Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Wellness Wednesday...week...something or other

I'll figure out what week I'm on next week.  For now, wow, it's been awhile since I did a wellness wednesday update, last update was closing out August, and now it's almost October!  So here is where I'm at...I got some good mileage in for August, my long run will be 10 miles this weekend, and  I took a week off in the middle (actually last week).  Last week was supposed to be a cutback week after a long run of 9 miles (which I totally rocked).  I ended up not running at all between the 9 miles on Sunday to this past Sunday where I clocked in 4 miles.  Which leads me to today's topic...exercise guilt.  That feeling you get when you "know" you "should" be running (or working out) and you just...don't.  Missing a run here or there, no big deal...missing a week's worth...the guilt can be overwhelming.  However, sometimes you just need to not run.

Last week I was dealing with a lot of stress due to work.  My back had knotted up so badly due to the stress and tension I was carrying around that I was in a bit of pain.  So instead of worrying about NOT running, I took some time to do a little bit of stretching and lots of massage/rolling of my back. By the time Sunday came around, I was able to run and feel good.  Running in the middle of the week would have probably led to a terrible run, which would have generated a lot of negative feelings, and (knowing me) crushed my confidence in a long run.  There are days that a bad run is NOT better than no run.

So I recovered this week, my mileage for the month is at 32, the weather is great, my stress levels are low, and I don't feel bad about missing those runs.  I am looking forward to my long run this weekend, and I know physically and mentally I'm prepared for it.  This is the most excited I've ever been for a 10 mile run...now I just hope I can live up to my own hype!

That's where I'm at right now.  I am looking to get a new pair of shoes to start rotating in with my old pair so that I can prolong the life of the old ones.  I have almost 6 weeks left before my half marathon, so I'm feeling really good!

In other race news, I've decided on a spring half, (so very excited) and I'm actually considering adding another spring race.  This would mean running two half marathons within 3 weeks next spring...but that's a decision to be made at a later date.  After my race in November, I'll decide if I'm ready to tackle two races so close together.



Friday, September 19, 2014

catching up...

wow, feel like I had abandoned this blog...turns out I had, but only for about 2 weeks!  I hope to be back with a giant catch up wellness wednesday post next week, but for now, I'll just catch up on some sewing.

Still working on my Red Letter Day quilt, finished up block's 5 and 6 this morning:

Block 5:

Block 6:

I'm actually kind of sick of these blocks...I love the finished product, and I really want to get this quilt top complete...but I want to work on something not Red Letter Day!  I need to finish something...anything at this point.  So I'll try not to feel too overwhelmed and just dig in on something this weekend.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Revisiting goals...

August started out so well sewing-wise...and then promptly dropped off into never land around the middle of the month.  Oh well.  I have only one question at this point, is it really September???  This year is flying by, so I thought I should revisit my 2014 goals, see where I'm at, how far I have to go, or if any of my goals need tweaking.  So here they are with current status in red:
  1. Finish at least 14 quilts in 2014 finished 5
  2. Make quilt for M and B (who got married 12/26/13!) not sure what I want to do with this one
  3. Use my stash! Maybe it's time I started logging on the weekly stash reports that are out there. have done halfway decent with this one, I've added, but far less than usual 
  4. Continue to work on FMQ...don't just stipple everything...not that there is anything wrong with stippling, but it's time to branch out a bit more! yeah, pretty much still stippling
  5. Make a bag for A (who hinted pretty heavily at wanting one) this one is coming off the list as A hasn't bothered to respond to my requests for colors
Not too shabby.  I have several quilts that are at the flimsy stage, they just need backing, quilting and binding.  I have another that just needs borders added and then the same backing, quilting and binding.  So I think I still have a chance at Goal #1.  #2 is where I can't decide if I want to give them a quilt that is already in progress, or make them one from the start.  Most of my quilts in progress right now have no designation...they'll probably end up staying here at my house.  So I need to take a little bit of time and come to a decision on this one.  #3 I've been pretty good with.  Yes, I have added to my stash, but I've been a bit more choosy about what I've been adding.  So I'll call #3 on track.  #4 and #5 are just there, I don't see a whole lot of progress being made on those in the near future.  I will think about those and decide in the next few days if I want to revise those goals, or try for a push on them in the next few months.

Well that's it.  Football starts again this week, so I plan on spending plenty of time in the sewing room while I watch my beloved Red Zone!