It was a bit harder than I expected, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I just did a 5-mile loop around the neighborhood, which was a nice little bike "snack," as my darlin' calls them. The only downside? Massive gusts of yellow pollen! Have you heard about our dilemma down here in the South? We're having pollen counts in the 5,000 range. Yikes!

This is what one of my roommates' cars. Holy moly!



I came home to the pleasantest of pleasant surprises. MAIL! I'll be the first to admit that I have a bit of an online shopping problem. However, I maintain that everything I bought in this last binge was necessary!

First, I got my Bondi Bands. Yay! No more sweat in the eyes for me! A wicking headband is exactly what I've been needing.



I also got this Gracie top from Bondi Band.



Good points: It has a pocket in the front for your iPod/phone and a loop on the shoulder to feed your headphones through. It's an awesome fabric and really supportive, too. Bad point: It's a little short for me. I have a long torso, and it barely meets the top of my shorts. I can wear it for running, but I can't wear it for biking because it won't cover my back when I'm bending over my bike.

From Running Warehouse, I got these fantastic Brooks Epiphany Stretch Running Shorts. LOVE them.



Also from Running Warehouse, I got two more toys that I haven't tested yet.

A Nike chip for my shoe with a wristband that records the data...



...and a CamelBak! Woohoo!



I'm going to have to do my long runs outside in the Georgia heat come summer because my gym ceases being open on Sundays. 20-mile runs in the Georgia summer? I'm going to need some hydration! Also, I'm going to need it for long bike rides. I've never been as thirsty as I was out on my bike today!

Must. Drink. More. Water.

What do you guys binge on when you have that itch to do some shopping?