The Next Chapter Begins

I am so happy I survived this week! It sounds melodramatic I know, but that's me. This was my first week of my new job, and it coincided with some intense house-selling stress and some obnoxious (but not too terrible) MS symptoms. But holy shit, I'm still here!

The MS crap started way back in Bozeman, about 2 weeks ago. I got back from a short run one morning and I couldn't move my hand too well. I’ve had fatigue and some mild numbness in my leg on and off since then. It probably didn't help that I wasn't running as much as usual, since I've had trouble finding the time for it with my 60-minute commute and the new job, where I have meetings all day long. I think running keeps things in check for me, which is part of why I do it. The house stress wasn't doing me any favors either, not to mention the stress that I might become incapacitated during my second day at a new job. "I'm fine, really, I just have an incurable degenerative brain disease. No no, don't call 911 - my health insurance hasn't kicked in yet."

The tingling and tiredness lasted a couple of weeks, but I am feeling great now. The first week at the new job went really well. It feels like a good place for me; the work is interesting and the people are very nice. Also, amazing discounts on cool stuff. And as expected, we are loving Seattle. I'm enjoying riding public transit all around the city. Today Maple and I went to the Big Day of Play at Magnusen Park. We saw a dog training demonstration and had mango coconut ice cream, and then missed our bus home and had to wait half an hour for the next bus, in the most adorable neighborhood ever. The trees here are amazing, and I love how few traditional lawns there are here, and how much wildscaping goes on.

[...] Now that I'm on the Oiselle Team, I figured it was time to look the part. I only have four Oiselle items so far, and I love them, but I want some more! So yesterday I did a full-on Oiselle shopping spree. I got half running clothes and half casual stuff, and I'm so excited to show it to you! All four of you! This morning, inspired by the idea of the cool new running stuff that will soon be mine, I did over 5 miles in my new pair of Brooks Ravenna 4s! There's nothing quite like a maiden run. I forgot how much I love those shoes. And I set a personal distance record for the month - this was my longest run since July 28th! That's almost embarrassing. I'm so excited to start training again. I found a nice bike path near my office, so this week I will try running in the mornings before work. And I'm previewing You, Only Faster, which is Greg McMillan's (of the famous McMillan Running Calculator) new book. I'm hoping it speaks to me enough to use it for my next half.

We closed on our MA house yesterday, which feels amazing. Weight = Lifted. It feels like a victory that I made it through the week and I'm going to run MORE THAN SIX MILES tomorrow. Amazing, right?

I'd love to hear what is going well for you! Let's spread some positive vibes.