Running Plusses

Now that I am into the start of week four of my marathon training, I am rediscovering some things I had forgotten about this whole consistent running thing. I am going to focus on all the good things that come of all of this because I am trying to be really positive about this whole training experience this time around since as previously mentioned, my motivation is lacking. Since I haven't really had a routine that included long runs in a long time (minus one week in May when I was finally feeling great), its actually feeling pretty decent to get back into it. Yes, its cutting into my social life a bit, but I need to work out anyway, so having the training is a good excuse for now.

Since I have been back in action, there are a few things I have recently re-discovered during training that I realized I really do enjoy and missed in my life in a bit. 

1) Wearing new running shoes. I make no secret of my love for gym shoes. I love them. I have more pairs than I'd like to admit. And while I don't workout in most of them (they are more for everyday wear), its the running shoes I get the greatest pleasure out of putting on for the first time. Those first few steps you take in them are like walking on air. And the first run in them is usually pretty awesome. It's like you have new legs. New running shoes are so cushy and comfortable and you wish they could stay that way for every mile you run. Unfortch that is not the case and they will eventually wear down, but then you get to put on that new pair of shoes again and voila, you get that feeling again!

My Fave Inventions

So let's talk about those things in our lives that have improved our lives tenfold. Those things that now that we have them, wonder what the heck we did before they existed. Sure, we coped because we didn't realize that something out there was so great. And now that they are in our lives, we are definitely living life much, much better. Most of those things might be completely useless to someone else, but to you, they made such a positive difference. These are "inventions" that have entered my life in the past ten years or so that I now can't imagine not having. Some of these are obviously more important than others to me but nonetheless, they have improved my quality of life so, so much. So for me, five things that have entered my life now that I simply can't imagine not having are...

1) DVR. Need I say more? I cannot live without my DVR. I mean, I rarely watch any TV live anymore. Even if I have nothing to do during showtime, I will purposely do something for the first 10 minutes of a half hour show or twenty minutes of an hour show, so I can then watch it in full with zero commercials. I have it down to a science. I also now watch much more TV than I should because of this. It makes it so easy. I honestly don't know how I lived so long taping things on VHS tapes with everything I watched back then too. Although I love my DVR and its the best $10 I spend every month, I do wish I had one where I could DVR more than two things AND watch something else though. A girl can dream, can't she?

Having my health back!

Cheers to solid poop and no cramping! Wooooot!

You know what's awesome? Waking up every morning and feeling healthy again! I can happily say that for the last month, I have woken up without really a care in the world. I am not running to the bathroom the second I wake up. Or holding my stomach because I think I am getting stabbed. It's been great.

One of my main goals for the summer was to get healthy and have a "normal" summer without having to go somewhere and immediately wonder where the bathroom is and do I have enough wipes with me. TMI much?! But seriously, this has been a legitimate concern of mine for almost the entire last year minus a few weeks here and there.

I know I only have Ulcerative Colitis and not some life threatening awful, terrible disease in my case at the moment, but I do know that I will not take feeling healthy again for granted. This past year of waking up every single morning wondering how I will feel, and if my health will get in the way of my daily activities is hopefully something of the past. It's not fun to worry about this. And the worrying also can contribute to the stomach issues as well. Its a bad cycle to fall into and its one that I think (and hope) I am out of.

The Virgins are back!

Okay, so TLC's Virgin Diaries is back! Are you as excited as I am? The last time it was on, I was horrified and entertained all at the same time. And I kind of felt dirty afterwards. And then, as quick as it arrived, it was gone. TLC only aired one-episode even though it received a lot of press about that one episode (including a hilarious blog post by moi); mainly because of "The Kiss." Ugh. Ick. Hopefully though, this time around it's not a one-time deal. Such a tease TLC. Don't play me like that this time.

This week's episode features three virgins, one guy and two girls. The girls, 29 and 32 years old, were both cute and pretty normal seeming. One was saving herself for marriage (understandable) and the other was just looking for the right guy to do it with for her first time (she succeeded). There wasn't much to say about the girls because they did seem pretty normal and just happened to be virgins at an older age which isn't a huge deal, but the guy, on the other hand, was odd to say the least.

So this is Skippy...

Skippy, the 33-years-old male Mormon who still lives in his parent's basement was our weirdo this episode. Virgin or no virgin, this guy was bizarre. There are two things that Skippy wants us to know off the bat about himself: 1) He collects T-shirts with his name and 2) He collects his own belly button lint. In a jar. Did you just throw up in your mouth for a second reading that? Because when I watched it, I definitely did. GROSS!! (This isn't even a joke. I couldn't make that up if I tried.)

How Rude!

I recently read an article online about how forgetting someone's name can be "sublty disrespectful, and by subtly, we mean with a blatant disregard for giving a shit about other people’s feelings." This pretty much sums up the situation. And as someone who has been on both ends of this situation and some others, its pretty annoying. Whether or not the person is doing it intentionally or unintentionally, it can be super insulting. In the words of Stephanie Tanner "How rude!" But seriously, there are some things that people can do that perhaps have no intention of being rude, but really end up being so. Below are a few of these things...

1) "What's your name again?" The classic mentioned above and in the article I mentioned. This is something I rarely will ask someone even though I forget their name. I have too much pride to ask them again if I have already asked once. It shows them I totally didn't listen and/or care the first time they told me. When I first meet someone at a party or a bar and assume I will never speak to or see them again, I really make little effort to remember their name. Bad habit, I know. And the fact that I am usually heavily drinking compounds this problem. However, as the night progresses and we do begin to chat, I will feel embarrassed I don't remember their name so will have a friend find out or introduce themselves so I don't look like the asshole. It's even worse if you are speaking to this person and they are like "hey, do you even remember my name?" and you have no idea. Um yes, this has happened to me. And then I will take a guess or two and maybe be lucky, but usually come off looking like a dick.