Sunday, March 31, 2013
Tomorrow's the big day
Tomorrow I head out for my big thru-hiking adventure! Check me out at heatherhikes.com
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Big News and a Move
And the big news is....I'm going to be hiking the Appalachian Trail this year!
I'm excited and scared and happy and wondering if I've lost my mind. In a big swirled together mess.
I'm going to be documenting the preparation, hike, and my fund raising efforts over here.
So check it out.
I'm excited and scared and happy and wondering if I've lost my mind. In a big swirled together mess.
I'm going to be documenting the preparation, hike, and my fund raising efforts over here.
So check it out.
Friday, March 1, 2013
March Goals
I can't believe it's March. I woke up this morning to the sound of birds chirping, a sound I haven't heard in months! Maybe we are going to get an early spring, after all.
It's weird. Usually, February seems to drag. I usually say "Thank goodness it only has 28 days, I couldn't handle any more!" But this year, February just flew. It's like time sped up on me. And now I sit here, reviewing my goals and saying W/T/F? It always seems like there'll be more time. Or less snow. Oh well.
February Goals:
1) Do the Frozen Pilgrim 10k: Fail! Call me a wimp, but I absolutely did not want to run 6 miles in the middle of a blizzard. (Though many heartier than I ran with gusto!)
2) Do the Freetown Hike: Fail. Once again, foiled by snow. Two to three feet deep along the trail. Not gonna happen. Maybe I should rethink my goals and factor in things like the seasons!
3) Finish clinician education binder for work: success. all done and presenting it at Tuesday's meeting.
4) Get tax return done: done.
5) Journal and meditate am and pm: Success. The indoor goals were much easier this month.
6) Blog 4 to 5 times per week: except for this indoor goal. Don't know why. Maybe I'll just steal from my history-paper-challenged niece by stating: "I know what I want to say, I just don't know how to say it when I'm at the computer."
7) Drink adequate water each day: Rough start to this one, but finally came together at the end of the month. Oh, and 2 weeks off caffeine! Yay me!
8) Get in that hang out time with Wheels: Today. We are hanging out today!
9) Get financial and logistics planned for "the big adventure": success. (How cryptic, eh?)
10) Make valentine's day cookies for my family and co-workers: done!
March Goals:
Just one big goal for March: PREPARE FOR THE BIG ADVENTURE!!!
More on that tomorrow!
It's weird. Usually, February seems to drag. I usually say "Thank goodness it only has 28 days, I couldn't handle any more!" But this year, February just flew. It's like time sped up on me. And now I sit here, reviewing my goals and saying W/T/F? It always seems like there'll be more time. Or less snow. Oh well.
February Goals:
1) Do the Frozen Pilgrim 10k: Fail! Call me a wimp, but I absolutely did not want to run 6 miles in the middle of a blizzard. (Though many heartier than I ran with gusto!)
2) Do the Freetown Hike: Fail. Once again, foiled by snow. Two to three feet deep along the trail. Not gonna happen. Maybe I should rethink my goals and factor in things like the seasons!
3) Finish clinician education binder for work: success. all done and presenting it at Tuesday's meeting.
4) Get tax return done: done.
5) Journal and meditate am and pm: Success. The indoor goals were much easier this month.
6) Blog 4 to 5 times per week: except for this indoor goal. Don't know why. Maybe I'll just steal from my history-paper-challenged niece by stating: "I know what I want to say, I just don't know how to say it when I'm at the computer."
7) Drink adequate water each day: Rough start to this one, but finally came together at the end of the month. Oh, and 2 weeks off caffeine! Yay me!
8) Get in that hang out time with Wheels: Today. We are hanging out today!
9) Get financial and logistics planned for "the big adventure": success. (How cryptic, eh?)
10) Make valentine's day cookies for my family and co-workers: done!
March Goals:
Just one big goal for March: PREPARE FOR THE BIG ADVENTURE!!!
More on that tomorrow!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The downside of cellphones
One of the worst side effects of having technology available round the clock is the disappearance of a little virtue known as patience. I know I'm significantly less patient than I once was.
Years ago, I was able to wait for things. I remember having a long commute to work and thinking of thinking of it as "the work to home transition". When I was stuck in traffic, I had a ritual: I would pop in some Bob Marley and chill out. I had no way of letting them know I would be late; this was before cell phones were commonplace. Since there was nothing I could do, I didn't get impatient or upset. I just went with it.
Ironically, it was AFTER I got a mobile phone that I got more stressed out in traffic. I'd be frantically trying to dial and keep an eye on traffic all the while petrified that I would crash. And God forbid if nobody answered at work! I'd be paranoid that nobody was going to check the voicemail. The only thing worse was somebody answering. I'd hear all the chaos in the background and feel guilty about being late. Then I'd become all agitated and impatient with the two guys involved in the fender bender that had caused the delay. Even Bob Marley couldn't help. In the end, technology achieved the exact opposite of its intended goal.
Flash forward to today. I live by the frickin weather channel.Com all winter. I spend time looking up the most pointless information, like "what happened to the kid from About a Boy". I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't know the answer to every little thing I wonder about all day long. And I'm not even one of those people connected to their phone 24/7, taking pictures of their Starbucks cup and Instagraming it to the world. I cannot imagine what it's like inside their heads!
So today, when I was out running errands, I ran into one traffic jam after another all afternoon. On top of that, I discovered that I had left my cellphone at home. Well, I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself. I couldn't return phone calls. I couldn't check text messages. I could only sit in my jeepy-jeep and be agrevated and impatient. Then, Bob Marley came on the radio. And I remembered what it used to be like in a world without cellphones.
And I chilled out to Bob Marley for a while.
Years ago, I was able to wait for things. I remember having a long commute to work and thinking of thinking of it as "the work to home transition". When I was stuck in traffic, I had a ritual: I would pop in some Bob Marley and chill out. I had no way of letting them know I would be late; this was before cell phones were commonplace. Since there was nothing I could do, I didn't get impatient or upset. I just went with it.
Ironically, it was AFTER I got a mobile phone that I got more stressed out in traffic. I'd be frantically trying to dial and keep an eye on traffic all the while petrified that I would crash. And God forbid if nobody answered at work! I'd be paranoid that nobody was going to check the voicemail. The only thing worse was somebody answering. I'd hear all the chaos in the background and feel guilty about being late. Then I'd become all agitated and impatient with the two guys involved in the fender bender that had caused the delay. Even Bob Marley couldn't help. In the end, technology achieved the exact opposite of its intended goal.
Flash forward to today. I live by the frickin weather channel.Com all winter. I spend time looking up the most pointless information, like "what happened to the kid from About a Boy". I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't know the answer to every little thing I wonder about all day long. And I'm not even one of those people connected to their phone 24/7, taking pictures of their Starbucks cup and Instagraming it to the world. I cannot imagine what it's like inside their heads!
So today, when I was out running errands, I ran into one traffic jam after another all afternoon. On top of that, I discovered that I had left my cellphone at home. Well, I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself. I couldn't return phone calls. I couldn't check text messages. I could only sit in my jeepy-jeep and be agrevated and impatient. Then, Bob Marley came on the radio. And I remembered what it used to be like in a world without cellphones.
And I chilled out to Bob Marley for a while.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Wishy Washy Weekend
The good news is: still off caffeine and I'm noticing that I am no longer waking up in the morning with headaches. That's a good thing!
The bad news is: my car is leaking power steering fluid and I have a loaner for the weekend. Which means I cannot go up to adaptive skiing.
The iffy news is: we may get walloped again with snow. Or not. It may turn to rain. Hard to tell.
And that's why I'm so wishy washy this weekend. Sigh.
The bad news is: my car is leaking power steering fluid and I have a loaner for the weekend. Which means I cannot go up to adaptive skiing.
The iffy news is: we may get walloped again with snow. Or not. It may turn to rain. Hard to tell.
And that's why I'm so wishy washy this weekend. Sigh.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Decaffeinating
Today marks my second day without caffeine. I have been saying for months-- no, years -- that I need to quit caffeine. But this weekend, I realized that it is only a mere 6 weeks until I embark on a big adventure in which I will not have access to caffeinated beverages any time I wish for a quick pick-me-up.
This left me with two choices: 1) keep on caffeinating and deal with the withdrawal on the first week of the trip OR 2) start weaning myself off diet coke now, so that I can begin fresh and new in 6 weeks. I decided on the latter.
At first, I thought I'd just decrease my caffeine intake little by little each day, and within a week or two, I'd be off the hootch. Then I remembered all the times I have attempted to do that in the past. It's a slippery slope. Once you have that first caffeine buzz, it's far too easy to just keep on going. So I opted for a different tactic.
I'm still doing a gradual wean off, but like this: This week, I switched to caffeine free soda. Next week, I switch from soda to sparkling water (I like the bubbles). Week three I go from sparkling water to flavored water. And week four I go from flavored water to plain water. Sounds good, eh?
For the past two days, I've been doing the caffeine free diet coke. Plus, I've been drinking "detox tea" like there is no tomorrow. I got the recipe for detox tea from some Pinterest posting and basically, it's a liter of green tea with a tablespoon of lemon juice, a tablespoon of cranberry juice, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. (I have no idea what the rationale is behind this recipe. I just blindly followed it like some kind of obsessed fanatic.) I did use a lemon wedge rather than lemon juice, though, so that proved that I'm still a free thinking, logical, clear minded individual and not one of the masses. Right?
Anyway, it's been surprisingly not bad. Yesterday I was feeling a little sluggish, headachy, and fuzzy headed in the morning. But not constantly. I had like these 15 to 20 minute spells periodically and then they'd pass. Today, I just got a couple of those feelings (lasting about 5 to 10 minutes) in the mid afternoon. But they passed pretty quickly, as well.
The only other drawback is that I've had the hungry horrors for the past two days. I'm guessing I'm craving food to take the place of the quick energy I got from theheroin diet coke I consumed every afternoon.
Maybe I should add week 5: cut out the sweets.
This left me with two choices: 1) keep on caffeinating and deal with the withdrawal on the first week of the trip OR 2) start weaning myself off diet coke now, so that I can begin fresh and new in 6 weeks. I decided on the latter.
At first, I thought I'd just decrease my caffeine intake little by little each day, and within a week or two, I'd be off the hootch. Then I remembered all the times I have attempted to do that in the past. It's a slippery slope. Once you have that first caffeine buzz, it's far too easy to just keep on going. So I opted for a different tactic.
I'm still doing a gradual wean off, but like this: This week, I switched to caffeine free soda. Next week, I switch from soda to sparkling water (I like the bubbles). Week three I go from sparkling water to flavored water. And week four I go from flavored water to plain water. Sounds good, eh?
For the past two days, I've been doing the caffeine free diet coke. Plus, I've been drinking "detox tea" like there is no tomorrow. I got the recipe for detox tea from some Pinterest posting and basically, it's a liter of green tea with a tablespoon of lemon juice, a tablespoon of cranberry juice, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. (I have no idea what the rationale is behind this recipe. I just blindly followed it like some kind of obsessed fanatic.) I did use a lemon wedge rather than lemon juice, though, so that proved that I'm still a free thinking, logical, clear minded individual and not one of the masses. Right?
Anyway, it's been surprisingly not bad. Yesterday I was feeling a little sluggish, headachy, and fuzzy headed in the morning. But not constantly. I had like these 15 to 20 minute spells periodically and then they'd pass. Today, I just got a couple of those feelings (lasting about 5 to 10 minutes) in the mid afternoon. But they passed pretty quickly, as well.
The only other drawback is that I've had the hungry horrors for the past two days. I'm guessing I'm craving food to take the place of the quick energy I got from the
Maybe I should add week 5: cut out the sweets.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Wimping Out
Yesterday marked the day of the "Frozen Pilgrim 10k". It's an annual race here in Plymouth in the dead of winter aimed at getting everyone out and active and into the brisk cold air for a run. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?
Well, I wimped out.
As much as I endorse being outside for fresh air and exercise, I do have my limits. Yesterday the weather was over the limit.
Yesterday we got 6 inches of snow with wind gusts up to 50 mph and a wind-chill factor of (-7). I did go outside. I shoveled out my car. And then I went back inside. There was no way I was going to try to run in that.
However, at least 50 brave souls showed up at the start line and bravely ran 6 miles through blizzard conditions for the honor of calling themselves "Winter Warriors". I saw the video on the race website.
It did inspire me enough to go to the gym and run 6 miles on the treadmill.
Treadmills are boring.
But running in a blizzard is nuts.
Or I'm just a wimp.
Well, I wimped out.
As much as I endorse being outside for fresh air and exercise, I do have my limits. Yesterday the weather was over the limit.
Yesterday we got 6 inches of snow with wind gusts up to 50 mph and a wind-chill factor of (-7). I did go outside. I shoveled out my car. And then I went back inside. There was no way I was going to try to run in that.
However, at least 50 brave souls showed up at the start line and bravely ran 6 miles through blizzard conditions for the honor of calling themselves "Winter Warriors". I saw the video on the race website.
It did inspire me enough to go to the gym and run 6 miles on the treadmill.
Treadmills are boring.
But running in a blizzard is nuts.
Or I'm just a wimp.
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