A New Leaf

I'm not waiting for the new year to turn over a new leaf, I'm already doing it. Late summer and early Fall brought changes to my job. These work stressors caused me to lose track of my priorities. It took me a while to realize this. You'd think the fact that I was laying awake in bed all night, working on my laptop at 2AM at times, popping antacids all day long, and missing most of the runs I planned would have clued me in that something had gone awry. Maybe those 5 pounds I put on from eating deli sandwiches while driving between appointments should have told me something. Maybe the fact that I had no time for this Blog anymore should have given me a hint. Missing all those clues, I should have noticed that late in the evenings when I was relaxing with my husband in the hot tub with a glass of wine, I was usually talking about work. This stuff is fine if you are a Workaholic, Type A, Company Guy or Gal...but I'm not and I don't want to be. Holy Hell, I'm a smiling, happy, fun-loving, forest frolicker. How could I have forgotten this?!

So early in October I decided to take control of my life back and make some changes. It is still a work in progress.  But I'm getting there.  

I've been running in the woods with my dog every chance I get. I don't have time for anything long or adventurous, mosty local trails late in the day, but what a simple pleasure this is. Running on dirt grounds me. It only makes sense, really. I've also been walking in the woods with Kevin, listening to the river, moving blow downs off the trail, looking at animal tracks, and throwing sticks for Scout. This gives me peace. I love the trees. There is a reason my first stint at college was studying Foresrty.

I started P90X again, then switched over to Insanity. I am truly having fun with this! Insanity is fast paced circuit training. Jumping, lunging, running, push ups... Kevin is afraid I might come through the ceiling one of these evenings since the gym is on the second floor and the house is almost 200 years old. But I think it will hold me. I have been hitting heart rates in the mid 170's. It has been a long time since I have worked hard enough to get my heart rate up that high. I worked out to the point of nausea last evening and enjoyed the fact that I did!

I worked all weekend and enjoyed a challenging night of "on-call" Saturday night, so I have the day off today. I'm heading out for a run with Scout.