Thursday, October 28, 2010

Down with OPM – Three things Thursday

The month is coming to a close and I thought I'd share three very important lessons I learned this month.

What goes up must come down

After my first 5K, I somehow got the notion that I no longer needed my training plan and took matters into  my own hands. I thought running hills instead of my usual semi-flat route would make me stronger and the next race would be easier. I mapped out my new route that consisted of three hills of varying ascent and took  off.  


Wow!  Three hills going up results in one helluva coming down.  That very first day after slowly making my way up, coming down was super fast and felt amazing!  Short lived.  I learned that FLYING  down a very steep hill, pretending to be a GAZELLE then suddenly hitting a patch of brand NEW ASPHALT  that’s been rained on for two days results in things get real crazy real fast. Even crazier if you have a dog attached to you.  I survived though. No broken skin and only two people had to witness it. 

Do not start a strength training program the week of your race.

 I got cracking on my Octoberfast challenge and wrote out a plan for the month that included three days of weights, three days of core and four days of running. It looked beautiful on paper but I got so busy the first week that I didn’t do hardly any of it. The second week I jumped right into my lower body routine, doing three sets of various weighted squats, lunges and dead lifts which resulted in very sore and stiff legs. I could barely walk. That was on Tuesday. By Friday I could finally run again and Saturday was the race. Lesson learned.

I’m so not down with OPM (other people’s money)

 I'm finally wrapping up that fundraiser. Way more hours than I had expected.  I used to do the penny fundraiser at our school, which basically consisted of collecting coffee cans full of pennies from all the classrooms each month, driving them 10 miles to the bank and depositing them. I thought I was being smart by taking on the big fundraiser, as cash and checks are a heck of a lot lighter than thousands of pennies. Jokes on me though, as I grossly underestimated the time and frustration involved.


 It totally paid off for the school though. We made a lot of money. What I learned is that I'm so not comfortable with wads of someone else's cash in my possession. Oh its fun to pretend I'm an accountant or a pimp for a minute or two, but then the nightmares start. For three nights straight I tossed and turned dreaming about people breaking in to our home and stealing the school's money. So freakin' happy to get that to the bank.

1 comment:

Quinton J said...

1. LOL…Oh how I wish I could’ve been one of those 2 people.
2. I usually do a bit of strength training in my taper but I’ve learned over time how much I can push and more importantly how long I should leave for recovery before race day. I find the strength training gives me a nice fresh boost…but you have to do it right.
3. You look a little like Lil’ Wayne in a Fat Joe video with all that money.
4. I still want to know what you meant by: “its no wonder you are the way you are”?!?!?