The past week or so has been rough for my family. My paternal grandmother is in ICU in Texas having a lot of complications from a bypass surgery. She’s stable for the moment, but every time they patch one hole in the boat, another springs up somewhere. So we’re all living in a constant state of tension. While my parents were in Texas with her last week, my brother in Indiana had a freak accident with some machinery and severely injured his thumb. It’s broken and needed serious stitches, but he got a very good report from the doctor yesterday and won’t even need surgery! Thanks be to God for that and also for the fact that he still has a thumb at all. Because when you get a text that says “Destroyed my thumb,” you’re thinking things are pretty dire. (And also wondering how he’s texting to tell you this.)
On top of this, my dryer broke last week – it needs a new belt. The good thing about dryers (at least old models) is that there are only a few things that can go wrong. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find parts for mine because it’s so old, but my dad just located some and will finish the repair job tonight. I told him not to worry about it so soon after getting back from Texas, but that’s my dad. I’m thankful for his help and also for not having to buy a new washer and dryer right now. It’ll be nice to do the laundry, which has stacked up alarmingly.
I (mostly) ran a 5K last Saturday! I was never able to run at all until a couple of years ago, when I started running intervals on my walks. I’ve built up my running time very, very slowly, and may never be able to run continuously, but I can do enough to please myself. :) Besides, intervals are healthier for you and burn more calories than nonstop running. My time wasn’t as “good” as I’d hoped, but it was still an improvement over last year.
I’ve realized that in everything, not only physical things, my progress is usually very slow – but it sticks. It’s frustrating to see other people “getting there” in a fraction of the time, but for me, slow and steady eventually wins the race.
Prayers for your grandmother! Wonderful news about your brother’s healing and your progress. Praise God!
Thanks for the prayers!
Slow and steady is a good way to go. :) I am running my first 5k at the end of September, and even though I don’t think I’ll be able to actually run the entire thing, I’m going through one of those couch-to-5k programs and just being able to run at all feels great!
And thank goodness for handy parents! ;)
Someday when I get an iPhone, I plan on trying Couch to 5K! It would be helpful to have something telling me when to run and when to walk. :)
Thanks for commenting!
Still sending those get well wishes into the universe for your grandmother and brother.
I’m glad to hear your dryer can be fixed! If one ever breaks…don’t feel forced to buy a washer AND dryer just so they match. Just get what you need. I’m always amazed at how much laundry I have to do, I think my laundry propagates in the hamper. And then I think, I don’t even have kids…holy moly…I can’t imagine my laundry + kiddo laundry…that would literally be a mountain of laundry. Where does it come from? LOL.
Girl, my progress always feels “slow and steady” compared to others too. But it just “feels” that way. Go back to your post about different people having different talents. You have areas in your life that you are naturally talented at…in those areas…any progress you make will appear at “warp speed” to others not so naturally gifted in that area. I don’t know if it’s really human nature to focus on the things we have to work so hard for, or if that is a byproduct of working in a corporate culture and how performance evals are typically done.
You are right though…intervals are better for you. And my running improved drastically when I stopped running so much and added some cross training. That’s right, my running got better when I started running LESS. If you care about speed, see if you can find some hills for those interval runs…hills are speed work in disguise. (I know, locating hills might be hard in the Memphis area.) But you know what? It’s perfectly okay to NOT CARE about speed too. If you are interested in cross training at all, check out BodyRock. (Their You Tube channel is easier to follow than the website.) Lots of awesome full body workouts that can be fully modified depending on fitness level, don’t require any equipment (they use it, but you can substitute or modify to just do body weight…and body weight is enough!), the workouts are only 12 minutes long and that is all you need (or if you are feeling super motivated, you can stack workouts together for a longer workout) and it’s all FREE! I heart BodyRock. Just a warning though…some of the camera angles are risque (they are getting better with this) and some of the workouts are done in workout gear that resembles underwear (I don’t totally understand this but it doesn’t negate the exercise routines.)
Well, my dryer should be set for another decade now! It has a new belt and new drum wheels and my dad said everything else looks great.
Thanks for sharing about BodyRock. That sounds like it would be perfect for me. I’m a total slacker about any sort of weights/cross training, but I can handle 12 minutes! I’m going to check it out!