Dear Diary,
I have, I shit you not, forgotten to post this three weeks in a row. Thus I present:Friday fifteen.
15. This past weekend went with Sweet Baboo to Canyon de Chelly, to stand at the mouth of the Canyon, and shout my intentions to the gods. Then, run/walk/hike 17 miles out and back for the Canyon de Chelly Ultra. More on that later. Spoiler alert: over seventy-five stream crossings.
14. In sharp contrast, I'm doing the Marine Corps marathon at the end of the month. We were planning to see lots of monuments, and are taking Mama Baboo because she's never gone to DC. I really wanted to visit the Smithsonian, but now don't know if they'll even be open. It was almost canceled due to the shutdown, but now it's back on. Boo yah!
13. I realized that the Canyon de Chelly run was my 49th marathon or longer distance run. This weekend is the Duke City marathon, here in Albuquerque. Now, it befogged me to mention also, that.
- This is the Duke City's 30th year.
- I have never run the Duke City marathon.
- The logo is really cool.
Ergo. As quirky Querque my beloved adopted hometown, I must, must, must make this my fiftieth marathon or longer distance.
Ahaeet?
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| Canyon de Chelly |
12. Now, Dreadpirate has argued strenuously against this. She worries and mothers me so. I must admit that off all females I am fondest of her and consider her to be the most acceptable. And yes, that's three marathons in a row. But as I explained to her, it's three slow runs, with aid. I'll be okay. Yoga, stretching, gentle weight lifting in between.
11. My plan for this Sunday is to run four minutes, walk 1 minute. Drink at every aid station.
10. In September, I did a crazy half road marathon that descended 4000 feet over the course. I paid the price. I did some damage. My lower legs have only now stopped hurting.
9. The Olympic weigh training is starting to pay off. I'm getting this whole Michelle Obama upper arm thing going. the old-fashioned way. It also involves a lot of weighted squats and lunges, and I'm noticing that climbing is a lot easier.
8. On WeightWatchers, I'm down about a pound or so a week. I'll take it. It's the first steady weight loss I've seen in about a year. I'm pretty horrified at old fat. I've never had "cellulite" before. Ew.
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| My adopted home town, at night. |
7. This has been a tough few months at work. It's been unrelenting, an average of ten to twelve kids on the unit. In an eight hour day, this allows me about 45 to 50 minutes to spend on each kid each day. During those 45 to 50 minutes, the following must be accomplished:
- Talk to the kid, i.e., "therapy"
- Talk to the kid's parents, JPO, social worker, attorney...
- Argue with the insurance company
- Find services, and make follow-up appointments
- Talk to the doctors and nurses about the kids progress
- Chart my activities for the day in the kid's chart
- Have a family meeting once during their stay.
- Conduct one group therapy for an hour each day
- Write a four-page psychosocial assessment for each kid once during their stay.
- Attend weekly meetings, trainings,
- Occasionally, and sadly, make a call to protective services
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| Northeast Albuqerque in winter. |
6. So, as one might gather, I've been a little stressed. I have also had some very high maintenance parents demanding more than their share of attention. I've had to fight to get help. I've been putting in an hour of overtime, at least, per day. I'm grateful that I'm not on salary any more.
5. Also, when I take a paid vacation day, they're stopped sending anyone to cover for me. Nothing gets done.
4. So, given that I'm a morning person, but mornings are increasingly dark (and increasingly colder) and given that I am exhausted by the end if the day, I decided to start doing mid-day runs. I did a practice one last week, and it was was AWESOMMMMEEE!!! I was instantly de-stressed. I simply stopped working about noon, and clocked out for nearly 90 minutes. That was time for a relaxed 2 miler, including the de-funkifying after and then lunch..
It was glorious. The freedom I felt was enormous. There is something highly symbolic about running away from work in the middle of the day. I ran out a little over a mile and then back, while the wind was gusting and rain started blowing. I changed back into my clothes and, without clocking back in, mosied down to the cafeteria and bought a panini. I clocked back in about 1:30, and worked another five hours.
3. I am still standing at my desk at least half day. I'm moving forward with a more permanent and ergonomic solution to making this work for me. I've started collecting pretty flats.
2. I bought two pairs of Altras. I'm planning to write a review soon.
1. In the midst of the Canyon de Chelly run I came down with a stomach bug. The evening after the race I basically liquefied all my insides. The next day I barely ate and slept twelve hours. The next two days I ate very little. I was queasy and tired and miserable. I lost 2 more pounds.
Best. Diet. Ever.
...
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