Sorry to anyone who is still dealing with cold weather but it is starting to get hot in Central Florida. Having the inability to get up early enough to miss the heat, I just end up pushing through it (or giving up an running in the air-conditioned gym.) One thing that helps pull my slow ass through sheets of Florida humidity is a great playlist.
Are you listening to anything new this week?
There may have been more of this lately.
Than this.
March was not a great month for me. I had a sinus infection that would not quit. I wasn’t sick enough to stay home from work but felt just crappy enough that working out just wasn’t happening.
Nothing like seeing it in graph form.
I am feeling like myself again and slowly getting back on track.
I need to come up with a new plan for the next few months. The only thing I am certain of right now is that I am running the 18TH Annual Summer Sunrise Watermelon 5K Series.
If you are in Central Florida, you have to run this series. The dates are June 1, June 22, July 20, and August 17. The races take place around Lake Hollingsworth and are put on by the Lakeland Runner’s Club. You can register online here for the series ($30) or the first race on June 1 ($10).
This series really helped me get through the I can’t believe how hot it is Florida summer while still getting my butt out there to run. Races really help me stay motivated. You can read my recaps of this series from 2012 here, here, here, and here.
Heading out the door for a ten mile run, when my legs are sore from weight training, I need all the motivation I can get.
Here’s to at least being faster than your slowest friend or neighbor!
Image from Fit Over Shit
Being unemployed is hard work.
Waking up each day, searching through job postings, and hoping that you get at least one interview is not as easy as it seems. The rejection and the feeling of dread that you may be unemployed for the long-term is stifling. I do feel lucky that I have friends who are keeping me updated when they hear of an opening and are helping me get my resume to the right people. It helps to know that there are people out there rooting for you.
Searching for a job is a lot like training for a race, I am putting in my time and hoping that it pays off in the long run. Hoping that each small piece, like networking, will help get me to the finish line.
The most difficult part of all this is the betrayal. My former job did notify my department of the imminent elimination but I was told in a meeting that they were creating a new position for me and that they did not want me to leave. I was even sent a rough idea of the new job duties and told to hold tight for an official job opening to come. That never happened and I was told that they were unable to get the funding for the new position on the same day I was informed about the lay off.
We cannot change the past but I feel like a fool. I should have started looking when they first spoke to us but I believed that they would want to keep someone who worked there for nearly five years and had been consistently successful. I was wrong.
Having so much more free time has allowed me to focus on some long-term projects that I had little time for previously. I am the President of the Polk County Young Democrats and really want this group to have a better social media presence. Now I have time to spend on that Twitter account and the Facebook fan page to hopefully attract more members. It is so important to me to get young people involved in politics, especially in an election year. I know spending more time working on that goal is well worth it.
I am well on my way to one of my 2012 goals of reading 100 books.
For now, I will keep moving forward and hope that this difficult time is temporary. That everything will work out in the end.
My department at work was eliminated and I was just told that my last day is Friday.
I am so sick with the plague (otherwise known as the head cold that could bring down civilizations) that I can barely react to this news.
I am a long-term employment type of gal and worked at my former job for four and a half years. There are lots of great memories and people who I hope to keep in touch with.
So what to do now?
Losing your job during one of the worse economic times in the past few decades is not ideal. Losing your job when your spouse is a fulltime student is even less so. So instead of curling up in the fetal position and feeling sorry for myself, I will be proactive.
This past year of working my butt off from Couch-to-5K to running a half marathon has given me the confidence to branch out. To strive for something greater. Did I love my last job and see myself doing it forever? Not really. Does this trying situation give me the opportunity to try something new? I hope so.
It is a lucky coincidence that a political junky is in need of employment during an election year in a swing state in a swing area that is bound to need paid staffers. It is also lucky that my new found interest in social media seems to be a growing industry that may have some openings in Central Florida.
Moving Forward
I need to update my resume and reach out to all of my contacts. Here is to hoping that someone in my extended network knows of an opening. Until then, I will keep my head up and keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other.
Have you been negatively effected by the economic downturn?
Do you know of any job openings in Central Florida? If so, please feel free to send them my way.
I love my husband.
He is kind, considerate, and just the nicest guy you will ever meet but is he making me fat?
This week I have written a lot about motivation because I had none all week. Would I be more motivated to run if I had a partner to run with? Is it easier for couples who both enjoy working out, to achieve their goals?
J loves sweets. Cookies, candy, and ice cream are always in our house. I usually have little interest in eating them and fill up on healthier fare but sometimes it is hard. Would it be easier to kick back on the couch with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s instead of all the hours in the kitchen I spend prepping healthy lunches and dinners? Probably. Is that how I want to live? No.
Don’t get me wrong, J is very supportive of my running. He understands my going to bed early on the weekends and getting up super early to beat the heat. He waits for me to finish my workouts after work so we can eat together. It really is all I can ask for but I wish sometimes he was out there with me and that there was not a lifetime supply of Australian Liquorice in my kitchen.
When you add kids into the mix, I do not know how some people do it.
Is this what the new SJP movie is about?
How do you balance family with your fitness goals?
Is your family making you fat?
Do you ever have a day where you know you should work (or maybe run because you are training for a half marathon)? Today was one of those days.
My legs have been tight and just off feeling all week. So I hopped on my elliptical and zoned out watching a documentary on the Netflix. Easy, quick, and still sweaty.
New TV starts this week! I love TV almost as much as I love my cats, so I thought I would share my must watch new shows list.
Speaking of cats.
1. Terra Nova Steven Spielberg, Sci-Fi, and Dinosaurs.
2. The Secret Circle They had me at based on a teen series and witches. I love me some supernatural teen novels (see my love of The Nine Lives of Chloe King and The Vampire Diaries.)
3. Ringer Buffy is back on TV.
4. The X Factor I stopped watching American Idol a few years ago but this show might capture my interest. Plus who doesn’t love Simon?
5. American Horror Story It’s a thriller, critics are loving it, and it is co-created by Ryan Murphy of Glee and Nip/Tuck fame.
6. Prime Suspect I really need a new cop drama and this one Maria Bello looks good. Great cast and a remake of a successful British series, I have high hopes for this one.
Do you have a go to workout for easy days?
What shows are you excited about for fall?
The folks at TV.Com compiled an awesome printable calendar (which is replacing the spread sheet I usually make every year because I am an insane person.) You can find it here.
Some days it can be hard to get moving.
Some days people take scary close up pictures of your face. (After they wake you up from your 45th nap of the day)
I workout after work most days and sometimes it is hard to get my butt in gear. There is cheesy TV to watch (The Lying Game) or countless hours of internet to look at.
I have been spending a lot of time on Pinterest and love looking at the motivating pins on the different boards. These are a few that I particularly like.
You can put this on your couch and will have to look at it while you eat cheese from a can.
For when you have a training run that is just a little longer than you want to go.
Source: facebook.com via Dina on Pinterest
Sometimes things are just hilarious.
How do you stay motivated?
Are you obsessed with Pinterest like I am?
Isn’t The Lying Game an awesome show?
