On Meditation and Other Habits That Have Fallen to the Wayside

June 27, 2018June 27, 2018 - Mel

I sustained a 90-day daily meditation streak. And on Day 91, I opened my Headspace app in bed – as I previously mentioned my intent at moving my practice to another time of day and hahahahahahahaha JUST KIDDING – and proceeded to fall asleep. Before actually doing the meditation.

The streak was broken. All I had to do was restart on Day 92. But May 13 came and went. Aside from a mid-flight relaxation session while traveling to Vancouver, I haven’t done a single meditation exercise since.

Funny thing about habits, eh?

(Apparently my Canadien accent is still hanging on.)

Spring quarter really killed my motivation for meditation, my daily bedtime and morning coffee reading rituals, and my run schedule. I even stopped my meal tracking. I mean, I have certainly filled the void with other types of exercise and fun and way too much scrolling and trolling social media and even playing stupid games on my phone called “Toon Blast.” While I allowed myself the freedom to just do “whatever,” the structure of a training plan and daily habits kept me balanced (and really, really helps me sleep better). Plus I was making excuses: I’m not training for anything right now, so I don’t need to run at all or track my food. And because I wasn’t training for anything and wasn’t tracking my food, I was eating sandwiches for several meals a day and not eating my healthier lunch salads. And on and on.

Why is it so hard to restart habits? It’s not about motivation, FYI. I truly believe that action begets motivation. Though introducing so many components at once is setting up for overwhelm and, possibly, failure. The key is to integrate small pieces at a time.

My training schedule for my fall 50K started this week, and I’m committed to seeing to that race as a strong participant (and working with a coach who takes the guessing game of training plans out of the equation and out of my mental space). I have re-introduced my morning book with my coffee and slowly working on getting to bed at an earlier time for my nighttime reading. Though I’m on summer break, I am slowly returning to my books and notes and fellow cohorts to prepare for my upcoming internship. Summer break has been a good opportunity to reconnect with friends and be super social. And also kickstart how I want to use my minutes. Oh, hi! I’m also here again, too, hoping to reinvigorate my regular blogging habit.

I leave for two weeks in late July and will be wholly uprooted from my comfort and quiet zones, and my intention is to have my habits firmly in place by then. Though I will be in a different location and I will be sharing a coffee maker with WHO KNOWS how many people in a Bay area hostel, I can bring my habits (and my books) with me.

Goals for April – and March Updates

April 7, 2018July 1, 2018 - Mel

BIG FEAR has been a theme around which much of my goal work has focused. What am I afraid of? has been a constant in considering some of the reasons why I either a) don’t end up doing something or b) freaking out needlessly. I have neither the mission of letting others down or creating undue stress for myself. So, I persist in exploring why fear continues to come up for me.

Let’s recap first for March:

1. Find one day every other week – at least 2 hours – where I am working outside of my home. This did not happen this month; however, I DID leave the house quite a bit this month – just not with the intention of work.
2. ~~Connect with a friend – old or new – each and every week.~~ DONE. This small act has made me so happy this month!
3. ~~Do 3 things out of my comfort zone this month~~. I didn’t necessarily keep track of the quantity but I kept the ultimate goal of getting out of my comfort zone as a recurring theme of the month. So much so, that I submitted an application to do a workshop at a youth camp and OMG I HAVE TO ACTUALLY FOLLOW THROUGH THIS MONTH.
4. ~~Visit one new local establishment, restaurant, shop, museum.~~ Yes! My husband and I went to THREE new (to me) restaurants this month (801 Chophouse, Splash, and Aposto), and I met with friends at four new places (Gong Fu Tea, The Hall, The Wine Experience, and Z Mariks). I really took advantage of Spring Break. In April, I would like to do more than restaurant or drinking establishments.
5. Start a reflection journal for school. Ugh, I still haven’t started this. It’s now spring semester and will I ever? I need to explore more why I initially set this intention and haven’t been able to follow through. More to come on that reflection.
6. ~~Publish a new One Word Project post.~~ Yes! Read my latest post.

As I previously mentioned, spring quarter is in full swing. I am taking five classes – including starting my coursework for my corresponding Entrepreneurship Certificate. I’m excited about all my classes right now and I am also realistic that this workload doesn’t offer much “free” time to focus on other areas. And also, see #3 above where I have to create and implement a youth workshop. *gulp*

In any event, here is what I put together for April:

1. I am already doing a daily meditation – in fact, I am currently on a 54-day streak! That said, many of those times have been a OMG I’M IN BED AND I FORGOT TO DO MY MEDITATION. So I play the guided sleep meditation. Meditation is meditation (and this session in particular, while only a few minutes helps me sleep like a freaking baby)… BUT. I want to make it more of an intentional practice rather than another “thing to do” on my bedtime task list. So my goal is to at least 3x per week to do my meditation in the morning or afternoon for at least 10 minutes.

2. I want to visit the Des Moines Art Center, or a different gallery or see a new exhibition at least once this month.

3. Create and execute a (somewhat flawless) one-hour workshop!

4. I started making a Des Moines coffee shop list. There are SO MANY that I haven’t yet been. I’m already driving into downtown twice a week for physical therapy, so at least once a week, I’m going to hit one of those on my list.

5. Get my bike into Rasmussen for a season tune-up. I have a Women on Adventures event planned for the end of April, for which I’ll need my bike!

This sounds like a good place to start! What’s on your goal list for April?

Weekly Therapy: New Year, New… Face?

January 27, 2018 - Mel

the week:
Wordpress has been having some wonky-ass glitches in the editing panel, so this post has been sitting for almost two weeks. They STILL haven’t responded to any of my tweets – despite figuring out what is causing the edit task bar (where you can add links and change font) to disappear. I can’t even go to Visual mode either because while I SEE it, I can’t click it. I also cannot add tags or any photos to my posts. It seems tied to how many drafts of a post are saved – or maybe something with one of my plug-ins. All this happened right after the last WP update, so something is incompatible now. SO FRUSTRATING!

Anyways…

I got my first retinol chemical peel (which I’ve been sharing to my Insta Stories) because I wanted to see if it would work to clear up some of my old acne scars and sun spots. WOAH BOY, has this been an interesting experience! I experienced a couple days of disruptive and uncomfortable annoyance (read: burning, itchy face peeling)… and even if the results were awesome, I’m not sure that I’d do it over again. 😬 I’m not at all embarrassed by how my face looks – then or now; I went to both yoga and boxing AND fancy dinner at our club in the midst of major peeling – though I find myself not wanting to wear a lot of makeup anymore. And when I DO wear makeup, my skin just looks awful. So that was what spurred me to do such a thing.

Spoiler alert: I have definitely noticed some positive changes in my skin – and the aesthetician warned me about having unrealistic expectations. But still. I guess for ACTUALLY BURNING SEVERAL LAYERS OF MY FACE OFF, I had some bigger expectations than the results that I have. 60% chance I do it again.

I know.

weekend:
Despite us having a brief temperature warm up this week, we’re back to just about freezing again. But I’m planning some trail miles this morning at Brown’s Woods and a gathering with my fellow Turkeys.

Also, pretty sure I want to go to 80s/90s Skate Night.

Ultra Training Week #3: The Trails are for Everybody

August 14, 2017 - Mel

Training week #3 started off pretty good for me. But a little too much fun at the casino on Friday night left me with a gnarly day-long hangover on Saturday, which meant that there was no way I was getting in my weekly long run. I fared only a little better by Sunday – able to get in 6.4 miles at Center Trails before calling it a day (I still had maybe only 200 calories in my system at that time).

It’s not the end of the world — though at times during my hangover I thought it might be. Running after puking for 24 hours is a skill good for Ultras, no? In any event, Sunday’s run was SLOW for me, and I fell behind my pack for most of the run, working on a lot of power hiking. Though I sometimes need the reminder Run Your Own Race — even on training days. And that came by way of an oncoming mountain biker. I apologized for being slow to move out of the way, and he — ever a gracious human being on this early Sunday morning — remarked: The trails are for everybody!

I let out some kind of awkward, shrill-yelling “YEASSSS!” as we passed one another. And I stopped feeling sorry for myself (and instead started profusely apologizing to my liver).

ultra fun trail running ultramarathon training — I was such a mess on Sunday, that I apparently couldn’t even wear my hat correctly!

WHAT’S FUN?
This upcoming week I’ve got my first meet-up with a work-organized running group and a HOKA demo & pub run with Fleet Feet.

SOMETHING-SOMETHING:
You can’t pay people to be motivated to go to the gym.

AUGUST MILEAGE UPDATE: 36.9 miles
WEEKLY MILEAGE: 14.4 miles
MILEAGE FOR THE YEAR: 577.31 miles
UP NEXT: Rockin’ Chocolate Half Marathon in Madison, WI and NewBo Half in Cedar Rapids, IA — both part of my Labor Day back-to-back half challenge with Pittsburgh City Girl

Weekly Therapy: Loyalty and road trips and early morning alarms

April 21, 2017 - Mel

the week:
I purchased a lunch bag from eBags a few years ago and was sad when the interior lining started ripping away from the zipper. I finally replaced it a few weeks ago with something new, but strongly disliked its smaller interior capacity (less room for snacks!) and handles that don’t keep the back straight — and no short carry handle on the top of the bag (so high maintenance!). When looking around their site to find my original, I discovered that eBags-branded products have a LIFETIME WARRANTY against defects — and they replaced my well-loved lunch bag with a brand new one!

I’m in no way sponsored or compensated by the company, but I absolutely love when brands do right by their products and will shout my loyalty from the rooftops. I’ll love this lunch bag for another few years and all is right with my world and my many (many) meals and snacks that I need to bring with me to work.

weekend:
I’m off to Illinois to take on the I-Half Challenge (a 5K tonight and a half marathon on Saturday morning) and my first race as a BibRave Pro ambassador! This will be my 10th half marathon. CRAZY.

A friend is also driving up to Champaign to spend the remainder of the weekend with me, and I’m so happy to get to see her and drink wine, since it’s been YEARS. If the weather stays nice, we are planning on trail skating, too. #shutuplegs

seven things, seven days:
1. Remember my office fire from two months ago? Well I finally got a box of my personal belongings from my desk. Which included close to none of my belongings.
2. I had a dream this week where a parade of kids were wearing items from my closet that I haven’t worn in forever. What a message, eh? Must be time for another round of Cleaning of the Closets.
3. For my wedding celebration this summer, I requested a box of party dresses from my Trunk Club [referral link] — and she sent the PERFECT dress.
4. Collaboration creates mediocrity. According to Science. And me, a high performer.
5. Well, this is interesting: The new rules of hydration {via Outside}
6. That voice inside your head will make you a better runner — another great article from Outside.
7. Weirdly, success is about thinking you’re not too successful {via Science of Us}

Weekly Therapy: Luck o’ the Irish to you!

March 18, 2017 - Mel

the week:
Current status: Eating leftover (gluten-free!) wedding cake for breakfast.

weekend:
So, we made our marriage license official — and celebrated EIGHT YEARS together! ? We found a wonderful lady to come to our home and get our signatures (along with our witnesses), and then will celebrate with some corned beef and cabbage and shots of Irish whiskey.

Sláinte!

seven things, seven days:
1. Spent the week planning out my 50k training (and scheduling periods of NO RUNNING throughout the remainder of my 2017 calendar).
2. I also started my packing list for Ragnar Luckenbach at the end of the month.
3. The Science and Art of Belief – in trail running {via Trail Runner Magazine}
4. Even in middle age, your best running days may be ahead. HOORAY!
5. This research is important for me to see — and, I hope, more to come about low levels of Vitamin D in athletic populations, as I’m someone with seriously-low D3 levels with an inability to absorb supplementation and maintain normal levels: New study identifies threshold for vitamin D supplementation in athletes
6. THE MARSHMALLOW TEST IS A LIE (well, sort of) {via Psychology Today}
7. Speaking of marshmallows… I’m going to eat another bowl of Lucky Charms (they’re gluten-free!)

Weekly Therapy: CRAZY PANTS.

February 24, 2017 - Mel

the week:
Oh, hey! I took the last couple Fridays off from my weekly posts to focus on vacation and honeymooning and stuff. And let me tell you, there was NO time for scheduling posts in advance. I was thankful to have the weekend back after traveling to recover from the boat sways and all. the. laundry. Although I came back to a LOT of change at work, including getting a new manager my first day back, and then the office building catching fire a day later. I didn’t go back to work until Thursday.

This week has just been crazy pants. But at least I got to enjoy some of this beautiful weather Iowa is was having!

weekend:
Tell me how to work a 12-mile training run and a hair appointment into one morning? Because I’m not sure why I did that.

seven things, seven days:
1. Pretty sure that I sleep-shopped on Amazon this week.
2. I also finished the WORST book this week. No thanks to Book of the Month Club for that suggestion.
3. We Anchored Down for TRB XVIII!
4. Oh HEY, roller derby retiree finds running (sounds familiar!) {via Oiselle blog}
5. How to get stuff done after work (when all you want to do is watch TV) {via Elite Daily}
6. How to go Faux Pro (Marathon Edition) {via Running Starfish}
7. Willpower is a myth — and you should stop using it as your scapegoat. {via Nautilus}

Weekly Therapy: I can’t get enough of this kind of love

February 4, 2017 - Mel

the week:
Well, I shared some big news this week. Kinda overshadows my news of getting a new car. 😉

weekend:
Can you believe that I’ve made it to 7:30am group run THREE Saturdays in a row??? Still not a morning person, but it definitely feels good to get my long runs out of the way and have the entirety of my Saturday free.

I have no horse in the race for tomorrow’s BIG GAME, though we’ll be consuming a bunch of calories with friends.

seven things, seven days:
1. I wore heels (like, actual stiletto dress heels) for the first time in YEARS. Thankfully, sitting for dinner didn’t require much STANDING on them. ?
2. Did you know all seasons of Desperate Housewives is on Hulu? It was one of my favorite shows. I started watching agin from the first season — this series still holds up!
3. I can buy Jeni’s ice cream in Iowa!!!
4. How do you feel about self-help gurus? {via Vox}
5. Why old friends matter – this piece warmed my heart. I have girlfriends that I’ve known since elementary school, and I’m so excited to have them visit me this summer in Iowa! {via Book of Life}
6. How being part of a crowd can change you for the better (what’s up, my Women Marchers?) {via Science of US}
7. COUNTDOWN TO VACATION!!!!!!

Weekly Therapy: “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell”

January 7, 2017 - Mel

the week:
Man, was it difficult to return to work this week! I felt like I hit a wall every day around 3pm and not even espresso could help me recover.

Seeing as how we’re already a week into the new year, I’m spending some time reflecting on 2016 and the areas in which to focus this year. I also have to write my annual review (due next week, GAH!), which has always been a struggle for me — despite keeping regular notes of my successes throughout the year. I feel like my head is constantly spinning!

Does anyone else have a journal that they keep on them to “brain dump” throughout the week? Mine is mostly a giant book of to-do lists, but I feel crazy if I don’t get the running list out of my head.

weekend:
Still no working treadmill, so I need to decide if I’m bundling up for the great outdoors this weekend or making extra trips to my gym. *groan*

I’m going to love the shit out of my massage on Sunday. And maybe I’ll go to ULTA and spend my Christmas money.

seven things, seven days:
1. Visit two with my stylist this week, and she was able to correct how much red was pulling in my hair. Going back to “natural” from platinum blonde is a process and remind me of this when I want to go lighter again.
2. The Limited is closing. 🙁
3. Some great tips to beat the running blues… if you’ve lost your mojo. {via Mizuno Running}
4. Old habits die hard – how to really change your life in 2017, per Gretchen Rubin {via The Guardian}
5. OMG check out these old runners advertisements from ADIDAS.
6. Have an ultra on your challenge list for 2017? READ THIS >> A Century or Bust: 100-Mile Lessons
7. The Kaizen approach — and how to be 1% better every day {via Medium}

Weekly(ish) Therapy: Happy Holidays, 30-Somethings!

December 30, 2016 - Mel

keep-calm-and-drink-champagne-231

the week(s):
We celebrated an early holiday last week with a big Christmas dinner and champagne and exchanging of gifts at home. It was nice to get some time to ourselves and have fun with the cats before the chaos of traveling. I was able to visit with most of my family while I was in Ohio for a few days — and greatly enjoyed the extra PTO days.

weekend(s):
CHRISTMAS!

Have a Happy New Year — and I hope there is spiked eggnog or bottles of champagne in your immediate future. 😉

seven things, seven(ish) days:
1. My mom gave us a vintage bowl and drink glasses set to make Tom & Jerry’s. I cannot wait for future holidays to serve these!!!
2. One of our cats had to get a tooth pulled this week. She’s OK but I was a nervous wreck since she was at the vet for almost the entire day. 🙁
3. I never realized until this week how many animals have a sound that is similar to a woman screaming bloody murder. Plenty of youtube videos out there too, if you’re wanting to go down that rabbit hole.
4. An older article but a goodie: The Spiritual Life of the Long Distance Runner
5. Why this guy quit his job to run 59 marathons {via The Muse}
6. Willpower to achieve goals is overhyped, so say psychologists. Re: self-control: “It’s no different than any other decision making.” And looks like the ego depletion theory has been debunked. {via Vox}
7. The impact of running on the brain. NEAT! {via PsyPost}