Sunshine is my new drug

It looks like the belated and longed for spring might finally be here after all. I seem to have more energy than I've had in a long time. Yesterday I went for my longest jog yet this year. Even though I waited until the evening, the weather was almost too hot. Still felt great afterwards, though (in spite of a slight dehydration)! I'm not sure whether I've written this before or not, but I've been surprised this spring of how little my allergies have bothered me when exercising! I still have no idea as to why, but so far I have not suffered one single allergy attack while, nor after, running. I have not done anything different that I can think of, I even exercised less last winter than I'd done the past couple of years, and I haven't changed my medicine (I still go for your average anti-histamines) or anything, but for some reason my health has just been better this spring than "ever" before! Which also means that it's so much easier for me to enjoy running - lovely! Strange, but lovely!

(Oh, I see now that I commented on this a couple of posts ago.)

One more thing that's going well at he moment is my artwork. Suddenly, missing pieces just appeared! Now I just wish I had more time to put on it. I still have deadlines to catch at uni, so I don't quite have the courage to really throw myself into my art just yet. I should probably also look into getting some new canvases, rather than just picking around on my old, un- or half finished ones... Not that I wouldn't love to finish them of course, I'm just starting to realise that it might never happen.And it would be interesting to try out some of the new ideas on fresh surfaces, to really start from scratch for once.

Have to go now (dinner at mum's). Will seriously try to keep up here on the blog. The longer it takes, the harder it is to write...

writing and running

Progress!

I'm getting ahead on my master's, and I've been glad to learn that it is much easier than writing your bachelor's - especially as I chose to continue on the same subject. The subject is somewhat familiar now, and the writing itself is easier, which I guess is a sign of development. I actually enjoy the work, so far at least. It feels interesting again, after having had a very necessary brake from it while writing on other projects.

One more thing that is going surprisingly well right now is my running! Not only have I finally got my arse out of the door and started again, but the return has not been even half as hard as I imagined it to be. Yesterday I did my longest jog so far, since starting again that is, and even pushed myself more than before, but I was still able to enjoy it - no allergy attack (which is what I fear the most), just a slight dehydration... I've been positively surprised at how little trouble my pollen allergy has given me so far this spring. Now I should just return to karate practice too, more than once every second week or so.

Out of shape

I had the worst morning jog today. I felt tired to begin with, it took me a full hour to even get myself out the door, and when I finally did, I never found that "flow" I've grown so used to enjoying during my jogs. My right ear started hurting before I had even started running, and after having finished 1 1/2 heavy laps (instead of the usual three) with my muscles still tense,  my throat was hurting like it hasn't since I quit smoking some three years ago... So I'm suspecting the flu... I know more than one person who has had it recently. I've also been very tired today, all day. I found myself dozing off several times during a lecture this afternoon, even though I found it interesting. Hope this will pass quickly, I so don't have the time right now! (But, then, when do you?)

on exercise

Sometimes I wonder if I'm a hyperactive. It's like my brain worked by dynamo, some dayss it's just impossible to sit still and focus for more than the shortest moments. For a ewhile now, I've been running to soothe this, but recently I've been looking for alternatives to running, because however much I enjoy it (not to mention the amazing feeling afterwards) I've come to realise that it takes too much energy. Or , to put it like this: I also need something less intensive, something that burns fewer calories, as I now (and I know this might sound like a luxury problem to some) seem to burn too much, and I'm not interested in loosing weight. I have no plans to quit running (I love it too much!) but I'm looking intosimple yoga- and/or fitness exercices to do at home - less calory-burning and also less time-consuming.

Last night I did some repetitions of a simple yoga exercise (don't remember the name of it) that we've sometimes done during karate warmups, and I felt it worked quite well for me. Got my body a bit warmer, my mind calmer and also opened up my stiff back nicely. And I did manage to return to work shortly after, and got things done. So I'd count that as a small success!

I'll definitely be trying more of something similar. And to just do a couple of exercises doesn't take too much time, either.

update on everyday things

I'm finally seeing some results of my studying, in grades as well as credits. This really helps keep you motivated!

I'm running again, but not without my antihistamines. In recent years I've been wondering whether or not I have a pollen allergy, but well... at least now I know that I do. The amount of birch pollen is higher this year than it's been in ten years, and my nose and eyes are runny even when I'm taking it easy. I should probably have eaten my antihistamines earlier springs too (even with the " only traces of allergy" I had before) as I now noticed a very clear difference in both results and overall feeling while running. So I might actually be in much better shape than I thought, which is fun of course, but makes you feel just slightly retarded at the same time.

I'm still not back to a good (human) daily rhytm after my "inspired period". Still staying up late only to oversleep most mornings. I would love to live in a world adjusted to the rhytm of waking up at 11 in the  morning, having lunch after three in the afternoon, going out jogging in the late evening and then staying up until three in the morning. But you're obviously not supposed to do that, at least if you want to be an active part in society...

Friday

One more job application sent. I still hate writing them, and no - I don't get why I hate it so much. It isn't or at least shouldn't be hard. And it always feels good having finished and sent one.

Had a really lovely jog/run in the sunshine earlie today. The enjoyment of running is on a completely different level with the sun in ypur face and the cool wind in your hair! Even thinking of it now makes me smile!

Nothing more to report today.

Heading home now.

Wish I had a bottle of wine waiting, though.