The New Phone Book is Here!
Well, the first Run from the Norm newsletter has officially been sent out. After more hours than I care to admit putting it together, it's finally gone—bombs away. It reminded me of the scene with Steve Martin in the movie “The Jerk” when he’s working at a gas station and the new phone book gets delivered. He opens it up and sees his name in it for the first time. It’s exciting! And now we wait and see what kind of feedback comes in. There’s still plenty of work to do to streamline everything, and I still need to figure out the social posts to keep driving traffic to it, but it’s a start! Like most things, it might not be perfect right out of the box, but you have to start somewhere. I’d have to say I’m pretty happy with it overall, I just hope all the links work like they should and I didn’t screw anything up. We’ll see.
On a personal note, I actually slept better last night which was a welcome change from waking up at 3 a.m. the last couple of mornings. Feeling a little more rested today, but I definitely need to make sure I get out for my walk. We’re supposed to get hit with anywhere from 3 to 7 inches of snow over the next couple of days, so my walks might turn more into a bit of a workout. I don’t mind though, I love it in all types of weather. Either way it should be interesting.
I’m planning to head to the cabin this weekend, it was -22 up there yesterday and with all this snow coming down I already know it’s going to be an adventure. I’m sure the drive will be sketchy, but I’ll go anyway. I need the mental break. Per usual I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed—work, getting this newsletter put together, and all the editorial things I need to do for the next edition of the Sage Tick Magazine. It’s been a lot, but I know I need to keep pushing forward and trusting that things will come together with time.
On a brighter note, I had my three-week follow-up with the doctor post-back surgery and I got a good report! No running for another five to six weeks which is a bummer, but I understand the need to let my body heal and not overdo it. I say that even though I’m constantly doing more than I should and pushing harder than the doctor recommends. Hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite me in the ass down the road.
There is good news though. I can start doing some light resistance work—body weight only and not to fatigue. No weights and nothing crazy. Mostly stretching and mobility work, maybe a few pushups. Basically just smaller things to get my body moving again and bring my heart rate up. If everything feels good in another six weeks, I should be cleared with no restrictions. I can’t wait for that day to come! The doc did say that doesn’t mean I can go all-out with running, but I can at least start easing back into it with easy runs to slowly start building my base again.
To say I’m looking forward to that would be an understatement, but for now I’m just grateful to start doing more movement again, maybe sweat a little bit and feel my heart rate go back up. God knows I need that release bad right now. Stress is eating me up. I’m sure I’ll have to change things up a bit and be more mindful of maintaining balance—gym and strength work, running, biking, and lots of walking. I’m totally ok with that. I’ve been needing to be better about mixing things up for quite awhile. Getting old ain’t easy!
Speaking of walking, I’ve actually been really looking forward to getting out for my walks. The thinking time, the fresh air, time outside— back to the simplicity of one foot in front of the other. It lets me get lost in all the ideas I’m spinning on in a way that’s different from running. With running, I definitely get lost in my thoughts, but they typically don’t last long because I am constantly coming back to the present moment—to my breath, the movement of my body, the rhythm of my feet hitting the ground. It’s moving meditation. But walking just feeds a different need. It’s that time and space I need to either let my mind wander, or work through something that I may have hit a roadblock on and need to step away from to let my mind work it out naturally rather than always trying to wrestle my way through something to a solution. That generally just leads to more time sitting there wishing I was doing anything but sitting there thinking.
All in all, at the end of the day I just need to keep reminding myself to keep things balanced so I get everything I need. There are so many things feeding my soul lately I wish I had more time in the day, but I also don’t need to do everything in the same day! But that’s typically not my style. I’ve I can turn it all the way up to 10, then why the hell not try to crank it to 11?!
