A decade ago a friend and I were training for a marathon together.  When we met early one morning she said “So what reindeer games to you have set for us today?”.  The name has stuck, and nobody ever really needs an explanation.  Picture Rudolph, picture learning to fly, and picture the joy of youth that comes with just trying to keep up with the others.  As a trainer and lover of the science/process of sport, I’m always about the plan.

But as I’ve said, I’m not always good about following my own plan.  I’m trying to do better.

On that note, let me say thanks to those of you who commented, emailed, or called after my last post.  I really appreciate the kind words, the encouragement, the offers to train, etc.  I feel so much less alone and thankful!  My spirits are bouyoed and I’m sticking to the system.  I mean…all three days of it so far:

Saturday:  Solo bike ride with an aching spine.  Nice to be out there by myself.  Pain was the limiting factor, but that’s what happens when you screw up.

Sunday: Met with Susan, a running comrade through the years.  We’ve agreed to  meet every Sunday, just like we have in the past.  Because we’re not actually running the same pace right now, we will not actually run together.  We meet, we run, we have coffee together and debrief.   We’ve also selected a book to read together, so we’ll take the coffee time to discuss.  And we’ll actually make it to church after that.  That’s our old “normal”, and we miss having those Sundays together.  Natural balance is restored.

Monday:  Long OWS followed by butt parked in chair.  With a good novel.  Gotta love a holiday.

Tuesday:  Reindeer Ride by myself.  I did 5 mile loops on Davis Island.  Warm up loop followed by “hills”, spin, hills, spin.  Done.  My hills…50 revolutions in each of the back gears…work way up and then back down.  Fun when you throw a little wind in there, too.  I think I almost took off!   My nose definitely got red. 

Wednesday:  Evening St. Pete Mad Dogs training at the beach.  I only swam the half-mile, and then ran.  Happy with my 3.75 mile run.  NO PAIN!  There was, of course, the “discomfort” that comes with being out of shape.  But I’ll take THAT!  Workable, indeed. 

Thursday:  Hour workout with Mr. McSpeedy.  My hip flexors fatigue incredibly quickly, so I did lots of mountain climbers, back lunges with knee lifts, and sprinting in the sand pit.  Right after I was done with him I went for a ride with Ernie and Erin.  I only had an hour, but made the best use of my time.  We did short pulls keeping the pace between 20-22 mph…steady.  It’s obvious who the lead reindeer is in that team.  Ernie keeps us going, tells us to pull off if our tri-brain gets out front for too long, and nudges us from behind if we happen to start dragging.  Santa would be very happy with him.

As for food, I’m doing well.  I’m trying out some supplements and will keep you posted on them.  I had some minor dental work (phase 1) done yesterday.  The dentist’s parting shot was “No chewing, no hot, no cold, no flossing on that side for 3 weeks.”  That makes me a little nervous; cognizant of what’s going on, at the very least.  I’ve been thrown into the natural balance of things…I will focus on HOW I eat as well as WHAT I eat.  That’s a lesson on which I could stew!

I’m re-finding the joy of training by myself.  For years it made me very happy, but often get hung up on the safety of doing that.  For now I’ll focus on being the best reindeer I can be.  Today, and in the long run.

Switch your thinking from “what can I get away with?” to “what’s the best I can do?”