Good List Week 16
West Essex Trail
I signed up for another 5k (and am leaning towards a 10k as well) in order to keep myself running - I am very external validation oriented. Feeling a bit tired of Brookdale Park I explored other options in my area and recalled the West Essex Trail - an old railroad line that's been converted to a walking, running and biking trail. It's well maintained, flat, and soft dirt which makes it ideal for long runs. The scenery is lovely, especially on a warm summer day, as the trail slices through the backyards of suburban houses, small businesses, and even crosses a small highway over an old railroad bridge.
The total length is about 3 miles, which means for a 10k I'd run a full loop one way and then back again. I like that this provides a physical gauge of training progress, as I slowly add distance to my runs.
Karaoke
I organized a karaoke outing with friends last week, which I was quite nervous about - I have long held insecurities over my voice, especially singing. Going with trusted friends gave me the psychological safety necessary to open up, and that I did, belting out Mr Brightside, Ice Ice Baby, and All the Small Things. It may be that I am reading a book on evolutionary biology/psychology (Moral Evolutions), because I began to see the communal emotional outlet of group making music and singing together. Certainly seeing my friends (and myself) express themselves so openly and honestly was deeply nurturing for me.
Climbing
Rounding out the week's adventures I went to a local climbing gym with my girlfriend. I had climbed once before, so had some basic idea of what I was doing, but clearly I had forgotten just how darn challenging it is to do even basic climbs. We started with bouldering, floundering around v0s and v1s, until Maria succeeded in finishing a climb. Before, I was hesitant about climbing too high and falling, but after a switch in me flipped (Maria said she could see my eyes changed) and I immediately scrambled up the wall to finish the same climb. The competitive spirit within me runs deep, clearly.
We tried our hands at several of the easy bouldering climbs, and then moved onto rock climbing. I managed to climb about a third up the wall before jumping down, which I practiced repeatedly (perfect opportunity to face/accept/float a strong fear!). Maria went way up the wall, which my competitiveness was uninterested in besting, overridden by the height.
After seeing how much we both enjoyed the experience (for similar and different reasons), we are definitely going back. Climbing meets some real psychological and physical needs: healthy risk and excitement, team-work, and goal accomplishment.
Good List
And that leads me to the Good List itself. I can't believe I've kept at it for 16 weeks, or 4 months. It's been motivating in a positive way, as I have found I both look forward to posting what I've been up to, as well as challenging myself to try new experiences to post about. Maybe influencer is a potential career change for me, haha.
I have decided to take a break from the posts, to give myself some time and space to reflect on the process (maybe irregular one offs instead of strict weeklies), and to focus my time and attention on writing my new recovery series, which is currently near and dear to my heart.
Side note: the Good List Visualizer has been updated to include these new entries.