Happiness is...

Dear Diary,

Happiness is...

13. ...slowly, but surely, coming back from a 6 month sloth fest. I've been doing a few mountain climbing hikes, and a few tempo runs where I ran until my lungs burned. I have make it hard to make it easy, right?

12. ...making sun-dried tomatoes, for free, in my car. I promised pictures; here they are. I discovered that wax paper will stick, so the 2nd batch was made with a silicone baking sheet. Perfection!

11. ...approaching Autumn. I've ditched a few afternoon runs. I had completely reasonable reasons for doing so too. The thing is, it's hot. And I. Am lazy.

10. ...local events. I went to a local fatass 50k (look it up) last Friday night, starting at 8 pm. We were to do ten laps of 5k each. Actually, 3.4 miles each. Mini baboo did all ten. Dread pirate did all ten. I did five. I loved that run. Good course, completely enclosed, and the moon was so bright that at one point, I put away my headlamp.


9. ...firsts. This was Mini Baboo's first 50k. It took him a little over eight hours, and the next day he hobbled around, complaining, "this must be what it feels like to be old."

Uh, well Squirt, that depends on your definition of old, and hell, I hope it doesn't hurt that much when I'm old. --er.

8. ...I did five laps because at the beginning of the run, my stomach started bugging me. I ate three hours before I ran, but it felt like I had just eaten, and eaten too much. my stomach hurt. Not my gut, but my stomach. It burned a little, and when I tried to tank up on Heed, or drink lots of water, it felt worse. Eventually, I stopped. By Monday it was still with me.

As long as I stuck to small, very small meals, I'm fine. I have no other symptoms, gastric or otherwise. I have enough energy. I'm sleeping well. I've been reading and it's possible it may be related to the thyroid thing. I have an appointment with an endocrinologist soon. One of the nurses I work with said I should get "scoped".

I hope that doesn't mean what it sounds like.

He nodded.

Upper? I asked, hopefully.

"Both," he said.

So, you're wondering why this is happiness. The truth is, I can stand to eat some smaller meals. I've been really struggling while the shit monster of gluttony has had a firm grasp on my ass. It is nothing but good for me to eat smaller meals for a while. I am up to 163 lbs now, and no, I haven't updated my ticker because it's too painful to do so. My goal is to walk into the Javalina Jundred trail run 13 pounds lighter. Watch me.

7. ...accomplishments. This weekend Sweet Baboo is going to run the Wasatch Endurance Run, his 4th and final 100-miler of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. There were 25 that started. 15 remain.

Meanwhile, I continue to be dazzled by Baboo's Feats of Strength.

6. ....seeing the progeny. I'm only allowed to show up at three aid stations at Wasatch, so I'm going up to go up north of Salt Lake city and see the Daughter, who is living near there and going to school. We might do girlie things, like getting a pedicure.

5....appliances that shut themselves off. I have several of these, including an electric kettle, toaster oven, bread maker, crock pot, and coffee maker. They all shut themselves off. I come from a long, proud line of women who have nearly burned their own houses down because they became engrossed in something while the stove/oven/misc. appliance was left on.

4....belt buckles. 'Nuff said.

3....flying on Southwest Airlines. Did you know they select stewards based on their sense of humor? They always do something unexpected. The best one was when we arrived in Albuquerque after a trip. The steward came on the loudspeaker, but instead of the customary lengthy welcome blah blah and here's the weather and thanks for flying with us he simply said, quietly, Get off.

2. ...Teenagers. Jes, I said it. Especially the ones with all the angst, and pain, because they are sooooo misunderstood. They will frequently tell me that they are all religions, because God is Everywhere. To which I've learned to say, "that must make December pretty busy for you. but at least you get a lot of holidays off, right?" They are frequently a bit peeved that I don't take life as seriously as they try to do.

Don't worry, Petal. You have lots of time to hate life and to gather reasons to be full of pain. Your parents' failure to accept your black nail polish and tats isn't one of them. Meanwhile, put the razor blades away. If I'm ever in a possession to hire someone for a behavioral health position, the tats and nail polish wont give me pause, but I'm definitely going to think twice if I see parallel rows of scars up and down your forearms.

1....my feet, and legs. Every time I travel I am reminded of this. After a race, when I'm stiff and sore, I will often deftly navigate around people being pushed through terminals in wheelchairs and think, somewhat irreverently, about how nice it would be to sit down more often. But then I remind myself, at least I get to get up. The mountain trails I run on aren't handicapped accessible. I'll keep, and be grateful for, my legs and feet, even when they hurt.

...

 

Posted with Blogsy