Being excited and scared at the same time....

Here it is....I'm a week and a half away from my first 1/2 marathon. Am I ready? I don't FEEL ready. Is my body ready? Probably not. But is my MIND ready? YOU BET!

When approaching any circumstance in your life that you have been training for, studying, preparing for... you are going to be excited AND scared at the same time. It's natural.

But what do we DO with that excitement and nervousness is key.  I cannot let the distance (13.1 miles) psych me out. I cannot let the time frame (16 mm - 16 minute mile) overwhelm me. All I CAN do is put one foot in front of the other, ENJOY the mile that I'm in at that moment, LOVE my music that is in my ears, and just BREATHE.

So, just like anything else in life, all we can do is put one foot in front of the other, ENJOY the mile (life's circumstance) that I'm in at that moment, and just BREATHE.  I encourage you to do the same. 

JUST BREATHE.....

 

Looking to the future....

Here it is... a year since I started my health journey. I cannot believe how far that I've come!  Last year at this time, I could barely WALK a mile without keeling over and out of breath! I completed a mile in 22-24 min per mile (mm).

NOW, I am walking/jogging 17-18mm and completed a 10K (6.1 miles)! I'm training for a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) and NEVER would've thought that I would be doing that!

So, WHATEVER your goal is - just keep pushing and looking to the future!!!

The I LOVE the 80's 10K...

I entered to do the I <3 10k="" 1="" 2016.="" 80="" a="" aaaaannnnndddd="" actually="" big="" colorful="" different="" group="" i="" just="" ladies="" love="" may="" mommy="" my="" of="" on="" p="" race="" rest.="" running="" s="" than="" the="" them="" this="" tutu="" was="" with="" wore="">Love the 80's Run 10K on Sunday, May 1, 2016. What is different about this was, was that I was able to run with a group of ladies from my MRTT group. 

<3 10k="" 1="" 2016.="" 80="" a="" aaaaannnnndddd="" actually="" big="" colorful="" different="" group="" i="" just="" ladies="" love="" may="" mommy="" my="" of="" on="" p="" race="" rest.="" running="" s="" than="" the="" them="" this="" tutu="" was="" with="" wore="">

 Out of that group, there was my sweet running buddy, Mae Iverson! I just love her! She not only runs my pace, but her encouragement and positive attitude really helped me out! Around mile 5, we were both feeling negative, tired, "why did we do this?", but she and I brought it home together!

Mae and I were able to talk about life, goals, frustrations, accomplishments, Lincoln, just good stuff! Then right about 1:58:36, we were able to cross the finish line with some of our sweet MRTT (Mothers Run This Town) took off their numbers and brought us home!

It was grueling. It was amazing. It was eye opening and refreshing. I was able to talk out my fears and hesitations about doing the SF Diva 1/2 marathon on June 5th.

THANK YOU MAE for your encouraging words and your faith in me. I love you.

Moving PAST the hurts....

I was going on a brisk walk with one of my mommy friends on her lunch hour, and we had a very nice conversation about life's hurts, struggles, and mishaps.  As we were going into mile 2, I noticed that my body was starting to hurt - feet going numb (AGAIN), back a little stiff, hips sore...all signs of an old woman trying to get healthy (LOL)...

When I was listening to my girlfriend in what her struggles are and have been, I kept thinking, "But you've moved past the pain and kept moving forward"... WHAT A CONCEPT! Yes, we need to listen to our bodies, but when you've listened and the Dr's have listened and there's nothing you can do really, it's pushing past the pain. So, when I start hurting, getting sore, stiff, whatever it may be in the middle of my "run", I have to remember that I need to move THROUGH and PAST the pain for the ultimate goal that I set out for myself. Yes, take rests when necessary. Yes, stretch well. Yes, hydrate. Even when all of those things have happened and you STILL hurt, move past the pain.

So the moral of the story is: When you hurt, move past the pain.

The Progress....

As I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary of beginning my healthy journey, I look back and am amazed at myself for how far I have come.  When I started this journey, I was NOT motivated, happy, or had anything to look forward to. I never thought I would be able to complete 1-2 miles, but here I sit, just completing my 2nd 10K (6.2 miles) and training for my FIRST 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles)!

This was at my very first MRTT event - the BUDDY RUN. I had the pleasure of run/walk with Nancy Pearson, a veteran of this WONDERFUL group! In these pictures, it was a 5K...

I try not to get discouraged, as every event that I participate in, I'm usually DEAD LAST! But I have to remember what my dear friend Sonya Wynne told me on my very 1st 5K... "You'll NEVER be last. You are beating everyone that is still in bed, on the couch, or even here on the sidelines cheering people on." Thank you Sonya....I carry that with me ALL the time....even in training...

So here's to the PROGRESS and trusting the PROCESS....

Getting rid of self-talk....

I just finished the I LOVE the 80's 10K in Roseville, CA today. As I was out there STRUGGLING at mile 5, I noticed that I was starting to have that negative self talk that goes on in EVERYONE'S head at some point or another.  The "WHY am I doing this?" "I'm too fat to be doing this." "You are doing so much to your body, feet are numb, legs are jello, and it's hard for you to breathe."

But here's the thing, if we listen to that negative self-talk all the time, NONE of us would accomplish any of the goals that we have set out for ourselves. We cannot let our negative self-talk come into play when we are in the process of making a goal that we have set before us.

The more that I get out and run/walk, the more I learn about myself and how it relates to life in every aspect.

So, when the negativity starts up, and it will, we need to replace it with the reminders of WHY we have this goal in the first place.