Sprint update 16/8 – 29/8 2021

Leadership

Had another really great intervision session. Intervision is a training technique where you and fellow trainees reflect on leadership, or whatever your training is about, in your day-to-day work, and how the course is changing your approach. The intervision sessions have been really good, because one of the participants has been really struggling with some stuff. That always makes for thought-provoking discussions! – Apart from that, finished the ‘Groeien in Leiderschap’ boek, and will soon start on ‘Socrates on Sneakers’.

PMI certification

I learned about Project Integration Management, the process of combining different parts of a project. That sounds vague, but is actually pretty straightforward work. For example, the new information about the costs for some part has to integrated with the budget limitations that were previously set. In all honesty, I’m a bit behind if I want to go up for certification before the end of Q3 D: . Will spend my time a bit better this sprint.

Running

  • Thursday: 6 km, 2/2/14/2/14/2
  • Sunday: 5km, 2/2/10/2/10/2
  • Wednesday: 7,8km, 2/2/13/2/13/2/13/2
  • Sunday: 5km, 2/2/10/2/10/2

So, the race I’m training for got cancelled, not entirely unexpectedly. I still want to do the 10km before the end of September. But my training is becoming to feel a bit useless: I could go out and run 10km tomorrow. I’d much rather do that and just be done with it.

‘Do you even enjoy running?’, somebody asked me the other day. Yes, I do. For the release I feel afterward. For the health and fitness benefits, obviously. But the running in itself? It feels like a chore, to be honest. I read articles about runners saying they like the pain, the exhaustion. I really don’t. So maybe after running that 10km, I stick to doing two 5km runs a week.

I suspect I would like rowing, though. Which is weird, because supposedly that’s even more brutal. But something about being on the water is really alluring to me, especially early mornings in winter. And it combines strength and cardio, which tickles the productivity guru in me.

Well, we’re going to find out, because I’ve joined a rowing club.

Books in progress

  • Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale: The dystopian novel about the life of a woman in the Republic of Gilead, an extreme Christian-right America where women’s rights have been stripped away. Horror!
  • L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz: Another tale set in the world of Oz, that I read to fall asleep. Works like a charm!