NOT A Good Writing Week

Let's call this week for what it is, pure CRAP in terms of writing accomplishment. Words are going on the page but I can almost guarantee 99.9% of them will be cut when I go back to edit. I'm recycling jokes and the chapter I'm working on right now, a parody, "How To Win Friends & Influence Dog People" is lacking form and sustanence. And humor. Seriously lacking in humor at this point.

A lot of what I'm writing is "cute," but cute won't cut it. I need funny, original, unexpected. It's depressing because I've felt good about what I've been writing and this week has just been one mental block after the next. I've got 2000 words left to write in the next two days and I have no idea how I'm going to fill the page. I'm skimming through cat books, surfing web sites, and staring at Lucy and Olivia, hoping for inspiration. So far... nuthin.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day, yes? What matters is getting something... anything... down on paper. It's much easier even to edit bad text than it is to come up with something off the cuff. So I'll put the bad stuff down and hope I can mold it into something better at a later date. 

Let's hope next week's cat chapter draws me out of this funk.

Things That Make Me Happy

It's the little things that matter. Here's a short list of what keeps me smiling through the day:

• My big ass skillet. That's it's name. For years I've wanted a skillet big enough to cook a meal for 8 in without anything spilling over the sides. Blair and I bought a monster skillet about a month ago. I've only used it 3 times, but I feel powerful just pulling it out. Love the big ass skillet!
• Cats walking on me at 3 AM. Okay, it's annoying to be awoken from a deep sleep, but all is forgiven when Olivia purrs around my face before settling in on top of my leg with a long, loud, continuous purr. Who can be mad at someone that happy to see you at 3 am?
• Open Windows. I've had the air off for almost two weeks, and throw the windows open each morning to catch the breeze throughout the day. You don't realize how much fresh air can perk you up until you get some.
• Mums. Bright yellow in the planters outside my front windows.
• Skinny Cow Ice-cream sandwiches. Nuff said.
• My Mac. Love, love, love the Macintosh laptop. Will never go back to the evil, hated PC. 
• Sarcastic political tweets on Twitter. Admittedly, I'm easy. All someone has to do is say "Palin," and I start laughing...
• My treadmill. Thank you, Mr. Treadmill, for being there for me on mornings when I must run but am too lazy/ugly to face the world. No matter how much I drip sweat on you, you're always there for me. You're a good friend.
• My husband. Not enough room to go into all his magnificence. Suffice it to say that I got one of the good ones.
  

An incomplete list, to be sure, but a nice way to start the day. Here's hoping you have a day filled with those things that make you happy.

Perhaps Caffeine Would Help?

I am exhausted--for no reason. I got my 8 hours last night. But it's all I can do to stay upright and not fall face first into the tomato soup in front of me. I have the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime. Give me a pillow and stick me in the middle of a busy highway and if I'm tired enough, I'll doze off. Helpful on plane rides, not so much when I'm trying to coax myself into staying awake and working on an article draft due tomorrow.

When I got up this morning, I did 30 minutes of yoga. My yoga instructor is on holiday in Florida for 2 weeks and I've been remiss in keeping up my practice. I did a forward bend today and kind of waved my hands in the direction of the floor--not good. I'm desperate for her to come back and limber me up from all these long runs. 

Speaking of which, I was kind of hoping this week would be a fallback week in terms of mileage. It is, from the standpoint that we're only running 18 miles on Sunday instead of 19 or 20. You either have to laugh or cry.

I might be tired due to my crappy diet. Blair is working late all this week (and worked late all last week) and the upshot is I'm not into preparing a big meal if I'm the only one around to eat it. So for dinner last night I had... a beer and microwave popcorn. And that's after the mid-afternoon ice-cream (Skinny Cow) sandwich and bowl of cereal for lunch. If I keel over on tonight's run, I have no one to blame but myself. Hence the tomato soup for lunch... I'm trying to make amends.

I'm going to attempt to pound out a solid hour (whew!) of work before my haircut this afternoon. And drink gallons of water to flush the beer, butter, and salt out of my system. Party on! =)

Marathon Ready

This morning was a 19 mile run and I ran it (with Chris and Wayne) at almost race pace. This is giving me some much needed mental confidence. I'm trained enough right now that I can run a marathon in under four hours--physically. I'm still uneasy about the mental part of the race. It's so tempting to want to quit and start walking as we edge toward mile 20. Our longest training runs will only be 21 miles so there's really no way to prepare for the mental aspect of pushing myself through those final miles. I'm counting on the pace group I've signed up for in Richmond to pull me through--hoping I'll have the mental energy to stick with the group to the end.

There's also the matter of warding off injury. I've been fortunate this year to not have a single injury. Aches and pains, sure. But nothing that has sidelined me. 

I keep reminding myself that even though I'm bucking for under 4 hours, marathon day is such a crapshoot. Weather, digestive track, last-minute injuries, a cold, a bad running day--you can't know what you'll be dealing with until the day off. However, for the moment I'm comforted that I feel STRONG even after today's run. Almost no back pain, minimal stiffness... I feel like a "real" runner.

For all the getting up early and sweating and pain and half the day spent away from home, I love my Sunday morning runs with the group. I leave the group each Sunday feeling like I've done something with my day. And good or bad run, there's a huge feeling of accomplishment at just having finsihed it.

Race day is close. One month of training left. I'm starting to get excited...