I am sure he will forgive me, but I always read thingsThisWeek by Maique and like the idea of small updates of the things I have been up to. So without further fuss, here’s mine.
This week was ups and downs as usual. Filled full of some working and some days off due to bank holidays and skilfully timed annual leave. I spent a lot of it trying to relax, failing, and also trying to run a little more.
I hope you all have a great week this week, and you know where I am if you need me. 🤙
After months of carrying around my notebook constantly. Through thick and thin, whatever the occasion. Do you know what killed it? Summer. My field notes and everyday inspiration cover doesn’t really fit with my baggy summer shorts, and that kind of sucks.
Months on end, this thing stuck with me. Containing all my notes, thoughts, blog post ideas and most importantly all the things I have to do. Now it’s just on my desk at work and comes out every now and again if I have a meeting. Perhaps I am going to have to change my wardrobe for next year.
Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t care. Unlike all the apps on my phone, it’s not pinging and prodding me to pick it up if I put it doesn’t for more than 5 minutes. I just feel bad for not experiencing all the positives it had brought me. I won’t go into them here, but it’s safe to say a notebook is the biggest improvement I made in my life for a long time.
I do find it a bit silly that something as silly as a slightly bulging pocket ruins it. So I’m trying to make a concerted effort to get back into the habit. The summer weather in the UK has been a bit crap this year, so I will probably be back in jeans by next week.
I’ve always liked the idea of a digital garden, even tried to set one up a few times, but never really managed to make one stick. Well, perhaps that’s not strictly true, I do have one in Apple notes, but it’s not a published one.
The appeal comes from my note-taking itself. I write them obsessively, about anything and everything. They evolve all the time. Get overwritten, rewritten and added too as much as new ones sprout up, and that is perhaps what I would like my blog to be.
Blog posts are often seen as rigid things. An unmoving line in the dirt of what we think and the things we believe in. Whereas, much like my note-taking, the thoughts, and motivations for them evolve and change. They age just like the rest of our thoughts. The things we write and publish online should not be thought of as rigid things. Instead of being pushed out to the world at one point, they should be allowed to change over time.
This style of note-taking is typically referred to as Evergreen notes by those that like to tend their online digital gardens. They fluctuate far more than your traditional blog posts, and can offer much more in return. Blog posts, however, are the opposite. Deciduous, if you will. Sure, you can go back and update blog posts or link to new ones, but they are typically just left to stagnate. Left as a reflection of one point in time. Barely revisited. Wilting away. Which kind of makes me sad.
I’m not sure what has caused this feeling. These motivations have existed for a while, but never quite reached this level of motivation, my desire to ditch my phone has reached the levels I have never experienced before, and I’ve gone and done it. For the next 4 weeks, at least, I will be back to using a flip phone, so I figured I might as well get some blog posts (and entertainment) out of it while I navigate this weirdness.
A week or so ago, I was doing the yearly practice of trying to work out when the new iPhone should come out, and when the best time to sell my current version would be. It’s a fine line between having to use a backup phone for a while and getting the most for a device that will drop in price the closer to the iPhone event we get. I usually go back to using my trusty first generation iPhone SE for a week or so, and by the end of it I am ready to throw it in the bin. This year, my SE has not risen from the ashes, and so I’ve opted for something more radical.
Listen, I’ve been banging on about hating my phone but needing to use it for ages, but never done anything drastic before. I’m uncertain if it is because I’m reading Stolen Focus by Johann Hart presently, or I’m just getting my yearly internet annoyance period. Whatever the motivation for it is, my SIM card is now in a Nokia 2660 Flip phone that cost me a whole £25. Well, actually two of them are, my work phone and my personal number because this phone is Dual sim (and that’s about the only useful thing about it).
In the first few hours, I’ve already had a panic because I couldn’t check how much money was in my bank account before I made a purchase. I’ve also been teased relentlessly by my wife and son for daring to take a call in public on it, but I think I am getting there. I will no doubt hit numerous road blocks along the way, and might end up stomping into town to buy a cheap iPhone, but it will be amusing for everyone to watch (or read about) anyway.
As most people will already be aware, I’m running the London Marathon to raise funds for the Epilepsy Society. A charity very close to my heart. Although the run isn’t until April 2024, I need to start ramping up my running in preparation and unfortunately, this is proving more difficult than I thought.
In December 2021, I got my third COVID-19 vaccine, the so-called winter booster. This started one of the biggest issues I’ve had to overcome in my life because it threw my life into chaos. I’d not experienced any side effects to the other two shots, but immediately following this one I didn’t feel myself and still don’t. After a few weeks of suffering, I discovered I had issues with my heart and lungs, leaving me unable to even walk very far without feeling out of breath.
This was devastating to me. I’ve always been active, raising money for charity and running was one of my favourite things to do. The inability to do much affected my mental health and my family, and that still continues to this day. Although I am much better than I have been, running and placing too much stress on my system has been frustrating.
I thought that these issues were starting to wear off, but as soon as I’ve tried to run again, doing anything but a mild pace results in my lungs hating me for days afterwards. So I’m trying to take this really slow and steady, but I think the pace I used to run at is ingrained in my legs.
I’m aiming to run the 26.2 miles in around 4:30, which is slow but a pace achievable for me. This is a little over 10 minute miles or 6:23 kilometres. My plan was to start off at this pace and increase my mileage very slowly over time. Yet, trying to slow myself down for my bodies sake, takes too much concentration at the minute. Any time I try to switch off and enjoy the run, my legs start speeding up again!
Within a few minutes, I realise I’m going too fast because my lungs are telling me off and I have to slow down again. It’s a ridiculous problem to have, and one that results in me running around a minute per km too fast. This has also put some stress on my body that I didn’t want, and my breathing is suffering at the minute. There is no question about me keeping going, but I may have underestimated the effort needed. As well, as its effects on the rest of my life.