Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Making Adjustments (or Making up for Biting Off More Than I Could Chew)

You know how when you run a marathon...and partway through things aren't working out as you planned....so you adjust your approach, expectations, etc.?

Welcome to the marathon called my life!

I had taken on too many things when I started my graduate school career. Two classes added another 20 or so hours to my week. Where were those hours going to come from? I was working full time, raising two active girls, volunteering for local charity events, and squeezing in running.

Things started to drop off.

First - blogging (podcasting ended a long time ago, unfortunately). As you can all see from my quiet blogging presence, things slowed down there.

Second - running. Since the Disney Marathon (on Jan 11th) I have logged about 18 miles - less than one run a week - with my greatest distance being 4 miles.

Third - general house upkeep. Let's just say I haven't been pulling my weight around the house.

Fourth - time for myself and with my family. I was studying every night and on weekends. I wasn't reading books, hanging out with my kids or husband except on rare occasions.

Fifth - sleep. Working all day and studying until 11 pm or 12 am didn't contribute to a good sleep situation. What sleep I did manage was chosen over running.

I couldn't go on. I was exhausted and falling behind in everything.

So I dropped one of my classes. This, after studying most of the weekend for an exam that was to take place yesterday. But this was a situation where I just needed to get a grip on reality and look forward to having a little more normalcy in my life. So Statistics will have to wait until next year. Initially I felt like a quitter...but I realized that this is one case where trying harder was not going to help me out.

I am still pretty busy....but I can focus more on one class and on life. I ran yesterday and will run tomorrow. Perhaps I WILL run the Winter Park Road Race!

So, I apologize for not visiting your blogs, or keeping up with everyone. But I need to go hug my girls and get to bed early so I can run tomorrow.

Adventuring on....

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Where Has Chris Been?

Since Goofy several things have kept me away from the blogosphere....

1. I started graduate school. 2 classes have turned out to be a LOT of work! I am barely keeping up.

2. My mom was in the hospital - so I went to PA to see her. She is out and doing better now - but I spent an exhausting week chasing doctors, nurses and taking care of mom. I haven't caught up around home.

3. We bought not 1, but 2 new cars this past weekend. I am happy to have a new vehicle (2009 Malibu LTZ - Red!! Hubby got a Silver one) but I lost most of my weekend to this activity.

Then there is just the normal everyday stuff like a full time job, keeping up with my girls, etc.

Running has been difficult to fit in. I ran 4 miles on Thursday evening while the girls were at karate class. I then ran another 3.2 miles today with the family at the UCF track (that was fun!). I have been staying up late...so getting up early to run, well, hasn't been happening for me.

Hope everyone is running well out there....I haven't had time to read many blogs but I think of you all the time!!