Self-Discipline

Self-Discipline is the character trait of the month at my school for February.  We have had some great conversations about what that looks like and how do we get it.  The funny thing is, and the kids got a kick out of this, I didn't have a good way to explain how someone gets self-discipline.   You have to figure out how to get it on your own and that looks different for each person.  It can be anything from having the self-discipline to get out of bed in the morning, doing homework, brushing your teeth, working out, to putting on deodorant.  These are just a few of the things that my students came up with.  They were excited to see that they have self-discipline in many areas of their life.  That made them realize that maybe having self-discipline isn't so far fetched for middle schoolers after all.  We decided as a class that the self-discipline of using deodorant was much appreciated in a middle school setting.  :-)  

The dictionary definition of self-discipline is: "correction or regulation of oneself for the sake of improvement."  I define it as being able to do what needs to get done, even if it is hard.  

I have been working hard at having self-discipline in my exercise and food choices in order to be a healthier woman.  There have been frustrations and times where I just didn't feel like working out or days where I just wanted to eat lots of chocolate.  I am by no means doing everything perfectly but I am determined to do the best I can.  

After seeing the doctor on Thursday I am determined to continue to do everything I can to be healthy since that is all I can control.  

Friday I was supposed to run three miles.  It was POURING outside when I got home from work.  I don't mean a little rain, drizzle or rain shower.  It was dumping!  I decided to use the treadmill.  For whatever reason I just have a hard time running on the dumb thing so I just set it at a nice brisk walking pace and got the three miles in.  

Saturday I had my long run.  This week on the training plan was a 7.5 mile run.  I woke up with a really bad headache.  Headaches are not fun and for whatever reason when I wake up with one it is even worse.  So I took some medicine and drank a lot of water.  I didn't start my run until 10:00 a.m. and the headache was less intense but hadn't gone away completely.  I decided to not push it for negative splits or a faster time but to just keep a steady pace and get the run done.  Mission accomplished!  I kept a steady pace for the entire run and ran the entire time.  I even managed to stay under a 14 minute mile average pace.  I didn't really hurt during the run, just got tired.  I am going to have to start working on what to carry with my for a little recharge on my longer runs.  I'm also going to have to figure out what I can eat for breakfast that doesn't make me burp my breakfast during my run.  That's so nasty!  Overall I was pretty happy with my run and glad that I had pushed through the headache and got it done.  

This was a nice steady pace, exactly like I wanted.  Average pace of 13'44 per mile.  :-)  

 

Today we went hiking with friends and were rewarded with a spectacular view.  The weather today was awesome!  The sun was out, the trail was great and the friends were fabulous!  It was a great way to spend the morning.  

We took a different route to the top then we did last time.  It was fun try something different.  I was still slow but wasn't feeling the extreme soreness while we were hiking that I have had in the past so that was fun.  I felt like I'm making improvements in my abilities.  I would probably be getting faster too but it is hard to haul this big body up the hill very quickly.  :-)

I had sunglasses on!  It's been awhile since the sun has been out and it was great to be out enjoying it!  

This is the view from the top.  It was breathtaking.  We stood at the top and just enjoyed the sun and the view for quite some time.

My hubby and I with the view behind us.  I love that he is willing to take a break or change his training for the Ironman to do hikes with his wife.  It is one of the few activities that we can do together since he is so much faster than me in running, biking, swimming, etc.  :-)  

The training plan I am doing for the Half Marathon has me doing a recovery week every month.  This coming week is my first one.  It means that I ratchet down my runs a little bit as far as distance.  The cross training is upped a little bit and I will be doing some interval work too so it won't be a week off, that's for sure.  

This week had some ups and downs for me.  But I'm feeling good about where I'm at, how far I've come and the direction I am going.  Can't ask for much more than that.