Mary Poppins

Today in psych we had a presentation on the DiSC personality typing. It's a quadrant system and the main components are if you are people or task driven, and outgoing or reserved. Usually when I take personality tests I feel like I am all of the above. I like to think I am both people AND task driven. I also think I can be outgoing OR reserved depending on the situation. So in a quadrant, I look like this.

Like Mary Poppins, I am "practically perfect in every way." I knew there was a reason that was my favorite movie as a kid. Also, I like to wear black a lot.

If you remember the movie, Jane and Michael Banks wrote a poem for their dad to help him post for a nanny position. Then they sang it to him. This is the poem:

If you want this choice position 

Have a cheery disposition

Rosy cheeks no warts

Play games, all sorts 

You must be kind 

You must witty 

Very sweet and fairly pretty

Take us on outings, Give us treats 

Sing songs, bring sweets 

Never be cross or cruel

Never give us castor oil or gruel

Love us as a son and daughter

And never smell of barley water

If you won't scold and dominate us

We will never give you cause to hate us

We won't hide your spectacles so you can't see

Put toads in your bed 

Or pepper in your tea

Hurry nanny 

Many thanks, Sincerely, 

Jane and Michael Banks

I think if I lived in the 1930s, and in a world where you can fly with umbrellas and jump into sidewalk chalk drawings, it would have been me who showed up on their doorstep, not Mary Poppins. I don't know what castor oil or gruel are, but I am sure I would not feed those things to Jane or Michael, and I most certainly would never dare to smell of barley water!

Well back to what I am supposed to talk about: my training. Rowing last night was...different. I kind of liked it, probably because I was still complying with my workout and I didn't feel like I was killing myself (or working too hard). I was supposed to be working at a pace that was "medium-hard" (a 3 on a scale from 1-5). Here's how that scale works.

Effort Level 1: Easy. No increase in breathing rate; can go all day.
Effort Level 2: Easy to moderate. Mild increase in breathing rate.
Effort Level 3: Moderate to hard. Noticeable increase in breathing.
Effort Level 4: Hard. Noticeable increase in breathing; difficult to talk in full sentences.
Effort Level 5: Very hard. Breathing hard; unable to talk.

So I think that "moderate to hard" pretty accurately describes the workout from last night. I would say while running I am usually a 4-5 (I try to stay away from 5) so maybe that's why I didn't feel like I was working that hard. Also, the day after long runs is an optional cross training day. If we choose to do that one, it should be performed at a level 1. That sounds fun and an easy way to feel accomplished!

Today is a tempo run. It's 2 miles easy (10:33 pace), 2 miles short tempo (8:58 pace), 2 miles easy. Doesn't seem too bad. I like when it's broken up like that into sections and not just a 6 mile run. It keeps it interesting.

That's all for now. In my ramblings about Mary Poppins, I didn't finish my story about the DiSC personalities, but now you have something to look forward to tomorrow!