Track Reunion in Charlotte

Goal:
1600 (3:30 rest) - 4 x 400 (60s rest, 3:00 after #4) - 1200* (3:00 rest) - 2 x 200 (60s rest). targets: 1600 in 5:15-5:20, 400s in 76, 1200 in 3:51-3:55, 200s in 36-37 

Actual:
20 min warmup
5:15 (600m in 3:31)
75 (200m in 66)
77 (59)
76 (60)
76 (400m jog plus water 2:49)
3:54 (400m jog plus water 2:52)
36 (200m in 62)
34
1.3 mile cool down for ~8 miles total

pm: 3.6 miles for 11.6 miles total for day 

This week I headed to Charlotte for a couple of days to help lead an all-day planning session at work. Laurie and Nathan were kind enough to host both Garrett and me during our stay, so it was no surprise that Laurie and I decided to do this workout together.  We went to Providence Day's newly remodeled track and had the extra company of Billy and Caleb for this.

Everything went as planned and I felt really smooth on all the intervals.  Caleb stayed right with me through most of this, which helped tremendously.  Since Laurie has the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon this week, she held back a tad.  I am really excited to put all this speed to the test at the Beat the Heath 5k! 

In the evening, I did a nice social double with Aaron, Michelle, Nick and Garrett biking.  It's tough coming to Charlotte since I still feel like it's home, even though I don't have a physical home there.  

5k-4k-3k-2k-1k

Goal:
14-16 miles with 5k @600, 4k @555, 3k @550, 2k @545,  1k @540 all with 2:00-3:00 min jog.

Actual:
2.25M warmup
5k (3.1M) @ 556 ave - 18:28 via 559, 559, 553 (uphill), :35 (2:24)
4k (2.48M) @ 547 ave - 14:23 via 548, 557 (uphill), 2:38 (2:51)
3k (1.86M) @ 543 ave - 10:40 via 543, 453 (3:00)
2k (1.24M) @ 541 ave- 7:05 via 540, 1:25 (3:00) bathroom break
1k (.62M) - 3:28
10 miles total in 1:02:47
3.1 mile cool down in 23:52

Another humid, early morning here in Charlotte!  Thank goodness for having Aaron on this one because the thick air made it tough to be out there.  I'm a little behind on my blog so I don't really remember this one much.  I was really happy that I hit the times that coach had prescribed, despite having some GI issues along the way.  This workout was a sign that things are moving in the right direction to have a nice PR at Grandma's half marathon.  

200 Meter Repeats on the Track

Goal:
2-4 miles of 200m on / off track session (to practice precise pacing and also to come away with an avg. pace to get in a tempo effort) - 200 on (40) - 200 off (50) for anywhere from 3200-6400 meters (cutting anywhere in between is fine, even if an odd distance)

Actual:
3 miles warmup
3 miles in 17:30 with 400m anywhere from 39-40.5 and the off anywhere from 46-49 with mile splits of 548, 551, 551
3:41 jog rest with some fast with Michelle, then 2 more with chad at
37
50
37
18 min cool down for 10 miles cool down

At 6:45AM on Friday, I headed out the door with Aaron, Michelle, Chad, Phil and Danielle to the JCSU track.  JCSU was prepping for graduation, so there were 3 huge boards right after the start line to protect the track from the trucks carrying stage equipment.  The boards were a little wobbly, so we decided to start first with the slower 200m.  Of course, we went out a little too fast (43) but eventually brought it back to a slower pace, closer to 50s.  The workout was really fun with such a big group, but I definitely started to feel tired after 3 miles, so I called it quits.  Then after doing an easy lap and 200m fast with Michelle, I decided to jump in with Chad to help him finish up the last of his workout.  It was good to get in the work and it wasn’t overly exerting.  On Saturday, my legs felt totally fresh so I realized that I probably should have just done 4 miles of the 200’s.  Oh well!

Tobacco Road HM Race Recap + Week in Review

Goal #1:  1st or 2nd place for prize $$
Goal #2:  Negative Split

Actual:
2 miles warmup
1:17:55, 2nd place, Huge Positive Split (38:19/39:36)
3 miles cool down for 18 miles total
70 miles on the week
1 workout

I got my butt kicked today.  It’s definitely not what I wanted, but I still got $600.  My race came be summed up in three words: I wimped out.  I’m not being hard on myself, I’m just being honest.

Tomorrow I’ll run on my tired legs and the half will already be behind me, and I’ll be thinking of the big PR that I hope to get at the Grandma’s Half in like 15+ weeks.  So, I am okay with it.  It was one of those races that I just didn’t prepare for mentally whatsoever.  I was hoping I could come in and race it as somewhat of a tempo and squeak in a PR and a win.  Well, neither of those things happened, and I learned my lesson:  I need to prepare mentally for all races, not just the ones I deem really important.

Basically, I went out in my marathon pace - 607 - for the first mile and felt great.  Then I picked it up to tuck in behind a group of guys that were running around 5:50 -- perfect!  Then mile 4 happened, where I blindly followed the guys and dropped a 531.  While I wish that I could say that 5:40 is my goal half marathon pace, I knew that I wasn’t ready for that kind of pacing today.  So I had just split faster than my overall 10k pace a couple weekends ago.  I relaxed, and let the boys go, and ran another 5:42 in no mans land.  Respectable.

By the halfway point turnaround, I arrogantly thought I had a nice cushion over the second place girl.  I was wrong. Kimberlie Meeker (hopefully my new training partner when I move) was merely 15-20 meters back...if I was lucky!  So, I told myself that all I had to do was maintain 5:50s and that I could probably hold her off.  By mile 9, she had made her way to me because I ran 6:01, and by mile 10, when she passed me, you can tell exactly where I mentally fell apart and stopped caring and started rationalized and doing all the things I tell myself never to do.  I ran a 6:19 split for mile 10.  It’s basically where she got 19 seconds on me that were maintained through the finish, because after that I tried my damnedest to get the pace back down to below 6:00.  Eventually I did, but the damage was already done...Kimberlie finished in 1:17:35 and I followed 20 seconds later.

I definitely wasn’t thrilled with my race execution - with almost a 1:17 positive split for the second half of the race, but I was only 5 seconds off of my half marathon PR.  I’ve really been enjoying the shorter distances, and I didn’t enjoy this one too much at all.  This race just affirms that the half marathon is a really tough distance for me to wrap my mind around but also that a marathon is not something I want to do anytime soon.  I really want to focus April and May on doing what I need to do to run a 1:15:xx half marathon, because I know it’s in my wheel house, I just haven’t put all the pieces of the puzzle together yet.

Other news from the race - Kimberlie got a PR and is trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials.  I reassured her that, given her recent performance, she should definitely be able to do that.  Michelle got third and brought home both $450 and a PR.  Aaron pulled in some masters cash, so all of the Charlotte people left richer, which is always fun!

Also, Garrett and I checked out basically all the neighborhoods in Durham and tried to narrow down our house rental search to just a couple of hoods.  We are thinking now Hope Valley or downtown, but it’s looking like suburbia is calling our name because of the safety and accessibility to running trails.

Salem Lake Run

Goal:
15 miles with 3-4 miles at 6:30-6:10

Actual:
15.5 miles with 3 miles at 6:20-6:07

I had scheduled my final portion of the Wake Forest TRAILS study for today so I figured a trip to my old stomping grounds at Salem Lake was in order.  To make things more exciting, Aaron called me the day before and asked if I wanted to go on a field trip since we both had the day off from work.  He was down with going to Salem with me and then hanging out at Wake while I finished the study.

At Salem, a light drizzle and overcast sky greeted us as we pulled into the parking lot.  Thomas rolled up and we all got on our way, with Aaron starting first on the bike.  Straight out of the gate, we were rolling sub-7:00s easily, hitting 6:50 like it was easy.  I guess the cooler temperatures are helping my paces feel easier and easier.  After one lake loop, we headed out for an out-and-back portion to the 3.75 mark and back.  With Thomas on the bike, and Aaron now pacing me, I quietly picked up the pace after we passed the 3 mile mark and continued pushing until the turn around point.  Since I didn't wear my Garmin, I just guessed on our pace and was only able to get one of our splits (6:07) through the 3 miles.  After we "finished" the tempo portion, we still ran 6:30 and 6:38 for our "cool down." My guess is that my estimated pace for the tempo is a little slower than it actually was.

Down Ladder at the JCSU Track

Goal:
2000m, 1600m, 1200m, 800m, 400m w/ 400m rest

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup to JCSU
2000m (5:45 through mile), 1600m (5:29), 1200m (4:01 - all in 80), 800m (2:36 - 78/78), 400m (70), 400m (72) w/ 400m jog rest
2.5 mile cool down for ~10 Miles total

pm: 5 miles for 15 miles total for day

The 5:10AM alarm this morning was much easier to wake up to, knowing that Laurie was coming to my house for the warmup.  Given that there was basically no way out of this workout without dramatically affecting Laurie's workout, I hopped out of bed immediately to begin my preparations.  Somehow I had extra time to spare and I found myself sweeping the floor before heading out the door.  The warmup was uneventful, and we made it to the track where we found AJ waiting for us.  Not long thereafter, Aaron, Jesse, Charlie and Mike all showed up and the two separate groups began their respective workouts. 

Laurie and I were solo, so we alternated leads for each interval, and I was up first for the 2000m.  I took us out entirely too slow (93) and found myself making up for it on the remaining laps.  In the end, we came through in our target pace of 5:45.  For the mile, Laurie lead us through a solid time of 5:29 and I felt like my breathing was out of whack.  I didn't want the workout to be doomed due to my labored breathing, so I accounted it to the humidity and not my lack of fitness.  Fortunately, for the remainder of the workout, I felt comfortable and confident and....fast!  After the first 9 laps of works were completed, the workout was much easier to handle as we only had 6 laps left.  Since the boys had 400s, we waited for them for our last interval, and I tucked right in with Mike and took us out at what I would consider a blistering pace of 70.  In my Nike Pegasus trainers, that was basically all out for me, but it felt almost effortless.  I would actually consider it fun, which is an adjective I thought I'd never use in the near future to describe a track workout. Since I'm an overachiever, I decided to add on another 400m since the guys had one more to go.  Although this went against the prescribed workout, I didn't want to pass up another opportunity to potentially beat the guys.  This "una mas" interval wasn't as fast as my other one, but the effort was still there.

Overall, this workout is a positive indicator that my fitness is indeed where I want it to be.  I felt relaxed and maintained what I consider to be some solid times.  Admittedly, though, I am looking forward to a long weekend in California with my sister where I don't have to get up at 5:00AM

Wave Tempo

Goal:
10 Mile Wave in 5:55/6:25

Actual:
2.3 mile warmup
10 Mile Wave in 5:55/6:45
2 mile cool down for 14.3 miles total
2:58/3:00 (5:58)
3:23/3:20 (6:43)
2:56/2:57 (5:53)
3:30/3:30 (7:00)
3:03/2:59 (6:02)
3:20/3:16 (6:36)
2:55/2:59 (5:54)
3:24/3:20 (6:44)
2:56/3:00 (5:56)
3:40/3:20 (7:00)

Aaron had a similar workout to what Mark had on my schedule, so I decided to go down to his neck of the woods and run with him at McMullen in the morning.  While my confidence is still coming back, I really practiced going into this workout with some positive energy and trust that I could accomplish a solid effort of work for 10 miles.  Fortunately, my mental planning paid off because I was able to hit a pretty decent wave workout. Contrast this to two weeks ago, when I set out to do a 10 mile tempo and really just ended up running a 5 mile tempo at slower than my goal marathon pace.  Figures how a 20 degree drop in temperature and 14 days of iron supplementation can really come through.  While I do feel like my iron is probably coming back to a fairly normal level, I still don't know for sure and my times still aren't reflecting that I'm 100% better.  Typically for this type of workout, my "slower" portion would be between 6:20-6:30 and I was a bit off of that today.  However, I am excited by my faster splits because this was the first time that I've run 6:00 pace and had it feel easy.  In fact, for the very first interval, I thought that maybe we were too slow, but we came through right on pace for 6:00.  Despite the small improvement, it's enough to keep me smiling.  Looking forward to my next workout 3x2 mile later this week.

Tempo Success!

Goal:
10 Mile Tempo at 600-605

Actual:
3 miles warmup
8 miles at 6:32 average (fastest split was only 6:20)
2 miles cool down at 7:00 pace

pm:  4.5 miles for 17.5 miles total for day

I could choose to look at this workout as a fail, but I chose to look at it as a success.  I didn't give up and I did what I could with what I've got.  And what I've got is low iron and an annoying hamstring.  Fortunately yesterday, Dr. Greenapple was kind enough to spend over an hour with me, performing ART, cupping, acupuncture and finally kinesio tape.  I know that the treatment will start working it magic in a couple of days, not overnight.  So, regardless, my hamstring was still a little tight and tired from general overuse combined with strength exercises from the night before by the time I met up with Aaron at McMullen.

Aaron's legs were tired from a couple of back-to-back high mileage weeks, so he was okay with whatever I had in the tank.  We ran through the perfectly flat trail at McMullen, not really looking at splits and still keeping up some semblance of a conversation.  I could still talk, but my legs felt like glue.  Sure, it was fabulous and I didn't hit my goal times, but I cranked through.  Right now, finding the motivation to complete a workout is tough since I know the time will be slower, but if I just get in the effort, everything will fall into place in a couple of weeks. I left this workout trusting that I got in a good effort (can 6:20 on low ferritin equate to 5:55 with normal ferritin?  I think so)

After 8 miles of work, we slowed it down a bit to cool down and both of us were equally happy to be done with the up tempo portion. Some days are meant to feel harder than others and today was definitely like that, but I still came out of it feeling really positive about how I approached the workout and how I got in some uptempo work!

5 Mile Tempo

Goal:
5 Mile tempo in 5:50-5:55

Actual:
3.3 mile warmup
5 mile tempo in 6:02 pace (6:18, 6:03, 5:58, 5:56, 5:54)
2 mile cool down for 10+ miles total

45 minutes of dance lesson

Today was muggy.  Real muggy.  Considering the fact that I wanted to drop out of this tempo after two miles, I would say that this was an accomplishment because I ran the entire workout.  Fortunately, the company of Spada, Caleb and Aaron helped tremendously and was 100% of the reason why I did not drop out.  In fact, Spada and Caleb pulled away after 1.5 miles and I just hung onto Aaron as best I could.  The first mile went out to so freaking slow because no one else was willing to help me with the pace and my efforts to push it weren't getting us anywhere any faster.  At one point, while Aaron was talking excitedly, Spada said matter-of-factly: "Aaron.  Is Caitlin talking?  She's working.  She's give you one line responses."  And Aaron shut right up.  Not that I mind listening to Aaron.  In fact, I kind of like his uncanny ability to keep a workout lively.  After that, Aaron just kept me company by being my trusty sidekick.  I thought of how the tables had turned.  Last time I worked out with Aaron, I felt awesome and was the motivation that kept him going until the end.  This time, I was the one hurting massively.  I think that I ran a faster five mile split in the last bit of that 14-mile steady state I did.  Oh well, workouts are all relative.  Today wasn't the greatest, it was muggy, and my legs were tired.  I'm hoping the pep will return for the mile repeats workout I've got set for Friday.

1000m Repeats in Dilworth

Goal:
8x1000m at 320-324 with 2 min rest

Actual:
21 min warmup for 2.7 miles


3:33 (200)
3:23 (202)
3:26 (158)
3:24 (201)
3:22 (200)
3:24 (1:57)
3:22 (201)
3:22

25 min cool down for 3.3 miles for 11.3 miles total

I'm busy catching up on my blog posts.  It's been a rather crazy week as I am swamped at work, looking for a new car to buy as Redbird is dying on me, and spending time with Garrett. 

This workout was early in the morning hours and we finished the 1000m repeats before the sun had even come up.  There really isn't much to report here except that it was really humid and that I contemplated dropping out of the workout.  I didn't want the boys to completely own me so I kept at it and finished the entire planned workout.  It's always hardest to get past that mental barried of thinking that you can't do it, when in reality you can.  It's all a matter of believing in yourself and tricking your mind into thinking that your body doesn't actually hurt nearly as much as it thinks. 

It was nice to have Aaron around because he hung back with me for a couple when I really thought I was struggling, when in reality Spada and Billy were just having a great workout and I was still hitting my goal times.  With such little rest and following my first weekly mileage of 80 miles, I'm glad I finished this workout within my target range of times.  Next up I've got a 5 mile wave tempo on Friday.

9 Mile Tempo at McAlpine

Goal:
9 mile progression tempo starting at 630 and getting faster

Actual:
2 miles warmup
9 mile tempo in 54:45 with splits of 6:20, 6:17, 6:13, 6:11, 5:55, 5:58, 6:02, 5:58, 5:48
2 miles cool down

I've woken up early every single day for the past three weeks, and this morning was no different.  In fact, I've gotten on this new kick where I want to wake up every day at 5:20am and be out the door by 5:45 for whatever run I've got on tap.  This means that I should be getting to bed earlier, but my boyfriend is just too endearing for me to pass up a conversation with after his baseball games.  Even with a later bedtime, I've been getting 7-8 hours of sleep regularly and sleeping like a baby for every single second of those hours.  This morning, I woke up to the sound of my alarm and put my running clothes on in the dark and performed my normal morning rituals before heading out to the Old Bell entrance of McAlpine.

I had a nice crew of company this morning for the tempo:  Adrian Stewart, Jason Martin, Aaron Linz, and Billy Shue.  We only did a two mile warmup with a bigger group that was doing an easy run and started from the Old Bell mark, ran to the 4 mile mark, turned around, jumped on the last mile of the course, and headed back to where we started from.

The whole crew of us worked together through 3 miles before Aaron split off to catch us on the back end and Billy and I continued to pick up the pace so eventually AJ and Jason slowly slipped behind us, but not by much!  Billy and I ran side by side for miles 3-6 and it was fun to work together with him as we both maintained a solid pace.  Since I am Billy's coach, I was paying attention to his breathing because he's been ordered to take a down week to give his body a rest from all the racing he's been doing.  I could tell that he was fine, but didn't want him to over do it so I determined he would only do 6 miles.

On my end, everything felt fantastic except for my legs.  They just felt heavier than usual. All other components felt absolutely fantastic though! My form, my breathing, and my confidence were all right there and I knew that I could power through the tempo with some solid times with my tired legs.

After 6 miles, Billy stopped as I had instructed him to do so, and Aaron picked me up to join me for the last third of the work out.  Aaron had all sorts of energy and although my breathing wasn't very labored, I wasn't ready to expend my energy talking.  We exchanged some words and his energy helped motivate me.  I really wanted to run sub-6 in those final three miles so I utilized Jordan Kinley's tactics by telling myself that I only had 18 minutes left of running and kept counting down.  Before I knew it, the mile marker was suddenly there and I told Aaron "UNA MAS" and we powered it in.  I closed in a 5:48 which is really great considering it's mid-summer.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this workout because I was able to progressively get faster on a pair of tired legs.  I love how even though everyone had varying types of a tempo today we were able to make it work so that we would be able to help push each other at varying points of the work out.  I love running tempos with other people because it makes the time go by faster and it's always fun to hear how everyone else did.  Jason and AJ had a really solid 6 mile tempo and Aaron helped me out for my latter part.  I could get used to him just running for fun because I keep getting him all to myself in workouts.  It's definitely very nice of him to keep my company.

I'm hoping that I can keep this momentum moving forward until August, when I'm racing the 13.1 Minneapolis with Meagan Nedlo.   The key through this month of July is to maintain my mileage in the upper-70s and to listen to my body as the weather begins to get hotter and more humid.

Fortunately, I get to spend the weekend in Asheville with my parents this weekend.  The following weekend I'll escape some of the NC heat and head to upstate New York to see Garrett for the last time this summer.  Just a short week later, I'll head to California to visit my sister. Obviously July is a month filled with travel for me, but it will be well worth it as I'm spending it with my favorite boy and my family! I am looking forward to running in new places!

3x2 Mile at McAlpine

Goal:
3x2 mile at 11:50 or faster with 400m rest

Actual:
~3 miles warmup
2x2 mile at 11:42 (550, 552) and 11:29 (5:39, 5:50) with 3 min rest,
1.5 mile in 8:50 (5:50, 3:00) with 2 min rest
800m in 2:41
~3 miles cool down for 12 miles total

Not much to report on this workout except that I was lucky enough to have Aaron help me out, who just ran a PR at Grandma's Marathon 6 days ago.  It was really hot and muggy this morning and, after the first interval, Billy and I both agreed that it was rather difficult to breathe in the conditions.

We ran from the mile 1 mark to mile 3 mark on the McAlpine Greenway portion for the first interval.  For the second, we turned around at the 3 mile mark and ran back to the 1 mile mark. I started like a bat out of hell with a 2:44 first 800m and tried my best to keep the pace honest over the course of the next 1.5 miles until Aaron jumped in.  He motivated me to keep on going and I was able to muster a 5:50 second mile for that. It was so hot that I didn't even bother doing a jog rest.  I just walked around and jogged when I felt like it.

For the third interval, I was hanging on for dear life.  I went through the mile in 5:50, turned around at the start at Old Bell, and passed through the 800m mark in 3:00.  I decided it would be easier for me mentally to walk away from this workout by stopping at the 1.5 mile mark, resting, and then running a fast 800m.

That's exactly what I did.

Aaron and I took it out in 80 seconds for the first 400m and as we rounded through the soft section near Old Bell, I tried my hardest to maintain the same pace as Aaron took off ahead of me.  I ran an 81 for that second half and finished feeling pretty good about the workout.  I'd like to be able to complete the whole workout without modifications next time, but this was a good alternative for my level of comfort today with the humidity.

I enjoyed a nice cool down jog with Jason Martin, Aaron, and Billy before jumping into the car and getting home in time for a meeting at work.

Pre Race Workout Fun

Goal:
8-6-4-2 getting faster on each one

Actual:
3.2 miles warmup
Time - Distance - Pace
8:00 - 1.36 - 5:53 (uphill)
6:00 - 1.04 - 5:46 (flat)
4:00 - .75 - 5:20 (flat/downhill)
2:00 - .37 - 5:24 (flat/uphill)
3 miles cool down for 10.6 miles total


This workout was a lot of fun because it featured two people that I don't typically work out with! Alice Rogers and Aaron both came out to my house during the early morning hour of 6am to run down the greenway and onto the Booty Loop for a little pre-race fun.  Aaron just wanted to get his wheels rolling for Grandma's Marathon and Alice just wanted to hang out with us before she goes to the Jackson Hole Half Marathon.  Will Isenhour met us as well and we all embarked on our warmup together until we made it to the Booty Loop.


There really isn't too much to report except that I ran on feel and effort alone and just wanted to get faster on each interval.  The hills were great to run hard on to mentally prepare for the Running of the Bulls 8k rolling course.  Overall, my legs felt really good and relatively recovered from the China Grove 5k.  I was most surprised that on the cool down they didn't feel as run down as I had expected.  The quicker that I recover after work outs indicates how much better shape I am in, so I'm hoping that my legs feel fresh and light tomorrow as I become accustomed to my work out routine. 


I am hoping that Alice works out with me more as she begins her training for the Chicago Marathon in hopes to qualify for the Trials.  I know she can do it and want to be an integral piece to help her achieve that goal!

Shortened Long Run at American Tobacco Trail

Goal: 13 miles
Actual: 11 miles

After a weekend of fun with the Bullocks in Greenville and a couple days of running on my own, I was ready for some company on a run and opted to run with Addie Bracy at the American Tobacco Trail in Apex, NC. I woke up at 640am and got all my stuff, including my cat, packed into the car so that I could meet Addie and Aaron by 930am. Turns out that I completely overestimated how long the drive would take and arrived at the trail at 9am. Fortunately, Addie drove over as soon as she could so we could start a little bit earlier.

The conversation was great as Addie told me about her Chicago marathon experience and her running goals. We also exchanged stories about socially awkward runners. Addie trains completely on her own and, to me, that makes her that much more of a stud. She trains 99% on her own and pushes her mind to the limits every workout because she doesn't have any obligation to meet someone out there on the trail every day, so that means she must will herself out of pure dedication. Fortunately for me, willing myself out of bed in the early hours of the morning is a bit easier when I know that I'll be meeting a group of my five closest friends in Charlotte. I think that all of the runners in Charlotte who have a dedicated group to run with should not take this for granted. You are very lucky to have such great company on runs because not everyone has that luxury!

Enough preaching. Luckily the conversation helped the time go by pretty quickly, and, judging from how my legs felt at 11 miles, I think we dipped under 7 min pace for a couple of the last miles. They just felt tired and sore so I opted to veer off to the parking lot when Addie called it quits.

I had planned on running 13 miles to hit 50 miles for the week, but instead opted for 11 miles to top off at a whopping 48. I figure it's best now to be smart and take things easy instead of rushing my mind or body.