AboutHom.es Girls – Diane on Changes and Balance
April 22, 2011 in Central MA, Massachusetts, N Central MA by Diane Guercio
Hi Lesley,
Here is what I have been thinking. Still thinking about Spring, and in Massachusetts there is no way that change can’t be top of mind in the springtime. And I was also looking at the calendar – April 22 (today) is the 112th day of the year. There are 253 days left, so we are nearly one third of the way done with the year! Can you believe it? And the spring flowers are only now starting.
I have been watching a lot of my friends begin fitness programs. On Facebook, I see friends checking in at the gym, Agi Anderson from TwitterQueens challenged us to walk 15 minutes every day in May, and I see healthy initiatives popping up faster than Whack-A-Moles. One thing that a lot of people appear to be doing is the Couch to 10K Program – you can read about it and download the plan, follow @couch10k on twitter, or download an iPhone app. I guess this is kind of the program I intend to follow and I plan on running a road race by the end of summer. Still plenty of time for the Apocalypse to come first, is what I am thinking.
So that’s a change. Here are a couple of links to road races in MA: one from Running in the USA, and the other from Central MA Striders.
The other thing I was thinking about was Balance. I have been thinking about that a lot lately – especially dealing with real estate, it is hard to create balance in life because the market fluctuates seasonally so much. Being Spring, we are seeing a lot of listings come through the office, and I handle the marketing for all of them, so I have been busy. I know that you deal with the same issues – this attempting to balance the Mommy thing with the Business thing – I guess we all do.
Seasonal spots are opening up here, and I am going to try to take Jenni out to one of our favorites this week. We always have fun at Kimball Farm. Do you have any favorite seasonal places that you try to get out to?
Oh, and have you decided on a punishment yet? I hope it has something to do with ice cream!
Also, if you have a chance, check out the “Life is like Coffee” video
Hmmm… 13 weeks puts you in early July, I do a 5k every year on the 4th in Maine if you’d like to start with something less ambitious. Actually with all my running that includes weekend distances up to 39.3 Miles I have never done a 10k. Maybe I’ll join you if you’d like a pacing partner. (but I gotta go slow)
Maybe I will take you up on this, Dan, although it would mean committing to something concrete in writing in front of the whole world! So, 3.106 miles. Okay, you’re on.
We just finished up a Couch to 5 K program and finding the time to do it was the hardest thing- working- going to gym- getting healthy. Finding that balance and making the commitment to actually do it and sticking with it was hard. Now I am so happy I took that 1st step and stuck with it!
You are actually one of the ones I have been watching, Monika – I admire what you and jay are doing, and see that Ann Cummings is getting involved too. You guys are my inspiration, although I didn’t realize it was a Couch to 5K program you were following.
Thank you Diane. The C25K is a great starter program. It lasts for 9 weeks and both Jay and I have finished week 9. We both love it and continue to run 3 times a week or more. It feels so good to be getting fit and I plan on staying that way. It’s addicting for us… we need our exercise fix!
Finding the time may seem difficult at first but I think the energetic benefits you develop along the way offset the time commitment required for a short race. In addition to the increased energy you have extra time to think without distractions while training if you learn not to pick up the phone. I still carry one but it’s no longer strapped to my arm so I can’t hear it ring.