End of spring break

So spring break didn't go quite as planned - does anything??? Ever????  But it was good. My head cold ended up hanging around longer than it needed to. I felt kind of crappy until Wednesday or so. Then on Wednesday, I got an attack of side pain like I've had before. I've finally come to the conclusion that I need to get that checked out even though it's going to cost me money. So it's been a great week for health.....

On a better note, on Wednesday the Roadrunner Sports tent sale started and I went. I've been wanting to get back into running but didn't have any real running shoes. So I went to get running shoes. It was crazy. But I got 2 pairs of shoes, 2 tanks, and a sports bra in the wrong size - ugh!!!!  I spent less then I would have to buy one pair of shoes new. The shoes were the gently used ones. Roadrunner has a 30 return policy on their shoes as long as they aren't too worn. Then at their tent sales, they sell them for super cheap. I got $130 Brooks running shoes for $50. Score.  So, since I was finally feeling better and I had running shoes, Thursday I ran home from the park. When I started running, my thought was that I wouldn't bring Mavy until I could run a little bit. But, on Thursday we ran home from the park and he did amazing. He 'walks' much better when we are moving fast. Also, he needs some conditioning for agility. So it's a win-win. I'm not running super far or super fast, he's getting some extra movement. It's all good. Today we finish up week 1 of couch to 5K. I'm excited. Tomorrow we go back to school but things should be good for running after school for a while. Me and Mavy need to keep our momentum up.

One step up and two steps back

Or something like that.

So I woke up Monday feeling pretty good. Felt like my cold was on the wane and I was feeling rather chippy. Walked to and from school. Had a good day in school. Came home and went for my first run. Didn't watch any TV, took a bath and was in bed by 8 pm. I felt like a rockstar. Woke up Tuesday still feeling pretty good, though not as good as Monday. Still walked to and from school, did some weights when I got home. Worked on some jackets I'm making. It was all good. Didn't get to bed until 8:30 but still a good time. Did not sleep well Tues-Weds night. Work up Wednesday and felt like I had been hit by a train. My cold was back with a vengeance. Nose running, throat sore and coughing. Awesome. Dragged my butt through Wednesday. Then woke up on Thursday feeling worse. Yay!!!! Had to fight through the last day of school and I made it. Now I'm on spring break and have the chance to really recover from this thing. I freaking hate being sick and I really hate when colds come back.

Enough of that, let's talk about the run. This was the first time I have run in at least 3 years. I'm almost positive I haven't run since we've been living here. It felt good. It felt hard, but it felt good. I do like running. I'm not fast, I'm not great at it, but I love it. So this week I plan on working on getting back to the running. Going to start over - ugh - and get 3 runs in this week. When we go back, I'm not going to have science bowl so there is no reason to stay late at school. Ever. I plan on leaving by 3:30 pm every day and working out when I get home. I have a good 3 1/2 months to get my workout habit established before the gates of hell open and release the heat. I also want to get some hiking in this break. I'm thinking of going a couple of mornings with Mavy before Hubby gets up. But for this weekend, I'm going to focus on losing this cold. I'm so over being sick. I hate being sick. I'm done.

Time to revisit a favorite

I stopped running when I started Crossfit because the 2 really weren't compatible. At least for me. Also, to be honest, I drank the Crossfit kool-aid. I know that long slow cardio is not good for the body, but the truth of the matter is that I like running and if I like something I'm more likely to do it. I don't want to run marathons or anything - been there done that - but I would like to do short 5K or 10K runs. Also, the bottom line is I need to do something. I'm sitting around far, far too much. I feel my energy lessening and I don't like that at all. So things need to change and they need to change now. I'm trying to work this out in my head but that never works well, so here I am putting words to paper so to speak.

Here are my thoughts:  I want to do weights 2x per week, I want to run 3x per week, and I want to do yoga 2x per week. That is 7 days. Hmmm....7 days in a week, 7 things I want to do....coincidence??  I think not....

Now here's the issue. Coming home from work I want to get into the habit of working with Mavy. I want to do that regularly. I want to do it outside while it's nice and then in the living room when it gets hot. So let's work this out. I come home from work about 4ish. I could work out and then work with him after. So I could do weights or run or yoga when I get home. After the workout, I could work with him for 20ish minutes. So if I get home around 4 and workout, I should be done about 4:30 - 5. Then work with Mavy and dinner around 5:30 or 6. Then after dinner, it's time to relax and rest before bed around 8.

Now during breaks, I will need to move all of this to the mornings. I want to go hiking with Mavy in the early, early am when it's still a little cool. For my running, I also need to do that early, early so that I don't die of the heat. The weights and yoga can be done inside at any time, but I need to not get lazy. I need to keep to a schedule and a plan.

Alright, enough of this nonsense, I want to do it and I'm going to. No more being lazy. I want to be active and healthy for as long as possible.

Getting the motivation

I am in a position where I have not really exercised for months and months. I'm not even truly sure how long it's been. I don't like when I don't work out. I feel fat and lazy and the lazy builds. I don't like it. I prefer it when I do workout. I have more energy and I just generally feel better about myself and life in general. So I need to start working out again. Towards that end, I haven't even been walking to school because of the cold and the rain. I need to just freaking get over that. I also haven't been sticking to the shifts. I'm not too bad at that, but it could be better. So, I think it's time for some tough love. I need to work out. I need to work out every single day. I need to do something that will make me feel good about my body and myself. I have some weights, a treadmill, and a brain. I can put together some workouts that I will enjoy and do. My mind says that I should just follow AltShift lift and I would like to do that, but I also know myself. If I only work out 2 times a week, I'll drop it by forgetting or pushing it off because it's only 2 times, whatever. So I need something to do every day or at least most days. Now I have Mavy and we could definitely do some training in the park after school. That would definitely be good for him and me. But I need a little more than that. So what I'm thinking is AltShift Lift 2 times a week, some yoga 2 times a week, and some cardio 2 times a week. That will provide some variety every day yet keep me moving. Something like this:

Sunday - Lift
Monday - yoga
Tuesday - cardio
Wednesday - agility
Thursday - Lift
Friday - yoga
Saturday - cardio
wash, rinse, repeat.

That would work. I can do the lift and the cardio while watching TV if I chose. I can put together some Tabata workouts for cardio. I can totally freaking do this and more importantly I need to freaking do this. Sitting on my ass has become the norm and I do not like it at all. So it's time to change it. Starting today.

Now that I've had a chance to regroup

it's time to move forward.

I had reached a point last week where I was stressed. Seriously. Stressed. All completely self-imposed, but still stressed none the less. So yesterday I decided to start to tackle it and it has helped. I had 5 classes of tests to grade. I went to school and got them, then sat on the couch and graded 4 or the 5 classes. Nice. The 5th one I don't need until Wednesday, so I have time to get that done. I can feel the stress lifting already.

Now for other things. I have not walked any appreciable amount in 4 days. I need to get moving. I bought weights weeks ago and haven't started using them yet. Time to get off my ass and start getting things done. That starts today.

I'm going to get laundry done today. Vacuum the house. Go to school for a couple of hours and grade and prep for tomorrow - prepping is the most important and I'm going to work on that as soon as I'm done here. And basically, get ready to face the week.

Procrastination is over and time to move forward.

Fallen into another hole

Just because I understand something and know why things are happening, doesn't mean I can stop them from happening. Evidence this past week.

I have written extensively recently about my meditation practice. It is making a huge difference in my life, it really and truly is. But that doesn't mean I have it all worked out. Last week at school, I felt like I was under an enormous amount of stress. Enormous!!!! The difference between this time and all previous times is that I knew the stress was completely self-created. Which means that since I created it, I could fix it. I didn't have time to do that, but I knew a long weekend was coming and I could get everything done then. Still, I had some stress. Also, the money situation has not been easy and that has been stressing me out. Again, completely self-created. So with my new found inner peace, I still managed to create high levels of stress for myself and make myself crazy.

As always happens with high levels of stress, I succumbed to complete and total inaction. Friday I had lunch with the girls and then proceeded to lay on the couch nap and watch TV all afternoon. Yesterday we ran some small errands and I had plans of working on my lesson plans but ended up on the couch napping and watching TV.  Do you see a pattern here, because I sure do.  So I need to do something different today. Today I need to be productive and if I sit on my ass for 10+ hours, I need to have something to show for it. I plan on going to school tomorrow and getting caught up, but if I save everything for tomorrow, I'll never get it all done and I will start the new week with a high level of stress. No!!! Not happening.  So today much be productive. I plan on doing laundry, going to school and getting the tests I need to grade and getting those graded. Maybe vacuuming the house, that may wait until tomorrow. And getting my lesson plans ready so that I can make my copies tomorrow.

Okay, I can feel the stress lifting. Having a plan definitely helps.

Nothing really to say

I was going to write about my financial situation when I realized that I had been doing that somewhere else. So I deleted it. Then  I thought I'd write about my workouts, but there have been none. Then I thought I could write about all the exciting stuff I've been doing. Nada.....So what to say. I feel like writing, maybe I'll just do a little stream of consciousness.

Overall, things are good with me. I am meditating and I cannot believe the difference that simple act is making in my life. I don't get angry, I'm happy more than not, it's crazy. I love the feeling of calmness that I seem to carry all the time now and I love that things don't throw me. Just had a pretty big upset with the finances and I didn't get crazy. I didn't come up with any wild plans to fix it. I just realized what the problems where and how I have to deal with it. Easy, simple, no stress. So that is great.

Haven't been working out though I want to. No real reason except laziness so I really need to get over that. That stupid game is still an issue. I sat for about 2 hours last night playing it. It is also one of the reasons for money issues. I spent $40 on it in 2 days. Wrongo.... that needs to end immediately. So I need to get moving on the working out and also on the training Mavy. He loves the training and running in the park, I need to work on doing that more.

School has been okay. I have more commitments than I like and I may be taking on even more, but it's going well. I think after 10 years, I'm finally getting a handle on this thing called teaching 😊

I was just looking at Facebook and something popped into my head. Other people and their lack of work. How do they survive? Do they sponge off other people (I think a lot of them do)? Do they very low expectations and therefore require little? Seriously, how do they do it? I honestly don't understand. We make really good money and yet I struggle with having enough. Am I too materialistic? Am I crazy for wanting a house and food? What is the freaking story? My idiot sister posted yesterday that she got a job. So how has she been living all this time? I know she's been homeless before, so maybe she was homeless again. Clearly, she knows how to do it. I couldn't do that. I am spoiled. I need my comforts and my computers and my stuff. Probably materialistic, but I like it so whateva. I have other friends who I know led productive lives at one point in time but are now just laying around doing nothing and letting family and parents support them. How do I sign up for that? In truth, I couldn't do that anyway. I need to be independent and self-sufficient. I need to not be beholden to anyone. Ever. Plus, let's be honest, I like working. I really like teaching and I'll probably do it for a long, long time to come.

Alright, enough of this nonsense. I need more coffee and to take some aspirin for a raging headache I seem to have.