Archive of ‘Work’ category

Life Updates in Bullet Form (And A Brooklyn Race Discount)

I’ve been devoting my weekly blog post to marathon training weekly recaps. They take a lot of time, and it takes everything I have to even get those up. So, I haven’t really been blogging about anything else and I imagine some of you are bored by me. Others might be confused because I blogged just one time in April of this year, where I mentioned my incredibly long work days and wondering how I’d even fit marathon training in. And yet here I am, very clearly training and making no mention of how I’m managing my time. In bulleted form, I will explain what’s going on in my life along with other related thoughts:

  • I’m no longer at the job I had when I wrote that post. Some of you left comments saying I could wake up at 3 am to train for my marathon and others said that you make exercising work on 70 hour work weeks even though you’re tired. Neither of those were good for me. I need more sleep than that while training, and also I need weekends. Or early mornings. Or evenings. Any one of those would have helped, but I didn’t have any. Exercise aside, I missed my husband and my dog. I am a hard worker, but this was not my dream job (nor was it a permanent role – it was contract) and it was killing me. Sitting for 12+ hours a day with no breaks even fucked up my back, and I did not want that to turn into yet another injury. SOMETHING had to give, and in the end, a job where I had to work 7 days a week (with 12 hour days during the week) was not the right job for me.
  • I’m starting a new job on Monday.  As much as I love not working, I love being able to pay my rent even more. I think.
  • When I go back to work, I will miss: spending time with my dog, waking up and leisurely getting ready to run, my dog park friends, going to the dentist/doctors/physical therapist/Refine during the day, and making semi-elaborate breakfasts every single day.
    Dori's Eggs

    My semi-elaborate daily breakfasts. You will be missed.

  • My old job was in a field I felt pigeon-holed in. My new job is in a field I used to work in and have been wanting for so long to get back into. I’m really glad because I fucking hate social.
  • My dog has an amazing sixth sense. Larry indicates to me when he doesn’t want to go into the dog park because he can sense a bad situation. I’ve seen firsthand how accurate he is, twice. After taking a dog (not mine) to the vet who was attacked today (because his dog walker needed an ambulance for himself), I will never ignore Larry’s signals again. I wish I could devote my entire life to protecting him and making him happy.
  • I love Larry Gary so much it makes my heart hurt.
    Larry on couch

    Daytime dog, you will be missed.

  • I want so much to be a person who has an uncluttered, neat, almost bare. I am not that person. 
  • We moved on June 30 and I still don’t have a place for everything in my new apartment. I want to get rid of more but don’t know how. Every time I try to begin, I feel overwhelmed and then I sit down. And stay there.
  • Can someone with no emotional attachment to my shit please come over and throw away everything?
  • My friend Lindsay from Happy Herbivore has a rule when it comes to getting rid of shit, and that rule is this: If this item was destroyed in a fire, would I replace it? That’s been helping a lot more than thinking about the last time you wore/used something or the next time you might.
  • I love my new apartment and its location so, so, so much. I feel happy every time I come home.
  • I like wasting time on the couch. I don’t like getting nothing done. But the couch usually wins.
  • I joined the Oiselle Volée Team. You might how much I love Oiselle after my NYFW experience last year. Good people, great shorts.
  • Fun fact: My first encounter with Oiselle CEO Sally was her informing me my skirt was tucked into my underwear. At the fashion week show.
  • Missing from my Oiselle profile (because I was so excited to write my answers I sent it in quickly without thinking) in the favorite gear section is the fact that I CANNOT run without my Hokas and Injinji toe socks. I’m in PT for foot pain that’s caused by my pelvis, and I had two PTs in two different offices tell me that wearing the right shoes literally saved my foot. As for the socks, I would be a walking blister without them. Try them. You are welcome.
  • None of those are affiliate links. Click away!
  • Just being on the team for a little while, I already love the camaraderie, the knowledge that if I travel somewhere I’ll probably find a running buddy, access to a community of women to talk running with, insight into all different races and experiences, and supporting a brand I already loved.
  • I’m running the JackRabbit Battle of Brooklyn 10 Mile Race on Sunday, August 17. It will be part of my 20-22 mile run. If you’d like to join, you can use code battledori for $10 off your registration! It will be my first time running in Brooklyn.
  • For two years, I thought my chronic left foot aching and swelling was because of my bunion. I accepted it as something I could no nothing about and would have to just live with. During my time off, I went to see a new podiatrist and he sent me to physical therapy. I never considered PT for what I thought was a bunion, and I was excited about the prospect of free foot massages. As it turns out, my foot pains have nothing at all to do with my bunion (aside from possibly starting because I adjusted my gait when I initially had bunion issues and then my body adapted to this new way of walking and standing). The pain is actually from my pelvis, which is turned in on the left side. My left leg appears longer than my right, even though it is not. My running shoes show more wear on the left toes. At PT, we work on fixing that. All good news except that this means I don’t get free foot massages. Instead I get butt massages, which is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

That’s what’s been going on here. I’m going to do my best to get my weekly training recaps up when I start working, though (unfortunately for me) I’ll probably have to do them on Sundays. My new job involves a driving commute. And maybe traffic. And weather. And is nowhere near NYC. Let’s see if I can get myself to open my computer on Sundays. As the Ander and I always say, TWT (time will tell).

Are you the type of person I want to be – a home without crap everywhere? Almost bare looking? SHARE YOUR SECRETS.

A Running Update + IRONMAN Jacket Giveaway

I’m really struggling to find time to do anything with my new work schedule – that includes blogging, exercise and social activities. I’m not complaining though – I’m so much happier than I was at my last job. When you’re miserable for so long you forget what it feels like to NOT be miserable, and you think being miserable is just how it is.

So now that I’m finally not miserable, it’s really refreshing. photostrip But I am working 60 hours a week. I wake up at 5ish just to get to work at 7ish so that I could leave by 7ish and not have to stay later.  Also, I work on weekends. This leaves little time to work out before work — and then there’s the fact that I have never in my life had such a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, I’m so tired — and no time after work because I just want to go home and crash. This week I have  late weeknight events three nights, which is stressing me out majorly. Again, not complaining, just explaining it all.

I need to figure out a better balance because I have a marathon to start training for in May! And not just any marathon, but ideally my sub-4 marathon. Coach Abby says I NEED to get my leg strengthening exercises in three times a week, not to mention the actual running. As for my beloved Refine, right now I would only be able to go on weekends but I am not ready for that neck-wise. I want to have a few more pain-free runs completed before I feel ready to add in any other types of exercise. I feel a mix of upset (Refine is my happy place) and smart (listening to my PT when he told me to use running as a gauge for other workouts). And, I am LOVING running! Every run I do, I feel grateful and happy. I can’t wait to be running more miles and more often. And training for a marathon! I booked my flight to Seattle for Bellingham Bay Marathon! And I might have something else in the works that I’ll talk about soon that will motivate me even more to run and help me meet running people at my company. When my brain isn’t on work, these days it’s on running.  Running FTW.

I do have to say, I am not used to feeling so soft and being so out of shape. I haven’t been this way since I started working out “for real” on January 2, 2010. I’m self conscious all the time and I miss the old me.

Does anyone seasoned in working long hours have tips?
(I should note – I already wake up at 5 just to get to work and I don’t have a lunch break and I am scared to run outside before 5am… so it gets a little trickier…)

Abrupt subject change: Yesterday I had an amazing day. I slept until 10am for the first time since COLLEGE. Even Larry didn’t cry to wake us up, he slept in, too!  I guess this is what early mornings and long days of sitting for hours straight will do to you.

After breakfast at our favorite Jersey City spot Sam A.M., Andy and I spent some time at Project: Earth, a street fair in our neighborhood to benefit  local Earth Day initiatives. I got some really great stuff there and I’m excited about all of it, including vintage shoes and a vintage bag and some gifts for a certain baby with a very large bun.

Then we signed the lease on our new apartment, an amazing apartment that overlooks the dog park section of a really nice park. We don’t move until July 1 but we are obsessed with all things new apartment right now. We even bought this at Project: Earth, which happens to perfectly match our black, red and beige rug AND is the same exact pattern and colors as our shower curtain.

Does this thing have a name?

Does this thing have a name?

Then I had my first pain-free 5 mile run, my longest run since the Richmond Marathon and one of my few totally pain-free runs. Things are definitely looking up. And then we ate dinner at our favorite Jersey City dinner spot, Razza. One thing I love about living here (and there’s a lot) is that just by going to these two restaurants often, being passionate about them and engaging with them on social media, they know us now. And they talk to us, and that makes us feel special and want to go back even more and tell more people. And there’s just such a community feel here, it is so nice. A perfect day.

This morning I did another 5 miles and felt good, so I’m happy with my decision to run in the Newport 10,000 next weekend. It’s a 10K race I was too injured to run last year, but I’ve been really wanting to do it. Before my neck injury, this was going to be my PR attempt but I’m not ready for that. Instead, I will run at a leisurely pace, take in a new route and get cheered on by my boys as I run directly in front of my apartment building.

Once my running started going well I had the opportunity to finally try the  IRONMAN’s Women’s Convertible Versa Jacket. They sent me this jacket awhile ago to try out, review and giveaway. I chose the passion fruit color, which looks even better in person than in the photo. Made by Sugoi, this jacket is warm enough to wear all winter long for you cold weather running people (every year I try to become one of you, maybe next year I will be thanks to this jacket). I really liked it and although I don’t look forward to next winter’s cold weather, I am really glad to have this jacket and hope to use it often! ironman jacket

It didn’t look too bulky, and the bottom of the arms and bottom of the jacket are adjustable so I was able to make it snug around my wrists and waist so no cold air could get in. It protected perfectly against the wind and the best part of the jacket — which I did not get to try yet — is that if you get too warm, it converts INTO A VEST with MAGNETIC SLEEVES.

Here are the official jacket deets:

Available in passion fruit or black, the IRONMAN Women’s Convertible Versa Jacket is 100% polyester argon fabric jacket and features a high air permeability rating and water resistance, both of which help to keep you warm and dry. With its easily removable/attachable magnet-attached sleeves and reflective visibility, this jacket can also be converted into a vest, making it perfect for any workout – indoors or out! Combining durability with function and style, this jacket is simply a training essential. (Feel free to see what I’m talking about in this video here or read more below.)

The IRONMAN Women’s Convertible Versa Jacket jacket retails at $135.95, so I’m really excited to give away such a functional, good-looking, all around awesome jacket!

GIVEAWAY INFO

You can get up to two entries to be in the running to win:

(1) Leave a comment below telling me what you look for in a running jacket OR if you have a favorite local food spot OR your advice for fitting in workouts with a very challenging work schedule (

2) Tweet about the giveaway, leave a comment here letting me know you did. Suggested tweet: I entered to win an @IronmanTri Women’s Convertible Versa Jacket from @thedorigray: http://dorishinyblog.com/2014/04/a-running-update-ironman-jacket-giveaway

Good luck!

Oh! Unrelated, I’m using Instagram more these days but can’t for the life of me figure out how to add the icon to the top of this blog. It’s not one of the options in my template. Anyway, you can follow me there.

All entries must be received by Sunday, May 4 at 12:00 am EDT. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

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