Bloody plans!

The weekend may be over but I am still feeling the benefits of a good long run yesterday and some time off with my little wifey.

On Saturday I finally conceded to Catherine that having a plan for your day off is a good thing. This came about because I was feeling miserable after having a productive morning of household chores. Cleaning is enough to make most people grumpy, but mine was appearing because of a different cause. I've discovered that my anxiety stems from a need to do something important with my life. By not having a plan I worry more about insignificant things and let anxiety take over, rendering me unable to act and generally not wanting to interact with anyone. It all used to be so easy when I was twenty!

After talking (yes shock horror) about how I was feeling to Catherine, I conceded that having a plan for the day meant that I was able to visualise what goals were to be achieved and knew that I was using my time wisely. Even though this was as simple as saying "coffee at Rosie's till 3pm, then head into Bondi Junction for towels before heading home at 6pm to get ready to go out", I felt more relaxed as a result. I never thought that I would say this, but being organised and having a plan can help you to avoid a great deal of stress. My productivity has improved as a result too because I know what I need to do and when. I have even pulled out my diary in order to write things down rather than use my phone for everything. This is purely because I like to write and I think it embeds itself in my brain much better when writing out appointments or reminders rather than typing them into my iPhone.

After a busy Saturday and a great big feast of carbs with friends in the evening we were both ready for a good long run on Sunday morning. Well I was ready, but Catherine certainly wasn't. This is not the norm let me tell you. Catherine is normally the one that is bouncing around like Tigger in the morning, whilst I am much more like Eeyore. But this was a welcome change and after a little time Catherine got into it and enjoyed the off road running around the outside of Centennial Park. After five miles we went our separate ways and I ran a satisfyingly swift second five to finish back at home. A delicious brunch at our local cafe X74 was a welcome reward for our efforts and made me remember what I like about running, the eating!

I am now entered into three events for the year. Glow Worm trail marathon, Blacktown marathon and Tough Mudder later in the year. What makes me happy about this is that only one of them is serious and the other two are for 'enjoyment'. I admit it is a strange form of enjoyment, but the beers after are oh so sweet because of the pain ;)

I won't bore you with too much more, but I just want to say thank you to Nick and all the other friends that contacted me recently. It is becoming easier to talk about my problems, even if it is just the start of a new plan to manage them. I suppose now I feel slightly less stupid when I write about these feelings and open up to people. I've known friends that haven't been able to do that and they have ended up a lot worse off for it.

As a reminder to ask those close to you I will start signing off a little differently from today. We can all be busy, but it doesn't take long to ask "are you ok?"

Tom :)