New Year, New Outlook

/ Jess

Good lord, will this website even still let me log in? I am a terribly inconsistent blogger and for that I am sorry. BUT – it’s 2019 and we made it to Day 21!

wink

When we last left off, I was getting my running mojo back in a pretty big way. And I’m pleased as punch to report that it’s still going strong. I’m running consistently 3-4x a week (even if I’m not sharing every one of those runs on social media) and have worked my way back into the high-mid-11:00/mile pace range, which is huge for me considering I took nearly all of 2018 off from consistent running due to injury & mental health issues.

I even ran a 10K in Central Park on one of the rainiest, most miserable days I’ve had the privilege to live through in recent memory – and I didn’t die!

A few things have kept me sane and focused on the running:

  • Not sharing every run on social media. This is a big one for me. I’ve talked here before about the pressure of sharing my running journey on Instagram. And once I realized the chicken/egg analysis paralysis I was putting myself through by stressing about IG and just ran for me, boy howdy did I start to enjoy it again.
  • Weight loss is back on the table. Taking a year off from working out in general – and not adjusting my eating habits – has led to a mildly significant weight gain (for me). By focusing on what I’m eating, I’m finding my running improves, which makes me want to eat healthier to keep that good feeling going. It’s a fun cycle that feeds itself, and I’m enjoying that I can control it – it’s good to feel in control when other parts of your life are anything but normal.
  • 2019 is The Year of No. Other folks might aim to say “yes” more, but I’ve learned that when I say “no” – to people, places and things that exhaust me (physically OR emotionally) – I am a stronger person in all arenas of my life; as a wife, a writer, a runner, everything. So I’m making it a priority to end the mental clutter before it even begins. By limiting my time on social media. By not agreeing to do things because it’s “the nice thing to do”. By recognizing that I don’t owe anything to anyone outside of my immediate family and friends – and even then, within reason, and after I’ve served myself first.

Aside from that, I don’t have much else to update you with aside from the fact that I’m still here and running, except for the fact that I’m still planning on running the NJ Half Marathon in April [insert fingers crossed emoji here]. I don’t see anything huge preventing me from this race as long as I stay consistent with my training.

Once I get into a solid training plan you can probably expect to hear some more from me here so stay tuned – and in the meantime, stay warm and keep running happy!

 

5 thoughts on “New Year, New Outlook”

  1. Welcome back. I’ve missed reading your blog. I can relate to so many of the things that you were going through. I am also making 2019 the year of no. I’m done being stressed out emotionally. I’m still on the fence about signing up for a half marathon this year but I’ve brought back running. I look forward to reading more about your training. Do you

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. Social media tends to get into this awful spiral in which we gain or lose followers, and have been taught that ‘success’ in these areas is directly proportional to # of followers so we are immediately happy or sad and then try to replicate (or reverse) what we did in order to gain more or stop losing followers.

    When in reality the majority of people who we are working to impress/keep/grab or whatever are not people we actually know or care about … and too often they are doing it to get ‘follow-backs’ or whatever so they can increase their own exposure and/or make more money.

    And for WHAT, exactly? Social media is not my job by any stretch. It is something I use to share and connect with actual friends and family and those I have connected with through shared interests in math/science, music, technology, games, running and so on through the years.

    Doing what is right for OURSELVES is so much more important than anything else!

    It is funny – before having kids we went through a phase (especially since all siblings and many friends did have kids) where we felt like if we didn’t have a good reason to say ‘no’, we would always say ‘yes’. Regardless … and it was stupid.

    Fortunately we became aware of that and started looking out for ourselves more … and now that we are back to (mostly) being just the two of us, it is more easy for us to say ‘no thanks’ rather than feel obligated (not that we don’t feel that pressure at times) and also realize that focusing on us is NOT ‘being selfish’. I mean, we’ve been together 30 years and STILL look forward to time alone and together and exploring the world together … if that makes us selfish when more than half of our friends and family are either divorced or constantly looking for excuses to not be together … whatever, right?

    Good luck on the running, weight, anxiety/depression and ‘sticking up for you’ efforts in 2019!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  3. Hey, nice to hear from you! Very glad to hear that you’ve found running again, and are doing it in a way that’s sane and healthy for you. I LOVE your year of “no.” Thankfully, with a new baby, I kind of have a built-in, easy to understand reason to say “no” more, which helps. That and living in the middle of nowhere And being a well-known “old lady,” hehe.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment