I've never ran 2.5 miles straight in my life.
Until Thursday. YEAH! Beat my record - was wanting to go for three miles, but I listened to my body and stopped at 2.5. You can't go for 2 miles until you run 1. Some people think going the same place every day for almost 8 hours sounds like hell. I feel like work IS often an escape into a story because of what I do while in my chair at that cubicle. My mind is so stimulated to try to properly tell some one's story. BUT my physical body - excepting my right index finger (CEO of mouse control) and my left thumb and index finger (each VP of Special Final Cut Keyboard Commands) - is very much at rest.
So, I decided to do something about that - join the wonderful gym at work. I've been going to yoga classes - and I almost never miss Boot Camp and Total Body Conditioning. I've also been running. It relieves so much stress and it's something I look forward to - pushing my body past the mental limits I set for it. It provides me with so much satisfaction and pride when I complete the goal I set.
In college, I never made time for this sort of thing. I definitely went to the gym and worked out a few times every couple months - but I could never do it consistently because of my schedule. I'm sure I could have fit it in if I cared about it more. It's a struggle for someone to go from not knowing what they'll be doing during their day throughout most of college (except the one fundamental: CLASS) to having a weekly and daily routine. It took me a while to get used to it - and to realize how much fun I can pack into my week - even with a 40-hour work week.
I think, for me, my routine has allowed me to become a person who is committed to fitness. I am three floors above the space where I recognize the moments when my body breaks its own records. In college, by virtue of the fact that I was juggling so many responsibilities (residents as an R.A., shooting video for school, workin' a side job to pay the bills), desires (coffee with a friend, quality time with Dusty, singing at the big bang piano bar - uh, well, that might be a need), and needs (laundry, grocery shopping) - I rarely did any of these things regularly. I had no set aside times to be at work, at play, (and at errand?).
This routine has actually given me a lot of order in my life - and everything else seems to fall into place - my responsibilities are met, my desires are satisfied, and my needs - mentally and physically - are provided for. It's much less intensive than juggling! I think my mind and body and yeah, maybe even soul, are benefitting from it. Take that, corporate haters :)
Is there anything good that you think has come out of your routine?
I struggled for a long time to come up with something good that came out of the routine of a 9-5 lifestyle, because honestly I think I felt more balanced without that kind of structure (different strokes, you know), but I finally did come up with one thing:
ReplyDeleteNow that Dan and I are both busier, as a unit, with full-time jobs and school still for me, we've been eating dinner a lot later. After work I usually have errands to run, and we both like to get a work-out in after work, so dinner doesn't usually even get started until 7 or 7:30, meaning we don't eat until about an hour after that. And while this sounds like it would it would make us feel MORE rushed, it has actually had the opposite effect. By removing the expectation that dinner will be ready by any certain time, we're able to slow down and really enjoy the evening: cook a more complex meal, enjoy a glass of wine and/or listen to music while cleaning the apartment, talk about our days. It allows us to get all those things done we like to get done (errands, workouts, clean apartment, nice dinner, etc) without the pressure of having to squish it into any certain timeframe.
Loved reading about your different perspective on the 9-5 routine! While it's easy to see it as constraining, you see it as freeing, because it unburdens you of the pressure of try to schedule everything yourself. Love it; I would have never thought of it that way.
Thanks for your sweet comment, Shenan! I still have so many things to improve upon with this schedule. It's funny because when Dusty & I do get home - we are usually starving! haha - So we cook really simple meals and save the complex ones for the weekends or days when I get home early. But it's also very sweet and a different perspective to let go of an expectation and just enjoy the time making a meal together. I love friendships like ours - we share a lot and it shows us new way of being. Thanks again for commenting, dear!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see that you've discovered something from this...and shared it. I am not in that 9-5 role yet, and I am so afraid that unless I become a morning person (which let's face it, won't ever happen), I'll slowly cut out this running that I've been working so hard at for the past 6+ months.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one thing you said made me think of something Mr. Morrill once said that changed my whole perspective on running. I used to hate it so much, and one day he told me how much it was a mental game more than anything else. Since that day, it has been so much fun. Sure I've given up on it from time to time (to time to time), but it's still always fun.
Good luck on continuing w/your running and work outs!
-Erin
I may have to post about this myself but going through the 9-6 working schedule has made me realize what doesn't work for me. For instance, I used to have to walk 2 blocks to my car. Not only did I dread this, I thought it was unfair given how much we pay for our rent. Nick simply went up and asked, and they happened to have a spot available.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had given up coffee for about 5 months because I thought it was giving me headaches. Wrong! Turns out the thick marine layer out here and the freezing cold air conditioner pointed at the back of my head are giving me sinus headaches. So now I happily sip my coffee (I'm a morning person, so it's usually a late-morning pick-me-up) and know that I'm not addicted.
Can I say that I love the way you nicknamed your fingers? I hurt and cut my fingers so much at work I think I'm going to name them after military ranks... more to come.
So glad to get inspiration from your blog and feel like I have time again to catch up with mine!