July 2021

So this is harder than I imagined; I think I’ve already used up most of my freebies for the month! My plan was to post at least a picture if I couldn’t conjure up words, but I don’t take many pictures. I also don’t use social media much, and am finding it very foreign to think that the things I do day-today are share-worthy. But, excuses. Consistency is the goal for now, even over quality.

In terms of CIM training, things are at least moving. Had to abort a run earlier this week; by the time my afternoon opened up for a run, smoke from the Dixie Fire descended into our valley to the point that the air quality app I prematurely deleted after last summer reported an unhealthy air quality. So that run turned into a weight-lifting session. Went to hot yoga yesterday and will go again today. Not sure yet for Saturday, but long run planned for Sunday. The next step is to decide which races to incorporate into training. Dennis suggested both a buffet dinner and Double Dipsea in the same text…he knows I’m a food-driven person and can easily be distracted into agreeing to crazy things (Double Dipsea) when coupled with/distracted by the possibility of a buffet.

Does it count that the sole purpose of today’s post is to highlight the training calendar I embedded in the default sidebar? Yes!

Does it look good? No, not at all. Is it updated? Well, getting there. But, for my quantity over quality challenge, I’m calling it good.

No official workout yesterday; surprisingly sore from Friday’s yoga, had a lunch date, and worked at our local cidery in the evening. Got my steps in during the evening cider shift, but other than that most of the day was spent sighing and grunting as I heaved my limbs from place to place.

Today included some weightlifting and kettle bell swings on our covered patio, and a healthy amount of gardening during the heat of the day. This got interrupted by our much more observant neighbor, who pointed out some cracking and water seeping up in the street in front of our house. The city of Sacramento was amazingly responsive; not one but two trucks showed up (on a Sunday!) within a half hour for preliminary inspections. It sounds like this will be on the city’s tab and not ours, hallelujah, although we’ll see what the final say is tomorrow when their leak inspection team comes to take a look.

(Post title courtesy of Ron Caluza, who should use it for his memoir.)

My husband once proclaimed that I am un-coachable, and he may be right. I tend to see training plans and coach’s advice as just that: plans but not realities, advice but not wisdom. I’m famous in our little family for leaving for a run with no concrete plans on the distance or route; I like to see where my mood and the scenery and the music take me. Or sometimes, not run at all, and go to yoga instead. Maybe. If I feel like it.

I justified this because I used to be a high school teacher. Running was a release and not yet another challenge. On days when I ran, it felt like it was the only part of my day where I was free of scrutiny, of external pressure. I could do what I wanted, for however long I wanted, while listening to what I wanted, with no one to answer to except for myself. So I put little to no pressure on my running, and only ran when I was internally motivated to go out for a run. This was a blast, and it even worked pretty well through my mid-30s, but now that I’m no longer a teacher and living in a new decade, it appears that things will need to change.

I recently stumbled into a CIM entry for this coming December, and now I’m facing a blank training calendar and joints that crinkle and crackle and heel pads that grumble in the mornings. The sector in my stomach that was reserved for gu packets and nut butters is now supplanted by cider and tortillas.

So, train I shall, and document it here I will. Today included hot yoga with Ron, an inspiring friend I’ve known since my most un-coachable of days, and tomorrow will consist of a morning run before a day full of other diversions…one of which will most certainly be cider.

If it’s not already obvious, I struggle with consistency.

This struggle comes from a lot of places: anxiety over what others think, a tendency to gravitate towards comfort, a fair amount of perfectionism, some very bad habits, and a streak of rebelliousness.

However, several events have transpired to remind me, relatively gently at this point, that life is short and time passes ever more quickly and, really, what is all of this worry good for?

So, my pursuit is this: through August 31, post something—anything—six days each week, without worrying (too much) about the quality. I’ll allow myself one day off each, if needed. Anything goes: essays, pictures, race reports, reflections, grumblings, insights, they’re all fair game. Little concern about the quality at this point. The end goal? Get in the habit of taking action related to writing almost every day. Make these days that I’m lucky enough to have count for a little something.