I'm not prone to doing posts comprised of random little thoughts, but I wanted to address a few things that don't warrant their own posts. Apologies for the schizophrenic nature of this and lack of segue.
First up, I *finally* managed to run 10K tonight, for the first time ever. My average runs are 5K-ish, so to be able to conquer that distance by quite a considerable margin was quite a victory for me. I'm pretty sure my legs were preparing to detach from my torso toward the end, but I'm proud to say they're still present and accounted for. Yes, I may be unable to walk properly tomorrow, but that's no different from any other Friday night - hey-ohhhh!
On the topic of running, I have such an odd affinity for reading about other runners' stories of what they have done. A paragraph about running makes me all giddy, even if the writer is way more prolific than I am (not that it takes much). So, if any of you are runners, write about it sometime on your blog so I can grin at the screen stupidly and dream of running.
Also, to the runners (sorry to bore the rest of you who don't give a shit) - how often do you have off days, and are they really off? I struggled the other night to even run a couple of miles, like my trousers were weighted down with a gathering of pebbles. I got all pissy about it and moped for at least 34 minutes upon my return home. I know we don't all have great days, but jesus, it was as if I was just starting my Couch to 5K programme again.
Lastly, on the running issue, don't forget, I have my big 10K coming up in July for Cancer Research UK. I need sponsorship money, and I'm not above begging in this case. I'm not looking to garner cash to go to BlogHer for god's sake, so any donation is appreciated. No seriously, any amount. One pound, fifty pence, whatever. I'll even post a photo of myself post-race, plum-faced, glistening with sweat, with my eyes likely to be rolling into the back of my head. Funny story about this - I got my race t-shirt in the post, and when I proudly showed it to my dear husband, he said, "Are you sure that's big enough?" Har har, if it was meant sarcastically anyway, which it WASN'T. He backtracked, saying he thought it was a child's shirt, ergo, it wouldn't fit. It's a woman's medium, and yes, it fits. Bastard.
Oh yes, donations. Widget is in the right margin. I'll even show you a boob if you donate. The right one though, the left one is a bit smug as it is.
Changing subjects entirely, jobs. Who needs them? As you may know, I'm in the process of trying to get a job in the US, and the whole thing is so much of a kerfuffle I'm kicking myself for making this decision. I've applied for one position, but realised yesterday that though I made it clear in my cover letter that I'm free to fly over for interview/relocation, I didn't say that I would pay for it. In these troubled times there aren't many employers that would want to shoulder that financial responsibility for someone who may not even get the job. Dur. Lesson learned.
This particular job is in my wee home region of Central PA, so flying over isn't a problem since I'll have a place to stay. However, I am looking further afield as well - all along the Northeastern seaboard actually. There are a lot of good jobs out there, but obviously I can't afford to fly back and forth for a handful of interviews in places I've never been before. How do people even find jobs in locations in which they do not currently live? I know my situation is a bit on the extreme side given the distance, but still. It's not as if we'll move back to the US sans jobs and just give life over there a go, temporarily unemployed. As it is my plan is to go back with me being the only employed one until The Dude finds work as well. Hmph. Grown-up life is hard.
So yes, a post equal parts "go me/woe is me". How fun for you. Stay tuned for Sunday/Monday night, when I might actually be motivated enough to do a Music Monday post again, at long last. Yay!
7 comments:
I got nothing for you on job's but r.e. running — my mom gets Runner's World, and while some articles are totally geeked out on gear or arcane training plans that I never in a million years have time for, they have wonderful stories about the actual running. I don't bother to bring reading material anymore when I visit her, because I just plow through as many back issues as possible. They appear to be online here: http://www.runnersworld.com/
As for the off days — yes! Sometimes I just wind up chanting I hate this I hate this over and over in my head. I haven't figured it out per se, but what works for me both for running and for karate, is to just give myself permission to have those off days and not make them be some sort of harbinger of doom, KWIM. I try to remind myself that just because I had a lousy workout doesn't mean my running/karate career is down the crapper.
The bonus of having both things going on, for me, is that if I'm struggling with one, I can shift focus to the other a little. I'm still working out so I'm not back to the couch, but I'm not hitting the wall so much. Do you have something else you like, like yoga, that you could do that with?
Anyway, I think it's fantastic you ran the 10K. It's also great that your legs got tired before your wind — that's a real turning point, I found.
Anyway: you go, lady!!
I . . . ahem . . . *don't* run, but I'll give you a few pounds for running that 10K at some point.
If you need to interview in southern Louisiana, where it's always nice and cool and never humid, you know who to stay with.
Running - never done it, not tempted! Will go and check out the donate page. I have come across another IF blog whose writer writes a lot about running. Its at bloorb.com.
Could you not do first interviews on video conference/Skype or something and then fly over just when it was pretty damn clear you were going to get the job. The other alternative would I suppose be to go home and then try and line up a few for a couple of weeks/ a month. Can the Dude try applying for things now or will visa issues get in the way?
I imagine The Dude will be able to get a green card easily, it's not quick but there's an interim visa I think (we may be in the same situation at some point), that you can work on. Don't know though if companies would happily interview you when you didn't have that yet, but if you had the cash I think you can apply while you are still here.
(and I'm in awe of your running, mine is nowhere near as advanced - still trying to find a flat-ish 5k route near home)
Congrats on finishing your first 10k! Woot! That's a HUGE accomplishment, and one that I've only done twice in my life now.
I keep meaning to post a little something about running, but I never get around to it. Lately, my focus is on finishing my semester, but once I take that last final, I imagine I will attempt to get back to some sense of normalcy (before I leave to go overseas for a month...).
Anyhow, I have off days, usually about once a month where the amount of effort exerted feels about triple what it should for the distance I'm going. When I have an off day, it's really, really off, like a struggle to make it past 5k (these days, a majority of my runs are in the 4-5 mile range). But mostly this is due to breathing issues. I can tell within the first 10 minutes whether it's going to be a bad run. I usually try to push through anyway, but with all the other random crap in my life right now, I'm trying to take it a little easier on myself.
For instance, this week is the first week since my injury that I haven't completed at least 3 (usually 4) runs in a week. I only got two in, and I can't imagine next week being any easier. BUT, I'm trying really hard to keep the habit going so that once my schedule-insanity dies down, it won't take me too much longer to get back on track. Sigh.
And yeah. I'll have to see if I have anything in my pockets besides lint to donate to your cause (that is if they'll take our worthless american dollars...).
Am in denial about your move, and am refusing to discuss it!
I have shin splints. There you go: I Contributed on a running topic! I'm not really qualified to join in. I run for exactly 18 minutes a week. I go on the treadmill for 30 minutes x 3 a week, and run for 1 minute out of every 5. I spend the remaining 4 waiting for my heartbeat to climb down from the 165bpm tree I've scared it into!
BAD dude!
Re: jobs - I've done a lot of cross country moves and now an international move and how I found it to be successful was to plan a trip and then follow up with the HR depts. of the companies you want to work for. Attempt to schedule as many interviews or meetings as possible for the time you will be there. You have to do it by phone though - email rarely works. Even if it isn't an actual job interview, schedule an informational interview to find out what jobs they may have coming up and what they are looking for in a candidate.
re: body issues (yeah, I know that's a sep. post but I'm lazy). My body issues are not because someone said anything to me, but from watching my mother torture herself and try every diet under the sun even when she wasn't fat. She was so unhappy with herself that it transferred to both me and my sister. None of us are fat and we are all miserable with our bodies (even though we act well-adjusted and positive on the outside). Don't do that to your kid, please!!
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