Gorgeous day

Tuesday it snowed and today it was sunny and 81 degrees! Took advantage of that by eating breakfast on the deck and spending time outdoors after mailing a job app package and doing a run at the gym. My time is still slow, 5K in 42.22 minutes. I wasn't rushing after yesterday; ankle is sore. I planned to rest today but the treadmill was calling. It's sort of addictive. I am definitely resting tomorrow... I think. :0) See you next week.

Woke early this morning and went to the gym. Felt pretty good and somewhere around mile 3 I felt really great. Happy for a few minutes. So I did 4.25 miles today then walked to 5.2. When I look back on this time in my life I will say the gym. And running saved me.

Snowsday not Tuesday

Yep that's right. While buzzing around doing my Tuesday things the forecasted rain was actually sleet. It sleeted off and on all day while the sun dipped in and out of the clouds. Even though it was cold and windy I have to say I preferred the sleet to rain because it just bounces off and rolls away. The air was dry enough that the sleet vanished when it melted. The streets remained dry. I'll take my rain dry any day. Unless of course it's a nice soft warm rain and I'm strolling with my sweetie. Night all.

Giving a bee a ride

In our town spring has sprung. All of the flowering trees are in full bloom already. On Saturday, I was coming out of the library when I noticed that a bee had developed a relationship with my driver's side mirror. In spite of the blooming buds close by he only had eyes for the mirror. "Go get into the trees," said I, as I opened my door. No, he wasn't having any of it. This bee wanted in the truck. "You're not coming with me," I told the bee and scooted into the truck and waved him out.
As I started to back out and head to the market the stubborn bee held on to the mirror. He looked so awkward, I was sure he'd blow away. But no, he shifted into the wind and hunkered down on top. As I headed up the main street, I swear the bee looked like he was having fun, with his antenna whipping back into the wind. I could imagine his little bee face smiling and his bzz going wheee instead of bzzz. I tried to avoid red lights so my little friend could enjoy his speed nonstop.
Once at the market, I chose the side of the parking lot that had even more beautiful trees than the library. The bee seemed to rest for a moment before heading off into the blossoms. I guess he had some marketing to do.

I'm back ... I think

The Internet is a strange beast. It can lull you into a false sense of safety with it's seeming anonymity and vastness. You may think to yourself, who's going to read what I write or say on YouTube so I'll bare my soul or trash my coworkers.
I've never done the latter, but last week was a bad week for me and I put up a post that was less than positive. A good friend of mine asked, "Can anyone read this?" I responded, "They can but they don't." That is because it's easy to feel invisible on the Net or indeed in the world. Truth is, I have no idea who is reading what I write. So after I thought about her question, I decided to pull the post. When it comes down to it, even if no one ever reads a word I write, I still want what I put out into the universe to be positive not negative. So I took a week off. I was in the bell jar. I may still be, but I'm not going to lay down and die.
If you are reading this and you don't know me from Eve I'm not going to divulge details but just say I'm facing at least two of life's great universal challenges at the moment and created this blog as a way to keep my head above water. Some days it works, some days I disappear for a week. Sometimes I include photographs. Other days, nothing inspires me.
If you've been following then you know I've been trying to become a runner. Another lifelong dream of mine that also has the benefit of making me feel happy when I do it. I reached a pretty nifty milestone the other day: 3.2 miles doing a run/walk. I did a full mile first in 11 minutes which is not bad for a beginner with asthma and a bum ankle. Then I continued at a slower pace walking and running but mostly running until I did more than 3 miles. I find the ankle and shin do much better when I wear the skimpiest shoes I own (see earlier posts about book Born to Run and my Crocs experiment). I hope to run a 5K sometime this year. Haven't got one picked out yet. I usually let my asthma dictate my training. But since a 5K is 3.11 miles that means I did my first practice 5K Monday April 19 in 40.12. My goal is to do it in 30 then I will sign up for a 5K. Hold me to it you invisible billions.

Eggs and other things

Yesterday's rain brought in a cold front that I should have expected but didn't. So it was quite a surprise when I poked my head outside this morning expecting to eat breakfast on the deck.
My dog seemed to like the cooler air. He went zinging around the yard like a tiny greyhound. So so cute.
Decided to mix things up a little today. Usually I do the gym first and applications after, but the chilly air encouraged me to stay in and do apps first. I made my way to the gym around 3 p.m. and had a really satisfying workout. I particularly enjoyed my run. I love that place in a run when my brain just gets really happy and my legs feel good. I get this cool feeling on my arms and face and goose bumps and I just feel like I want to run forever. That's why I want to be a runner. I can't run very far yet or for very long but I've had a taste at points in my life and it's a very good drug.
Dinner: Scrambled egg with all the spinach I could cram in. Yum. Feeling good today.

Lunch and other thoughts

Met with a friend for lunch today. It was really a gorgeous day. Weather in the 80s, sunshine. I wore a light, summery skirt and strolled on our picturesque main street. I had a good burger, not a fast food burger and watched the spring wind sweep the street, sending plumes of dust toward the west end. I don't have a picture for you today. Perhaps I can plan a photography day trip soon. We'll see.
In the meantime I can leave you with this happy thought: Imagine a sunny deck with a table for working or having a cup of coffee in the morning, surrounded by new spring greenery. That's where I generally start my days. Appreciating nature is a wonderful way to begin each day.

Beautiful day

We've had another beautiful day: mid-seventies, mostly sunny, nice breeze. I had a good workout at the gym and my spirits are generally good. The pooch and I are on the deck feeling appreciative.
An interesting thing happened the other day. It was Easter Sunday actually. I woke to a flapping sound. At first, I thought it must be my dog shaking himself in the living room, but he was asleep on the floor next to my bed. Later in the day I heard it again, but couldn't trace where it was coming from. A foray into the basement revealed a greenish puddle on my box of dryer sheets and a small scratching sound. In retrospect, I should have been able to identify the puddle right away. But the source of scratching eluded me.
I proceeded with my plan to put away winter clothes (yes I know not terribly festive for Easter). In the basement once again came big scratching and flapping and suddenly a big brown speckled bird was flying at my head. I shrieked, just a little. It was more of a squeak really and ducked. The bird was out of its mind with terror. It had already flown at the door upstairs twice, I now knew. I couldn't imagine how it knew that was the way out as it certainly hadn't come in that way.
After a few laps (him)  and a few more squeaks (me) he was upstairs in the apartment proper. I came up, ready to duck. He was hanging off the blinds in the bathroom. When he saw me he came zinging through the living room, into the kitchen and up under the curtain on our front door. There, he beat his wings against the glass as though he might push through.
My quick plan was to catch him up in the curtain, since he was already there and shake him out outside. But he must have felt me creeping up because he shot out and back to the bathroom.
OK new plan. I opened the door and turned to chase him out, but he was two steps ahead of me. Out and straight up a wall of trees like a rocket he went. It was amazing to see.

Yoga Tuesday

I've been staring at the screen, the trees, the dog for about 5 minutes. I was busy today but my activities were not especially interesting to anyone but myself.
I tutored my student this morning. Afterwards I went to a yoga class at my gym. They started offering classes in February but I wasn't able to go until now. I found it very relaxing which means I should probably plan to workout before tutoring on Tuesdays or after Yoga. Then, I ran errands. Now, I'm home trying to talk myself into going into the basement to fight with a scanner/printer machine that doesn't like me.

About a week ago I posted a picture of the trees in our yard. They had the smallest hints of buds. After a week of sun and a smidge of rain, take another look:

To swing and sashay upon my feet 
to pant and pray for strength to defeat
the road ahead which does scrape and fray my tired soul and so to rest
perhaps I may, perhaps I may


That's all I've got for today.

Manic Monday

Is that possible for an unemployed person? Apparently, as I'm just now getting to this blog entry. I spent a good chunk of the day preparing a lesson plan for tomorrow's tutoring session. I spent time on job applications. But I suppose the highlight of my day was continuing my running experiment.
Today was day three of running in Crocs, the goofy looking sandals people love to hate. My entire trip was just over two miles and I ran a total 1.83 miles. As a non-runner, I'm pretty pleased with myself. Today's run was on asphalt. My first Croc run was on a trail, the second on a treadmill. My cantankerous ankle had no trouble on these surfaces. I was a bit nervous about concrete, but the Crocs did well. I felt OK during with just a smidge of shin pain on the bad ankle leg. The ankle felt 99.9 perfect. Afterwards, I'd give it a 98. Now that I've run on all surfaces, I'm going to give Crocs two thumbs up for running, but that's just what works for me. I think my next move in this experiment is a smaller size shoe and try to increase my mileage. I don't really care about my pace yet. But I won't be sharing that here because I'm pretty sure there's a short shelf-life for this subject unless you're into running.
Today's poetry prompt was 'TMI" as in too much information poem. Honestly, I could just take the above paragraph and put it in stanzas and there you go. But I'm not going to do that to you. Nite. And thanks for reading.

Poetry prompt was history, very loosely

April 4

Season changing heavy for light

I find a pair of your blue jeans in the basement

I plop the knit scarf pile into a box and grab these soft, worn jeans

You're not here but these are

I try them on and they fit perfectly the way you fit me

Winter is history

I await your return

New addition to the free for all this blog is becoming

I'm participating in a poetry challenge through Writer's Digest. This fellow writes a prompt each day of April and we write poems from it. My aim is to write as quickly as possible whatever comes first to my mind. I won't promise masterpieces, but I'll share them here as the blog the fellow is running is overwhelmed with traffic and I can't post there.

April 1 prompt was "One is the loneliest number," and here's the poem

waking
again
your side
of the bed
is empty

April 2 prompt was "water," and here it is

Poured from a well-worn copper vessel
water glows golden in the morning sun
 and pats down the dust  in front of my door

April 3 prompt is "Partly (fill in the blank)," and here it is

Partly worn

dirty, second-day updo
racoon eyes hidden behind sunglasses
she attempts to return the gown
the tags are still on obviously it's not worn she argues
the sent of perfume and deodorant wafting from the dress begs to differ

Running an experiment

Today I do not have a craft for you. I have an experiment. I may have mentioned previously that I'm reading a fascinating book, Born to Run.
Let me start here: Have you ever had a junior high crush? The kind where if you didn't get this guy to like you then life was not worth living? It's a painful, not fun crush. That's generally how I feel about running. I'm starry-eyed for it, but it hasn't liked me since I got breasts in 6th grade.
I remember the day I realized something had changed. I was sitting outside with my friend Micheal (I think that was his name) and he says to me, "How come you don't chase me anymore? You used to run like the wind." That was probably my first aha moment in life. I told him I didn't know why but in my head images flashed: Training bra yesterday, B cup today, posture gone to pot, boys picking on me in school, slouching, crossing my arms, completely trying to be invisible. Holy crap! I don't run because I've got boobs! I didn't know what to do with them and didn't know who to talk to about it.
Since then (and its been a couple of decades) I've tried off and on to be a runner. A persistent ankle injury caused me problems, asthma (diagnosed in 6th grade also), weight gain in adolescent years and loss and gain. I felt so awkward in my body, like I didn't know it or what it could do.
Look at runners and dancers and children. They truly inhabit their bodies from the core out to their toes and fingertips. You can see joy in the movement and ownership. It's spiritual to reach out of yourself like that. Then there are people who are uncomfortable in their bodies. You know those uncoordinated ones or people like me who fear not being able to breathe or are concerned about people starring at particular body parts, and on it goes. This sort of person's spirit is bunched into the core of the body. The further from the core the more of a stranger the limbs become.
Last year, I attempted a couch to 5K training program. Within the first week my shins were on fire and my troublesome ankle was constant agony. I ended up taking physical therapy, and it helped. In the meantime I went back to elliptical training (no bouncing there).
Couple weeks ago: Spring is here. I've learned to wear two bras, and I've got that old feeling again. I want to run. I want to live to the end of my limbs. I don't want to be a shy stranger in my body. My asthma seems somewhat under control but what about my ankle?
That's where all of my reading comes in. I've read about Vibrams, the idea that barefoot running limits injuries and the Tarahumara (the Running People of Mexico).
Is less more when it comes to preventing injury? I wondered could my shoes be aggravating my ankle. I wear a decent Nike running shoe but they do come up higher on the ankle and hit right on my tender spot. It's OK for the elliptical but not for running. So I decided to try a Sketcher shoe that was softer all around in terms of structure and cut lower on the ankle. I felt OK during a 30 minute run/walk and afterwards my ankle was swollen and a little sore, but nowhere near agony. For the next three days however, my legs were very sore. Apparently, I need some strength training because the elliptical is not helping in that department.
Present day: I was pouring over the Vibram Web site and these "shoes" look awesome. I imagine one would feel as springy and free as a mountain goat in these babies, but at the moment I can't drop 80 bucks on an experiment. It got me thinking though. My Crocs are light, cushy. Did I dare? I'd kill myself in a shoe that sloppy, right? I ruminated for some time on this, checked online, saw a YouTube video of a guy running the NYC marathon in Crocs, and what finally convinced me to give it a try was this blog. Croc Runner runs all of her marathons in Crocs. Granted she hasn't posted in 2 years, but she posted enough to convince me. I tried it today. As a newbie, non-runner I ran about 20 minutes in Crocs with no pain. I felt nervous, and my legs are not terribly strong but once I got into the flow and realized I was not going to keel over from asthma I did OK. I did take 3 20 to 30 second walk breaks to get more air, just long enough to make dizziness stop (damn asthma) but each time I started to run again my leg not only didn't hurt but felt great. I ran on a trail of grass, dirt and rocks. I wore ankle socks inside the shoes and did not feel unstable even as they shifted. The looseness of the Crocs actually changed the way I ran, too. I was landing towards the front  of my foot, which my ankle liked. I also concentrated on not bouncing too much and that smoothed things out as well.
After completing 20 minutes I felt only the slightest discomfort in my ankle and no discomfort in my shins. I'm excited. We'll see how I feel tomorrow. Now, if only I could stop wearing 2 bras. Sighhhh.