I'm back (for real this time)

[princess_sarena]

Makes total sense!


I hear ya. (Though I'm not so much a desert girl as a Goldilocks. I whine when it's too cold. I whine when it's too hot. If only it could be 18-19C and shady all the time, I'd be happy! )

For me, the technical gear does make it easier to get out there. Because it's much lighter weight than the clothing I walk in, and easier to move in. I like my speed when I'm running. Winter is often necessarily slower for safety reasons (ice and snow underfoot, the difficulty of getting warmed up enough to run fast). But when I've got no speed at all because I'm bundled up like the Michelin Man, I don't enjoy it. But if you don't share my mental baggage about the lack of winter speed, I wouldn't worry about the technical gear so much. It still takes a long time to get dressed in it.

Best wishes for building your winter running habit! (But do give yourself some grace for it being hard. Because it is.)

Thank you!!!

I didn't really know winter running gear was a thing - except for boots, that is. Now that I do I'll look into it and add it to the list of things to maybe get... eventually.

I don't really go all that fast during summer either, to be honest. I kind of just accepted the fact that I'll never be the scarlet speedster or a seriously competitive runner. As long as I have a story and music to keep me company, I'm good... and I've found that even those really slow, seemingly pointless two or three kilometer light jogs still add up to hundreds upon hundreds of kilometers of distance spread out over the course of a decade...

@Laura Rainbow Dragon @aku-chan @TopNotch @Fremen @Haleth @Syrius @Mamatigerj @Maegaranthelas @MadamMeow @Princess Fancy thank you all!!! (I always hope against hope I didn't miss anyone when I do these lists )

 

[princess_sarena]

Friday, January 24th, 2025

One minute meditation, day #19

Arms of Steel, Seated day #27

Wall push ups, day #19

Zero Hero, day #25

Caught: Togepi, Seel, Lillipup

And... what to do when the storyline goes in a direction that is so wildly out of alignment with my character's history that it would make no sense altogether --- well, we just edit some details I guess

Spoiler: Zero Hero, day #25

If getting a phone and asking someone to pick me up was an option, why couldn't I have done that first

Anyway. I... maybe stole some money back at the Arcade, and then I did get a phone. Sunday did a quick search to find a taxi company that would be willing to get me from here to ... where? Back to the starting point? There's nowhere in this world that I really belong.

I gotta get somewhere, though. Staying here indefinitely isn't an option. Especially as this hotel seems to be seriously and pretty badly haunted. For some reason the ghost reminded me of Wanda - if I ever see her again, I ain't going to tell her that, though. I have what to live for.

Day #151

Saturday, January 25th, 2025

One minute meditation, day #20

Wall push ups, day #20

Zero Hero, day #26

Spoiler: Zero Hero, day #26

I rescued a cat. It feels like maybe things are settling down. Perhaps the craziness is over? I can just get back to the house where all this business started, find some respectable occupation, and pretend this is where I've always been and will always belong? If vampires and ghosts are normal here, no one will think twice about my presence here.

I will, though. After all the worlds I've seen, there's no way my heart would settle for this one.

Day #152

So my family invited some guests over for lunch. While they were over, we somehow got to talking about a past dinner guest who annoyed every single woman at the table with his casual homophobia and misogyny. The conversation ended with me running downstairs, grabbing my bin of silicone pride bracelets (which I got in bulk specifically for giving away), and bringing them back upstairs to offer to everyone at the table. The parents called their two little daughters over, who abandoned their toys and came running at the word “bracelets.” I said they could have as many as they liked. It makes me so happy to think that those little girls won’t have to wait til their mid twenties to feel confident about who they are and who they love.

I have a bad habit of jokingly offering people books and then having to figure out what to do when they seriously say yes XD One time I gave up a book I was reading to my stepmom’s mother. I mean I didn’t really mind, it was a good cause, I had others to read meanwhile, and I did get it back. This time I said I needed a day or two to finish the last few pages and then I’d drop it off at their house. It was a perfectly suitable arrangement, as I’d been planning to drop it in the free book tree anyway, and they live only a minute or two away from the tree, and I’m more than happy for my used books to go to friends or relatives. I just have to be a little more careful with my benevolent book offerings, and make sure I’m genuinely ready to sacrifice it for the greater good XD

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

The conversation ended with me running downstairs, grabbing my bin of silicone pride bracelets (which I got in bulk specifically for giving away), and bringing them back upstairs to offer to everyone at the table. The parents called their two little daughters over, who abandoned their toys and came running at the word “bracelets.” I said they could have as many as they liked. It makes me so happy to think that those little girls won’t have to wait til their mid twenties to feel confident about who they are and who they love.

 

[Laura Rainbow Dragon]

I didn't really know winter running gear was a thing - except for boots, that is. Now that I do I'll look into it and add it to the list of things to maybe get... eventually.

There is a lot of stuff. But you can prioritize by asking: What is the one body part that's the most miserable in the cold? (Or rephrase that question in whatever way works for your experience of winter running.) And then get the item that will most help that.

I run in regular running shoes in the winter, most of the time. But for days when my route is slushy, or when it's raining and cold, I have running shoes with Gore-Tex uppers. The fit is the same as my regular running shoes. The weight is the same. But they're waterproof. I also wear almost exclusively wool socks these days. I have a whole range from very thin ones for summer running to thick padded ones for winter hiking. For both running and walking, I need to keep my feet happy, or the whole enterprise is a complete non-starter.

 

[princess_sarena]

What is the one body part that's the most miserable in the cold? (Or rephrase that question in whatever way works for your experience of winter running.) And then get the item that will most help that.

It's good advice. I'll have to think about it. Maybe I need a little more experience... right now I'm pretty happy as long as I'm warm

Sunday, January 26th, 2025

One minute meditation, day #21

Walking to Running, day #2 (3.45 km in 42 minutes)

My fastest kilometer was ten minutes, which is insane. That's average summer speed for me, and I was walking at a fairly slow pace most of the time... and it's the dead of winter and I've been out of practice for over a month. I would think my app glitched but two (supposedly) independent sources gave me the exact same timing. Unless one of them was feeding off the other (which is a possibility) and thus both ARE wrong? (Zombies Run is supposed to be linked to google fit, but usually it underestimates my speed and distance even when Google Fit doesn't.)

Wall push ups, day #21

Yoga cooldown stretch (Mady Morrison) 10 minutes

Caught: Skwovet

Found: Dawn Stone

Weekly moderate/high intensity active minutes: 104

Active calories (weekly): 570

Bedtime routine: 10:05 PM (good)

Bedtime: 11:30 PM (okay)

Wake up: 10:20 AM (kinda late)

Morning routine: 10:40 AM (very late)

I finished reading “Death on the Nile” by Agatha Christie.

Over a year ago, someone completely random gave me almost every single Agatha Christie novel via a give-and-take Facebook group, and I’ve read about half a dozen of them so far. I was trying to go in order, but then I gave up, because this was the one I wanted to read most. I watched the most recent film adaptation because Gal Gadot was in it, and then found out it was a book, and then read the book because Gal Gadot was the main character in a film adaptation of the book.

When I become obsessed with a character or a celebrity, I honestly never quite know how far it’ll take me. It's how I accidentally ended up learning taekwondo.

I also watched “Heart of Stone” (see above paragraphs). It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’ve watched some terrible, terrible, terrible movies for the sake of watching kickass women do cool stunts.

I regret nothing.

Day #153

 

[princess_sarena]

Monday, January 27th, 2025

Wall push ups, day #22

Arms of Steel, seated day #28 (2 lb weights)

Zero Hero, day #27

Spoiler: Zero Hero, day #27

I returned the kitten safe and sound to its home. (Wanna take bets how long the kitten survives before being eaten by a zombie or drunk by a vampire? But it's not like it would have been any safer with me...)

I was almost at the diner to meet up with the cab driver when the diner exploded... and next thing I know, I'm in a hospital that's collapsing too.

Time to start running again. It doesn't seem to matter where I end up or how far I go, I always end up running from something.

I wish I was running TOWARDS something, and not just away...

Day #154

Ahhhhhhhh I forgot something important to note about Heart of Stone: IT WAS CO-WRITTEN BY GREG RUCKA. I found that out as I was watching the opening credits. You have to be a serious Wonder Woman nerd (or comic nerd) to know the name, but Greg Rucka is one of the best writers Wonder Woman ever had (in my top five, no question, and according to my research one of the most popular amongst modern readers). So there was definitely a Wonder Woman-esque vibe to some themes and lines. (Likely for multiple reasons, but I imagine the screenwriter had what to do with it.)

 

[princess_sarena]

Tuesday, January 28th, 2025

One minute meditation, day #22

Power pose, day #1
( )

Walking to running, day #3

10 jumping jacks (bonus)

Arms of Steel, seated day #29

Wall push ups, day #23

DD, 30 sec sumo squat, day #48

Caught: Charmander

Day #155

Was a bit of a depression-heavy day. I couldn’t work up the motivation to do anything after my run in the morning, so I took a nap because I was exhausted, struggled and failed to be productive for a few hours, and then gave up being useful and just rewatched the first episode of a TV show I first watched when I was visiting my brother and his wife for Passover this past spring (“Utopia”, the Australian version). It was good, and reminded me of hanging out with my brother (I used to sneak into his room and watch Monty Python or "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" over his shoulder as a teenager) which was also good. Then I did another workout and gamed for the rest of the evening (Arceus + Stardew Valley).

I have a hard time with this, but I’m trying to remember that watching TV shows or gaming when my mind isn’t working is actually progress. Practicing focusing on things that are enjoyable and relaxing (even when I’m not at my best) is, in all groundedness, excellent training to stay focused and on task on boringer things when I’m doing better. Sometimes I forget that, but I shouldn’t.

 

[princess_sarena]

Wednesday, January 29th, 2025

One minute meditation, day #23

Power pose, day #2

Zero Hero, day #28

Wall push ups, day #24

Daily dare, 30 sec side plank, day #49

Spoiler: Zero Hero, day #28

Okay, so the hospital disappeared down a sinkhole. That's smart, building a hospital on top of one of those.

I haven't gotten hit by any of the meteors... yet.

Did I accidentally wander onto the set of a horror film or show? Where the special effects feel a little too real? I wish I could've saved some of the people in the hospital, but there wasn't much I could've done, other than maybe going back in time and warning the architects...

Day #156

I remember when doing this many butt kicks in one workout would’ve felt overwhelming, and now it just comes naturally (that “one and done” challenge might’ve had something to do with it).

I had over 2,000 unread emails in one of my inboxes. I got that down to under 300. I wish I’d gotten more done, but hey, progress is progress.

I’ve also tried to get back into the habit of listening to French and/or Hebrew regularly so I don’t lose progress on my language comprehension. I’ve been listening to a sciencey-comedy Hebrew podcast (“Hatshuvah” by Doron Fishler) which I listen to when doing chores and I’ve just started listening to original French audio by the Sybel app. Right now I’m working my way through “Le Calendrier Enchante,” which is a great starting point because it’s a kid’s story, fairly easy to understand, and each episode is only three to five minutes long and can be finished while I make my bed in the morning. I'm working on getting my French to a point where I can listen to books and podcasts for adults, but I'm not quite there yet.