Repetitive Motion

No runner's high yet, but I'm making progress. And also gladly upping my cookie intake to counter my greater caloric consumption.

I just finished week 4 of the Couch to 5K plan. At first it seemed like the hardest. thing. ever. Run for 5 minutes at a time? Without stopping?! But I did it! For the first time I could see how far I've come in 4 weeks, and I was struck by the possibility that a 5K might, in fact, be humanly possible. I am undaunted by a broken pair of headphones, or puddles, or stray dogs, or leaf-blowers in my path. I look like a doofus, but I don't care. I'm living the dream, fool.

I'm gearing up for what looks to be a couple of weeks (at least) of absolutely no work. My industry is so heavily tied to the education sector that when school is out, most interpreters are twiddling their thumbs (or some equivalent which is less likely to cause a repetitive motion injury). If you could use an extra warm body to help with a project or childcare or cookie-eating over the holidays, I'm your gal.

I've also picked up my knitting needles for the first time in about 3 or 4 years. Like riding a bike, it came back to me pretty quickly (though I'm much more coordinated with needles than a bike). I was mainly inspired by my crocheting friends, and I had plenty of inspiration to begin a fairly ambitious project. (Next, I'm considering a his-and-hers set of footie pajamas.)

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

To be fair, I did give it a week. Two, in fact. I had my running shoes laced up 3 times a week at 6:30 in the morning (which seemed SO early... ha). The run/walk intervals were totally doable. "I'm a runner!"

And then 3 things happened in short succession:

Shin splints flared up

We had about 2 weeks notice to move

My job (and schedule) changed drastically

Don't worry, I have already labelled myself a whiny baby. Between resting up to prevent further injury, packing and moving, and getting ready for work at 5:30 am (out the door at 6:30, I laugh at my sleep-deprived self), I decided my delusions of grandiose running accomplishments would have to wait.

Despite the early mornings, I am completely in love with my job. Rather than arriving home mentally stressed, with no sense of accomplishment aside from making it through another day, wondering if I could scrounge up a bottle of wine, now I feel mentally challenged and a true sense of a job well done when I have a good day. Coffee has become my drink of choice, though in a way not by choice. :)

Amidst numerous changes, we're in a good place right now. The coffee probably helps! Maybe later we'll see what puzzle pieces God is putting together but for now we'll take it one day at a time. Sans running shoes.

Doing Things I Hate

I did 3 things today that I hate.

1. Ran
2. Went to work
3. Scooped litter boxes

I'm going to talk about the first one.

I tried running before. I think I even gave it a fair shot (read: a week). And I hate running. No, I hate running. Absolutely nothing appeals to me about waking up 20 minutes earlier than I have to, sweating til my clothes are soaked, and gasping for air when everything in me screams "SIT DOWN AND EAT COOKIES!"

But this morning, I tried once again to like it. I blame this latest attempt on a member of our Life Group who roped a few other girls into training for the Race for the Cure via the NHS Couch to 5K podcast. I could have been the lame-o and told her "Nope. I hate running." And left it at that. But I was slightly motivated by the prospect of connecting with these ladies in a new way, running (or ralking) a 5K together, and possibly getting cookies afterward (some of these girls love to bake). Plus there are free t-shirts. Quadruple win!

So today, I set my alarm 20 minutes early. I put on the podcast, and did a total of about 20 laps around my townhome complex. (I have GOT to find a more interesting place to do this.) I ran for a total of 8 minutes. And I thought to myself, "I can do this!"

Rather than making  a rash commitment I regret in a week, I decided to finish this week of training and then re-evaluate whether to register for this Race for the Cure. So this is me, publicly committing to make a commitment (one way or the other) in a week.

List of pros:

• my running shoes are rockstar cool
• I can buy cute running clothes
• exercise is good for you, I guess
• cool people are doing it with me
• the podcast lady has a cute British accent
• COOKIES

The endless stream of data...

Baby steps. We can do this!

Picking back up with this blogging thing, mayhaps. Went through a stage after getting married when life was so exhausting; it felt like there was no good time to sit and express myself. If there was, maybe I wasn't sure if the things I was thinking were worth recording, or if they leant themselves to any semblance of organization and coherence. And, after all, I was living life to the fullest and recording everything by camera... that counts for something, right?

My journal lay in its normal beside spot. I think I touched it twice during my first year as a newlywed. Looks like my blog has been ignored for longer. Hmm.

I finally realized, after re-reading parts of my journal, how important this is to me. I'm journaling again, usually first thing in the morning so I can be sure I don't put it off. And whether anybody reads it or not, I think I've learned a lot by blogging. I've become accustomed to bite-size feeds on Facebook, where I can catch up with everyone at a glance. I want to remember the joys of taking a few extra minutes to let people into my life for more than 2 seconds. And take part in other people's lives by reading their posts.

A lot has changed since I first started blogging. I went from LiveJournal to BloopDiary to Xanga to Blogger. I'm not the same. My thoughts and beliefs aren't the same. The world isn't the same. But it's great to be along for the ride! <3 J