Running again

The weather has been beautiful again the last few days, so I've been making use of it by dusting off the 'ol Saucony Motion Control runners! That's right kids, I've started running again!

I'm terribly deconditioned, so I started with 3K. I ran 3K on Saturday and Sunday, in about 20 minutes, which is horrible, but not THAT bad considering I haven't run/exercised in ages, and I kind of Fartlek'd it (that means alternating spurts of running and walking-- but I ran like 75% of the thing). I just have to get my lungs and feet used to it again, but I feel great. I think I'm starting off slow enough that I'm not in pain the next day, yet I'm pushing enough that it's not too easy. My goals are on track though: for this month (April) I will be running 3K 2-3 times a week, more if I can stand it. May-Aug will gradually step up the mileage until I can get 7-8K done 2x/week, and that'll put me in good shape for the Underwear Affair on August 28.

A couple of other things I'm doing a little differently this year from last year: I'm including more resistance training in the mix. While it's critical to work on endurance and cardio for this race, toning and strengthening muscles will also help. I'm not being too fancy or creative here though; I'm following either Turbo Sculpt or 30-day Shred by Jillian Michaels for this. Yeah I know, I could make up my own routine and all, being a Kinesiologist. But it's so much easier having it right there in front of you nicely choreographed with music and motivational speeches:p I didn't really do much of this last year, and I don't think it hurt me, but it would probably be better to have it this year. I have to at least maintain my time of 1:02! I will probably be able to shave off 5 minutes if I don't run 9K the day before :p (that was DUMB)

I put in my acceptance on OUAC for Bloomberg; I'm so happy. I had some free time yesterday to kind of think about my life and where my experiences have brought me, and what I've learned about myself.

Rewind 5 years ago:

It's 2005, and I'm 18. I was confident, if a little cocky, and had planned on being a pharmacist. I didn't really know anything about what a pharmacist did, but I figured it sounded prestigious, and made a lot of money. After I did 1 term of Biology Life Sciences at Waterloo, I decided this really was not what I wanted; I wasn't motivated or interested in what I was studying, and I knew without that drive, I wouldn't be able to do anything. I had some friends in Kinesiology and I found out what kinds of things they studied, and it sounded like something I wanted to do. In second term, I switched to Kin, and I think it's one of the smartest things I ever did, and one of the best decisions I've made.

When I think about it, 5 years passed by in a flash; all the moving around, co-op interviews, and on-off terms-- it really takes a lot out of you. But I know now that it's made me a more responsible person, who is more aware of what goes on in the real world related to Kin. I know I sound like a poster child for Kin and co-op at UW, but seriously; unless you get that experience, you don't know what you're missing. Who I am now is so radically different from the child I was 5 years ago. It's kind of crazy to think of how much change someone can go through in a relatively short span of time, but it really depends on the person. I had a lot of life-changing experiences early on in my undergrad and maybe that helped to hasten the change, but eventually we all get there.

When I look out the window and see the city that I spent more time in than I have at home in the last 5 years, I get sad. Part of me has come to think of Waterloo as "home", and to think that I likely will not come back after June is foreign. The all-nighters, pub nights, and laughs had in this campus won't happen again, not in the same way. But things go on, life goes on, and I'll be starting a new chapter very soon.

On a happier note: my acceptance package for U of T arrived at home with more instructions for accepting the offer. AND... I found out that I am the recipient of the Seymour Schulich award, worth $8,000.00! Wow. Me? I've never won an academic award, so it's a new feeling. Maybe this is really how things were supposed to be, you know? I keep thinking that all the things I've gone through in life have been preparing me for this, and that Nursing is really where my calling is.

Maybe life will work out for me after all.