Couch to ATHLETE!

I am one of the most forgiving/loyal people you will ever find (at least I think so). There are only two instances that I can think of in life that have made me think twice about welcoming someone back in to my world. Both of those instances are from my high school or early college days so I like to think they don't count. I mean I was young and burned pretty badly in both situations. Through life I have been seriously hurt with the best of them. Some of the pain has come from being cut off by people I care about, stood up by friends/dates (ask me about my junior dance sometime, it is quite the story), stolen from and the list goes on. I have lost people that I have cared for and I have also loved without abandon; I have lived!!! Over the past couple of months I have been challenged in ways I never imagined. I have slogged through sadness, frustration, confusion... If you have spent any time with me, though, you know that I have maintained a good attitude while cherishin...

I can be colorful with my language from time to time; I'm going to keep this one clean though. If I knew my audience wouldn't be offended I would use my favorite phrase, right here, to explain what fall back weeks do to my mind... I should tell you that it is similar to how I felt while tapering for prior events. Some words I've used to express my feelings about fall back weeks include slothful, lazy, terrified, anxious and the list goes on. This fall back week is no exception; but there were good outcomes too... Here's the thing. The experts tell me that fall back weeks are essential to recovery and healing while training for any endurance event. OK, so I'm trying to trust the process. I think I have some trust issues though. I like racking up my miles, especially because I'm shooting for 1350 miles in 2012. I don't know how a fall back week is going to help my mileage goal!!! Right now I have to consider what is more important. Is it more ...

I typically like to have a true point before I start writing my post for the week. I am going to fail in that department today!!! Here's the thing, I haven't had a chance to be very inspired this week. I hung out on my couch, knocked out with a cold for many, many hours, while logging other hours watching Ice Road Truckers. Man this show is fascinating. My injured pup! Dukie was attacked by another dog during a cool down walk on Friday. This incident required a trip to the emergency vet, sutures and lots of love an patience. As I write this he is still breathing kind of funny (I actually just took a break from writing and went to the Vet again). I now know the funny breathing was due to the red (now blue) head wrap that was too tight and the return of the cone. This poor pup is having a rough time... And on top of it he is crying a lot, or should I say constantly, because I don't think the pain killers are strong enough. I got home from the vet fairly late on Fri...