The Point in Which I Cram Way Too Much Crap into One Day

I may very well be the only person on this planet who gets stressed out over lists--any kind of list, not just the straightforward "to do" versions but anything that requires any kind of action on my part.

I have lists of library books on hold for me that if I don't check out, they will go to the next person in the queue; I have a giant list on my TiVo of things that, if I don't watch soon, will be deleted; I have a list of things to do freelance-wise; a list of things that need to be done in the garden, before spring turns into summer; a list of people waiting for me to finish this draft of my novel so they can read it; a packing list of items we will need for our trip to Paris next week; a list of things to do to prep the house for our housesitters. The list goes on! All this, on top of my usual weekly "To Do" list.

I'm becoming manic the older I get. My days are spent in hourly, half-hourly or quarter-hourly increments as I try and cram as much shit as I possibly can into one day which results in reading books while brushing and flossing my teeth and scanning media headlines on my laptop while clearing off shows on the TiVo or writing scenes in my head while playing "Candyland" with Mr. Na.

And yet, the funny thing is, if you asked me, "What've you been up to lately?" I'll reply my usual "Not much" because really, all of this stuff just gets absorbed somewhere in the recesses of my brain and goes dormant. I retain nothing! I get characters and real people confused and the lines between fact and fiction become blurred.

This is probably why I enjoy running so much. It's the only time I get to clear my head and oddly enough, while my body moves rapidly, my mind slows down. Strange, too because the time in-between runs, when I move at warp speed, I'm forgetful. Take, for instance, yesterday: I took Moofie with us to the lake to run but I forgot her leash, so the poor dog had to sit in the car and wait until I was done; I forgot my shopping list (thankful that Pa was working home so he could e-mail it to me); forgot my purse at Mr. Na's preschool; and I forgot my sunglasses in my friend's babyjogger.

Running clears all of the clutter and noise out of my head and I'm able to focus on a few things (i.e, my breathing and stride) rather than a few thousand. It's actually easier for me to relax during my runs than it is to lie in "Savasana" ("corpse pose") when I practice yoga.

Over the last five weeks, I've shifted my training from simply running to include biking and swimming in preparation for the triathlon in July. And while the crosstraining, overall, has been fabulous, I really miss the long runs I was doing before the marathon. Long bike rides, for me, doesn't give me the same mental space for some reason and so it doesn't give me the same satisfaction.

I guess I'm weird like that! As if you didn't know!