Odds and Ends, Bits and Bobs

Loose ends make me uncomfortable.  I often wish the world would comply with my need for boundaries and definitions, but alas, I’ll have to settle for reality.  It’s just so messy!  Gah.  Maybe I should go clean something now, as a way of giving the finger to this noncompliant world of ours.

(And here I pause to unload the washing machine, hang up the wet clothes, and fold some dry clothes.  Ah, sweet order!)

I have two little projects lurking on this blog, and I wanted to say a few words about them.  The first is Speed Demons, which I’m afraid never went anywhere.  It was all my fault—I didn’t put any oomph into it.  To be honest, I’ve had a hard time finding a groove with my running over the last six months or so.  It’s not that I haven’t been running, but I find that my groove keeps falling off the track when pushed by something unexpected—illness, travel, work-related chaos.  I feel like I don’t even know how to establish a groove any more.  Help!

My first order of business is to find my running groove again, which means running 2-3 times a week with a long run on the weekend, in preparation for the half-marathon in March.  For now, I’m planning to do 2x20 second sprints as easy speedwork, for fun.  I’m officially retiring Speed Demons (the feature, not any actual demons that consider themselves speedy), which makes me sad, but I’ll still cheer for you, dear reader, if you want to tell me how freakin’ fast you are running these days.

The second project is Unplugged After Five, which is more like Unplugged After Six because I work until close to 6 PM most nights.  This project actually went really well in November!  I had six evenings during which I didn’t touch a computer once I was home.  I carried UAF into December with another five computer-free nights, and it was peaceful and lovely.  I consider this goal accomplished, and I’m ready to reward myself with some new tights from We Love Colors.

I would love to do Unplugged After Five (or Six) this month, but because I’m writing a grant, I’m not sure if I should commit to computer-less evenings.  Maybe I could do one night a week?  It is really nice to take a break from screens to enjoy more old-fashioned pleasures, like listening to the radio or reading a book.  I think one night a week is do-able, which means now I have to think of how best to reward myself for getting my writing work done before 5 (or 6) PM…any suggestions?