Sick Days

Well, I thought the yoga class really busted my behind. I woke up Monday morning with sore hamstrings but they were the good kind of sore muscles that signify a good workout. No problem there. By that night the soreness had spread to my whole legs and had become more of a sharp ache. By the time my upper body got into the act and my whole body ached I finally figured out ('cause sometimes I am not so bright) that it wasn't residual muscle soreness from Gumbifying myself but rather a lovely virus. My first week of scholastic freedom and I get the flu.

So, the last two days have been spent at home sleeping, coughing, sweating and being thankful this didn't happen before finals.

Stretchy

I finally broke down and went to a yoga class on Sunday. I had been thinking about this for awhile and now that school is done for the summer the time seemed right. Running really tightens up the muscles and I have started to have some problems from this tightness and lack of flexibility. Besides, seeing what happens when people don't work on their flexibility and balance as they age it seemed prudent to jump on it early before I actually become old and decrepit.

The session was two hours of learning some basic poses and I kind of enjoyed it. I am one of those people who has no sense what their body is doing so I really need an instructor to point out the correct body alignment. I can be curled like a question mark and think I am in a perfectly straight line.

There was a wee bit of the hippy-dippy "find your heart center" "inner eye" "one with the universe" crap but if you put aside the words the act of finding a little bit of calm and mindfulness probably isn't such a bad idea. I tried to clear my mind and focus but it is a little hard to do at first when you are overly concerned with not falling over or trying to hold a pose. Not helping matters was the fact that I was starving so the last hour of the class all I kept thinking about was what I wanted to eat. That and I kept cursing my choice of a super high-fiber breakfast cereal. Perhaps I have found my yoga mantra: "Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger. Cheeseburger. Don't fart."

The plan for the summer is: one yoga class a week and then practice some poses at home so I can maintain some stretchiness.

One Foot In Front of the Other

Hooray! I actually managed to make it out to run four times last week for a grand mileage total of 14 miles. I can't remember the last time I got in four runs in one week. Even though none of the runs were particularly easy it still felt good to get out there and put in some miles to get some conditioning back. A few more weeks of that and continuing to do speedwork one day a week and I might actually see some improvement in my times.

The toughest part though is that I am trying to lose weight at the same time. To do this I am back to counting Weight Watcher points. However, if I stay in my points range I don't feel like I get quite enough fuel to put in the kind of workouts that I would like. If I put in enough fuel then I can't seem to stay in my points range. Maybe it will just take a little tweaking and once I get my body used to running more I won't feel so worn out and the fueling issue won't become so cumbersome. I know that if I lose the extra 40 pounds I am carrying around I can increase my speed and be more effective at distance. It is just taking me forever to make the scale move.

On the plus side (HA!) I can still register as a Clydesdale for the Firecracker 5000. Maybe the rest of the big girls will stay home this year.

Notes About Nothing

This was a blissful weekend of (almost) freedom. I got to feel like a real person again. Aside from a Mariner's game on Friday night with the boys I did pretty much nothing. I slept, I read books for fun, I watched "Sports Night" on DVD, I ran, I got a massage, I slept some more, a wee tiny bit of studying...it was great.

The weekend wasn't totally devoid of learning. I did learn that when your massage therapist tells you to take a deep breath it means she is going to cause you a fairly intense amount of pain. It is a good pain though and lordy are my hips and IT bands tight, tight, tight. Ow.

I also saw a man riding a bicycle at Greenlake with a large, fluffy cat perched on his shoulder. He didn't appear to be wearing body armor and wasn't visibly dripping blood. I am pretty sure I would be eviscerated before I even got a half-mile into my bike ride if I tried that with either of my cats.

I actually feel rested enough that the thought of work tomorrow doesn't make me want to cry. Hooray for sleep and relaxation!!!

A Real College Student

I have almost made it through the quarter. Finals are next week and last week was the big push with a whole lot of work that needed to be done by Wednesday morning. I spent almost all of last weekend (sunny, beautiful, summer-like weekend) inside working on my project and finishing up all the last minute readings and assignments. I got everything done by Monday except one last assignment for my fraud class. I figured there was still time before it was due on Wednesday.

Kevin and I had tickets to see the Mariners play the Orioles on Tuesday night and I decided the responsible, mature thing to do would be to call him and tell him to find someone else to go because I wasn't done with my homework and studying. I also decided that I had had quite enough of responsible and mature and, dammit, I wasn't spending one more evening thinking about accounting when I could be at the ballpark having a good time. So I said, "to hell with school" and I blew off my studies and enjoyed a beautiful night at the ol' ballgame. It is the closest I have felt to being a real college student. Minus the binge drinking, hopeful optimism and perky boobs of course.

On a final school note, I have to keep reminding myself that I am not done yet and that I still have two finals on Wednesday. I have already checked out, packed up and shut the mental doors. I am not entirely joking when I say I am worried that I will simply forget to go to class on Wednesday. That is how done I already feel.

Why You're Fat

Because the contents of your vegetable drawer look like this:

Dear School,

I no longer find you charming and think we should reconsider our relationship. Just give me the damn piece of paper that says I have learned some shit and we can go our separate ways.