Friday, April 22, 2011

How to maintain sanity within the chaos: Part one

My schedule/life has quite simply been in utter chaos this week!

Perhaps that is a touch dramatic, I suppose that chaos is pushing the limits of reality but to say that I have been exceptionally busy is an understatement. I, right now, am at the 100% limit of what I can manage business wise on my own without calling in help (and help has another job, damn her!)

An important side note: I AM NOT complaining about being busy!! Being busy keeps me in the black, keeps me entertained and from causing too many shenanigans and bottom line: I have a business and one must BE busy to BE in business. Duh. Come to me if you want an epic 5 year plan, because there it is right there. Boom...

I am NOT exaggerating when I declare that the weather has been outrageously horrific. Pouring down rain, 34 degrees with hail and (??) Thunder! 40 MPH winds. Imagine all nasty weather- minus tornadoes- and that is what we have had here. YUCK.

After my little run earlier in the week I have been kept away from the pavement due to the diabolical combination of all the things I just mentioned. Crazy, I tell you!

This has caused me to take a moment to reflect upon my priorities, time management (the weather) and of course, one of my favorite topics: Excuses VS Reasons.

In my line of work I hear a lot of excuses as to why things are going wrong, or not progressing as they should. It amazes me sometimes the balderdash that I hear pouring from peoples mouths as to why they have not practiced AT ALL between training sessions.

I don't like this. BUT, if improving is not your priority then fine! If someone is a casual equestrian then whatever makes them enjoy their time in the saddle is cool with me. BUT, if someone has serious competitive 9or other) aspirations and are still making silly excuses then I try to encourage a more workmanlike mindset.

I was wondering this week if I was falling into the excuses trap in my running life. I took a few points into consideration.

-I am a hobby runner. This will NEVER be a career move for me unless mediocrity and zero money ends up being something that I find desirable. Hmmm?

-I am NOT waking up in the morning saying "OMG! I'm gonna run today" and then spending hours procrastinating, whiling away my time on facebook, or otherwise avoiding the issue. NO, I am waking up in the morning going "HOLY S**tballs! I hope that I can find a second within the madness to eat meals and such!"

-I need to be sure to have my priorities straight. I MUST work (obvi) I MUST take the extra time during these Spring months to be sure that the horses who about to begin their competitive season are fully tuned up. And I MUST have time at the end of the day to see The Huz and Rufus. The Huz has limited patience for the way that my job keeps me away from the house as I came into the relationship with all that attached to me. He gets quite miffed if then I head out to run for 10 miles during the only time we have to see one another. Don't blame the guy one bit, I am (after all) terrifically entertaining to have around not to mention blindingly attractive and smelling of flowers.

My hope- which might be a wild fantasy- is to figure out how to incorporate a few days of running into the schedule. (weather permitting.) Balance is important.

5 comments:

  1. I totally agree! I am struggling to get my running into gear just so I can run a 5k without sucking air. The weather has not cooperated at all. I am making lists of stuff I have to do around the house, so I can tick them off and still make time to get in some runs when I'm not working and the weather is better. It can be frustrating. It sounds like you have your priorities straight. My boyfriend also owns his own business, and as he says, "If I don't work, there's no money coming in."

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  2. Good post for me to read today - the past couple weeks have been insane! (all good things, just a lot of them!)... Keep the tips coming :)

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  3. Breathe. Deeply. You can only do so much. Don't beat yourself up over what you are not doing. It's okay.

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  4. Yah, it's the balance thing that always throws me off, too. The only reason that I'm not stressing about not running right now is that I physically can NOT. But I am already dreading that feeling of not having run enough for the races I'm planning on signing up for. How sad is that? I haven't even signed up for them yet and I'm already stressing about my lack of training! Hope you're able to find that elusive line.

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  5. by the way, I can tell you've been super busy by your lack of posting. I, as a reader, will be happy when you get some free time again. I miss reading your snarky commentary on a regular basis :)

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