I haven’t been following the Couch to 5k by the book, but I’ve definitely been getting my run on.

Last week I got the ball rolling by doing two hard core runs with chippednailsandall. And by hard core, I mean like “you’d-slap-your-momma-because-it-hurts-so-bad-but-you-don’t-have-the-strength-because-your-legs-are-like-jello-and-even-your-hair-hurts” hard core. (Sidenote–even though she kicks my ass worse than “Crazy Eyes” Jillian, I feel so lucky to have someone like C in my life. She  is the ultimate motivator–pushing me to go farther than I think I can every time. And she even puts up with my fatigue-induced cursing and spontaneous shin splints. Thanks for being you boo-boo!)

And then this week I managed to squeeze in three runs after work and still made it out for the usual dinner–shopping–happy hour scenes. Sometimes even I’m amazed at how awesome how I am.

So as a reward, I’m treating myself to a shot of my old life and spending most of the weekend @ my alma mater JMU for Homecoming. Go Dukes! The plan for Sunday is to run, catch a movie and then hunker down at the library to pull an undergrad moment and crash in the stacks prep for an upcoming conference presentation. Oh the work never ends…

It’s been over a month since my last post. A month. Damn.

In that time I’ve celebrated a birthday, got a new boss, taken a couple trips, fallen more in love with Charlottesville, and stumbled more out of sync with myself.

Lately I’ve been feeling restless. I need a change. I need a new start. Realistically this can’t exactly happen for a few months, so until then I’ll make do. I’m going to do all the things I used to do that I’ve neglected due to work, stress, happy hours and bull sh*t. I’m going to start volunteering again. Start listening again. Start saving again. Start running again.

Of course in between these things I’ll still do my usual m.o. of shopping, drinking and shopping. You have to do you boo. But I’m going to make more time for the things that matter most: family, friends and finding out what makes me happy. Because I lost it for a second, but I’m definitely going to get it back. I have to.

But I do have a contingency plan.

I’ll be out of town for the weekend cheering on my peoples at the VA Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon (which I’m clearly in no shape to run myself). So when I get back I’m going to claim Sunday as the last workout for week one, and then on Monday I’ll start week two. That should work right?

I’ll be offline for the next couple of days but come Monday I’ll have a full recap of the weekend (and hopefully a new blog header) for all two of my readers .

Deuces.

I had all intentions of getting my workout on, I swear. But happy hour sort of turned into happy evening.

pic courtesy of www.chilis.com

That kind of thing just happens @ Chili’s.

But never fear, I’m all set for run numero dos this evening. Watch out now.

Like most days I got held up and didn’t leave until after 6pm. In the rush of having a co-worker offer a ride to my car (and therefore saving me a half mile walk back), I grabbed my things and jetted out the door. Only to realize 15 minutes later that I left my bag at my desk. Whon whonnnn…

So I drove home where I forced to throw on the worst running ensemble ever–old, super baggy sweats and Chuck Taylors. Definitely hot mess material. Nonetheless I was not deterred…I strapped on my tunes and hit the road. Only to realize two seconds later that I live in the middle of the country, i.e. no sidewalks, windy roads and rampant wildlife that don’t obey traffic laws. Sweet.

But despite the obstacles, and almost getting hit by several cars, I managed to complete the first workout of the program–a five minute walk and then alternating walking and jogging (or “wogging” as the cool kids say) for 20 minutes. I feel good. I’m not crazy exhausted, but it definitely was a challenge. And I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow’s date with Jillian and the 30 Day Shred (after happy hour of course).

In the year since I’ve graduated college I’ve simply let myself go. Not that there was much to lose in the first place, but whatever semblance of a healthy life that I had has been shot to hell. To be fair, in the past year a whole lot of change has been happening in Hot Mess land. I graduated college, moved to a new city, started a new job and met a ton of new people. I’ve been blaming the happy hours and late nights for not staying fit. I kept telling myself “once you get settled you’ll join the gym,” or “maybe next week you’ll give tofu a try instead of Qdoba.” Fat chance. Haha, literally…wow I just got that.

Yet looking ahead into my future I only see the potential for more change to head my way. Grad school, starting a family, the electric car. So what better time is there than the present?

Starting next week I’m setting my sights on getting fit. There’s no particular goal in mind–not a number of pounds to lose or miles to run–just a goal to improve my overall fitness and regain the fabulousness I fear I’m starting to lose.

Tune in next week for what’s sure to be a bumpy, yet stylish, ride.

-M