First Part and Second Part (Word Count = 8,084)

A goody bag from one of my NanoWrimo
Buddies...filled with J stuff!!! 

A different kind of marathon now...my writing one...it is National Novel Writing Month...and I'm already set on my 8th journey.  7 crappy first draft of novels sit upon the shelf...I never finish them...but maybe this year I will.  I'm far behind where my word count should be.  I initially set my goal to 65K instead of the required 50K words...I could still get there.  The start has been slow...I did not really get going until Monday when two things happened -  I heard a song that spurred the words and then I met with several of my writing friends at Panera after work.  I got my first thousand words. On Thursday I wrote with them again...and got 3K in just a few hours.  Then I got 1K more at home on my own while listening to a soccer game.  Last night, another 2K in about 1 and 1/2 hours.  I'm definitely a faster writer than I am a walk/runner...but the work pays off in both (and feels pretty good too).

 

This year is different.  I'm cheating a little bit.  All of my words will not be for a new novel.  The first set of words are to finish up a novel I wrote in 2009.  Of all of things I have written...it is the closest to being done...it is the one I think about the most.  It all spurred from a life happening that caused me pause when I got a call from work while Kid Cudi was performing...one scene formed in my head and then I ended up creating this unexpected quirky story that I still love.  I will finish it.  I have completed the missing part that I have been mulling over for 4 years. I will have to fix up a few things to tie everything together...but I will save that for December.  I will finish it before the new year...that is my next goal!

So...now...as I head into the weekend...all the words from here on out will be for a new novel idea.  I'm easing into it.  I know the overall story.  I know the complication.  It will be my first attempt at young adult fiction.  I don't know my main characters names yet.  I don't know what they will look like.  I don't know if they hate or love their parents.  I don't know if they have siblings.  I don't know where they live.  This is how I write...I'm a true pantser (fly by the seat of your pants).  Unlike everything else in my life...my writing is truly free...no lists...no structure...no plans...no schedules...it is perfect.

Week 23 - After the 26.2

The last day on my training plan has been checked off...starting tomorrow...I am on my own again. Post Race Recovery Week 3 was much better than Week 2.  I was back at the gym.  I walked and ran on Monday for the first time since the race.  It felt better than what I was expecting.  I also started trying to get to the gym in the mornings before work to prepare for all of the writing I will hopefully do after work in November for National Novel Writing Month. My energy level is still dragging...I'm still exhausted all the time.  I keep thinking, if only I could take a day off to just sleep...it would fix everything!

I started back with Physical Therapy for my right knee and hip this week as well.  I have a set of stretches to do each day and will go two times a week initially.  I'm feeling really positive, I know that I can fix the issue.  I'm excited to see what not having an injury will do for my walk/run pace.  I finally did some strength training as well.  That was an eye opening experience.  It felt like I was back to square one...everything was difficult.  I knew that I was tired, but I had no idea how fatigued my muscles still were.  The good news is, I know that I will get back to where I was.  That is part of the fun...working your way back and then going further.

The hardest work of the week was doing something that used to feel like nothing...getting my three miles on Saturday.  It was hard.  I walk/ran on the treadmill and I could feel how shaky I am on my right knee.  I pushed through.  I kept my pace.  I got it done...as always.

Week 22 - After the 26.2

So if the first post race recovery week was sublime, maybe I should have expected that things would go awry in the second.  I thought it would be even better, so I was really surprised when things started falling apart.  I felt like I was getting a cold.  I was exhausted.  My knee was bothering me more than it did after the race. Everything seemed to hit me at once...and work was more hectic then normal...I was slogging through the days.  As a result, it ended up being a bye week. It would have been the week where I would have started run/walking again, but I knew I was not up to it.  I was really disappointed, but I did clock some time with Gym on Saturday...and that made me feel at tad better.  

I did make one big decision about readying myself for whatever new fitness-related goals I set.  I need to go back and finish physical therapy to fix my right knee/hip issue once and for all.  I abandoned PT in early July because it was cutting into my training time.  I decided that getting my 26 miles was more important then fixing the problem.  I accepted the risk knowing that (at worst) I would have to limit myself to just walking because of the pain.  Now, I want to see how well I can do with no pain at all or at least less pain.  I'm ready to take the time.  I need to take the time, because ignoring the issue isn't going to make it go away.  And I still have many more miles ahead of me...

Since I did not get any miles...I don't have a picture for this week.  Instead, I thought I would post about my favorite random happening in Week 22.  A spur of the moment visit to my favorite cupcake shop to pick up a dessert... 

Frostings...my favorite cupcakery...

Always let the Type 1 Diabetic pick out dessert...

Week 21 - After the 26.2

Post Race Awesome...

Post Race Recovery...it has a really nice ring to it. I am on the other side of those 26.2 miles...still figuring out how to write about it.  If I even can.  It was so perfect.  It was bliss.  I just want to hold it close.  Maybe there are some things that are so wonderful you don't need to write about them.  I think this is something that I may have just realized.

It was a good week...I hit every mark on the training plan...which I guess isn't a training plan anymore?  In the days just after the race...my legs were really stiff if I sat still too long.  I wasn't sleeping well, but I wasn't really tired either.  I thought I was going to be exhausted, but I wasn't. I made it to RFK to watch DC United play after the race.  I was out and about walking around Baltimore the next day...just with a slightly slower gait.  My knee was an issue but it was only bothering me a tiny bit.  By Tuesday, I was taking stairs with no wincing.  I was back at the gym, feeling fantastic.

I was really looking forward to getting my 2 miles on Saturday AM at the Soccerplex.  Only walking, no running.  I could definitely feel myself tire as I was making my way around the trail that has become like a home away from home.  Funny to think 2 miles were exhausting after clocking much longer distances.  With soccer games and practices surrounded me as well as the pitch where my love for soccer began, I was beaming...just like on race day.  It is a really special place...and I'm pretty sure...I will keep getting miles there...even though the marathon is over.

The next set of miles begin...