Weekly Rundown- A Week of Weather
Hello! Welcome to the weekly rundown, hosted as always by Kim and Deborah. It’s the end of the first week of NaBloPoMo, and also JeYoFloMo (Jenny’s Yoga Flow Month.) Let’s just see how it all went! Monday New month, new me! I started the “month of yoga” off with a 30 minute flow. All yoga classes were on the Peloton app with my favorite teacher, Denis Morton. Tuesday Dark and early three mile run! Not only was it dark, but it was rainy. So different from my usual hot and sunny runs! It was kind of fun. I had an appointment with the podiatrist for my third shockwave treatment, so I knew my foot would be tender for the rest of the day. And it was! Good thing I got this run in first. Funny thing- before dinner I was about to take a nap, and then I remembered I had to do yoga! I did a 20 minute power yoga class- much better than napping. Wednesday 60 minute yoga flow in the morning. Thursday My foot was still a little sore from the shockwave on Tuesday, so I did a 45 minute power yoga class instead of running. I did not do “the hard one” this week, because last week it really irritated my knees. I must say, I’m not too happy with my new status as someone with “delicate” knees- how the hell did that happen, anyway??? Oh well. I did do other power classes which were challenging but not knee killers- those pistol squats really did me in. Friday Finally, a running day. It was pouring rain all morning- all day actually- but I was so happy to be running I didn’t care. Three happy and wet miles. Saturday I did a 45 minute slow flow yoga class in the morning. In the afternoon we watched the Baylor game as they lost to TCU- noooooooooooo! My husband and I were so sad- although funny enough, my son who’s actually attending Baylor doesn’t care at all. Well, he said it’s better if they win because if they lose everyone is in a bad mood. Other than that, he’s oblivious to football. (Side note- TCU’s team is the Horned Frogs? Seriously? Are they running out of names for football teams? I’m glad my son isn’t a Horned Frog!) We had more rain in the morning and I was starting to wonder if I had moved to Seattle without realizing it. I mean, we never get rainy days like this. BUT THEN…. Sunday! We did it! Got down to 55 degrees overnight! Throw open the windows! What a relief- the AC has been running non-stop since May. I had a five mile run in the best weather ever. Even though I only ran three days this week, I’m so lucky I got to run today. After the run I did a 20 minute power yoga class, and now… It’s time for waffles and the New York City Marathon! Let’s see… we turned the clocks back, it’s NYC Marathon day, we’re having our first cooldown of the year… yep. Best Day Ever. I hope everyone is having their own awesome Sunday! Are you loving your weather right now… or hating it? Are you watching the marathon? (Go Molly!!!)
Fall Back Weekend!
Hooray! We’ve gotten to a Very Important Weekend! You might recall this post about Pumpkin Palooza, the little-known (because totally made up) festival of pumpkin that starts every year on September 1st. There are some important events within that festival- the first day of fall, Halloween, and then of course Fall Back Weekend! Saturday night we turn the clocks back, and I love how luxurious Sunday feels with that extra hour. As an added bonus, Sunday is the New York City Marathon! We can get up, go for a run, make the waffles (what? You are making waffles, aren’t you?) all in time to turn on the TV at 8:30 EST to watch the race. That is, if you’re a runner. My kids don’t run, and they truly can’t fathom how we could sit there and watch people run for over two hours. I can see it from their point of view- a lot of times it’s not even much of a race, with one person pulling ahead early on and running by themselves to the finish line. But I still love it! I love watching the elite runners- it’s mind boggling how fast they’re running for 26.2 miles. I love how beautiful their form is, and how easy they make it look. Also… I ran the New York City Marathon in 1993 and 1996, when I lived in New York. A long time ago… a lot has definitely changed, but it’s still the same race. It’s fun to watch the runners go over the Verrazano bridge and think “I remember what that feels like!” So what do you do with the extra hour on Sunday? I know a lot of people do something very specific with that hour, like read or journal… or sleep. I just appreciate that I can fit a lot into that morning, and not feel rushed. Thanks as always for San, who is our intrepid host for NaBloPoMo! Check out her link for other bloggers who are participating this year. Do you like turning the clocks back? If you don’t live in the US, did you already turn the clocks back? – I think we do it too late here- mid-October would be nice!
November Coffee Date- They’re Here!
You guys! The holiday cups have arrived! Rush immediately to your nearest Starbucks, get yourself a festive beverage (I’m having my usual earl grey, but in a festive cup) and join me for November’s Coffee Date! I’m linking up as usual with Deborah and Coco. Let’s get started! The first thing I would talk about over coffee (or, tea) is NaBloPoMo. For National Blog Posting Month, I committed to 30 posts in 30 days, starting November 1st. I have to admit that when I woke up on October 31st my first thought was “Wait- I said I would do WHAT???” I had a moment of serious doubt, but decided to go ahead with it- and I’m so glad I did! Although I’m starting to suspect that there are approximately three people participating this year, I’ve still discovered some new blogs and great bloggers I never would have known otherwise. So far it’s going well! Okay, let’s talk about books. I’m having a serious crisis. Here’s what happened: over the summer my son decided to re-read all the Harry Potter books (we read them together when he was younger, about ten years ago.) He urged me to do the same, and initially I resisted because there are seven of them, they’re long, and there are so many other books I wanted to read. He convinced me to “just read the first one” and of course, I got hooked all over again. The thing is, I don’t even like fantasy. But the Harry Potter books really fall into the mystery genre, and I LOVE mysteries. And they’re so well-written- how can you not be fascinated by time turners and lost prophesies? The third book has one of the best endings ever, the sixth book has that shocking event on the tower, and the seventh book… well. I took a long time to read it, because I didn’t want it to end. Twice towards the end I cried (without giving anything away, the scene where Harry is walking into the Forbidden Forest accompanied by certain… unusual… people, is so beautiful and heartbreaking) and then when I finished it I cried again because it was over. Where in the world do you go from there? I thought maybe I would have to read Proust next, or Tolstoy. Or possibly give up reading altogether. I have two books sitting on my coffee table, but I can’t seem to start them. I feel like I’ll just have to wait ten years and then read the Harry Potter books AGAIN. Back to reality… I’ve had three shockwave treatments on my foot so far (to treat both my plantar fasciitis AND insertional peroneal tendinitis) and… I don’t see much of a difference, yet. I’m definitely able to run- as a matter of fact, my doctor said there have been studies where people received shockwave treatments and one group continued to run, while the other group had their foot immobilized in a boot, and they both healed at the same rate. Yes, put me in the running group! At my doctor’s suggestion, I’m running 3-4 times a week and keeping my runs to 3-5 miles. Way better than nothing! I wish I felt a more noticeable improvement, but my doctor said it just takes time. He said the first two treatments actually increase inflammation- but the good kind, the kind that gets in there to flush out all the waste material from the injured area. Then the subsequent treatments are when the tissue starts to remodel, laying new capillaries and collagen. It all sounds great when he talks about it! So I’m continuing to limp and hobble around first thing in the morning (and anytime I’ve been sitting for a while) but have faith that there’s healing going on. That’s it for today! Check back in tomorrow for thoughts about the long (49 hour) weekend, and upcoming NYC marathon. Sunday will be the weekly rundown as usual. Have a great Friday! Do you like the Starbucks holiday cups? – Some years are better than others. I think the ones this year are really pretty! Have you read the Harry Potter books? Any recommendations for me?
The Problem With Thursdays
Well, here we are again- Day 4 of NaBloPoMo, and my least favorite day of the week- Thursday. You might be asking, “What in the world is wrong with Thursday? Thursday is Friday Junior! Don’t be silly!” Well, I have Tuesdays and Wednesdays off of work, so Thursday is my Monday. Following along so far? In addition to returning to work after two days off, Thursdays used to have all sorts of other problems. In my brief and unexciting triathlon phase, Thursday was a swimming day. I tried to rearrange that, but because of the logistics of long runs, bike rides and my work schedule, I had to swim on Thursday. This meant getting up at 5 and driving to the pool in the dark, before rushing home to get the kids up and ready for school. Then, my daughter used to take horseback riding lessons on Thursdays after school. Once again, not my choice of scheduling- it was just the way it had to be. Somehow this involved me standing out in the hot sun, watching her ride a horse. Of course I wanted her to have that opportunity- just not necessarily on that day. So my Thursdays started with a 5 am swim, continued on with work, leading into a horseback riding lesson, and then of course home to somehow get dinner on the table. No wonder I dreaded it! Now my son is in college so I only have one kid at home. My daughter no longer rides a horse (phew) and I came to my senses about that triathlon thing (it just wasn’t for me.) I also have a new system of preparing an extra-large dinner on Wednesday so we can have leftovers on Thursday. My job isn’t bad at all. I work as a massage therapist, so it can be tiring, but the good thing is that I get to move around a lot (as opposed to sitting all day.) My boss can be kind of… bossy… but she’s okay. My coworkers are nice people, and my clients are interesting. My Thursdays are so much easier than they used to be. So what do I have to complain about? One day I was listening to Gretchen Rubin’s Happier podcast, and they were discussing the issue of “Sunday depression.” One listener absolutely hit the nail on the head when she said “I get depressed about going back to work on Monday because it means my time is no longer my own.” THAT’S IT. It’s not that my Thursdays are bad, or stressful, or extremely unpleasant- it’s just that I have to follow someone else’s rules and schedule. My Tuesdays and Wednesdays are nice, although a lot of times I’m doing errands, going to doctor’s appointments or doing house chores- but my time is still my own, and it’s hard when that ends. So what should I do? The older I get, the more I’m aware that our days are numbered- not in a morbid way, but it’s a fact for all of us. I don’t want to “throw away” every Thursday by just wishing to get through it as fast as possible. I don’t want to look back and say that I only fully lived 6/7ths of my life- I want to live the whole thing. Easier said than done, but I’m committing to giving Thursdays some love from now on. I’m going to appreciate the time I do have to myself, before and after work, and while I’m at work I’m going to make those hours count as well. How about you- do you like your job? Do you get depressed about going back to work on Monday (or whatever day your “Monday” is?) If you’ve faced this issue and conquered it, do you have any tips?