All or nothing

My nan reckoned her motto was everything in moderation - and she didn't do badly on it, living into a pretty healthy ripe old age.
Sadly its not genetic and I'm more of an all or nothing girl myself. i think for moderation you have to be organised, self disciplined and well controlled, not do as I do which is leave things til the last minute, live in a constant rush, and actually enjoy to some degree organised chaos (despite the despair of my boss it does tend to work for me and i never miss a deadline).

But most recently this attitude of extremes has resulted in a painful lesson for me. About 3 months ago I decided to sign up for a 10km run, to help me get fit and healthy and raise money for a good cause as well. Three months seemed ages to train and take up regular running to get me fit enough to do a respectable run. I started with the best of intentions, sorted out some routes, started going 2 or 3 times a week on a run with Mutt and Son for moral support. Then I forget what happened - bad weather, long hours at work, weekends away, Son not around to join me... all feeble excuses but it lapsed. So with just over 3 weeks to go, panic set in and so started an extreme exercise routine - running x1 per day and other exercise session x1 per day (cycling/ step machine/ or the dreaded gym).

At the same time I decided I'd had enough living in a bedroom with bare floorboards, three different types of wallpaper and obvious markings where I'd pulled out the fitted wardrobes when I moved in. though one of the joys of being single is not having to share a bedroom I had lived with it long enough and finally got round to decorating. Tackling it with the usual extreme attitude i decided to do it in one week so had an intense seven days of steaming off wallpaper, painting, wallpapering, moving furniture around the house, more painting, trips to DIY shops, more furniture moving, trips to the rubbish dump.

The combined effect of the extreme exercise and extreme decorating have taken their toll and I have I believe what is medically termed 'done my back in'. Not being very medically inclined but I have worked out I've done something to a muscle - and realised that muscles in your back are connected to pretty much everything apparantley so if I move my arm, leg, head or even sneeze im at risk of yelling out like someone's just stuck pins in me (gosh maybe it is voodoo). Over the past few days I have dropped dinner plates, given up jogging, struggled to pick up Mutts ball much to his frustration, cancelled horse riding, not been able to take the handbrake off in the car, and have to sit down very carefully! Am too impatient to be a good patient, and this is my only week off in the summer hols and have plans to do lots. so i am taking a mix of strong painkillers during the day and alcohol at night which go some way to numb whatever it is that hurts. Feels pathetic complaining about a bad back but have never had anything like it before and am very surprised at how painful it is - and how debilitating!
Never mind, if it all does get too much and I have to take to my bed I have a beautifully decorated bedroom to lie down in!