I’m on Fire!

No, not literally.  But I had a very productive day!  I had a whole day devoted to statistics, which I was definitely not looking forward to.  It was tough to get out of bed, remembering what I had on the agenda for today.

I have a rule for myself that as soon as Dave leaves for work about 7:45, I have to either be working out, or going to “work” myself.  Since my Thursday lab is in the afternoon, I wasn’t in a rush to the gym.  So when Dave left, I stopped my blog reading, and started my stats.

About 10:30, I started feeling like I was going to throw my computer through the wall out of frustration.  That is the signal to switch gears before the tears start.  So I headed to the gym and busted out 12 miles on the treadmill!  I find I have my longest and strongest runs when I am not planning for it.  It’s like I psych myself out when I think too hard about a planned number of miles.

I came home to more a lot of stretching and foam rolling, a lot of refueling, and more of this:

And this:

I was so focused on my studying that I didn’t take pictures of any of my yummy study breaks.  Just 2 comments on my eats today… The Coconut Lara Bar may be my favorite.  And Laughing Cow cheese with hummus is amazing!

By 5:00 tonight, I decided I would go ahead and take my stats test.  It’s on-line, so I can take it any time I want, as long as I take it by it’s due date…tomorrow.  On-line learning is very convenient, but it is tough to learn material like statistics on my own!  I digress…..I took my test on z scores and normal probability distributions and I rocked it!  Just like my run.  100%!  I am a happy girl!

For all my hard work, I treated myself to just what I wanted for dinner.  I was craving something warm and creamy and sweet.  Dave had some chicken leftover, something that didn’t entice me.  So I had a dessert-like, but super healthy dinner.

Pumpkin-apple oatmeal with raisins!  Amazing combination!

I am done for the night and ready to relax.  This is how we now spend the evenings…

We went from having no lap cats, to having 2 lap cats!  They used to sit beside us, but would never sit on a lap.  Then Jack discovered how great a lap could be.  And just last week, Rudy made the same discovery.  Because only Dave’s lap is deemed worthy for sitting, there is competition, and last night, they decided to share.  I am trying to not feel slighted, but I think I have a fine lap!   Maybe if I gained 20 pounds, my lap would be a little bigger and softer….

Time to join all my boys!

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Moving Out of My Comfort Zone

When I started this blog, I had 2 goals.  One, to document this  very exciting time in my life.  And two, to meet some new friends!  I have always been quite shy and meeting new people has always been hard for me.   Even when I have worked with great people, I  haven’t become close friends with them because  I have never had the confidence to take an acquaintance-type relationship and make gestures toward a real friendship.  There is a part of me that thinks, “she won’t want to get together with me.”  Sad, I know.

One of the reasons I love communicating online is that I feel like I let my guard down a little bit (look at me baring all here!).  I even met my sweet hubby on-line.  We had shared so much online, and then on the phone, that by the time we met, I wasn’t terrified…just a little nervous.  I think I felt the same way about blogging and decided it would be a great way to meet some people.

Now comes the hard part…actually “meeting” people.  This is always where I chicken out.  I get to know people as acquaintances, but don’t make the effort to actually go out and socialize because I’m nervous.  Dave and I are both homebodies and love out nights in watching tv and just being alone with one another.  Because we are both more comfortable with our routine, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company, we don’t push each other enough to socialize.  So I am pushing myself!

I am really excited to meet a local blogger this weekend.  (I let the suspense build by not mentioning names!).  I am hoping that the nervousness will leave me since we’ve already “broken the ice” through blogging. I also responded to Elina’s call for Boston ladies who want to run together.  This pushes me out of my comfort zone on 2 levels.  Of course, it involves meeting new people. But it also involves running with other people…

I have a real fear of not being able to keep up with other people in terms of athleticism.  Even my husband… he’s run a couple of marathons and several half marathons, so in my head, I feel like I won’t be able to keep up.  (Let’s forget for a minute that he could care less if I ran slower or had to stop!  Let’s also forget that right now, I am running longer and farther than he is.  None of that matters when it comes to how my mind has been working.) Growing up, I had no confidence in my physical ability.  I didn’t play sports, finished last when we had to run the mile in gym class, and felt completely uncoordinated.  I have no reason to feel that way now, but my mind flashes back to those insecure feelings.  I have chosen to run alone so that if I stop, if I have a bad run, if I need to walk…no one sees.

This year is all about pushing myself out of my comfort zone.  I am going back to school and changing careers.  I am signing up to run a half marathon.  I am running 13+ miles.  Now… I am going to meet new people.  And I am going to run with other people for the sheer enjoyment of it!

See what I mean about the internet letting me be more outgoing???  I just bared my soul to you!

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I will leave you tonight with my favorite meal of the day.  I microwaved and apple with a bit of sugar and cinnamon, then added some pumpkin, raisins, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal.  With a little milk and a little water, I microwaved it again.  What an amazing combination!

I will definitely be making this again on the next chilly day!

Good night to all of my new friends!

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