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Jogging for the first time in five years
(this is a Working Girl blog) |
I took the advice of some of the people who wrote comments in my previous blog, and decided not to take up my office-mates' offer to shop today. I really wanted to - reeaaally wanted to, but I think they're right and it's the smarter thing to do, even though it makes me a bit sad.
So. Instead, I decided to go out for a jog at seven this morning. I haven't done any serious exercising for five years, since before transition, actually (though I'm not exactly a sporty girl, I did bike for fun a lot before), but I thought I'd start exercising this morning and burn up some of this leftover adrenalin from yesterday.
And, yes, yes, it's ok with my doc (in fact, he's the one who's been bugging me to start), but only if I've been keeping up on my iron pills, which I have, and to stop working out the minute I start feeling faint or something.
So, I threw on an old t-shirt, sportsbra, shorts, some bobbysocks, and my old pair of Nikes. At least the weather cooperated. It was a little chilly though, so I went back and grabbed my old, faded violet hooded tunic pullover (didn't want to sweat up any of my nice stuff).
So, with my wallet, keys and my old pepper spray, I was all set.
I was able to manage several circuits of Dupont Circle and the surrounding streets, and let myself in my place after a little over an hour of mild jogging (I'm taking it slow), and a stopover at the market for some water.
And here I am now, typing up this blog, squeaky-clean after a shower, with a bagel, a muffin and a hot chocolate beside my keyboard.
Anyway, if I'm gonna be doing this regularly, I think I need some more, ummm... showy outfits, and try and take my girl-self for a better test drive. I'm really shy about it (as my BCTS chatroom girls know), but yesterday gave me some confidence, not to mention getting some... positive looks today, I think I can stop being a shrinking violet, and maybe make some headway into adjusting better.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
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Comments
I'm so jealous :)
I tried to go jogging yesterday. I'm so out of shape that my shins were screaming before I reached the end of the driveway, so I'm keeping it low key, low impact walking for now, and maybe working my way up to something more brisk with conditioning.
You're so lucky with the weather too. Down here, it was pushing mid-40s so I ended up wearing my big, frumpy black and white track suit over sweat pants just to stay warm while I was out.
... And that reminds me, I need to get some pepper spray if I'm going to start being active again. So glad you mentioned that!
Oh hey! Congratulations on the new job too. I've been wanting to post and say that, but... distractions. Sorry :(
Best wishes,
~Zoe T.
"We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that the savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter."
-- Mark Twain
Actually...
Hi, Zoe.
Actually, It's real cold. The sun is out for a change today, and no rain, but real cold. Mid-forties here as well, I think. Even so, there were lots of people jogging.
And thanks. I've been at my new job for three months now, actually, but my group was just put together a couple of weeks ago, made up by people who were in old projects that are just winding down. Won't know if my group will be a permanent one - depends largely on how the project turns out.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
Whoops! I guess I mis-read
I think I must have mis-read your blog previously. Sorry about that. Still, I admire your strength. I've always been the mousy type - way too nice for my own good. I'd be eaten alive in a corporate setting!
"We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that the savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter."
-- Mark Twain
Who, me?
Me? Strong? I think you're mistaking me for someone else, Zoe.
Those who know me here in BCTS, especially the ones in the chatroom and those who PM me regularly, know how unassertive and neurotic I am. In fact, the only times when I put up a fight are when I am overtly taken advantage of or wronged (which have been seldom).
I've been going to the same therapist for years, hoping to finally find myself and a place in this world where I can be who I think I am. The journey's still not done for me, though my transition was a big chunk of that journey.
I'm not the most physically imposing person, and I guess that's partly the reason I had a hard time as a boy, and why I've never learned to assert myself. With this new job, I want to be different. With this job, I want to be someone people look to for direction. On top of it all, I'm still trying to be the best girl I can, balancing this with trying to be a good boss.
I can't really tell you how important yesterday was to me, and how nerve-wracking it was.
Sorry, Zoe, you have me mistaken for someone else.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
Misinterpretation
I just meant that you had the guts to go in there and do what needed to be done, is all. I can't even claim that much. Though really, you do sound a lot like me now that you mention it. Err, not meaning that in a bad way. Just in a I-misunderstood-before-way.
I am so sorry about that. I promise to stop posting while operating on... virtually no sleep from now on :)
Best wishes, and shutting up now, before I embarass myself further :-D
~Zoe
"We have not the reverent feeling for the rainbow that the savage has, because we know how it is made. We have lost as much as we gained by prying into that matter."
-- Mark Twain
No problemo
:-)
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
I'm glad
you didn't fraternise - the jogging will have saved you money, too.
I did a bike ride with a couple of nasty hill climbs.
Angharad
Angharad
Perhaps, the first time...
around not fraternizing is the right thing. But, managers that NEVER socialize with the workers on a team (specially in the software/IT world) tend to not get as much out of their workers as those that are able to do so. Is there a line between too "friendly" and to "remote"? Oh, yeah. It's pretty wide, and if you can stay in the line, it's a good thing. The danger of too friendly is that it can become hard to "hold" the team to task if you're their "buddy". The difficulty with "remote" is that it's harder to motivate them when deadlines approach and you're behind.
Just my feeling on the matter, having been and observed managers in the field for almost twenty-five (25) years.
Annette
I agree
At least in California, "Casual Friday" is often matched either with an in-house celebration, usually with company-provided drinks and/or snacks, including beer within reason, or early exit to a convenient saloon or pizza restaurant, where the manager is provided with a budget for snacks and drinks. Likewise, a "holiday party" was provided sometime during the midwinter, to which both employees and (sometimes) important customer representatives were invited.
My own budget was usually somewhere between ten and twenty US dollars per employee, although project completion parties often had much larger budgets. The most lavish completion party I hosted (on the firm's behalf) involved hiring a portable barbecue wagon, about a hundred pounds of "tri-tip" beef, another hundred pounds of salmon, veggies, bread, desserts, beer, soft drinks, hosted party games for the kids (with babysitters), and a disc jockey.
The most elaborate holiday party was catered on a yacht, with a dance band and open bar. The invitations alone cost nearly US$50 a pop. This was before the dot-com bust, but still. I was usually drafted as the planner for these, even for company-wide events, I reckon through invidious sexist assumptions, but didn't mind, really, as it was a lot of fun.
http://www.electracruises.com/electra.asp
What I did mind was that I never made more than eighty percent of what my male counterparts made, but one can't change the world, and I got to ride the damned boat twice, once as the only guest, which was quite nice indeed, and I've always thought that the most important thing in life was to have a good time, and to do one's best to ensure that everyone who depended on one had a good time too.
Cheers,
Puddin'
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
I'm glad you CAN jog...
I never liked it. (Swimming or biking being my much preferred exercise). That said, I did it, and was doing so through Summer of '06... I came down with a case of bronchitis from the warm place in early October... When I came out the other side in early December (I say other side - I was on codine cough syrup 4-6 times a day; antibiotics (to avoid secondary infections); a HIGH dose of prednisone that got bumped back up after a month cause I wasn't better yet; Albuterol 4x a day, etc...) I had apparently developed a moderate case of asthma, and having not been able to exercise for over two months, I started back in walking. While before, I could easily go 4.5 mph for an hour and only break a sweat. When I started back trying to exercise, initially I couldn't go more than about 2.5 mph and that for no more than about 10 minutes. The lungs wouldn't take it.
The lungs actually came back, and a few months later, My doc changed my BP meds, and suddenly I was suffering from edema, and if I tried to walk more than 3 mph, my lower legs quickly became painful. To shorten a boooring story, I'm back to over 4mph now (as long as I remember to do my maintenance advair, and have my rescue inhaller with me) and can easily walk for over an hour at that speed! (This has helped me take off some of my excess weight. I just wish it'd help more.)
Perhaps, much as I dislike the idea, I'll be able to do some running again soon - or at least distance (for me) cycling (though I'm sure far from the speed of serious cyclists as are found around here).
Best of luck to you!
Don't always turn the other girls down (or the guys, for that matter) when it comes to social events. If you think back to your pre-managing days, you'll probably recall that the managers that were more "human" were easier to work for.
Annette
I only wish I looked as good, jogging, as your picture
Or as YOUNG!!!
with love,
Hope
with love,
Hope
Once in a while I bare my soul, more often my soles bear me.
Wish that was me...
Hi, Hope.
I am not all that young, you know, and the girl in the blog's title pic? That's not me. Wish it was, though.
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
Good for you, Bobbie!
Good for you, Bobbie!
It's great that you got out, and as you said, you want to take it easy. It takes a while for your body to get used to that stress.
I think that recreational runners are, for the most part, a very accepting bunch. They recognize that people come in all sizes, shapes, appearance, and abilities. Anyone who has one common trait, a love of running, is one of them.
I've run on-and-off for many years, and got back into it more seriously in late '08.
I ran in a 5K race this morning (and it was cold and windy), and hit my target finish time, so I'm rather happy with my progress.
You can find some good places to run in your city, and anywhere else in the USA for that matter, at sites such as:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/
and many more you can find with a Google search.
Check out this as a way to find the distance for any route you've run, or plan to:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
Have fun and be safe out there,
Kris
Kris
{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}
I find it rather disquietening
that pepper spray is accepted as part of a jogger's kit. I take it, it's not designed to spice up your life, rather the opposite. For all the derogatory comments made about the UK, I'm glad I live here rather than the New World.
Angharad
Angharad
Clarifying the issue about pepper spray
Not to be contentious, but hopefully to clarify the issue, pepper spray (for use against people) would rarely be considered a standard part of a jogger's kit in the New World. Most runners know that, if they run on roads, their greatest danger is motorists. (Just like cyclists, eh?)
I can understand how some people who run in a dicey part of a city might want something for self-defense, but I think a better solution is to run with a group, or go somewhere else. I expect there are similar concerns in parts of the UK.
"Self-Defense Sprays" are illegal in some US states and localities, and in Canada. In some places, like the US capitol Washington, DC, they must be registered with the police. Animal defense or repellent sprays (for use against bears or aggressive dogs) are legal pretty much everywhere, and could of course be used against people, too.
Kris
Kris
{I leave a trail of Kudos as I browse the site. Be careful where you step!}
Hmmm...
Well, I did fill out a little form that came with it when I bought it. It asked for my name, address, telephone number and stuff, and I mailed the form to the Metopolitan PD, including a zerox of my driver's license (post-transition, of course).
I guess the key is to buy your pepper spray from a legitimate dealer or store (I bought mine from a gun store that my therapist recommended), and I'm sure they'll tell you what the legal requirements are.
My therapist suggested I get one, to give me some confidence as I got used to the new me. And it did give me that little bit of extra confidence, that little bit of nudge that I needed during my LT, to go into unfamiliar places or to places I thought I wasn't allowed to before.
After transition, I put it away and never bothered with it since. Don't even know if it was still any good. Still sprayed good though, but I didn't test it on anyone (heehee).
Does anyone know what's the shelf life of pepper sprays?
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/blog/bobbie-c
http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/book/14775/roberta-j-cabot
Three to six years from
Three to six years from purchase.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Jogging
Bobbie,
congrats on getting back to jogging. Think you'll find you actually feel much better when you exercise, but it might not feel so good at the start.Just work thru it and in no time you'll really be feeling great.
Keep that pepper spray in hand girl even around Dupont Circle you never know whats around.
Go girl go.
Hugs
Cassidy