Let Me Count the Reasons...

After today's morning run, which was a really good one for me, I felt so good. It was definitely one of those runs that was invigorating and exhausting all at the same time. Getting ready to shower, I realized that my toe nail was bleeding? I couldn't feel it, it hadn't bothered me during the run, but there it was, blood all over my toes. Then it occurred to me, that maybe, just maybe, I can really call myself a runner now if my shoes are giving me bloody toe nails! I'm sure that sounds incredibly gross to some of you. I remember my roommate in college saying she knew she had the right soccer shoes when her toe nails turned black (now I would not go this far). Now, my shoes are not new, I've had them for awhile, not sure if this means it may be time to get a new pair though, but then my toe nail got me to thinking that I love running. Why?

Well, here's my short list (not including the overall health and wellness benefits) of why it is that I have become addicted to the run - thanks to my sister who, I'm sure, has her own list of loves...

1.  I can experience bloody toes and still be on such a high from the run that I don't care!
2.  It's a great reason to download new songs to my iPod.
3.  When else can you get up, throw on comfy clothes, throw your hair up, skip the makeup, be covered in sweat, and people don't care?
4. It's a great reason to buy cute workout clothes - to wear when you have no makeup and are all sweaty, at least the clothes are cute if you aren't!
5. Getting new shoes is like reaching a goal. 500 miles = new shoes!
6.  I'm starving after a run, and I LOVE to eat! All those protein calories after a run is like a feast for me!
7.  I actually find myself smiling from ear to ear at the end of a run, when I try to kick it into gear, and sprint thru the finish, my body hasn't failed me yet!
8. I love and I will never give up dark chocolate, but I don't feel guilty eating it, because I know I earned it!
9. What better way to see towns you haven't been in before than to run over their bridges and trails to take in the scenery.
10. It's the only sport where there is always more... a football game is always 4 quarters, but a run, well let's try a 10k, then a 1/2, then a full 26.2 marathon, then an ultra, maybe a tri... there is always more! How much do you really want to push yourself?

What makes you run?

Happy Running!

Another Birthday

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. But the life in your years."

~Abraham Lincoln~

I am another year older today, but so far the increasing years hasn't bothered me too much. Maybe I'm in denial, or maybe I'm just that relaxed of a person that it really doesn't matter to me, but I refuse to get "old" regardless of what the calendar says.

I'm going to run more today than I did yesterday. I will laugh more today than I did yesterday. I will enjoy life more today than I did yesterday. I will continue to look for the best in the situations and the people around me. The only difference is, that today, I get to enjoy a piece of cake and I won't worry about having to run off those extra calories - just for today. And for today, when I reflect on the last 35 years of my life, I will think of all I have achieved, fullfilled, learned and grown. Then I will look forward to this new year and think of how much more I have yet to achieve, fullfill, learn and grow, and I will think about how much I still have to do in the next 65 years! And I will look forward to every last moment ahead of me!

Brewing...

Lately there is definitely more brewing than just my morning pot of coffee, and it's not the afternoon pot... It's all the musings in my mind. I just haven't had time to sit down and blog it all out, so it's brewing... brewing and stewing. Developing worries out of nothing, and forming dreams that I have little time to pursue.

So here I sit, brewing up schemes, plans, thoughts and ideas with no time to put them all down. I wish you could take a snapshot of your brain and hold them for later....

Reorganizing Goals

I decided this week that I needed to reorganize, postpone, and/or simply just change some of the goals and activities that I have. I want to run. I promised my sister to train for a half marathon, and I will. But simply put, between work, kids, school, trying to put in that 3 -5 days of workouts has been a challenge in itself. I can get the 2 days in, but I want to make sure I'm really really ready for this first attempt at 13.1 miles. I don't want my sister or anyone else to have to drag me over that finish line!

Work will be "done" the end of April, wrestling will be done in mid-March, and school will be done in June. What in the world will I do with *gasp* freetime?! The thought itself is scary in itself... I know I will run, that's for sure! Back to the changing of my goals and plans...

I have decided against the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinatti on May 2nd, and pushed the 1/2 marathon back until June 6th. I get 10 full weeks after wrestling is done to focus on training, and a whole month of work being done to focus even harder. I will still be doing a 10k in April, but while I might not be in top condition, I know I can at least finish that one without doing to much extra training right now. Then we can also focus on swimming twice a week to get back into swim shape for the Sprint-Tri in August. Now that I know I can survive the swim, the goal is to get out of the water in under 13 minutes this year, get a better bike, and work on hills for that first 1/2 mile uphill run after getting off the bike (grueling torture getting off a bike and running at all, much less UP HILL). I'm sure my sister will come up with some form of training/punishment to get me in shape for this! Then, depending on what comes about after the job is finished... we talked about taking a short sisterly weekend to Arizona during the winter months to run a race down there. Trying to talk my other sis (the non-runner) into training with us as well - she about died laughing at the mention of it though!

On top of that, which really is the "easy" portion of my life right now - running is the enjoyable, me time.. I am making myself focus focus focus on getting my school work done. Four classes to go and I will be finished! And then there is writing, my ultimate goal, that I want to go after right now, but reality tells me I need to finish school and work to have time to actually focus on it... So patience, my dear self, patience...

For now, I will hammer away at a job that is driving me crazy, yet also my saving grace at the same time. Spend my writing moments, writing job assignments for Human Resource Management classes (ugh...), and visualize what it is I will do when I cross that finish line in June after my first full 13.1 miles!

Good Writing...

"Good writing is always about things that are important to you,

things that are scary to you, things that eat you up.

But the writing is a way of not allowing those

things to destroy you."

~John Edgar Wideman~

Any thoughts on freelancing? I've been doing some research, and although my plate is "full" right now between work and school and life in general.... I'm thinking in my upcoming unemployment that this may be another route to explore...

http://www.aboutfreelancewriting.com/

Two Cents on Sportsmanship

" Good character is more to be praised than outstanding talent.

Most talents are, to some extent, a gift.

Good character... is not given to us.

We have to build it... by thought, choice, courage, and determination."

~H. Jackson Brown~

As wrestling season gets under way, I am amazed anew by the lack of sportsmanship. Looking around this week in the gym, frustration grew with the scenes around me. The trickle down affect was in full-swing; parents screaming obscenities and booing the officials, wrestlers - who lost, storming off the mat with headgear slamming the door, coaches cheating their way through, and belittling other teams and their own players, and spectators disprespecting the National Anthem. I can handle tears. I am an emotional spectator; I've a tear in my eye during the National Anthem at any event. I know first-hand, how winning and losing can bring a tear to one's eye. What I cannot handle is the unsportsmanlike conduct that surrounds me. So, again, here is my two cents on sportsmanship....

One thing revealed in my participation in youth sports, is that the adults involved shape the attitudes oand characters of the kids playing as much as the sport itself does. A lack of sportsmanship on the mat or field, is a result of a lack of sportsmanship in the stands and at home. In our football league, we stress participation and learning, along with winning and losing. The kids in our program will be disciplined for throwing helmets and cussing, just as the coaches will be for the same behavior. Dismissing parents from games for inapporopriate behavior is unfortunate but necessary at times as well. Adults need to be held to the same standards as the kids that participate.

Teaching grace and dignity in the face of both victory and defeat is a hard lesson for adults and kids the same. Nothing teaches a good lesson, like having a good or a bad example. Sports will shape character, for better or worse. Losing, but giving 100% and walking asway with head high - that's character. Just as winning and walking away without showboating, showing respect for the opponent - that's character. Coaches can preach this until the kids can recite it verbatim, but until they see the results and examples in their home and in the stands around them, it is a lesson lost.

Motivational Quotes

"Motivation is a fire from within.

If someone else tries to light that fire under you,

chances are it will burn very briefly."

~Stephen Covey~

"Your biggest challenge isn't someone else.
It's the ache in your lungs

and the burning in your legs,
and the voice inside you that yells 'CAN'T',

but you don't listen.

You just push harder.

And then you hear the voice whisper, 'can'.

And you discover that the person you thought you were
is no match for the one you really are."

~unknown~

Just had to share these two quotes.... Between trying to be motivated at work (to a job I'm losing in 90 days), at school (only 4 classes left), in the gym (only on week two of that 1/2 marathon training), and at home after all of the above (when I just want to sleep)... I found these two quotes highly inspirational this week. I can't do all of the above for my family and friends, whether they will reap the benefits of them or not, it has to be done for me, and by me, and for reasons that I find acceptable for doing it all.

Same with anything we take on in life. It's nice to try something that someone else thinks you would like, but it's fabulous to do something new that brings you that inspirational spark, that moment that says "AH-HAH!!" Because when that moment hits you, and it will at some point, it becomes crystal clear, and it gives you that afterburn, kick in the bootie, motivational spur in the rear that you needed. You don't need someone else to tell you what you should do, you need the voice in your head to tell you "this is what I want to do..."

Running a marathon may seem to have no direct "benefit" to my children. There are times that I begin to wonder if my time training is taking away valuable time with my family, but on the other hand. If running makes me happy (and believe it or not I've found that it has.... ), brings a settling of nerves and stress, and also boosts my healthy meter, well isn't that beneficial to my kids in the long run? Of course it is, but doing it for them doesn't get me going. Yes I want them to see that you can do ANYTHING you put your mind to, but I want them to see that (as the old football quote goes), you "don't chase your dreams, you run 'em down and tackle them!"

You go after what you want and desire in life, if it drives you, if it brings out something in you that makes you a better person, if it just simply makes you happy... you go after it. You embrace it with both hands and hang on for dear life, because the most wonderfully inspiring loves that I have, aren't an easy walk in the park to hang on to. The wonderfully inspiring things are the ones that you shackle yourself to, brace yourself, and hold on for dear life, because it's going to be a bumpy ride. But I have definitely found that that ride is worth every gut sinking, heart wrenching, nerve shattering moment.

So I am embracing my self motivation. I am embracing that "can do" spirit that I know is in me. I will set the alarm a little early, go to bed a little late, and drink a couple extra ( three, five, maybe ten... ) cups of coffee, and I will hang on to all of my goals. I will accomplish what I set my mind to. Even if means giving my goals a more flexible "finish line," and a plan that is definitely written in pencil with an eraser in hand. But keeping the goals, regardless of any variations, is what I intend to do. Besides, aren't variations and flexibility part of the fun?

Enough of the self-motivational speech... Time to get up off the couch, run a few miles, do some more laundry, finish up work, make dinner, and visit with friends, all part of my plan of course...