Marking Time

Not such a great week. Felt like I have been marking time on the diet. Feel like the summer is over, and what have I got to show for it?

Rain, floods, and power outages all week. Mildew in the basement and the dryer broke. Packing up my boy to go away to college. Took my mother to the airport for her cruise around Great Britain. Kids relatively talkative. Enjoyed their summer.

Work very very busy. Good stuff. Want to spend more time there, because I am making a difference. But I can't. Want to spend more time home with the kids. Short days in the office. Schlepping the computer and papers home every night. Even if its only 45 minutes, very productive. Time to find a new way to balance.

But skipping several gym workouts due to work priorities. Nowhere near the intensity of last weekend. Just lay around like a lump. (Not true! Errands and chores.) Had both ice cream AND beer today. Really good bread for breakfast yesterday; ruined the whole day's eating. Wanted to carb out constantly, fighting cravings all day.

The new balance has to include more time for exercise. Gym at work or gym near home? I won't do more personal training - I mean not more sessions per week. I desperately want to keep up those very expensive three sessions a week, at least through Christmas. But those three sessions are about strength and conditioning. I need more intense aerobic exercise.

Times to work in more intense exercise? Before work, during work, after work, later in the evening? Squeezing the time out of my office time just feels wrong. I work relatively short days. If I succeed in hiring an after-school helper, I might be able to make them longer days some days. The gym at work is very convenient , very cheap, and very well equipped. However, it is packed at lunch, so I need to go off peak. That makes it even harder to squeeze out a time. Could I go in early on days I don't have training? I think I need that extra hours sleep the other days. Could I go after work some days? Right now, I have to run home to start supper and see the kids.  Could I go to a commercial gym nearby after supper? Yes, with a membership. But it would cut into evenings with the kids, and likely make it hard to get to sleep.  Could I get back on my NerdicTrak? Or get a different machine for at home? Both are possibilities, but venture into the need to clean out the basement and make it less damp.

Auugghh!! I want to do it all. I want to cram more into every day. I sure wish I needed less sleep and could just keep moving.  Moving forward. Not marking time.

At least, let me plan for this week. I've got lunches for the next two days, fancy salads from Trader Joe's. I've got cottage cheese laid in, and cans of selzer for that afternoon slump. I have to give a big talk Tuesday afternoon - I'll just get to writing it tomorrow. Later in the week is a conference with an overnight. A long solo drive (hooray! I've got the books loaded up on the ipod) followed by sitting in a meeting room with probably no natural light. Hopefully there will be time for walking - I hear the location (in Shepherdstown on the cliffs overlooking the Potomac) is spectacular.  I'll be working out Tuesday morning and Saturday morning. Friday when we are done with the conference, I should plan a hike along the C&O canal, or the Antietam battlefields, before heading home. (Pack sturdy walking shoes.)