Hail, Caesars!

I went running this morning.  It was Week 5, Day 3 of my Couch to 5K program (I started over at week 3 after surgery...don't judge) so I knew I had a 20 minute, nonstop run ahead of me and it kind of made me want to pee my pants.  I mapped it all out with the intention of hitting 2 miles in that time (I am so not there yet) and waited for the perfect morning to hit the road.  In order for this story to have any impact at all, I have to tell you that I don't usually listen to music when I run.  I did when I first started, but then a friend of mine who runs every day says she runs without headphones so she can hear cars and dogs and anything else that might be lurking around her when she's out.  (My brain went to "serial killers" of course.)  That freaked me out so I promptly began leaving my (brand new, totally cool) headphones at home.  This morning though, I set my new phone to play music with the C25K program, made a running playlist, and popped in only one headphone.  Tah Dah!  Exercise without the fear of early-morning dismemberment!  I put the playlist on shuffle and headed out the door.

(Completely unrelated sidenote:  I left the house about 5 minutes after 14 year old boy-child left to walk to school.  At one point in my warm up walk, I was directly across the street from him and he was facing me with 2 of his friends.  I jokingly waved and called his name in my best "Yoo Hoo" voice and the kid COMPLETELY ignored me and turned the corner.  It wasn't an angry thing, it was as if my hot-pink jersey'd being did not even exist on the other side of the road.  Really?  He is so getting kissed in public at the next opportunity.  Any other embarrassing ideas are welcome, and please know that I have no shame.)

I finished the first mile and walked for 2 houses.  I didn't want to lose too much momentum, so I picked it back up right away.  I made it about halfway back and was starting to get a teeny tiny bit ready to be done when the song "Jerk It Out" by the Caesars came on.  I was wondering if I was going to be able to complete my 20 minutes when the line "I'll be running circles around you sooner than you know" came on.  Oh, okay.  That's good.  Keep Running.  I tune out a little again, and then the lyric "cause it's easy once you know how it's done, you can't stop now it's already begun" comes on and I find my inner beast and not only finish the 20 minute, but run for 2 minutes more to complete the 2 mile course for bragging rights. Truthfully, I don't even want to know what the song is about (I suspect a bit of ewww-factor in there), but those two lines were just what I needed at just the right time so I will be running with one headphone from now on.  And pepper spray.

Help me complete my playlist, please?  What songs do I need to make my run better?

Bangs or Botox?

I didn't come up with that title--it's actually a "thing".  I will give you a moment to Google it...seriously, go ahead.  A friend of mine recently got bangs (they're cute!) because her stylist told her "after 30, it's bangs or Botox".  I had never heard that before, and haven't had true bangs in 10 years.  I must be out of the loop because I thought we weren't supposed to have bangs after age 5.  My stylist gave me so much crap 10 years ago I guess I just never recovered.  So who makes these rules?  And why do I care?  That's it--screw them, I don't care.  Except yes I do...I care...dammit.  I know I don't like the horizontal age reminders that appear on my forehead everytime the sun comes out or I'm confused...or can't see...or hear...okay just way too often.  I just wish I had known in my 30's that I needed to be proactive.  I was just too busy USING Pro-Activ on my stupid acne that I had no clue I was also supposed to be fighting wrinkles and lines and other stuff that wasn't there yet.  Ugh.  Being a woman is exhausting.  I would warn my daughters, but I have a feeling they will pay attention as well as I did (not) at that age.  I will say that as much as I joke about getting Botox or surgically putting parts of me back where they used to be, I just don't have it in me to fight aging that way.  (However I do not judge those who do--to each his/her own)   I will exercise, I will eat right, and I will keep Victoria's Secret, but I will accept the passing of time without surgery or injections, with as much grace as I can muster...and I guess with bangs.

Back to work...

Day 1:  What on earth made me think I could just pull up my big girl panties and head to work without turning into a complete wet noodle by 3pm?!    My body was yelling, "Hey Dumbass, you just spent 6 weeks in your chair--take it easy."  but I covered my ears, closed my eyes and shouted, "LA LA LA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" and skipped back to work.  I seriously think a part of me thinks I am invincible.  More like suffering from a bad case of denial.  In hindsight, putting in 2 extra hours my first day back was a DUMB MOVE.  Why I didn't see that coming is beyond me--wouldn't any normal, intelligent person know this?  Anyhoo, I sat at my desk with my shoulder at a weird angle, answered emails, put out fires, and read banking updates for more than 8 hours then came home surprised that I was tired and sore, plugged in my heating pad, ate dinner and fell asleep before my children.  (as in "earlier than" not "in front of")

Day 2:  I did it again and planned more *&^% to do after work next week...because I am a yes girl.

Day 3:  My boss called and was surprised I was still there.  Apparently she knows me better than I know myself and assumed I would hit it so hard the first few days that I would need to take more time off.  Lordy.

Day 4:  Feeling a little more normal.  I got a new treat to make my desk more ergonomic, met with some prospective clients and felt like I didn't have to fake the smiles quite as much.  Things are looking up.  I vaguely remember "normal".

Day 5:  I have never woken up thinking TGIF as vehemently as I did on this Friday.  Spent my lunch hour at PT (read: pain and yogurt for lunch) but got some really positive feedback so all in all it was a good day.  Went home and slept for 12 hours straight.  Methinks I needed it.

I'm feeling a bit more positive and decided it's time to choose the events in my life again rather than just let it happen to me.  So...I have a plan for tomorrow morning.  I don't want to disclose too much because my big mouth got me in trouble last time, but it involves a good pair of shoes and some headphones.  I need this.  I will let you know how it goes.