First off, running is going well. I made my first-week goal and I'm working hard toward the week 2 goal. They are small goals but I feel like $100 when I can complete them. When I took Lyra jogging, I noticed her back legs are pigeon-toed. I'm pretty sure she's the poster child for why dogs should not be inbred. She's so weird.
But on a different note, I have discovered a new literary obsession. I absolutely love survival stories. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I just can't get enough of them and I plow through them so quickly. I try to think about what it is exactly that I get out of reading them and I haven't yet come to a solid conclusion. Part of it is that it's fascinating to me to see what a single person is capable of, even if it is fiction. (although I do also enjoy the non-fiction stories as well, i.e. Jon Krakauer).
This obsession is not limited to literature. I love the TV shows, the movies, I'll take it all. Favorite TV survival show? (other than Lost, of course) Survivorman. I'm not a huge fan of Man vs. Wild. Favorite survival movie? Cast Away. Haven't yet seen Into the Wild, it's high on my list. Favorite survival book? Well, it's tough and it changes the more I read. Right now it's a toss-up between Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (I'm currently on the last of the other Brian books in the series) and Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. Both amazing reads and I highly recommend them.
Who knows what it's about. But I can't help it. I love 'em.
Finally, thank you to McTodds and Ollie Boy for the music recommendations!! I'll definitely be using them!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
And so ends the first week
Week 1 has almost come to an end. So far my biggest struggle (besides discovering that there IS in fact such a thing as a bad sports bra) is knowing how much to push and when to back off. Sure, I want to push myself so I get better and better and increase my endurance and distance, but I don't want to make myself sick, burnt out, or injure myself. Those of you who know me, which I suppose is pretty much anyone who reads this blog, know I have a touch of the hypochondria. So, I probably tend to err on the side of caution more than I should. But as my oh-so-wise dad always says, "the perfect is the enemy of the good." At least I'm doing something. I can already see it making a difference, mostly mentally, but a little bit physically. My cheeks which some endearingly call "cute" and I detest with every fiber of my being, are slightly less...puffy I guess. And that loop around the park I take gets easier to tackle each time I go out.
One of the things I enjoy the most is the variety in music. I'm always wondering what fellow runners/walkers are listening to on their ipods. I've gotten back into electronica music, so I've been listening to a lot of Aphex Twin. Also Soul Coughing, which is not electronic, but pretty rockin'. The 5% nation of lumps in my oatmeal. (that's for you Brainy Girl). So I put the question out there, oh great blogosphere, what do you listen to when you're on solo walks/runs/hikes/whatever? I'm always looking for new tunes...
One of the things I enjoy the most is the variety in music. I'm always wondering what fellow runners/walkers are listening to on their ipods. I've gotten back into electronica music, so I've been listening to a lot of Aphex Twin. Also Soul Coughing, which is not electronic, but pretty rockin'. The 5% nation of lumps in my oatmeal. (that's for you Brainy Girl). So I put the question out there, oh great blogosphere, what do you listen to when you're on solo walks/runs/hikes/whatever? I'm always looking for new tunes...
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Donation website
To those of you who would like to donate to this amazing cause and help me out with my personal goal of fundraising, go to my fundraising webpage.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Two things
1) Apparantely this is what Kentucky has to offer from its Congressman. Brilliant.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/gop-rep-refers-to-obama-as-that-boy/
2) Running is hard and it hurts. I almost made my first day goal, but not quite. I decided that day one should not involve viewing what I had for lunch...again.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/gop-rep-refers-to-obama-as-that-boy/
2) Running is hard and it hurts. I almost made my first day goal, but not quite. I decided that day one should not involve viewing what I had for lunch...again.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The first day
Today marks the first day of my "training." I keep putting "training" in quotes because I feel like it's not official since I'm doing it by myself. I suppose I should give myself a little more credit. After all I'm a librarian and research is basically my thing so I've certainly done my homework. I have every single day mapped out (including rest days) from today until the day of the 5K. After speaking with some local experts and doing all my research I know I have more than enough time to be ready for it as long as I keep up with my schedule and at the same time pace myself. Many beginning runners quit soon into it because they try to do too much too quickly and injure themselves or become frustrated. I'm going to try to avoid this.
My biggest worry? Pain. At times I can be kind of a wuss about it but the more I read, the more I know this is a temporary situation (with the exception of injuries). I'm not exactly what most would call in shape right now so I know I'll be facing some challenges in the future. But after how much I pushed myself on the backpacking trip with J, I have a lot of confidence that I will find the strength. I also know that the more in shape I get, the less pain I will experience. I've been learning all about the scientific reasoning behind pain, lactic acid build-up, aerobic and anaerobic exercise, all that sort of thing. It's really quite fascinating and I like thinking about it when I'm running.
I've decided to start on a track and work my way up toward park running. The local parks are slightly hilly and I want flat for the first couple of weeks.
On another note, I'm really excited because J and I have 3 gigs coming up and I can't wait. We have officially come up with a name for ourselves: "Fireside Story." We're really excited to start working on some new material and to perform in the area! Hopefully we'll get some pics soon for publicity.
That's all she wrote.
My biggest worry? Pain. At times I can be kind of a wuss about it but the more I read, the more I know this is a temporary situation (with the exception of injuries). I'm not exactly what most would call in shape right now so I know I'll be facing some challenges in the future. But after how much I pushed myself on the backpacking trip with J, I have a lot of confidence that I will find the strength. I also know that the more in shape I get, the less pain I will experience. I've been learning all about the scientific reasoning behind pain, lactic acid build-up, aerobic and anaerobic exercise, all that sort of thing. It's really quite fascinating and I like thinking about it when I'm running.
I've decided to start on a track and work my way up toward park running. The local parks are slightly hilly and I want flat for the first couple of weeks.
On another note, I'm really excited because J and I have 3 gigs coming up and I can't wait. We have officially come up with a name for ourselves: "Fireside Story." We're really excited to start working on some new material and to perform in the area! Hopefully we'll get some pics soon for publicity.
That's all she wrote.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A couple of good ones
I don't know what it is about Sundays that brings out the interesting folk. I had some very strange situations last time I worked a Sunday.
Situation #1:
A grown woman comes up to me with her hand held as if she's going to hand me something. I look at her and at it. She holds her hand out and says "here, I have a present." I was taken aback and just by instinct, and pure misfortune, held out my hand. The woman drops a handful of cookie crumbs, including an M&M into my hand. Had this been a 4 or 5 year-old I wouldn't have thought anything of it. But with her being a grown woman, I was significantly grossed out. I mean, why not just leave it on the floor? Or, I don't THROW IT AWAY YOURSELF. But, no harm done. Just a little internal grumbling.
Situation #2:
A man approaches me and says his wife has sent him on a mission to get books for her class project. Not an odd request, a pretty frequent one! However, he says she needs only books that start with the letter "u." Really? I was so dumbfounded I think I might have just stared at him a little too long before saying, "huh." I wasn't even sure how to search for this! I ended up finding 3 books for him and he said that was fine. I have no idea if it was what she was looking for or not.
Situation #3:
I'm not going to go into too much detail. Let me just set up the picture. Greasy teenage boy, about 14 with a 13-or-so friend hovering over him at the computer. Watching youtube, a fairly scantily clad woman doing...things. Said greasy teenage boy's hand is not to be seen. I apologize for the story, but this is what we deal with in libraries. It was no big deal. I support a healthy curiosity and normal hormonal craziness but come on! Close the door and have a blast! At the library? No thank you.
That's all for now.
Situation #1:
A grown woman comes up to me with her hand held as if she's going to hand me something. I look at her and at it. She holds her hand out and says "here, I have a present." I was taken aback and just by instinct, and pure misfortune, held out my hand. The woman drops a handful of cookie crumbs, including an M&M into my hand. Had this been a 4 or 5 year-old I wouldn't have thought anything of it. But with her being a grown woman, I was significantly grossed out. I mean, why not just leave it on the floor? Or, I don't THROW IT AWAY YOURSELF. But, no harm done. Just a little internal grumbling.
Situation #2:
A man approaches me and says his wife has sent him on a mission to get books for her class project. Not an odd request, a pretty frequent one! However, he says she needs only books that start with the letter "u." Really? I was so dumbfounded I think I might have just stared at him a little too long before saying, "huh." I wasn't even sure how to search for this! I ended up finding 3 books for him and he said that was fine. I have no idea if it was what she was looking for or not.
Situation #3:
I'm not going to go into too much detail. Let me just set up the picture. Greasy teenage boy, about 14 with a 13-or-so friend hovering over him at the computer. Watching youtube, a fairly scantily clad woman doing...things. Said greasy teenage boy's hand is not to be seen. I apologize for the story, but this is what we deal with in libraries. It was no big deal. I support a healthy curiosity and normal hormonal craziness but come on! Close the door and have a blast! At the library? No thank you.
That's all for now.
A new goal
I have decided to take up running. I've been doing a lot of reading about the mechanics of running, the benefits and popularity. I've run twice in my life. Once when I was attempting the track team...a short lived experience. And once when I was in the best shape of my life physically but so much else was going on I didn't have a chance to really work at it. And finally now I have a real goal to work toward.
On Sunday, July 20 Teb's Troops is sponsoring a fundraiser in Chicago. It is a 5K run/walk to raise money for melanoma research. I chose this for several reasons. First of all, it's an actual reasonable goal. Second of all, it's a cause that is very close to my heart and my family. It is an amazing organization in the name of an incredible woman. It is because of this woman that I have such a fabulous brother-in-law and gorgeous, brilliant nieces. If I can give even a little something back, I will do it with all that I am. I have not yet registered for the event. I will be doing this sometime next week and will be soliciting donations to sponsor me running the 5K.
I am imagining this will be quite a unique experience and I am looking forward to seeing if I can push myself to the limit. I have invested in a very good pair of running shoes, I am doing lots of research to make sure I'm doing it right and hopefully I will have good results. I am spending this week doing power walking everyday just to get my heart rate up. This upcoming Sunday marks week 13 so that's when I'll start "training."
My first snag: I took a long power walk this morning and when I got home realized half of my left arm was covered in a rash of bug bites. Not fun but typical. If there is a bug within a 50 mile radius, it will seek me out and feast on my skin til there's nothing left. That's always been the case. Note to self: get bug spray.
I will probably be considering my blog a bit of a training log for myself. Read if you feel like it, skip if you don't. I'll also try to keep posting good library stories. I've got a few I'll post in the next one. It's such a wild place to work!
On Sunday, July 20 Teb's Troops is sponsoring a fundraiser in Chicago. It is a 5K run/walk to raise money for melanoma research. I chose this for several reasons. First of all, it's an actual reasonable goal. Second of all, it's a cause that is very close to my heart and my family. It is an amazing organization in the name of an incredible woman. It is because of this woman that I have such a fabulous brother-in-law and gorgeous, brilliant nieces. If I can give even a little something back, I will do it with all that I am. I have not yet registered for the event. I will be doing this sometime next week and will be soliciting donations to sponsor me running the 5K.
I am imagining this will be quite a unique experience and I am looking forward to seeing if I can push myself to the limit. I have invested in a very good pair of running shoes, I am doing lots of research to make sure I'm doing it right and hopefully I will have good results. I am spending this week doing power walking everyday just to get my heart rate up. This upcoming Sunday marks week 13 so that's when I'll start "training."
My first snag: I took a long power walk this morning and when I got home realized half of my left arm was covered in a rash of bug bites. Not fun but typical. If there is a bug within a 50 mile radius, it will seek me out and feast on my skin til there's nothing left. That's always been the case. Note to self: get bug spray.
I will probably be considering my blog a bit of a training log for myself. Read if you feel like it, skip if you don't. I'll also try to keep posting good library stories. I've got a few I'll post in the next one. It's such a wild place to work!
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