Normally I would say “I can’t believe May is almost over!” but my son is home, my daughter has officially graduated from middle school, and my husband is starting his summer vacation… so yes, I can definitely tell it’s the end of May! And that means it’s time to join Marcia in the “Runfessional.”
Overall my May has been going well. I’ve gotten back into strength training, I’m doing speed work, and I had a great trail run last weekend. My runfession is that I want to do it all, all at once. When I’m out on the trail I want to start doing long trail runs again; when I’m doing speed work I want to add speed to every run; and when I’m at the gym I want to lift weights every day. And I’m impatient to see results- I want to be stronger and faster NOW. In short, I’ve become the Veruka Salt of the running world.
Remember Veruka from Willa Wonka?
“I want the works
I want the whole works
Presents and prizes and sweets and surprises
Of all shapes and sizes
And now
Don’t care how
I want it now
Don’t care how
I want it NOOOOOOoooooowwww….”
We all know what happened to Veruka- she fell down the egg-dicator, never to be seen again. I’m not sure what the running equivalent of that is and I don’t want to find out. I don’t know why I have so much trouble with this, but I have to remember to “keep the main thing the main thing.” And right now, that’s strength, with one day of speed work thrown in per week.
On a seemingly unrelated note, we attended my daughter’s graduation this week. Around here, middle school graduation is not a grand affair. It’s held in the high school gym, which means sitting on bleachers. It’s crowded and noisy, and the sound system doesn’t work very well. And yet…
I found myself tearing up when the graduates walked in. One thing I learned from Covid is that nothing is guaranteed. I certainly believe there will be more graduations (college for my son, high school and college for my daughter) but just in case this was my only time to see my daughter in a “Pomp and Circumstance” processional, I soaked in every second of it.
How many times have I had to remind myself that nothing is guaranteed in running? You can train for months and still not get your PR, or might not even get to run the race at all. The important thing is to enjoy every run. Instead of being impatient because I’m not as strong or as fast as I want to be right now, I have to just appreciate where I am and enjoy the process.
“I want a party with room fulls of laughter… ten thousand tons of ice cream…” Sing it, Veruka!
Did you watch Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory growing up?- We watched it once each year when it was on TV.
Do you have trouble keeping the main thing the main thing? Or is it easy for you to focus on a plan?
39 Responses
There are so many pieces when it comes to staying healthy and strong — it’s hard! Mainly because most of us live a life of privilege and don’t have to do as much physical work as our ancestors did. I guess it’s not really a bad problem to have when you think about it!
The only graduations I had growing up were HS & College. Things are just different these days, but yes, you are very right, nothing is never guaranteed so appreciate what you have!
And yes, of course we watched Willie Wonka. We loved Gene Wilder. 🙂 Trying to remember what I was watching recently where they said all the kids were actually murdered because they disappeared and were never seen again. Some people are very dark!
Gene Wilder was incredible in that movie. And no, the kids were not murdered!!! Charlie even asks what happened to them, in the end, and Wonka says they’ll be their usual horrible selves (but maybe just a little bit wiser.)
I had a middle school graduation, but my husband says he didn’t. Nowadays there’s a graduation for everything- elementary school, kindergarten, preschool… it’s a little out of control.
Ha! I feel you on all of this but my issue is aging and wondering how much longer I can do it all! Aging has definitely messed with my head. I want it all too.
We watched the original Willie Wonka so many times! What a cast of characters!
Wendy, you are absolutely kicking ass- you’re way stronger than most women, of any age. I think you have many great years ahead of you!
Congrats to your daughter on her graduation! I always think I’m going to be a mess at graduation but somehow I’ve managed to hold it together. College drop-off is the thing that got me.
I runfess I’ve never seen Willie Wonka. Ha! I can’t believe it either!
I’m pretty good about focus and prioritizing. It all comes together in the end.
Ah yes- college dropoff. It was an epic tear-fest for me. My son thinks he “remembers” how much I cried- no, he has no idea how much I cried AFTER we said goodbye.
I can’t believe people grew up without Veruka, Violet Beaurigard, Augustus Gluck and Mike TV- you were deprived!
Funnily enough, my favorite movie podcast just did Willy Wonka so I’ll be seeing it soon for the first time as an adult.
I don’t have the answer on wanting to do it all but yes I’m familiar with the problem;-)
Leaving middle school behind is a big deal. Congrats!
Ooh! I’ll be interested to hear what you think! Seeing that movie for the first time as an adult would be a whole different experience.
We have my son’s 8th grade graduation coming up next week and I will most certainly tear up, I’m sure. I’m a total sap for “sentimental moments”. I teared up once when the graduating seniors came out to take their final bow at a high school play we watched once, and I didn’t personally know a single one of the kids!! LOL!!!
Ha ha Kae, I’m the same way. I’ll confess that I’ve actually teared up just hearing Pomp and Circumstance on the radio, ha ha, no graduates in sight.
Well, I’ve always wanted it all and all at the same time. I have reluctantly come to accept that is pretty hard to achieve and maintain especially at our age. Now, I do try to keep the main thing the main thing and go through cycles of improving each discipline.
Yes, cycles of each discipline is the way to go- it’s just hard to be patient with the process. I’m learning!
I am hoping my comments went through as now I don’t see them!
Yep, I definitely want it all, but not just running — also cycling and yoga and ….
I surely watched Willy Wonka 10,000 times!
Oh good! I’m glad you’re not one of these deprived people who never saw Willie Wonka.
I know, Coco- we need more hours in the day for everything. Too bad we have to work! That really cuts into our exercise time.
I’m with Marcia, never seen Willie Wonka.
Yes of course I want it all. At the gym, I want to be strong NOW and when I race, I want to be fast NOW.
Neither is happening and it’s not that I’m impatient, it’s that it’s unrealistic. As Wendy aments, we are getting older and we have to be content with the abilities will have as they decline. The alterative is worse as they say.
How did you guys get through life without seeing Willy Wonka???
Yes, we’re lucky just to be out there doing it- but having said that, I still want to get better! Since I didn’t lift weights in my 20s or 30s, I think it’s possible that I could get stronger than I was then.
Yes, and I feel like it’s a race against time! Must get faster as I am naturally getting slower . . .lol.
I didn’t watch Willy Wonka as a child but my husband did, and our family watched it before seeing a play version (it was at Broward Ctr last year!). I agree it’s WAY better than the Johnny Depp version!
I’ve actually never seen the new version! I don’t really want to- the old one is perfect.
I never even thought about that aspect- the race against time. Maybe because I’m older than you and it’s gradually sinking in that that ship has sailed for me!
I’m definitely a victim of wanting it all as well. I like doing too many things (especially in the recent years when biking entered the scene). I’ve trained for nine marathons, all while doing numerous other shorter races within the training period. I’ve never trained exclusively for any of those marathons, and I have (many times) wondered if I would have had better finish times, etc. had that been the case. Of course, I don’t have any regrets because I did things MY way, and I know I would have regretted letting the other things go (even for a short period of focused training). But still…it’s really hard to NOT want it all!
I can tell you like to do a bit of everything! Maybe you could have had better finish times if you had focused only on the marathon- but like you said, you have no regrets. I’m sure you enjoyed your training and doing it your own way.
Jenny, you have no idea how much I can relate to this… I want to do ALL THE THINGS… when I skimp on yoga, I want to do more yoga, when I skimp on strength, I want to do more strength, if I skimp on running, I want to add more runs… I literally don’t have enough hours in the day LOL (btw, I instantly knew your post referred to Veruca… although I never saw Charlie and the Cholocate Factory before I came to the US :)).
Ha, glad you understood that reference- otherwise the whole post makes no sense.
Yes, we just need more hours in the day! Then we could do it all.
I tend to be very focused on things so I generally keep the main thing the main thing. If anything, I would benefit from being more flexible and challenging myself in more ways!! Like when I was marathon training, I was so focused on the running aspect and wasn’t always great about strength training!
I have seen the original Willy wonka. I loved that movie!!
Yes, you seem like a very organized person who would have a strong focus.
The original Willie Wonka is a classic!
Congrats to your daughter! Here we don’t use to celebrate the high school graduation but it would be nice.
Getting older I have learned to enjoy every run. No more speed works for me because I don’t want to suffer and I don’t want to get injured.
In the past every race was against other runners and against time. Now my goal is ….. to finish another race and enjoy the related atmosphere.
Yes, that’s a great attitude. If we can’t enjoy the experience, then what’s the point?
What a great reminder and it’s so, so true. We really aren’t guaranteed another “normal” moment or that the things we expect to happen according to plan will. I remember dreading an end-of-year preschool party for my son which never happened because of COVID (which meant he actually missed the last 3-4 months of preschool entirely; UGH – so, in retrospect, I wish I HAD attended that end-of-year party)!
Congrats to your daughter, to me an especially huge accomplishment since she attended almost every single day of middle school!! We don’t have elementary or middle school graduations (at least where I live in Canada), so it always surprises me a bit to see these earlier graduation celebrations, but it’s really fun and I wish our schools would adopt something similar!!!
Yes, we even have elementary school graduation here, which honestly seems a little unnecessary to me. Of course my daughter didn’t have hers because of Covid!
Yes, Covid has made me very grateful for every little thing. My younger son missed out not only on his junior high grad, but also the big grade nine West Coast sailing trip that he had been looking forward to for three years. That was really hard. Both of my boys did get a high school grad – my youngest’s was yesterday! – and every single thing that he’s been able to do over the past couple of years, I have been SO grateful about.
Congrats to your daughter! Now on to high school!
Yes, my son missed his senior year of high school. The funny thing is, I’m still a little bitter about that but he’s completely over it. Once you go to college, high school seems insignificant.
Congratulations to your son!!!
Yes to wanting it all but have learned my body doesn’t respond well to that approach – especially as I’ve gotten older.
Congrats to your daughter – yes soak up every moment 🙂
Yes, I guess my 57-year-old body doesn’t exactly want to do it “all!”
I think I saw a Johnny Depp version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Is that the same thing?
I definitely want it all with regard to physical fitness. Why can’t I have super strong muscles and be fast and be limber? Ha. I guess it’s because I don’t work our for eight hours a day, right? I think you’re doing great and I’m always impressed at how hard you workout!
No the Johnny Depp one is the new one- the original version has Gene Wilder as Willie Wonka. I haven’t even seen the new one.
I’m so glad your daughter got to have her 8th grade graduation. My oldest nephew is also off to high school next year! What a crazy time.
I always want to do all of the things, but then I realize I have limited time and energy. I feel this way a lot when it comes to my hobbies. I want to spend a lot of time writing blog posts, reading blogs, commenting on blogs, etc., but I also want to devote a lot of time to reading. And then there’s TV. And exercise! And seeing people! AHHHH. It’s hard to figure out what the priority should be most days.
I know- I always think I’m going to sit down and read for hours on a Sunday- but then there are SO MANY OTHER things to do! I need more hours in the day.
I think we all, in some way, want to do All The Things. I want to blog more often, read more, take more hikes, explore more… oh, and you know, not work more. 🙂 I like the idea – I think Grateful Kae (https://gratefulkae.com/) wrote about it? – of identifying those things that are your absolute priorities (e.g., running, family, etc.) and seeing how they fit in a week. And when things don’t fit, you have to consider whether they replace something else, or whether they’re just lower priority right now. I still haven’t done this for myself, but I hope to do it soon. When I have time. 🙂
Yes, I think Grateful Kae was talking about it. She has a busy life! Well, as they say- you can do anything, but you can’t do everything.