I've survived the second week of school which is great because I can continue writing this blog. Lucky you! No, but in all seriousness I appreciate the readers who have been keeping up on my life. I hope my writing is somewhat entertaining, informative, and motivational to those who run or write. Let's be real as an English major I love what I do which is writing and reading.
For my Creative Writing poetry class this semester our professor is having us keep a journal to carry around with us at all times. We can write our reading reactions to poems, everyday occurrences, etc. in order to reach the 3 page weekly minimum of writing. This is not an issue for me because I regularly write my thoughts and poetry down, whether in a text message to myself, in a notebook, or on the computer. I prefer a good old fashioned notebook and pencil myself. I find often that I will think of lines to a poem while riding my bike or laying in bed. These are times where I need something to write on or the idea will soon escape my mind.
In summary, I urge you to keep a journal of some kind to get your ideas, thoughts, everyday events, times that made you happy, frustrations, and or your workout regimen onto a permanent file. A place where you can look back and read about your own life so you won't get lost in the shuffle of our busy world. We all know that it's a fast paced world we're living in. So I'm asking, If you don't take the time to remember and reflect on the day or even the week then what are you really living for?
Enough philosophical thoughts for one post. I had another great week of running/working out. I haven't mentioned before but not only do I run but I incorporate biking for about 20 minutes on Rolling Hills setting to get more of a leg workout. I know I really should start working other parts of my body with weightlifting and ab exercises but I have not yet. I need to build strength in my arms more specifically; push ups are definitely my weakness. My running is summarized below:
Total Miles: 22
Word Count Goal: 1320
Mileage Goal for Next Week: 22 or +
Monday, which was Labor Day, I forgot my watch at my apartment so the recording and picture is not available. Instead I just remembered the treadmill information which was 3.1 miles in 30 minutes beginning with a 9:40 pace. I accomplished my goal of increasing my pace that I set in my last post. The week just got better from Monday on.
Tuesday I ran on the treadmill for 3.5 miles after my classes, work, and a Sigma Tau Delta Meeting (English Club on campus). I'm extremely excited for participating this year as I was only able to go Spring semester after coming back to MSUM from Massachusetts. I am mostly excited for the International Convention which is every year in March. So many people are gathered in one place who share the same love for reading and writing. Creative writing pieces and critical work are presented as well as well known authors. The last two years 5 students were able to go each year. After fund raising each person only paid 100 dollars out of pocket for 5 days in a hotel plus the plane ticket. Well, this year the convention is in Portland, OR! One of the places on my list that I want to visit. So if I participate in fund raising, attending meetings, etc. I hope to be in Portland, OR in March.
Wednesday I ran a little over 3.1 on the treadmill and biked about 10 minutes on the bike.
On
Thursday my morning class was cancelled at 9:30 so I was able to run with two
new friends at 8:45 in downtown Fargo.
I’m usually not a morning runner because I feel like it’s harder for me
to run after 7 or so hours of laying still; another mental hill to get
over. I need to get used to the idea of
running in case my week days get too busy and I’m forced to run early in the
morning before my 8:30 class. I really
enjoyed running on Wednesday because I am not a regular runner around the
downtown area, I usually stay in the radius of my school. Being with
other people pushed me to pick up my pace.
I ran 4 miles at a 9 minute pace instead of a 9:40 and had some great
conversation at the same time!
Now
this also means that I need to maintain or increase my pace of 9 minutes
because I was not pushing myself hard enough with the 9:40. GOALS GOALS GOALS are hard to set and even harder to beat. But starting Monday the treadmill will be set
at a 9 minute pace, promise.
On Fridays for the month of September my hours of the day are scheduled to perfection.
Class 8:30-9:20
Write Cite 9:30-12:30
Work 1:30-12:00am
This means I get up at 6 am to fit my run in, which I did. I tried my best to maintain a pace of 9 minutes. There’s something about waking up and running outside knowing that in most of the houses people are still sleeping while you run by. I was thinking of my day ahead and how blessed I am to have the opportunity to attend college and have two good jobs. Friday mornings I will use to reflect upon life.
Saturday I worked another 10 hour shift and instead of running outside when I finished I decided to mix it up and do a round of Insanity. I lasted about 2 and a half weeks of Insanity during this past summer before I stopped/became lazy. This workout was a good mix up from my regular running routine. I figured it wouldn't hurt to work other muscles on top of cardio in replace of my usual run.
And now I've reached Sunday and the day is quickly coming to an end. I had such a lovely day today with my sister in the beginning and friends later on. Doing homework with Carmella is one of the blessings I have in my life. Later on in the day my boyfriend Joel and I went over to our friend's apartment and a bunch of us made soup! I don't think we ever settled on a name, Dirty hairy foot was in the works. Believe me it tasted much better than it sounds! We all chipped in and brought various ingredients, mostly fresh veggies, and it came out amazingly good. It's great to spend my Sunday relaxing with good company and chit-chatting about life. We also went to Church afterwards which I find to be the perfect way to end a weekend. Now I'm ready for another week packed full of fun.
Until next time,
Stay joyful
Jess
