Managing Stressful Days

My body and my mind have been all over the place these first few weeks of 2014. A combination of holiday, using up vacation days, an unexpected day off for snow and the proximity of the weekend in all that gave me a 6 day holiday before getting back to work in 2014.

I knew that January was going to be busy busy busy at work. If you know me, you know I love my job. That doesn't mean that some days/weeks/months aren't stressful though. And despite my best intentions I am not always good at doing the right thing when life gets stressful. If ever there was a demonstration of the benefits of good nutrition, hydration and exercise in managing stress - these early days of 2014 are it.

To start, I knew I would be making presentations in 9 of the first 11 work days (I had a Saturday to work in there). I find it much more difficult to stay hydrated when I'm teaching then when I'm exercising. Exercise generally has determinable intervals - time or distance - at which I can remember to drink. The presentations not so much. I remembered this going in to work January 6th and tried my best to keep a water bottle within reach at all times. I could have done worse in staying hydrated but I could have done better too.

Getting enough to eat was another story. We were all so so busy most of us in the office never got to lunch the first three days of this past week. In hindsight, I should have spent a little more time the night before preparing or bringing something appropriate to eat on the move that wouldn't interfere with what I had to do. After the first day I knew the next two were going to be the same. It wasn't a surprise after that. I have no excuse except being dense and stupid for going from breakfast at 6 am to dinner around 5-5:30 pm. with nothing but water. I packed a normal lunch but never got to it.  I came home exhausted and drained both mentally and physically. I ate something but the benefit of that was slow to be realized (if at all) so instead of going out to run or walk or do any form of exercise after work I slept, watched TV or surfed the Internet. I did manage to get out on Monday (thanks Maggi) and should have paid more attention to how much better I felt that evening!

The upside is that I did a decent (not perfect) job of staying away from the junk food hole that comes from this sort of stress. Unfortunately the cumulative effect of lack of regular nutrition and exercise played havoc with my sleep patterns too. I'm in one of those herky jerky spells where I can't seem to stay asleep through the night despite feeling so tired.

I skipped a chance to meet friends for a trail run today. I didn't set the alarm and figured if I woke up in time I'd go if not.... well I didn't. And THAT pissed me off. I stayed in bed longer than necessary this morning until I realized I wasn't really tired I was bummed and staying in bed was not going to change that. So I got up, ate a healthy breakfast went for an hour long walk and I'm determined to remember the feeling from that. If you are still reading - thank you - unloading in my blog is part of the process for me. Here's to managing the rest of this busy month while also taking better care of myself. On a side note we - my co-workers and I - kicked a** these past two weeks. I'm proud to be part of such that group.

27 Things Update - I haven't done anything new since January 2nd but I did sign up for a bike maintenance class in March and I have offers from friends to teach me making glass beads; archery and new (possibly pre-1600) board games. I'm excited!

#1:Learn to Skate Backwards

The goal - 27 instances of Learning Something New From - OR - Trying Something New With - Someone Else. 

Today Dave and I went to the Blue Cross RiverRink to skate and so he could teach me how to skate backwards. In the days since we decided to do this I've been telling him that it would be in no way his fault if I did not succeed. My forward skating was not all that good to begin. I was very happy that he was game enough to at least try to teach me. 

For those who don't know I married a Canadian. I'm pretty sure Canadians are born with skates on although Dave claims he was not in skates until age 4. And as if being a natural born skater (him, not me) isn't enough Dave is also an ice hockey referee after having spent many many years playing the game (again I kind of thought that was mandatory 'up there') Anyway, you get the idea. If it were not for Dave's patience this could have been a disaster whether I learned how to skate backwards or not. 

As we were preparing to leave the house he asked if I wanted elbow or knee pads. We've been married long enough that I could tell he meant that in a "I don't want you to hurt" way but I had to laugh because on second thought it kinda didn't bode well for his confidence in the success of this effort. 

We decided to go for the first session of the day. It was not sunny - there is a snowstorm coming (yay!) - but skating out doors was way better than indoors. It felt good to be in the fresh air and besides had we been indoors Dave might have felt too much like he was at work. We paid for our session fee and skate rental for me. Our blue cross health plan entitled us to discount so two people and one skate rental was all of $10 for an hour and a half. It cost more to park. 

"Are you really taking pictures
of me from behind?" (silly husband)

First we skated forwards. Dave pointed out that he has never seen me on skates so it's been at least 15 years since I've skated. This was obvious on those first few trips around but once I relaxed and loosened up I was fine. There are some muscles that will be annoyed with me tomorrow morning but by the end of the session I felt very comfortable skating --- forward. I fell only a few times and never did I cause someone else to fall. Bonus points. 

After a few laps around the rink Dave suggested I learn how to stop. He tried to show me several different methods. I asked if being able to stop was required for learning to skate backward. Fortunately it was not because despite Dave's best efforts the wall is still my best friend when it comes to stopping. 

So on to skating backwards. Dave demonstrated multiple times. He watched me and offered corrective suggestions, hints and helps. I had to laugh when the boy in the Phillies hat (about 12 I think) started watching and offered "Just push off and shift with your hips". I inclined my head toward Dave, smiled and said, "That's what he's been trying to tell me". 

Intellectually all the instructions were making sense but the understanding was getting lost somewhere between my head and my feet. When I got a movement right, I got excited. "Wow, that's how it works". But then I'd lose it trying to figure out how I did that. I was obviously over thinking it. I even tried closing my eyes and just feel it. It seemed to me that my right side was more on board with this project than my left side. And if you think about it that means going in a circle. 

Every so often we'd turn around to skate forward again either to get past a clump of people or just because I needed confidence again. It was amazing how (relatively) easy forward skating was after trying so hard to go backward. 

Eventually I did manage backward movement.
It is likely generous to say I went two feet
but it doesn't matter..... 

I.DID.IT! 

So #1 is in the books. 

Thanks to my very own patient Canadian, Dave. 

26 more to go. What do you want to teach me? Or what do you want to try and need a partner to motivate you. If it's something that's new to me it counts for my 27. If not, I'll help you anyway. It will be fun. I'm open to suggestions although - Old People Should Not Bungee Jump.  

December Morning at Ridley Creek State Park

It was a gorgeous day for what is likely my last trip to RCSP in 2013. The temperatures are supposed to reach 50 today but at 8 am it was still 34. I could see my breath as I started out on the trail. It was  a perfect December day. Besides being cold and mostly clear while I was out it was also that perfect time when there are no leaves to obstruct the view. One might argue that this takes away the mystery of the trail because you can see all the twists and turns before you get there. But there are plenty of other days in the year to be 'surprised'. 

Today you could see things you normally wouldn't see - the contours of the park; the views from the top of a climb; the extra paths of the creek (many of these were frozen while the creek itself was rushing); lots of birds - all of this is camouflaged during the other seasons. The sounds of the park are different on day like this too. You can hear sounds from farther away. Yet, despite the location of the park you really don't hear much in the way of traffic from 252 or Gradyville Road which surround the park. 

I don't have many photos.I took some but they just look gray and brown muting the beauty of what I saw today. Here are two you might enjoy though. 

I was by myself today. Originally there were 4 of us. Two were sick and one had unexpected holiday company. It may have been just as well. My back spasmed yesterday. I got out of the car (a simple task that I really have mastered in my old age) and BOING! my lower back was pulsing. I tried to baby it all day; stretching and trying not to give in to the hunchback formation it wanted. I took an alleve before bedtime and this morning it felt a little better. No more pulsing but still sore. So I ran slower than my usual slow pace. About halfway in I just gave up running and walked the rest of the way. My back wasn't happy and my left hip started bugging me too.

I did wonder to myself whether I should just give up running and stick to hiking. I shook that off pretty quick though. I had such a wonderful time last weekend and today's issue is just one of those things. I'll be fine. 

Jingle Bell Run 2013

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Today, a group of fitness buddies completed a Christmas eve tradition by running and walking the Valley Forge Loop. As I drove to the loop for our 8 am meet-up I tried to remember when I ran the loop last. I'm pretty sure it was Christmas Eve 2012.

What a perfect day. On the way there I heard Snoopy's Christmas. A must hear for the season to be complete for me. I was getting worried as I hadn't heard it yet. So when it came on I fist pumped, turned the volume up high and sang along. I can't carry a tune to save my life, btw, but I don't care. I bee bopped along happy as a clam and, as happens every time, I got choked up when the Red Barron says "Merry Christmas, my friend!" Every single time. If it were only that easy to make peace.

So on to the run. The sun was shining brightly and the skies were clear. It was cold. A welcome relief after Sunday and Monday's warm rainy dark weather. And good thing too because if it had been warmer I would have been uncomfortable.

The puzzle was a thoughtful gift from a friend.

As we waited for all of our group to gather another group was also coming together. One of them arrived , windows down blasting the radio and singing "All I want for Christmas is you!". It was awesome. One of their group took our photo before we started.

I was not looking forward to the loop. I haven't run much pavement lately and their is always the mental challenge of this loop's hill after hill after hill. But I was looking forward to spending time with friends and that always makes a difference. We started - as we often do - walking the first hill. At the top we kept walking which was fine with me because if we got to a mile I could add Roy and Brian to my list and I knew they were not planning to run today. Roy has an aggravated achilles and Brian planned to keep him company. I'm not sure we made it a full mile before someone suggested we start running but it was close enough. I'm now at 44 people. I need 6 more in a the next 8 days. It's going to be close.

We finished the run with a shadow picture. After some Merry Christmas high fives we were on our way. I love this tradition and hope we can keep it up in years to come.

Note the santa hat pom in the photo! :) 

Nutrition, training, fitness PS -
We ran 3 and 1 intervals. I did ok until the last mile and a half or so. My tank emptied again. This is the second time in a row this happened. I had peanut butter on a piece of toast and a banana which normally would be fine for 4-5 miles. I wasn't that surprised when I crashed on Saturday. I chalked it up to the extra work of the snow and the terrain. I was surprised today. I'm so out of practice with these things. I'm not sure if it's calories or electrolytes I need.

I Survived a "5"

I love trail running. I know I say that after each run but I can't help it. I'm in that totally infatuated stage of the relationship where the trail can do no wrong! I'm most disappointed in myself for the Saturdays of late where I let my old lady brain roll over and go back to sleep. Today as I ran I thought I should just hang a note from my bedside lamp that says "You love trail running, dork, get up!!".

Pete White planned a run at Evansburg State Park that he titled "The Oasis Of Nowhere" with the following description.

"Back to that secluded gem, Evansburg State Park, with a lot of varied advanced beginner terrain-creeks, bluffs, fields, forests and geysers. Or at least most of these.

MLC Rating: 4"

When we (Julius, Maggi, Russ and I) arrived he gave us the good news-bad news "The good news is that these trails can get very muddy", he says smiling grinning, "And that can be a lot of fun. The bad news is they are not so much muddy today. There is a lot of ice and snow mixed in. Don't step in the gray parts." Yak Trax probably would have been a good idea today but by the time we got the 'news' we were ready to go so I left them in the trunk.

Quote of the day "How can you not like snow! This is fun". Said just a spit second before my  foot slipped out from under me causing me to flail wildly to stay upright. A 6 on the flailing scale for sure. My hands never touched the ground!! :) Well, not that time anyway. That came later after I decided to remove my gloves because I was warmed up and my hands were feeling uncomfortable in the gloves. Sure enough, not a half mile later BAM! Hands first in to the snow and mud! LOL

Up and down we went trying to align ourselves with Pete's definition of 'significant hill'. I reminded myself that this run was rated a 4 so there had to be some, but Pete had commented as we ran slid down one at the beginning of the run that that one was the only 'significant' hill on our route. When called on this later, he informed us that the others were 'rises'.

I have to stop here a moment and say that we tease him mercilessly about the difference between his and our perception of difficulty but it's just talk. If it weren't for his encouragement, people like me wouldn't be out there. He is an awesome pacer. He managed to push our little group just enough today so we worked hard but still loved the run.

Another benefit of running with an experienced trail runner is going places you probably wouldn't go on your own. I commented on this as we zigzagged our way up the side of one hill where the path was barely wide enough for one person and - today at least- was half ice and half snow. I felt like one good slip and I'd be rolling down the hill into the creek. I found myself leaning left away from the creek. I wasn't afraid - I really was having too much fun to be afraid - but I really did not want to go for a swim either.

On another section we came around the bend to find a hunter sitting quietly, gun across his lap, waiting patiently for a target. He didn't acknowledge us at all. He was probably not thrilled at our presence since our shouting and laughter likely kept his targets away.

So back to the advanced billing of today's run? I'd say we did get the creeks, bluffs, fields and forests. And you could say we had geysers every time one of us mis-stepped a creek crossing and went splashing down in the water. I think we all did that at least once.

Back in the parking lot, safe and sound ..... well safe at least, Pete said "If you did this, you can do Tyler!" And he upgraded the run to a 5 because of the snow!

I survived a 5.