Mind

  • Mind,  Soul

    God’s Will- Training for Triathlon #2

    Less than 3 weeks out from my second triathlon and I had not run a single step. And after my unsuccessful swim, I was really worried about being able to complete the triathlon.  I mentioned it at PT and they had me get on the treadmill and try.  I ran for a minute and 54 seconds, a long way from the 3.2 miles I would need to cover.  Cleared to start running I was advised to alternate between running and walking. My first time out I made it for a total of 5 running minutes.  As I learned after the swim, I had missed the cut off to defer the…

  • Mind,  Soul

    Failure or Growth Potential?

    Yesterday began like most mornings.  I fed the dogs then opened up my YouVersion Bible app.  After reading the word of the day I clicked on the Bible plans I have been working on.  This week I started Unhindered by Fear by Esther Marie.  The plan this morning talked about fear of failure.  I am no stranger to failure in my life and over the years I know that from failure I have accomplished many goals and have grown stronger.  While working on my doctorate degree my research was not coming together and it took an extra year for me to graduate. Looking back I see how the time was…

  • Mind,  Soul

    Doing Nothing

    About a month ago I started a new book, Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving, Celeste Headlee.  I forget where I saw the recommendation for this book but it spoke to me and I quickly ordered a copy.  Right away it spoke to me, as a person who always wants to be productive but in reality I have two speeds, fully on or stalled. Maybe being stalled is not so bad.  I often feel that I need to be productive with every moment of my time but for the past few years I just cannot keep up with it and feel frustrated and tired.  In…

  • Body,  Mind

    On the Mend, Again

    Obviously, I was meant to take another break from running.  I thought I was doing everything right recovering from my ankle injury that occurred in November.  I was careful not to push too hard and slowly increased my mileage each month.  I felt good.  The Cape May Point races were coming up and I felt like the 2 races totaling 7 miles would be a good challenge. To date I was up to 6.2 miles so another 0.8 would be fine.  For those that are not runners, when you train for a half or full marathon you don’t run the actual distance during training.  For the half you run ten…

  • Mind,  Soul

    Beach Day 2022

    I have the luxury of living near the beach and every summer I get annoyed with myself that I did not get to the beach often enough. The last few years I have made a more conscious effort to correct this imbalance. I am happy to report I completed my first beach day for the 2022 summer and I was able to squeeze it in before the end of June!  Due to chores, I could not spend the entire day at the beach.  I was up early and was able to get some chores done then headed off to the beach with my youngest.  We went to a different beach…

  • Mind,  Soul

    Returning to Church

    A few weeks ago I went to my first in person church service since covid began. If you follow my blog posts or know me, you know I can get anxious in a variety of situations, returning to church can now be added to the list.  I have kept in touch with some church members over this hiatus and started volunteering at our thrift store, but the thought of seeing everyone all at once was a bit scary.  It is crazy how the mind can work, even though I have missed my church family and wanted to return and see them, it was still an overwhelming thought.  Things have also…

  • Body,  Mind

    First 10K Race After Injury

    So as I mentioned in an earlier blog I was sidelined by an injury to my ankle.  I ran a 5K at the end of April as a test race before the Great Cape May Footrace in May, the one I signed up for the 10K instead of the 5K. I kept thinking the race was on a Sunday and the weather report calling for rain on Saturday was of no concern to me until Thursday before the race when I realized I was running on Saturday!  Every runner I have ever met will tell you the importance of training in conditions you could face during a race.  I never…

  • Body,  Mind

    Trying New Things-First Swim Race

    Last year, I completed my first triathlon and already signed up for the same one again this year.  I want to see how much I can improve and work towards completing a longer triathlon the following year. As I see multiple triathlons in my future I purchased my first wetsuit.  Last year Delmo sports held a swim race at Sunset lake in Wildwood Crest, this year was the second annual event. I figured I had a wetsuit, so I should sign up.  There are two distances, a quarter mile and a mile. I briefly thought about signing up for the one mile before selecting the quarter mile.  I prepared by…

  • Body,  Mind

    My First Race Back

    April 24, 2022 marked my first day back to racing after my injury in November.  I completed all of my physical therapy and was cleared to start increasing my mileage.  I have been a bit hesitant to run too much, I don’t want to get injured again.  My breathing is not where it was pre-injury, not sure if it is from my bout with covid or just my asthma and my lungs need to get back in shape.  I have a race coming up in May, a 10K I signed up for thinking I would have been back to running long before now.  Second Capital running announced a new race…

  • Body,  Mind

    Trying New Things-Golf Lessons, Part II

    The weather on the day of class number three was a bit iffy.  Three of us showed up for the class and after a brief lecture we looked outside and the rain and wind were not going to allow us to get any playing time.  Tom used the extra time to cover even more points of how to hit the ball, how it spins once it is hit, and ways we can work on our swing.  The next class would be a repeat of this class and time to practice.  Tom did not want us to miss any of the clinic so he offered to do the last class on…