Don't ever quit!!

Sometimes things happen or your circumstances change and it makes it harder to press on with your journey. These things can make the journey too hard, too frustrating, to discouraging....making you just want to give up!

I would encourage you not to do that.

Because sometimes things are not what they seem!!

When I ran my last 8k, I truly felt like I could go no faster. I tried soooo hard to stay with the fast pack and they just blasted past me. For so long I was running by myself and with nothing other than the pavement to think about, I started thinking about why I'm doing this?

I'm not fast enough to keep up and I'm slower than snot!! I could not see how my training was helping me when I can't make this body do what I want. And then when I came in and checked my time, I saw that I had an 18 minute mile, I really struggled with why I'm doing this. This race had the worse time ever!!! (I mean I could walk faster than that!!)

I struggled all day to hold back tears!! I so wanted to fall off of my running plan. I mean why keep training, why keep pushing my body to exhaustion, why waste my time anymore on something when all I'm doing is going backwards? So frustrating!!

I had to sit with this for a couple of days, until the race final results came in.

So I'm sitting on the edge of my seat and I open the website and found that I came in at 13 minutes per mile. NOT 18 miles per mile!!

I think that's one of my best, if not the best race time ever!!!!

I knew I was working hard, for me, and I knew I could not give any more. To work that hard and think I came in at the worst time ever was tough, but to come in with the best time ever is so encouraging!!

So here's the thing......Even if I did have the worse time ever.....That is no reason to quit!! Even if my circumstances change, things get harder, more frustrating...whatever....That is no reason to quit!!

Do you allow your circumstances or situations to bump you off of your plan? If you are tempted....don't do it. Because a Blessing is just around the corner!! Keep fighting!! Keep pushing!!! And never EVER GIVE UP!!
Keep focused!!!

Workin' it together!!

How cool is this. So this morning I'm on my treadmill running my fastest 5k ever ~ 13.68 minutes per mile. Wow that blasts out my 18 minute mile on  my last 8k!! Hey I'm working this thing and I want to get faster. Looks like I can do it!! So fun!!

Anyway, I'm running along and in comes my handsome hubby all decked out in his bike gear. He's been riding his bike to work every day!! Such a stud!

He's working towards riding the Seattle to Portland event next year and I'm working towards the Run Like Hell 1/2 Marathon in October.

So fun getting fit together!!

How about you? What are you working towards?

Focus on your goals!!!

Row Class

Oh my goodness. I loved my class!! It was even better than I had ever imagined!! The boathouse was easy to find and they had free parking (Which is great because these are things that I worry about. Dumb huh?). Anyway, the evening was perfect weather wise. Unfortunately, we spent most of our time in the boathouse learning stuff. We got the run down on the boat parts and how they work. I never realized how long they are. In the water, it's hard to tell that they are 40 feet long. We learned how to row on an Erg Rowing Machine. I have to be honest, I was a little worried about my back. Was not too sure I could do this without pain. Well guess what? With proper training, I did it without any back pain at all. We ergged (rowed on the machine) for about 20 minutes without stopping. I was able to keep up and could have done it for a lot longer. The coach even told me that I was a natural. Well what do you know about that!?!?! So much fun!

The we learned how to take the boat off the rack and we carried it down to the water.

This is not us, but this is what we did.

Now, this thing weighs 250 pounds and we are carrying it on our shoulders. There were 8 of us in the class. We had to go down the parking lot...down a steep ramp and across the dock. It was a pretty good distance. I tell you, 2 years ago, I could have never done this! Then we got to get in....You have to keep one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock and squat down and some how get your butt on the seat. And you do it all at the same time. All 8 of us. We did it without anyone falling in! I have to say, I did not look pretty, but I got it done!! We did not get to row because by this time, our class was over.

Can't wait for Wednesday's class, we are going out on the water!!!

How about you, are you pushing yourself?

Keep focused!!

Results

Well I did OK at the Race for the Cure 8k race. I don't have the official results yet, but I think I came in at 88 minutes. Ack that is so slow!! That's almost an 18 minute mile. Now here's where I might get lucky. We started late and I don't know how accurate their clocks are. I'm waiting for my chip time to come in. Hopefully it's better!

You know thousands and thousands of people attend the Race for the Cure. And while the bulk of these people participate in the walk, there were a good number of people who did the chipped run. I mean it was the smallest group of people I've ever started a race with. And it seems that these were a pretty serious bunch of runners. I would say there were only a handful of walkers. So I started out in the middle of the pack, just hoping that I could keep up. Very quickly most of the runner blasted past me and soon I was by myself. Just behind the fast runners and just ahead of the walkers.

I have to tell you, I was so beating myself up! Really frustrated to be where I was. I really had to work at keeping my attitude in check and decided that even though I'm slow, I'm doing it. I was there, pounding the pavement, making it happen!!

The other frustrating thing was, when you fall out of the fast pack, you get stuck with the traffic. Police officers won't hold the traffic back for one runner. So I had to wait for a while. That is so frustrating! I mean this is a timed event. The police woman, said, Sorry....Looks like you need a rest anyway. OUCH!! That was mean....and I did not need a rest! Obviously she's never competed in an event like this. She did not know that time is important!! The last mile was a slight incline the whole way. But I made it without stopping!!

It was a really fun event! They had a lot of vendors and tons of giveaway things. I felt like a little kid...so excited to get a free pen! Geez!

Tonight I'm off to my first row class! Can't wait!!

How are you doing...Are you making stuff happen?

Keep focused!

Working towards being the woman I want to be!!

Be the person you want to be!!

Good things are happening. Things that help me be the woman I want to be.

Food - For the most part my diet is good. For a while during the summer I was eating good food, just too much of it. Now, my portions are more in line with weight loss and I'm going for veggies now instead of carbs. I'm feeling more in control and focused!

Exercise - I'm back on track with my training for the 1/2 marathon in October and I'm ready to get back to the gym for weight lifting. It been a while and I've noticed that my body does not feel as strong and firm as it did when I was lifting weights!

Stretching myself - On Sunday, I will take off at 6am, heading to Portland, on the train for an 8k race for Race for the Cure.  The stretching part is, I'm going by myself. Well OK me and thousands of other participants, I just won't know any of them. I tell you, I'm ready. I went to the expo tonight and I got my shirt, time tag and bib along with my train ticket and schedule. I will not arrive to this race late, like I did for the Portland Rock and Roll, where I arrived minutes before the race started. Not fun!

The other stretch is.....I enrolled in my row class - Finally!! It starts on Monday and will go two times a week for a month. In this sweep class I will learn safety and rowing techniques, as well as individual fitness and I will learn how to row in an 8 person shell. Can't wait!!

While I was as the expo today, I signed up for the Jingle Bells 5k in December. Now I just need to find a race in November and with that all done, I will have completed some sort of event each month since May. Kind of fun!

So much to look forward. All of this stuff helps me be the woman I want to be. Healthly and fit and doing the stuff I want to do. So awesome!!

How about you. Are you the person you want to be?

Keep focused!

Back to Basics

We had an awesome summer! It was full of fun and activities. Obviously by my postings you can see that I had way too much on my plate and did not get everything done that I needed to do.

Fortunately my weight has not changed. I have maintained....well with a few ups and downs, but for the most part, I'm the same weight I was since before summer.

However, in all my busyness, I've noticed that I am slipping just a little.

• I'm not parking in the north forty anymore. Nope, I'm racing for the closest parking spot I can get.
• Eating good food, but I've noticed that I'm having more food then I need....Like adding an extra half cup of oatmeal. My little container of granola has a quarter cup serving instead of two tablespoons. I'm having more coffee with creamer. Been eating chips instead of rice cakes or pretzels. Eating less veggies and fruit and reaching for prepared foods.
• Exercise. I've been pretty faithful to running. However, I have not lifted weights all summer. I can already tell my core is weaker and my arms and stomach are flabbier. What an awful feeling!
• Sleep. Well I'm staying up too late and not getting up early enough to get things done without stressing. I hate that.

So for me....it's time to get back to basics.

• Need to get more steps in and move this body. So I will be parking way out from now on.
• No more fooling around with food. I'm going to clean out my pantry and get rid of this stuff. And I need to go back to measuring....because I can't trust my hungry eyes to really see what I'm doing.
• Exercise. I am going back to my regular exercise plan. Getting in weight time as well as cardio.
• Sleep...I will go back to my regular bed time. Having everything done and in bed by 10pm.

Did you know...

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.

With that said, if I want to reach my goals. I need to make some changes and make things happen!!

How about you....Do you need to make some changes?

Keep focused!!

Procrastination vs. Victory!?!

I am training for the Run Like Hell 1/2 Marathon that is scheduled in October. I have been on track for my weekly training runs ~ On Tuesday and Thursday I run a 5k's each day and on Friday's I walk 2 miles. Of course I do my other workouts during the week as usual. Anyway.....Each Sunday I'm supposed to run a distance. First Sunday was 3 miles...for me...no problem! Then each Sunday the distance is supposed to increase. If you're really smart, you would start 3+ months before your race and really work it so when you need to run 13.1 miles...it's no problem!

When I trained for my first 1/2 marathon, I did just that with no problem. I was very obedient to my training schedule and I did what I was asked to do. Because of all that work and dedication, I was in such great shape that I could and did run three 1/2 marathons in 5 weeks. Crazy, but I did it!!

So I got my calendar out and set up my training time. I did pretty well until I hit the weeks that I needed to run 6.5 miles & 8 miles. The only thing saving me, is I did very well with my weekly running training. So all is not lost.

Anyway, I'm behind on my long distance training....

Right now...I should be at mile at 9.5 miles. Unfortunately I'm facing 7 miles today.

I'm really behind!!

I'm really feeling the pressure!!

Kind of feeling like I need to quit. I'm too far from where I need to be to be ready for this race!! Kind of tired of trying to catch up.....

This picture was taken by mistake and I almost deleted it. But there's something about it that brings me excitement. It's me, while I was doing a 5k run for an (8/22) Intel event. I'm happy and smiling, I've got my head up and I'm focused. I'm running toward the finish!! I'm running to victory!!

This morning, as I have been procrastinating to get my 7 miles in. I'm feeling really behind and a little defeated. I get to make a decision about whether I'm going to let this procrastination get me another day.

Or I get to decided that I'm racing for victory!!

Here's what victory looks like:

Look at our faces. We are happy ~ We got it done!!!

Without doing the work today....I will not see that face on race day in October.

Without doing the work today...I will not see victory!!

So bye - bye procrastination. I'm racing for victory!!

How about you. Will you let procrastination stop you from reaching your victory?

Keep focused!!

Update ~ I got it done ~ 1 Hr 40 Min ~ 7 Miles = VICTORY!!!