You just keep going!

Monday, January 16, 2012

I was telling my Dad about my run on the trail the other morning...5.25 miles, 26 degrees. He said..."I don't know how you do that?"

Today I was thinking about this when I was out there...a little warmer, 29 degrees. My tracks in the snow are the only ones of the morning. Am I crazy? I don't know, but I'm loving it so I just keep going!!!

I was remembering when I was younger (grade school age)...my Dad and I would love it when it would snow. It meant spending hours playing in the snow on the 3-wheelers. We’d be out all night long in the cold and wet weather, but it was so much fun! When I’d start to feel cold my Dad would say, “You just have to keep going”. He was right…the more we’d keep playing and moving the warmer I’d feel and the longer I could enjoy it!

This definitely played a part in who I am today. The answer to my Dad’s question…”I don’t know how you do that?”
YOU DON’T GIVE UP…YOU JUST KEEP GOING!!!

From the trail this morning…

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Thoughts from the trail...

Friday, November 18, 2011

After two days of pouring rain, I woke this morning to more rain! Only as the kids started eating breakfast the rain transitioned into a snow mix, and by the time we left for school it was more wet snow than rain. It wasn't cold enough for it to stick, but it sure was fun to see it coming down!

So here I am with my ipod strapped to my arm and running shoes on...windshield wipers running. I dropped my son off at school and am trying to think of every reason why I shouldn't just go home and crawl back into bed. But, my jeep drove me to the trail...my intended destination.

While I'm sitting in the empty parking lot, I'm thinking about how cold it is. Do I really want to do this? The rain hasn't stopped me before! I've been out in far worse than this! And this isn't even rain...it's white stuff! Before I know it, I have my ear bud in and out I go! No turning back now!!!

I think I must be crazy! But you know what? Once I got going, I was having so much fun and felt so free!!! The further I got the more empowered I felt! It was great to be out enjoying the weather...watching the hills around me turn white! It was fun dodging those puddles! I couldn't help but to feel proud of myself!!! Here I am, a 39 year old woman who never would have dreamed of doing this a couple years ago! Look at me go!!! I love this! I love the challenge of it and the accomplishment of it!

Sure...by the time I was done I was a drippy mess and couldn't wait to get home and in the shower. But once I was warmed back up I had a wonderful day and felt great for having gotten out to enjoy the outdoors despite the weather.

This is just a reminder to myself that there are always "excuses" as to why I don't want to, but no "reason" why I shouldn't! No matter how hard that bad angel on my shoulder tries to give me reasons not to do my exercise...I always win over once I get started and push forward with it!!! You know what...I like winning!!!

Wet day on the trail...where I run!

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A New Challenge...

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

I'm being presented with a challenge, and that challenge is patience.

Patience: The state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one's character can take before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast.


The Problem: This is a tough one for me because having patience is something I've never been good at. Having patience makes me feel that I'm not the one in control. I've worked so hard at overcoming different mind games through this journey, and this is making it even more difficult for me to allow myself time to be patient.

The issue: I've gone from someone who thought she'd NEVER run, to someone who suddenly had a strange curiosity for it and NOW LOVES RUNNING!!! I love the everyday challenge that it gives me and the everyday accomplishments and self confidence that I feel from it. Well, I seem to have injured my knee. About two weeks ago I tweaked it when I was doing dumbbell lunges. At first it wasn't bad, but eventually it got worse making it impossible for me to completely finish my 4 mile runs. So, I decided (much to my dislike) a week and a half ago that I better give it a rest. Let me just say that this has been so hard for me and I've missed it so much. It's weird to have these feelings for an activity that I never thought I'd do, but I'm hooked and I crave it!

Today I was planning to "just walk" on the treadmill. Well...back to the problem of lack of patience. My knee doesn't hurt in general, so I figured how bad could it be? I decided to try running to see how it would feel. I took it slow...only going 5mph and figured I'd stop if it started to hurt in any way. I made it two miles before I felt any type of trouble! I immediately went to a walk which was completely fine. Then the fourth mile came and I figured I'd bump it back up to the slow run...NOPE!!! Shooting pain, not going to happen. And if that wasn't enough of a reminder, the "constant" pain in my knee has now returned.

Lessons learned: I truly LOVE running, and it felt so good to be doing that after a week and a half. It was too soon though...I have to listen to my body and be patient if I want to get back to running like I was doing before. I have to set my desire aside for the time being and just be patient...I need to let my knee heal, completely.

The Challenge:
I will learn to be more patient!
I will listen to my body and give it what it needs for my knee to heal!
I will stay positive!

I take on the challenge of Patience!!!

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Look how far you've come, baby!!!"

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

My run was such a struggle for me today. As a routine, I have to spend time each morning playing my mind game. The one where my mind tells me to just skip my workout...and where I say NO...I'm going to do that workout no matter what! I actually do a great job at winning this mind game and always feel better once I get into my workout.

Today...I was fighting the mind game the entire time. It was like in the cartoons when you have the good angel in white on one shoulder telling you that you're making the right decisions and doing great! And on the other shoulder you have the bad angel in black telling you that you're wasting your time, what are you working so hard for, just stop.

Why was I having such a hard time today? As I was working my way through my mind game and pushing myself to keep running, I gave this some serious thought and I came up with the conclusion that perhaps we're given these days to remind us how far we've come!

I still consider myself a beginner runner. I started running on the treadmill in September, but only for a minute at a time. I kept working on increasing those distances until I was up to 5 minutes, then 7 minutes, then 15 minutes...I kept working at it until I was up to 3 nonstop miles. At that point I took my run to the trail. That didn't start out so well as it was new to me, out of my comfort zone, and I could feel it much differently in my muscles. I kept working at it though and eventually I fell in love with running on the trail and was going 3.6 miles nonstop. I loved it so much that I'd be out there rain or shine and in all temperatures. Now I'm up to over 4 nonstop miles and absolutely love the challenge and accomplishment that I get from it every time!

What's important to point out is that I've never enjoyed running...in fact, I could safely say that I hated it. At one point my husband wanted a treadmill and I told him I'd never get on the thing. My first lesson learned here was that I should never say never because you don't know if you don't give it a try. One day I just suddenly had a curiosity for it and got on that treadmill. I now remind myself of this whenever I tell myself that I can't or don't want to do something.

So all of this is going through my mind today while I'm running. I really wanted to stop at a half mile, but I kept working the mind game and thinking about how far I've come...and I kept running. Before I knew it, I had finished my 4 miles!!!

Some things I learned today...
Quitting is easy, and so was gaining weight.
Never count myself out before I've tried something, because I'm capable of anything I set my mind to!
I'm in this for life and I can absolutely finish what I've started!

Also...by the end of my 4 miles, I had to tell myself..."Look how far you've come, baby"!

I think todays struggles gave me the opportunity to really think about that! I'm very proud of how far I've come and I know there's no limit to what I'm capable of!!!

We all get days were our workouts are more of a struggle than others. I hope my thoughts today help you get through your struggles with an appreciation for how far you've come! What have you been able to do that you didn't think you could? What progress and successes are you proud of?

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How much is too much?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I love a bargain! And especially since I'm a full time housewife and mother, I get great joy in finding a good deal. I enjoy clipping coupons and seeing how much I can reduce my grocery totals. I hate having to throw away a coupon that has expired because it feels like I'm throwing away money...the really add up!

My favorite thing to find a bargain on is cereal. I never buy any cereal unless it's on sale for under $2, then I match up my coupons. Usually I can get a box of cereal for 98cents! WOW...that's a deal!!! The problem with this is finding cereal on sale that my family will eat. Sometimes I'll go shopping and won't get any cereal because none of our choices are on sale. While other times I'll go and hit the jackpot and will stock up! It's just kind of a hit or miss situation.

Lately I've been hitting the jackpot with all our favorites!!! In fact, I'm thinking that I have a cereal fetish. What do you think?

Yesterday I counted how many boxes of cereal I have stockpiled. Let's see, there's 6 in the kitchen cupboard and 24 in my bedroom closet. Oh my gosh...that's 30 boxes of cereal in my little house!!! I'd say, that in the event of a long period power outage, that we've got it covered. Or, should I decide to open a "cereal" store, I already have the inventory!

I don't know...do you think I have a cereal fetish?

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