New Year, New Me...

Yeah, cheesy I know but this is going to be a great year, I can feel it.

Before I left on vacation I ordered a bike trainer, a CycleOps Mag Trainer to be specific, it came while I was gone and I just picked it up at the lab today. Okay, this thing is the bomb!!! I absolutely love it!!!! I set it up and rode it while I watched my DVR'd episodes of All My Children. What's better???? Getting a bike ride in and watching my soaps, hello - can you say heaven!!!!! So that is a huge hit.

Also before I left I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia. I've had problems with my blood sugar for years but the training last year really exacerbated the problem. I'm scheduled to see a nutritionist on the 17th but in the meantime I ordered Hypoglycemia for Dummies. I was reading that this afternoon and it turns out this condition is much worse than I thought. Turns out the depression I dance with and fatigue and a couple of other issues may be all related to the hypoglycemia. That's good to know but it pisses me off no one ever mentioned it before. I thought everyone had these wild swings in blood sugar all the time. Anyway, that looks promising. It's funny how you can get used to things. I have lived with this condition for so long that it was a way of life for me. It never really occurred to me that this could be controlled. And it's not that I haven't heard about hypoglycemia, it's just I really didn't think I had it. Silly, I know.

I also ordered a book recommended by Bold; Eat Right to Train Right by Chris Carmichael. It hasn't arrived yet but I figure between these 2 books and the nutritionist weight loss and fuel for training is well within my grasp.

Still recovering from the vacation. Got up this morning and ran 3.5 miles then did Core Performance, also, rode the trainer for 20 minutes. Overall an excellent day.

Starting using FitDay again and totaled out the calories at 1550 for the day. The goal is to stay around 1500 a day and to rack up at least 400 minutes of exercise a week. I have got to get back to swimming and really soon since I have a biathlon next weekend.

One thing I really want to focus on this year (focus, get it :) is the positive. So, along those lines, I'm going to try and do like a gratitude item everyday. For today, I'm grateful for my dogs. Since the kids are grown they have become our kids. While we were gone I thought about them all the time. The oldest one, Mana, is 14 years old, deaf, blind, and has severe arthritis in her hips. Our neighbor watched her for us while we boarded the other 2. Last night we took them on the usual walk and Mana couldn't make it. She stopped a couple of times and just sat down and we had to carry her some of the way. It was really sad to see. It made me realize though how grateful I am to have had the honor of knowing all these dogs. They are sweet, loving, friendly dogs who would lay down their lives in a second for me. They love me completely, unconditionally and get so happy to see me they can't stand it. Have you ever seen a 90 lb dog wag his entire butt in joy??? There's nothing like it. I know in the next few weeks we'll have to face the decision of what to do with Mana and it's not a decision I look forward to, but it has made me realize how much these dogs add to my life. They have taught me that right now is the best moment. Right now is a great time to love, laugh, play and be happy. People who treat pets as possessions have no idea what they are missing out on.. I would rather spend time with my dogs than with many people I know.