It's back to underwear again....

Ahh, the things that amuse me.....

So yesterday was a big run day - after spraining my ankle almost 4 weeks ago (has it really been that long?) - yesterday was my first big run.  According to the schedule, I was supposed to run 18k, but I figured my first long run out I might not make it the whole way (I'd run 2k and 3k last week) so I resolved that what I couldn't run, I would walk.  I made it to 17k, then my phone died - the one tracking my distance and the one with my music.....  I figured it was a sign from God, so I walked the last kilometre.  Some minor aches and pains, but I was pretty proud of myself despite the 1k of walking.

That wasn't what I started out to write about - I wanted to talk about underwear - sport underwear - which is why I went off on a tangent.

So, my long run went fairly well, but about those minor pains.... Do you know what it's like to jump up and down for over 2 hours?  Jump up and down with the girls strapped and encased in a sports bra?  Even a regular bra would rub at some point....  So I have bra rash and my shoulders are a little sore and I think it's largely (no pun intended, hahaha) due to the fact that my sports bra is over 5 years old.  Sturdy though it is, I thought today, that maybe a new one wouldn't hurt.

So shopping it was (my favourite thing these days and surprisingly, there is no sarcasm there at all....)  and after work, I went out and bought myself a shock absorber.  Really - that's what they call it and it sure is - it holds those puppies in like I've never seen before.  And the surprising thing is that once it's on, it's so comfortable that it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing a bra.  Very cool.  The uncool thing is?  It's nearly impossible to get on.  No joke.  It has the regular hooks in the back that all bras do, but the band is so tight (as you would expect a sports bra should be if it's going to work) I can't do it up behind my back, I have to do it in the front, then spin the bra around.  Manageable...I've done it before and I'm happy to do it again for something so supportive, but that's not the only thing that needs doing - it also has a hook below the neck.  But the problem is, it's not just below the neck, it's more like it's below my neck and between my shoulder blades.  Great for the bra, not so great for me because I have to be one of the most inflexible people when it comes  to trying to reach my hands behind my back.

I broke out in a sweat just trying it on in the store.  I didn't even quite figure it all out before I bought it, I was too frustrated, but I could tell it was going to work.  It took me half an hour once I was home, but I finally got it on.

It was so worth it.  It's made me very happy.

Good underwear makes for a good life.

All the easy stuff is done...

I'm down to 116 (see earlier post).  This is going to take me decades.....

Daunting

The task of editing is daunting.  Since I can't seem to remember what I've told you and what I haven't (I could check, but I'm far too lazy...), I'll do a little refresh here again...  While at the writing course in Hockley Valley at the end of February, I finished the first draft of my novel about Dad.  The course leader recommended an editor and I decided to take the next step.  The feedback has been awesome, however, the amount of editing required is daunting.

But first - an excerpt from the 5 page summary report:

 " The book is a rich, complex portrait, not only of a man but his family.  Although this is a so-called ‘ordinary’ family with lives that many people would recognise as close to their own, the depth of the exposition and insights into family life are enjoyable and compel empathy. 

  The book’s structure is a series of vignettes, not told in chronological order, with a strong narrative force.  The vignettes flow together well to tell the story of a man’s struggles with fatherhood, from his daughter’s point of view, from her earliest memories to his untimely death and its aftermath and consequences for her. 

  It is a character-driven work, and the main characters – particularly father (Dad) and daughter (Laura) – are drawn ‘warts and all’ and are very real.  Dad, as the central character, is likeable and engaging from the start but also deeply flawed.  We are sympathetic to him, mainly because we recognise his humanity.  These characters are a great achievement.  

  The vignettes relate different kinds of events in the family’s life: iconic or ‘typical’ events that illustrate the family culture, and events that changed and shaped the family.  Although the narrative focuses on character rather than plot, there is a causal chain of events in which Laura grows and changes through childhood, and these events contain enough drama and action to sustain the story.        

  Written as a kind of honest eulogy, the book often has an elegiac tone but is also suffused with an original sense of humour, deliberately painted as a family trait.  The honesty and humour lighten the sadness to create an overall tone that is thoroughly emotionally engaging.  (I laughed and cried.)"

And then the best comment of all?

"Once the book has been revised and copyedited as suggested here, I believe it will be of publishable standard."

Call it bragging, I guess.  I just like to call it sharing.  I figure I've shared enough of the bad, I should share the good :)

In my actual report, there were 199 comments.  Now you know why I say it's daunting....  Approximately 50 of those were just positive comments, saying how much she liked a certain passage, or how well a style was working, which was very, very cool.  The only thing is that left about 150 places where I need to edit.  So I've been doing what I do best: procrastinating.

But tonight, I've tackled the first couple of comments.  I tried to keep going, but I seem to find making tea more interesting and blogging is a good distraction as well.  There are just some parts that are going to require some heartfelt effort and I'm shying away from it at the moment.  I guess everything in good time, but if I don't get moving, it's going to be another year before I get through all the suggested edits.

So 3 down, only 147 to go...

Belle Paris

Aujourd'hui, je fais semblant que je suis de retour à Paris.

Je mange avec ma baguette Brie et en sirotant un verre de vin rouge.

Où sont tous les hommes chauds?

Damn. J'ai besoin de revenir en arrière.


(Okay, I used Google translator - so sorry if the grammar is wrong....the sentiment will still be there..)

Mission accomplished

So after two days of being able to walk again, today was the day to test run my ankle.  And I do mean run.  Not to worry, it was all done with the permission and supervision of my hot - oops! - I meant young - oops!  Yeah, okay - my hot, young physio.  (Eye candy only people!  I'm no cougar...)

So, with the green light for 2km, I basically did what I always do:  I procrastinated, ate bad food, lazed on the couch until I finally guilted myself into getting up.  My new strategy (which seems to be working by the way) is that every time I get up from the couch - be it to get a drink, go to the bathroom, whatever - I have to put one piece of running clothing on.  Then, before you know it, I'm all dressed and ready to go and even lazy ol' me has a tough time not going - although it's still not easy....

So with new foot brace on (it looks like a big gray sock - and it's pretty comfy) and 1km in - it was all good.  I felt achey, unfit and various new muscles were groaning, but that was just payback for 2 weeks of inactivity (it's amazing how fast you can slide into unfit world...)

1.25km in, my foot twinged ever so slightly, but it stopped and I was okay for the rest of the run.  All good really.  All good until I started walking - which I'm guessing I really should say, stopped running.

So a little achey, a little bone crunching, but my foot is now wrapped in ice and that feels oh so goooood!

So tomorrow off, then Sunday back on the road for somewhere between 3k and 5k.  Scarily enough I actually want to go longer - and it's not just because I don't want to humiliate myself at the end of May at the race, but I realised as I finished running way sooner than normal, that I was still jonesing for my fix.  I unceasingly complain about how much I don't like to run, but it seems my body has a different opinion.

Sigh.  I guess there are worse things to develop an addiction to.  Like chocolate.

Mmmmmm.  Chocolate.

One good day after another...

So earlier this morning, I was talking to my other Toronto team members - an impromptu team meeting of sorts - and one of the guys tells me about a meeting he was in this morning where my boss' boss was telling the IT guys what a great job I was doing.

Okay, that's not really what he said, but that's what my colleague told me.  What he did say was that my project was going really well.

You know, usually I'd take that as it only being about the project, but I've decided I'm sticking with the first comment I heard.

I so rock.

Today was a good day

So firstly - and most importantly - I can walk again!!  Ooooh, I'm such a drama queen!

No more limping, no more crunchy granola sounds in my foot.  Yippee!  What did I do, you ask?  Well....have I mentioned I've been training for a half marathon at the end of May?  Hmm.  Can't remember what I have or have not mentioned, so I'll just tell you again... I did one last year - actually managed to finish one - but I was ssoooooo slow, so although an accomplishment, I thought maybe I could do a little better.

Okay, that reasoning is weak.  I don't know why I signed up again.  I swore at the end of the race last year that I'd never do it again, but man, I just can't seem to remember to never say never!  Whatever the reasoning, I joined up for the Running Room half marathon course and I've been following the training schedule religiously.  (Religiously... as if.... but I'm doing much better at following it than last year)

Over Easter, I travelled to Seattle to hang with my girlfriend and I managed to get my long run in: 16km.  Despite a few aches and pains in the beginning, my body worked it all out and most of the run went pretty well.  I actually felt pretty good at the end.  I even felt good for a while right afterwards, but a few hours later my foot hurt so bad I had trouble walking.  While alcohol did help, by Sunday I was pretty lame.  I was instructed to 'suck it up' because my pathetic grumbling was driving my friend crazy, but my pain tolerance has obviously dissipated, because the grumbling continued, albeit I did try to keep it non-verbal.

But a trip to the physio validated my grumbling - there was nothing wrong with my foot, I apparently had sprained my ankle.  Running.  I sprained my ankle running.  And I didn't even know it.

I'm a tool.

Today - a week and a half later - I'm finally not limping.  So today is a good day.

I also had a fairly good day at work.  The first few weeks were definitely the honeymoon period for me which evaporated slightly at the end of last week with my first 'I feel stupid' day.  Since then, I've been doing the 'new girl rollercoaster' which goes from the 'I feel stupid' moments to the 'oh, I get it!' moments and back to the 'I feel stupid' feelings.  Earlier this week the swings felt almost hourly, but today I finally figured something out and I realised that I'm not really stupid.  I mean, I know I'm not stupid, but I finally felt like I wasn't stupid.

So a good day.

Hmmm, what else?  Nothing much today.  That's enough to make me happy and sleep well tonight, so I'm good with that.

Here's hoping your day was like mine!