On Racing

A lot of the bloggers I follow have been falling into the same trap as me recently -- lots to do, not enough time, and their blog always seems to come in last. It makes me feel better to know that I am not alone. For me, the blog is a therapeutic outlet, though, and when I am not writing, I feel a little ... antsy. I miss connecting with my readers, and I feel like I am failing at the very thing I created. Thoughts are running in and out of my mind, racing off if I don't think to jot them down for later.

Lots of things have been racing lately. The holidays just zoomed by, and the post-holiday errands have caught up to me. I can't seem to cross off the entire to-do list each weekend. The calendar is stacking up for weekends ahead, but all I want to do some Sundays is sit down and cook, read magazines and relax all day. I also had my first official wedding dress fitting yesterday (yay!) and that sent me racing right into to the gym to tone up my arms a bit, ha! This girl is in serious need of this upcoming honeymoon, especially for the R&R it will bring!

I was supposed to be racing, literally, this morning in the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K race. I had signed up for the 5K on a whim, discovering too late (ahem, yesterday) that I hadn't even considered the logisitics of getting to and from the race. It was held down at Turner Field, which fellow Atlantans will know is not the best part of town. Add to that the really early arrival time, the parking situation and, oh wait, I didn't sleep well all night even though I went to bed early, and I flat out went back to bed this morning at the buzzer instead of getting up.

I have all of these things in my head as priorities, but unfortunately, I haven't prioritized them against each other. Sleep vs. workouts. Friends vs. alone time. Errands vs. blogging. Happy hour and fun vs. those last five pounds. I am kind of stuck on what I want to come first.

I don't share a lot of religious thoughts on the blog, but the core of my own faith is to try to remember to stay thankful for everything I have, each and every day and through the good and the bad. On weekends like this one, when time has been racing away from me, I try and slow things down to remember why my life makes me so happy. Even if it's just for a few minutes each day, appreciating the sunrise or sunset or seeing some pretty flowers, I can get some zen back into my life and not let that race away, too. Yesterday, I had that moment as I drove to an appointment (and was a little stressed about the travel time) and caught one of my favorite old songs on the radio. The poor people driving next to me probably thought I was crazy, singing along out loud with the windows down in January like I was :)

I may have skipped the official race this morning, but I just went out and did my own 5K around Buckhead, "earning" the sweatshirt and hat from the Hot Chocolate 5K that I had already picked up :) That extra sleep and the quiet time here on the couch with my post-run chai, reflecting on wedding things before a few appointments this afternoon, are both going to serve me well as I hit the ground running (literally) again this week.



Happy Racing, everyone! Slow things down once in a while, though :)