Snuggling Back into My Rut

Sorry I’m so late getting this posted everyone. I attempted to get this blog written last night and was finding it a bit difficult. I finally got to the gym last night for the first time in a long time. You see I’m trying to get my weekly routine in order and neglected to reserve some time/energy last night for blog writing.

I’m a creature of habit. I enjoy having a routine. Not just what I do in the morning but what I do each day. I’ve felt very unsettled the past month. The half empty bottle of Tums will vouch for me. Then this weekend I calmed down. I realized yesterday it was because I haven’t been able to settle into any sort of a weekday routine and now that I’m unpacked I can.

Ever since I moved in there have been errands to run after work. Things that needed unpacking when I get home. car registrations to deal with. My furniture wasn’t even settled into a zen happy state for me until late last week. Toward the end of the week I suddenly realized just about everything was done. I only had my pictures to hang, which may take another month but they’re not interfering with my Feng Shui like the disorderly chairs were.

So this week I can finally figure out my weekly rut. My post work schedule for each night that calms my brain. I’m figuring out which nights to get to the gym. How to work in random errands and get chores done around the house. Even with my work hours getting longer and longer thanks to Spring I’m at least at ease when I come home.

Many of my friends have mocked me for my joy of routines or get agitated when they realized they were trapped in them. A few years ago my friends and I would go shoot pool every Friday night. In my mind it was a given. I enjoyed it and it was nice to get out of the house. I then found out they weren’t so keen to be doing this every week. They’d complain it was the same thing every week we never do anything different.They’d say we were stuck in a rut just shooting pool maybe going to a diner after if we were hungry. My inner voice would get a little pouty, “I like my rut, it’s cozy here.” They were right in some ways. It is fun to do different things. Variety is the spice of life and such. It’s not that I’m not a fan of doing different things but at the end of the work week when I’m worn out I like my comfortable routine.

I feel like now I’ve grown to place where I can balance my desire to snuggle in my rut/routine but keep variety present. During the week I’ll travel in my rut. Gym one night, groceries the next, gym again, relax. Something like that. I’m still working it out. Then on the weekends plan different fun things to do with folks or even on my own. The weekend can be the variation that is the paprika of my life. I think its a good balance that’ll relax my brain and put my stomach at ease.

So next week I’ll tweak my routine even more and this time I’ll leave time for the blog writing.

Creature Features

I’m a creature of habit.

My life, and in particular, my mornings run on the power of routine.  When I was in high school, waking up for the day was a real challenge, just ask my mother, whose job it was to wake me up.  I would drag myself out of bed, get dressed and rub the sleep out of my eyes, then drag myself downstairs for a bowl of cereal before going to school. 

Unfortunately, an adult can’t function this way.  Well, an adult that has a job, at least.  And now, it’s not just me, I have a dog who really appreciates a walk in the morning (and I really appreciate not having to clean up doggy messes) so I have to get up a little earlier.  So I designed a morning routine that allows me to walk the dog, wash my dishes and still have time to sit and have a cup of coffee or two before I have to leave for work. 

But I also have some bad routines.  I got myself into a cycle of inactivity.  Yes, I walk with my dog, but for a long time, I wasn’t doing any other regular exercise.  I’ve been slowly gaining weight and feeling more and more sluggish since I left college. 

This year, for some reason, I decided to change.  There were several catalysts for this change.  Lots of people I knew were competing in marathons, triathalons and bike races.  My mom started a ‘boot camp’ class.  I read some great books on the biomechanics of running.  My feet started feeling itchy and ready to hit the road, a completely unfamiliar sensation. 

I started out slow, irregular and unsure.  I was running but there was nothing making me do it.  Then I realized I needed some reason to run, or at least to get started.  I signed up for a 5k this month and began a training program to get me ready.  I bought new shoes, I bought a watch to time my runs, and I started blogging about it.

Vibram FiveFingers Sprint, my awesome running shoes.

I made it part of my routine.  And it worked.  I’m getting to the point (I’m not there yet) where I like to be out running.  I like how I feel when I’m done, but it’s still a challenge to get myself going.  But, three times a week, I take the dog and hit the path. 

I still get passed by almost every runner, but my endurance is building; I’m running 9 to 10 miles a week.  I still have a hard time motivating myself out the door, but I do it, and I’m almost always happy I did (that one day, in the rain, was pretty freakin’ miserable, but otherwise, it’s been mostly good).  But more than that, I feel like I belong out there, running with the runners. 

It’s just what I do.