I hadn't realized that it'd been almost a month since I'd last written anything. A few things have changed...or pretty much everything. I'm an entire year older and had a PERFECT 30th. My friends and family made me feel so special. I attended a friend of mine's BBQ and she bought me a cute little mini cake. My best friend created a scavenger hunt for me, then a surprise party. I did dinner with the fam at the restaurant that my brother is chef at and then drinks another night to round out the week. I was incredibly excited about my 30th, I started counting down as soon as I turned 29 and it's already been a pretty big year.
I also bought my first ever car. I did this because I required it for my new job! I started it a couple of weeks ago. I did not get the one where I was narrowed down to 2 for and received some really positive feedback for them. I actually got the job with my organization. It was really the position that I was most excited for. It's covering a mat leave for someone and is a great learning experience.
I always thought that if I had my own car then I would be more active. The sad reality is that this is true. What's sad about this is that if I really wanted to be active I would just do it regardless. I am happy that I'm hitting the gym a bit more. I still largely only do cardio. I'm on a real string though. Friday morning before work (I KNOW RIGHT! BEFORE WORK) I went swimming. Saturday I did some stairs, 759 to be exact. Sunday I did a cycle then today I did some rowing.
I liked swimming before work. I was just ill-prepared for it. The whole wet hair thing didn't go well for me. I knew that I would be going out Friday night and not have time to fit any activity in so I went in the AM. Saturday was slightly rainy so once it had paused I went to do some stairs near my house. I did 3 sets. My legs still hurt today. The going up got my heart pumping but the going down hurt my knees. Just like running downhill. The bracing is tough on the body. I went for a pretty easy ride yesterday. I was supposed to go with my brother but fate worked against us and he missed his bus and refused to ride his bike up the escarpment to meet me (I don't know what his issue was riding uphill to ride a bike with me, geeze! :) ) The rowing went well and I'm already feeling it in my arms, 2 hours later.
I am really enjoying the diversity of my activity. This is as a result of booking my Yukon trip. My brother and I have registered for a multi event 5 day excursion. Mountain biking, canoeing, hiking and a train ride into Alaska. It's a summer solstice trip and will take place at the end of June. It's going to be an amazing experience and I want to be able to enjoy it without the fear of death. So my new 'training' schedule is simply trying to replicate those activities. It's a bit different than training for a race but it's all activity at the end of the day and that's what is important.
Showing posts with label rowing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rowing. Show all posts
Monday, September 9, 2013
Thursday, August 15, 2013
You want me to do something...
tell me I can't do it.- Maya Angelou
This title doesn't really ring true for me. Others may find it relateable. I put it out there for you externally motivated folks.
I've been keepin' active this week. Monday night I went and played racquetball after work. Did a little solo session. I found myself smiling as I whacked away. I think I'm getting better. Or, I wasn't exhausted and actually felt like moving. I had planned on attending my first ever "latin funk" class (aka zumba the Y just doesn't own the rights to the name) but I'd read the schedule incorrectly and there was no class to be had. I figured I would do that and it'd be better than nothing and I enjoyed it.
On Tuesday I had a job interview over my lunch and I actually cried during it. I realized partway through the interview that I was in a serious interview for a grown up job that I really wanted. I normally LOVE interviews. The way I look at it is that the position is mine for the taking or else they wouldn't be interviewing me. Anyways, when this realization donned on me I got incredibly stressed plus I talked about a client who'd committed suicide. So the stress, excitement, passion and sadness I was feeling started leaking out of my eyes and I started crying. I got back to work knowing that I bombed what, to date- was the greatest employment opportunity in my life and feeling pretty downcast. I valued the experience though. They called an hour later to tell me that I had a second interview! It's a good thing it was a voicemail or else I would have started crying all over again. This time, I had to do a 10 minute presentation for them. Well this was Tues and they wanted to see me Thurs. I did some juggling and arranged it to do the interview over my lunch. That night, instead of working on my powerpoint and feeling emotionally taxed, I decided that I would go to do some yoga and rowing. Tuesday nights at the Burlington Y are my favourite. It was a decent class and i was happy to have something else to focus on other than job interviews. Rowing was all right. I did intervals on there so it was good for getting the ole heart rate up before Yoga.
I worked Wednesday and when I logged in to my work e-mail there was a message waiting for me about an interview for a couple of positions. Yup, another interview. Also on Thursday. 2 interviews, 3 positions. I normally go out with my best friend on Wednesday and cancelled in order to work on the powerpoint. I knew there was no way Tuesday that I would get anything done and so went to the gym instead. This left only the one night to work on a 10 minute presentation on a topic that I had very little knowledge of. It took a few hours but I completed it. This left no time to fit a theoretical run in (I thought maybe, just mayyyyyyyyyyybe I'd feel like going for one in this cool weather. I was wrong)
Last night I looked it up and confirmed my suspicions. It takes 10 minutes less to ride my bike to work. that is what I did. hopped on my bike this morning and rode to work. I work down the escarpment so it's not a bad ride. I just have to remember that my morning smoothie doesn't cut it for breakfast in this situation. I went to the interviews and made it through tear free. They both went really well. I appreciated getting to talk to some people about other programs at my current job. The presentation went well, or I think so... I found out that I am competing against one other person for the position. I am top two out of the 40 applicants which alone made me feel good. Whatever happens happens. I'm feeling much better now that this is over. I only have one more interview next week.
I am pretty content that I am able to squeeze in activity here and there. Including after the interview when I made a mad dash back to work so I got a 15 minute run in today as well (wearing a back pack in so business casual attire)
This title doesn't really ring true for me. Others may find it relateable. I put it out there for you externally motivated folks.
I've been keepin' active this week. Monday night I went and played racquetball after work. Did a little solo session. I found myself smiling as I whacked away. I think I'm getting better. Or, I wasn't exhausted and actually felt like moving. I had planned on attending my first ever "latin funk" class (aka zumba the Y just doesn't own the rights to the name) but I'd read the schedule incorrectly and there was no class to be had. I figured I would do that and it'd be better than nothing and I enjoyed it.
On Tuesday I had a job interview over my lunch and I actually cried during it. I realized partway through the interview that I was in a serious interview for a grown up job that I really wanted. I normally LOVE interviews. The way I look at it is that the position is mine for the taking or else they wouldn't be interviewing me. Anyways, when this realization donned on me I got incredibly stressed plus I talked about a client who'd committed suicide. So the stress, excitement, passion and sadness I was feeling started leaking out of my eyes and I started crying. I got back to work knowing that I bombed what, to date- was the greatest employment opportunity in my life and feeling pretty downcast. I valued the experience though. They called an hour later to tell me that I had a second interview! It's a good thing it was a voicemail or else I would have started crying all over again. This time, I had to do a 10 minute presentation for them. Well this was Tues and they wanted to see me Thurs. I did some juggling and arranged it to do the interview over my lunch. That night, instead of working on my powerpoint and feeling emotionally taxed, I decided that I would go to do some yoga and rowing. Tuesday nights at the Burlington Y are my favourite. It was a decent class and i was happy to have something else to focus on other than job interviews. Rowing was all right. I did intervals on there so it was good for getting the ole heart rate up before Yoga.
I worked Wednesday and when I logged in to my work e-mail there was a message waiting for me about an interview for a couple of positions. Yup, another interview. Also on Thursday. 2 interviews, 3 positions. I normally go out with my best friend on Wednesday and cancelled in order to work on the powerpoint. I knew there was no way Tuesday that I would get anything done and so went to the gym instead. This left only the one night to work on a 10 minute presentation on a topic that I had very little knowledge of. It took a few hours but I completed it. This left no time to fit a theoretical run in (I thought maybe, just mayyyyyyyyyyybe I'd feel like going for one in this cool weather. I was wrong)
Last night I looked it up and confirmed my suspicions. It takes 10 minutes less to ride my bike to work. that is what I did. hopped on my bike this morning and rode to work. I work down the escarpment so it's not a bad ride. I just have to remember that my morning smoothie doesn't cut it for breakfast in this situation. I went to the interviews and made it through tear free. They both went really well. I appreciated getting to talk to some people about other programs at my current job. The presentation went well, or I think so... I found out that I am competing against one other person for the position. I am top two out of the 40 applicants which alone made me feel good. Whatever happens happens. I'm feeling much better now that this is over. I only have one more interview next week.
I am pretty content that I am able to squeeze in activity here and there. Including after the interview when I made a mad dash back to work so I got a 15 minute run in today as well (wearing a back pack in so business casual attire)
Monday, July 29, 2013
"Strive for Progress, Not Perfection"
Today is one of those blogs that is about not blogging, offering up excuses
for not running or training for a tri. I got a job, number one. YAY! I am
working relief in a drop in for homeless people and 3 months later, I still
love it. Although my scheduled shifts are sporadic the hours are typically the
same. I am finding that this is actually quite helpful- knowing that on any
given day I can work out at 4:30 pm, the latest. That being said, the job is
very demanding. Physically not so much but I am emotionally sucked dry by my
clients. These are for realsies people without a home or poor housing, dealing
with some very intense issues. Yes, I still genuinely love it.
For the month after the tri I was focused on finding a job. This task, for anyone who has done it, is awful. Networking, applying, interviews, waiting...waiting...WAITING...takes its toll. I am very appreciative that I have since found something but it's kind of a dark period in time and you really get down on yourself and running just wasn't going to happen.
At the end of May I joined a team after my best friend worked VERY hard at
convincing me. Another new activity for my books- ROWING! I wasn't too keen on
it at first or throughout the duration of the practices. I took solace in the
fact that we were all newbies, except for my aforementioned friend. I just
really HATED lugging that boat in and out of the water and it seemed like every
time that we did we received different directions and we never really did
master it. We had our regatta this past weekend and it was incredibly fun. It
totally made my mind up for me to continue doing it next year. I was with a
great bunch of women and met a whole crew of new friends. I'd actually properly
trained and would get on the rowing machine an extra two times a week. My roommate
from university and very good friend used to row and gave me a few pointers one
night after a yoga class that I really benefited from. So, at least I was
heading to the gym a bit because of that. I just realized typing that that when
I participate in an activity with a goal date I am pretty committed to training
for it.
My brother's also joined the gym that I go to and we try to "play"
racquetball once a week. We've done 3 sessions thus far. We're actually
improving but we don't know the rules. Basically, we jog around the court and
whack at a ball. I'm better at directing it but he's better at actually hitting
it. I like the activity. We need a coach though.
Lastly, my newest endeavour is a planning a mountain biking excursion in Yukon. I thought I had my brother sold on it if we went next summer to celebrate our average 30th birthdays he'll be in his 29th year, me in my 31st). I specifically wanted to get there during the summer solstice and stumbled across a mountain biking trip. I was talking to him at our weekly match today and he's hesitant to go. The summer solstice trip is an intermediate biking trip through the mountains of the territory. I was nervous about it too and started reading up on mountain biking and apparently the muscles, since they are larger are easier to train and develop. So yes, my ass will probably hurt (I've already looked into padded shorts) but I feel like this is yet another crazy adventure that I can train for. I think my brother's pride is getting in the way. Having trained for- and come in last- for several events I don't have that issue anymore. I just figure that I will do the same as always. Research, practice, hit the gym, buy the equipment, talk to professionals and be as prepared as I can be then take up the rear as always. I figure they can't let me die out there and I've got almost a year to train, which is more than I'd ever done before. I am impressed that baby brother admitted to me that this would be a life changing decision for him. I hadn't thought about that but he's right. We're both considerably overweight. He's a smoker. I think that not having ever trained for anything has him concerned. He even mentioned consulting our GP; which made me laugh because she knows all about my previous races and was super keen on me participating. So, little brother- I know you're reading this, I say just dive in and go for it. I know you have it in you. If I can do it, you definitely can as well. Genetically, you're better built for it than I am.
Overall, with taking up rowing this summer I have been reminded that once you start doing one activity you tend to take up more. I've swam a couple times, been to a couple yoga classes and started cycling more places. So, as my brother said, yes it is a lifestyle commitment but it tends to come naturally. You even take care of what you eat because you don't want to waste all that energy that you just expended on something deep fried. Or on the flipside- you 'guy-et' and allow yourself that piece of chocolate cake with less torment, knowing you just sweated up a storm.
For the month after the tri I was focused on finding a job. This task, for anyone who has done it, is awful. Networking, applying, interviews, waiting...waiting...WAITING...takes its toll. I am very appreciative that I have since found something but it's kind of a dark period in time and you really get down on yourself and running just wasn't going to happen.
 |
| Photo care of Maureen Rich, I believe. |
 |
| Photo care of Caren Funnell |
Lastly, my newest endeavour is a planning a mountain biking excursion in Yukon. I thought I had my brother sold on it if we went next summer to celebrate our average 30th birthdays he'll be in his 29th year, me in my 31st). I specifically wanted to get there during the summer solstice and stumbled across a mountain biking trip. I was talking to him at our weekly match today and he's hesitant to go. The summer solstice trip is an intermediate biking trip through the mountains of the territory. I was nervous about it too and started reading up on mountain biking and apparently the muscles, since they are larger are easier to train and develop. So yes, my ass will probably hurt (I've already looked into padded shorts) but I feel like this is yet another crazy adventure that I can train for. I think my brother's pride is getting in the way. Having trained for- and come in last- for several events I don't have that issue anymore. I just figure that I will do the same as always. Research, practice, hit the gym, buy the equipment, talk to professionals and be as prepared as I can be then take up the rear as always. I figure they can't let me die out there and I've got almost a year to train, which is more than I'd ever done before. I am impressed that baby brother admitted to me that this would be a life changing decision for him. I hadn't thought about that but he's right. We're both considerably overweight. He's a smoker. I think that not having ever trained for anything has him concerned. He even mentioned consulting our GP; which made me laugh because she knows all about my previous races and was super keen on me participating. So, little brother- I know you're reading this, I say just dive in and go for it. I know you have it in you. If I can do it, you definitely can as well. Genetically, you're better built for it than I am.
Overall, with taking up rowing this summer I have been reminded that once you start doing one activity you tend to take up more. I've swam a couple times, been to a couple yoga classes and started cycling more places. So, as my brother said, yes it is a lifestyle commitment but it tends to come naturally. You even take care of what you eat because you don't want to waste all that energy that you just expended on something deep fried. Or on the flipside- you 'guy-et' and allow yourself that piece of chocolate cake with less torment, knowing you just sweated up a storm.
 |
| Photo care of Caren Funnell |
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