Month: May 2017

I have a plan (sort of)

/ Amy / 2 Comments

Last Monday I was finally able to get my act together and go for a run during the week. At this point, I’ve built up the trouble I’ve had with weekday running so much that it’s like slaying a mythical beast (the bad kind though, not like a unicorn…I would never slay a unicorn…all that business about having a “cursed life”, no thanks!)

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I squeezed it into a free half hour I had between Mr. Baby’s bedtime and my standing Monday skype call with my friend.  I managed slightly over 2 miles. I essentially felt like a superhero for getting this done, and I’m thrilled to add this to my regular routine.

After that run, I didn’t run again for the rest of the week. (oops!) But I filled my time with doing things around the house, so I don’t feel too bad. I still want to work my way up to 10 miles so I can earn my medal for the virtual 10 miler I signed up for, so I’ll have to dial it back a bit on the DIY projects.

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My medal is in that package…I just have to earn it!

I’ve been hoping to make an easy stroller run a regular weekly thing, but so far the weather hasn’t been agreeable. I’m sure things will turn around soon enough, and the price per run of my stroller won’t be so astronomical. (With only two runs under its belt it’s a pretty expensive ride..haha)

For months, I’ve been thinking I need a training plan to keep myself on track, but I’m starting to think I just need a weekly plan. Both for running, and other things I want to get done. Just a little something to keep me on track.

So far, here’s what I have:

Monday: squeeze in quick run before my Skype date

Wednesday/Thursdsay: Get in another run! JUST DO IT!

Saturday: Long(er) run

Sunday: Stroller run

The Wednesday/Thursday run I think will be the toughest to get done, and Sunday is weather dependent, so we’ll see on that one, but I think this will be a pretty good start.  I plan to come up with some build up for the long run so I can get to that 10 miles, but other than that I’m keeping it pretty open.

Now, before I wrap up this post: I registered for a 5k on June 17th!

It’ll be my first 5k since November 2015, and only my second road race since then. Know what that means? It’ll be a post baby PR! Is that a thing? I’m making it a thing. 🙂

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/ Amy / 2 Comments

Immediately after I take an exam I always realize just how much time studying takes up and I feel like I have loads of free time.  This time hasn’t been any different! I think it’s partly that when I’m studying I feel like if I have any free time I should use it to study so if I’m not studying that must mean I’m too tired to do anything, so I just sit on the couch watching netflix and reading facebook/blogs. I know that this is not sound logic, but maybe my brain is too tired (from all the studying) to be logical. Yes, let’s go with that.

So, anyways, now that my exam is over and I have decided not to find a new netflix show, I’ve been getting things done! And, maybe this is weird and dorky, but one of my favorite things to do when I’ve had a productive day/week/etc. is to list out all the things I did and be impressed with myself. In that spirit, let’s recap the weekend-

Friday: My SIL and BIL brought dinner over and we told them all about cloth diapering and how awesome it is what it’s really like. My BIL told me I should start a blog about cloth diapers…one can dream. 🙂

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Saturday: We did our normal Saturday errands (grocery store, the dump, starbucks), but also got some house projects done while Mr. Baby was napping. We borrowed a power washer from my SIL and BIL, which we’re using as part of what I’m going to call the Great Deck Project of 2017. We also worked on wall mounting our TV, and did some spray painting (also part of TGDP 2017).

Sunday: On Saturday we did 3 loads of laundry, so on Sunday we folded ALL THE LAUNDRY.  Somehow we managed to escape MT. WASHMORE long enough to go for a jaunt through the woods at the state park. And during nap time, more power washing and finishing hanging the TV. We also made a quick trip to Lowe’s for more spray paint. (I have no concept of how much spray paint is needed for a project, but I think I’m good now.) <— Edited to Add: Nope, I will definitely need more spray paint.

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This beaut is gettin’ a makeover!

I got zero running in this weekend, but I did enough physical labor that I don’t feel like a slouch. I’m still working on what my “training” schedule is going to look like, and currently would rather spend my time and energy on house projects and walks in the woods. 🙂

I’ve also been giving myself a study break, which has been fantastic! I’m hoping I can start up studying at lunch again soon; if I can manage to accomplish enough that way, I’ll let myself have my weekends free at least until June.

I hope you all had a fun and productive weekend! Any projects on the horizon? Would you read my cloth diaper blog?

Note: Conceptually, I understand that it’s possible to recap the weekend on Sunday night or Monday morning and have a post ready to go that Monday.  However, in practice, I can’t seem to get a hang of it. For that reason, this post is a week in the past. You just time traveled! Congratulations! And, You’re Welcome!

A Week in Review

/ Amy / 2 Comments

Over the past month, I’ve written several posts but have just gotten around to adding the finishing touches and posting them. If you know me in real life and are confused that some of this stuff is old news, it’s because this post is really from April 10th.  Sorry for the delay!

Back in the day when I used to blog and run regularly, I did a Monday post recapping the prior week and posting the current week’s goals. I can’t promise that I’ll start this up again every week, but I’m bringing it back for today at least.  Combined with a recap of some non-running activities to add a little content.

Week in Review –

Monday – No running. Went for a walk with Jeff and Mr. Baby after work. Had my weekly Skype call with one of my best friends and then baked angel food cupcakes.  Hit my step goal for the day. (Currently 6k steps.)

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Getting ready to inhale the cupcakes!

Tuesday – Could not convince myself to run, but I walked on the treadmill. Hit my step goal again.

Wednesday – Work was super busy and meetings got pushed back AND ran long. I ended up staying late, and got home about an hour later than normal. Was exhausted by the time Mr. Baby was asleep, and again didn’t run. Didn’t hit my step goal, either.  I ate cupcakes…yum.

Thursday – Again, no running.  I kind of suck at getting runs in during the week.  I didn’t hit my step goal, either. We were having work done on our house (moving our laundry room), and it finished today, so we ordered celebratory pizza.  It was delicious!

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This is going to be amazing.

Friday – Finally it has stopped raining (kind of). We met up with my sister in law at the nearby state park to go for a walk. I brought along Jeff and Mr. Baby, and she brought along her dog. It was a tad chilly and a bit rainy, but a good time. And, I hit my step goal again finally!

Saturday – Did a 6k run on the treadmill while Mr. Baby napped. I’m slowly eeking my way up to 10k in order to earn my virtual 10k medal.  I’m hoping to go up to 8k this weekend and then do the full 10k the next week. I switched my treadmill over to metric so I could see my progress toward 10k in kilometers rather than miles.  I have no concept of how fast I’m going at any given time, and the k’s add up much quicker than miles do.  It’s been kind of great.

Sunday – On Sunday I took Mr. Baby for our first ever stroller run. It was SO AWESOME!  I ended up not getting out until the afternoon because it was too chilly for my passenger in the morning and then I had to work around naps and meals. Pushing the stroller isn’t really too difficult, but I am definitely sore now from all the hills!  Originally, I had hoped to go to a (flat) rail trail, but because I went so late I decided to go to the state park instead. The roads inside the park are closed to cars this time of year, and I figured that there would be tons of people out and I’d want a wider path to run than at the rail trail.  In that respect it worked out great, but the hills! Yikes!

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There were so many people out. I don’t know how I managed this picture.

This week, I’m keeping my step goal of 6,000; once I get a week’s worth of hitting my goal I’ll up it to 7,000. I also plan on running 8k at some point (probably Saturday) on my mission to hit 10k. And, it would be nice if I could get a run in during the week.  I have a hard time motivating myself to do that, but I really would like to get back on the horse, so to speak.

Hope you had a great week!  Do you have a step goal? Ever run with a stroller? Am I the only one who falls apart when I have to stay late at work?

 

What Now?

/ Amy / 3 Comments

Over the past couple of weeks, the following three things happened-

  1. I ran the virtual 10k I’ve been “training” for.
  2. I took my 5th Actuarial Exam
  3. I finished the Netflix show I was watching (Switched at Birth)

And now, I’m sitting here like, “What now???”

Soooo…last things first I guess. I decided NOT to find another Netflix show. Jeff and I still have a show we watch together, but I’m not going to start another show just for me. I’m hoping this will prompt me to do more things at night after Mr. Baby goes to bed.  So far, I can’t say this has changed anything except to make treadmill running less appealing, but I’m still hopeful.  I’m thinking I should find movies to watch while running. At least with movies there’s no “just one more episode.”

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I totally know the signs for “okay”, “thank you” and “dating”.  The essentials.

Moving backwards up the list, I’ve had some difficulty deciding what to study next on the actuarial front. There are some changes in the works in regards to the credentialing path, which has resulted in several deadlines I must meet in order to avoid new requirements. The timing of this stinks and is the main reason why choosing what’s next has become such a dilemma.  I think I’ve settled on focusing the next few months on an online course about corporate finance. I haven’t pulled the trigger on buying the course yet because I still feel unsure about what order to do things. Ultimately though, I need to stop waffling about this and just DO SOMETHING.  Something is better than nothing.

Now, on to the running.

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10k and S.P.E.W medal!

I’ve signed up for another virtual race through the Hogwarts Running Club. Technically, the suggested run date was yesterday, but that’s the beauty of a virtual race…you can do it whenever you please. This one is the Unmasked 10 Miler. Which means I need to progress from 10k to 10 miles. While I’m fairly certain I could build up to 10 miles in the same pathetic manner I built up to 10k, I’d really like to finally get my act together and run more than once or twice a week. I’ve settled on using the 80/20 running plan, but need to pick a distance – the plans in the book are for 10k or ½ marathon. Technically, I could craft my own plan, but I’m not up for that right now. Whichever I pick, I’ll tweak the long run distances, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go with that.

I know it sounds like I’m pretty settled on my running plans, so let’s throw a tweak in there. I got an email this week about a 5k near my house that would be work sponsored. I have a hankering to do this race, so then what plan do I use? Would I use the 5k plan and do the 10 miler later? Do I just run the 5k with no distance specific training (in other words, the same way I’ve run every 5k I’ve ever done)?  It’s a tough choice! I’m not sure there’s even enough time to complete the 5k training plan before the race…maybe that’ll be the deciding factor. 🙂

So, tell me…did you finish anything recently? How do you decide what’s next?