athousandwords

Week 2: Wednesday Habit 1: Run 3x a week for at least 30 min ⬜🟩🟥⬜⬜ Habit 2: Endurance Activity on weekends ⬜⬜ Habit 3: Stop the Snack ⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ Habit 4: Follow Meal Plan (Weeks 1,2,4*) 🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜ Pretty good week so far, except I had to miss my run this morning. I'm interviewing new candidates at work and the extra meetings are throwing off my normal running time. Rest of the week isn't looking too good either... But we've been following the meal plan and I've been better at not snacking between lunch and dinner.

Week 1 Summary Habit 1: Run 3x a week for at least 30 min 🟩🟩⬜🟥 Habit 2: Endurance Activity on weekends 🟩 Habit 3: Stop the Snack 🟨🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟥 Habit 4: Follow Meal Plan (Weeks 1,2,4*) 🟩🟥🟩🟩🟨🟥🟩 I'm not sure that stoplight patten for meal planning makes sense to anyone, let alone me. But basically I didn't meal plan this week until Saturday, which is more for the upcoming week than last week. We had some groceries left from planned meals the previous week, so we did cook at home most of the week. And we pulled together some "what we have on hand" meals. We also went out to dinner Saturday night because the weather was nice and we were able to meet up with friends. So not a total failure of a week, but not exactly according to plan either. I did go running this weekend, 6 miles, but I missed Friday's interval run because of some meetings that were scheduled at work during the time I normally run. I also extracted the training plan I was using into an actual calendar, which should make it easier to follow: (Download from Google Drive if you want)

Week 1: Thursday Habit 1: Run 3x a week for at least 30 min 🟩🟩⬜ Habit 2: Endurance Activity on weekends ⬜ Habit 3: Stop the Snack 🟥🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜ Habit 4: Follow Meal Plan (Weeks 1,2,4*) 🟩🟥🟩⬜⬜⬜ I haven't meal planned yet this week, but we had meals scheduled from last week that we didn't make yet, so still using food from home! Except on Tuesday, when we ordered pizza. 🤷‍♀️ Other than that, I've been doing well at cutting back on the snacking and eating/serving more vegetables at dinner. I just need to get better about having more veg at lunch. I'm working from home so there's really no reason not to be able to have veggies mid-day. On Tuesday, I dragged myself out for my first run in over a week. I've had a cold so I've been letting myself rest, but it was time to get back to it. I ran 3.5 miserable miles because it was freaking cold out and I was sluggish. But I went back out on Wednesday and ran intervals and felt really good about it! I'm working toward a sub-30 5k and I'm happy with these 1/2 mile times currently. Just got to build up to be able to run that consistently. 😅

credit: Old Door by Stefano Aneto CHAPTER 3: AThousandWords Alights (Chapter 1, Chapter 2) I used to think that Doors were rare and mischievous. After all, finding an ephemeral passage between monotonous reality and the tingling prospect of adventure isn't something that happens everyday, right? A lifetime could pass by before the opportunity presents itself again. I was wrong. It turns out that Doors — like cars with one darkened headlight or a word you swear you've never read before — appear far more often after you've noticed them once. As if acknowledging their existence brings them bubbling to the surface. Once upon a time I saw a Door at a train station and walked away, fearing I would never see one again. Instead, the persistent openings pop up in the corner of my eye at every turn. A broad-slatted blue Door out of place in a stone wall; a fairy Door tucked away in the roots of an oak tree; an inconspicuous louvered Door when I stop at a red light. "I liked that one," my son says idly one night, marching a chicken nugget through a trailing doorway of ketchup on his plate. "The green one we saw at the playground. I bet it had dinosaurs on the other side." Across the table my daughter shrieks in delight and chomps down on her fork with a loud roar. I smile at her but my eyes dart to where my husband sits with a raised eyebrow. I shrug in return. It's a conversation that's been played out after bedtimes and in passing a hundred times with no real answer. We've been putting it off, but it feels insistent, inevitable. And if I'm honest, exciting. "A dinosaur Door? Wouldn't you rather open a Spider-Man Door?" my husband teases and I start the lists in my head. What to pack - snacks? Probably. Diapers, for sure... And I wonder what the next door we find will be. Spring is sprouting! And while currently we're still in grey chilly days (and I have a seasonal, non-covid head cold to go with it), I'm starting to look ahead to sunnier and more exciting days. Last challenge, I had a long weekend break with my husband, celebrated my 36th birthday, and ran my first ever half marathon! What started out as a longing for change manifested in a lot of adventure coming my way. In 2 weeks we're hosting my son's first real birthday party, then two days later driving to North Carolina to see my sister's new home, and during week 5 of the challenge I'm flying to Georgia to meet my coworkers for the first time at a developer's retreat. I'm anxious and excited and ready for something new. So this challenge will be flexible (there's a lot of travel days in there!) and hopefully fun. I'm looking forward to not spending my Saturdays doing long runs every week, but I still want to do something active. My next running goal is a sub-30 5k, so I'll be doing more interval runs. And I need to take a closer look at my diet because my cholesterol is up and honestly I've been letting a lot of unhealthy habits slip in because I was running enough to not care what I was eating. In particular, I need to cut out the afternoon snacking because I've gotten reeaal comfortable eating cheetos and girl scout cookies at my desk... Habit 1: Run 3x a week for at least 30 min Follow training plan for improving 5k times Ideally running Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday -- but can move around days if needed due to travel, daycare schedules, etc Habit 2: Endurance Activity on weekends Options include: 5mi+ run, 10mi+ bike ride, 2 hour hike, or similar level of activity Include the family as much as possible! Habit 3: Stop the Snack Follow IF 16/8 (usually 12pm - 8pm) for 6/7 days a week Coffee + creamer or water allowed outside this window (I can't give up my morning coffee!) No after-lunch snacking (eat enough to be sated at lunch) Habit 4: Follow Meal Plan (Weeks 1,2,4*) Meal Plan for the week every Tuesday Cook from the meal plan 6/7 days a week * Weeks 3 and 5 are exempt for this goal, but make every attempt to meal plan and cook on the days I'm home Bonus Points: Eat Well No more than 1 red meat dinner per week Eat 4+ servings of vegetables a day Drink 8 cups of water a day

Congrats, that's awesome!! Also I'm dying that Sweet Pea unpacked your racing shoes! 😂 I got so nervous on my way down to my race last weekend that I checked that my shoes were in the car twice! Well done on hitting a PR even in too-big shoes; that's a testament to your training paying off!

Week 5 Summary Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅✅✅ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅✅✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 ❌ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ 👆That's pretty cool. Not a terrible week, though I could have worked harder at yoga and home projects. But let's move on and focus on this: 👇 You guys I FUCKING RAN A HALF MARATHON AND CRUSHED IT! My goal was to complete in less than 2:30 and I DID IT! Let's just end out this challenge on that super awesome note. There were lessons learned from this challenge, but I'll get into that in my next challenge post. For now? Half Marathon Dance Party.

Week 5: Thursday Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 ❌ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ did you like it? I did! I'm actually on the third book in the series now, it's been a good read. I didn't realize it wasn't finished, but at least Sanderson writes a ton so it's likely to get more books (unlike some authors).

Week 4 Summary Habit 0: Run four times a week ❌❌✅❌ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅✅✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 ❌ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ Not much to say here - being sick sucks and disrupts your routine. 🤷‍♀️ I'm back at it this morning and ran 3 mi today - my half marathon is this Sunday and I'm actually feeling good and calm and ready despite missing so many runs last week. On the other hand, the yoga and home projects are just not there. Wondering if I should just give up on the yoga goal, which I've set and failed on two challenges in a row. Or maybe I need to make it more specific to be rewarding? Maybe the generic "do yoga" is missing something and I should work on something like "learn [X, X, X] poses" or "complete [specific course]" so that I'm more likely to stay on target. Things to ponder for next challenge, for sure.

Week 4: Thursday Habit 0: Run four times a week ❌❌✅ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ I'm finally turning a corner on this cold. I'm still coughing a ton but I was able to get out for my run this morning and it didn't slow me down! In other news, I finished The Way of Kings and have just 3 days before Words of Radiance is due back at the library! So I've been spending all my time speed reading, which, is not easy with a 1000+ word book. So home projects aren't huge on my priority list right now, but hopefully I'll get some progress done this weekend on getting the bookshelves ready to paint.

Week 4: Tuesday Habit 0: Run four times a week ❌ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ Took another home Covid test today; still negative; still feeling awful. I slept in the guest room last night and fell asleep at 9:30, but still woke up feeling tired. I'm mostly just tired of coughing - my throat feels raw and there's so much mucus. 😩 Plus I miss kissing and snuggling my family. This is the first time in 5 years that I've gotten sick with something the kids haven't had, and I hate masking around them and missing bedtime and meals, even if I know it's better to keep them from getting sick. Also I'm just not feeling this challenge right now. I'm behind at work, I don't want to do yoga, and I just want to sit and read my book all day. But instead I have to be an adult and do things like meal plan and dishes and actually get work done. Not fair.

That's impressive! Great job with the consistency!

Glad you're feeling better! Sounds like the weekend was just your body telling you to rest and heal. ❤️

Sometimes it can be easier to get things done with the mindset that you're going to sell (even if it's still far off). I think it takes some of the pressure off of finding the "perfect" solution to a lingering task, it just has to be good enough to pass a home inspection and then it's the next owner's problem! Congrats and I love the attitude! That is so very impressive, I feel like not many can say they're in the best shape of their life at middle age! I hope to be able to do the same (even at 36, I'm already doing things that 26 year old me would have found impossible!).

The challenges are very self-guided, but that just means you get to set your own goals and make your own schedule. They run for 5 weeks and you can find more info here. We're in week 4 of the current challenge, but don't hesitate to jump in and and play along for the last 2 weeks - really, you can start a challenge at any time! Plus it can give you a good preview so that you can hit the ground running when the next one starts.

Good luck with the 3-month challenge! I get that feeling of wanting to push harder, but it sounds like you've got the consistency down and that's probably the hardest part - and the healthiest habit in the long run. But hopefully the challenge helps with pushing yourself if that's your goal, and keeps your husband motivated as well. We left the kids with their grandparents for 4 days and I expected this when we got back - but they were just like, "eh, you could have stayed longer." 🙄 Kids are brutal.

Glad you're enjoying the sunshine! It's been warm here too, and it feels so nice to be outside. Sorry to hear your frogs are running rampant... maybe some of them can escape unsquashed? (Am I beating the metaphor to death?)

I'm actually in the middle of Way of Kings right now after waiting for forever for it to be available at the library. I'm enjoying it, but I think that's a very valid point about starting with Mistborn! Plus Mistborn is just plain good. I also liked Elantris, although as a stand-alone book, it doesn't quite have the scope of his other novels. But it's a quick read to see if you like his style of writing!

Week 3 Summary Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅❌✅ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ❌❌✅❌❌✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 ❌ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ❌ Ah, the week 3 slump. I actually feel like the first half of this week went fine, considering we were on a mini-vacation Sat - Weds, but I was definitely feeling the slump toward the weekend. On Friday I just didn't wanna. Didn't wanna do yoga, didn't wanna fast, didn't wanna work. No real reason, just not feeling it. On Saturday I re-engaged, I had a 12 mile run to do and I did it! And then we went on a short bike ride with the kids to the library! And on Sunday we enjoyed the nice weather at my in-laws! It was pretty awesome weekend - but also meant we got nothing done on the house. On Saturday night I came down with a sore throat and it's turned into a hacking cough, unfortunately. I took a at-home Covid test Sunday morning and it was negative, but for now, I'm masking at home around the kids and husband and going to test again tomorrow if the symptoms are still there. 😷 I'm feeling pretty lousy, but no fever or other symptoms and I'm still able to work at least, though I did put off my run this morning because I just needed some rest. Crossing my fingers that it's just a spring cold and not Covid, and that the kids stay healthy...

Looks awesome! Well done getting that mobility work in!!

Week 3: Thursday Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅❌ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ❌ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ❌❌✅❌ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 0 Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ❌ Okay, on paper I'm having a terrible week. 😆🤦‍♀️ But we had a great time on vacation, I did run 5mi yesterday, I didn't get any house projects or reading done but that's fine, and IF just doesn't count on vacation - right?? 😅 I'm playing catch up at work and will check in around NF later. But today's my daughter's birthday and she's officially a 2 year old! Even though she's had the attitude of one for weeks now. So we're celebrating that tonight and hopefully doing something fun as a family this weekend, and all in all it's just been a good week. ❤️

That does sound very dramatic! 😆 It feels like we're finally starting to come out of winter here - though it may just be fool's spring!

Week 2 Summary Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅❌✅ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ✅✅ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅✅✅❌ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 6 hours ✅ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ Quick check-in from our holiday weekend! Trips has been lovely so far! I went for my long run on Saturday before we left - 11mi that felt great. We settled the kids in with my parents and headed out after they went down for their nap. On Saturday night we had drinks with some old friends who live in Charlottesville, which was so nice - we haven't seen them in probably 2-3 years and it was just like picking back up where we left off. On Sunday, we started the day with a huuuge breakfast with biscuits and gravy, french toast, and an omelet. Matt ended up eating half of mine because I realized that I don't normally eat breakfast and couldn't eat everything I'd ordered. 😆 Then we visited about 5 different wineries — it was warm and sunny and a great day to sit outside. Matt let me get super drunk while he played chauffeur, and we bought waaay too much wine. Then we ordered Indian food back to our hotel room and it was honestly like the best food I've ever eaten, I was so hungry and drunk. 😝 Then we binge watched Witcher season 2 in bed to end the day. This morning, I slept in with no kids to send off to daycare, which was blissful. Then Matt joined me on my run, for the first time since I started running last summer. He's fit and a cyclist, but does the occasional 3mi run to cross train, so I thought we'd be about equal, since I'm slow. I mapped out a 5k but it was pretty hilly, felt fine to me since my normal running route has hills. But my poor husband! He got about 1.5mi before we had to stop to walk, and didn't end up doing more than 2 miles total. I left him to pick up breakfast and walk back to the hotel and ran another mile on my own (to make up for all the eating and drinking we're doing this weekend!). Anyway, felt very gratifying to outrun him, but I know he'll kick my ass when we start biking together again. 😅 Today we're taking it easy - few more episodes of Witcher, then maybe heading to a brewery for lunch when it warms up enough to sit outside!

Week 2 - Friday Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅❌ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ✅ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 6 hours ✅ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ I skipped my run yesterday, in one of those weird cases where I couldn't run in the morning as usual and then it just kept getting later and later until it didn't happen. I'm not super upset though; it's been over 3 weeks since I've missed a day of running and yesterday was my "easy" run for the week (3mi). Plus my calves have been sore lately, so this give them a chance to rest before Saturday's 11mi long run. We finished Phase 1 of the bookshelves yesterday and they're in good enough shape that we put the shelves back in and loaded them up with toys so that the kids can have their playroom back for the weekend. The biggest priority was getting all the trim installed so that we could anchor the bookcases to the wall, and that's done. Next week we'll add in the top trim and start the long job of caulking and painting. We're heading to C'Ville tomorrow, but still planning to get in all my scheduled runs and yoga while we're gone. Might flex on the IF and updating here, so if I ghost for a few days, that's why!

Week 2 - Wednesday Habit 0: Run four times a week ✅✅ Habit 1: Practice Yoga twice a week ✅ Habit 2: Intermittent Fasting (16/8), six days a week ✅✅✅ Habit 3: Work on home projects for 4 hours a week Total: 5 hours ✅ Habit 4: Start a new book every Monday ✅ Made some good progress on the bookshelves yesterday - Matt and I found an hour during the workday to get some progress in, and then gave the kids some tablet time after school so we could finish up for another hour or so. That's actually enough to check off my 4 hours of home projects for the week, but our goal to have the bookcases trimmed out before we leave on vacation this Saturday, so I'll end up exceeding this goal for the week. I started Cloud Cuckoo Land yesterday and wish I'd started it a little earlier in the week, because it's pretty dense! I don't think I'll have it done by Friday's book club, but at least I should be about halfway through. It's a very interesting read so far - reminds me a little of The Starless Sea but with more narratives.

This sounds like "go ahead, buy all those decorations if it makes you happy!" right?? I decided against the $40 cake though - we'll just do a grocery store cake and it'll taste great, I'm sure.