This is week 17 of an 18-week training plan that will hopefully get me to the marathon start line ready to have an amazing race, and maybe even PR!
Monday, February 17
I woke up to find out that I’m making progress in my job search! #popular
I also applied to a job where I actually wrote a cover letter for the first time this job-hunting cycle! Again, this seems to be less popular in Israel–Lior told me he never reads cover letters when he’s hiring, he just focuses on the resume.
Then, I received news that the Tokyo Marathon is officially cancelled for non-elite runners. The marathon is being used as the Olympic Qualifier race for Japanese runners, hence this exception. On one hand, I am devastated, because thinking about this race and my marathon training is what kept me sane and motivated while in London. On the other hand, I know this is the ultimate #FirstWorldProblem, and it’s better to remain healthy/not potentially participate in the spread of the virus. Plus, the Tel Aviv Marathon happens to fall on the same weekend, so since Lior and I are now no longer going to Japan, I can run this race, instead. This way, my months of training won’t be wasted. You can read more of my thoughts about this here.
After all of this excitement, I decided to set out for my final speed workout of my training cycle, which was 10.5 miles:
1.5mi warm up 6 * 1mi @ GMP – 10sec; .25mi rest 1.5mi cool down
The run felt good, and in the middle of the workout, I received a call from a recruiter, about potential jobs. So while today has been an emotional rollercoaster, at least it was extremely productive!
In the evening, Lior and I met his parents for dinner…and later in the evening, I got an email from the Birthright provider, asking for an interview!
Tuesday, February 18
I woke up today to the good news that Lior and I are able to get a full refund for our plane tickets. Now we’re just out the Airbnb and Japan Rail Pass money. I’m still trying to recoup some of these costs.
…then the rest of the day was spent job hunting. My life is exciting, I know! For now though, this is my full-time job, and I’m taking it seriously so that I can hopefully soon trade it in for a full-time job with a salary.
Wednesday, February 19
Airbnb is fully refunding Lior and I for our reservations in Japan. We are now “only” out $700…$160 is that is definitely not recoupable, but there’s a chance we can still get a refund for the Japan Rail passes, and since that’s most of the money, I’m hopeful they will respond to my emails…
…then Japan Railways said they will refund 85% of the rail pass fee, I just need to mail them back the vouchers within 12 months. No problemo! I’m going to wait until my trip to the US in June, because I do not trust the Israeli post, and $460 is a LOT of money. So all in all, once all of the refunds hit, we will “only” be out around $250.
I applied to more jobs today–time to get back at it!
In the evening, Lior consoled me (job hunting is stressful and not going to Japan is devastating, in a first world problems kind of way) by taking me to Saluf and Sons–because it is impossible for me to be sad and eat kebab at the same time! He also got Anita gelato (all of their flavors are so good, I don’t know how they do it–must be witchcraft). The ultimate surprise was that he got Fever-Tree tonic! It was such a nice, sweet surprise! All of those things didn’t completely make up for the whole job search process…but it certainly helped a little.
Thursday, February 20
My days are following a pattern–wake up, make coffee, and job search until my brain melts. Then before I know it (or because I woke up after 10am), it’s the afternoon.
This was the same today. I applied for jobs all day and spent most of the day bummed out. The frustrating part of job hunting is that after I send out my resume…I just need to wait. It’s then out of my hands, and that lack of control is deeply frustrating. In the evening when Lior came home, he and I talked everything over and I felt a bit better. Ice cream and Netflix also helped!
Friday, February 21
Today we went to Jerusalem for my friend Alex’s birthday party! Then we got home and TOOK A NAP! Even though I’m unemployed and could nap all day every day if I wanted, I don’t nap because I want to keep a semi-normal schedule. So naps are a special weekend thing for now. In the evening, we hung out and ate pizza, and it was very nice and relaxing.
Saturday, February 22
Today, Lior and I started working on our Purim costumes! His office’s Purim party is March 5, but we don’t like being rushed, so we decided to start assembling the costume this weekend, in case we need to make any design changes. It took a little while to figure out how we wanted to go about construction, but today was very productive–we finished most of Lior’s costume! We only stopped because we ran out of glue. I prepped some of the parts for my costume, and since we now know how to go about things, my costume will hopefully come together a bit faster. Sorry for being vague, but you will see pictures of the final product and get an explanation soon!
In the evening I continued applying to jobs, this time with Lior’s input, which was helpful and super appreciated.
Sunday, February 23
Another day, another opportunity to search for my next dream job. Even though I slept terribly last night, I’m feeling MUCH more optimistic than on Wednesday and Thursday. I usually associate job hunting with the negative parts of dating, which is ironic because in general I was a cautiously optimistic dater. Things could be a dumpster fire right now, but that can change so quickly! I need to remember to bring that mentality to my job hunt.
Yesterday, Lior asked for a favor. “Can you please go run tomorrow?” Ironically, when I’m super stressed or anxious I don’t want to run, even though I know it will make me feel better. Honestly, I’m surprised I was so consistent with my running in London, considering how anxious I felt…and that wasn’t situational anxiety, like the Tokyo Marathon cancellation and job searching. Anyway, today I went and ran five miles! I felt sluggish at the beginning, but it got easier throughout. This is pretty normal during a taper, so I’m not freaking out. The weather was nice–low 60s and overcast. I’m already checking the weather for Friday, and it looks like it will be a bit warmer–and worse, sunny. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers!
Throughout the day, there was also the fear that the Tel Aviv Marathon would be cancelled, also due to the coronavirus. Nevertheless, I went and picked up my race pack. In the evening, it was announced that international runners would be barred from the Tel Aviv Marathon. I’m not sure if this was the right call…but I’m relieved I can still run the race.
Total Distance: 15.5 miles
My running motivation is…not there. It was easy to be so laser focused when I was in London and didn’t have nearly as many external factors. Now, it’s all about the job hunt. But also, I’m running the marathon next week, and it’s definitely better to be “well tapered” than overtrained. Honestly, this is the one thing I’m not worried about right now. I know I can run the marathon, and I will run the marathon. The rest? We’ll see!
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