So I Ran A Race....

Yep, you read that correctly.

Let me backtrack.  So my company signed up for the Chase Corporate Challenge, which is a 3.5 mile race.  Of course, we were all encouraged, but not obligated, to participate.  I could have easily said no.  But so many others were doing it, including friends of mine who work for other companies.  Ah, peer pressure.

Anyhow.  On one hand, I like to think I'm in pretty decent shape and live an active lifestyle, but something about being good at running has always eluded me.  Now, granted, for this race, all that was required was participating, but a small part of me secretly wanted to do well.  I'm not sure why.  I was convinced, in my mind, with a little discipline & consistentcy, I could do decently.

So, in short - I made a point of running at least twice a week - somewhere between 2-5 miles.  I didn't really concentrate on speed at all; I just tried my best to run the entire time.  The first couple runs were rough; after that, I quickly got in a habit and was able to get on a pace and stay on it comfortably.

Come race day, I achieved my goal.  I finished the 3.5 miles in 34:48, with a pace of 9:57/mile.  I finished in the middle of the pack of my coworkers (and, most likely, somewhere around the middle amongst all the participants).  Most importantly, I ran the entire time and felt good (not close to death) at the end of it.

What I took away from this (in lieu of some cheesy comment along the lines of 'you can do anything you put your mind to') - it felt good to be working towards a goal.  Now, don't get me wrong, I have plenty of things in my life that are a challenge for me (my job, dance class, maintaining this blog, etc.) however, sometimes it feels really good to be working towards one specific goal (and then accomplishing it).  I think, in adulthood, after we're out of school, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and not be working towards 'something' specifically.

I think I will write some goals for myself.  How about you, readers?  Do you have specific goals you are working toward?

Slow and Steady....

So, as I'm sure you know if you regularly read this blog - I have turned this blog into an independent business (where's my tax break??).    I always love and appreciate it when people click the ads.  :)

Anyhow, enough of that - I'm not the Cutco knife saleswoman here; I know that's not what you came here for.   However, I do have something very exciting to report - this blog has STEADILY been making one cent a day for the past couple weeks.  

It might not sound like much, but it's something I didn't have.  And you all know about 'slow and steady'.  Besides, it's more symbolic than anything - people are regularly visiting the blog.  That makes my heart smile.  And I am not the Hallmark card type.  

Knowing I have readers only makes me feel more compelled to post regularly and give my readers what they're looking for.  However, there are times I can't force inspiration for a long rant.  Therefore, expect many more posts in the 'pointless' category in the near future.  I'm not sure if this is good news to Jaime's blog's readers - but it is news about Jaime's blog, and that's what I'm here to report.