I have decided that I would like to run a marathon - a pretty tall order for someone who can barely plod through 1/8 of a mile at the present. You read that right, 1/8 of a mile. As in, halfway around the stinking track. I run half the track, then walk the other half, alternating for 2-3 miles. Gotta' start somewhere, right?
A couple of years ago I had started running and actually worked up to running about a mile and a half before I had to slow to a walk, so I know I can eventually get back to at least doing that much. Though it's a far cry from 1.5 to the 26.2 I will need to be able to run for a marathon. I'll definitely be starting with a 5K or two, then work up to a half-marathon, and hopefully, one day, a full marathon.
I've decided that I will run Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week, for 20-30 minutes at a time. Each week I will increase the distance I run at a stretch without walking, so that eventually I will be running the entire time. Then I will just work on increasing the distance. On Tuesdays I will still go to my boot camp class that I've been going to since January, and on Thursdays I plan on walking only. I will squeeze workouts into the weekends when I can, but I'm not going to stress too much about that.
So I started this little program about a week ago, and I've already learned a few little tricks. Ibuprofen before I work out is a very GOOD thing. I find that if I take it about 30 minutes to an hour before I work out (any work out, not just running), I can go harder and longer than if I don't. I'm finding that hydration is also super-important. I tend to not drink very much of anything, sometimes going all day without a drop of liquid passing my lips (except for my 2 cups of morning joe!). When I try to run after not drinking anything all day, I feel all weak and dizzy. I'm definitely making an effort to drink a lot more water every day. The only thing that I haven't quite figured out how to overcome at this point is the dreaded side stitch. Any ideas from the more experienced runners out there?
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Lent
So tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the start of the season of Lent. Over the years I have occasionally given up something or decided on some way to deepen my spiritual practice, but never with much consistency and without much thought, either. This year is going to be a little different, though. I have actually put a lot of thought into ways that I think I can grow in my faith and in my life, and ultimately be a better person.
In thinking about my fast from sin, I have decided that I will give up negativity. I know, pretty broad, right? I've put a lot of thought into what this should look like. What I've come up with is that though I know I can't prevent every negative thought bubble from popping in my head, I can control what I do with that negativity. I will either change it into a positive, or banish it altogether. What I will not do is let it spill out of my mouth or spew onto my Facebook status. I will strive to not be so hard on myself or on other people. I will not be worrying about anything to the point of obsession and sleepless nights.
I'm a book-ish sort of person, and so, of course, I've been doing some research on how to become more positive. I've found interesting articles on using imagery to imagine the positive funneling into the top of your head and filling your body as the negative is pushed out of your fingertips and toes. And there's always the tried-and-true method of making a point to notice the good. With that in mind I will be working in my art journal every day during Lent, and will focus only on things I am grateful for. I expect this will be easy at first as I cover the biggies, like my children, my husband, pets, house, etc. Then I'll have to get creative.
So that's my big Lenten practice this year, and then I plan on doing some other small things. I want to treat my body better with food that is good for me and more exercise, but I'm intentionally leaving these ideas only half-formed. I want to put most of my energy into being positive. I also plan on spending the first couple of days of Lent off from work doing some self-reflection and house-cleaning (and visiting the Old Book Sale downtown!).
Who knows? Perhaps by the end of this season of Lent, I will have grown in my faith and become a better person!
In thinking about my fast from sin, I have decided that I will give up negativity. I know, pretty broad, right? I've put a lot of thought into what this should look like. What I've come up with is that though I know I can't prevent every negative thought bubble from popping in my head, I can control what I do with that negativity. I will either change it into a positive, or banish it altogether. What I will not do is let it spill out of my mouth or spew onto my Facebook status. I will strive to not be so hard on myself or on other people. I will not be worrying about anything to the point of obsession and sleepless nights.
I'm a book-ish sort of person, and so, of course, I've been doing some research on how to become more positive. I've found interesting articles on using imagery to imagine the positive funneling into the top of your head and filling your body as the negative is pushed out of your fingertips and toes. And there's always the tried-and-true method of making a point to notice the good. With that in mind I will be working in my art journal every day during Lent, and will focus only on things I am grateful for. I expect this will be easy at first as I cover the biggies, like my children, my husband, pets, house, etc. Then I'll have to get creative.
So that's my big Lenten practice this year, and then I plan on doing some other small things. I want to treat my body better with food that is good for me and more exercise, but I'm intentionally leaving these ideas only half-formed. I want to put most of my energy into being positive. I also plan on spending the first couple of days of Lent off from work doing some self-reflection and house-cleaning (and visiting the Old Book Sale downtown!).
Who knows? Perhaps by the end of this season of Lent, I will have grown in my faith and become a better person!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Do-It-Yourself, Dryers, and Doo-hickies
We had a death in the house yesterday. Our clothes dryer of 6 years passed away in a fiery blaze of glory. Literally.
It's had some issues for about the last 6-8 months. The heating element, which turns out is just a really long, thin spring, had burned up in one place. Well, being the cheapskates that we are, with a real do-it-yourself kind of spirit (which is a requirement if you are a cheapskate), we were just kind of loosely placing it back together. Every other week or so, it would work its way back apart, and we would once again take the dryer apart and place it back together. Finally, too much of it had burnt up to do this anymore, and we bought a new element about 2 weeks ago. Who knew a simple spring would cost $48? However, during the process of replacing the element, a little ceramic doo-hickie (very technical term, I know) got cracked. The ceramic doo-hickie held the element off of the other metal parts inside the dryer, keeping it from being a fire hazard. Well, right after making the repair and turning it on, the element did touch the metal and it kicked the breaker, so the power was shut off to the dryer. We rigged it up again, and then it worked fine.
That brings us to yesterday. The dryer wasn't really drying yet again, so we took it apart, yet again. We found that the element had burned up yet again, because apparently the ceramic doo-hickie had broken completely off, allowing the element to touch the metal. We tried, yet again, to rig the thing back together without the ceramic doo-hickie. As we were working on it, I made the comment that it was a wonder that the dryer was not a fire hazard with all the rigging up we had done to it. My husband responded that at least we know if it is a fire hazard our breaker system does its job by kicking off the power, as had happened a couple of weeks ago. We took comfort in this as we finished the repair and plugged it back in. We turned it on to test out our rig-job, and within seconds sparks flew everywhere and smoke started pouring out. The breaker did not kick it off this time, and the dryer kept running as smoke started pouring out of it. Turns out there was a small fire in the bottom of it. We got the fire put out, fanned the smoke away from the smoke detectors that were sounding off like crazy, and opened the doors and windows. There was no way to put off getting another dryer now!
Luckily, some friends of ours from church happened to know someone that just happened to mention to them earlier this week that they had an extra dryer they were looking to get rid of. They saw my post on Facebook (thank God for social networking!) about the death of my dryer and put me in touch. Sweet serendipity! Best of all, the couple looking to get rid of their extra dryer gave it to us for FREE!! Music to my ears! So now we have a new older dryer to replace our old newer dryer. Here's a little prayer that this dryer will have a long, happy life in my home!
It's had some issues for about the last 6-8 months. The heating element, which turns out is just a really long, thin spring, had burned up in one place. Well, being the cheapskates that we are, with a real do-it-yourself kind of spirit (which is a requirement if you are a cheapskate), we were just kind of loosely placing it back together. Every other week or so, it would work its way back apart, and we would once again take the dryer apart and place it back together. Finally, too much of it had burnt up to do this anymore, and we bought a new element about 2 weeks ago. Who knew a simple spring would cost $48? However, during the process of replacing the element, a little ceramic doo-hickie (very technical term, I know) got cracked. The ceramic doo-hickie held the element off of the other metal parts inside the dryer, keeping it from being a fire hazard. Well, right after making the repair and turning it on, the element did touch the metal and it kicked the breaker, so the power was shut off to the dryer. We rigged it up again, and then it worked fine.
That brings us to yesterday. The dryer wasn't really drying yet again, so we took it apart, yet again. We found that the element had burned up yet again, because apparently the ceramic doo-hickie had broken completely off, allowing the element to touch the metal. We tried, yet again, to rig the thing back together without the ceramic doo-hickie. As we were working on it, I made the comment that it was a wonder that the dryer was not a fire hazard with all the rigging up we had done to it. My husband responded that at least we know if it is a fire hazard our breaker system does its job by kicking off the power, as had happened a couple of weeks ago. We took comfort in this as we finished the repair and plugged it back in. We turned it on to test out our rig-job, and within seconds sparks flew everywhere and smoke started pouring out. The breaker did not kick it off this time, and the dryer kept running as smoke started pouring out of it. Turns out there was a small fire in the bottom of it. We got the fire put out, fanned the smoke away from the smoke detectors that were sounding off like crazy, and opened the doors and windows. There was no way to put off getting another dryer now!
Luckily, some friends of ours from church happened to know someone that just happened to mention to them earlier this week that they had an extra dryer they were looking to get rid of. They saw my post on Facebook (thank God for social networking!) about the death of my dryer and put me in touch. Sweet serendipity! Best of all, the couple looking to get rid of their extra dryer gave it to us for FREE!! Music to my ears! So now we have a new older dryer to replace our old newer dryer. Here's a little prayer that this dryer will have a long, happy life in my home!
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