Tag Archive | Encouragement

Don’t follow the plan….. Have the Race You excpect

I had a plan. I had a very good plan. I never followed it. Ok, I did follow it in the beginning. More to the point the closer I got to the Moore/Fitness Half Marathon, the plan fell to the wayside. I would like to say that it was due to lack of time. I can’t even say it was lack of dedication. Ok partly. I think mostly it was because the plan changed even if I didn’t fully admit to it. That being said, I DO NOT RECOMMEND not running AT ALL two weeks prior to a Half Marathon. Really. Just don’t do it. Really. I am paying the price for it today and I paid the price for it yesterday.

Here is the crux of the situation though. I’ve been dealing, ok not dealing but avoiding dealing with my feet, since Philly. With my upcoming schedule, I realized that it was time to get my head out of the sand and deal with it. If you were here yesterday, you read that I finally went to the Podiatrist and what the problems were. So maybe it was good that I took a little bit of a break.. All will be good as the Cortisone shot is already helping, I will do the stretches, and follow the plan. The doctor knows the plan does not including my stopping my running anytime soon. Back to the Race.

Besides not doing any type of training 2 weeks prior to the race, I made some other mistakes. First, I didn’t hydrate enough the days leading up to it. I normally will just drink extra water leading up to an event to avoid feeling dehydrated. I’m not sure if there is actually any physical benefit, but I know there is a mental one from me. Then there is the fact that I didn’t bank my sleep during the week either. I try to go to bed earlier leading up to the race too. This way if I don’t get a good night sleep the night before at least I’m not as bad. I went to bed 12:20 the night before and had my alarm set for 4:45. Not smart. I was tired.

When I came up with my goals for the year, I thought it would be cool to run a sub 2 half on my 46th Birthday. The closer I got though, the more I knew it was not happening for this race. I then embraced that this would be my fun Birthday Run. I have to say as far as day went, it was fun. I think I spent more time worrying about my outfit than the actual run. Ok, I know I did, but look how cute my outfit came out…..

You know it’s all about the outfit and the accessories. Don’t you like my crown?

Ok, probably not, but I will say that this outfit did help me during the race. Really!

The Clown Car as we like to refer to it was leaving town for NYC at 5:45. As early as it is, we are all still smiling. Due to caffeine, I didn’t realize how much my lack of sleep would effect me. It did. Still we had a good ride into the city and were all smiles at the starting line.

We met the cutest elderly woman at the starting line while she was walking to her corral. She was adorable. I just wish we had thought to take a picture with her. Although, I did find one of her crossing the finish line and getting her medal! Go Granny Go!! I hope that I have her spunk when I’m her age. She was talking about the bus ride and people thinking she must be crazy. I thought she was awesome!

Right, amazing! Did I forget to mention her crutches?

And, yes, she is wearing rocking legging, long sleeved shirt, and some type of purple skirt dare I say tutu.

I hope that I’m still moving like this with this type of attitude at her age!

We line up in our Corrals. The excitement of waitig for the race to start never gets old for me either. Off we go. Two of the ladies were planning to run together. My cohort was going to push it and I was just going to take it easy. I end up staying for the first lap of Central Park with the two. I will admit though that I did think they were planning to take it easier than they did, but it was good. We chatted when we could. Did double takes when we saw someone running with what appeared to be nothing under her tutu. (We ran past her). We just had a good time. After we hit mile 6 or so though, I told them to go without me. I knew that I probably could push it to stay with them and part of me wanted to. Luckily my brain won out this time.

Lap two was not as good as lap one. I realized that I dropped my Salted Carmel Caffeine Gu. I walked when I felt I needed to. I ran when I thought it was time to push a little. I will say that my Princess Birthday sash and tutu helped me run a better race. Really. No lies. It helped because there were times that I was going to start walking and someone would run by, tap me and say something like,

“Happy Birthday Princess”

“You’ve got this Princess”

“You can do this Princess.”

“You got this hill Princess”

Some of them I even trailed for a bit as Dawn will tell you that is what I like to do sometimes. I’m like a shadow. These women motivated me. These women may not realize it, but they really did help me get to the finish line in a better time than I would have if I was alone on the course. Standing out in a crowd of more than 7,000 other runners isn’t a bad thing.

My Official Finish Time is 2:20:23.

I’ll take it.

I know that this is a great time. I will admit that it is my worst time and I was slightly disappointing. Off by almost 15 minutes. When I said this to Dawn, she told me to shut hell up. She as often is right. This may not have been the race that I envisioned when I set my 2015 goals, but it was still a great race. There will be other races where I can chase the elusive 2:00:00, but there will only be one Birthday Run!

So cheers!

Let It Go

Mar23

No it’s about Frozen.

Although that is what we all think of now when hear this expression.

I can’t even say the words without singing them.

You try…

But

There is something to be said about letting go. It’s freeing. There really is just something cathartic about letting it all go. Getting rid of the negative energy that clutter ensues in our lives and minds. Getting rid of the things that are no longer useful and most importantly getting rid of the things that no longer make us happy. It is never an easy task to let go, but it is an important one. All our lives we are taught the importance of holding on, but we are never taught the art of letting go. There is a time and place for each of these in our lives and it is important to know when it is time to do which one.

Holding on although not easy really is easier than letting go. Letting go can sometimes seem like a failure or giving up and even a little scary. When in reality, letting go can open us up for opportunities that we would miss if we were holding on tightly to the things that we no longer need. Letting go is hard. Letting go requires the willingness to change which is also never easy. It requires the willingness to admit that something just isn’t working. Letting go can be painful, but letting go is part of life and the journey we must take.

There are many reasons why we have to admit that it is time to let something and sometimes someone else. Each of us has to make our own decisions on when is the right time. When that time comes though, you just have to run with it. This past weekend, I literally cleaned house. I went through kitchen drawers, cabinets, and even my pantry. I’m not sure what came over me, but I just went with it. By the time I was done, the garbage was overflowing and I had 3 boxes filled with donations. By the end of the day, I felt exhausted but at the same time accomplished.

Although this was a huge task, it was much easier than the times that I’ve had to “let go” of people in my life. Not due to hatred. Not due to anger. I just needed to let go because they were not good for me. Letting go is painful, but it is necessary. You reach a point in your life when you realize that life is short. Life is too precious to waste on people who are negative, who tear you down instead of build you up, who no matter how low you set the bar disappoint you. It is never easy, but it is necessary. Sometimes we are the ones holding ourselves back and we need to let go of the negative energy that we create ourselves.

It took me a long time to start my fitness journey because of my own negative energy. When I got out of my own way, it was amazing to see the things that I could actually accomplish. We must learn to let go of the things that hold us back. We must let go of preconceived notions of who we are and what we can accomplish. Once we let go, we realize that it was the negative thoughts that keep us from striving for things we imagined out of our reach. Nothing is out of our reach. Sometimes we focus on the wrong things. Sometimes we miss the signs that we need to change our routines, our goals, and our expectation. Sometimes we need to adjust.

Mr Rogers as always sums it up best….

Life is ever changing.

Goals are ever changing.

Never stop moving foward

and

Never give up!

Are you good about letting things go?

Taking The Day Off

Mar5

So after my post yesterday, I did some thinking. I had a few friends contact me. I did some more thinking and then a little more.

I’m wondering if I was also having the “I didn’t get into the NYC Marathon blues.” The drawing was yesterday. If you couldn’t tell, I didn’t get in. I didn’t expect to get in, but I still dreamed of being a lucky lottery winner. If my Grammy didn’t teach me anything, she taught me that my family is not destined to win any lottery drawing. If that was the case, her 50 years of buying and tracking her numbers would have hit by now. So, I knew I wouldn’t be that lucky, but I did dare to dream. There are other dreams though:)

I am giving myself a snow day. I am actually giving myself a snow weekend to come up with my plan. Yes, I’m working on it. As my cohort said, I do need “to go to the gym and lift some heavy things.” So that is part one of the equation. I’m working on part two. I will have a plan and implement it. I’m just not sure what it is yet:)

Keep Calm and Get Me Out of This Slump

Mar4

We all know that it is so much easier to fall off the proverbial wagon than to climb back up on it. I don’t know anyone who this is any different either. Right now, I’m trying to climb back on the wagon but the wagon’s wheels are stuck in the snow. I’m not sure if it’s the never ending winter blues, the lack of sleep, or just I need a gentle nudge; but I seem to have lost my umph.

I’m looking for it.

I’m going through the motions

(although not has hard as I used to).

I’m signing up for races left and right,

yet still….

Something is off.

Maybe it really is the Winter Blues. I can’t seem to get back into my routine with the kids having a delayed opening what seems like every other day. Then there is the fact that the streets really are not conducive to getting a good, long, hard run in. I need spring and I am normally a winter person. I need the sun on my face and my feet to stay dry. I also need not to have to worry about slipping and breaking something. Yes, I know that I can run on the treadmill but it is just not the same.

I would like to blame some of my off scheduling on my cute little puppy who is getting bigger by the day, but honestly I was off before his arrival. But by mentioning him, I will throw in a new puppy picture.

Maybe it is because when I first started on this path, I went full force. I started at a level (which I miss) that was unsustainable. I was working out every day which as a whole took up two hours of my day. Not really a tremendous amount of time, but still. At that time, I had something to prove not to anyone else but myself. I proved it too. I think that might be part of the problem. I seem to be in permanent taper and I need a kick to get me going again.

I really think this slide started when I gave up Crossfit. Yes, I said I was done with it. Yet, it keeps pulling me back in. I’ve tried going to the local gym to cross train. It’s just not the same. It’s boring. It’s not fun. It’s not the same. I once at an older gentlemen tell me at the gym while I was doing barbell curls, “Wow, that’s a lot of weight for a girl.” I wanted to tell him it was a lot of weight for a guy too, but just smiled. See, not the same.

As they say once you recognize you have a problem, you can fix it. So, I recognize my slump. I now just need to figure out how to get out of it. Especially with all these races I’ve signup up for!

I bought on an auction a month pass to Crossfit as my last box membership expired. At least that will kick my butt. Until I start though, I will work on getting myself out the door and motivated!

Make It Happen

Feb4

Now yesterday I was saying how there are so many things in our lives and training plans that we can’t control and to give in to that lack of control by Giving Up the Reins. I do need to clarify though that just because you accept that lack of control and go with the flow so to speak, does not mean you are absolved from everything.

It would be like expecting our children to do well on a Biology Test without every opening their books. It just won’t happen without some good hard work. So like the Boy Scouts Motto, we need to prepare for the things we want and that are somewhat in our control. No just because we prepare doesn’t mean that everything will go according to our plan, but without a plan you won’t every have a chance of meeting your goals (or at least for me it works that way). So, I know your shocked, I’ve got a plan.

Planning, Preparing, and Working Hard to Reach our goals are all in our control. Now, right now I am doing all my planning, preparing, and working my butt off to reach my goal of running a 5K in 25 minutes. I really don’t know that I will be able to do it. My fastest 5K is 27:17. Now to someone who is not a runner reading this (Hi Mom), shaving two minutes off a 5K sounds easy enough; but I know the reality of it. Shaving those two minutes off is going to be hard work and even with pushing myself I’m not sure that I still will be able to do it. I won’t know though unless I try.

You know I’m trying too, when I’m willing to go run inside on a treadmill to do my speed workout. Today’s run is going to be hard. I would much rather run circles at my local park, but I know with the cold and ice it is not a safe or smart thing to do. So I will lace up, go to my gym and push it.

Push it real good.

I’m not going to lie. I am not looking forward to today. Not only is it running on the treadmill 6 miles, but it is repeats.

Description: 1-mile warmup
3 x 1 mile @ 8:00/mile with 800-meter recovery jog
1-mile cool down

Doesn’t that sound like fun?

NO, not at all!

So why do it if it’s not fun?

Because if I don’t, I won’t have a chance of meeting my goal. You get out what you put in which means putting in the hard runs in this case as every run can’t be an “easy” run. This is especially true when you are a woman in your mid 40’s getting closer to not being able to say mid. This is especially true when you were also not born to run like a gazelle like some woman I know.

The truth is if you want something to happen,

you have to also make it happen.

No all the planning, preparing, and Hard Work won’t necessarily mean I will meet my goal, but it will give me a chance.

and

All I need is a chance!

Giving up the Reins, but taking back control…

Feb3

Right now we are in the midst of what they are calling a Flash Freeze. Sounds like something done in the food industry, but this is what the weather people are calling our plunging temperatures and freezing surfaces. Got to have a catchy phrase. Just like the snowstorms have to have catchy names now. Last nights storm was called Linus? Who names these snow storms and why?

Non Funny Joke of the Day…

You know what a snowstorm was named when I was growing up?

A Snow Storm

Ha Ha (not really, but true).

Anyway, where was I going….

There are so many things not just in our training, but in our everyday normal lives that we can’t not control. As much as we would like to micro-manage everything and think it’s all in our control, most things in life are not.

Scary Stuff I know.

We must honor that lack of control.

We must embrace that lack of control.

We must just accept that lack of control.

Honestly, throw your hands up in the air and give up control.

All is not lost though.

We do have some control.

Each and every one of us has total control of the way we react to the challenges that the Universe throws at us.

As true as this is, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with running. I’m getting there.

We all have goals (big, small, and every where in between) when it comes to our running. We all have days where as much as we want to, we just can’t do what we felt we needed to do that day. Maybe we missed a training run, had to shorten it, or just had an “off” running day. Maybe we missed a class at the gym. Maybe even getting sick or injured causing a total lack of training. Maybe hard as we tried, we didn’t make a PR that we wanted or any such things. These things happen. These are just some of the things that are out of our control. These things cause us stress. These are the things that might even put us over the edge.

We need to come back from the edge though.

That is our only choice.

Life is better….

When you realize that since you can’t change the challenges thrown at you

When you learn to face them head on and with a smile when possible

(which isn’t always the case).

If you miss a run…

if you miss a goal..

life happens

remember

Hard to argue with Nelson Mandela, isn’t it.

So dust yourself off, get back up, and keep moving.

Don’t Take This Wrong Way….

Jan30

When I say that I run my longer runs at a slower pace and you ask what that pace was and I reply that I ran 11 – 12 minute pace, …

I am not putting anyone down whose pace this is. A run is still a run no matter what the pace. This was my pace when I started running. This is no longer my pace. My average run pace now is about 10 to 10 1/2 depending on the day. If I’m pushing it, I can go faster. Also why did you ask if you didn’t want to hear.

When you talk about the “Marathon” that I just ran and I correct you that it was only a Half Marathon, ...

I do need to correct you because I do NOT want to take credit for something I didn’t do. When I ran my full marathon, I took credit. I owned it, but I don’t want to claim something that I didn’t do any other day.

When I order french toast instead of an egg white omelet at breakfast because I’m carb loading, …

probably shouldn’t be eating it either. There are probably healthy ways to carb load, but french toast is my weakness. Besides the way I look at it, the benefit of running all over town is to be able to eat the french toast if I want.

When you ask how far I ran today and I say that I only ran 5 miles causing you to roll your eyes, …

I am not trying to sound all uppity. I am saying only because that tends to me my normal run when I have time. So my average run mileage is about 5 miles.

When you ask why I’m running a 5K and I say that I want to run a shorter race for time, …

I am not putting anyone down whose goal race is the 5K. It is no longer my goal race. My favorite race of choice at this time, I would say is a half marathon. There is a big difference between how I would pace myself for a 5K as to a half marathon. I might even say that since my goal in a 5K is time, I might even be pushing myself harder.

When I share my runs on Facebook, Instagram, or any other place, …

it is not because I am bragging. It is because I have many friends who are also runners. We like to share. We like to see what we are all doing. We like to cheer each other on. We are a strange group, but we love to do this. If for some reason these posts bother you, please feel free to hide me or even delete me because this is who I am and this is what I love.

No, I really am not trying to be a jerk.

Really, Really, Really

I get where you are coming from as I was once on the rolling eyes side.

I admit it. I did.

It was more a reflection on what I thought of me than you.

I also know that these things do not bother my real friends as they know how hard I work for the things that I do. These things do not come easy to me. I push and then I push some more.

Have you seen the eye rolling?

I get that it might appear that I am bragging, but I’m not. Am I proud of what I’m doing? You bet.

Should it bother you that I’m doing it? I don’t think so.

You do what makes you happy and I will do what makes me happy.

Anything to add….

Word of the Week – Celebrate!

Jan28

Today I am going to have two words of the day as I think that they go hand in hand.

Celebrate & Display

celebrate

verb (used with object), celebrated, celebrating.

to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities:

display

verb (used with object)

To show or exhibit; make visible

Now as Mom’s most of us are great at doing this with our children.

We put their art work, grades, ect up on the fridge for all to see.

We have pictures of them through out our houses.

We proudly display their ribbons, trophies, or such on the mantle.

BUT

When it comes to our own accomplishments, we may tend to down play them.

We celebrate the moment, but as soon as we come home we jump back into “Mom Mode.” We work hard for each and every one of these events. We don’t just show up. Then we pass the finish line, collect our bling which we may even wear afterwards with our fellow runners. But by the time we get home, we are ready to put them in a drawer and move on.

Now I’m not saying we should walk around wearing our bling at the grocery store because that would just be obnoxious. That being said, we can still share our accomplishments by more than a few Facebook posts. I know most of us don’t want to appear like we are bragging although that’s not a problem when it comes to our kids. Why is that? We deserve a little celebration of our own too. Just because you are an adult doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to be proud of your accomplishments no matter how big or small.

Now, I will admit that last year, I did buy a display plaque from Etsy for my bling and bibs for me. I hung it in my office in the basement. This tends to be my area and I wanted to be able to see my medals to continue to inspire myself. But over the weekend, I took it a step further. I added some of my favorite race photos to it and I really like the way it looks. Plus there is room on the other side for more. I think I might save that side for the NYC Marathon.

I call it

The Wall of Me!

I think that every person should have a place to celebrate themselves. No matter if it’s running, knitting, writing or what ever should be celebrated. Now, I’m not saying that it needs to be in peoples faces, but a celebration none the less. My Wall of me is for me. It is in my basement which most people don’t go in. It is by my computer and as I write my blog posts, sign up for races, or just play on my computer. I can glance at it and smile. It can encourage me to push myself further remembering how far I’ve already come.

I think by taking pride in my accomplishments, I am being a good role model for my children. Think about it. What message does it send to your children if they don’t think that their mother’s accomplishments don’t deserve a spot on the wall.

Do you have a Wall of Me?

Do you want one?

It Is What It Is!

Jan21

I will never have the body that I want. At this point in my life it really is not lack of trying. Although, in all honesty I could eat better and eat less cake and chocolate; but what is life without cake and chocolate? For me though, it really is partly the way my body is designed and shaped. I do not have an hourglass figure. As much as we all try, we can never look like those that we see on TV or magazines. A lot of that may do with the fact they have a style crew, a nutritionist, a trainer, and have many of their photos airbrushed to beyond perfection. We have all seen where the airbrushing has even gone too far! Think Kardashian. Actually, lets not think about her! But even when it’s not taken to the extreme, it does remove ever “imperfection” making the rest of us mere mortals think somehow we are doing something wrong.

Case in point

Cameron Diaz is a beautiful and fit woman, but she is a normal woman

at least in the first picture!

There are no amount of exercise that will get you to the second picture.

It’s just not going to happen.

Never Ever.

So we all need to stop buying into the hype that we are somehow lacking because that just isn’t the case. Now, I am not saying that I don’t look in the mirror and see things that I wish I looked different. I think that is normal. I know that I was looking at a picture that my sister took of me at the Philadelphia Marathon. Rather than looking at the picture and reveling in the accomplishment of what I had accomplished, I looked at it and thought,

“My God is this what I look like from behind!”

Luckily, my next thought was,

“What is wrong with you? The picture shows you completing a major major major accomplishment! This is the body that carried you 26.2 miles. This is what strength and endurance looks like. This is the way God made you to so that you could do these things.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. I still wish that I looked more like Cameron Diaz. I will even take the unedited version. But in the whole scheme of things, my body does not define who I am. If you were to somehow put what makes me in a completely different body, I would still be me. The outside does not define who you are. It is who you are on the inside.

So I will stick with what I’ve got. This is the body that carried 3 children. This is the body that went through 3 c-sections to birth them. As my favorite expression goes,

It is what it is!

Be All That You Can BE

Jan15

I’ve been told recently that I am a competitive person. It was pointed out that I run the races that I do only because I’m competitive. I’ve even been told that my cake baking proves that I am competitive because no one spends hours on a cake unless to “show off.”

I’m going to show off now…..

These are birthday cakes that I made for my boys birthday parties. These were the “family” cakes.

I am proud of them. i do like to show them off:)

Moving along…..

I, honestly, do not agree with this assessment that I am competitive. Yes, I like to bake extravagant cakes. Yes, I like to run all types of races. Yes, I post it all over the place and am proud of my work and accomplishments. That being said, I am not a competitive person. I have a very simple reason how I can prove that I’m not competitive too.

Because although I am decent at cake decorating and I am usually a middle of the packer in my races, the truth of the matter is that if I compare myself to others I will not win.

Now, hold on……

I’m not putting myself, my skills, or anything down. I’m speaking honestly. I’m ok with it. I know that I would never win the next great baker competition. I also know that I do have some mad skills:) I know that I will never win any of the races that I enter. I also know that I have come unbelievably far in a short amount of time. Knowing that there are those who are better than me, doesn’t take away from any of the enjoyment that I get from them. Not in the least. It might even allow me to enjoy them more than those that are always trying to prove themselves because if you are always looking at what someone else is doing you are missing out on what you are doing..

There is NOTHING wrong with being a middle of the packer.

With anything.

As I tell my boys, the only thing that you can do in life is to try your hardest. I give whatever I do 100%. The only person that I ever compete with is myself. All I want to do is push MY limits. Do the best that I CAN do. If you waste your energy comparing yourself to everyone else that leaves very little time to see what you can accomplish.

It’s ok not to be in the front of the pack.

It’s ok not to win.

Just remember that the only person that you are really competing with is yourself.

The Army got it right….

Be All That You Can Be

Every Day.

In every part of your life.

Unless your Shirley McClain, you only live once.

So you might as well give it your all:)

Lastly, I just want to say that I am not putting anyone down who is competitive. It’s just not my nature:)

Are you competitive?

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!