Do you remember skipping rope with other people. The rope would be going around and around and you’d hesitate and hesitate, waiting for just the right time to start jumping. You don’t want to jump at the wrong thing or you’d get tangled and everything would stop. But you also don’t want to be the kid standing there watching the rope going around and around waiting.

I think this month I’ve been that kid. I’m watching the temperature drop, watching the days get shorter, seeing the rain come in with loads of things I feel like I should start doing but I haven’t quite managed to do it.

I’ve cooked nothing new, I haven’t been on my bike. I have been running longer and longer distances and I I’m excited for my race one week from today. Once that’s done there are no more races on the calendar until well into next year – this means I can work on my running a little less intensely and add cycling (and racing) back in. I’m glad about that – I’m missing that. While I can run only for 30 min or so and it’s quite difficult, I can ride flat out for that long, or at an endurance pace I can ride for 12 hours or more.

One thing I have been focusing on is being really productive and giving 100%. That has gone really well to the point that just before leaving for the long weekend, my to-do list at work was totally cleared. There’s nothing on my desk for Monday and I’m glad for that. That means I can take on more challenges there.

This week’s trip was relatively low key but we did it for a great reason. Sage’s birthday is coming up soon and so the three of us headed out for coffee and dessert yesterday afternoon at a fancy dessert place in Yorkville – a very fancy neighbourhood in Toronto. We had a fantastic time traveling together and even made a side trip to the Yorkville Library afterward.

The desserts were quite expensive as was the coffee but they were all delicious.

My ratings:

• Transit: 9/10 – Almost perfect. No waiting for buses, always getting a seat on the bus and subway. Token point subtracted because I did have to take more than one vehicle each way (bus / subway)
• Food: 8/10 – Delicious desserts, amazing coffee. I’m not very into desserts, though. I tried a little of Sage’s (chocolate mousse with crispy centre) and Daegan’s (Pistachio with pistachios on top) were tasty.
• Atmosphere: 6/10 – Good atmosphere but a bit fancier than my usual place. I’m more comfortable in a neighbourhood pizza place than a place like this.
• Price: 2/10 – Dessert and coffee for 3 was really expensive. Not unexpectedly so (we knew what neighbourhood we were in) but still…

Sage’s ratings:

• Transit: 10 /10- never had to wait, there were seats on both buses and both subways
• Food: 9/10 – It’s only not a 10 because I didn’t have TWO blue spheres.
• Atmosphere: 4/10 – Snooty rich people in a snooty rich person neighbourhood, but we did get to see a wedding party getting photos and they all seemed happy, so that was nice.
• Price: 1/10 – Ha! HA HA HA.

So Sage definitely wins this round. I will have to work hard to beat this next week!

Moods and Metrics:

My mood this week was not bad. The average rating went down from 6.4 to 6.3 out of 9. This sounds like a reduction but really I don’t think it was statistically significant. In fact, while my average was lower, I had no days below a 6, where I had a few “5” days before. So I guess I’m on a more even keel.

I had a few good days of sleep this week. Some, like last night’s, were extremely restful. However, my average has gone down to 6:45 from 7:01 the previous week. I have been waking earlier and rather than working to get back to sleep for another hour or so I think “Ooh! Coffee!” and get on my way.

Stress was lower this week than the previous ones – going from an average of 27% or so to 23.5%. Not bad. It does feel less stressful too.

The days are noticeably short, though. The sun didn’t come up until 7:23 this morning and the days are over 20 minutes shorter.

I think the challenge now is to find a project to work on. I’m doing interesting things day to day but nothing for personal development or challenges other than running and I feel that. Whether it’s preparing for a long bicycle tour, raising money for charity, trying new things every week, or even immigrating to another country I am really energized by doing something challenging and long term. But when I try to think of what to do I get stymied. I’ve been here before so I feel like there’s a solution but I’m not sure what it is. I’ll get there.

But I can also lots of indicators in Exist.io about what also correlates to a better mood:

When…

• Motivation is higher (Takeaway: Work harder at work)
• Focus is higher (Takeaway: Work harder at work)
• You have a higher average heartrate (Takeaway: Get on your bike)
• Your max heartrate is higher (Takeaway: Get on your bike)
• The days are longer (Not much to do here… But this could also correlate to more cycling)
• You drink more coffee (Yes, please!)
• You spend more time active (Takeaway: Get on your bike)
• You spend more time on your mobile device (Wait, what?)
• Your resting heartrate is higher (Takeaway: Get on your bike)
• You burn more energy actively (Takeaway: Get on your bike)
• You tag ‘bike ride’ more (Takeaway: Get on your damned bike, you fool)

This week will actually be a little less active, tapering for the race. Then it’s time to get on my bike in earnest after a long, focused and motivated day at work. And with the extra happy neurochemicals that come along with all that I’m sure to come up with a new project.