Mike: I second the calorie counting, just to get a baseline. I'm always amazed at how many mindless calories I can consume just cooking--and I don't cook! Either that or I eat & hydrate too little, which affects me too. Like others here, I'm a member of SP, which I find useful.
Lisa: I'm sorry to hear you're sick, and hope it passes soon. I'd like all my WISH mates to be 100% all the time, especially near events. But I know that if anyone has the mindset to succeed, even in the face of adversity, it's you. I'll be interested in hearing whether you like your new haircut. I, too, got the Katie Holmes bob--an old standby of mine. I love the haircut because I don't need to think about it. (Hmmm...that sums up why I love a lot of things.)
Shan: I'm so sorry about your run--it sounds like it was physically & mentally tough. I also agree with what everyone else says...you have time, and you'll be surprised what you can do on race day with the adrenalin & all. And no, you're not the only one who gains weight when ill.
I feed a fever, a cold, the flu, an insect bite....
Stacie: It's great that you're focusing on all that you can do, on all the progress you've made. I agree that a huge part of racing is mental, so keeping those thoughts in mind will help prepare you for the Minnie. And you deserve a pat on the back & a big
for packing your lunch. About the hunger--are you trying to eat every 3 hours or so? (Same calories, split up for consumption more frequently.) I know that helps me out tremendously, along with hydration.
I'm sorry your family won't be there to watch you finish the 1/2. I know it's small consolation, but many of us will be there to cheer you on!
Beth: Thanks for the kind words, as usual. You and my other Lean Meaners have helped me immeasurably with seeing myself in a new light (see below) and I thank you for it!
Don't you hate it when you miss the class you really wanted to attend? It makes the TM just that much harder to tolerate.
Dave: I'm like you. I really need to concentrate on eating slowly--it comes from all those years living with a ravenous little brother, I think. Yep, that's right, I'm blaming my little bro & am about to turn 40!
Seriously, I think it was Nancy who had posted something a while back about hunger awareness. And eating slowly helps us become aware of our hunger levels. I have no doubt that you've lost this weight & doing what you're doing will help you maintain that. Between eating and stretching/icing, you've adopted so many good habits that I expect to hear you setting some PRs soon!
Tracey: I say go for the pixie cut! New spring, new you!
Maria: You're back, and already in the saddle again. How wonderful! We missed you, but I hope you had the R & R you needed. I've not read the
The Beck Diet Solution, but it sounds promising. (Much more so than
The Biggest Loser, which has enough filler for me to count as a between-meal snack!)
Warning: this is all about me, and long, and not about training:
Beth & All. Don't get me wrong. I generally like my ILs, I really do. It's just that they have these roles their children & partners are supposed to play that fulfills the family dynamics. And I don't always like how my role has developed over the years--my dark sense of humor, my (um) outspokenness, and a tendency to overanalyze things (like movies) have evolved into the evaluation that I'm a negative person. Over the years I just kind of accepted that this was true, as it kind of matched my parents' statements about me. And if most of my friends are similar in personality to me, then I just thought we're all pretty negative. I mean, it's called Debbie Downer for a reason, right?
But since coming onto WISH and hearing your reactions to my posts, I've reassessed myself. While I do have a dark sensibility & am highly critical of texts/institutions/ideologies, I've become aware that when it comes to PEOPLE I'm not really a negative person. I don't gossip; when talk turns to discussions of others' behavior, I tend either change the subject or to vigorously defend the absent someone who's being talked abut. So long as someone isn't doing harm to themselves or others, I'm generally supportive. And as much as I view institutions with skepticism, I pretty much like & trust people.
So I guess I really make a distinction between my sense of humor, my reaction to things, and my treatment of people. They're related, but don't add up to a negative personality. Or if they do, that's not the whole story or a bad thing. (Repeat after me: I'm a Negative Nellie & proud of it!
) But sometimes, usually when I'm feeling kind of low anyway, it bothers me when my ILs don't see that. It was just your luck to run across me on a day when I'd had both a stonker of a run & a stonker of a phone conversation with my MIL. I'll try not to let it happen again--after all, I do have voice mail!
Anyway, thanks for listening to me--once again--and thanks for teaching me things about myself that I should know. Yinz are the best!
My family is very encouraging, but no one really understands the joy or the pain that comes with training and then the event itself unless they are training and doing events themselves.
Sorry your run hurt. But know... You CAN do this!!!
), or just felt yucky, remember the DIS motto - DLF>DNF>DNS!
You are a great team member, and I always feel like you have my back. I am glad you are here.
I find I'm hungriest at lunchtime too, so have been trying to eat the bulk of my calories during lunch & my afternoon mini-meal. (Again, thanks for your support. I know you say you're a negative person, and I believe you because you say it. Not much evidence here. But inside, I'm just going to think that you're negative like I am: darker, maybe pessimistic, even cynical. That makes us quite a pair! 
)
