Category Archives: exercise

Feb 20 2013
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exercise, training, trips

the happenin’ haps

Well, this weekend I’m supposed to do a half marathon in New Orleans. I’m going to try my darndest (darnest?) best, but really, I just want to finish. I’ve mostly made my peace with the fact that I’m probably never going to be fast, but I keep signing up for races as a means to keep moving. On Monday, when it was 60-ish degrees in Dallas and beautifully sunny, Jason and I went for a walk on Katy Trail. We didn’t go very quickly, and we didn’t even go that far, but it was wonderful to be outside and mobile.

February has been a weird month. A week after hearing some really sad news, we received really exciting news, and now I’m not sure how to characterize this month. It’s been a rollercoaster (cliché, yes, but the past two weeks have been the best characterization of the phrase that I’ve ever seen), and we’ll see how it goes from here. I’m not convinced that the ride has ended yet, but I can only sit back and see how it goes.

In other (less vague) news, I’m so excited for all the trips we’re taking this year. We’re headed to New Orleans this weekend, Florida in April, maybe Dublin in May, and San Diego in June. We also might go to Australia towards the end of the year, but that’ll greatly depend on our vacation availability and travel funds. Personally, I’m a big fan of taking lots of little trips instead of one big one, but we’ll see what we can fit in — I think it would be awesome to spend some time on the beaches, and maybe go hiking…

Anywho.

We started watching House of Cards on Netflix. Umm, yes please. More, ASAP. Hop to, Netflix, we all know you already have the next season made.

I also read two books! And the month isn’t even over yet! They were both about how to conduct oneself in business, and were good reads. I don’t know if I would recommend either, but that’s mostly because I usually feel as though everyone else my age already has their stuff figured out and know how to conduct themselves (generally). Maybe someday I’ll feel like I have everything figured out… that’s gotta happen at some point, right?

Jan 12 2013
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blogging, book reviews, budgeting, exercise, goals, job, money, post-grad, where i'm headed

about those goals

I have four big goals for this year:

+ Move more

+ Read and write more

+ Spend less

bday card

The card my mom gave me for my birthday… does she know me well or what?!

+ Figure out my life (… piece of cake, right?)

The first should be easy enough… I’ve done the math, and if I cover an average of  2.7 miles a day, I can run 1000 miles over the course of the year. Not bad.

The second: if I read 4-5 books a month, I will read 52 books this year. I’m fairly certain I can cover the spread by reading only books in our apartment, but Jason also has a nifty new Nook that I can hijack for an afternoon. {Side-note: I miss school. I miss it badly… I would go back in a heartbeat if I knew what I wanted to study would make me lots of money.}

Third: duh. Everyone wants more money, and wants to spend less, right? It also couldn’t hurt to get paid more… (we’ll see about this.) My long-term money goal is to pay off my student loans and possibly a mortgage before I turn 30. Because that would be baller.

Lastly, the whole figuring-out-my-life deal.

Bah. This will likely remain a goal for many years (unless something drastically changes in the next few months). I have a better idea of what I want than I did a year ago, but I’m not entirely sure how to get into the fields that I’m interested in. At this point it’s a matter of matching my current skills with a company that would be willing to train me to do something brand new. In theory, this wouldn’t be too difficult to find, but I also want to make sure that I don’t spend the rest of my twenties hopping from job to job, getting trained in several ultra-specific fields.

Regardless, I’m working on my patience.

I’m excited for this year. I don’t have any illusions that this is going to be some magical, über-productive, find-my-calling kind of year… but looking back on 2012 made me realize that a lot of big changes can be made by doing something new, something little, every day.

Dec 30 2012
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birthdays, blogging, book reviews, budgeting, exercise, goals, money, new year, post-grad, trips, where i'm headed

goals for 26

I’ve compiled a list of things I want to get done this next year, and for some reason it felt much tougher to make this year’s list than last year’s. I supposed part of it has to do with the fact that I accomplished so many personal goals at age 25… it’ll be a tough act to follow. In a few days I will turn 26, rounding out an amazing year full of change and challenges:

I started paying off my student loans.
I did my first half marathon.
I decided I want to go to law school.
I started a “real” job.
I struggled with said job, and realized that I don’t actually want to go to law school.
I moved into a new apartment, a swanky downtown place with a balcony and plenty of room. (Only after realizing that we were actually supposed to remain in our old apartment for at least another 60 days, and showed a bunch of strangers through our place as we were trying to move and Jason was in Boston for training for almost a week. What a nightmare.)
I made several new friends.
I did another half marathon, this time with Jason in tow.
I went to four beer fests.
I made it back to Wisconsin for Slapsgiving.
I booked a trip to Chicago two days before flying out there. (That felt very jet-setty and cool.)
I went to Denver for the first time.
I celebrated fourteen years in America by becoming a citizen.
I did a third half marathon.
I earned an “excellent” review and several client commendations.
I hosted Christmas, just in time to experience my first snow in Texas.

From Lululemon's flickr page.

From Lululemon’s flickr page.

I have no doubt that 26 will also be a great year, but my list (also visible under the “Goals” tab) feels a little “smaller.” [Probably because two of my biggest goals aren't on here... I'll share when I can. :) ] Nevertheless, there are a couple things I want to accomplish: contribute to my own intellectual stimulation (your job can’t be your everything), continue working on being healthy, write more, save money, and experience more of Texas.

1. Read 52 books [0/52]

2. Run a marathon (June is looking more realistic than February… whoops)

3. Run two half marathons (New Orleans, and _________?)

4. Sign up for two more 5ks (and actually do them!)

5. Work out (30+ minutes) four times a week, all year [0/52]

6. Blog three times a week [0/52]

7. Have dinner in Reunion Tower

8. Visit San Diego (and possibly drive up the coast)

9. Get a new passport, since my South African passport is now defunct

10. Go to a Mavs game

11. Save $15,000 (outside of retirement savings)

12. Donate to the Katy Trail and NPR

13. Pay off an additional $2400 on my student loans over the year

14. Enjoy a weekly Netflix/Hulu-free night with EJV. (Should help with #1)

15. Write 30 pages of script with EJV.

16. Avoid buying clothes for 6 months [0/6] {Exception: formal business dress clothes, should the occasion arise.}

17. Spend $200 or less on groceries for three months [0/3]

18. Go camping! (But not in Waco.) (Story for another day.)

19. Give up beer (and wine, and liquor) for three months [0/3]

20. Spend a weekend exploring Austin

21. Get a library card

22. Write a freelance article

23. Start an address book (and transfer all the addresses from my old planner)

24. Join a book club (or start my own)

25. Go to a shooting range

Any other suggestions? I’m happiest when I have lots to work on.

Do you plan for a new year on your birthday, or do you stick to New Year’s resolutions?

Dec 29 2012
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blogging, exercise, goals, job, looking back, post-grad

2012 goals, revisited

Goals for the year…

(Everything listed was accomplished, to some degree or another…)

1. Make it to the dentist.

2. See an optometrist. (Pun intended. Har- har.)

3. Read 40 books. [15/40] Boo, I’m a bad former English major.  Continue reading →

Aug 13 2012
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exercise, training, where i'm headed

one step. then another. and another.

Yesterday, Jason and I finished up our last run for our second week of marathon training. And it got us so excited we decided to sign up for another marathon in San Diego next June. After that, we’ll probably take it easy for a while. (We’ll see.) The plan is to go to San Diego, run the race, then head to Napa for a while. (Wahoo!!) Hopefully I’ll be working from home at that point, and will be able to get away with staying longer than a week.

Honestly, I’ve run more in the past two weeks than I did between March and July. And while I’m feeling great, I miss yoga. I have a two Groupons for yoga studios that I can use, but once I get home and park my butt, I’m down for the night. Eventually, the plan is to get up and run in the mornings, but I’m pretty sure I’ve had that goal for most of my adult(ish) life, so we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve always been in awe of people who can will themselves out of bed in the morning to do something other than rush to work or school. The few times I made it up 30+ minutes before actually having to be up, I enjoyed it. Yet, on any given (normal) day, I’m more inclined to snuggle closer to Jason and hit the snooze 2- 17 times.

So. A year ago I wasn’t working out at all, and now I’m training for a marathon… so it’s reasonable to think that I might just be able to change my sleeping habits. Just maybe. It’s gotta start somewhere, right?

At this pace, I wonder what I’ll be able to do in a couple of years. Maybe I’ll train for the Olympics. [Or the World Lumberjack Championships.] Or run a company. Or write a book. It’s amazing how the simple act of acting on one goal has made me feel so much more able and motivated to work on my other goals.

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