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Friday, November 22, 2013

Where the Heart Is

I was really bored when I ran Tuesday night.  So much so that I cut my run about a mile short, so it ended up at 6.2 miles.  I didn't bring a watch, so I'm not sure on the pace.

I love running (obviously), but running is just plain boring sometimes.  Actually, every cardio exercise is for the most part if you're doing it alone.  I had my music, but it just wasn't enough for me that night.

What are you supposed to think about?  I have things that I think about sometimes, but I went through some of those options and nothing seemed worthy of my thoughts on this particular night I guess.  I know you're not SUPPOSED to think about any one thing - everyone thinks about different things all the time.  And some people don't even need to think at all while they run; they just get lost in their music and on their run.  But I was running on city streets at night so I couldn't blast my music TOO loud and couldn't just stop thinking or get too completely wrapped up in my thoughts because trust me, that's happened before and then I tend to forget to check whether the light is red or green.



I think my problem right now is that I don't know where my heart is.  I'm not completely in love with being a tax accountant.  I'm still single while 95% of my friends or married, engaged, or might as well be.  Post-marathon depression is a real thing.  I spent so much time training for and thinking about that one event on that one day and then it's over.  So now that is one less thing to put my heart into.  Sure, I can (and did) pick a new race to train for, but I also don't want to get too concerned over it and worked up when I don't hit my goal paces or distances in training.  I know race visualization, etc. is good and I still do it, but I thought about that all too much while training for the Chicago Marathon.

I daydream about non-running things as well, just about life and the future and fun events coming up, but I also don't like to do that too much.  I used to think about all sorts of things all the time, and plan things out in my head, and come up with grand ideas.  And then those things rarely happen or come true.  So I'm trying to steer away from that and live in the present.


On the treadmill, I try to make up stories about the other people I see running on the treadmills.  I try to pick out someone with a shirt that tells me something about them, like where they went to school or a shirt from a certain event.  And then I make up a story about them.  When I am on the treadmill at my Xsport gym, I'm usually right next to one of the group class studios that has big windows, so I can see in and watch what they are doing.  One of the classes is some type of cardio dance class and it's funny to watch them while my music is playing in my headphones because their moves obviously don't match up to my music.

When I'm outside, my stories are a little more.....scary. As I've mentioned before, I was SVU a little too much to feel safe running outside alone in the dark.  I try to stop those thoughts quickly though, while still being cautious of course.  Another reason I can't have my music on too loud.

But enough of that down talk, here's a few fun things I did the past few days:

Tried ENERGYbit for the first time!



ENERGYbit is a new type of energy source/fuel for runners, other athletes, and even people who just need an extra bit of energy or nutrients.  I used them right before my Tuesday night run and I'm going to try them again during tomorrow's long run.  Then I'll have a full review & a GIVEAWAY!!

Saw Wicked!



Mom has been wanting to see a show for awhile, so we finally decided on and went to see Wicked.  I thought it was good and Glinda was very funny, but it was also a little too long.  That could just be because it was a Wednesday night and ran past my bedtime.

We also had a really good dinner at Petterino's before the show!  We each got a fru fru drink - Sparking French Martini, Blood Orange Margarita, and Mai Tai.  My meal was really good - roasted garlic whitefish with cauliflower, caesar salad, and of course, the unlimited bread and butter.  I have a problem resisting hot bread.

What do you think about most often while running?

What do you use to fuel your workouts?

What is your favorite Musical?  Mine is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

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