Back on the trail

Wow, it's been a full month since the last time I posted anything? Yikes.

There have been several times where I mused over something to post, but just didn't get off my duff to do so. It really does feel like so much of the same-old same-old, how to write something new? Other bloggers seem to come up with something really easily on a frequent basis. To be sure some of my difficulty is because of the somewhat myopic nature of the posts. What sorts of things would you like to read beyond my training and (now rare) racing travails?

As at least one or two of the readers know from Facebook, I became slightly anemic several months ago. Taking an iron supplement wasn't cutting it -- still too anemic to donate platelets, which is something I used to do regularly (approximately every 2-3 weeks). I finally took the chance of putting spinach back into my diet. I had removed it quite a while ago because of GI issues I was having. That has definitely done the trick -- more than high enough levels to donate this past Sunday.

Previously it had been causing GI issues because I was eating the spinach regularly as part of my lunch. Apparently, even though I eat lunch anywhere from 4-6 hours before my afternoon workout (on workdays, I go to the gym after work), even that was apparently too close in timing, thereby causing some nasty GI issues. Out from the diet it went. But this time around, I'm having it as part of dinner -- typically less than an hour after my afternoon workout. No issues due to the spinach.

What's more, as would be expected, given my higher iron levels -- and, hence, presumed greater capacity to carry oxygen in my blood -- my training runs have generally been going even better than normal. Less than two weeks to go before my next "real" marathon, not virtual. Looking forward to seeing if it goes as well as I need it to: goal is to go 3:05 or faster. I'll be able to finalize my goal after next Sunday's Abbott Age Championship-qualifying race(s) to know just what score I need (and hence finishing time I need) to qualify for next year's championships in London.