Breathe

It's like holding your breath. You tighten your muscles until your face turns red. And then, when you finally release that breath, your shoulders slouch so much you almost fall forward. That's what the last weeks before going on leave feel like. You try to keep it together although every cell in your body is screaming at you to stop and relax already, because you know that if you exhale too soon, your colleagues might have to send you home a sobbing mess.

So much to do before going on leave. So many things to put in order so that you don't have to face a mountain of work on your first day back in August.

The weather is helping, of course. Cold, drab, windy, not the kind of weather that distracts you from your tasks. Still, there is a worry that this kind of weather is here to stay throughout your vacation. Not the kind of weather you want to wake up to when you have 16 hours of free time in your immediate future. Unless your idea of fun is cleaning the house or organising your sock drawer.

Despite the work-related exhaustion, running is going well. A 5000m track race last Tuesday went great, despite the lack of speed training the last month. I'm re-introducing barefoot running in small doses, which makes my knee positively ecstatic. I have plans next weekend, plans so big that I'm afraid to talk about them here in case I jinx it. The universe has a funny way of pounding down on you if you speak about your plans out loud. So I pretend that nothing major is in the works. I'm not superstitious, but I am careful. You know, just in case.

Happy midsummer everyone!