Day 127: May 6

Workouts. . .
30 min. walk with the dog

Bad news — there’s been a slight weight gain in the family. Yep, it’s me and it’s been equally relocated around the butt and belly areas. It’s only three pounds, but I’m still depressed about it. I need to start keeping my little food diary again. It’s hard to think of it as a lifelong habit (because I keep quitting, so it’s really NOT a habit), but perhaps it should be. I realize it was helping me earlier to slow the hell down. Now I just feel like crap about gaining weight, and even more crappy about the lack of exercise.

Last week, I completely avoided my triathlon schedule for the overwhelming sense of guilt it bestows. I’m supposed to be on week four, but am technically still fumbling through week two of the training, especially if you include the single, solitary bike ride I’ve been able to pull off. This is the worst training effort I’ve ever attempted and I certainly feel embarrassed for having said anything out loud.

Life-wise, I’ve been truly missing my free summer mornings. Last year around this time, I woke up around 6 a.m. to lope through sleepy neighborhoods, slowly but surely building mileage each week. I’d stretch on the porch with the dog lying lazily in the sun spots, cook breakfast, and eat it outside with a book or my writing journal. Now, I’m up at 4 a.m. brushing my teeth in the dark and pulling on a Starbucks outfit. When I’m done, my feet hurt too much to run, and it’s generally the hottest part of the day. After I nap or over-caffeinate to work for a few hours, I’m sluggish and dull, pretty much thoughtless for the afternoon. It’s depressing.

Downward, always downward. Starts out with one day of skipping out and turns into a full week of complete sloth ending with the added poundage tightening my pants. How to pull out of this spiral? The goal this week is to simply run once. Perhaps my brain is combining my overwhelming training schedule with the crazy work stack I’ve piled up the past few weeks to sabotage me entirely by melting itself down. Whatever. I’ll circumvent it by running and hopefully gracefully regain my momentum – training and otherwise.

Anyway, back to food. I made my mom’s classic Taco Salad, a true crowd-pleaser at church potlucks for generations. Again, it proved to be a winner.

Lynn’s Taco Salad
1 can chili beans (I like the hot ones)
1 can Hungry Man chili
1 c. red onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
1 small head iceberg lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces
1/2 c. salsa
1/4 c. Catalina dressing
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1/2 bag Spicy Nacho Doritos, slightly crushed

Mix beans, onion, tomato, salsa and dressing in a huge bowl. Add lettuce over top and sprinkle cheese across. Crush Doritos onto the top of the salad. Mix just before serving, not too soon. (This salad doesn’t last forever unless you enjoy soggy chips, so the longer you can wait to mix this, the better.)