"the hills are alive..."

...with the sound of running.
The hills are calling me again. I'm about to head out for a run and I want nothing more than to run up the hill to start my run and keep going up. There must be something wrong with me. I've never wanted to run hills in my life.
I was planning on a trip to the gym, but the t.v. treadmill scenario gets a little boring, plus I find they've put the t.v. screen too high on the treadmills which means you need to be 5'9" or taller to be able to watch anything. I would say that most women at my gym are at least 5'5" on average. I've mentioned the t.v. screen heights as a problem, but they just nod and say "oh yeah I guess they are" but nothing has changed. Is it just me or are all gyms the same. I feel like I could be at the Duff mall in the ol' Fitness One bargain basement gym. I kind of miss it actually. At least it made fitness affordable for women. It was a better deal than the YMCA's low income membership that you had to apply for and jump through all sorts of hoops just to be approved to join the "stinky Y" as we called it. That Y was too small for the size of its membership.

My hand is still aching from the sprain so strength training is out. So what's the point of going to the gym? Yoga isn't an option either. Oh well, onward and upward.

It's cooled off today and there are a few clouds so I think hills will be just fine. I can do some strength work without putting weight on my hand using my exercise ball and band. Exciting life isn't it?

***

The Okanagan marathon seems just around the corner now. I haven't registered yet, but I know I will because I just put in my request for the time off from work for that weekend in October.

db and I thought (and perhaps my step-dad, P. will be coming. I'm not sure yet) we might check out some of the wine country while we are there. Since I'm running the marathon I guess I'll do the driving so db can do the sampling.

One of the best times db and I had in Italy was when we rented a car and drove through wine country in Italy's Piemonte region. We collected a few bottles on the way and met some nice people. We picked up some fresh food on the way and had a picnic on the roadside overlooking the rows and rows of vines. We were "off season" for travelling to wine country so it seemed like we were the only people around. It was incredible.

Anywho...I digress. I do feel a little undertrained, but then I felt that way before right? All the physical training is good and I can always look for new ways to mix up the training schedule and add new methods to keep it interesting, but mentally I feel like I need an edge. I seem to keep coming up against the same mental blocks that slow me down. I need to figure out a way to train the thoughts as well. Time to research. I'll just make sure I research after I've done the more important tasks of the day.

Did I mention that i'm searching for new work? I am. Since the office job didn't pan out at LV, I think I need to find some new challenge so I've been just starting to push myself to come up with something else that will pay the bills. I'll find something soon I hope.