Saturday, March 6, 2010

Days 13-16: Inspirational Failure

Three people have already told me that I inspired them to restart their long-lost running routines. I even have one friend in Boston who woke up at 7 AM three times last week to go run. Granted, the inspiration all came in the form of "If THIS girl can do it..." which isn't the most flattering concept, but I'll take it however I can get it.

I, on the other hand, have not been doing nearly so well. Day 13, Wednesday, I walked a mile. Since then, bupkus, aside from walking up a ton of stairs instead of taking escalators. I thought that when I signed up for this, it would help me get more exercise, since my gym isn't open on the weekends and forcing me to run on Saturdays would add a day to my routine. Instead, my workouts have become shorter and less frequent. When I do get on a treadmill, my body resists so quickly that I can't do more than half an hour. I also used to be able to hit the gym after work and take my time, staying for an hour or more, but now I have fundraising seminars and running gear clinics after work, which means I need to fit everything into my lunch break, if I get one. Is it possible to actually get in worse shape after running a half-marathon?

It might help if I stuck to my resolutions, though. I knew the early morning Saturday group runs would be a challenge to me. It's enough of a challenge to get to work on time, let alone wake up over an hour earlier on a day reserved for sleeping in. That's why I told myself I would stop going out on Fridays. I would kill two birds with one hand grenade: drink less, exercise more. Both of these were months-old happiness project ideas, and after all, Stacey does it! How hard could it be?

I had such high hopes...

Leila, she of the gym lending, invited me to happy hour on Friday. She was on a timeline for dinner, and I needed to return library books before the library closed at 8. Perfect. Go for an hour, talk with some friends I haven't seen since last year, and go home to sleep.

I ended up being talked into having one glass of wine, then going out for dinner with a side of Bavarian coffee. In fairness, I was the one who tried to talk everyone else into the delicious, peppermint schnappsical coffee. If anyone is in New York, go to La Lanterna and order it. You will not regret it. Anyways, long story short, I woke up at 1:30 PM with library detective Bookman already on the hunt for $2 in overdue fines owed to the New York Public Library. I swear, they're worse than a drug cartel.

BUT. This is where the optimism flares up again, like a bad case of eczema. The weather turned gorgeous today, rendering my new winter running pants useless, but motivating me to walk by myself for twice as long what the group workout had planned. Four miles instead of two. Monday night there is also a make-up group walk, which I'm going to attend. I'm moving forward! There's no use crying over spilled milk, onward and upward, don't look back in anger, to infinity and beyond!

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Hey, I'm not going this for my health! Well, I sort of am, but I'm also doing it to help find a cure for Crohn's and colitis. Please donate and help me get to Boston to complete my journey!

2 comments:

  1. I signed up for a 10K to help inspire me to run - still waiting for the inspiration to hit. Unfortunately. That peppermint schnapps coffee sounds delicious, though. I want to go to New York so badly but I want to spend more than a day or two there, and I won't have four days in a row off again until Memorial Day.

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  2. Haha, awesome. Maybe one day, years from now, you'll get hit, fall down, get back up, and start running. The universe is a mysterious place.

    And seriously, if you come to NY, I will personally take you to this place. I am addicted to making other people addicted to their coffee.

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