Self-Talk

I'm finding more and more that a lot of running, or any kind of exercise really, is all about attitude and being able to talk yourself through it when it gets hard.  I watched my friends husband on the Biggest Loser this week.  I enjoy that show and watching the people feel successful in their journey.  Having someone I know on the show adds another layer of inspiration.  One of the things that has always stood out to me is the way the trainers talk to the participants.  They all have different styles, some harsher than others.  But basically all they are doing is being the Self-Talk for the person because that person's Self-Talk isn't there or is to quiet.

What do I mean by Self-Talk?  Well, it's how you talk to yourself to keep moving, keep going, work through the pain.  Tonight I did one mile of intervals.  I was running on the track and had to do a three mile run.  I decided that for the second mile I would run as fast as I could on the straight stretches and walk on the corners.  Each interval got a little slower (which I know is normal) and harder.  I had finished three laps doing this and had one more to go, which meant two more sprints.  I was whining in my head and then I decided that I could do it.  I can do anything two times.  So I finished that lap with sprints.  Next I had decided before my run that I would run the first mile, intervals the second mile and then run the last mile.  I got two laps into my last mile and I was tired and everything was starting to hurt and I was considering walking.  Then I realized that I only had two laps to go and as I had decided earlier, I can do anything two times.  So I finished up my run as planned.

Two different times during this run my body and brain tried to convince me to slow down or quit.  Two different times my Self-Talk got me through it and I kept going.  I don't have Jillian, Bob or Dolvett yelling at me and getting in my face to keep me moving.  I have to do it for myself.  That hasn't been easy for me in the past but I'm working on it.

Success is coming.  I am seeing a small increase in my average speed over the last week which is a good feeling.  My scale is reflecting some changes.  I will share in a few days when I'm sure that it is a stable loss and not a fluctuation.   :-) I am tired this week after going back to work but I am not as exhausted as I was feeling last month so I'm hopeful the B12 is working.  I am having to let some things go in order to get my runs in.  My house still has Christmas lights on it and I have decorations still out.  I'll take care of it this weekend.  I can only do so much and I'm trying to learn to put myself first.  Not an easy task for a working wife and mother.  There is always so much to get done.

I did 1/2 hour of cross-training yesterday, arm exercises with weights (per my nutritionist) and crunches.  Tomorrow I'm supposed to do one hour of cross-training so I will repeat that and add 1/2 hour swim.  We will see how it goes.  :-)

My good friend Faylene posted a meme on Facebook today for me.  Another good reminder that I'm WAY ahead of people that aren't doing anything.  It said "6 minutes or 16 minutes, a mile is still a mile."

Here's my run information for today:

Keep Moving!!!  

Balancing Act

Life is a balancing act and sometimes I feel like one of those clowns at the circus.  You know the ones I'm talking about.  The ones that have the really long sticks and they are twirling plates on the top of the sticks.  At first they have one stick with a plate, that's not too bad.  Then they add another stick and plate.  Now they have one in each hand, keeping the sticks moving to keep the plates going.  Then they start having another clown add sticks more sticks to their hands and you just keep waiting for one of the plates to fall.

With work, husband, kids, sports, house cleaning, meals, grading, etc.  (the list goes on) I feel like I'm holding all those sticks trying desperately to keep the plates in the air.  In order to keep myself from going complete crazy I have often laid down the sticks that I felt weren't important.  Guess what those things were.  Yep, things that were just for me.  It is so easy for me to keep things going when it is for others but when it is important for me it gets low priority.  I'm learning that I have to make myself a higher priority.  In the long run, a healthier mom, wife and teacher will make for one that has an easier time keeping all those plates in the air.

I was at work a little after 7 a.m.  Had a great day with my students.  Various things after work kept me there until after 5 and I didn't get home until close to 6.  According to my 10K training schedule I was supposed to do a 3.5 mile run today.  So I got home, changed my clothes and headed out.

I had all my safety gear, reflective vest, red flashy light and flashlight.  I ran down a road that is near my house that has good sidewalks, is well lit and is busy.  This way I could see well, be seen well and there was lots of traffic around in case something happened.  If I am running in the dark alone I try not to be stupid about it.  My family knew where I was going and about how long it should take.

I did okay.  The first mile was okay, second mile was slower but sped things up for the third mile.  Ran the 3.5 and then walked the last bit to my house.

I have now been running every other day since the day after Christmas.  I feel like I'm on the right track for change.  I have to keep reminding myself that I may not see any change.  I have my next doctor's appointment in February.  I want to be able to go in there and really feel like I have done absolutely everything that I am supposed to do to be healthy.

Here are the stats about my run:

So day 1 of work and running is done.  I felt like I was running in place and getting nowhere fast.  But since I'm trying to change my attitude....at least I was running!  :-)

Hills!!!

Happy Anniversary to me!  My husband and I are celebrating our 23^rd anniversary today.  He surprised me with a couple of nights as a Bed & Breakfast in Newport.  We arrived last night.  We would have shown up earlier in the day but he surprised me with my first ever massage before we left.  Joe has been getting a sports massage about once a month to help with his Ironman training.  We had to stop in Corvallis because he had one scheduled.  What I didn’t know was that he had scheduled a massage for me right after he was done.  It was AMAZING!  It felt so good.  If you need a good place for a massage and you live in the Corvallis/Albany area you need to go see Wendie Gum at Body of Health & Wellness.  http://www.yourbodyofhealth.com  She rocks!!  After my massage we headed to the beach.  I still didn’t know where we were going but it was fun to be surprised.  I’m married to a very good man!

Today was supposed to be a four mile run.  My original plan was to run two miles down the beach and then two miles back.  However, where we are staying has a wide stream going right along the rocks for a very long way and no way to get around it easily on the beach.  We decided that we could just run out to the Yaquina Lighthouse and back since the B&B is just down from the entrance on Hwy 101.  So I went from going on a flat run to going on a hill run. 

Now, I have been on that road before in our car.  But hills look much different when you are walking or running up them.  Here's the difference.

 

Total exaggeration I will admit but that’s how it feels.  I ran all the way out to the lighthouse without stopping and was feeling pretty good.  But then I realized that in order to get my four miles in I would either have to run out to the lighthouse twice or I would have to make the loop longer.  I saw Joe coming down this trail behind the lighthouse and figured, no pain, no gain and headed up.  I got to the second switchback and had to start walking.  It was a long ways up.  I was getting frustrated that I was walking but then I reminded myself that I was out there doing it and I would get some great pictures at the top.  Here are the pictures:

So today was about distance and hills rather than speed.  I think my legs and butt are going to be tight later today.  J  Here’s the information from todays excursion:

Joe and I will be enjoying the rest of our mini-vacation, adding to our 23 years of memories.  I’m very lucky to be able to spend my life with my best friend!! 

Keep me in your thoughts during the next week as I go back to work.  This will be where it gets hard for me to keep running cause I’m so tired from work.  Hopefully the B-12 is helping and I won’t be as wiped at the end of the day!  

Counting my Blessings

Today I ran a 5K.  And it was very, very cold.  And I am sore.  And I'm running SO slow! And I started the run with a bad attitude.  Since I'm working on changing my attitude I started thinking about it while I ran.  The nice thing about running is that you have time to let your mind meander.  ;)

I was thinking about how I did an awful lot of "Why me?" and "Poor me!" last year.  Obviously that has to change and so while on my run I started thinking about all the blessings in my life.  I know I have them but when I started listing them in my head I realized that my cup runneth over.  (Ha ha, runneth, get it? lol)

So here are my blessings I came up with on my run.  Some are obvious and some I realized I had been taking for granted.

• My husband!  My best friend and biggest fan.  He wants me to be healthy but has never made me feel like he won't love me because I'm heavy.  He is training for an Ironman next June and I love being able to be his biggest fan too.
• My children!  I have three fantastic kids.  They are bright, funny people and I love being their mom.  
• Dwayne & Faylene.  Our best friends and we have laughed (a lot) over the years.  Faylene lets me vent and be frustrated about my weight struggles but never says to just take care of it.  Although I'm sure she has thought it!  Dwayne just encourages me all the time.  I couldn't ask for better friends!
• New friends Josh & Wendie.  God puts people in your life just when you need them.  It isn't often that you find people you click with immediately.  I have learned to hold on to those people when I find them.  Josh & Wendie, you are stuck with me now!  
• My Job.  I LOVE what I do!  I teach 7th & 8th Grade Social Studies and I love every frustrating, rewarding minute of it.  I work at a great school with a supportive administrator (believe me, that isn't always the case) and I work with two great teachers in Social Studies.  They have made my transition into the job this year so fun and I really enjoy working with them.  I love working with kids, they have so much potential and they are so funny!  I laugh at work everyday!  Can't get much better than that.
• My home.  I live in a very nice home, with plenty of room and a huge backyard.  I have great neighbors and schools.  I know that when I go out on a cold day for a run I will come home to a nice warm house and then follow that up with a nice warm shower.  

Since it's was a shorter run that's all I came up with for today.  But what a great list!

I use the NIKE+ app when I run.  I started using it when I first started running because I didn't have a smart phone but could use the sensor and my iPod to track my miles.  When I got my iphone I switched over to Nike+gps.  I like the app for the most part.  I can't decide if I should switch over to Runkeeper, which is what my husband uses, or stick with Nike.

Here is the information from my run today:

I worked hard at the end to have a negative split for my last mile.  You have to know that sharing my time is hard for me because I'm really self-conscious about how slow I am.  But I figure that is another motivation for me to work on getting faster!  If I get faster then I won't feel so self-concious about it, right?  Right!  

Inspiration!

Inspiration comes in many forms and sometimes at unexpected times.  Found the post from Flintland this morning on Facebook and I loved it.  It shows what I have felt over the last two and half years of my own journey in running.  Not so much the struggle, the running slow and being out of breath.  More the idea that people who run and truly love to run are part of a wonderful community.  I have never been in a race or part of an event where someone said "You suck, why are you here?"  Every time I get nothing but high fives, you go girl! and encouragement all along the way.

If you are looking for motivation, sign up for a race, any length will do.  My first was a 5K.  I was dead last and probably a good 10 minutes behind everyone else.  I was cheered at the end like I had just won the gold medal at the Olympics.  Hard not to feel proud with that kind of reaction from complete strangers.  The thing is, they understand.  They know that you have accomplished much just by being there.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that when it's cold, rainy and I would rather be sitting on my couch eating ice cream.  But then I see my finisher medals from all the races I have done over the last two years and I put on my running shoes and GO!  :-)

Setting up my training schedule for a 10K later this month.  Just a warm up for the half marathons I'm doing in April!  Time to get serious.  I hope you will join my running community in cheering me on.  I also hope that you will join my running community if you haven't already.  It's a pretty wonderful group of people to hang out with.  :-)

FlintLand: Hey, Fat Girl.

FlintLand: Hey, Fat Girl.: Yes, you. The one feigning to not see me when we cross paths on the running track. The one not even wearing sports gear, breathing heavy...

Hangover Run!

I have two goals for 2013.  I want to be as healthy as possible and have a ton of fun along the way.  So what do I do the first day of the new year?  I ran in a 3K run called The Hangover Run.  It is put on by the fabulous people at Run Wild Adventures!  If you want to check out races put on by them here's the link:

http://www.runwildadventures.com

They do all kinds of trail runs and mud runs from fall until spring all over Oregon.  So much fun!

It was very cold today when we started.  I think it was around 28 degrees.  This made it a bit hard for me to breath.  The cure for this problem came at the aid stop halfway through the race.  This station had the normal water and more!  It's not every race that has beer, Bloody Marys, and whiskey shots to get you through the race.  I had a whiskey shot and that warmed me right up and funny, breathing wasn't as hard the second half of the race.

After the grueling (ha!) 3K they also had a beer mile.  I did not participate since I really don't like beer.  However, my hubby did and it was VERY entertaining to watch.  The runners had to down a glass of beer, run a quarter mile, another beer, another quarter mile, etc.  Basically 4 beers as they ran one mile.  If anyone puked they had to run a penalty lap.  So gross!

All in all it was a great day with good friends and lots of laughing!  Not a bad way to start off 2013!

My awesome hubby and me before the race!  It was COLD!!  :-)

Day one of the new attitude was successful!  I hope everyone had a great NewYears Day!  Happy New Year!!!