Running a half!

I signed up for my first half marathon - Myrtle Beach, Here I come!!

I've got quite a few friends who live in the stretch from DC to Florida, so I've already started pestering the ones I know who are runners to consider running with me, and everyone else to make a roadtrip to the halfway point which Myrtle is, and spend Presidents Day weekend and come cheer me on. I'm deaf! I can't hear ya unless there's huge crowd. I kid, I kid.

But it feels good to have another goal. I am also doing the Reindeer Rumble in December for a 8k, its a little difficult to find winter races in Chicago for the obvious reason as the weather can be extremely unpredictable in late December and January.

But here we go...

I DID IT!

and i'm still alive to tell about it. and Not completely kneeled over in pain.

I was a little leery about this running thing as I was loaned a book by a friend that is "Non Marathon Runner Guide to Marathons" for women. The author of the book talks a LOT about constantly being in pain. I can get no pain no gain in a figurative sense.. but something was screaming out to me you shouldn't be saying you'll be popping advil from now till the time training is over. That means you're doing something wrong.

I will definitely say that my walking over the last year has increased my overall fitness. If I had tried to do the run/walk combo I did earlier today back in July when I first started my walking, I would have failed miserably, I think. I have much greater lung capacity and muscle foundation in my quads, hamstrings, and knees. I was definitely working hard after I'd done the 9th transition to a run, but when I finished I was able to still take deep breaths and hold my head up. I didn't have a set path in mind as I was focusing more on time training than distance, but I covered 2.75 miles in about 35 minutes.

I started Friday as I was walking to Domincks on Dodge (long story, and this post really isn't to enforce my sometimes random days of "Duh" moments). I didn't have dusty but was wearing my sneakers, and figured why the hell not try the pacing switches even though i didn't have my heart rate monitor on me. I did 4 transitions of that and made it to Dominicks... I bought some small groceries to take home so I walked the way back, but I think that is what made me a little more optimistic about today before I even started.

Monday is supposed to be a rest day, but I still have to walk to/from work, and walk dusty. I've been looking into Bally again to find some options for cross training now that winter is coming. A friend has a membership there and I think I can get a discount on a friend pass for $20 a month. This would give me a workout buddy maybe, which would be a lot of fun and a good way to get more motivation.

Now time to get some sleep. I have a harder time falling asleep when i've ramped up my exercise cause I get that adrenaline rush and it just keeps me wide awake. But its been a while since I've had this intensity level and it feels really good. yay me.

My First 5k!

So I started thinking about this last year as my walking was not getting me the intensity I wanted. I didn't commit to something last fall and to tell the truth I don't have any good excuses why.

But I'm changing that. I've booked my first 5k run for November. I've got a heart rate monitor coming so that I can keep track of my heart rate/intensity levels since I know once I get going I am much more about endurance than I am about speed. I've proven that with my walking - if I don't stop I can walk 10 miles without stopping. Now I just need to take that walking and increase the intensity and do the interval training.

A few good friends have encouraged cross training to help prevent injury and I definitely agree with that. I'm trying to see what my options are as summer winds down and the nearest pool options are gyms and I am facing both costs from running shoes, as well as possible gym/race fees. One thing at a time.

But most of all I feel excited about getting out the door again. That is what has been missing from my time outside this year and I can definitely tell the difference. I walk quite a bit just from lack of personal vehicle, but nowhere near what I was walking at this time last year. It's time to change that. I've cancelled my cable, cancelled my internet. I spend too much time sitting. I'm ready to enjoy every part of the day, including the running pains and the side aches and the blisters. It all means I'm doing something productive.

Loki!

So I gave him a name... he responds to it.

Hanging out in Mexico

It's that time again ... where I rather abruptly cut off many physical ties with places I know and am familiar with, and put myself someplace else.

Last year was north of the border... this year south of the border.

I've been to Mexico many many times. Having grown up in a border state, I've been on both east and west coasts of mexico, in the resort towns and in the rural stretches.

I'm in a place I've been before, but this time I'm without the more spanish fluent counterpart. I've been able to interact with the people around me today, and thankful my brain loves to hang onto pieces of information for forever.

I was in the pool lounging and reading my book, and watching the storm clouds get closer. I didn't want to get out unless it actually started to rain since there seem to be a lot of fast moving storms, but they are pretty random in their dumping spots. I looked up and saw and upside down rainbow. I've never seen one of those before, and I wonder if I ever will again. I thought maybe it was just my sunglasses or the sun glare but nope. Pretty sure it was real.

After doing the evening dog sitting duties, I decided to head towards the pier and stretch a bit. There's some stray dogs out that were left by their Mexican owners when they left to go home earlier last month. We've been putting out some food for them, and they were very quick to make the association in the care for their wellbeing.

one in particular is a medium sized dog, with a gentle face and happy wag. He was chilling outside on the sand nearby when I left the house and he was pretty excited to see me. Knowing these are pretty much wild dogs, I've not made any attempt to interact, pet, etc as you just don't know what will happen, especially when I am dropping bowls of food for them.

This dog walked ALL the way to the pier - about a 2 mile walk. at first there were 2 following me but 1 got bored and decided to investigate elsewhere.

pretty soon it was evident that he was "with me". As we got closer to the pier there were people out on the beach and their dogs were quite aggressive of their territory. Most just met almost halfway and threatened each other. When I saw that lightening was starting to come and that it was getting dark, I turned to head back. The dog was still right there with me. I stopped moving and put my hand out - he came right up and licked my hand, then did the whole head rub on your knee thing that dogs are good at. Pretty friendly guy.

On our way back a group of dogs were a little more forward in their aggressiveness and 3 of them ganged up on him for a minute. They got in a good warning nip or 2 and he raced back to me, then turned around to face them and growled. Wow. I've only known this dog for 4 days and he's being protective of me.

We keep walking..... all the way back to the house. I wanted to at least get a little more people interaction so i kept going until I got to the street that takes me to the bodega. The little bugger stayed right on me, crossing the street with me and then finally losing interest when I went into the bodega and came out and he was gone.

I Passed my LEED Green Associate Exam!

with so much going on I hadn't updated this. Passed with a 181, and you need a 170 in order to pass.

I knew where my weaknesses were and sure enough that is where I scored the lowest when I reviewed my breakdown of categories. BUT. I am LEED Green Associate!

I don't have to take the test again - just Continuing Education requirements that restart every 2 years.

I looked myself up in the Professional Directory on the gbci.org website and there I was. That was pretty cool.

Bliss

Vacation.

On It.

Plans? Nada. Other than making sure I have a good supply of coffee for the week, and a stop to Costco to stock up on groceries. I'd say things are going pretty well.

Why I am smiling right now

I love when you can find those people in your life that you have a good time with, no matter what you are doing or if things are going as planned.

I got a pasta maker from Goodwill a few weeks ago, and with Sam in town this weekend I wanted to try it out.

we failed. MISERABLY. and I haven't laughed or smiled so much since I set his cake on fire in July. I had mishaps with the dough and had to make 2 batches, and then when we got past the dough creation stage we just did not have any luck getting the texture/consistency we needed.

I asked him on the way to O'hare what his favorite memory from the weekend was, and he said it was the pasta escapade.

We are back to our "real" lives with him on a plane back to AZ at the moment. I keep finding little notes that say "i Love you!" all over the house. I tried to track down some on purpose but I don't find them then. So far I have found 3. I don't even know how he was able to be this sneaky, unless it was while I was taking Dusty outside before we left.

But it makes me smile, and we all need more reasons to do that these days.

LEED Exam

The exam is booked. September 12.

I better be ready. I feel pretty OK about it, I still have 2 weeks and I have been studying for about an hour a day 4-5 days a week since August 4.

Only time will tell.

Show on the Road

This last weekend, I was the officiant for a very very good friend's wedding. I took the opportunity for a few moments of peace while they were finishing last minute details.

Love me some coffee and some quiet while waiting to be picked up to get some people hitched :)

The Sandbox

I just got home from a wonderful fun time with the Oregon Cult (TM). To make the trip even more special, my brother, his wife, and my 3 month old nephew drove down to Portland from their home in Olympia, WA. This is the first time I've seen my brother in 2 years, and the longest I've gone without seeing one of my family members. This was the first time seeing my nephew... who is SO. STINKING. CUTE. I'm not just saying it because I have to, but he's one of those who knows he is too cute for his own good.

I've spent 30 of the last 69 hours traveling. By the time I got back to PDX to start the trek home via plane, I was not in great shape. I tried to no avail to get myself home earlier than Midnight, as I was up at 4:30am to begin the trip home.

I got to Denver and had a couple hours to Kill. I stopped to get a quickie chair massage in the terminal. A soldier who was on his way home for leave came in as well, and we started talking. This man instantly reminded me I have NOTHING To be complaining about. He had left the sandbox the same day I had left for Oregon, and while I was now making my return trip, he was still working on getting back to the US so he could start his leave. He'd already been in the Denver airport an hour longer than I had, and had 2 more hours on top of mine, and I was there 3.

I was looking at him, and seeing my brother. I'm thankful every day that my brother is able to stay on base at FT Lewis with his son and be relatively more safe. I'm glad I got a chance a chance to say thank you to this man in my own way. I don't know his name but that doesn't matter. He is my brother.

Score!

There are 4 resale/thrift stores all within a half mile of each other that I pass on my way home.

For some reason I felt inclined to stop in one that I'd never before.

I am glad I did - I walked away with a 3 bottle wine rack, a hand mixer, and an ice cream maker for the grand total of.... $6.84.


Gotta love good bargains.


I am really missing a lot of people this week. I'll get a chance to see many of them quite soon. I think I am missing them because I know the visits will be SO SO short and then I'll be back in Chicago again. I am ready to be done with Chicago. October 6th can't get here soon enough.

A month from now

A Month from now....


I will be sitting and walking on a beach for at least part of the day.


I will have finished my LEED Green Associate class and hopefully been able to schedule and sit for my exam... and know whether I passed.

I will have gotten to see my boy toy twice between a quickie layover in Phoenix (literally... 1 hr from landing to takeoff on 2nd plane) and a Labor Day Weekend visit.

I will be another year in digits.

Pillars of a Temple

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.

For only the hand of life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, but not to near together:For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

“The Prophet,” Kahlil Gibran

No Reason to Panic

I really can't explain why, but over the last 30 days or so I've had what have felt like panic attacks (to me). I am not prone to these at all, to the best of my knowledge. But totally tight chest, what I know to be irrational fear, but I can't tell you what the fear is of. All I know is when they come I don't know what is triggering them yet, just that I totally freeze. I struggle to breathe, to get up from where I am, to make my eyes blink and think about counting to 10.

I hate not being in control, and a panic attack is probably the least controlled situation I could be in. I have often thought that part of it is the looming Aug 31 date. August 31 was the day I moved to Chicago 2 years ago, and it will mark my existence in any one city for the longest period since I left Phoenix.

And I am completely uninspired by my surroundings here. I was tempted to at first say I was miserable, but I don't think that is a fair statement to make. I am completely in control of my choice to be happy or not happy in any circumstance. But I do not feel any connection to this city. Beyond my intrapersonal growth while here, I don't see this city as a place that is helping me meet goals that I have for the long term. I can't fulfill myself with my favorite interests - Hiking, Outdoors, affordable living, family, friends.

I am beyond thankful to be gainfully employed in a job that overall treats me well, pays well, and provides good benefits. But it is not a position that will satisfy me for a long period - already, I'm feeling restless and as if I've outgrown the position. Project Management is what I do best, and this job originally had it while it was in the creation stages. Now that the position and responsibilities are solidified, all that is left is executing them when required.

I've been in the pursuit for a while of shifting locales to the Pacific Northwest. I'd put off my search until just a short time ago due to visitors coming over the summer. Now that they have been here and gone, I found myself freaking out again.

I've been looking at jobs and postings and apartments. But I have to take a step back and remind myself why I'm looking at this city in the first place. Remind myself of what type of work environment/life style is really what I want. I had totally lost sight of all of these factors in my haze of "get out get out get out NOW".

It's hard to tell myself to slow down. I operate on Plan Then Execute Immediately mentality.

These last couple of days have been harder on me than I have wanted to admit. I put my boyfriend on a plane back to Phoenix, not knowing for sure when exactly I'd see him again. I have no doubt I will at some point, but it's different when you have a specific date to look forward to. I've spent a lot of time interacting with Dusty to fill a little of the void that is now missing in having a live breathing human to interact with.

I took a contract gig earlier this year, and have not been able to utilize any of that fundage until I got the tax business squared away. I met with a CPA yesterday and dropped a check in the mail to the IRS yesterday night. Now I can get about the business of Purposeful planning.

I signed up for a Green Associate course with an eligibility certificate today so I can take the LEED Green Associate exam. I am narrowing my job focus to the PacNW instead of just Portland, but to jobs that will utilize my LEED certification and help me get the building blocks to pursue AP. This is really where my heart lies, and if I move and do anything else, I'm really no better off than I was in Chicago. I'll have not learned a thing in this wretched city I called home for 2 years, if I just escape yet again but without my parachute.

This means my move will not happen overnight. This all reminded me that I need to live day by day.. not put off everything in the future when I don't even know whats going to happen. I've had vacation time booked for 2 months, but I'd hesitated buying my ticket to Mexico because of all of the above. Yesterday I booked my ticket. I need to take advantage of the fact that my company gives me such generous time off. I need to make sure I am taking care of myself every day.

I feel so much better being able to take SOME sort of action. I definitely will not be moving as quickly as I thought. But I have been telling myself for 6 months I wanted to reach my 2 year anniversary at my job because of the supervisory/management experience marker, which will help my marketability down the road.

I still have no clue what the heck the future holds. But at least I am living with no regrets.