Something that needs to be said

Because every single one of us needs to hear it/read it/type it. Here it is: Running is not the only thing that defines us. We are not just Runners. We're husbands, wives, great friends, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, parents, and coworkers. We have a myraid of different talents, many strengths, and weaknesses (even if we don't admit it).
We're so much more than just ordinary runners...we're people who run.
My life, for the past year or so has been exclusively defined by my training schedule. I stressed over missed runs, I constantly calculated how much faster I needed to go to set a new PR, and I agonized over bad runs. I've forgotten why I loved to run before I "got serious" about it.
This post has been triggered by things that I've seen in various assorted RBF'ers blogs over the past several weeks. I've seen really good runners, who love to run, forget about the joy that they feel when they're pounding the pavement. I've had my own meltdown and read about the results of at least three others. This concerns me.
Running, for me, hasn't always been about winning my age division and getting faster. It used to be a healthy way to manage my weight, blood pressure, and deal with stress. Lately though, it's become something that, although it's still managing my health, it's causing me some undue stress. This is bad, cause we all knows I already gots enough stress in my world.
So, I'm revisiting the issue of running for fun. I'm going to try to make it a lower stress activity. Having said that, I'm not going to be racing at all this spring...not even a 5k here and there. This is going to be tough for me, as my competitive nature tends to rule my life, and I really love race shirts. I'm going to try to reconnect with the fun side of the sport and not get swept up in how fast I can get where I'm going. The joy is in the journey right? I'm going to focus on being grateful that I can run and try to share that with others through volunteer work with groups like GOTR and the local marathons (who always need aid station volunteers).
If I'm lucky and play my cards right, maybe next year at this time I'll be ready to run a big race again...and maybe next time it won't run my entire life.
Oh, and for those of you who've changed your priorities for this race season, there's no shame in that...good for you for having the courage to do what's right for you. You're not letting any of us down, but rather setting a great example of how to do the right thing. You're all runners in my book.

Anybody miss me?

I've been a lazy, lazy blogger lately. I find that my daily life isn't really blog worthy when I'm not running...somehow I feel unfulfilled to blog about things other than long runs, LT paces, and race times...
But today I have a story. I've talked in the past about getting involved with the local chapter of Girls on the Run. I went to a coaches' training session today. Let me just tell you, if you've ever thought about volunteering with this group, you should totally do it. Today's session was about forty coaches/assistant coaches from the St. Louis area. The local chapter brought Molly Barker, (hi Molly-apparently she's read my blog before, I feel so special)the founder of the program, in to talk to us. She is an amazing human being, and this program is one of the most fantastic programs I've ever been involved in.
I'll get off my soap box in a minute, but if you've ever been a young girl, especially one who suffered from self esteem issues or caved to peer pressure, this is your chance to make a difference in a young girl's life. Seriously, check the program out. I cannot say enough good stuff about them. I can't wait to see how I can make a difference for a girl who might be just like I was then.
Even if you can't commit two days a week to practice, think about volunteering to be a race buddy (a one hour comittment). This is going to be a rewarding experience for a lot of people, and not just the girls you're helping.
Okay, on to the other stuff. I've been running a little lately. I've been feeling okay, but I'm definitely out for the spring season races. I'm taking it slow. I'm doing about three miles five or six times a week, and I've dropped back down to nine minute miles. Who am I trying to kid by saying that I liked those eight minute miles? The only good thing about those was getting my run done faster. I'm going to try to step back and try to remember how to run for fun. I'm done for a little time with the worrying about my personal records and getting faster. Let's just have fun again. How awesome will that be?
My rant for this week is Subway...the sandwich shop. I really think there should be a rule that you can't order more than one sandwich per person between the hours of noon and one in the afternoon. No kidding, I stood in line for thirty minutes yesterday waiting for my sandwich...the jokester in front of me had an order for his whole damn office. Patience is not one of my virtues. It was all I could do to keep from pimp slappin' his ass. 'Nuff said.

I'm back...with a real post no less

I've been pretty preoccupied with my other life (outside of blogging) lately. I've been trying to get some medical stuff sorted out, which we'll discuss shortly, and I've been trying to decide if I really want to commit to working with Girls on the Run this spring, and I've been trying to get my shit together at work.
Let's address the medical issue first: I have had a plethora of regular doctor appointments lately, nothing exciting, just run of the mill crap. I was supposed to have a test done on Tuesday. I left work at my regularlly scheduled time (gotta love half day Tuesdays) and drove down to the doc's office. Where I promptly found out that the tech who was to do my test (who happened to be the only person in the office trained in this procedure) was sick.
Supposedly they tried to call me...at nine in the morning. Doesn't it stand to reason that a relatively young, generally healthy individual like myself might not be home at nine on a weekday morning? That I might, I don't know, be working?!?! They didn't have a good answer as to why they didn't try to reach me on my cell. So I rescheduled for today, I was really fine with rescheduling...right up until the point that the receptionist got snotty with me and told me that "It was really important that I was on time, as they were doing me a favor, and squeezing me in between two other patients." I wanted to ask her if that was really necessary, since I obviously respect other people's time as I was fifteen minutes early for the appointment that they cancelled on me, but I bit my tongue. Don't want to get a reputation as one of those patients.
Topic number two is Girls on the Run. I really want to get involved with this group, but I'm kind of scared of the time comittment involved in it. The training session is next weekend, so I figure I'll go to that and see what it's all about and then decide from there what I'm going to do. They're supposed to be bringing in the lady that developed the entire program to do the training, so that should be kind of cool.
Lastly, I really need to get my work shit together. We hired a new marketing genius to take some of the pressure off of the clinic directors, but I have a tough time relinquishing any control to anyone else...however qualified he or she might be. I'm really going to have to learn to back up and let her drive the bus. I did a good thing earlier this week. I went to a chamber of commerce meeting last week (read really big snooze fest-but I won the 38 dollar door prize so not all was wasted) and I met this woman who does community relations for a local retirement community. She and I figured that we might be able to develop a mutually beneficial relationship in that I could recommend her facility to the geezers I treat, and she could allow me to come in and do "educational programs" for their residents, thus increasing my name recognition. I actually passed this info on to the marketing guru to set it up for me...yeah for me for giving up control! Hopefully she doesn't screw it up.

How many of you?

According to this website there are 667 other people in the United States with my name. How f'ed up is that? I knew this last name was too common when I married my hubby(-:
This weekend was a nice relaxing weekend for us. The weather forecast called for several inches of ice to fall between Friday night and tomorrow morning. It started icing while we were at dinner on Friday night and I'd say that we got about 1/4 of an inch of ice...just enough to cause some major damage to some of the older trees in the area, and of course to bring down some power lines. We were only without power for about two or three hours late last night, others in the area have been without power most of the weekend.
This afternoon it started raining while we were out at the grocery store, and I'm certain that this rain will be turning into freezing crap as it gets colder later today, it could make for an interesting Monday morning.
I'm planning on taking it easy for the remainder of today and probably going to head to bed early so that I can try to get a bit of cross training in before heading to work tomorrow morning. One can only hope...

For those JT fans who missed the SNL sketch...

It's hysterical, but not at all safe for work. No need to thank me.

Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit

I'm going to have withdrawal trying to get into Rabbit's blog. I'm always amused by her life, but unfortunately, every time I try to go there today I get this site for knee exercises instead. Huh. Where should I visit instead?

Just another manic Monday

Monday, Monday...let me count the ways that I hate you.
1. I could not sleep worth crap last night. I spent so much freakin time awake during the night that I was tired all day, thus one bad night negates all the good sleeping I got done over this past weekend.
2. Creepy walk in patient. I'm pretty sure he's an axe murderer...or maybe just that guy from the second Silence of the Lambs book(Red Dragon). Fun fact for the day: That book (and movie) was actually based in St. Louis, thus making this theory totally possible.
3. Irritatingly annoying office staff lady. Why is today of all days the day that you decided to get your tuberculosis test done? They're open all week....Monday is a madhouse here. I really can't answer the phones, schedule patients, and treat patients all by my lonesome. That's why you're here freakazoid.
4. That's actually it I think.
Hope everyone else's day was better than mine. I'm headed to the couch to vegetate!

So much for that idea

Yeah, that New Year's resolution...the one to be a more consistent blogger? Not going so well, as you can probably tell. I've been really feeling like the back end of an old dog lately. By the time I get done working every day, all I really have energy for is coming home and laying on the couch. I'm hoping that I'm going to start to turn the corner here pretty soon.
I've been trying to find a little time for cross training, and so far I've managed to force myself onto the stationary bike about five or six times this week. (That doesn't sound so good does it? Oh well, you know what I mean.)
I'm firmly convinced that my feeling ass-like has something to do with being unable to run. This weekend I was in bed by nine thirty both nights and I slept until nine thirty both mornings. You would think that this much sleep would top off the tanks and put me back to feeling 100%, but you'd be wrong for thinking that. As I sit here typing now, I'm really contemplating a nap. I suck.
On other fronts, let me just save you all some time...don't go see the Good Shepherd. You'd think this movie would rock, and the previews certainly made it look like it rocked...but it didn't. In my world, this movie is tied with Syriana as biggest waste of film ever imagined.
I sat down to watch it thinking that I was in for a real treat. Three hours later, I walked out of the theater asking my husband "what the hell was that?" I pride myself on being a fairly intelligent person, and I seriously could not follow this damn movie. Plus, Angelina Jolie is not believable as a fifties housewife. Dirty homewrecker, why don't you go adopt a third world country?

Okay, I know I said no to New Year's resolutions...

but I'm making one anyway. It's going to be one that all of you, my faithful readers (all six of you) will thoroughly enjoy. I'm resolving to blog more days than I don't blog. That means at least four days a week, every week, for the next fifty two weeks. Oh yeah, I can tell you're excited!
And since I'm not running, you'll have to satisfy your crazy selves with brief glimpses into my rather mundane life (monkey sightings excluded from the mundane list).
I do not yet have an update, no monkey sightings were made today, even though the Max was on MonkeyWatch all day today. It's going to be tough to spot that booger when I'm at work all day...hmmmm, this is a whole new dilemma. Must brainstorm. Is it too obvious (or creepy) if I set a video camera up to record their house all day?
In other news, my patients were completely amused by my alleged monkey sighting, although more than one patient did draw the conclusion that I must have seen a dwarf in a fur coat and not a primate. Ask yourself, is a dwarf in a fur coat really that far removed from a small chimp anyway? Both would be amusing, although the chimp would be far less disturbing....
Speaking of patients, I received a cool thank you today from one of my patients. This patient is a sweet old man (albeit an old man who sounds disturbingly enough like the dirty old man from Family Guy who is always hitting on Peter). Anyway, I digress. He had some gift cards to a local bookstore and insisted that he never bought from this store, as he likes the little mom and pop shops and feels like this behemoth of a bookstore is slowly driving mom and pop out of business, so he gave me the gift cards. Which totalled over fifty dollars. How nice is that? I've got my eye on a couple of things including one or two items for patient education in my office, but you can bet your sweet ass I'm gonna be buying myself a treat as well. Nice people rock!

Is that a monkey in your front yard?

Or is your toddler just really hairy? I was not hallucinating or high yesterday morning when I thought I saw my across the street neighbor helping a chimp into the front door of her house...even though I haven't seen it again since then.
I haven't had the chance to ask her what the deal was, but I think I know what a monkey looks like, and I'm pretty sure that she has one. So all day today, I've been watching for another glimpse of the monkey. Every time I pass a window that looks out onto the front yard, I'm searching for the monkey. Thus commences MonkeyWatch 2007.
I'm going to see that damn thing again, this I promise you. And when I do, I'm taking pictures. I've got to have some kind of proof that there really is a monkey living across the street from me.