Tag Archive | Motivation

Why Ask Why?

I was recently asked why I would ever run a Marathon. This person must not know that I actually signed up for a 50K, but that is a different story. They were wondering why I would ever want to run a marathon especially a trail one where I ran over six and a half hours. My answer is complicated and yet simple at the same time.

Let’s be honest, everyone has their thing. Everyone has something that someone else might look at and question, “Why?”

Some don’t understand the drawl of Crossfit, Spinning, hot Yoga, biking, or the many other types of exercises available. They might not be for you, but I bet they are for someone else.

So my question is why not?

What does it matter what someone wants to do? They do not need our approval. Probably aren’t even looking for it. We are all grown ups here. As long as we are not doing anything illegal or that is hurting someone, to each their own I say. This is one of the things that make the world so wonderful. We are all different. We all follow our own paths. Even those of us with similar paths do not follow the same one.

Now sometimes people will ask why because they might not be able to wrap their head around why anyone would want to run for hours on end. I will say that it is really not something that I can explain either. I run these distances not only for the challenges of them, but also many other reasons. The feeling of accomplishment afterwards is awesome, yet there is more to it than that. I run them because I actually like to run them. Yes, maybe not ever second of every run yet still…. There are times that you get into a rhythm with your feet, your breathing, your mind and you just keep going because it’s perfect. There is truth in the runners high. It is why we keep coming back for more.

Some things in life must be experienced to fully understand. Like someone trying to explain to you what being a parent feels like. It is something that is intangible till experienced. I can tell you about the peace running brings me. The calmness felt after a good run. The joy of crossing a finish line. The pride in having done something and many other things that running brings no matter what the distance. It still isn’t enough. Some things in life must be felt to understand. This is why runners as a whole usually stand (or run) together.

We know what most people won’t know until they experience it themselves is that

Running is Aweome

Amazing

Calming

and

Bad@ss!

So my question is not why?

My question is why not?

All By Myself…..

Dec28

I’ve been bad.

I’ve been negligent.

I’ve fallen off the wagon.

I’ve eaten more cookies than one person has a right to eat.

I’m going to do better and get back into my routine. I miss my routine. I need it too.

This recently became very apparent when due to not having an outlet for daily stress, I just picked up and went for a 4 1/2 mile run. Wouldn’t be out of the ordinary, but not only was it pouring rain (not just rain, but pouring rain); it was also mid morning of Christmas Eve. I could and should have been doing other things. My body needed it and so did my mind. I played no music as I had my phone wrapped up for it’s protection and just ran with my on thoughts. I wonder how I processed things before I ran. Maybe I never did. Who knows? Although my sister did say that I have become more insightful this past year. I really do believe the running has helped.

Some people meditate.

Some people do Yoga.

I apparently Run.

All By Myself.

There is something to be said to taking time for yourself not just for exercise but to be alone with your thoughts. To carve out a part of the day, just for yourself. It’s not selfish either. Sometimes it makes or breaks your day. This is not to say that every run needs to be a meditative run if you will, but when you need time with your thoughts there is no better way that I know to work it out. Pounding the pavement doesn’t hurt either.

So I need to get back to my routine. Maybe even figuring out what that will be would be helpful.

The funny thing though is that once other people start to identify you as a runner, they will expect you to run. If they are a runner too, they might even expect you to run with them leading to more running. When my sister used to come to town from California, she would ask to go out to breakfast or visit the local downtown. Now she informs me that we need to go running as it’s my fault I talked her into signing up for a half. Not me? I would never do something like that.

Oh wait, I do that all the time.

And since I’ve already poured some kool aid for myself thinking that I might be in for the NYRR 9 plus 1 next year, it’s time to get myself on a schedule and out the door again. Besides now that both my body and mind are used to the running time, they don’t function as well without it.

Break time’s over.

Holding It Together

Nov20

So there is a heavyness that it starting to press on my chest. It started this morning as this is the day I am planning to get all my sh*t together. Ok, I will never have it all together, but this is the day that I plan to get all my gear together for this weekend. I need to start getting it together today as tomorrow and Saturday morning is just going to be crazy as normal in my house.

Tomorrow night we are going out with my Middle Guy’s soccer team to celebrate them winning their league championship.

Yeah Middle Guy~

Then Saturday morning I have to wake up early and take Big Guy and Little Guy to pick up their Scouting for Food Bags. Shortly after that I’m off to Philly.

I admit it. I’m nervous. I’m nervous more than I thought I would be. I can’t really put my finger on it either. I’m not nervous about finishing as I think I will. I’m not worried about my time as that will be irrelevant to me as long as I finish. What I’m really most nervous about is how I am going to feel afterwards. One of my running friends told me that she doesn’t think that she will ever do a Marathon because someone she knows did one injuring herself and now can’t run. That thought actually never occurred to me (until now).

Yes, I’m expecting blisters.

I’m expecting pain.

I’m expecting sore muscles like never before.

Why am I doing this again? lol

What never occurred to me though is that I could injure myself and not be able to run again.

You know I worry about my foot.

Now, I know that I am being silly because I know A LOT of 1 percenters.

Not the rich 1%, but the 1% of the population that has run marathons.

None of them has ever been permanently sidelined.

So I need to stop freaking myself out.

I need to start focusing on the important things, like

What to wear?

Yes, that is always important. Seems like the weather is going to cooperate!

But since I won’t be home, I do need to make sure that I take extra just in case the weather forecast is wrong

because we all know that never happens:)

Looking Forward Not Back

Nov18

It’s funny the things that a person can find inspiration in. I was reading to my son before bed. We were reading Geronimo Stilton A Very Merry Christmas because you know it’s Christmas time already. (Yes, we have jumped the shark a little, but don’t worry I don’t have my decorations up yet). Anyway as I’m reading, this jumped out at me.

“I didn’t know if I could go on. I was exhausted. But I couldn’t give up now. I had to prove to myself.”

No I am not a mouse on an adventure in New York City, but these words jumped off the page at me. I thought immediately that this is probably how I am going to feel on Sunday. Hopefully I won’t feel this way till well after mile 20, but one never knows. I need to remember these words. When I think of the actually number of miles that I will be running on Sunday, it boggles my mind. So I try not to think of it. It’s just another long run with lots of people in a big city. I wonder why not only am I doing it, but why I’m paying good money to do it. It really is a strange concept but to know that I will be willingly pushing myself to the limit as never before is both exciting and scary.

I have been inspired by many Mama runners some that I know personally and some that I only know from what they share on their blogs. They push themselves inspiring me to push myself like never before. Because of them, I believe that I can do things that were unimaginable to me before. It’s a beautiful thing when instead of constantly telling yourself that you can’t do something that you start to asking yourself,

“Why Not?”

Honestly,

Why Not?

All my life, I was typecast. I allowed it to happen. I’m breaking the mold now. I’ve been doing it for a long time, but there has always been a part of me still stuck in the mold. This is my time to prove to myself not to anyone else but myself that I can do anything I want. Totally shattering the mold. I am no longer the “fat kid” who when I look at pictures really wasn’t that fat. I haven’t been that person in a long time even before I started on this journey, but I always carried a small part of her with me. A tinge of her doubts. She has made me the person that I am today and I owe this to her. I owe it to the strong determined woman that I am today. I will push myself like I’ve never pushed before all the while knowing that there is no reason I can’t do it.

I’ve also been told by a few people recently that my journey is inspiring them to start on their own personal journey as each journey is unique and personal. If you had ever told me that there would be a day that I would be inspiring other people, I would have flat out told you that you didn’t know what you were talking about. There was a time that I couldn’t even inspire myself but those days are gone. Long Gone. It’s not that I am some super athlete because I’m not. Not even close. It’s not because I am super knowledgeable about running because I’m still learning. But I think I make up for not being a “traditional athlete” with sheer determination. I’ve said it before, I can be one determined SOB.

Eye on the Prize.

What Makes a Runner?

Oct27

I will admit some people are literally born to run. They have the long legs and lean shape that makes pushing through the wind an act of beauty and ease. Now just as everyone who was given the God gift of a runners body does not like to run, many of us who are not so lucky also choose to run.

I am one such person who was not born with a runners body nor do I have any hope of developing one. I am not even remotely close to being tall at my 5 foot 2 which may also be a slight exaggeration. I have short legs and I do not have the lean physique of top runners. You would never look at me and think, “Wow, she must be a runner!” I will let you in on a little secret though. I am still a runner.

The Webster definition of a runner is as follows:

run·ner

noun \ˈrə-nər\

: a person who runs as part of a sport, for exercise, or in a race

There is nothing in this defniton that says that says that I can’t be a runner. I meet the criteria. I run both for exercise and in races. So check, I’m a runner. I don’t even need to do the races and I still qualify. I have the desire and heart to be a runner and that’s all it takes. I may never (and there really is no may in this sentence) be more than a middle of the Pack runner and I’m ok with that. I’m still a runner and that is all that matters.

I have even been told that I must look funny running fast (that being a relative term) because of how short I am. Well I have never crossed a finish line where they asked for my height, so that really doesn’t matter to me. And if you have seen some of the things that I’ve worn while running, you know that I really don’t care much about looking silly or others opinions too much. I run for me and I hope that you have the confidence to run for you.

I think often we limit ourselves with thinking we can’t do something because maybe we don’t fit the traditional mold. I hate molds. I hate limits. I like to push limits and prove that I can do things that both myself and others thought that I could never accomplish.. The worst thing that we can do in life is let others expectations and views define us. We need to break the molds and be who we want to be letting no ones keep us from reaching for the stars.

Do you push your limits too?

Suck it up, Buttercup!

Oct7

Final Installment of Grete’s Gallop HM

So you’ve seen outfits.

You’ve read about the course.

Now it’s time to get to the actual mechanics of the run.

I bet your ready to hear more about rainbows and sunshine. Well your in for a real treat because the actual run kind of sucked!

Are you shocked that I said that?

Don’t be.

Yes, I ended up trudging through it which is what I needed to do. It was a great training course with the rolling hills of the park. This was the perfect course to prepare me for my Hat Trick. To prove to myself that I could run it without stopping.

Yes, I finished in a decent time of 2:20:04. You know what? It still sucked.

Why?

Let’s see………

Around mile 3, I developed a muscle cramp

(AKA a charlie horse in my right calf)

Around mile 7, my damn toe and ball of my foot started to hurt.

Then there were the lies – This is the last hill. It’s all down hill from here. Your almost there.

But in the end it didn’t matter.

I crossed the finish line and although I didn’t forget any of the pain,

It was worth it.

I needed to know that I could push through the pain and finish.

I did.

Rule of the road when running in a tutu

You need to be able to back it up:)

I’m not sure if I would have finished as quickly though without friends to share the pain with.

One friend may have seen a different side of me as I may have been a bit of a sailor with my words to deal with the pain.

One friend was inspiring because she was dealing with her own pain from pushing herself to her limits and she kept going.

Even better,

We all smiled when we crossed the finish line together!

I will have to remind myself that I can do it, no matter what.

Right now, I’m focused on getting my legs and feet back in shape.

I’ve got 10 days to go till the Hat Trick.

If anything, this run taught me that sometimes you just have to suck it up and run through the pain

because

Pain really is temporary (in this case)

and

the felling of accomplishment will be forever.

Don’t Stop Believing

Apr24

The problem with training is that you never feel like you did enough or there is enough time to do what you want and keep up at home. Today was Strength Training with my friend, but the problem was life got in the way. My husband last minute needed me to do some errands for him which meant I didn’t get to the gym when I wanted. My friend and I still managed to do a few things and then I spent some time on my own Strength Training and doing Abs. And for the love of all that is holey, can someone tell me when all these Ab exercises are going to kick in!?! I am so tired of not seeing any toning with my abs. I can’t be the only one.

Somehow I still managed to squeeze in an hour workout, plus a 30 minute run on the treadmill. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself (and I do).

Still…….

The doubts….

Am I making progress????

Can I do this?????

and

What was I thinking??????

I just read an article about how runners never feel like they are fast enough and this keeps many from joining running groups. Even elite runners, don’t see themselves as they should. I wonder if this is just human nature. Yes, I know that there are those that think they are better than everyone else, but I believe these individuals are not the norm. That is probably why we often notice them and roll their eyes at them too.

I believe most of us look in the mirror, the scale, the pant size, the time on the treadmill and it just never seems to be what we think it should be. We are plagued with self doubt. We are are harshest critics and it is so easy to pick out the flaws. But I guess the real test is what we do with those feelings? Do we pack it in and say, “Never mind I will never be able to do this. I will never be good enough. What was I thinking.”

I say no. Not that I think I know what I’m talking about, but I do know what I need to do. I need to keep on moving. I need to keep believing that maybe, just maybe I will be able to do this. They say it really is mind over matter and if I don’t believe I can do this, how will anyone else.

Live, Laugh, Love

Push it. Push it Good…

Mar21

You know your in training, when you expect to be sore all the time and you take Motrin with your breakfast. But I keep pushing myself. Why I’m not sure. Yesterday, I was feeling down on myself because I am still only down those 6 or so pounds. I was wondering why am doing all of this week for a measly 6 pounds. But as much as I didn’t want to, I still made myself go to the gym. I’ve come to far to give up.

Once at the gym, I still was not feeling it, but once your there it’s too late to back out. At least yesterdays class had no burpees. Do you know what a burpee is? If not consider yourself lucky! But for those curious, here is a picture of a burpee…..

Don’t they look fun?? Not in the least, I agree. Now even though there were none of these yesterday, we still had a challenging day which involved 200 yard sprints. And I mean sprints, the instructor continued to point out that this wasn’t a jog, but a sprint (and when I say point out, I mean holler out). How many sprints…..

WEDNESDAY MARCH 20, 2013 IS AS FOLLOWS
WARM UP
HEAVY HIP/CALVE STRETCHES OR FOAM ROLLS
HIGH KNEES IN PLACE
STAIONARY PUNTER KICKS (5-8 EACH LEG)
WRIST STRETCHES ON THE FLOOR OR WITH THE USE OF BOTH HANDS
THEN….
SPARTAN RUN (PUSH AND SQUAT)
SPRINT 200 METERS/50 PUSH UPS/ 15 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/45 PUSH UPS/20 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/40 PUSH UPS/25 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/35 PUSH UPS/30 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/30 PUSH UPS/35 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/25 PUSH UPS/40 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/20 PUSH UPS/45 SQUATS
SPRINT 200 METERS/15 PUSH UPS/50 SQUATS

Doesn’t it look like fun. It wasn’t (obviously, although some might think so). Believe it or not, I did it. I may have been the last to do it, but I did it! I wasn’t sure I would be able to, but I’m happy. I am sore today. It took me a moment to realize why when I was reaching for my coffee cup. I focused on the sprinting, but those push ups are killers. And I do them the cheater way with knees.

So today I’m feeling a little better about everything. It might be because after showering yesterday, I put a nice comfy pair of jeans on. Jeans that a while ago were not comfy at all. Jeans that I couldn’t even wear. So, I have to keep reminding myself it is not the weight on the scale, but the way I fit in my clothes. That muscle really does weigh more than fat and one day it will all just come together.

But now it is time to get off the computer and getting running. Literally! I’m off to run/jog/walk 3 miles with my girlfriends. I believe that it the key to staying focused. Having work out partners to keep you going when you don’t want to go any more!

Live, Laugh, Love!

Go Big or Go Home

Mar12

I was at Bootcamp this morning. I was supposed to start my running training, but it’s raining. Yes, I know that it could rain the day of the Triathlon, but I’m not starting out in the rain. That’s a whole different post. So anyway, before class while we were stretching someone asked about what I had signed up for. When I told them, they asked why I just didn’t start out with a 5K run.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that probably would have been the more rational thing to do. Then again, I really never claimed to be rational, did I? Yes, I know it’s crazy. Yes, I know people are probably scratching their heads thinking she’s not going to make it. I even wonder it too, but I know if I make it out of the bay; I will finish it. Don’t know how long it will take, but I will finish it:)

I also know that I am not going into this like an idiot like some people think. I realize that I just got my behind off the couch 6 weeks ago, but the Triathlon isn’t till September. I’ve got time. And I am using that time wisely. I am doing Bootcamp classes (until my Groupon runs out). I am running/walking. I am doing laps at the pool. I am preparing and doing all that I can do to be ready. I am putting my big (hopefully to be smaller) panties on and getting ready for this!

My reply to the person today was that I just needed a goal and I really do. If I wasn’t “training,” I more than likely would not have gone to the gym today. It’s a cold, rainy, dreary day and I went yesterday. I would have just skipped it since I’m going swimming tonight. But the fact that I know I only have a limited amount of time to get it together is keeping me motivated and moving. That’s all I can do.

The real question is, what is going to motivate me when it’s all over??????

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!