The Return

Hey there! It’s been awhile. It’s been over a month since my last post. And I was doing so well with my blogging routine.

I got a nasty case of laryngitis right after my last post (that’s the last time I eat chips and salsa from and open bar). It knocked me down than an illness has done in a long time. I couldn’t speak for a week. I’m the kind of person who likes to speak to myself while pottering around the house or figuring something out at work. I also react out loud to books, movies and tv shows, so that was painful. And, because I have asthma, it turned into a cough that lasted another two weeks.

Normally with a cold, I can carry on at a less intense pace, but I can continue mostly as normal. But I couldn’t even look at words or lift my crochet hook. And crochet is my go-to activity when I need to keep my mind off feeling miserable.

Finally the soreness faded and a bit of energy returned – but that cough lingered.

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile, you’ll know that on the 12th of August was the City2Surf in Sydney. I’d been training for it before I got sick, but then I was only able to do some short walks and bodyweight exercises.

In the end, I did walk the 14km with my sister – coughing a bit here and there – and made the finish line in just over three hours.

Next year, I’d really like to run the race!

For beyondblue I raised $448 of my long-reach of $1000. Not too bad with my sporadic spruiking of the cause. The donation page is still open until the 12th of September, so there’s still time if you’re inclined to donate a dollar or five to the cause. I’d be grateful for the support.

As I write this post, I’ve fully recovered. I went on an hour long run yesterday (Ignore the fact that 30% was walked). Just because the City2Surf is over for the year, doesn’t mead my running journey is over! I want to be able to comfortably run that 14km next year, and there are many other fun runs held in Sydney that I can run in.

One thing I’ve noticed in the last two months since specifically tailoring my fitness towards running (rather than, ‘I guess I should exercise. It’s healthy, right?’), is how much it has helped my mental health. At some point in the future, I’d like to write a post on exercise and mental health, and my personal journey with the two.

Anyway, that’s what’s been up in my personal life, and why I stopped posting this past month. Tomorrow I’ll be back to my read-through of Moby Dick, and I’ve joined in the series of posts called Calendar Girls, hosted by Darque Dreamer Reads and Never Not Reading. I thought it would be a good idea to share other things that I like to read so this is the perfect excuse. The theme for September is ‘Best Novel Set in School’. I have so many ideas, so I can’t wait to share some of my favourite books! Keep an eye out on Monday, September 3rd for my post.

Moving forward, I’d ideally like to build a schedule where my posts are written up a week ahead so that when I get sick (or busy) there won’t be as much of a gap as there was this time.

To those still reading, thanks for sticking around, and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Astrid