A Sprinkle of Inspiration

I would like to celebrate the ladies that are about to step up and journey into 5K101 training. I totally bulldozed them into this! Am I sorry? Not at all. At the end of the day, some or all of these ladies will step up to the challenge and see what they are made of. I know that each one of them is an extraordinary woman, as am I. It took a while for me to realize this simple fact, but there it is.

I understand that you attract what you put out. I’m thankful to have attracted a group of phenomenal men and women by taking the first steps of training to run a 5K. I am forming new friendships, getting healthy and learning how powerful I truly am. It’s kind of weird. Once you get going, there is a whole new energy around you and I don’t think you can turn it off.

I’m scared to run my next 5K. The first one was tough, but a testament to what I am made of. I know I just need to keep training and do the best that I can. I’m only running against myself, but it is so much easier to not push myself. It’s not better for me, but it sure seems easier. One of my friends recommended running a 5K in each state as a great way to travel the country with my family (thanks Tracey). It’s a wonderful idea that would never have crossed my mind.

Even better, she mentioned that Disney has a Disney Princess Half Marathon around the park. Having a little girl who dreams of one day going to Disney, this might just be a win-win. I can’t believe I am considering, considering running a half marathon! A funny thing happens when you get a little sprinkle of inspiration…it’s really hard to get it to stop. Just ask the ladies who have been reading about my training. I didn’t start out to inspire anyone. I was inspired by my workout partner and in turn I seem to be inspiring others.

A sprinkle of inspiration is a powerful force. Use it wisely!

I’ve Already Won!!!!

I’m so supposed to be sleeping! My training partner will have my head when she realizes I’m not in bed. Tomorrow is the day! My first 5K. My cold is ebbing and my anticipation is rising. I’m waiting for my ipod to synch with a mishmash of music, hastily thrown together at the last minute. Nothing went as planned today, but it was fun.

I got home late, threw a load of laundry in, half unpacked our bags and got my racing gear together. I was supposed to wipe an sd card clean so I could get pictures but what are you gonna do. There are only so many hours in the day! I guess the nice part is that I don’t have a lot of time to freak out either. Tomorrow will be what it will be.

I finished my 8 week 5K101 training program yesterday. That’s a HUGE accomplishment. I’ve already won! So what’s left? Of course to win again. Winning looks like getting up, going to the race and doing the best that I can. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it!

If you are reading this and thinking you wish you could, but know that you can’t…you can. Just give it a shot. Be it racing, taking a class, asking a guy out – whatever. Somewhere inside I made a choice to try something new and tonight I am on the eve of the first race of my life. I’ve been at that choosing point many other times and decided against moving forward. I’m not sure what was different this time around, I’m just glad it was.

And I’ll be thrilled for you when you step out and try your something new.

(Please excuse any typos – no time!)

Negative Return – 6 Days & Counting

I’d like to send a special thank you out to the mad genius, Todd Lange, of Running Mate Media http://runningmatemedia.com/! I just completed Week 8/Day 1 of my 5K101 training. For the first time in my life I jogged 30 minutes without stopping. A few hours later… I’m a bit sore and feeling somewhat sleepy, but I guess that’s to be expected. What I didn’t expect were tears. I can thank Todd for those tears. His genius appears throughout the training, but for me mostly in his week 8 program.

I am an admitted softie so tears are common. Week 8′s podcast promised a surprise, and my it was worth the wait! I won’t spoil it for anyone reading that might  not be there yet, but the experience brought tears to my eyes. It conjured up a bunch of feelings about how far I had come in the last 7 weeks and it distracted me from my fear of the 30 minute interval.

Prior to today I had only jogged 12 minute intervals. I got going and settled in for the longer run. During the program I heard the term Negative Return – for me that meant that I’d gone too far to stop or turn back. The battle I wage is within me. My body is responding to the program (with a few aches here and there) so why should I doubt  that I will achieve my goal? I guess because I’m human.

In this approaching 5K and in my life, I’d be wise to invest my energy into believing I can instead of finding reasons to doubt myself.

I’m at my point of negative return.

Some Days You Lose.

Day 4 blogging and I am sitting down to write at 10:30 pm. Sigh. Yesterday was filled with focus, risk taking and task slaying. Today, however, has been filled with one necessary yet endless task. Everything seems to be taking longer than usual. Add Week 7/Day 2 of my 5K101 training (http://runningmatemedia.com/), an evening conference call and a pile of work still on my desk and you have a nice case of exhaustion. I wish I could click my heels and be in a theater watching a great new movie – Rio, Something Borrowed, Thor or Green Lantern. Alas that is today’s pipe dream.

Instead I started my day listening to a meditation podcast about cleaning and organization. I can’t really say that I lost today, it just feels like it. I look around my place and STILL see piles of paper on my desk, the same clutter on the kitchen island and about 20 new emails that need to be addressed. Back in the good old days I’d just stay up till I dropped, some days I still do but I can’t afford to do that anymore.

I’ve learned that my patience is directly related to the amount of sleep I get. When I don’t sleep and am stressed out my daughter ultimately is the one who loses. Life is full of stress, but she didn’t sign up to have a disconnected overwhelmed mom.  So…what gives? Judgement.

I’m not a bad mom or a terrible homemaker because “IT” didn’t all get done. Reading to my little one at bedtime was just more important than handling a pile of filing. I did a lot of stuff today. Important stuff that is in line with my vision and achieving my goals. It needed to be done and no one else is coming to my place to do it. The life lesson? Live in the moment, appreciate the challenges and be grateful when I get another chance tomorrow.