2019 new years goals

Have mom-confidence.  I can raise and give attention to 2 kids without loosing myself!

Never stop believing I can run that 3:00 marathon, no matter how long and hard the road will be.

Must try every Sunday to have home centered church.  It'll work if we try.

Find a NEW thing I like and get better at it.

New years goals

1.  Be socially confident
I am worth knowing, i'm kind and a good friend.
2.  Workout variety
Strength comes in being well rounded
3.  Be present
Life happens off of social media

my Taylor swift song

One thing i'm jealous about it how she uses music as her diary, and they can be deep but so vague at the same time.  I wonder if i could do that?

The wall keeps moving up, climbing
the routine points out the steps, 10,000
Side slide into peace, into new and
forest
admittance one, just 1,000 thoughts
breaths and heartbeats, 50 at a time
close my eyes and I'm
forest

Green and blue, look up its rhyming
Nothing to get back to, no climbing

Success is just over the hill of failure

I found a really good quote before my last marathon in October, it was from the runners world instagram and it goes: "Many of life's failures are people who didn't realize how close they were to success when they gave up."  -Thomas Edison

Isn't it so true that we give up when its getting hard?  Usually near the end of what we started?  We don't give up in the beginning, when its easy, we give up when we are close to success, its a decision.  In pain or struggle, of course the logical thing we tell ourselves to do is quit.  In a mile, its maybe that last minute, in that race its usually the dead zone before seeing the end and having gone so far into the pain cave.

I really loved this quote because it spoke to me, right before setting off on a marathon that i KNEW was going to be hard to finish.  I had to make that decision ahead of time to not let the little voice in my head make the decisions about when I had "nothing left".  I wasn't going to listen to it when it told me I was slowing down and success was not possible.  These times came up around mile 22.  I wasn't going to be a failure though, I was going to know that I was close, that I was SO close and that stopping or slowing down would feel worse than continuing in my very uncomfortable state.

Now, a few months later as I'm training again, I'm not going to let myself talk me out of what I can do.  I won't sell myself short because success is right after the hill of failure, you just have to claw your way over it!

You made the mess

I like to write about things I'm passionate about and boy oh boy does this make me feel a sort of way!  Accountability my friends, has gotten lost somewhere in the 90's and hasn't shown its face since.  Corbin and I talk about this ALL the time because it seems like everyday we run into a problem where someone didn't hold up their end of a deal and we have to suffer the consequences.

Let's go back to when we all used to call each other back.  Now I know I'm quite terrible at this sometimes (sorry Jo) but we're talking about when we were kids and the phone rang on the wall.  you're older sibling answered it, shocked you were getting a phone call and not them, and they gave it to you.  Your friend wanted to play, you didn't really want to because your family just set up the trampoline for the summer and you wanted that bad boy all to yourself.  Luckily your mom is gone and so you have an excuse, "I have to ask my mom", you say, "I'll call you back when she gets home".  Now, the easy thing to do would be to go out and jump on that trampoline pretending you were Zena princess warrior for hours and not call your friend...but you do, you DO call them back because you were taught it was rude to leave someone hanging like that.

Then It was Jr. High and you left your super important history assignment at home.  You freak out for a minute but then remember you have history after lunch and you can call your mom on the school pay phone and ask her to bring it to you. "I'm saved!" you tell your friends.  You take our your quarters and give your mom a call.  Through the loud noise that is Jr High kids at lunch you hear her say, "sorry, you should have put it in your backpack last night so you wouldn't forget".  And that's that, you're not saved.  You bring it the next day and get 10 points taken off and you're mad at your mom but deep down inside you know its your own fault.

Now you're an adult and problems are bigger and scarier than ever but guess what, if you make a mistake or just want to refuse to deal with something, you can always blame someone else and hide!! RIGHT???  This is such a problem!  have you heard these before?: "its the governments fault", "I'll just use my credit card", "I'm just so busy that i dont have time to be healthy", "sorry I didnt make it, was that last night?"

We hear about this being the privileged generation, guess where that comes from?  Not showing by example or teaching correctly the principals of accountability.  Mean what you say, keep obligations, answer for yourself.  You made the mess, not anyone else.

That "crazy runner"

I looked in the mirror before my morning run (denoting there will be another run later in the day) and thought, I am that crazy runner.

 In Jr. High I had a track coach that talked with a British accent and unknown to me at the time, was not Paula Radcliff.  But she seemed to me to be a crazy runner, skinny as a stick, shorts with slits up to the hip and skin so dry and tan you’d think she was a 90 year old farmer.  I always looked up to her though because she KNEW what running was and by every definition was that ‘crazy runner’. 

Well, today I realized, I am that person.  I say crazy things like “just 10 miles” and “20 mile training run”.  My shadow shows me that despite all the dried mango’s and peanut butter cups I eat (shout out to Justin’s organic PB cups!) I am that girl that people thinks needs to ‘eat a cheeseburger’.  Trust me, I eat plenty, just look at my grocery bill if you don’t believe me!  I have permanent tan lines from my tank tops and compression socks, in fact I’m pretty stripped like a candy cane going from really tan to really white all the way down my body. 

I have a washer and dryer top covered with all my technical gear (sports bra’s, shorts, socks etc...)  That all say “line dry”.  Since I don’t have a line and live in humidity grove, all the things must be put somewhere and that somewhere makes it really hard to put other batches or otherwise wash anything that is not running related (what are normal clothes anyway?)  Oh well.  The one thing I knew would send me down the ‘crazy runner’ road was when I bought my first Garmin or GPS watch.  I’ll admit sometimes I wear it when I’m not running to make sure people know I’m a REAL runner.  It’s essential to me now and I’d die without it but yes sometimes I check my watch while running by traffic just to look cool.

Also on my list of crazy things is the amount of strange products I have and love like body glide (heaven sent) roller stick, GU energy bites, hydration packs, running sunglasses, hats, protein powder (in bulk), Epsom salt (also in bulk) BCAA’s…. and so on.  Yeah I have a lot.  I also know a lot too, the amount of runner knowledge from stretches for a specific muscle group to how exactly to pace a progression run is all come about from hours of reading runner’s world and other such online magazines.  I’m a nerd.

Last but not least is the amount of hours and $$ I spend on this ‘inexpensive hobby’.  I currently just bought 2 pairs of running shoes at the same time because “I’ll just need another pair in 2 months anyway”.  I try my best to get the best deals from places like amazon or Holabird Sports but the truth is, running and racing is expensive! Races are sometimes ridiculous and by mile 20 I’m wishing I spent that 95$ on just about anything other than the race I’m running. BUT I LOVE IT! I’m so happy to be that crazy runner just like the Jr. High track coach I looked up to so many years ago.  It’s hard, like really, really, really hard but it’s so worth it for me and I can’t wait to see what my crazy running life has in store for me next.  Stay tuned for in 1 month I’ll take on the challenge to officially become an ultra-runner in my very first 50k.

running newbies

so you want to be a runner, or are thinking about it, or even know a guy who knows a guy who is thinking about it.  well, if I cant talk you out of it, at least I can give you some advice.  First of all, if your a wimp, maybe speed walking is more your thing.  Its an olympic sport now so go ahead and knock yourself out you speedy walker.  Also, if you cant handle the elements ( wind, rain, scorching heat, tornados, blizzards) you may want to consider an inside sport like elliptical riding or knitting ( both are equally boring).  One more thing, if you enjoy being pain free for times outside of a workout, just go take a nap because running has a high likelihood of injury and if you aren't willing to pay your dues with shin splints, you will never be a true racer.

No? you still want to run?  fantastic!  you wont regret this decision ( haha jk you'll regret it every time you run but the rewards will greatly outweigh this feeling soon enough).  

here are a few grievances of newbies and ways to combat them:

1.  It's hard

yeah.  Even to the trained, its hard.  and guess what, it doesnt get any easier but good news, you'll get stronger and soon that 3 miles wont feel like death anymore.  Hang it there, and by all means, starting slow is not a bad thing!

2.  you're slow

You probably are.  And thats ok.  I start every running season slow as a turtle so you're not alone.  Everyone has to start somewhere, even the greats dont start their season at PR pace.  Being slow is all part of the process and is essential to peaking at the right time ( just in time for your race you reluctantly signed up for!)

3. its boring

see, I have never had this as a problem but people tell me they struggle with this.  I listen to music, I find songs with a high BPM ( beats per minute) rate.  slow love songs are going to be the death of you on long runs, trust me.  some people listen to books, some enjoy  the shuffle of pandora and some like the quiet.   try some of these to see what works.  If its still boring, try changing up your routes, I dont suggest running the same one over and over.  Make it a new adventure to find new places to run.

For more advice on training, including my own training plan, contact me and i'll be happy to help you!

happy runnings :D

-Heidi