Why am I doing this again? Blogging re-awakened.

One of my very first posts in here was about my joy of writing which was triggered by a gift of a diary with a lock and key when I was about 11. That gift sprouted and blossomed into a near-without-fail daily diary writing session, usually at night, for about the next six or seven years - all through junior high and high school!

I have a huge appreciation for numbers and data, but my passion leans more towards the written word. I can "do" data analysis and can build a mean pivot table or other somewhat fancy stuff in Excel, but if I had my choice I'd choose Word. Except for the Table wizard feature in Word - pure evil. "Feature" might be too complimentary a way to describe that function.

Anyway, moving on. I hit the gym today as I am trying to get ready to run another 5K later in March. We're back to rain today so it's the treadmill on a 2% incline again with the iPod cranked. This is a big day of football and I had the funny advantage of being able to watch one of the games (with no sound) on the treadmill TV of someone kitty corner to me in the next row up, while I rebelled and had my own treadmill channel on Curling. Yes, Curling. I've never understood the fascination with that game but a few of the guys competing were really hot so it was a nice distraction.

Have you ever become friends with co-workers and promised to keep in touch when one (or both) leaves the company but you just drift apart maybe after chatting on the phone or getting together a couple of times? Somehow the connection was too weak or slippery and it just fades out. Nothing wrong with that - it just happens.

I've been blessed with a couple of rare, treasured friends who through sheer coincidence of working with or near them have inspired me to push myself and really grow through sports - hockey and running, specifically. And through running came...blogging. Perhaps it's more like blogging re-discovered.

D happened to be on a work team right near the office I was in at the time, even though we didn't work together at all. Through her, I got into hockey. And for those of you who know me either in real life or through fivenineteen here, you know how important that outlet is to me. She and I are not in as close of contact as we used to be, but we keep in touch on Facebook. If you're reading this, D, my hugest hugs and thanks to you for asking me that one day back in '03 or so: "...hey, do you want to do this beginner hockey clinic with me?"

P got me into running. She introduced me to a training program called Couch to 5K last year. With a program name like that...well, how can you not help laughing a little? Obviously, it's designed for beginner runners to get their butts off the couch and start running! Oh, and I should mention that P and I used to work at the same company but not in the same group. We just happened to have similar job titles and got acquainted that way. I later got RIF'd from that company, sadly, but P and I promised to keep in touch and we've become great friends even though I haven't worked where she is in over a year and a half. Thank you, P!

The Couch to 5K program is an 8-week plan to get a beginner-level runner jogging about 3 miles (or approximately a 5K), 3 times a week. The first few weeks are short intervals of walking and jogging and the jogging intervals increase week to week. The idea is that it is gradual AND only 3 times a week was a huge plus for me. It's not designed to kill you or leave you frustrated, burnt out or injured.

I started the program last year and on a random whim also started writing in Facebook's Notes section about the C25K plan and my progress week to week. And, I added in a few funny things that had happened along the way, such as getting fitted for new running shoes and having the sales guy freak out at how badly I supinate (roll to the outside when walking), or getting lost trying to find what I thought would be an easy location to meet up with P's Running Club last summer.

To my surprise, people started commenting on my Notes posts in Facebook! I about fell out of my chair in shock! People are actually READING this (and liking it)? And no, no checks were mailed either, ha ha.

After my last work assignment wrapped up in late July I had more time on my hands and started thinking more about getting a full-blown Blog of my own launched. It's definitely possible that had I not been unemployed last summer I might not have been inspired to do this! Now, blogging here is a labor of love and doesn't pay the bills - oh damn a girl can dream but that's another post - but I've had a lot of fun and am surprised how much there is to blab about in here!

So, whether you're here on purpose or sheer accident, welcome - and welcome back. And thanks for your support!