Thoughts...I have them.

I was watching the WS list finalize, happy for all those who got in. I love staking that race, it is THE ultimate 100m...sort of like the Boston Marathon of ultra running, lol. Got me thinking about my own racing next year and I realized I have signed up for nothing  but am pacing at 3 races(incuding Leadville, if I can swing it, WOOHOO) My training will be mostly so I can be a stellar pacer! I do have 2 races I want to do for sure, then I will basically just wing it. I really want to run smart this year. I have some super-seekrit-squirrel thoughts for 2013 so this year will be interesting...

I am on day day 4 of my 88 days of 8 miles...heading out to do my once-a-week mountain/trail run. The mountain is still not open for skiing so I can safely get up and down as long as I avoid where they are making snow...I *think* the trail I use will be ok, coming back down might get hairy, lol, we'll see. The plan is for about 10 miles but if I have to pick a different trail it could turn into 12...ah, well. :) It will be slow, as due to my streak I have no days off so I need to be able to recover and be back out doing 8m tomorrow.

I will be posting some recipes later as I am very deticated to eating more balanced and focused :) I took a plunge and made overnight crock-pot oatmeal for this morning and I have to say...it was good! I was scared, lol...but I am having issues with keeping my weight steady and I *know* I need to eat breakfast and SHOULD eat before I go run...I always feel better and run better if I do. I have seen a lot of people who swear by oatmeal, so I thought I'd give it a try. I needed to remember to get the GF oats though as the other kind never worked for me (plus the dude with the hat is on the GMO list...grrr...) I used steel cut oats for this morning, and I did like the texture! I ate it plain this morning but I am thinking chia seeds and craisins tomorrow...I have noticed that if I am concious about my eating, and actually consume enough calories/nutrition I recover and feel better...go figure. I have almost no appetite(thank you antibiotics) so I never really *feel* hungry which sounds great but really isn't as I never get the signal to eat...which means there are many days I simply don't eat much. Not good. I am hoping that by adding breakfast in every day, things will improve and I will notice a positive difference. :)

I am very much looking forward to skiing this year...I missed out on a lot last year, and I never even got to use my snowshoes. Since I have found my trails, I am chompin' at the bit to get out and try them! AND we happen to have a decent cc ski/snowshoe *place* in the next town that I definitely want to check out this year. I haven't cc skiied since before JD was born but I would love to get out and do it once in a while :)

I have to say, I am really in a good place right now...feeling incredibly grateful for what I have, the people in my life, etc. I can rememebr forever ago when I was just not happy. It took a long time, but I have defintiely evolved into someone else, and I always find something to be happy about. No matter what is going on, you can always be grateful for SOMEthing. Or, someone :) I am truly happy every day, no matter what comes my way and it is a good feeling. Life is short, and finding the good in every day is a good practice to get into, imo. :) Try it and see...letting the negative crap simpy roll off your back and not take up space in your life. You always have the choice of what you allow into your life and though I used to choose chaos and drama...I have replaced that with things that bring me joy. That is not to say there is never any chaos or drama in my life, but now I choose to deal with it differently. I give it FAR much less energy and time than I used to. I am not the most patient person on the planet, and maybe running ultras has given me a different perspective on things. When you spend as much time as I(and other ultra runners) do out running/training alone it really does change your perspective on things. All that time to think/disect/ponder...its a good thing as you can't hide from yourself when you are *out there*. I think that is what finaly pushed me to make the changes I have, along with having rea-life experiences of just how short life is...makes you realize what is important and what you simply need to let go.

And on that note...I am off to run in the woods :)