Priorities


I didn’t join the usual group on a long trail run today. The IT band on my left knee has been barking way too much, and since I don’t have any specific goals to run a long distance anytime soon, I thought it best to just start taking it easy with shorter (4.5 miles) less technically challenging trails like the 56 near my house. What I love about that trail is that you really CAN zone out mentally and since I was by myself that is exactly what I did.

And it was good.

OK, so my knee wasn’t so good – it started tightening up as usual around the 2 mile mark despite the easy footing and relatively level ground and mellow pace. That probably means I should stay off of it entirely, but…I need to at least run a little bit!!

Anyway, it was good because I needed that zone out time.

It’s been a little crazy around here.

Por ejemplo – here’s the calendar on the ‘fridge for the next few weeks (mind you, this is after crossing off a week of items from last week)

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It occurred to me as I was running and thinking about how I am only writing in here once a week and feeling guilty – hey it’s a miracle it happens once a week! So, guilt has been released :)

Here’s what I know is going to have to be my priorities for the rest of 2013:

  1. Daily house/cat/kid upkeep
  2. Day job
  3. Football liaison tasks
  4. Blogmutt writing
  5. Running
  6. Everything/everyone else!

Numbers 4 and 5 might swap around depending on how much extra cash I need in a given week. So far, I’m earning between $48-$72/week or, as I like to call it “gas money” :) My goal is to AT LEAST sell 5 posts per week which means writing  5-6 per week (given that about 10% get rejected no matter how well you write). I’ve got 6 in the queue for this coming Thursday, then 4 each week after for the next 3 weeks. That means I really don’t NEED to write 5 new ones this week  or the next which is probably just as well looking at that schedule up there!

The point is that I think I needed that time on the trail to just let my brain settle on this ranking.

That list doesn’t even include the new task I inherited for the football team – website mistress…err..webmistress..er…webmaster….err….crazy person who never learns to stop saying “I can do that?” Yeah..so that was four hours today learning how to use the software and switching every page at all levels to have 2013 information.

Also – yes! 16 is now wearing contact lenses! And I will have “driving glasses”. My near-sightedness has returned somewhat. Just enough that I will feel better having some cheap frames to wear while I drive and watching football games at night. I don’t – and won’t need anything for reading despite my age since the lasik surgery back in 2006 will keep that issue at bay for a quite a bit longer.

Oh, but you should have seen the poor boy learning how to put in those daily wear contacts! He is lucky that his prescription is the same in each eye so we wont have to keep track of leftie and rightie. And the folks at the Optometrist were SO good and patient with him showing how to put them in and take them out. I, of course, was the usual supportive mom sitting and giggling at his red red eyes with the tears flowing out of them :)

Hah – I did the math and I’ve run 143 miles this year! Maybe my knee is right to be cranky and demand some rest. Perhaps I’ll listen to it and go enjoy some quality sofa time now. As you can see, that is a rarity!

 

Xterra Trail Race #3 and…maturity?


As I reported a couple of weeks ago, I think aliens have invaded 16′s brain. Either that, or maybe there was a threshold of maturity crossed recently that appears to be sticking around. I’m crossing fingers for the latter, but not ruling out the former just yet.

He took the ACT test this weekend. And he CARED. He actually did a full practice test online! And? Since this was the ACT-no writing test he asked me to sign him up for the next full scale ACT and even…(gasp)…the SAT!!!

This from the kid who REFUSED less than a year ago to even CONSIDER taking the SAT when he knew computer majors didn’t *really* need it. And he insisted on the NO WRITING test too.

Suddenly he can tell you that his GPA is finally closer to 3 than 2.5 and that he WANTS to take all the normal college entrance exams.

Oh, and he thought the ACT no writing test was stupidly easy. Math was 8th grade level at best in his opinion, and he is no longer impressed if he hears of near perfect scores. He’s thinking that American schools are slacking. Yeah, probably so kiddo!

Anyway, I even marginally tricked him into doing the dishes twice this week without any whining. Again – WHO IS THIS??

Of course, even though he is now done with PT and is cleared to start running again on his newly repaired knee, he still wasn’t willing to join me on a mid-week jog around the block or an evening run tonight. So there’s still that.

Speaking of running…yes, I finally DID keep my promise to run on Wed night after work! It felt great, and I did my usual 2.3 mile hilly loop in record time without really trying to run too fast. Guess those long slow trail runs are helping my short course speed.

Meanwhile, instead of joining R2 for usual monster run this morning, I ran in my third in the Xterra trail race series. The first was Crystal Cove, the second was Mission Trails, and today was Black Mountain. It was a 6k route and just about in my backyard only 5 miles east of me. It was a nice change to not have to drive on the freeway to get to a race!

Unfortunately, someone turned on the cold and wind and wet again around here, AND this course was an ASS KICKER!

Come to think of it, Xterra only does ass kickers. The hills are always intense, and today was no different. 2+ miles barreling down down down with an occasional straightaway or small uphill only to go down again. The rule in running of course, is that what goes down, must come UP. And come UP we did. The last mile solid was UP UP UP. No switchback, no level off, just UP. I walked it. Wanted something in the tank to run through the finish line.

The best part was that as we all gathered before the start, I chatted with some lovely ladies who were also talking about going nice and slow. Having found some kindred spirits, I stuck with one of them most of the way and made sure to stay and cheer them in after I finished. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we are now all facebook friends and will be following each other’s running exploits via blogs.

Also, I still ran with R2 – she has a new thing on her training plan – she does the long run in the morning then has another 1:15 in the evening. Just got home from that so I did 9.3 miles total today. OUCH. I’m going to make some tea and rest now. Enjoy the photos :)

Cold, gray, and windy at the start

Cold, gray, and windy at the start

Gorgeous in the canyon - more spring flowers in bloom!

Gorgeous in the canyon – more spring flowers in bloom!

5th in my age group! Dang it - could been 4th if I had known the course a little better. :)

5th in my age group! Dang it – could been 4th if I had known the course a little better. :)

New friends in running! Great job ladies! Thanks for the companionship.

New friends in running! Great job ladies! Thanks for the companionship.

 

 

 

 

Springtime Flowers


I went home for lunch earlier this week and was treated to this spectacular display for the first time this year. It’s either been cloudy, or, by the time I get home even if it is still light out, some of the flowers are starting to close. (nearly all of the daisies and groundcover close up at night). What I LOVE about my yard is that all of those flowers are self-propagating. I haven’t planted anything on that hillside in years. All we have to do is pull some weeds in spots where the yellow flower ground cover hasn’t totally taken over yet towards the back end of the hill. Which is what 16 and I were doing last weekend meaning I could take this pictures knowing it wouldn’t look TOO unkept!

Enjoy – oh, but maybe take a zyrtec if you have allergies – ACHOO!
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Unexpected connections, sunglasses and – chi?


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I knew Thursday would be packed.

Another department manager had resigned, and a replacement wouldn’t arrive until next week. That meant existing folks jumping in to fill the gap. For the month end close, my day helping out would fall heaviest that day.

I was prepared because I had cleared out my own tasks faster than usual and I made sure no one needed me for anything that evening in case I had to stay later.

The additional challenge to the day was not even, really, presented by the work itself.

It was the damn Health Fair!

First of all, I had it in my mind to make sure to bring the temp worker and my other full time female co-worker with me. (The male in my office was not interested).

The reason I did was because I had read a Happify task: Reach Out To A Potential Friend

Is there someone at work you’d like to befriend but don’t know how? Is there a neighbor who once said “I’d love to have you over for a drink, sometime!” but never followed through?

Now, I never take these tasks 100% literally – in fact, they all have an option for you to decide on your own how you want to approach it, but it’s the intention behind it that matters.

I wanted to reach out to the temp so she could enjoy the giveaways and presentations. She couldn’t win the raffle as someone not a full time employee, but she still might see something of interest to her and just be part of a social event to break up the day. The full time co-worker is a normally shy and quiet gal who I knew wanted to go but would also feel better if there were people with her.

Well, the other full time employee and I were over there for the full 90 minutes of the event! We had so much fun doing little things like trying out food, juice, lotions, getting a bone density reading, a BMI test and then….then..then! The one that blew us both away – the chi analysis.

We had watched them in the corner booth for a bit and already heard reports that the woman who did the reading was amazing. Her husband uses chi for pain removal, and he was also there. My co-worker has some cranky knees so she sat down for a session with him while I put our names in line for the reading. It took time because she was giving everyone at least 10 minutes at a time.

All I will say when it came to my turn is that I was astonished at how accurately she “read” me without asking me a thing! I stood in front of her for about 2-3 minutes. She was about 2 feet back from me, and she kind of bounced her hand in the air over portions of my body – mostly focusing on the torso and shoulders.  She took notes on an iPad, and when she was done I sat down, and THEN we talked.  Truthfully, she asked spot on questions, I did my best to answer succinctly because people were waiting in line – but just even her questions were so revealing that my head was in utter turmoil when I stood up.  Turmoil sounds bad, but it’s not really – there was just so much she uncovered so quickly I knew it would take time to process.  My co-worker felt the same way when she was done. Oh, and her knees felt much better, and they still do today!

We are both going to call them for a full 30 minute free session.

So, clearly I reached out and connected with my co-worker quite successfully. We were still talking about it again this morning, and it’s probably the most animated I’ve seen her since she started working here. I know I probably would not have stayed as long at the fair or perhaps not even done the chi session without her.

Oh – and we both won prizes! She won a free facial treatment, and I won a pair of pretty snazzy new sunglasses! Which is kind of funny since I had just left my old ones at my parent’s over Easter  which reminded me that those were cheap and scratched, and maybe I could treat myself to some new ones. Hmmm…maybe I gave off a chi vibe about that?

Anyway, I was extra grateful at the end of the day to have this additional task in my Happify track:

Body Scan Meditation:

Block out 10 minutes, lie down somewhere comfortable, and spend a minute focusing on your breathing.

Now, imagine you’re taking a scan of your whole body, starting with your feet and moving past your torso on up to your head.

This was absolutely perfect for me to do and I know the reason I had such a good night sleep despite working until 7 and having that turmoil in my mind is because I first talked to M about it and then did this task.

The bottom line is that these tasks make me approach things so much differently each day.  I certainly would not have made the connections that I did on Thursday which would have been a huge loss.

Don’t lose hope for those teenagers!


I know, if you have one in the house you experience pretty non-stop sarcasm, eye rolls, laziness beyond belief and bedrooms that would scare a skunk. But sometimes….SOMETIMES….they do show signs of being human.

Por ejemplo….

Last weekend 16 and his dad borrowed my lawn mower to use at a rental property of theirs that had an extremely overgrown yard. After a day of working with his dad (yes, his knee is healing that well!)..they dropped it back off and I asked him if he now knew how to use the mower.

“Yep” he declared. (shock..I figured he would see where I was going with this…)

So then I told him that it sounded like he was ready to take over the lawn mowing duties from his older brother and if that was the case, then could he please plan on doing that Saturday?

“Sure. I can do that.”….(huh? who are you?)

So, Friday rolls around and I reminded him about the yard work and since he had plans to go up to a friend’s house in the evening, then he should plan for yard work time before leaving.

“Yeah, no problem, I’m not heading up there until after 5pm anyway.”…(wow, four days later and he’s still not only open to it, but not even whining about it?!”

Saturday I go for my weekend trail run (moved it away from Easter Sunday to free up the day) and get home around 10am. He’s awake and watching tv on the sofa. I’ve decided that it would be better for me to do my part of the weeding on the hillside while I am still grimy from the run so I grab something to eat and then mention that I’m going to head outside.

“Yeah, good idea, let’s get it done.”…he says without a hint of a grumble and then turns off the TV to go get a shirt…(seriously, who IS this?!!)

Not only does he mow the lawn, but he dumps the cuttings and even helps pull some of the weeds. I really didn’t want him up on the hillside on his knee so I did most of that work but he cleaned up everything after me so all I had to do was pull weeds.

Side note: I take to yard work sort of like I do laundry – I love the PROCESS – but I HATE the cleaning up (or, the folding & putting away). There have been many times when I spent hours trimming bushes and pulling weeds only to leave the debris on the hillside or the sidewalk for the next day because I just COULD NOT face putting it in the trash can.

With 16 doing that dreaded final step, we were done with what I wanted cleared out in less than 90 minutes. In the end, there was a teensy bit of whining whle we were working – of course! There had to be right? But it was pretty equally coming from me as much as him! And considering how cooperative he had been leading into it – who cares??!!

Now if only I could find the magic potion that would KEEP him this way :)

Happify really *does* happify your daily life



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A few weeks ago I shared that, on a whim, I had responded to an email invite and joined this new site called Happify. Yes, there was some skepticism and I wasn’t sure how long I would stick with it. But I have honestly found that it has ever so gently changed a few things in my already pretty positively leaning mindset.

When you join, you take a little quiz to rate your relative level of happiness. I started out at 75. Like I said, I’m rather skilled already at looking at silver linings. Then, you pick a track to join. The tracks focus on different aspects of how your mind works to engage in a happier way of thinking. Topics include ‘Coping Better With Stress’, ‘Appreciate What I Have’ and ‘Nurture My Body and Soul’. There are many others as well. Once you enter a track, there are tasks to complete over the course of a week. Some are simple little quizzes to take, some are soothing puzzles to do, and every one makes you stop and just THINK for a moment about things happening in your life. They mostly focus on small things, but a few get a bit bigger in scope, though nearly all take no more than a few minutes to document. You might need to read a set of instructions and ponder them for a day or two. That’s pretty cool though because over those days you cannot help but view the day’s events through the lens of the assignment.

Rather miraculously, this different perspective helped me out at work in a big way. I’ve had this ONE co-worker (not in my department) who is HE biggest thorn in my side. Now, my opinion of her has been validated frequently when other employees have experienced her frustrating way of communication (demanding!). She never makes an effort on her own to figure anything out, even when all the information is at her fingertips. Every month when I provide her a schedule for her department, the email barrage begins, I grit my teeth and at least a day and a half of pissy emails are exchanged until she is finally satisfied. This month, I just happened to have a task on my track regarding empathy & disagreement. It encouraged me to try to view a negative situation from an entirely different perspective - hers. I know, that’s basic right? We all KNOW we should put ourselves in other people’s shoes especially when mired in disagreement. But…it’s not so easy. The ego is strong and it is SO MUCH easier to get defensive and stand our ground and push back and be RIGHT because we know we ARE.

Hah :-)

I challenged myself to complete the empathy task and hey, whaddya know? Oh, she started off as usual, but rather than letting my blood pressure rise and letting her queries annoy me, I pretended I was in her role and feeling helpless about not quite understanding how I could complete my task without help and I imagined what she expected in return for a response. You know, the also classic “treat others as you would want to be treated” – another basic life lesson that is easily forgotten in our busy lives. It’s so much easier to toss off a quick response than to take an extra five minutes and craft a decently respectful and complete reply, especially when we have let ourselves get wound up.

Other tasks have really helped while 16 had his knee surgery and as I took on the final volunteer job. I’ve managed to juggle these things along with the new writing job and keep up with running and yes, relaxing, as necessary to recharge. I LOVE the Savor and Aspire skill tasks.

I also LOVE that we are strongly encouraged to support the other Happify members. Even if I don’t have time to check into my own tasks on a particular day, I just like browsing other member’s posts and sharing a smile or getting inspired by the ways they are bringing more joy into their lives.

I took an update quiz tonight (you do that every 2 weeks) and my score is now 83! Happify has so far been a surprisingly beneficial part of my days. I try to keep the S.T.A.G.Es in mind all the time, especially when faced with a less than positive task or person.

Savor, Thank, Aspire, Give, Empathize.

We can ALL benefit from bringing more of those qualities into our daily life.

**These are my own thoughts, going through my head tonight after I finished another complete track. Not an ad, no one at Happify asked me write this, this is all ME! Get it? Got it? GOOD!**

You really can’t roll out of bed and run 3 hours


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The only picture I took today during the run on the San Dieguito River trail. The depth perception is off, but the lighter rock up top is from a separate peak more in the distance. The sky really was that blue!

I love the rock formations on this trail (same one as last week) – we see the dark granite that I shared last week by the river, then the clay infused red rock and then the sandstone up at the top.

Today though, I proved to myself that you cannot sit on your ass for a week and then just run for 10+ miles and/or 3 hours. (Not that anyone didn’t already know that…hah!)

Renee had to run for 3:45 – I planned on hanging with her for 2 hours on the run out and then to turn back. Since we first start out going west for a 3.5 mile out and back and then head east, I figured it would take me another hour to jog/walk back to the car. If you are familiar with the area – I ended up running with her out to Hernandez Hideaway which was about 4.3 miles east of the cars. So we were a hair under the 8 mile mark out there. We took a porta potty and energy bean break and she continued east to loop around the shore of Lake Hodges some more. I headed back. And I lasted for about another 1.5 miles and then my left knee said “NO!” The t-band had been tightening up gradually and I would stretch it out every time we stepped aside to let a mountain biking group go by and again pretty extensively during our snack break, but it was done.

So then I started a slow, sad looking jog that I would maintain while footing was solid. As soon as the trail would get rocky, I would walk. I kept up this alternating jog/walk routing until I reached the damn. That’s when I found out that the worst thing for a tight t-band is a DOWN hill trail. Oh my GAWD did it hurt!! Walking, running, hobbling…didn’t matter. For the last 3 miles of the trail I considered it a bird hike :) I treasured level ground and even the uphills. And I utterly cursed those down hills – and there are a lot!

I laughed at the end because it showed I covered 12.16 miles at a 16:21 min avg mile pace. When I parted ways from Renee at the 8 mile mark, we’d been maintaining a shade over 13 min mile pace. I took those last four miles SLOW!

What’s my lesson? If you had no time to do a damn thing all week, don’t think you can run for that long! With daylight lasting longer, I really should be able to do a Wed or Thurs run after work and I really need to if I want to keep exploring these awesome trails.

This is what I get for a) writing again nearly every night (sold 7 posts this week!) b) catching up on cleaning my house c) spending all day Saturday weeding the front and back yards (still need to do the side and the hill) and d) laying on the sofa watching tv or reading (horrors!)

This is why I said 2013 is not my year to aim for long distance races. I know I don’t have consistent time to train. And that’s OK! Now I just have remind myself that long distance fun runs need to have some limitations as well!