I’m pooped! I worked the past 4 nights straight and am now trying to recover. I like working my nights in a row so I have solid blocks of time off, but I do get a little frustrated with not having time to do anything around the house. My priorities between shifts are SLEEP and working out if I have the energy. The laundry piles up, dishes pile up if Matt doesn’t do them (he did this week!), and the living room tends to get a little cluttered. So, I slept some today, caught up on some TV, and then tried to get the house back in order. Now I have a mountain of clean laundry on my couch and little motivation to fold and put it up, but progress is good. I actually really like working nights, but sometimes I just feel like I’m not a normal person! I’m continually trying to find balance.
My camera is broken. It may be noticeable from pictures I’ve put up on the blog in the last couple months. It’s nothing major, but it was dropped and the arms that cover the lens have not been opening/closing correctly. I took it to a repair guy last week, and he said he was putting in an order for parts that day and it would be ready to pick up in 5 days… It’s been 7 days, and I haven’t heard anything. I’m headed to my sister Shelly’s house tomorrow to visit and go to her baby shower on Saturday, so I’m bummed I won’t have my camera! And people keep asking about our curtains, which are up, but I am unable to give a visual until I get my camera back.
Running has been going great still! I have been feeling the itch to do another race already, as has Matt, so we just signed up to do a 5K together on March 26th! Proceeds from the Honda Grand Prix St. Pete 5K go to the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). Matt found out about the CAF when some athletes from the FL chapter approached him after his half marathon a couple years ago. They saw his prosthetic and just wanted to let him know about CAF, so Matt was excited to find out about this race and its cause. I think it’s too soon after my last 5K for me to be trying to set any lofty time goals, but I am hoping to PR (as in beat my first and last 5K time of 29:55).
I am also looking ahead to running a 10K next. Matt and I will be in North Carolina in May for a family reunion and after some research I found this race and am thinking of signing up. Matt says I’m crazy to plan a race there, but I think it would be so much fun to do a race in NC! I will want to get in some running there anyway and the timing is good for me to train for a 10K, so why not? I’m trying to talk Matt, and his brother Josh and his wife Mandy, into running it, too, so we will see! I’ll go it alone if I need to. 😉
And just so you have no doubts that I am crazy, I am also looking ahead to another half marathon! The Rock ‘n Roll marathon series has always piqued my interest. I just think having live bands at every mile and running through a fun city sounds amazing. I found out that there is a Rock ‘n Roll half marathon in Chicago on August 1st and am seriously considering signing up! I could turn it into a long weekend to visit my sister Keri up there and do an exciting race! I mentioned the idea to her and she sounded excited and said Marc (her husband) said he might want to join me. Am I crazy!?
I am such a goal-oriented person, so planning ahead and having running goals really helps me. Next week, I am going to begin my 10K training using Hal Higdon’s 10K training plan. I am planning to create a custom plan for myself by combining elements of the novice and intermediate programs and, of course, will be switching around the days as needed to make training work with my work schedule.
I donated blood last week and found out my vitals and cholesterol for the first time in a while. Here are my numbers: temp 96.6, heart rate 54, BP 104/60, total cholesterol 104. I don’t know my HDL/LDL levels (the ratio is way more important than the total), but I have a feeling that with such a low total my ratio is good. I am going for an annual soon and will get the complete work-up. This stuff is all very important considering the major risk for heart disease I get from my dad’s side. Genetics can be a big factor, but lifestyle is in my control and I want to prevent all the problems I can.
I am off to fold laundry, eat a little something sweet, put clean sheets on my bed, and pass out! Gotta rest up for a run in this amazingly warm Florida weather and some sister time!!
Hey There, Life! 