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By kilax, March 5, 2012 4:51 am

Awhile ago I felt completely overwhelmed with a project at work. The workload was divided between me and two other people, with me running the project and taking the bulk of the work. And I felt like I couldn’t get it finished in time. 

So I came in early and stayed late to work on it. But that wasn’t doing it. 

Someone noticed I was working late and offered to have another team member help with the project*. Ahh. Instant relief. Just knowing someone was going to help. 

Image source: timetchells.com

Work hasn’t been so nutso, because I have been doing a better job of leaving work at work and forgetting about it on weeknights/weekends. I have a new work smartphone and I don’t know how to use it well, except to make calls – and this is good. No more checking the calendar/emails when I am not working. Come Monday morning I usually have no idea what the week has in store for me and that is a good thing**. 

But this post is not about work. It’s about asking for help. 

I’ve been on a downward spiral since the end of January. I just can’t seem to shake the self-sabotaging funk I am in! I gave myself February to try to figure it out. That didn’t happen. 

So I asked for help. I found a therapist who specializes in the issues I am dealing with and made an appointment. 

Instant relief. 

Instant. 

It’s crazy, how much just asking for help makes me feel better. 

Do you instantly feel a bit better when you ask for help?

I mean, asking for help is not going to automatically “fix” me or anything, but it gives me a glimmer of hope! 

*I had already asked for help but I won’t even get in to that.
**Of course, I can remember my lunch dates and which days I am working at home! 

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By kilax, March 4, 2012 11:30 am

Monday| February 27, 2012: strength class

I missed my strength class last Wednesday and made it up this Monday, but with a different instructor. The entire class was a partner workout, which was a bit different for me, but really challenging (in a good way?). We did pushups and clapped one hand in between each. We did 50 burpees between the two of us. Resistance band stuff. Medicine ball tossing. Modified wheel barrels. Lots of moves that made me think I wouldn’t be able to laugh, cough or sneeze for a few days. Then there was this move:

One person holds plank while the other person does a lift. Awesome.

Tuesday | February 28, 2012: cross

30 minutes on the bike trainer (does not include the time I had to pause in the middle to get the chain back on the bike, I was pedaling that hard, oh yeah… okay, not really). 

Wednesday | February 29, 2012: strength class

We did a really challenging workout with weighted bars. I think it was mostly challenging because my abs were killing me so much from Monday’s workout!!!

Thursday | March 1, 2012: rest

Friday | March 2, 2012: strength

Kettlebells and core moves with Brian! If my abs were almost back to feeling normal, this killed it. Just kidding (kind of)!

Saturday | March 3, 2012: 4.5 m run

After writing that I had not run with my club for a long time, Katie (Live Half Full) commented that she was interested in checking out our club! Of course, that got me interested. So we met and joined the running club for part of their long run (we ran 4.5 miles). It had snowed a bit the night before, but the roads were clear, a lot of us were out, and we had a blast! 

I really enjoyed spending time chatting with Katie. She’s super friendly and easy to talk to! I can tell she likes to have fun. And now that I know she lives so close to me, I can bug her to hang out with me. Muah ha ha. 

Distance: 4.5 | Temp: 30° | Watch did not catch all of the run – no accurate data

Sunday | March 4, 2012: 5.5 m run

I took this week easy on purpose, which is good for me, but makes me feel so frickin’ lazy! This run was easy, and I was hoping I would get inspired to run more when I got out there, but sitting around all day sounded much better than working out. Oh well. Next week will be different!

Distance: 5.5 | Start Temp: 27° | End Temp: 29° | Time: 55:03 | Avg Pace: 10:01

Week Summary: 10.0 miles

Have you guys seen the Zombies, Run! app? I don’t have it, but it sounds awesome. $7.99 is not so awesome of a price though!

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By kilax, March 3, 2012 1:24 pm

Last year at this time, I was signed up for five races in the month of April, one in May, one in June, and one in October.

Right now, I am signed up for two – a 5K in March and a half marathon in May.

I was talking to Britt (my coach) yesterday about what I want to do next. And beyond a second attempt at the 5K, I don’t really have any plans (the half marathon is for fun). I want to work on my 5K speed and keep up my endurance (by doing long runs). That’s it. After the 5K, I will probably look in to a middle distance goal race for late spring.

I kind of feel like I should feel lost. 

But I really don’t. I raced a lot last year, and it’s okay to take it easy this year – a few goal races, a few fun ones.

I’d really love to figure out the marathon someday, but I am not even thinking about it right now – I want to get to a healthy weight and stay there before I attempt that distance again. And it’s going to take awhile to get my body to that point.

How far in advance do you plan out your racing year? Do you feel like you have to sign up for races to stay consistent with your running?

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By kilax, March 2, 2012 9:57 am

What did you dislike (food, preference, whatever) as a child that  you like now? 

When I was a kid I hated wearing skirts and dresses. I played a lot outside a lot and felt like I couldn’t do as much when I was constricted to a skirt or dress. I wanted to roll around and play in the dirt!

Not right:

Right (Steven, please buy me a vegan chocolate Easter Bunny):

Now that I am older, I realize dresses and skirts are much more comfortable for work, and more forgiving than pants! So I wear them a lot more often. 

But I still wear pants/shorts when I want to play in the mud (photo from the 5K last Sunday)!

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By kilax, March 1, 2012 5:01 am

• You guys remember when Erin helped me come up with a ton of outfits with my sad wardrobe? She started her own fashion blog – Loop Looks – to show how to dress for all four seasons on a budget and still have fun with your clothing. Add her blog to your Reader! Also, she has a form on there for Closet Consultations, if you are in the Chicagoland area and want her to help you out (like she did for me!).
• Erin and I are going on a girls’ vacay to NYC! We are piggy-backing the trip on to the end of a work trip for me. I. Cannot. Wait. 
• I will also get to see my other best friend, Gina, when I am there. Should be an awesome week (assuming the trip happens this time). 
• February was a somewhat crappy month for me and did not deserve an extra day. I am not even going to link to all the stupid things I blogged about in February. It’s a new month now! 
• I had to buy a birthday card and a thank you card last week. Wow. I am totally mature.

• After all my talk about making a 5K running playlist, I realized I didn’t even hear the music (despite it playing) during the  race on Sunday. Nor, did I really pay attention to what was going on around me (if I was getting passed/passing people). I think paying attention to the music would have helped. I tried one of my mantras –  “Push” – but it just wasn’t doing it. 
• Remember when I bought those two huge boxes of LUNA bars and asked you guys to guess how long they would last me? And said I would send one to whoever guessed the closest? Well, they lasted 55 days (and that is with giving some away!). Kandi guessed the closest at 45 days. Kandi, please email me (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) your mailing address and I will send you a bar. 
• I have been in a total blogging rut. AHHHHHH!!!!!

Other Random Thoughts Thursday Posts: XI, X, IX, VIII, VII, VI, V, IV, III, II, I.