Run Lola Run

Today is random post day. I am writing one big long post all day long. Just because.

So, thought #1:
I did not get up and do yoga for the second morning in a row. I am mentally flogging myself quite a bit right now, for several reasons:
1) Marathon training begins this weekend. Doing daily yoga is an important part of keeping my knee healthy, and mornings are the only time I can fit it in. JUST DO IT!
2) It makes me feel so much better during my day. I arrive at work bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and ready to get on with it. When I don’t do yoga in the morning, I feel like I do right now—what I affectionately call “foofy-headed.” It means I feel like I can’t focus, I can’t sit up straight, I can function…and is characterized by walking down the hallway in a daze and running into people. I hate feeling this way! But yet knowledge of this is not enough to get me out of bed when the alarm goes off at 5:30. Has anyone invented an alarm clock that also turns on a light yet?
3) Routines are very important to me, and it upsets me when I do not follow them.

Grrr…well, I won’t be doing yoga tomorrow morning, since tonight is Run Club/”24”/Chipotle night, and that means I am staying at Abe’s. But I WILL get up and do it Friday morning, or I don’t get my usual Friday coffee. Maybe I’ll have to figure out a new way to bribe myself. Or maybe I just need some new videos? I don’t know…maybe once I start running 30+ miles a week, the pain in my knee will be enough to get me out of bed at 5:30 in the morning, if only to stretch.

Speaking of knee pain, interesting article in the March issue of Runner’s World on knee pain. I’ve downgraded my self-diagnosis of arthritis to patellar tendonitis. I still plan on seeing Abe’s chiropractor though.

Thought #2:
IT IS TOO COLD!!!!! I’m sick of it. I don’t like complain about winter, because, c’mon, I live in Minnesota, but this is outrageous. Mostly it just makes me mad b/c it’s so cold and very much below my no-running-if-it-is-below-zero threshold, but I have to run!!! Marathon training! Exciting! Must run! Too cold! GRRRR!! I’ll be pulling for a quick jaunt around Isles tonight, that’s for sure…

Thought #3:
Since I did not run the Frozen Half-Marathon, I’ve decided to recycle my playlist, and use it for Grandma’s. Since I can’t quite justify buying an iPod Nano, it’ll have to go on my Shuffle:

So, my “power songs” will be at the beginning of the playlist, and I can click back to those for the last few miles. Otherwise, all other songs will be random order:
Power Songs:
“Montage” from Team America and “Asspen” in Season 8 of “South Park”
Since U Been Gone—Kelly Clarkson
Letter to an Occupant—New Pornographers
Uptown Girl—Billy Joel
Mass Romantic—New Pornographers
Hey Ya—Outkast
Rock Stars and Models—Stuart Davis

Start with:
Taking the Long Way Around—Dixie Chicks
Not Ready to Be Nice—Dixie Chicks
Breakaway—Kelly Clarkson
Hazel Eyes—Kelly Clarkson
I Like It—Dixie Chicks
Tiny Dancer—Elton John
Tornado Girl—Alva Star
Comeback—Alva Star
Unhappily Yours—Alva Star
Thing for Me—Alva Star
Speed of Sound—Coldplay
Letter to God—Sheryl Crow
Always on Your Side—Sheryl Crow
Steve McQueen—Sheryl Crow
On the Radio—Regina Specter
Mitch—Mitch Hedberg, my favorite stand-up comic. He’s dead now, but his “Mitch All Together” is amazing. Does anyone need to get me started on Part Two of the Two-Part Subway sandwich joke?
Say a Little Prayer—Dionne Warwick
Livin’ On a Prayer—Bon Jovi
Amie—Counting Crows
For the Longest Time—Billy Joel
Free Fallin’—Tom Petty
Anything But Down—Sheryl crow
Flake—Jack Johnson
The Distance—Cake
Where the Streets Have No Name—U2
Pretty Good Airplanes (album)—Mighty Fairly
Stand Still, Look Pretty (album)—The Wreckers
Across the Universe (album)—Trip Shakespeare
Select Weezer (although, maybe not—my iPod Shuffle really likes Weezer; plays them a lot)
Any and all Neko Case that I can find
Gravel—Ani DiFranco
Superhero—Ani DiFranco
Untouchable Face—Ani DiFranco

Any suggestions, anyone? My tastes are pretty wide-ranging and obvious from the above.

Thought #4:
Just got an email from someone that makes me crabby. Grrr…now I’m crabby.

Final Thought:
Last Friday, I shadowed a NICU nurse at a local hospital. Since I signed a waiver saying that I wouldn’t reveal any details, I can’t reveal any details. But I will say that it was a wonderful experience, even though I was surrounded by very sick babies.

The nurse that I shadowed has been a nurse for a long time, and has always worked in the NICU. She was amazing. She was so patient with me, and really took the time to walk me around to all the babies, introduce me not only to their conditions, but also to their personalities. She took me upstairs to their new wing of the hospital, introduced me to the other nurses and doctors, and talked to me about school and the nursing shortage.

The first major feeling I noticed was the second I walked into the hospital to meet her. I felt really excited, duh, but also I felt like “oh yeah, this is it.” I know it probably seems creepy to a lot of people, but there is something about hospitals that absolutely fascinate me. I love them. (Ok, this is a kind of funny tangent—I was typing the previous sentence, and saw an email notification come up on my computer saying that I had an email from Abe, and I accidentally typed “I love you.” Funny! And true!) Anyway, I love hospitals. I love watching the people—the patients, the doctors, the nurses, the other medical team members…I just think they are fascinating. I think it must be because of all the time I’ve spent in them over the years with my mom. I’ve gotten so used to them.

The second major feeling was when I put on my pair of scrubs. They were just hospital issue scrubs, but still, it felt so right. I appreciated being able to wear them, so that I didn’t stick out in my jeans and sweater. Of course, everyone on the floor knew I was some kind of student, since they didn’t recognize me, but it was cool to be able to wear scrubs.

The third major, and most important, feeling was my sense of “yep, this is what I want to do.” It came on pretty early, as the RN was introducing me to her babies for the evening. Even among all the machines and noises and sadness, I was strongly reminded of how much nursing is exactly what I want to do. It’s hard to articulate all the reasons why—but the combination of hospital/helping people/science/creative problem solving is what really draws me in.

I really needed that kick—I’ve been waffling so much lately about other healthcare and science careers...that kick was exactly what I needed to refocus myself and dive back into school. Yay!

posted by Lola @ 2:35 PM