Sunday Funday

Well, today was both lazy and productive. It was lazy because I didn't get up until almost 10 and then took at nap from 1 to 2. I got these new blackout curtains and they really help me to sleep late when I want to. Alternatively, they make it harder to get up.

It was productive because I subbed an indoor cycling class at the Rec Center at 4 and then went for a 4 mile run. After that, I did make it to the grocery store. I haven't taught indoor cycling for probably an entire year. I used to teach it regularly, but today I was just bailing out a friend who needed a sub. I am wondering how my legs will feel tomorrow.

Saturday I went running with a friend who is looking to run a half marathon. It was fun to have someone new to run with. I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did. I am hoping that we can make a regularly running "date" each weekend. Of course, this is subject to her approval, which is like real dating. I sent her a text after our run to let her know I thought it was fun. She reciprocated. I am used to running only with Bill and Murphy. This running partner thing is new. I guess I don't know the protocol, but maybe Jessica and I will be a couple...

Speaking of which, I just finished a book called MWF seeks BFF. It's about a 27 year old woman in Chicago who "friend dates" a new woman each week for a year. She's only been in Chicago a short time and doesn't feel like she has strong social connections. She meets potential friends lots of places (yoga, work, shopping, online) and the dates are sometimes smooth and sometimes awkward as heck. It's funny, and it's an interesting look at the role of friendship in women's lives. If there is a main point of the book, it might be that romantic partners can only meet so many of our social needs.

I also have a few others books on my nightstand. Most of them are aging-related. I plan to read them to see if they might be suitable options for books for my classes. I am thinking, however, that maybe I ought to read more books that are not related to gerontology. I love my field of study, but you can only contemplate the aging process so much. And, even though we are aging "better" than ever before, it's still not always the most positive topic.

I do enjoy reading but I sometimes feel "unproductive" when I read books that aren't related to work or to my field of study in some way. However, I get a lot out of other books I read, so I need to get over it. It's better than watching TV or surfing the internet, right?

I will add that I favor writing over reading. I really like writing and always have. As a kid, I wrote constantly. It was probably my #1 hobby outside of sports. It's strange to me that people don't like writing. Of course, I like some types of writing more than others. I can't say I did backflips everyday when I had to sit down and work on my dissertation. And I'm not much for fiction--although I loved writing fiction as a kid. (Now I don't even enjoy reading fiction for reasons I will save for another day.) I enjoy more blog-style, informal writing. I like to write when a secondary purpose (but probably not a primary purpose) is humor. But I digress...

I am still contemplating which marathon I want to do. I looked at some training plans, and the ones I looked at seemed very "light." The running during the week is less than I typically do in the summer, and it's just the one weekend run that is longer. They looked very do-able. Most marathon plans only recommend that you run up to 20 miles as a long run before the marathon. Obviously, not a short run, but reasonable. Maybe I'm being overconfident. The thing is that I don't care how fast I run a marathon, I just care that I run it.

In other news, students are now getting ready for fall registration, so this will be a busy week for me with advising. I don't mind it, although I don't expect to get much else done. It's also Careers in Aging Week. If you have any questions about careers in aging, you know who to call....but you may want to wait until next week!

Signing off....have a great week! (That is especially directed to you if you are one of my five followers!)