6 posts tagged “running”
I've been a little out of it the last couple of days...even last night as I was posting...I think I may have had a bit of a reaction to the tetanus shot. I've been really tired and a bit feverish--just a slight fever--but I don't feel bad otherwise. I decided not to run tonight to rest up and I am truly going to bed early as soon as I'm done with this little note.
I do need to get some miles in this week though. I haven't run since Saturday. Maybe I'll run after swimming tomorrow.I feel really good in the water now and I'm looking forward to it. I do wish the water at this pool were warmer though. Oh, and I'm really excited because I get to pick up my bike from the shop tomorrow, which means I'll finally be able to join the Saturday morning bike ride.
In other mundane news, I have misplaced/lost my Debit card. I looked for it for a good hour today, and I looked everywhere I could think of and even went through the outside trash can, but it didn't turn up. I should just mark it lost, but I know that the second I do and request a new card, I'll find the old one. It is the way of things.
Now that the financial dust is settling, it is time to look for a random job just lucrative enough to cover those student loans that I am finally going to begin making full payments on in June. I'm even considering looking for a retail position--I've never worked retail, or waitressed either, and while I hear they're shitty jobs at times, part of me wants to have those experiences under my belt, if for no other reason than for my filling out my writer's toolbox.
That's all the rambling I have in me today. Goodnight.
With the remains of a sinus infection and cough, and in the rain no less! All things considered, I'm very pleased with my time. I ran a solid ten minute mile throughout and have only just stiffened up a bit. I'm tired and will likely be sore tomorrow, but I'm really glad I went through with it, cough and all.
I woke up late this morning, finally rolling out of bed after hitting the snooze button a half-dozen times, and promptly had an argument with myself about whether I should go at all. Obviously, my lazy self lost the argument, and I got my butt in gear. I dressed, handled the dogs, pinned my race bib on my shirt, took my shot of cough syrup and bolted out the door with water bottle and extra Clif bar in hand
The race started at 8:45. I walked into my place in the middle of the red pack (which is basically the middle of the middle) at about 8:35, just before the rain started coming down. It was mostly a light rain, but it was definitely constant and I was sopping wet before I even started running.
I have to say it was a great experience; it was so surreal to be running down Congress Avenue toward and around the Capitol building with no cars around. Just the sound of other runners' feet on the pavement and the soundtrack on my mp3 player. Then all the way around the backside of downtown, up past MoPac (Loop 1) and back through the heart of the city and finishing at Auditorium Shores. [By the way, my running soundtrack was great and quite eclectic. It consisted of some of the Legally Blonde musical numbers, about half of the soundtrack to Mortal Kombat--probably the best workout music EVER--and a little George to top things off. In fact, I was listening to Flawless as I crossed the finish line at 1:02:30.]
I don't want to get too crazy about this, but as I was running and the rain ran into my eyes, music in my ears, I was fortunate to find and listen to a little voice inside my head that kept a smile on my face for most of the course. Today was almost a year to the day since my husband left, and with every mile I reflected on just how far I've come in that time. I'm not the same and I'm not completely healed, but I'm alive, I'm hopeful, I'm daring and I'm proud. A few years ago I would never have considered doing an event like this and I would certainly never have shown up and done it on my own, but today it felt good...it felt comfortable and natural. Looking up at the sky through the trees over Enfield road, I said my great big thank you for a year of time well spent.
I can't wait to see what next year brings.
A day of working from home is almost over. I quieted my hunger (a little) with a yummy bowl of oatmeal. The weather is springy today and should be summery tomorrow--breezy, warm, and perfect for going out on the town. I should be very cheery, but I'm feeling a bit blue...or maybe just tired...but the feeling drove me to sit down and scribble a bit of a journal out and so here I am.
I had planned to try to finish this other project for my consulting gig in the next few hours so I could try to get into Austin by about 9, but right now I'd rather put my pjs on and just relax for a bit before starting to work again, only that will put me behind on finishing the project. What to do, what to do...
PJs are totally winning out. I'd have to be home early anyway. Plus, I did want to try running again tonight, but...ugh, I'm so tired. Of course, tomorrow I'm taking a half day from work to watch a co-worker's band and then intend to stay downtown anyway, and there's no way in hell I'm going to work a run in then, so I suppose it all works out. PJs now, work, run tonight, sleep.
I would also like to get a pizza from Papa Murphy's and eat the entire thing tonight, but I think that is a bad idea from a nutritional perspective. In this lead up to the Cap 10k, and other events I still haven't decided on, I'm trying especially hard to eat really well. I wouldn't call it a diet, but I am definitely wearing a nutritionist hat lately and eyeing everything through a pie chart of fats, carbs, and proteins. The other issue is that I am trying to stay hydrated, so I'm drinking water like it's my job and hitting the ladies room with corresponding frequency.
My apologies for the inane details. I actually do have topics of substance to write about, but I'm just not up to the task right now. Maybe I'll tackle those things on Monday in a sort of weekend-in-review post.
One new development I'm not too tired to mention...I have started doing yoga in the morning first thing when I wake up. It may sound a little strange, but I like to do it in my master bathroom (which I keep very clean and is of a decent size) where the window faces east and the light increases with the sunrise. I don't put my contacts in or wear my glasses, but instead just run through my routine in semi-blindess. This sensory deprivation seems to make it easier for me to focus and to relax at the same time. It's very curious, but it works wonders for me. So far this week, the thought that I can do some yoga if I can get up in time is what has actually moved me out of my bed on time. Yes, I'm actually getting comfortable with yoga and not feeling like I want to cry when I do it. Of course, my morning routine is very simple and the poses are very modified, but I am looking forward to learning more as soon as I can. Thank you again to electric firefly and shush now for their encouragement a while back.
Ok, well that's all for now. SXSW will have to wait for tomorrow. And since I don't want to cook, I think Papa Murphy's is going to get some of my money in just a little while. I'm not actually going to eat the whole thing tonight though--if I did, I'd miss out on my other favorite way to start the day...cold pizza right out of the 'fridge!
I have officially registered for my first timed athletic event. Yes, on March 30, I will be running the Austin-American Statesman Capitol 10K through downtown Austin. My goal is to finish in time to (a) not get too bored and (b) not finish sad and alone, panting and dragging my ass across the finish line with only the streetsweepers for company.
I feel really good about my training lately, and I feel it's an experience I'm in shape enough to enjoy. I am, however, going to push it in my training these next few weeks just in case. It's not like the distance is that daunting--it's only 6.2 miles--but I think it's smart for me to treat this, my rookie experience, with a great big dose of respect. And fear...fear of tripping over my own feet and being trampled by a thousand runners before you can say, "Sucker!"
:-)
Cheers!
I can't help it. Despite last night's freeze and the one to come tomorrow night, today feels like and certainly looks like spring!
I woke up this morning to put my Hillary sign on the corner part of my property--yes, now that I'm decided, I'm in all the way--then headed to the polls this morning to try to beat the line that I thought would surely wind around the building. I'd forgotten that since the last time I voted little ol' Kyle had built and opened a new city hall, and this time only 2 precincts would be voting there instead of three. So, it was hardly a mad rush but there was a small line, at least for the Democratic primary, that went through the atrium to the outside doors. I imagine that this evening will be a little nuttier--what with all those people who had intended to vote this morning, but running late for school and work, probably figured, eh, I'll just do it tonight. (I have been there many times before.)
I think, though, that the caucus process is probably going to be long, tedious madhouse. I could be wrong.
It was cool in the morning, warm and breezy midday, and the trees in the front yard have buds and blooms coming to life. My run today cut my time to an 8.5 minute mile, and I even fit some yoga in too. I'm busy, but pleased to be, and I'm hopefully excited, rather than anxious, that good news of my divorce will come soon.
It's spring, I tell you! I declare it and so I call it forth!
I just knocked out a few miles on my treadmill. They were a little slower than usual, though, because I continued to watch Gone with the Wind while I ran.
I've probably seen that movie a dozen plus times in my life. I know it well and I've always liked it, but I think I appreciated it more for its place in movie history, with its fascinating behind-the-scenes story, than its own story. It always seemed a bit overdone...a bit melodramatic to me before.
This was the first time I've watched it that it made me cry; and its the first time that I understood the many nuances of the adult storyline. No, not the rape or Scarlett's reaction to it--that's impossible to miss. Rather, the passion and the venom in Rhett and Scarlett's relationship, their heartbreak in having disappointed eachother, and their anger at eachother for falling short in so many ways. For all its melodrama, there is dialogue in this film between the two of them that is so very real, it snapped heartstrings of memory for me.
So, yeah, crying while enraptured with Scarlett's strength and twisted by Rhett's disappointment, all while processing the parallels in my own life made for difficult, teary, runny-nosed breathing. Hence, the slower pace.
Sigh. SUCH a great movie.
