The Ever Evolving List - Jan. 1, 2016 Edition

           

       I find that if I don't have a to do list, I forget about things I was supposed to do. This has been a bit of the case with my 40 things to do by the time I'm 40 list. However, in reviewing the list, I realize there are some things that don't interest me much anymore. 

       First, I'm moving this to a bit looser "Bucket List". There are some bigger goals I'd like to achieve, that I know just aren't possible in 5 years. And, there's still LOTS of work here, but if I look at my 5 year goals, they match up well. :-)

       So, here is my "edit" so far.

       1.       Run a marathon (Planned October 15, 2016)

       2.       Get a passport  Done August 2014
       3.       Finish master’s degree  Done August 2015
       4.       Buy a house
5.       Visit Poland
6.       Pay off credit cards  Plan in place and moving along
7.       See Paul McCartney in concert  Done TWICE (October 2014, October 2015)
8.       Read “Midnight’s Children”
9.       Visit France
10.   Have living space in order  Seems to be a work in progress
11.   Visit all presidential libraries
12.   Eat at the Knight Cap
13.   Visit England
14.   Take a do nothing vacation
15.   Visit all Big Ten football stadiums
16.   Scuba diving
17.   See a Broadway play
18.   Ride in a hot air balloon
19.   Sing karaoke at  a bar
20.   Run the Mackinac Bridge
21.   Have 6 months living expenses in savings
22.   Regularly practice yoga
23.   Read 52 books in one year
24.   Go to the Kentucky Derby
25.   Visit Graceland
26.   Learn to meditate
27.   Own a bulldog
28.   Eat sushi in Japan
29.   Take an Alaskan cruise
30.   Raise $10,000 for Team in Training
31.    Visit the DIA
32.   Tour the White House
33.   Go to Mardi Gras
34.   Buy a bike
35.   Learn to write grants  Done through MPA program and work
36.   Run the Detroit Half Marathon
37.   Learn to swim
38.   Buy a pair of Manolo Blahnik or Jimmy Choo shoes  Removing: I just don't need more stuff
39.   Put together my family tree  Maybe some day, but I don't need it to happen
40.   Read the Bible  Maybe some day, but I don't need it to happen
41.   Start a charity

       42:  Run a half marathon in each of the 50 states and D.C.  This is a new one!

Simple gestures

Looking at this blog, I haven't written in almost a year and a half. That's fairly coincidental, since today's events have lead me and Dakota (my dog) to a familiar place: the vet. You see, around that time, she had to have surgery on her left doggie ACL, and had a few weeks recovery time. Today, she was 1 1/2 hours away from me when I got a call that would get me to pick up and race to get her for a late afternoon vet appointment - she tried to chase a school bus outside, yelped, and stopped putting weight on her right hind leg.

From the description, it sounded like what happened in May 2014. So, I raced to my parents' house, picked her up and brought her back to Lansing. We got back a little early, so we stopped home. Then we went to the vet.

Sometimes, we don't plan to be in a particular place. I certainly didn't wake up this morning and think I would be at the vet this afternoon because, well, I wasn't picking my dog up until this evening. But here I was, with my almost 11 year old, grey snouted mutt who was laying on the floor near my feet and in pain.

Another dog, who was larger, and his owner were also in the waiting room. The dog was a stately old gentlemen who moved gingerly and slowly. He was grey around the muzzle like Dakota. Overhearing the tech and owner, the dog was in for blood work to check red and white cells. He'd been doing this every two weeks.

The tech took the dog back to get the blood taken, and when he brought him back to the waiting room. His owner told me his dog was 12 years old and had been sleeping a lot lately. As his owner tried to leave, the dog walked right over to Dakota and started to sniff her. She also sniffed him. There was no growling.

It was peaceful. Then, the dog licked the side of her face, as though he knew that she was also in pain. And she let him. She had no issues with him, but they started to head out. They would get their results tomorrow. For some reason, my eyes had teared up. And then we were waiting again.

I'll admit - I panicked a little this morning. Though I sort of thought it might be a ligament issue similar to the one she had before, as she's been getting older, I worry that something is going to be bigger than that. But we have't gotten there yet.

And while the vet office waiting room wasn't where I expected to be this afternoon, the simple gesture of one dog meeting and greeting, and perhaps comforting another dog was perhaps the most important thing that happened to me today.

To run or not to run - that is the question

This weekend, I was faced with what turned out to be a more difficult decision for me than I thought it would be - to run or not to run.

I've been dealing with two nagging pains in recent weeks - left shin and right IT band/hip. My plan this weekend was to run a 5K on Saturday and then run the remaining 10 miles on Sunday. And it didn't happen.

The 5K went pretty well and I felt fairly good during the race. But after, the pain in my shin began to increase, despite ice and wrapping it. I woke up on Sunday morning and cancelled my plans, opting to RICE my leg in hopes of making it feel better. I had thought I would go to yoga or the Y to use the elliptical, but I ended up just staying home.

Which brings me to today. I've continued icing my leg, but also went to the Y and did two miles on the elliptical and 5 miles on the bike. While this burned just as many calories as running would have in the same amount of time, it's not the same. I'm having a bit of a rough time with the idea that I should stop running to heal. I'm planning on heading to the injury clinic on Wednesday to get it checked out and see if there's anything else I can do.

I know cross-training is good. But I can't help but think that maybe I shouldn't be running. Maybe the pain is getting to me, since I had just started all over again and now I'm facing another setback.

At this point, I'm playing the waiting game until I can get a better idea of what's going on. At least my dog and I are operating at about the same speed this week...

The Race

I was asked an interesting question last night about my running.

"Why do you race?"

It was followed up with things like "the training schedule would drive me nuts", "why not just run?"

I've been thinking about it this morning (as I slept late and skipped my long run again).

I like some structure - so training schedules are typically good for me. It gives me something to strive for. That's also partially why I race - to give myself a goal. This is especially useful for someone who was never a runner before. I sometimes need to prove to myself that I can do it.

But the more I think about it, the more I keep coming back to the running culture. It's about being around people that get what you're going through - the struggles, the triumphs and the support.

I am always in awe at the running community, particularly at races. There are so many of the fast runners that stick around and cheer on us slow runners to the finish. Theres always such a happy, festive atmosphere.

So I would say that I run for many reasons - fun, goals, bling, comraderie, health, structure, being introduced to new courses/areas.

Why do you run races?

Around the Country...

Most days, I have squirrel syndrome. I should be doing one thing, and 18 other things pop up in my head.

This happens most ridiculously when I have to write a paper or do homework. My brain hops around from topic to topic. I get a lot of dishes and cleaning done. I end up booking hotel rooms for early 2015. I actually did this on Monday for the Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans race in January 2015.

But this week, not only did I book the hotel room, I started to look into a 2015 Team in Training race. In Alaska. You see, comparatively to others, I haven't traveled a lot. I haven't take many vacations and I think it's about time that changes.

What better way to marry running and traveling?

So, I have put together a spreadsheet of all 50 states, plus D.C. My goal is to run at least one long distance race in each US state. 

So far, I've got Michigan (duh) and Washington, D.C. I am scheduled for a race in Florida in November. And, I suppose I will be running to and from Canada in October, eh?

What I ask is this - wanna go on a trip? I'm happy to have travel companions!

Sometimes, you just have to get by...

Over the weekend, something popped into my head that I was finally able to think about. You see, I've been just getting by. Doing the absolute minimum, making excuses for doing so, being tired, etc.

Yup, I've been lazy. I'm sure I'll get push back from that. Obviously, it's relative. In some ways, it's not exactly lazy, but prioritizing things differently. Unfortunately, it's also gotten to the point of prioritizing being lazy over most other things.

I've just been working on getting by. It's incredible how quickly things happen: junk piles up in various places, due dates come up, weight piles on, running ability is gone, etc. But to get those things back to normal it takes time. Things can be ripped away so quickly, but it takes time to build things back up.

I started thinking about this because it's been a theme in work, school and life for me this year. I was reminded that we place unrealistic expectations on ourselves. 

I've been thinking things like:

1) Why can't I run 11:30/mile anymore?

2) This paper should be so much easier than it is.

3) I really should be much further along in X, Y and Z.

4) Wait, there's only one of me and I can only do so much...

It seems the puzzle is finally coming together for me. I've had a productive few days, and I hope it continues. I have had to remind myself that I cannot get the 8,000 things on my to do lists done today, this week, or this month. 

I see a picture in my head of a skyscraper, half built. While we can't come to a halt on things, but we also need to be realistic with what we can do and how long the bigger picture takes to get to.

It seems like today, people are expected to do so much more and be everything to everyone at all times. It's not realistic, and I've been reminded of this recently. And what I take from that is that when we don't allow ourselves and others to hold us to unrealistic expectations, we're happier and more productive.

Don't sweat the small stuff - embrace it

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen." - John Wooden

Over this past week, I've noticed a different in how I'm looking at life. I've finally started to come out of the awful rut I've been in. Part of it is that I have taken the last couple of weekends to myself and had some quiet time. I've been listening to what my brain and body needs. It's not the easiest process when things are nagging at me from the to do list.

But in the process, I've noticed some little things that I've had some success at. Seriously, the fact that I cleaned out an entire drawer in my bathroom was a success for me. Small, seemingly trivial things are what I'm basing things on right now. It's all about baby steps.

We have big dreams. But what we need to remember is that there are steps to get there. I look at my to do list and it overwhelms me some days. Then I remind myself that not everything on it needs to be done RIGHT NOW. Prioritizing needs to happen. Sometimes I need to get away from the list and do something that I can just finish.

The moral? Honor what you can do at the moment. That small chore is the first step toward something bigger. Success builds upon success.