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How Running is Like Blogging

October 19, 2010 by

(Photo source)

This time of year is my busiest season for writing and other projects. And, it is at this time each year where I contemplate sacrificing some of the things I love – like running and blogging – in order to make more time for work. Last year, I did actually take a hiatus from blogging for 1-2 months in order to spend time working on more lucrative projects. As for running, although I’ve never stopped running for work-related reasons, I took a planned hiatus from running for 2-3 weeks after I had both of my children.

When you really think about it, blogging is a lot like running. In many ways, at least for me, the two go hand-in-hand, with running as an impetus for blogging and vice versa. Plus, giving up blogging or running, even for a short amount of time, is difficult for someone who does it every day. But although the “giving up” part was difficult, the coming back after the time off was even more difficult than I imagined.

Let’s take a look at the other similarities between running and blogging:

6 Ways Running is Like Blogging

  1. Love/hate relationship: I truly have a love/hate relationship with running and blogging. I love to run, just as I love to write. But I hate that both have me so entranced that they are hard to give up cold turkey. Both are definitely hard habits to break.
  2. Practice makes perfect: Although blogging is not a sport – unless you consider taking hits from women’s magazines a sport – like running, your blogging/writing skills will typically improve the more you engage in that activity, be it running or writing. Running and blogging also take practice and dedication to get to the level that you want to be. Furthermore, many experienced bloggers and runners will keep to a set schedule in order to become more consistent in their practice and to gauge their progress.
  3. Varying Levels: Like runners, bloggers can be considered anything from novice to experienced, or from casual to professional. Some runners run for fun, some bloggers blog for fun. On the flipside, some runners run professionally, to earn money, prestige or just to beat a previous personal record. Bloggers are the same way in that many experienced bloggers write because of the money it earns them or with the intent of receiving some sort of recognition in the blogging world.
  4. Socialization: Blogging and running can be solo or social activities. You can write for the masses but never read or respond to comments or you can engage in online communities, conferences, and more. Similarly, you can run by yourself to your heart’s content or you can join a group of runners for weekly workouts.
  5. Outlet for feelings and ambitions: Running and blogging can be used to help alleviate stress, tension, anxiety, make you feel empowered, or simply help you achieve a purpose – whether it’s to run a 5K or to write your first novel.
  6. The Good and the Bad: Runners and bloggers have good days and bad days. On a bad day, a blogger may post just to get something posted, while runners will force themselves just to finish a few miles. But on good days – both runners and bloggers can be on fire – writing strong content or achieving that runner’s high.

Now, if I could just find a way to run and blog at the same time….

Filed Under: Featured, Running Tagged With: , ,

Sunday is Giveaway Time!

September 5, 2010 by

With such a busy travel schedule coming up, I find myself making tons of lists:

  • To do lists
  • Packing lists
  • Shopping lists
  • Clothing lists

…and so on. When making my lists, I try to keep them in the same notebook or folder, so that they are easy to find and refer to. However lately, I find that I’ve filled most of my little notebooks and have resorted to making lists on sticky notes or on Word documents on my computer. Although this helps get my items on “paper”, I’m not always in front of my computer and I tend to lose the sticky notes after a few days.  This obviously makes my life more hectic and stressful, and I definitely do NOT need more stress in my life right now!

In addition to lists, my schedule pretty much forces me to keep a detailed calendar/schedule for all of my trips, family functions, and other responsibilities. I really don’t like living my life on a schedule, but c’est la vie. This is the main reason I attended the Time Management session at the Healthy Living Summit a few weeks ago. I wanted to learn how to become a better time manager, although not a micro time manager. It was at HLS where I learned about the Quo Vadis day planners, notebooks, and other products that help make scheduling life easier.

For weeks now, I have been looking for a stylish yet functional notebook as well as a planner and had my eyes set Quo Vadis. The parent company of Quo Vadis, Exaclair, very graciously sent me several notebooks, mini-notebooks, planners, and notepads to try. Although I have not tried the planners as of yet (because they are for 2011) I’ve tried the Rhodia dotpad and the Clairefontaine magnetic journals. The dotpad is perfect for making lists – you can tear your list out and take it with you when you’re done, or you can leave it in the pad to save for reference. The Clairefontaine journal is equally handy for journaling daily thoughts, making “life lists”, etc. And what else I love about this journal is that it is hard cover and comes in a very Eurochic design, complete with a faint old-fashioned map of the Mediterranean…

The magnetic strip is a huge bonus – I don’t have to worry about it falling open or flapping around when I’m writing outside on my deck.

As you can see from the pictures above, I received way more Quo Vadis goodies than I can actually use. So you know what that means – it’s giveaway time!

Clairfontaine Journal Giveaway!

I will be hosting several giveaways on both RWC and Bistro Chic involving these awesome notebooks and planners in the coming weeks. The first giveaway will be for one of the stylish magnetic notebooks (the brown hardcover picture above). As I said before, it’s perfect for keeping track of your day-to-day thoughts and activities, and it’s also small enough to fit in your laptop bag or even your purse. So whenever you have a new idea to add to your list – voila! – just pull out your Clairefontaine journal and go to it.

There are two very easy ways to enter the giveaway for one of these awesome Clairefontaine journals:

  1. Comment – Leave a comment on this post tell me how you would use the journal if you won. Or
  2. Tweet – If you don’t have time to leave a comment, you can tweet this post out as a chance to enter.

You must do one of these two things by 9 PM Eastern, Wednesday, September 8, 2010 in order to enter.

I just had another great idea – I’m off to write in my journal!!

Good luck everyone!

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

Life-Long Marathon

August 24, 2010 by

(Photo source)

Today, I woke up intending to walk instead of run. I’ve been toying with the idea of only running 4 days a week, walking 1 day, and then doing yoga on the 6th day. Why the change? Oh, many reasons. I’m starting to feel the impact that running has had on my body for the last 20 years – sore hips, tight hamstrings, etc. But more than that, I want to expand my fitness regimen – try new things, work out different muscles in my body. But let me tell you, it is hard to stop running, even if it is just one day a week.

Case in point…my morning walk didn’t turn out how I had planned. It appears that my body does not know what walking is and that, try as I might, it is programmed to run after all of these years. I started out with a fast walk which turned into a fast trot, which turned into 45 minutes of interval running. Every few minutes, I told myself – just go 2 more minutes and then walk. Obviously, that didn’t work. I ended up running 4.2 miles at about 8:10 minute miles. Fast? Yes. My intention? No. Why is it so hard for me to walk or “not run”? It’s almost as if I’m in training for some imaginary race. Or maybe it’s that I’m having a competition with myself – running a constant race in my head.

It’s funny how running reminds me of my job. I “run” all day long and even when I want to stop (ie. take a break), I keep running in order to reach a deadline, prepare for the next day, or just look good in front of my boss. In work terms, walking means just getting by or performing my job at a slower rate compared to the rate I would go if  I was “running”. Having a good “run” means I finished my task before deadline or exceeded expectations. Walking means status quo and running means getting ahead.

Only in my case, I feel like I’m running a never-ending race – the rat race – my own life-long marathon.

And on that lovely note…good night.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: ,

Time For My Beauty Sleep

July 29, 2010 by

(photo source)

Hey all,

It’s been a rough day! I’ve been going on 3 hours of sleep due to Ms. M falling out of bed, then waking up every 45-minutes after that. I did end up running despite my lack of shuteye. However, I gave myself a break and only ran about 4.5 miles. This made me slightly more awake, but then I started to crash (not literally!) on the way to work. Nothing a little Starbucks couldn’t handle – although I hate relying on expensive, sugary coffee to keep me awake. Sleep deprivation can be fueled by caffeine, yet, ironically, caffeine is what we turn to when we are sleep deprived. That’s something to ponder when I’m not so tired.

I hit my ultimate low around 3 PM. I caught myself staring expressionless at the computer for what seemed like 15 minutes. Lucky no one saw me.

Anyway, I’d love to stay and chat all about the weekend, the Healthy Living Summit, the new book I’m reading, and more, but it is time for me to turn in.

Night all!

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , ,

So Many Books, So Little Time

July 28, 2010 by

It’s been a long time since I’ve read a book just for fun and even longer since I’ve read a book cover to cover. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading books, but rather I read them in shifts – a few pages in one book one night, then a few pages in another book the next. I have so many partially read books, it’s crazy! And the craziest thing of all is that our house has a small library in it – no joke! Because I used to work for a company that promoted books, I have a ton of self-help books, although they are becoming quite dated. And, since I’ve been blogging, I receive at least one book a month in the mail to review. Most of the time, not all the time, I’m able to read through the book – not cover to cover but more than skimming – to write a decent review. However, I still don’t consider reading these books as leisure reading – most of the time, it’s work.

A few months ago, I noticed a new book in my office’s lunchroom library (where people bring books they don’t want) – Eat, Pray, Love. Of course I know this book has been out for years and will soon be coming out as a movie. My brother and sister-in-law actually gave me the hardcover book when it first came out. I really wanted to read it, but at the time, I had absolutely no time to read. I ended up taking the book back to the store. Even now, I have very little time to read. But when I saw the book in the lunchroom, I felt it was fate telling me that it was time to take a step back and make time to read it.

I brought the book home and it has literally been sitting on my bookshelf in my room for MONTHS. Aside from having no extra time to read, I’m a little nervous about reading the book. I know the premise of the book – it’s hard not to when it’s been out for so long and now it’s been turned into a movie. I’m nervous that it will reflect a lot of what is happening in my own life – fed up with my job, wanting to travel and see things, and wanting more out of life.

I’m convinced that if I read this book, it will make me either a) very depressed or b) want to quit my job and move to Europe with Scott and the kids 🙂

Well, it’s time to see how this story will begin and where it will lead.

I’m off to read….

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , ,

Can you run and drink coffee at the same time?

July 26, 2010 by

Today was – in one word – disappointing. For the last 6 months (more like 4 years) I’ve been working my tail off to gain more responsibility and more seniority at work. Well, today, I officially received a ton more responsibility, but zero seniority. I’d love to wallow right now in a huge bowl of self-pity, but I have so much work to do that I can’t.

Ok, let’s move on….to coffee!

I did read some good news today – that coffee can enhance your workout. Woo hoo – whoever said running and java do not mix was just plain crazy! Drinking a moderate amount of caffeine can help fend off muscle fatigue and keep you focused an energized without making you jittery. Researchers from the University of Auckland in New Zealand recommend drinking 0.5 to 1.4 milligrams per pound of body weight to receive a clear benefit without all the jitters. For a 130 lb woman, this would be about an 8 oz cup of coffee – just enough! BTW – I think that’s a “short” in Starbuck’s terms!

Garden update: So far, I’ve harvested 3 cucumbers, 3 tomatoes, a handful of snap peas, basil, and a boat load of jalapenos. Seriously, jalapenos must be the easiest things to grow – they’re like weeds!! Please send recipes that include jalapenos or I will be forced to take them to work and tell everyone they are abnormally small green peppers. Just kidding of course – kind of 🙂

Like many of you, I’m attending the Healthy Living Summit in a few weeks. To say I’m excited is an understatement! I’d love to arrange a Saturday night dinner – so if you’re attending HLS and are interested, let me know!

I’m outta here – night all!

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Stress and the Carb Fix

July 20, 2010 by

(Photo source)

Stress – I said it before and I’ll say it again…stress makes me throw all of my good eating habits out the window. Work has been stressful lately – I have a zillion projects that need to be completed in the next 3-4 months. And, as of now, I have very few staff resources to help me.

Not fun. As a result of the stress – particularly today’s stress – I tend to eat bad. For example, take a look at what I ate today:

  • 1 peach and a few bites of my daughter’s Trader Joe’s waffle
  • 1 Starbucks Mocha Frap
  • 1 1/2 cups pasta with about 1/4 cup sauce
  • 1 bag of vending machine pretzels
  • 2 small cookies and 2 mini snickers
  • 1 carrot
  • 1/2 peanut butter sandwich
  • A load of BBQ potato chips

I am probably under my suggested calorie intake for the day, but still – it was a total carb-loading day. And, I had a total of 2 fruits/veggies – ugh! It doesn’t help that my husband is working a ton this week so I’m playing mostly single mom – taking Mr. C and Ms. M back and forth to daycare and t-ball.

I shouldn’t complain though. I still have my health…sniff. Plus, we’re headed to see Jack Johnson this weekend – can’t wait!!! I have wanted to see JJ for YEARS! I’ve said on more than one occasion that I want to see JJ and Jimmy Buffet before I die. After Saturday – I’ll have just one more on my bucket list of concerts to attend! Hmmm…maybe the mellow sounds of Jack Johnson will help me relax a little. I’ll keep you posted 🙂

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: ,

No Sense of Time

June 24, 2010 by

Gland Update

As some of you know, I headed out of work early yesterday because I was sick. I haven’t taken “sick” time from work in over 4 months so I was about due. My gland/tonsil was really swollen and hurt like crazy. I’m hoping the antibiotic and a little Tylenol will take care of it quickly. I hate being sick – it just doesn’t fit into my schedule.

Big Day!!

Today is the big day – I’m getting the new iPhone!!! Scott ran out the door a little after 7 AM so that he could wait in line for both my phone (already ordered) and his phone (on reserve but no guarantee). After 2.5 hours, he is still waiting in line! I’m hoping he meets me for lunch and presents my new baby, fully charged and ready to go!

No Time To Spare

Because I’m getting the new phone today, Scott needed to take my old one with him, which left me phoneless taking the kids to school and then driving to work. When I got into the car, I realized that the stereo lights were not working which meant that I could not see the time. So, no phone time, no car stereo time, and no watch. I had to rely on talk radio to update me with the time – which is rather frustrating since they only say it once every 20 minutes. My kingdom for a clock, my kingdom for a clock! Basically, I had so sense of time until I got to work. Of course, I was 10 minutes late.

Anyway, aside from the iPhone, I also have a big day and weekend ahead. Today I have a meeting with our senior VP about my new role at work -oooh, aren’t you excited to hear the details? Well, that makes two of us. Because I still don’t know what the hell is going on with my role! Then tomorrow, we head to Michigan again for a big family reunion. My younger brother is coming in from San Diego with his whole family -can’t wait! I know I just saw my little bro in October but the cousins haven’t been together in a year!

OK, must get back to work.

Filed Under: Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Do we really need that morning cup of coffee?

June 10, 2010 by

cafe au lait

Caffeine is one of the most addictive substances in the world. I know that I’m addicted to it – and many of my fellow food and health/fitness bloggers are as well. We’ve all been there – late night, early morning, and the quest for coffee or any caffeinated beverage. And, just like our parents’ generation, we need our caffeine to wake up, to stay alert, or just to give us that boost of energy throughout the day.

Well, wouldn’t you know that this idea that caffeine makes us more alert or more awake is all in our heads! Yes, that’s right. New research shows that caffeine addicts actually develop a tolerance to caffeine, and therefore, don’t really experience its true stimulating effects. The caffeine merely brings an addict back to the baseline levels of alertness, which was originally decreased due to caffeine withdrawal. Now that’s scary!! No wonder we need more and more caffeine each day to feel its effects!

Here’s a thought, next time you need your coffee, try making it a decaf and see how you feel.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: , ,

Tree Pose For Balance And Relaxation

May 6, 2010 by

(Photo courtesy of Flickr)

Stress. Worry. Anxiety. Uncertainty. We all feel these emotions at some point in our lives -and for some of us, we feel them on a weekly or daily basis. Among other things, these emotions can leave us feeling mentally and physically unbalanced.

If you’re feeling a little off-center these days, due to family, work, or anything else, try taking a moment to center yourself – to find your balance. A good way to do this is with yoga, specifically, the tree pose.

For those of you who already practice yoga, what I am about to say will be like preaching to the choir. Tree pose is a balancing pose that requires you to focus and relax at the same time. Tree pose helps you work on your balance, but it also can help you clear your head and steady your body and soul. There are many postures in yoga that I have not yet perfected – down dog, warrior three – the list goes on and on. But tree pose is one that I do quite well. And, when I focus, clearly concentrating on perfecting my tree, I can think of nothing else. Instant relaxation, albeit temporary.

If you’ve never practiced yoga or just need a refresher on how to maneuver the tree pose, Yoga Journal has an easy, step-by-step guide on the tree pose, and many other yoga poses, most of which include photos.

So when stress leaves you feeling a bit lost, find your tree – and yourself – again.

Filed Under: Fitness Tagged With: , ,