I have taken the pressure off of myself for the rest of the year. I deferred Nobiz and cancelled my run coaching. I am allowing myself to pause, be reflective and just do the basics….building my community, going back to crossfit, eating healthier, running an hour (vs 4+), and enjoying my clarinet and piano. This post has a cat as the picture because for years, I have woken up and been envious of my cats’ lives as I headed out for some stressful day at work. Now I am the cat.

I worry that if I slow down, I may stop and never start up again.

Evidently, no one else is worried this will happen…. My body needs rest and is having issues with recovery – I need to stop pushing it so hard and be OK with building back a little slower (and with more fun!).

I’m super proud of what I’ve done to regenerate myself this year including:

• Planned and executed an amazing Alta Via 1 family trip
• Planned and orchestrated my and Kennys’ retirement (Rode the wave, the anxiety, the financials, the transition)
• Supported KK and my mom for 4 weeks so far post retirement
• Started training in March when I couldn’t run around the circle and ran a half marathon 4/20. Now I can do training blocks of 4+ hours.
• Met Amherst garden club, made TV Good Morning America and got involved
• Worked towards scuba DM certs doing Science of diving and Stress/Rescue training
• Painted and redecorated our entry (still in progress)
• Restarted piano and clarinet. This is a biggie and I don’t know how I got away from them. Formed a woodwind quintet!

So for the next two months, it’s back to the basics with trying to be consistent daily with crossfit, running, music and community building as I also finish my scuba skills prior to November divemaster training in Roatan. Back at crossfit today!

My friend sent me the book “I hate running and you can too” which also reminded me that goals can be whatever you want them to be. Faster does not make you happier (ie. the hedonistic treadmill of running) and it’s OK to just be active. Don’t give up. Get back up after setbacks. Treating myself with kindness.

Oh, and setbacks being things like the horrible jetlag we had after getting back from AV1 (maybe not having a job makes that worse?) or my terrible bittersweet induced rash over my body and the effects of prednisone for two weeks to fix it (suffered a little during our Papoose trip!).

– The Cat