The Happiness Thread

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. Last night we saluted our first fifteen years together, tonight we’ll toast the next fifteen.

(We’ve actually been together more like eighteen years, we’ve been married only fifteen of them. They’ve been great years regardless.)

 

14 next month, and 17ish, congratulations!

 

Got my mile time back down to 6:17. Still not where it was in high school, but I’m getting there.

 

Nice! My miles usually take me about 25 minutes to complete, LOL! Yeah I can't run for shit. LOL

 

Yesterday I got a surprise package from a former boss I had when I was an intern. It was an awesome tumbler and keychain.

Today my Pip Boy seat covers will come in, too.

 

Congrats!

It takes me about 25 minutes to do a mile (I walk faster than I run) and it's neat to see people get down so quickly!

 

I can't run 1 km, let alone a mile.

 

This was the result:

Very happy, I am.

 

I've spent all day frustrating myself over something that I'm well aware doesn't actually matter at all, but I think I've finally talked myself into laughing it off instead of being annoyed. Can't wait to wake up full of dumb indignation again tomorrow, hahah.

 

Going through my first draft now with a red pen (literally). Much like when I used to have my mother read over my papers for school, there's more red ink than black ink, but that just makes me more excited to start working on the second draft!

 

How do you pace yourself?
I'm not a long distance runner (not my events in HS-College), but recently I've gotten into it. Im at a 10min mile right now..... pacing is an issue to me. start out too fast, I burn out after like 800 meters. save my strength, but dont know when to pick it up at the end.

 

When I’m running around the track, I try to really push myself until halfway through the first lap and then maintain a consistent eighty-five percent effort or so (it’s a bit subjective) until the final lap so I’ll have energy stored to sprint at the end. It’s easier when running competitively because my fear of losing overrides my fatigue to an extent. When I ran on the treadmill yesterday, I set myself for 9.5 mph and periodically increased my speed.

I’ve also been experimenting with breathing techniques this year. I used to hyperventilate when I ran, which ejects CO2 so rapidly it can render your blood too alkaline and deprive your brain of oxygen (or so I’ve read). It makes exercise very painful very quickly. Lately I’ve been working on breathing in for several paces (usually 3-5) and then exhaling for 2-4. I’m not sure I’ve found the optimum balance yet, but I don’t run out of breath nearly as fast. Supposedly there’s also less impact strain if you land on a different foot each time when you exhale.

 

Unsure if this will help, but this guy has a good video on how to become a better runner. And other workouts, but that's beside the point.



Skip to around the 5:43 mark and checkout the sprinting workout. I've done it twice now...nearly died.

 

Despite my very anxious start this morning, everything turned out well, so that was nice. I even had my second appointment of the day cancelled, which was even better.

 

I've got a job interview tomorrow!

 

Airline was/is ridiculously late, but I noticed the exit row was empty and asked a flight attendant if I could move.

Mine, all mine now mwahahahaha!

 

Good and bad news. I hit the breaks because a deer jumped out in front of us and we were rear-ended last weekend, and the car was totaled... after a week of doctor visits, phone calls, test drives and more, I'm going to get a new (to me) car today.

 

My wife tries to take care of me (that's the happy thing).

Next year we have been married forty years. My wife commutes to work and always has long days. So I have been running the household with food and shopping and cooking and children for more than thirty years.

Now she is on a three day conference. The children has moved out several years ago. But just to make sure I manage she has asked two of them, that lives close by, to come by in the afternoon/evening. But they of course have to be fed. One is vegetarian and the other always wants some stuff I used to serve when they were living at home. So rather than just having tea and a sandwich I now have to prepare two different meals each evening. The vegetarian doesn't have a car so I have to pick her up when I come from work and drive her home later in the evening. I’m really looking forward for the return of my wife. Then I only have to prepare food for us and since the children moved out we often have something very simple.

Still, I know my wife thinks she takes care of me. And it's the thought that counts isn't it?

 

LOL.

 

This is usually what I do. The problem is this strict vegan stuff. I have not so much problem with skipping the meat. We have some pasta (without egg) and chicken for us and tofu for her. The problem is not using cream, butter and cheese.

Almost every dish I have in my kitchen vocabulary contains those things. I do roasted root vegetables with a yogurt/honey/mustard sauce. If you can't use honey and yogurt it's not the same. At the moment she is flexible on the honey but not using milk in any way is sad.

Nevertheless my wife and I eat healthier than before due to her vegetarian/vegan influence.

 

Two weeks in the states and I only gained 1.3kg. I'm still, of course, much heavier than I want to be or should be, but I'm glad that I didn't put on anything that would require the home surgery kit to deal with.

Time to exercise I guess.

 

Finally got rid of work for a bit. Maybe I'll feel inspired to catch up on my novel writing. First, though, a few days lazing about and going for long and aimless hikes.

 

I feel your pain. My daughter has a very picky diet and is almost impossible to please. Kids are bloody hard work but I'm sure it's worth it, maybe.