Hip Redux
I'm talking in the non-running sense. We spend a lot of time training and trying to improve our running, is there anything else that you are actively working on and trying to improve?Last year, I went back to school part-time for my MBA, so I have been working at that. It is a time sink, but I love school and learning and I hadn't realized how much I missed it. (Yeah, I was THAT kid.)
I am also consciously trying to work on being a good friend. I have a tendency to get overly focused on the immediate stuff going on around me and forget that others need support, etc. This Saturday, I drove 90 miles to go to the funeral to support a friend. I almost bailed - it was a gorgeous day out, it was going to be a long drive to do something uncomfortable, etc. But I am so glad I went because I know it meant a lot to her to have me there.
How about you?
Oski- Those sound like lofty goals! Glad you got to be with your friend, and good luck at school!
At my job, I am transitioning from being a reading specialist, who works with kids, to an instructional coach who works mostly with teachers. And I'm really wanting to do a good job at actually being a helpful person who listens to teachers and helps them to feel like they're supported in their work without being bossy or creating more work for them. Plus I have to walk this fine line between teachers and the admins that can get tricky at times. There are days when I feel like the work is new and exciting and interesting, and days when I feel like I don't know what the hell I'm doing.
One of these days, I would like to get back into dog training. My older dog is a natural in the obedience ring. She got her first Rally title and won some events, but then I stopped when she got injured (and needed knee surgery) right as I started running. We're at a stopping point because I am just not good at training the "stand" and get frustrated. But I bet if I put in 5-10 minutes a day, every day, we'd figure it out.
Oski and Zel, those goals all sound great. You both sound very well-balanced, with goals in physical fitness, work, and personal life!
The major goal I've been working on for the last 18 months is learning Spanish. Learning a new language in middle age is even harder than picking up running! I think one of the things that makes it hard is that I don't have a specific goal or reason to learn it so I don't always stay focused. I volunteer in an organization that serves immigrant families, but I work with the kids, and they all speak English. And if I need to communicate with the parents, the kids help! Anyway, I'm trying to decide if I should take semester 3 of Spanish this summer or wait until fall semester. Oski, thanks to your post you've got me thinking now that I should do it this summer to get my momentum back.
Brilliant- That sounds like an awesome goal, too! I hear that, except for accent, adults can actually do pretty well at learning languages just because we tend to be able to organize our thoughts and notice patterns better than kids. At least that's what I tell myself, since I have also been learning Spanish as an adult. What really made the difference for me was working in a bilingual preschool, because I got all the little kids' songs stuck in my head, so my brain was practicing Spanish all the time. Maybe get some Enrique Iglesias albums and sing along in the car? Or kids' music if you want to sing with the kids at your volunteer job. They might get a kick out of that.
Nothing. I started running way more after I finally finished my MBA 3 1/2 years ago. I did the 1 class at a time thing, so it took 5 years. Kinda hard to get motivated to consider anything else after that.
Are we there, yet?
At one time I tried to teach myself to draw using primarily charcoal sticks and pencils. I've been thinking about picking that up again.
2024 Races:
03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles
05/11 - D3 50K 05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour
06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.
Oski and Zel, those goals all sound great. You both sound very well-balanced, with goals in physical fitness, work, and personal life! The major goal I've been working on for the last 18 months is learning Spanish. Learning a new language in middle age is even harder than picking up running! I think one of the things that makes it hard is that I don't have a specific goal or reason to learn it so I don't always stay focused. I volunteer in an organization that serves immigrant families, but I work with the kids, and they all speak English. And if I need to communicate with the parents, the kids help! Anyway, I'm trying to decide if I should take semester 3 of Spanish this summer or wait until fall semester. Oski, thanks to your post you've got me thinking now that I should do it this summer to get my momentum back.
From now on, I'll speak to you only in Spanish. You'll learn pretty quickly that way more than any other. Good luck!
Damaris
As part of the 2024 London Marathon, I am fundraising for VICTA, a charity that helps blind and visually impaired children. My mentor while in law school, Jim K (a blind attorney), has been a huge inspiration and an example of courage and perseverance. Please consider donating.
Fundraising Page
From the Internet.
I'm training to run so I can hide from the rest of my life
I'm super tired and burnt out at the end of 7 years pursuing a PhD. I will graduate in August, stay on in my lab as a postdoc for a few months while I job search, and hopefully at some point I'll figure out what I want to do with my degree. I don't know that I have the stomach to stay in academic science though I love the schedule flexibility, I like editing so I might make some moves to go in that direction eventually. My CV is not particularly stellar at this point.
What I really want to do is rescue cats and start an informal track club for kids in my town but those things do not make use of all my years of education, nor will they help pay the bills.
I'm training to run so I can hide from the rest of my life I'm super tired and burnt out at the end of 7 years pursuing a PhD. I will graduate in August, stay on in my lab as a postdoc for a few months while I job search, and hopefully at some point I'll figure out what I want to do with my degree. I don't know that I have the stomach to stay in academic science though I love the schedule flexibility, I like editing so I might make some moves to go in that direction eventually. My CV is not particularly stellar at this point. What I really want to do is rescue cats and start an informal track club for kids in my town but those things do not make use of all my years of education, nor will they help pay the bills.
Are you in biology? Typically that's were I see the longer PhDs. My husband and I also have PhDs - he went academia and I didn't. If you have any questions about either job path, let me know
Brilliant - I took 8 years of Spanish (4 high school and 4 college), and I was thinking the other day that I should brush up and try to get back to being more fluent. Then I thought that maybe I should learn proper Italian because the rest of my family speaks. And then I realized that I don't have enough time to do all the things I want to do. lol
Yup, neuroscience. Thanks for the offer, I will PM you with questions when I'm a bit closer to figuring out my life Right now I'm just trying to get my brain to buckle down and help me finish writing a paper and my thesis. And posting on running forums because that's a productive use of my time. Le sigh.
Neat! When I was writing, I would escape to the gym for, like, the entire afternoon. Because it was way better than writing my thesis, lol. In fact, most everything was better than that.
I am taking my dogs to Nosework classes. But maybe that is their training and not mine.
Refurbished Hip
I have been talked into a bike tour this summer around part of the state. Something like 500 miles -- lots of deserted county highways and bike paths. We'll mostly camp and stay with friends. We drove part of the route yesterday...holy hills. I'm going to die, despite my dude carrying most of the gear.
Running is dumb.
I'd like to start training for retirement.
Training for either a long distance backpacking or canoeing adventure ... haven't decided which yet although I am leaning more towards the canoeing adventure. So that means I've been running less but instead mixing things up at the gym (elliptical, stationary bike). I've been watching some YouTube videos of canoe adventures up in Algonquin and beyond but I'm not quite ready for that yet.
I would love to backpack the Teton Crest Trail some day soon. Or Isle Royale. Or ... geez, the list is just so long.