Daily "Stuff" Not So Much Interesting!!!

I spent most of last evening talking and laughing with my very good friend. This was centered on my difficult beginning to the day yesterday. I continue to be amazed because I have only known this dear friend for a little over three years yet this is one of my closest friends and what a friend they have become!! I was offered and took some very good advice about the situation. It is interesting how time even a short period of time provides much better perspective on certain situations such as this one. I have one more option which I will pursue (this is all part of discovering the “wisdom to know the difference”) over the next few days and I am confident everything will work out for the very best.

After a very good night of laughter and discussion I went to be sleep feeling much better then previously during the day. I have been sleeping very soundly over the past week and last night was no exception. I seem to wake up automatically at 4:30 am everyday but this is a little too early to get out of bed. I do my best to fall back to sleep for another hour and this has been the case all week. There are some weeks where I am tired when I arise for my early morning exercise routine but there are weeks such as this week where I wake up feeling rejuvenated. I have been feeling this way all week and my workout schedule has been eerily consistent.

I continue to adhere to my running program and in this program running days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. The session on Thursday (which is today) is more intense then any other days during the week even the long runs on Sunday. I was pushing myself early on in the session this morning but there is a point usually at the five mile mark where my body and mind goes into another gear.

The first five miles I can feel every step in every part of my body but after those five miles I can’t feel anything and it is truly the “runner’s high”. It is strange because no matter the intensity I have these same feelings. The good part about today’s workout was the intensity was such that I got past that “sticking” point much quicker. I still continue to sweat like a madman and I get some curious looks from others. This has been the case for as long as I have been working out which is now going on 18 years of fairly high intensity working out. I may have run more distance wise while I spent the 19 ½ months in prison but the intensity was not there like it is now. I enjoy the intensity and this workout schedule provides very intense workouts.

The very good workout was over and like all the other mornings I run into the person who cleans the bathroom at the gym. As “coincidence” (not really!!) would have it this person who cleans the bathrooms at the gym started this job as I rejoined the gym over a month and a half ago. I guess my previous connection to cleaning the bathrooms at fire camp makes me very empathetic to this person. We always talk to one another and no, it is not centered on cleaning supplies!!! In the past I wouldn’t take the time to talk because I was “so busy” which wasn’t the case; I was too self-absorbed. It is great to really listen and take in what people say. I do live with honesty, openness and willingness in all aspects of my life.

Since my arrival the gym has been so consistent this week I have noticed that there are some days where I go a bit overboard when I am in the weight training part of my workout. The other day I trained for almost 2 hours prior to my run and got to work later then normal. I have been aware of my tendency to over train which is why I watched the clock this morning. This also goes for my running and exceeding the training program. I had to consciously stop myself from going any longer and I had to convince myself it was okay to stop running prior to the 60 minute mark. I covered the miles I need to attain but I was a few minutes shy of 60, I was thinking about going for 60 minutes but thought much better of it and stopped.

It was off to work where I had meetings scheduled in the afternoon. I got what I needed to do in the morning and we were off to the meetings. I do my best to stay open in all aspects but sometimes even work related issues make it difficult to stay focused. The meetings were about a part of the business where I don’t have much interaction. I don’t mind hearing about the programs and how things are run but somewhere along the way I lost interest. I did learn that there are some very significant plans to assist non-violent felons who are currently serving prison sentences. These are just in the planning stages so I don’t know what will happen but it is the proper direction. Today was a solid day and my attitude is very good.