Motivashun...I haz it

Yeah, I've been kind of a bad blogger lately. Or rather, not a blogger at all. Apologies for my absence; it's been too hot to do anything but stare at a fan and drink diet ginger ale most recent days. That's no excuse though, I know. But it's all I got.

On the training front, I'm down to just a little over two months to go before my first 10k. Most days I think I've made a mistake, that I'm in over my head, alternatively too ambitious and too lazy. More importantly, I often think I'm utterly incapable of completing the task ahead of me.

Then I got my official t-shirt today. No, I'm not going to wear it for the race - it's dark brown and heavy cotton - but I desperately needed an ounce of inspiration, and I think I found it.


"A few good miles." That's it. That's all I have to give. And I can do that, right? I know I can. I can feel it. Sure, the next couple of months might be rough at times, but I have this in me. Tomorrow, I start over again for the zillion-thousandth time, hopefully with a newfound purpose in my stride. I hope to report back very soon that I'm logging some miles on the treadmill and sidewalk and that all of this blustering wasn't in vain.

A few good miles...

New Gig, Yo!

And not a moment too soon. Ugh, it's like, you know when you need a change, but there's no real change forthcoming, so you just dye your hair a different shade of boring and hope you'll wake up and the world will be different? Oh. Guess that's just me.

Um, anyway, yeah...brand new gig tomorrow. Different commute, different line of work (sorta), new coworkers, possibly an office (?), and - drumroll please - a pension plan. What? You mean I don't have to rely solely on my ING online savings account to support me after retirement? Get. Out.

Oh, and super-double-bonus: on-site gym. You see, I've been slacking in the working out department lately, although I did traverse most of the Mall, Penn Quarter, and Chinatown today, some on purpose and some just 'cause.

So it's back to the treadmill tomorrow. And I get to figure out what random tchotchkes shall inhabit my new workspace. Good times all around. Good times indeed.

Break A Leg

Oh of the tough things about being already quite tall and then putting on a lot of weight is that not only do your "old" clothes no longer fit, but wearing certain shoes becomes quite taxing. In fact, I can't remember the last time I wore a pair of heels for more than a couple of hours. And I was quite in pain after the experience! And it all has to do with putting way too much weight on two tiny heels.

Now don't get me wrong: I don't need to run around in stilettos for hours on end. Nor am I bound and determined to wear to heels every single day of the week. But it would be really nice to slip on a pair of heeled boots that actually fit over my calf and keep them on for eight hours of work. I'm even willing to concede that I'll need to change footwear for the trip to and from the office!

Must...keep...working...out...

StairClimb Ev'ry Mountain

Yesterday was not one of the high points of the week. Saddled with a ferociously stiff neck and nothing but time to kill, I slipped back into old habits as if I'd never vowed to change (What, all of four days ago? But still...).

However.

Instead of waking up this morning, beating myself up, reliving the day over and over again in my mind, I decided to deal with it in a way that I have not really considered until very lately: I'm heading to the gym to sweat it out. That's right, kids, mama's gonna hit the treadmill to work out her aggressions! It's a new tactic for me. And a good one. And I'm actually excited about going!

Oh...A Gym.

That's kinda how I'm feeling right now. Like, I know what the gym is - both in theory and reality - but its actual relationship to my physical being is complicated at best. For example: I joined (re-joined, really) in December, but didn't actually drag myself there until March. March! Right now I can only complete about 20 minutes on any cardio machine before my heartrate reaches nearly 200 bpm. Yikes!

But at least I'm there, right? Right?