to do list

Monday Re-set

December 16, 2013 by Michelle 7 Comments

This is what my schedule felt like last week! It seemed like a raced through my days ticking off items from the never-ending To Do list – I swear it felt like the “busy elves” were adding items as fast as I was eliminating them. But I was managing to keep some sense of balance and still get some workout time in for myself.

That is….until this weekend. The combination of Christmas gift shopping, house decorating, holiday parties, snow/ice storm and helping my son with the sea turtle project from hell (OK I may be exaggerating a smidge but if I don’t hear about sea turtles for a while, I’m good with that!) all proved to be my un-doing! I missed my long run Saturday morning – I kept telling myself that I’d fit it in later…yeah well, didn’t happen. In fact, there was minimal working out of any kind.

And while I’m feeling less than fabulous this morning, I’m not going to beat myself up over it. Time to hit the re-set button and commit to a better…more balanced week!

So how was your weekend? Are you keeping up with your workouts/runs?

Filed Under: Crazy weekend, refocusing, seeking balance, to do list

#OneSmallChange – Week 6 update

November 14, 2013 by Michelle 10 Comments

Hard to believe it’s week 6 of the One Small Change Challenge! For those of you who don’t know, Marcia over Marcia’s Healthy Slice put out the call to finish the year by building some good habits. The key is to make one small change a week – adding a new change every week.

So how’s it going so far?

Week 1 – Daily plank routine

Week 2 – Keep my often-cluttered coffee table clutter-free

Week 3 – Increase my daily water intake

Week 4 – since things didn’t go so well I repeated Wk 3

Week 5 – Daily rolling of my very tight quads and hamstrings

While I’m still not getting the rolling in on a daily basis, I’m doing it more frequently than I use to so I’ll take that; otherwise I’m feeling like the other changes are becoming much more routine.

Moving on to week 6, my goal is re-gain control of my day! I feel like I’ve been functioning in “reaction mode” lately, and then when I get to the end of my day I’m left wondering why I still have so much left on my to do list. So this week I’m returning to being a more faithful user of my planner. In the mornings, I get my mug of coffee and take a few minutes to my preview everyone’s schedules, identify the “must do’s” vs. “like to do’s” and set my plan/intentions for the day. I use to be pretty diligent about this in the past, and I’m hoping getting back to this routine will help settle things a bit – especially with all the added holiday madness that’s starting to creep in!

What small changes are you making?

Filed Under: holiday sanity, seeking balance, Small changes, to do list

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

December 20, 2012 by Michelle 9 Comments

1.
You know that feeling at the beginning of week when you have a mile-long to do list,you’re staring at the calendar trying to figure out how to wedge in one more commitment, and then you get thrown a curve ball and all plans go haywire? Well, my curve ball came in the form of having kids home sick on two different days. On the good side, both boys are feeling better and I got some quality snuggle time with my kiddos 🙂

2.
I did make it to the chiro this week for another appointment. After seeing him twice a week for the past few weeks I’m happy to report that the majority of my ITB pain is gone! We’ve agreed to take a couple of weeks off and then see how I feel as I start to build my mileage back up – fingers crossed, nothing will flare up.

3.
The lottery gods were unkind to me for the Cherry
Blossom 10 miler lottery, so it stays on my race bucket list for another year.

I did lock in the early bird rate on Boston’s Run to Remember for the end of May, but am still on the hunt for another half marathon or 10-miler for the spring – Any suggestions?

Filed Under: 3 things, Boston's Run to Remember, chiropractor, ITB, kids, race calendar, to do list

Playing catch up

May 2, 2012 by Michelle 10 Comments


Source: Google Images

I’m starting to get that hamster wheel feeling again where I’m running as fast as I can to stay on top of everything! This is literally the third post I’ve started in the past couple of days…the previous two are lying in Blogger ghetto unfinished…hopefully this one will have a better fate.

So I’ve mentioned before that I’m playing race coordinator for my sons’ school 5k and Fun Runs. Well the big event is Sunday and the running joke among our race committee is whether we’ll be bald by then (from pulling our hair out!) Seriously between the last minute requests, finding enough volunteers, and managing all the little logistical details – this has been an almost all-consuming activity in this final week (trust me I have the laundry pile and empty refrigerator to prove it!). At least it looks like Mother Nature will cooperate!

I was just looking back over my April runs and I’m underwhelmed. I had hoped to hit higher mileage, and while I’m feeling pretty good about my speed work and finally getting some hill work in, my long runs have been lackluster. I’ve been dealing with some quirky foot pain on the top inside of my right foot that has led me to cut two of my long runs short. Thankfully, ice, KT Tape, rest and Monday’s trip to the massage therapist all seem to be helping. A nice thing about my April runs is that I did a handful with my friend E – the runs have been chatting and fun, a nice change of pace for this typically solo runner. And, on Saturday, I helped nudge E to her longest distance to date (7 miles!), while getting 8 1/2 pain-free miles for myself. Yesterday was another 5 1/4 comfortable miles, so I’m encouraged I can crank things up a little in May!

I have to give a huge shout-out to my husband J who ran his first trail race on Sunday and placed 3rd AG, and 22nd overall! The boys and I had a ball cheering him on and I love the fact that he’s already scouring race listings for his next trail run 🙂

The “must get done” list is long today, but I’m determined to get my strength training in. Luckily it’s my weekly TRX Rip Trainer class so I’m less likely to put it off than if I were on my own today. I’ve got 6 miles of negative splits on the plan for tomorrow, so fingers-crossed my foot continues to respond well, then I can look to go back to double digits on Saturday.

How’s your week going?

Did you have the April you hoped for?

Filed Under: family running, foot pain, playing race director, Schedule vs Training, to do list

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

January 19, 2012 by Michelle 5 Comments

1) I either need to find more hours in the day or tone down my somewhat ambitious to do list. Perhaps it’s the shortened week after the boys being home on Monday, but really feel like I’m struggling to keep all the balls in the air.

2) Is anyone else getting bombarded with summer camp brochures/email reminders? I mean seriously people it’s January 19 – what’s the rush?! I like to be as organized as the next girl, but sometimes it feels like there’s so much focus on the next thing/season/activity, etc. that there’s no time to just be in the moment and enjoy now. Of course, this is coming from someone who recently posted a full year’s race schedule…ironic, I know.

3) My training schedule’s going to need some tweeking. In an effort to increase my weekly mileage, I’m running 5 days, but with my weekly hour of pilates butt-kicking…I mean class on Wednesday nights this means I’m running twice and doing the class all within a 24 hr period. While I’ve been able to do it, I’m freakin’ tired by the time Thursday afternoon rolls around. And even with Friday as a rest or yoga day, I’m finding I’m still a little low energy when I head out for my long run on Saturday. I’m going to play around with the plan over the next couple of weeks and see if I can come up with something that’s a little kinder to my 45-year-old legs 😉

How’s your week going?

Filed Under: 3 things, listening to your body, to do list, what's the rush

Monday Ramblings

December 12, 2011 by Michelle 9 Comments

If you’ve been following along with me for a while now then you know I’m big on making lists…well I think I’ve crossed the line when I start putting “make a list” on the to do list! Is there a List Anonymous Group I can join?

I need to work out a deal with UPS that they deliver no packages on the weekends….my kids are getting suspicious and I’m running out of places to hide gifts!

And, whose brilliant idea was it to starting painting my kitchen/family room just a few weeks before Christmas?!!? Oh yeah…that would be me…my husband is really a good sport.

I’ve started doing a little writing for the Examiner.com’s Boston edition – you can check out my first article HERE (yes…shameless plug). The funny thing is I had tons of article ideas floating around in my head, then I got the gig and have been having writer’s block.

On the running front, despite not being thrilled with being sidelined for a bit at the beginning of the month with a cold, the rest has clearly done my knee some good. My last few runs have felt good and been pain-free!

OK…now I’m off to tackle one of my many lists!

Happy Monday!

Filed Under: Examiner, general musings, left knee, to do list, writer's block

One of "those" weeks

October 23, 2011 by Michelle 6 Comments

This past week was definitely one of THOSE weeks! You know the kind…

….the kind when you look at your calendar and wonder what happened to the white space?!

It was the kind of week where I was juggling family commitments, client projects, volunteer responsibilities and trying to squeeze in my workouts – wait how is that different from any other week? 🙂 There are just some weeks when this juggling act feels in control, manageable…and then there are weeks like this one where you feel like someone has increased the speed on your treadmill when you weren’t looking!

It was the kind of week where I was really grateful for the escape time a run can provide – time to think through kitchen remodel options, or to sort through the to do list and prioritize…or best of all, to unplug and just enjoy the meditation of the run!

Ah but now it’s Sunday, the long run’s done and the ITB (for the most part) behaved. So now it’s time to enjoy some down time with J and the boys…to pick pumpkins, do some baking (with the apples from last Sunday’s apple picking trip) and watch some football! A perfect end to one of those weeks!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Filed Under: crazy week, Schedule vs Training, to do list

Putting myself on the list

January 26, 2011 by Michelle 6 Comments

I am a notorious list maker and there are times when I feel like I’ve been hijacked by my to do list. Today was definitely starting to look like one of those days. Juggling the usual family routine and a long list of “must do’s” – including Kindergarten registration for my little guy – meant my usual morning run was not going to happen. That’s ok I kept telling myself I’ll fit it in later.

As the day wore on, I was cranking along and checking things off…but I still hadn’t fit a run in yet. Then as I was checking email I spotted my reminder for the 21-day Meditation Challenge from the Chopra Center. I’ve meditated on and off over the past few years, and when I do it regularly, I find I’m calmer, more patient – plugged in. I had signed up for the 21-day challenge to get back to the practice. So I opened that email and followed the guided meditation – it only took about 10 minutes. But when I finished, a simple thought crossed my mind – put yourself on the list! Whether it’s going for a run or just pausing to breathe deeply, it’s important to take that time just for me.

So it took until after homework was done and the kids had dinner, but I did get my run in. An easy 4 miles on the ‘mill and much needed me-time….check!

Filed Under: Chopra Center, me time, meditation, to do list, treadmill run

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 things)

December 3, 2010 by Michelle 2 Comments

My November miles took a serious nosedive — a combination of a motivation vacation and being hijacked by my to-do list! I’m feeling pretty confident that with the Hyannis 10k on the horizon, this case of mileage shrinkage will correct itself.

I went to a great local running store today to get fitted for new a pair of shoes! After being measured, having my gait analyzed and generally talking about my running, aches & pains and goals, I walked out with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11!

I love the feel of these shoes and can’t wait to run in them tomorrow! (Product review to come!)

Got a chance to create a training plan for my hubs J to help him get ready for his first 10k. So I’ve introduced him to Smart Coach and Daily Mile and we’re now learning the juggling act needed to incorporate two running schedules into our very hectic family life!

Happy Thursday!

Filed Under: 3 things, Brooks Adrenaline, Hyannis 10k, mileage shrinkage, Smart Coach, to do list