So... I'm going to do another marathon.
I swore up and down that I'd be a one and done person but the woman's pain forgettal clause* has gotten to me and thoughts of running 26.2 again have crept up in my mind for awhile now.
*The woman's pain forgettal clause is the thing that automatically represses a woman's memories of pain. We have to have it or else every woman would probably just have one kid. Unless of course you are one of those people that sits down on the toilet to go and has an unexpected baby, like on that freaky TLC show. Either way, the forgettal clause has allowed me to forget that the marathon and training were pretty darn painful.
Also, I'm stubborn and now that I am in better shape (dare I say the best shape of my life at 30?), I'd like to actually run the marathon instead of tooting along at my previously snail's pace. Ideally, I'd like to shave about 45 minutes off of my previous PR (5:44:00) to end up finishing in under 5 hours.
One of my co-workers signed up and Adam's company is paying for it so there is really no time like the present, amiright?
If you're down, there will be copious brunch eating and drinking after the race on April 15th here in Dallas. It might not be as scenic as Chicago but I don't think I have it in me to travel for a marathon. There's something comforting about being able to sleep the night before in your own bed and take the epic post-race nap in the same spot.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
the Sundry meme
This year-end recap quiz is pretty much an internet staple. I'm tackling it for the first time. Here goes nothing:
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Moved back to Texas, which I've done before but this move was so much more complicated because it involved moving another person. Related: had paid movers for the first time. On the awesome side of things, we adopted a dog, I was a matron of honor in a wedding, I saw a therapist and did yoga teacher training. On the decidedly crappier side of things, we listed the condo, fired a realtor and worked with a relocation company to re-list it (and it's still, sadly, on the market).
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make resolutions but I did make more of a to-do list. The one that sticks out to me the most was that I had written down "Start looking into yoga school and possibly start training". I never imagined that life would take me to the point of registering in May.
This year, I have a lot of lofty goals that include being in a management position by March and having 3 permanent classes at 3 different/gyms and studios. I'm well on my way to both of those things. I'm also going to PR a full marathon and knock 22 minutes off my Half Marathon PR to finish in under two hours. I have some fundraising goals related to the MS 150 that we're riding in May. It's going to be a busy Spring.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes and no. I mean, no one that we see on a fairly regular basis but two of my old friends had babies this year. Congrats Sheila and Mary Emma!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Adam's grandma passed away in November, which was pretty sad because the funeral was at a time when I couldn't go.
5. What countries did you visit?
Unbelievably, this is the first year since 2007 when I don't have anything to add to the list. The last time I left the US was in November 2010. Bummer.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I already feel like I'm on the way to having the stability that my 2011 so completely lacked. It's only January 5th, so that is fabulous. I feel like I spent the first 9 months of the year being stressed about our eventual move to Texas and then the last 3 months with a lot of job insecurity. Things are looking up!
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 5th. The day we moved here. September 6th, when Adam and I walked into a car dealership and walked out with a brand new car, which we then drove to the pound and met Higgins for the first time. Everything else this year is almost trivial to those two life-changing days. I'll always remember this as a good Christmas though. It was just good and peaceful.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
The biggest achievement of this year was probably Adam's. He got a great job here in Dallas after a long search and a few interviews/offers that just didn't pan out. He rolled with the disappointments and grew as a person from the entire experience. For me, it was definitely August 7th, when I passed my tests and officially became a 200-HR registered yoga teacher.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I definitely sucked as a person for pretty much the first four months of the year. I was either unemployed or totally miserable in my job and mired in some pretty deep grief that I didn't know how to get out of. I'm thankful that my family was supportive and eventually pushed me toward therapy. It was huge.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I almost waxed on about how I've been relatively healthy except for a freak summer sinus infection, except then I remembered that I had the bulging discs from hell in my lumbar spine and was pretty much sidelined for a few months from my normal routine.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Well, we did have to pay for his adoption fee and then we spend money on the little sucker all the time so the winner is, obviously, HIGGINS. He's been the best swipe of the ole credit card of 2011. Runner up is definitely the Santa Fe. I never thought I'd be able to drive a brand new car in my life, it was just really exciting. I love that car, despite the recent NorthPark parking garage run in where I injured her.
12. Where did most of your money go?
The mortgage/related fees, moving (although we did get help with a lot of that), Higgins, rent, car payments, teacher training and related yoga memberships and now my lululemon wardrobe is currently the main money suck.
13. What did you get really excited about?
Moving, teaching yoga, my job, running with our awesome running group.
14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Probably anything by Adele, Mumford and Sons and LMFAO. I'm obsessed with Party Rock Anthem and I'm Sexy and I Know It. Don't hate.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? um. Dumb question. Obviously, exponentially happier.
– thinner or fatter? Just a titchy-poo thinner. Only because I was a real fatass at this time last year.
– richer or poorer? Depending on how you look at things, both richer and poorer.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Travel. We sucked at that this year.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being sad and/or stressed about things I can't change. Watching TV. Being unemployed (almost 3 months-ish in 2011). Putting things off instead of just living life- I think the stability thing will help with that this year.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
In San Antonio for two whirlwind days. I'll have to plan a little bit better for next year. It was good though, I had all the food I could handle, tons of great family time and I got everything I wanted and a little bit more.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
Probably the Today Show, sadly. I love drinking my coffee and hanging out with Matt, Ann, Al and Natalie. And also making fun of the stories they do on Twitter.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
I sucked at reading this year. It was on my to-do list and I really dropped the ball. My favorite book was definitely Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic, which was one of the required texts for teacher training. I started reading it at a time when I had just been going to therapy and figuring out that I was holding on to all of these attachments to feelings and things in my life for really obnoxious amounts of time. There were parts when it was really yoga-spiritually and kind of overwhelming but mostly it was easy to understand and grasp the concepts and then actually apply them to the things I was going through in life.
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I'm a total tool but I love having XM in the Santa Fe. I love cranking up BPM (the techno-ish gay club music channel) when I'm driving around in Dallas insanity.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
I always suck about movies, I just don't have the patience but Adam and I did go and see Moneyball at the theater together, which I really liked.
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 30 this year. Adam took me to a fabulous night before dinner at Fearing's at the Ritz Carlton, where we pretended we totally belonged instead of being the crazy misfits that we were. We both took the actual day off and spent it Christmas shopping, which turned out to be really fun.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
The obvious answer would have been moving back to Texas at the first of the year, instead of being in Chicago for another totally craptastic winter (complete with a fabulous-while-it-happened-but-the-aftermath-was-awful blizzard). But I can't say I'd change anything that happened this year. Looking back on it now, everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Yoga clothes 24/7. It's comfortable and I LOVE IT. I'm a yoga teacher, it works for me.
26. What kept you sane?
Twitter- I started using right at the first of the year during a big weight loss challenge started by my fabulous friend, Jennie (which holycrap I totally needed at the time). The people I follow range from celebrities to fellow weight-loss people that I've never even met and it's been a constant source of laughter, venting, etc. It's kind of like Facebook without all the sugar-coating that people do over there. 27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?
Moved back to Texas, which I've done before but this move was so much more complicated because it involved moving another person. Related: had paid movers for the first time. On the awesome side of things, we adopted a dog, I was a matron of honor in a wedding, I saw a therapist and did yoga teacher training. On the decidedly crappier side of things, we listed the condo, fired a realtor and worked with a relocation company to re-list it (and it's still, sadly, on the market).
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't make resolutions but I did make more of a to-do list. The one that sticks out to me the most was that I had written down "Start looking into yoga school and possibly start training". I never imagined that life would take me to the point of registering in May.
This year, I have a lot of lofty goals that include being in a management position by March and having 3 permanent classes at 3 different/gyms and studios. I'm well on my way to both of those things. I'm also going to PR a full marathon and knock 22 minutes off my Half Marathon PR to finish in under two hours. I have some fundraising goals related to the MS 150 that we're riding in May. It's going to be a busy Spring.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes and no. I mean, no one that we see on a fairly regular basis but two of my old friends had babies this year. Congrats Sheila and Mary Emma!
4. Did anyone close to you die?
Adam's grandma passed away in November, which was pretty sad because the funeral was at a time when I couldn't go.
5. What countries did you visit?
Unbelievably, this is the first year since 2007 when I don't have anything to add to the list. The last time I left the US was in November 2010. Bummer.
6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?
I already feel like I'm on the way to having the stability that my 2011 so completely lacked. It's only January 5th, so that is fabulous. I feel like I spent the first 9 months of the year being stressed about our eventual move to Texas and then the last 3 months with a lot of job insecurity. Things are looking up!
7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
September 5th. The day we moved here. September 6th, when Adam and I walked into a car dealership and walked out with a brand new car, which we then drove to the pound and met Higgins for the first time. Everything else this year is almost trivial to those two life-changing days. I'll always remember this as a good Christmas though. It was just good and peaceful.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
The biggest achievement of this year was probably Adam's. He got a great job here in Dallas after a long search and a few interviews/offers that just didn't pan out. He rolled with the disappointments and grew as a person from the entire experience. For me, it was definitely August 7th, when I passed my tests and officially became a 200-HR registered yoga teacher.
9. What was your biggest failure?
I definitely sucked as a person for pretty much the first four months of the year. I was either unemployed or totally miserable in my job and mired in some pretty deep grief that I didn't know how to get out of. I'm thankful that my family was supportive and eventually pushed me toward therapy. It was huge.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I almost waxed on about how I've been relatively healthy except for a freak summer sinus infection, except then I remembered that I had the bulging discs from hell in my lumbar spine and was pretty much sidelined for a few months from my normal routine.
11. What was the best thing you bought?
Well, we did have to pay for his adoption fee and then we spend money on the little sucker all the time so the winner is, obviously, HIGGINS. He's been the best swipe of the ole credit card of 2011. Runner up is definitely the Santa Fe. I never thought I'd be able to drive a brand new car in my life, it was just really exciting. I love that car, despite the recent NorthPark parking garage run in where I injured her.
12. Where did most of your money go?
The mortgage/related fees, moving (although we did get help with a lot of that), Higgins, rent, car payments, teacher training and related yoga memberships and now my lululemon wardrobe is currently the main money suck.
13. What did you get really excited about?
Moving, teaching yoga, my job, running with our awesome running group.
14. What song will always remind you of 2011?
Probably anything by Adele, Mumford and Sons and LMFAO. I'm obsessed with Party Rock Anthem and I'm Sexy and I Know It. Don't hate.
15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder? um. Dumb question. Obviously, exponentially happier.
– thinner or fatter? Just a titchy-poo thinner. Only because I was a real fatass at this time last year.
– richer or poorer? Depending on how you look at things, both richer and poorer.
16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Travel. We sucked at that this year.
17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Being sad and/or stressed about things I can't change. Watching TV. Being unemployed (almost 3 months-ish in 2011). Putting things off instead of just living life- I think the stability thing will help with that this year.
18. How did you spend Christmas?
In San Antonio for two whirlwind days. I'll have to plan a little bit better for next year. It was good though, I had all the food I could handle, tons of great family time and I got everything I wanted and a little bit more.
19. What was your favorite TV program?
Probably the Today Show, sadly. I love drinking my coffee and hanging out with Matt, Ann, Al and Natalie. And also making fun of the stories they do on Twitter.
20. What were your favorite books of the year?
I sucked at reading this year. It was on my to-do list and I really dropped the ball. My favorite book was definitely Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic, which was one of the required texts for teacher training. I started reading it at a time when I had just been going to therapy and figuring out that I was holding on to all of these attachments to feelings and things in my life for really obnoxious amounts of time. There were parts when it was really yoga-spiritually and kind of overwhelming but mostly it was easy to understand and grasp the concepts and then actually apply them to the things I was going through in life.
21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I'm a total tool but I love having XM in the Santa Fe. I love cranking up BPM (the techno-ish gay club music channel) when I'm driving around in Dallas insanity.
22. What were your favorite films of the year?
I always suck about movies, I just don't have the patience but Adam and I did go and see Moneyball at the theater together, which I really liked.
23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 30 this year. Adam took me to a fabulous night before dinner at Fearing's at the Ritz Carlton, where we pretended we totally belonged instead of being the crazy misfits that we were. We both took the actual day off and spent it Christmas shopping, which turned out to be really fun.
24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
The obvious answer would have been moving back to Texas at the first of the year, instead of being in Chicago for another totally craptastic winter (complete with a fabulous-while-it-happened-but-the-aftermath-was-awful blizzard). But I can't say I'd change anything that happened this year. Looking back on it now, everything happened exactly the way it was supposed to.
25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?
Yoga clothes 24/7. It's comfortable and I LOVE IT. I'm a yoga teacher, it works for me.
26. What kept you sane?
Twitter- I started using right at the first of the year during a big weight loss challenge started by my fabulous friend, Jennie (which holycrap I totally needed at the time). The people I follow range from celebrities to fellow weight-loss people that I've never even met and it's been a constant source of laughter, venting, etc. It's kind of like Facebook without all the sugar-coating that people do over there. 27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.
I learned how to get over my sadness when the bad things in life happen. I think it finally hit me that things do just happen to people, good things, sucky things, all kinds of things. I had to learn that there are lots of things in life that I can control, but the most important thing is controlling my attitude toward all the things that happen. It was a lesson in letting go of all of the attachments that I had to various events and emotions, something that I probably already knew but I needed a big reminder of that this year.
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