Tomorrow marks the last day of my first week at the new job. This past four days have been intense, to say the least. My brain is fried, but in the best way possible. It’s information overload, but when it comes to training, it’s the only way to be.
My only issue? I can’t master everything in my first week! It’s uncomfortable not knowing things, and that discomfort was what kept me from pursuing new things in the past. I’ve been watching people who make this stuff look so easy, and then I get in front of the computer to try it and I can’t brain enough to remember minor html code. But I do know that mastery comes with time, and I just have to be patient. I’m optimistic that the day will come when I’ll make it look that easy. Like a boss.
Though I will never have such luxurious hair as this.
Besides work, I’ve managed to get things done in the after hours as well. I’ve become a fan of little routines and a constant to-do list to help myself stay on track. The 20 minute timer on my UfYH app has been keeping me rolling. If I turn on the timer, my mental switch flips and tells me to work. So I work. It also helps that the fog of NaNoWriMo is over, so I feel mentally ready to take on other things. Go figure.
Other updates:
Walking – It’s coming along slowly but surely. I’ve walked to work the past two mornings but then drove in the afternoon. The walks are uncomfortable and I’m irritated by that, but I have to keep pushing. The plan is to walk to and from work at least once a day for the next week, then try to up it to walking with no driving. I’m also trying to get up every thirty minutes at work and I currently have a goal to go up the stairs at least four times a day (I’ll bump that up in a couple weeks as well).
My car – My car is a hot mess right now. It’s making weird noises and leaking out of places. Luckily it gets us from point A to B, but we won’t be making any major trips in it until it gets looked at. I have a feeling everything wrong with it is super minor and that the cold is just doing a number on it. Which is probably why I’m not overly stressed about it.
Hobbies – I’ve been doing some knitting and reading. I’m trying to do more reading so I can get caught up on all my NetGalley reviews before the end of the year, but the book I’m reading right now is slow. I’m taking a break from writing this month. Gaming will resume again next week (everything got sidetracked by November). Haven’t been in the mood to bake, but maybe with the holidays coming, that might be a thing. Everything else I ever do is taking a back burner right now until I feel like resuming. If you can call TV watching a hobby, J and I have been watching Season 16 of The Amazing Race, so that’s been fun.
Also, got the email today that I was approved for a new VoxBox from Influenster, so I’ll be doing some reviews shortly. All of the VoxBoxes have been good, but I’m particularly excited about this one.
Today we walked the Royal Bunny Tracs 5k. This was our third 5k, but the last one we walked was about four years ago. Considering how far I’ve come with walking in the past year, this was an exciting milestone for me.
This was a local event put on by Manhattan Running Company and the Kiwanis to raise money for foster kids to go to summer camps and participate in school year mentoring programs. The race started at 8:30 with registration opening at 7:30. We were there around 7:15. In hindsight, we probably could have slept in a little, but I like to be prepared and ready.
Before we even signed up, I asked a friend to see if they had a time limit. I knew I wasn’t going to finish in less than an hour, and at the time, I was planning for more like an hour and a half. When we went to pick up our race packets, one of the organizers knew our name and reassured us that we could take as long as we needed. I love that we were on the radar and getting support before it even started.
We each got a Bunny Tracs T-shirt and a race number. I put my t-shirt on over the one I was already wearing and didn’t have a problem with fit. This was refreshing. Not only were plus sizes offered, but they fit like a plus size and not a medium with the wrong tag.
The race started at exactly 8:30. Jon and I stayed in the back so the runners and fast walkers could breeze past us. I wanted to enjoy the walk, not hurt myself at the beginning. I walked my normal pace on the first lap, tried to pick up the pace on the second, then started losing momentum on the third. I jogged a couple times, including the last few yards over the finish line. By the time we started the second lap, we were pretty much on the track by ourselves.
The volunteers were awesome, waiting for our laggy butts to make it to their stations and being super nice and supportive. All kinds of people threw words of encouragement at us. I wasn’t expecting that. In hindsight, I probably should have thrown some back, but all I could think to say was thanks. Which is probably okay, since someday maybe I can encourage people walking a 5k for the first time.
They had already taken down the finish line arch, but the ground line was still there, so our finish felt official. We didn’t get timed. The organizer at the beginning asked if we cared about time. We didn’t. Jon timed us on his phone though. We finished in one hour and fifteen minutes.
We made the last part of the awards ceremony and chatted with people before leaving. There were other events happening, but we were wiped and still had laundry to do.
I’m planning to sign us up for another one, and we’re going to continue training to build speed and distance. I haven’t given up plans to maybe run one someday, but I’m going to get some walks under my belt first.
I hadn’t been planning on walking a 5k for a few more months. I’d thought about signing up for the Glow Run in June, but I didn’t make that a thing because of money, time, etc. (excuses, right?). I figured my first true 5k wouldn’t be until the Orc Stomp at Gen Con (if they’re holding it this year, of course).
But then a fellow worker bee tagged me in an FB post, and it was “challenge accepted” from there. Why? Because I want to walk one, and I didn’t really have a good reason to say no. I’m fairly prepared, and I have time to get even more prepared. So instead of finding more excuses, I went ahead and signed up.
These shoes were made for walkin’.
That was a couple weeks ago. Fast forward to the present. We’re two weeks from the walk and in true me fashion, I’ve procrastinated. This past week brought very little physical activity and way more unhealthy eating than planned. While I rarely get caught up in what I do and don’t eat, I know I’m not feeling my best and I know why.
I was a little apprehensive about our training walk today. Besides lack of regular activity, it’s been a couple weeks since we walked this distance. Instead of doing our normal track, we decided to test drive the actual track for the event.
This track is dirt, not pavement. It’s relatively flat and in a nice area. Because I wasn’t familiar with the longer loop, Jon walked with me instead of at his own pace, and that made for a much more enjoyable walk since I had someone to visit with.
We didn’t follow the exact path that the race will take, but we monitored using the markers and our Fitbits, and by the time we got back to our car, we’d walked about 3.20 miles in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. This marks my best walking time. Granted, it was flat terrain, and a lot of hills would take me longer, but I don’t even care. I feel good about it.
When it comes to walking, it’s hard for me not to compare myself to other people. I’m so slow. Even when I feel like I’ve got a good pace going, other people breeze past me. I’ve been told I walk weird, and I’m sure that’s true. Sometimes I have a limp depending on what hurts. I apparently walk on the ball of my foot, not my heel. I’m sure all of these are factors. I’m sure others would say weight and motivation are factors too. Either way, I think I’m destined to be the tortoise.
And really? That’s okay. I’m not in it to win anything or be better than someone else. I’m doing it because I can (which hasn’t always been the case). I’m doing it for movement and to help out a cause and to feel like I accomplished something.
Before today, I was a little nervous about this walk, but not as much now. Even if Jon leaves me in the dust and I come strolling in a half hour after everyone else, I know I’ll at least have finished it. That in itself is pretty awesome.
If anyone in the area wants to sign up, you can do so through Manhattan Running Company. You can also read here to find out how to make a donation if you’re so inclined. I’ll have a recap of the walk after it happens. Until then, wish me luck!
It’s 7:30 on a Saturday morning and I’m awake. In fact, I’ve been awake and up since 6:15. So weird. Despite what the experts say about waking up at the same time every day, I love sleeping in on the weekends. I suppose, though, that being up early and getting some stuff accomplished is okay too. You know what else is okay? Naps. And I plan on taking one this afternoon, sometime after going to town to workout and buy groceries and before the snow that we’re supposed to get this weekend hits.
I thought I’d do a health and fitness post this morning since there’s not a whole lot else going on, and because I could use a motivation boost. I said a few posts back that one of my monthly goals was going to be to get back in the gym three days a week. I didn’t meet that goal. I still managed to fit in exercise by taking walks, but there were a couple weeks I only made it to the gym once.
Over these past few weeks, I’ve struggled with activity, meaning I’m not getting enough of it. I can pinpoint a few reasons why:
1. The weather – Sure, it’s a poor excuse, but when it’s cold, I just want to be comfortable, and my idea of comfort is to be at home, warm, and snuggled in my recliner. The chilly temperatures already make me feel stiff and sore, so even though I know that exercise actually helps alleviate that, my brain instantly says “Why would you want to give your body more discomfort than it already has?”
2. Mental fatigue – Once again, I know the science that says exercise helps with mental fatigue, but by the end of the work day, I’m so drained (and sometimes discouraged), that I just don’t want to be around people. So I avoid the gym, and if it’s too cold, I just head home and indulge in sugar therapy instead of sweat therapy.
3. High workload – This one doesn’t have so much to do with making it to the gym as it does with my drop-off of walking activity on breaks and lunch. With the recent change in position, I’ve spent several days over the past couple weeks skipping my lunch hour and eating at my desk so I can fit in some more work. I hate to leave things when I’m on a roll, even though I know it tires me out and my brain needs that break. I’ve given in to the “I can get one more thing done” mentality, so it’s cut down on the twenty to thirty minute walk I was fitting in on my lunch hour. As for breaks…
4. Smoking – …I’ve been spending them with co-workers having a stress relief puff. I have a history with smoking. I used to love doing it, and I still enjoy a cigarette if I’m drinking. I find that the act of smoking and connecting with people helps calm my nerves during times of high stress. Even though I haven’t been drinking, I have been experiencing some anxiety, and this has been my outlet. Yes, I just admitted to trading in a really healthy habit of walking on break for a really unhealthy one of smoking on break.
5. Hydration – My problem with hydration has been a lack of. I’ve been craving soda and sweet coffee drinks. I’m not surprised when I feel sluggish and experience ankle cramps when I exercise because I know I haven’t drank enough water.
While these are all issues I’m relating to physical activity, the fact is that exercising also helps my mental and emotional health, both of which I really need to focus on as well to avoid work burnout and to maintain the level of productivity I currently need.
One of my March goals was to start a strength training routine again, and while I still plan on doing that, I’m also making it a point to face the above listed issues head on. While I can’t do anything about the weather, I can control the other things to an extent.
So the rest of March goals are going to be to handle these issues now and get back on track with the healthy habits I’d started at the beginning of the year: walking on breaks, stopping the smoking, taking lunches, and drinking a lot of water. If I can tackle these and reset my attitude, I think I might set some more challenging goals for April (C25K, I know you’re waiting for me).
This past weekend was spent doing almost nothing. I think I was still fighting an infection because the stomach pain from the sickness I had last week didn’t go away, so I wasn’t feeling up to doing anything besides sitting around and reading and watching cute movies on Netflix. The highlight of the weekend (or lowlight as it were) was probably a bad haircut, though realizing it as a bad haircut was kind of a delayed reaction. Either way, I’ll be rocking the headbands for the next few weeks. My hair grows fast, though.
My stomach pains seem to have gone away. I’m avoiding soda and carbonation until I know for sure, but today was good. I was even able to walk on my breaks and get a workout in at the gym before we headed home. We’re waiting for a big snowstorm to hit. The city of Manhattan and the university and all the schools are already closed for tomorrow. My place of work is still open, however. If it’s not too bad in the morning, I’ll probably still go in. Current projects are much easier on my dual monitors. But if it’s bad in the morning, I’m prepared to work from home.
Since we’re into a new month, I’ve been trying to come up with some good goals for February. My writing goals included putting together the second draft of my novel and sending it to my beta readers, a goal which I accomplished tonight. I’ve set the deadline for the end of this month, which means March will be more revision and formatting. But now, other than the small bit of anxiety I’m getting with actually putting my work out there with the intention of maybe publishing it, I can rest for a few weeks and focus on some other things.
Seriously…even if this book doesn’t happen and even if everyone who reads it hates it, I’m going to feel good about the fact that I’ve gotten this far.
The two main goals for this month are going to be to finish my current/newest knitting project and to recommit to three days a week at the gym. Though I’ve been active (with the exception of last week, which turned into a seven day rest to heal from my illness), I haven’t been putting in the gym time, which is fine, except I’m paying for the membership. Since this might go away soon, depending on the job and money situation, I feel I should take advantage while I have it. Once the weather gets warmer, I’m going to be putting my goal focus into walking and running goals, so might as well take advantage of the gym while the weather dictates.
I may come up with some other goals later. My brain is all over the place right now.
It’s past my bedtime and work is likely to still happen tomorrow, so I’d better get a shower and get some sleep.
Side note: Cress releases tomorrow! I can’t wait! I’d be tempted to stay up until midnight to download it, but that will lead to starting it, which will lead to staying up all night reading it, which means nothing would get done tomorrow, and I need to be functional.
The stomach bug hit me this week, and I was out of commission for two days because of it. Thankfully, the worst of it has passed, and I was back in the office today (hello there, Giant Mountain of Work!). I may have overestimated my level of recovery, however. Just because I was no longer sick to my stomach or feverish didn’t necessarily mean I was ready to run at full speed, a sad fact that hit me when I tried to take my regular break walk and couldn’t make more than one lap before I felt yucky and weak. So instead of walking or gymming after work, I came home with Jon and chilled out with some Coursera work and another Twitter chat.
Since I don’t really have anything exciting to share, I’ll share some of my more recent random thoughts, not because I think they’re entertaining, but because I really don’t have much else to share at the moment…but I want to blog (I think I’m being contrary to myself).
1. I think I’m going to give up on Greek yogurt. We bought regular yogurt and I like it so much better. I don’t think I was trying to be trendy…I think I just forgot how much I like regular yogurt.
2. I really want to plan things, but I can’t because I have no idea if we’re staying or going. I also can’t plan anything with our current lowered income.
3. I don’t know if it’s because it would be the less stressful of two options and I’m craving something “easy” right now…but I’m really starting to think that I don’t want to leave Kansas. In fact, I think I could be okay with staying in Manhattan (I’ll have to leave Wamego, though).
4. Not to be misunderstood, I’ve enjoyed living in Wamego, but we need to be closer to work and social areas for various reasons involving cars and gas money.
5. I have two Starbucks gift cards, and I’m going to use the heck out of at least one of them this weekend.
6. I want to try yoga and some gym classes. I don’t know about Zumba though.
7. I really want people to think I have it all together, but I’m failing miserably lately. Pretty sure most people are on to the fact that I’m a complete mess right now.
I realize I just got done with being off work for two days, but considering they were spent being sick, I’m ready for the weekend. Jon’s gaming on Saturday, which means I get to entertain myself for several hours. Not sure what I’m going to do, exactly, but it’ll be therapeutic for my sanity, no matter what.
Off to get some sleep so I can face Friday head on.
I’ve talked about dealing with depression and how this winter has been rough on the psyche. Recently, I’ve started experiencing anxiety again. Yesterday, I woke up feeling sick, so I took a sick day from work. Instead of my body resting and using the time to heal, it went into full on panic attack mode thinking of all the things I needed to get done that weren’t getting done.
I finally simmered down and talked myself off the anxiety ledge, but I’m considering seeing a counselor until things settle down and even getting back on some medication. I’ve avoided medication due to the side effects I had when I took Zoloft a few years ago, and I’ve been lucky enough to stave off most depression and anxiety with regular exercise. But if things continue as they are, I’m going to have to go back on something, at least temporarily Side note: the side effects of Zoloft aren’t something I think everyone gets, and I had other health issues at the time. I’m a huge advocate for doing what you have to do to stay as mentally healthy as possible…within legal limits of course.
I’m likely to try some talk therapy first. Besides seasonal depression, I also suffer from situation depression, and right now, there are a lot of situations that are weighing on me, the main one being Jon’s work status and not having a full income. Then there’s my own job and the reorganization that is testing me in many ways, not to mention the staffing changes and friends moving away. Being in limbo about where we’re going and what we’re doing is starting to chip away at my optimism. I can’t plan for things, can’t buy tickets to future events, can’t do much of anything, not only because of the tightened budget, but also because we don’t even know if we’re going to be geographically located to be able to go to these events.
It’s all kind of hitting at once, and I’m hoping that maybe venting to an uninvolved third party might help.
Between the sickness and the anxiety, I spent most of yesterday trying to accomplish small things and sleeping. I probably slept too much, but I did wake up this morning feeling much better, so I guess it helped.
Today was a busy one. We were up early to drive to Fort Riley to help some fellow geocachers move to a new house. I overestimated my physical capabilities and my recovery from yesterday’s illness. After a few trips up the stairs, I thought I was going to throw up or pass out. I was still able to help by picking up trash and moving small things, but I felt kind of useless for the most part. Jon did a ton of work, going up and down the stairs and moving heavy stuff. Still, when it comes to moving, I know every little bit helps, so even though I feel bad…I also still feel like I contributed. If that makes sense.
Also, with as tired and sick as I got, I still did way more than I could do when we moved into our apartment, so the opportunity to once again see how far I’ve come was good. And even though we were tired and sore afterwards, I’m not completely out of commission. It was also a chance to pay forward some of the good things that have come our way, which was one of the things I wanted to aim for in 2014.
We had to leave after a few hours to head back to Wamego to get our car fixed. One of our friends is mechanically inclined and was able to help fix the crunchy sounds our steering system has been making (not giving him name credit ONLY because I’m not sure if he wants the world to know about his mad skills with automotives). It was nice to drive and not have the car sound like it was going to implode at every turn. Awesome friends are another reason we’re trying to pay things forward and back…even when I’m super down and life seems difficult, I realize how truly lucky/blessed/fortunate we are to have such great people in our life (yeah…getting sappy for a moment…just roll with it).
I finished the third Iron Druid book while the car was being worked on, and after we got home I finished the first week’s videos, assignment, and quiz for my current Coursera class. No clue what tomorrow will bring. I don’t think it’s been one hundred percent decided if gaming is happening. I do know that with the car being fixed, Jon and I would like to go out and get some geocaches and enjoy the day. It’s supposed to be another warm Sunday, and I want to soak up some natural Vitamin D before starting the week again.
I’m using this weekend as another opportunity for some serious stress relief, and so far, the universe is with me on this.
Last night, after taking Jon to gaming, I hit the gym for a short but effective session before meeting up with the crew at Terry and Erica’s place. During times of high stress, I tend to withdraw. Last night was a reminder of how therapeutic “friend time” can be. We visited, discussed books, and watched a really bad horror movie, complete with our own little Twitter party. There is something hilarious and fun about sitting in the same room with people and only talking via Twitter.
Jon was done with gaming by the time the movie was over, so I picked him up. During the movie, I got a notification that a new geocache went up. We decided to go get it before heading back to Wamego, figuring that since we let about three hours go by, someone would have gotten there before us. It seemed as if the snow kept people in, however, and we got the First to Find! Yay for us! We finally made it home, and after reading a few chapters in the second Iron Druid book, I crashed.
Today was Winter Woolfest at the Columbian Theater, so I was up early to shower and gather my knitting supplies (nothing like waiting until the last minute). I packed light, deciding to take only a set of needles and a small ball of yarn for the instructional sessions. I also walked instead of drove, a daring choice since there were still several slick spots on the roads and sidewalks. I managed to make it without falling.
Since I was limited on spending funds (and the last thing I need to do is add yarn to my current stash), I took advantage of the classes that were going on throughout the day. The first one I took was one on Bavarian twisted knitting. I love the pattern this makes, and though it was a little nerve wracking to cable knit without a cable needle, I loved how easy it was and the look of the finished product.
Practice swatch. I bet I could fit this into one of my upcoming projects.
The second class I took was on new methods of casting on. I’ve done nothing but long-tail for a long time, and I hadn’t bothered to learn any other methods, so this was a good opportunity to try something new. I learned three cast-ons, including the basic knit cast on, a cable cast on, and a modified long tail (I can’t remember the name right now) that makes the cast-on row stretchier (perfect for socks).
I met up with two friends at the ‘Fest, and we went to Toto’s Tacos for lunch. Tortilla soup and a “Burrito Jr.” were today’s choice. The Burrito Jr. was just meat and cheese. It was not small, but it was delicious. There was a line when we got there, but it was worth the wait.
After lunch, we did some vendor browsing before the afternoon sessions. There was tons of beautiful yarn and fiber, but I managed to hold back. I did entertain the idea of trying drop spinning again, but decided to hold off. I might get into spinning someday, but for now, especially with a pending move and a tight budget, I’ll continue to wait for the right time.
The first afternoon session was about blocking. Blocking is one of those things that seem really easy and basic, yet every time I’ve had to block something, it seems hard and nerve-wracking. The session was great. I’m no longer intimidated by the thought of blocking. Now I just need to buy some supplies.
The second session was a demo on braid cording with a lucet, though the technique was also taught with the use of fingers. I liked it, though it will take me some time to really get the hang of it and get it right. Apparently, you can use the technique with torn up t-shirt material to make cowls. I want to try this. The young man from RJ’s QTs (RJ himself, in fact) gave the demo, then sold me on the idea of buying a couple new project bags.
I know someone who loves penguins!
The final session of the day was a lesson on Brioche knitting. It seemed pretty easy, so I think I may have been doing it wrong. However, even if I was, the technique I WAS doing was pretty fun, and I liked the finish product, which looks like regular ribbing except it’s nice and soft and squishy.
We stuck around for door prizes, but no luck this year (though since I’m still loving the Hiya Hiyas I won last year, I’m set for like the next ten Woolfests). V made a suggestion that we go across the street for coffee and pie, but sadly, the restaurant was closed. Not to be thwarted, we moved on down the road and tried two other places before we finally found a place that was 1)open and 2)offering coffee and dessert. Thank you, Rambler’s of Wamego!
I had the brownie sundae, V had the blondie sundae. So delicious!
While indulging in dessert therapy, we chatted about writing and conventions. V is one of my writer friends, and since she’s more knowledgeable on the subject, I like to pick her brain and get her feedback. We drank coffee and visited for a couple hours, finally calling it a night before the sun went down completely.
I walked home, and I walked fast since I didn’t have the foresight to use the restroom before leaving the restaurant (fail). Luckily, many of the ice patches from the morning had melted, so it was a pretty smooth walk. The temperature was perfect, though the slight chill did cause a little bit of lung discomfort (nothing to worry about…it’s happened for years).
Besides the fact that the day was a blast, it also served as a good way to mark some strides in my health and mobility. Though last year was fun, I remember not being able to stand and walk as much. I remember taking frequent sit-down breaks, taking the elevator, and taking as few extra walks as humanly possible. In fact, I’m pretty sure I didn’t take any extra walks. And I drove.
This year, I walked to and from the event. I took the stairs going up at least four times (took the elevator going down, but that’s because going down stairs hurts my knees with legitimate “have to stop walking” pains). I didn’t mind making extra trips, and even took an extra trip back to the restaurant to get a bottle of water. It was seriously awesome.
I’m going to finish up some things online, maybe play some Candy Crush, then lay down to read. The weather is supposed to be really nice tomorrow, so the plan is to go to the zoo to see the animals “open” their enrichment gifts. I love a trip to the zoo. Plus, if it’s as nice as it’s supposed to be, I’m going to soak up as much outdoor therapy as I can to prepare for the coming work week.
The weather was beautiful today, and I’m happy that we got to go out and take advantage of it. Jon hurt his back yesterday and it still wasn’t feeling great this morning, so we were going to hold off on any adventures until tomorrow. Unfortunately, the forecasted temperature for tomorrow is about forty degrees colder than today. Just getting to the car to get to MHK is going to be a challenge.
After taking some ibuprofen, Jon decided he was up to trying to get out and about, even with a sore back. After stopping for a quick breakfast, we rolled along to Topeka.
Our first couple destinations were shopping stops for clothes, first for Jon and then for me. I was in need of a new pair of pants, and I managed to find a pair at Lane Bryant that were the right size and the right length. I probably could have ordered another pair, but I figure one is good for now. I also picked up some frilly, girly items because apparently, I have a girly side sometimes.
We thought about seeing a movie at the second run theater, but there was nothing we wanted to wait around for, so we headed to the zoo. Our original plan was to walk both the zoo and Gage Park, but we ended up just getting through the zoo before Jon’s back needed a rest and some more ibuprofen. The animals were pretty lazy today, but the walk was nice. The highlight was probably the baby orangutan. He was so cute, though his mama didn’t seem too thrilled to be on display.
Our original plan for lunch was to go to Jersey Mike’s for a sub, but when we got to the one downtown, we found that it was closed. After walking down the street, we found a restaurant and pub that was open…and we were the first patrons of the day.
Jon’s lunch: “Bangers and Mashed”Brisket sandwich and potato soup
Jon’s food was delicious and my soup was really good. I took a chance with the brisket, since I know not everyone makes brisket perfectly. I was a little disappointed. The flavor was good, but the meat was tough. I really need to remember to stick to burgers when I go to a pub. Still, for a serendipitous find, it was a pretty okay meal.
For dessert, we walked over to Hazel Hill chocolates and picked up a few small treats. Not sure if we can do that more than once very so often. It was pricey. Then we made a quick stop at Walgreens and headed back home.
Our adventures didn’t end there, though. We came home and chilled for a bit. I still have some mystery caches that need solving, so I watched a couple Christmas movies while Jon took a nap. We were going to walk to Subway for dinner, but by the time we got around to it, it was dark and I was worried about hidden ice, so we drove instead. Even though we’d walked the zoo, I hadn’t met my step goal for the day, so I talked Jon into walking a lap with me at the rec center. It wasn’t overly cold, but by the end of the walk, parts of the parking lot had started getting slippery again, so we had to proceed with caution.
The walk and the drive home gave us the chance to finally get some pictures of the pretty Christmas lights that Wamego put up for the holidays. Though I didn’t celebrate Christmas in a huge way this year, I love the park decorations the city rolls out for the season.
The extra walk helped me hit my step goal, and I got to enjoy a few more hours of the outdoors before tomorrow’s cold hits again.
All in all, it was a good day. I still didn’t get my whole to-do list done, but I’m okay with that. Tomorrow will be organizing and getting ready for the coming week and the new year. Grocery shopping, laundry, and gym are all on the horizon for tomorrow.
Work today was weird, but in a good way. There weren’t very many people in the office (there weren’t many people in the whole building, to be honest), so it was really quiet. I managed to get a bunch of stuff done with a minimum of stress. Definitely my kind of Friday.
However, it was also a very indulgent Friday. I took an early break to get Starbucks for me and some others in the office who were craving a treat. I had failed to get breakfast before coming to work, so I was starving. My choice of treat from the ‘Bucks was a creme brulee latte and a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. To avoid any delays or limits in the drive thru, I went in to place the order and was greeted by this guy:
Then for lunch…which arrived way sooner than I expected due to the flying of time today…I ventured out and picked up a Little Caesar’s Hot ‘n Ready and some crazy bread for the few of us who were feeling the pizza action. It was delicious, but it was definitely feeling.
I walked on my breaks, but that didn’t seem to help overmuch with the fullness. My current thing is walking and reading. My Kobo Mini is the perfect size to carry in my hand, and since I’ve gotten better at walking, I can now do it on autopilot, which means I can read and still navigate the halls. I’m actually finding this enjoyable, which is good, because it means I’m apt to take more walks and get more steps. I haven’t tried it on the treadmill yet, though I’m sure it would work fine. I wouldn’t even have to hold it, I could just prop it up on the panel. Maybe I’ll try this soon. Might be good for “recovery” days, because…
…I’ve decided to go ahead and try the Couch to 5k program again…this time training to RUN. I’m kind of excited about this. Though I wanted to get the Zombies, Run! 5K app, I think I’m going to hold off and keep it simple for now. I have the free app that Jon and I started doing when I was upping my walk endurance, and I’m going to make some playlists specifically for training. I’ll still do the Zombie missions on most recovery days, and the reading and walking (or reading and doing the sit down machine) will help change things up so I don’t get bored.
I realize this isn’t going to be easy, but I’m up for the challenge. I mean, heck, I couldn’t even walk at the beginning of 2013, and anytime someone said the word “run,” I pretty much figured that was never going to be something I’d do. But I’ve managed to surprise myself by being able to run the zombie chases. Maybe by the end of 2014, I’ll be able to run a short distance.
I figure that even if I run slow, it’s still more fun than walking. And like walking, I’ll slowly but surely increase the length of time I can run at once, since that’s kind of how these things work. We don’t start out awesome, but we can eventually get to a point of awesomeness. My first goal will be to run a mile without stopping. Right now, that goal seems pretty impossible, so just wait until I reach it…that moment is going to get its own reward and blog post.
To kick off this decision, I went to the track today and did the first day of the C25k program, just to get an idea of where I’m starting from. As expected, I’m starting on a pretty low rung of the running ladder. I managed to get through half of the thirty minute session before I reverted to just walking. The program is five minutes of walking to warm up, then alternating sessions of a minute of running and a minute and a half of walking. At the halfway mark, I gave up running for a couple reasons. One, there was ice on the track that I had to be careful of, especially because I was out there without Jon tonight. Two, my ankles were cramping (I really need to figure out a good way to relieve that). Three, for a healthy dose of TMI, I really had to go to the bathroom and since the bathrooms at the rec center aren’t open, I had to be careful of how I moved. I mean…I really had to go.
Walking through the parking lot lake also added to the discomfort, since my feet were nice and wet.
As I said, I’m starting off slow, but I’m actually proud of being able to do that first session for fifteen minutes. Now the first short term goal is to be able to do it for a full thirty minutes. Once I can do that, I can progress into the actual program. Go me! Even that little bit of running was effective. My legs are really sore tonight.
I showered right after getting home, and even though I didn’t check off much of my to-do list today, I think I’m ready to lay down and read for a little while. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so Jon and I are going to Topeka. We have to do a little bit of clothes shopping anyway, so we’re making a day of it. We’re going to the zoo and then probably to walk around Gage Park. We might do some geocaching, we might see a cheap movie, we might just cruise around and find ways to get into trouble. Either way, I’m really looking forward to getting out into some good weather.
The Romance Factor 