Rest: Dallas Trade Show

This weekend wasn't much of a weekend due to the fact that I was working for most of it. Lucky me right? Don't feel too bad for me... I get a comp day on Friday. Yay for three-day weekends!

One of my newest challenges as a runner is learning how to fit in my workouts while I'm on the road. This is something I fail at miserably. Loneliness of hotel room + time difference + me NOT being much of a morning person no matter how hard I try + leg exhaustion due to walking all day + not much extra time = NONEXISTENT WORKOUT

See, post-tradeshow running is especially challenging because the reason I'm traveling is so that I can walk around tradeshows... meaning I am on my feet, walking around ALL DAY LONG. It's tiring... even for a runner... really. However, I have been slowly improving my travel workout record.

Very Slowly.

Slooooooooooooooooowly.

Still, I won't admit to you my weekly mileage for last week... it's kinda embarrassing. Anyhoo, low and behold the awesomeness of a tradeshow:

At times... it feels like a fantastical, amazingness wonderland:

Or a complicated ballet that only well-dressed women, men in tuxes and fat female statues can do...

But really it's kinda like an overzealous shopping mall:

And it's also very, very lonely :(

Run: My return to blogging. Part 2: Why I run

Every once in a while, it’s always good to sit back and remember why we do the things we do. Truthfully, the last two weeks I have not been very enamored with running (I know, great time to start blogging again, right?). My runs have been dull and long. My speeds are slowing and my mileage grows shorter. My motivation is low. It must be. Spring. FEVER.

But taking into consideration my re-entry into the wonderful world of running blogs, I can’t help but think this is a good time to evaluate the reasons I do run. Some are shallow and some run deep, but all keep me moving.


I run because…

1. I have horrible anxiety when I don’t. There’s nothing like a hard workout to get me feeling normal again. You’d think post-great-workout I’d feel tired and lazy… but it’s actually the opposite. I almost always experience clarity in my thoughts and a zealous sense of motivation.

2. I like the feeling of being (seemingly) in total control of my body. I get this feeling especially in my long runs. That cliché “it’s just me and the road” feeling is oh. so. true.

3. When I run, I can eat more. I have been known to eat an ENTIRE 12” pizza all by my little self.

4. I like having calf muscles. They’ve only recently become a part of my life. Let’s give a hand to my growing calf muscles.

5. I’m already in constant competition with myself to improve myself (how vain, I know), so why not focus that energy into the art of running. I run to see myself improving at something. It makes me focus with a strategic plan. Ahhhh, plans. I just LOVE coming up with plans.

6. Running gives me endorphins. I’ve even been known to be that creepy girl smiling in the middle of a run while cars drive by—passengers gawking and scratching their greasy mustaches.

7. It helps me lose or maintain weight. This obviously varies due to the wonderfulness of #3.

8. I like working hard….alone. I was never good at group work in school. I was the kid who would either end up doing the entire project or absolutely nothing. Balance isn’t one of my fortes. Running let’s me work my little buns off and work towards specific goals without the distraction of other people.

9. It’s good for my health and asthma. Nuff said.

10. It’s fun. Racing is fun. Running up hills is fun (and horrible). Sprinting is fun. Running 10 miles or more is fun. Reaching a PR is fun. Watching my body transform is fun. Being in the sun is fun. Running. Is. Fun.

Next: Run: My return to running. Part 3: Evaluation bloggonation station

Run: My return to blogging. Part 1: The Ys

 

I may be well-rested, but turns out, hibernation is kind of boring. I missed it here, and I know you’ve missed me cyberworld... haven’t you? Today marks the day of my official return to the world of blogging. And what better way to dive in then to provide you with a three-part series featuring yours truly? I know, you’re so excited you can’t help but quiver.
Part 1: The Y’s 
5 Reasons why I needed a break:
1. I started my first 9-5, which =  an exhausting, exciting, daunting, embarrassing and consuming change to my life. Daunting because the idea of only having 16 extra days off a year makes me want to puke. Embarrassing because I feel like a sell-out for choosing a career that does not saturate my being in writing, reporting and art. Consuming because it takes a lot of focus to be good at any job. Exciting because it’s fun, I like it and I’m good at it. (I think exhausting is pretty self explanatory.)

2. My words became dull. I started blogging to force myself to run while forcing myself to write. I started to blog because I knew it would be good for my well-being, and I liked having a venue to express my experiences with my new-found sport. But somewhere along the line I started writing for my readers (I love you… but that’s not the point). I was writing posts that I thought might sound good to other runners instead of posts that I enjoyed writing.  And the thing is, they were getting increasingly more boring. So screw that!

3. I felt like I was too slow of a runner to be writing about running. I know, tisk tisk. But don’t worry, I’m over it. We all have to start somewhere!

4. I didn’t want to write about running anymore. I mean, I love running… but running isn’t the center of my life. It’s a major part of my life, but it’s not everything. I would like to write more about how running has enriched my life, rather than how my life revolves around running. 

5. I wasn’t sure what I really wanted to write about.

5 Reasons why I am back to blogging:

1. I kept running! Even though I wasn’t blogging, I kept running. I’ve improved my time and mileage and I am enjoying it more and more. This means, that I was not merely running so that I would have something to write about. This means that I love running. I really do. [Insert inspirational music here and photo montage here.]

2. I’m hoping you will still like me if I write about other things that don’t involve sweat, sun and my hear rate. As sexy as that sounds, I have other redeeming qualities. I promise.

3. I really, really do miss writing. I miss all sorts of writing and I intend to consume myself in all genres of expression, but I really do miss this blogging community—reading your blogs, making friends through comments and learning from your accomplishments and mistakes.

4. I realized that I can write about whatever I want. There’s nobody making me write boring posts about my weekly mileage (no offense to similar posts… mine are just boring due to lack of impressive stats). Neato.

5. I have time now. I have adjusted to my life schedule.  Way to go me.


Next time: Run: My return to running. Part 2: Why I run.