I feel like all I do here lately is talk about running, but lately running has been the best part of my day. This morning was a tough fartlek that I didn’t 100% complete. I was feeling pretty crappy about it until I looked at my stats and saw that when I stopped to walk for what I thought was a minute or two, it was actually only 15 seconds. And while I’d thought I’d skipped over several easy run intervals, I only actually skipped two. And also my hard pace was a 9:00 mile and my easy pace was a 11:30 minute mile, and both of those are much faster than my normal easy effort pace of a 13:00 mile. So actually it was a pretty good run after all. Plus I got to see the sun rise and it was beautiful. Otherwise I’m getting more ok with things at work. Not really ok, but more ok. And still making octopuses. Or aliens. Or jellyfish. Maybe all three. And the weather has been amazing. October in Florida is the best.
Author: peanut7312
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October 21
Today I paid Robin $8 to draw a picture. Mostly I wanted her to stop looking so listless and grumpy at the dinner table, so I offered her $2 to do SOMETHING she found at least mildly entertaining for at least ten minutes. She decided to draw, and (surprise) wanted to keep going at the end of the ten minutes. Of course she wanted to be paid by the minute, but instead I asked her to place a value on her finished art – as though she were an artist selling me her work. She said $8, I said $6, and then she went ahead and drew a second picture and threw it in to earn the extra $2. I don’t know if this is smart parenting or lazy parenting because it really feels like I’m paying my kid to like, breathe, but DUDE. How do you get teenagers to do ANYTHING?? At least this way she’s doing something that gets her out of her head AND she’s learning the value that can be gained from doing it. Because let’s face it. Artists can get paid for their art. And why shouldn’t she? Given tonight’s success, I’m thinking of commissioning some work for our bare bedroom wall next. We’ll see. For now I’m just happy with the small window of success we had tonight. Because I know it ain’t gonna last. These kids are wily like foxes. It’s hard to stay in front around here.
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October 20
I had a redemption run this morning while I watched the sun rise. Ok, I hate waking up early with a deep and sincere passion, but once I’m outside breathing fresh air and taking in the sun, I usually don’t regret doing it. That really was the best part of my day. Work has been… disappointing, I guess, but that’s not really the right word. I’m trying to make the most of things, but my heart isn’t really in it. So what do I do instead? I make octopus keychains! It is so incredibly mindless, and I have no idea if anyone will even like them enough to spend money on them, but finishing one and adding it to the growing collection is so satisfying. Even if they end up resurfacing from the bottom of the bin at every Kindermarket until the end of the school’s history, it will have done me good to make them. And so that’s that. Another Monday.
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October 19
I got a lot done today. Talked to Siggi for a bit, went food shopping, made a bunch of octopuses, wrote up my race in my log (including this beautiful sketch), did laundry, played games with the family, made dinner and cleaned it up… Not too bad. I am not looking forward to facing work tomorrow.
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October 18
I ran my first 5k race since the spring today. After a whole bunch of great runs, I had built this one up in my head, big-time. Before the race even started, I was crying tears of joy imagining myself crossing the finish line after running the whole race without waking. But then I couldn’t even make it to the one-mile mark without walking. I finished with a dismal 43-minute finishing time. BUT: Until I looked at my finishing time, I was really happy with the race. Even though I stopped to walk a lot, I felt strong the whole way. The weather was incredible and the scenery was great, and I truly enjoyed myself. And I RAN the last quarter mile. My pace was GOOD and I felt pumped when I finished. In all those ways, the race was a success. And then I got home and realized why my performance had been so terrible. As I pulled into the driveway, I started having double vision. It was so disorienting that I could barely walk straight. I started thinking about what could have caused it and then I remembered, dear god, I didn’t eat anything today. And then I ran three miles after not eating anything. And then I had a beer at the finish line. I don’t know how I went the whole day without eating. I almost didn’t believe it as I tried to remember what I ate, because I never felt hungry. I did have a little tunafish sandwich, but that was it. That’ll do it, folks. So lesson learned: Do not run a race without eating for almost 24 hours and then drink a beer at the end.
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October 17
I had a great run this morning, which really set the tone for the whole day. I bought a bunch of yarn to make octopus keychains, but it’s too fat, so I decided instead to make granny squares. We’ll see how many of them I can get, and whether it’s enough to make anything of value. It’s nice to have something to do.
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October 16
I’m back to making these guys. I volunteered to make at least 50 of them by December 2 for the Kindermarket at school. I started last night and have so far completed 10. I was a little obsessive about it today, though. I really didn’t do anything EXCEPT crochet octopuses. But I’m having fun with it, and honestly, it’s nice to have a goal again. The last month or two has been so bland and boring, I needed something to do that has some kind of purpose. This isn’t all that exciting, really, but it has purpose. I’ll take it.
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October 15
I started keeping a running journal, which, ok, I don’t just journal. It has to look like this. I have just as much fun making it pretty as I do going out for runs to write about. It’s been a good way to stay motivated and track progress. I have been having so much fun with both the running and the journaling. Wouldn’t have dreamed it possible years ago. Back then I ran, but not because I loved it. I ran because I had to do SOMETHING, and I couldn’t think of anything better to do. I never really enjoyed it. But I don’t know, something this time around has been different. It feels like play. Even though I’m still way far away from my goal of running a whole 5k, I’m having so much fun practicing anyway. There are so many other things to love about it. Who knew?
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October 14
Billy had his last game of the season today, and they won! It’s been kind of a tough season for a few reasons, but it’s always nice to end on a positive note. Now what will he do with his days?
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October 13
Today was a holiday where about half the people I know had the day off and the other half didn’t. Full time employees had to work, but our contractor agency was off. Since about half our staff is made up of contractors, it was very quiet at work. The girls had the day off from school, but Billy had to work. It was odd but not entirely unpleasant. Robin got to try out her new false eyelashes (my, they are big, but they went along well with the beaming smile that came with them). I took Robin to the gym to meet her friend to play volleyball, but communication crossed and it turns out we were all planning on meeting at very different times. We will try again tomorrow, because the girls have ANOTHER day off. Also of interest today: Christina located the paddle we couldn’t find a couple months ago, so now we have three usable paddleboards, yay! Too bad only two of us like using them. Maybe I will try to sell or give away the old one. The weather has finally improved, and it’s honestly almost perfect. All in all, not a bad Monday.
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October 12
Robin turned 14 today, and I’m pretty sure she had an epic birthday. She met her friends Chloe and Faith at the mall for some shopping, and then we took them all to Olive Garden for dinner. Robin hasn’t stopped smiling all day. She is crazy into press-on nails, so Billy and I got her supplies so she can design and make her own. I am just so happy to see her so happy. There were days not that long ago that made days like this seem impossible. 14 years of a Robin-filled existence. We could not be any luckier.
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October 11
I willingly got up at 6:15am ON A SATURDAY to go for a group run at Ed Austin Park. There is a free timed 5k there every week and a couple friends of mine go regularly. I’m proud of myself for many reasons: Getting out of bed before daylight, and going to a place I was unfamiliar with to meet people I didn’t know to run a distance I didn’t think I could do IN THE RAIN. Ok, it wasn’t really raining, but it WAS misting, which is close enough to raining as far as I’m concerned. But I did it! I was aiming for a 25-minute run and walking the rest, but I only made it 22 minutes. I did not anticipate hills. And people who actually live near hills would sniff their noses at me because the things I am referring to as hills are hardly noticeable unless you’re running on them and you never run on hills. I think I could have done the full 25 minutes, but I was mad that it was harder than I anticipated, and I blame the DAMN HILLS. That are not really hills, but they’re as much hills as mist is rain. I planned on walking the rest, but I did run a bunch of it anyway, and finished the 5k in just over 42 minutes, which is actually right on track with my usual 5k finishing time. So yeah. Bottom line is I rule.
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October 10
Robin asked to go out for ice cream after dinner, so I told her to eat her broccoli and we’ll see. We ended up at the ice cream shop in the dark, but it was closed. I feel like the days of the ice cream shop may be numbered, which is disappointing, but we’ll see. We ended up at Publix and brought ice cream home instead. Unlike the ice cream shop, Publix has chocolate moose tracks, so I was happy. Plus, we spent the same amount of money and got three tubs of ice cream and toppings. Still, there’s something about sitting in the ice cream shop that makes ice cream taste better. But I’m glad I said yes to Robin when my impulse was to say no. A lot of times (not always) doing something is better than doing nothing.
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October 9
Had an awesome run in the morning – I have been running outside instead of on the treadmill, and I think it’s helping me take better control of my effort. I had fun and I finished feeling like I could have gone further. And, incidentally, my pace was faster than it has been on the treadmill. So I think I’m onto something. At least I hope so. I also got some stuff for Halloween – my costume arrived as well as the headband I’m planning to wear for my Halloween 5k in a couple weeks. My costume is awesome. I’m psyched. More on that later. Pretty good day.
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October 8
It was another not very exciting day. I definitely need some inspiration! Without cheer, I have no idea what to do with myself anymore. I may have to meditate on this a little.
