And more bad runs

I would love to say my streak of good runs has continued but it hasn't.   For whatever reason I am back to feeling a bit sluggish and awkward again.  I ran my first One Big Fat Run this past Sunday and it was horrible.  My time was slow and I felt tired.

I just couldn't get into the groove of things.  It may have been because they air was thick because of the humidity.  It may have been because I ate like crap the day before and did not hydrate well.  It may have been because I missed running with the group.  I don't know.

What I do know is that this too shall pass.  I won't dwell on the bad but will remember the possible.  I know what I am capable of accomplishing.  I know that I am human and will have my off days and even weeks.  But I know there are also those days that I seem to just fly through the air.  There are those days that my breathing seems easier and my legs feel lighter.

Those are the days I choose to remember.  And no matter what, I always feel like more of an athlete when I decide to push and struggle and complete my task instead of giving up.  Amen.

Here's to bad runs

Here's to bad runs.  May you always have them so that when you have a great run..... You'll know it.   That is what I had today,  a great run.  You wanna know how I know it?  Because so many runs were bad.  Today I took off 30 minutes later than I wanted.  The sun beat me out of bed and like a bully waiting for is next victim,  it beat down on me the whole run.  But today was a good run.

It started out with vanity,  not a good thing.  I walked out of my house and planned to do my usual 5 minute warm up walk like I was taught in couch to 5K, when I saw. My neighbor come out of his house. I wanted him to know I was running and not walking today so I just took off.  And man did I take off.  I was doing a sub 11 minute mile.  Now to some of you that is slow.  But to me, well that is Speedy Gonzales speed.

I thought it was a fluke so on my next run,  I told myself to slow down and I did.  But I knew I had more in me so the next run,  I pushed it.  Then I pushed it again.  And I kept pushing it until I realized it was really hot and I have nothing left for my 30 minute easy run.  I didn't care.  It felt great to fly down the trails.  Everything femme in sync.  I wasn't dragging my feet or slouching.  My shoulders were relaxed I was leaning ever so slightly forward. It just felt natural.

So here's to the the bad runs.  If I had given up and told myself that maybe I wasn't meant to run and the bad runs just confirmed it,  then I would have never made it to this run. So if you have a bad run that's okay.  Heck of you have several bad runs that's ok.  Because one day you are going to have that great run and it will all be worth it.  Sure you may have another song of bad runs afterwards but the experience of the good one will have you wanting more.

Food for Thought

Why sometimes quitting isn't really quitting

I have hesitated on writing this post because I didn't know if I should. But I decided if this blog is going to be anything, it is going to be honest. So here it goes....

We lost a few girls this month in the Fatty Must Run Marathon Challenge.  I think some may have gone MIA before this month but there was always hope that they would come back or reply to messages sent from Julie about how it is going.  I must say some were a shock because they were either so active on the board or so active in their training.  But when I read their blog posts about why they left, I completely understood and respected their decisions.  What I loved and learned from their reasons was interesting.

One person left because she felt the name of the group was negative and did not send the message that she believed should be sent.  She agreed with the concept of getting everyone to run, including overweight people, but the F word didn't sit well with her.  I really congratulate her for being honest.  Whatever has happened in our past or fear we may have can have an effect on how we perceive a word or an action.  And for all of us, that perception is our reality. She is a strong person and a go getter.  I  watch her twitter feed and Facebook page in awe.  I never would have suspected she second guessed her involvement in the group.  As far as I knew, she agreed with every bit of it, 100%.  But she didn't.

Being the committed person that she is, she remained with the group and participated.  She encouraged us and gave us advice.  All the while, we never knew of her struggle within.  And this project is a daily commitment, so for her to continue each day and participate was a daily struggle.  She sacrificed her own feelings for the group.  I am glad she has decided to say yes to herself and no to anything that does not ring true to her heart.  That's one of the things we are all working towards, right?  We all want to make decisions in our life that at the end of the day we can say to ourselves, "I am proud of my actions today."  And that is what Jen has said "yes" to doing.  At the end of the day she needs to feel good about her actions.  Jen, thank you for spending time with us and sharing with us.  I still have her listed in my  blog roll so that you can continue following her journey. She is now under Blogs that I love.  Please stop by her blog and show her some love.

Another person that shocked me was a person that I watched on my Nike+ activity board.  I didn't see  too many posts from her but I could see her activity on Nike+ and she was running. However, she found the deadlines and the need to give feedback a bit overwhelming.  She has the desire and the capacity to train for runs but this was not the way for her to train.  The  stress of trying to train by someone else's methods was too much.  And it is true, you can't fit a square peg in a round hole.  So, instead of continuing with the group and beating herself up each month because she hadn't completed the challenges or completed them with resentment or strain, she decided to do what is best for her own health and goal and do it her way.

How many times have we tried to do things other people's ways and just felt like a failure because you see it working for them but not us?  It doesn't mean we are failures. It means that this method is not for us.  Someone I follow on Facebook...very healthy, lots of followers, lots of good advice....posted recently that she doesn't do challenges well.  She usually quits in the middle of them and she is okay with that.  She has come to the realization that challenges aren't they way for her to get fit or stay healthy.  She has to set up her own program and do her own thing.  And that is what Sylvia has discovered.  Sylvia's desire to become healthier and fitter and her desire to continue the Fatty Must Run Challenge were not compatible.  So she had to do what was right for her and that was to resign from the challenge and reach her goal in a way that allowed her to be her.  I still have her on my blog roll. She has also been moved from the Fatty Must Run Marathon section and to Blogs I love.

The lesson I learned from both of the gals was that no matter what, at the end of the day, you have to be true to yourself and do what is right for you.

•  If challenges aren't your thing, then develop your own program or find a program that works for you.  Don't beat yourself up for not being able to do it the way someone else has done it. Find a way that works for you and be successful at it.
•  Don't be a follower just to be a follower. Be a follower because you believe in the cause. Have your own reasons, don't rely on someone else's.  I heard it said before, "Don't let me talk you into anything, because someone else can talk you out of it."  You have to do it because you believe it in it.  You have to be you because you are the only person that can.
• I learned that quitting isn't a bad word.  At times it means we are no longer going to spend time on doing something that isn't good for us so that we can spend time doing what is best.

Zombies, Run! Be a part of the action

I have to admit I am not into the Zombie craze like the rest of the world. I tried watching a few movies and two series on TV but I just don't like the look of zombies.  However, I am a ham and I love to act.  I love reenacting scenes from my favorite movies.  That being said, this gadget girl cannot pass up a chance to review an app that takes your run and puts you in the middle of your own series.

Zombie Run2 is a running app that puts you in the middle of the action. You are a survivor of a plane crash in the post zombie apocalypse error.  You come to at the sound of someone talking through a headset and leading you back to base. You are given missions to head to the hospital and get supplies.  As you run you are able to collect supplies for base camp.  They tell you when to speed up and slow down.  It makes for a pretty interesting run if you usually run alone.  The bonus for me is that it starts out in the woods and I run the trails in my near me and they go through woods.

• GPS it does have the capabilities of turning on GPS so that you can track your distance and pace.  You also can upload your runs to the website and see your runs.
• Calories: you have the option to enter some basic information about yourself and when you run you will get an estimate of how many calories you have burned.
• The Story:  If you liked Animal Farm or Snoopy apps that allow you to build townships and maintain them, then you will love this game.  You are Runner 5 and your mission is to help rebuild civilization by collecting supplies and avoiding zombies.  
• Customizable:  You can choose to do speedwork by doing zombie chases.
• Playlist:  You can create a playlist of your favorite songs or import your current playlist.  In between the radio commands you will hear your music. When the radio tower has to share important information, your music will die down until they are finished.
• Screenshots:  The first one is a list of supplies I collected on my run and the second is a view of the base that I am building. I am new to this so my base is pretty basic but you get the idea.
• Website:  Zombies, Run!
• Cost:  The first 30 missions are free.  You are able to sign up for more missions via a subscription.

And just for kicks, here is the official video for the game and a fan video:

Monthly Motivational Movie

Well it's the beginning of the month so it's time for another movie recommendation.  I hope you had a good laugh with Run Fatboy Run.  

This movie is on the serious side. It is a documentary about three men from three different countries and their amazing yet grueling run across the Sahara desert.  I like it for many reasons but the three most important ones are :
1.  August is the hottest month of the year for many of us,  yet it is nothing compared to the heat that these guys endure and it emphasizes the importance of hydrating.
2.  Like the  FATTYMUSTRUNMARATHONCHALLENGE,  these guys are from three different countries and they train in their own country but come together for Sahara Challenge. 
3.  It's hard.  These guys are seasoned runners.  You see them struggle through many of the same things we do  as  beginners.   At times they doubt their ability to finish.  They suffer injuries.  They have to overcome obstacles.

Well worth your time. If you are a member of Netflix,  you can see it here for free.

July Challenge Recap

I am a day behind in my posting so I apologize for putting this up a day late.  July was a hot month here in Seabrook.  It was hotter than June and yet I think I enjoyed running this month more than last month.  We had a pretty easy challenge month for July:

1. Plank a day:  Well my first plank was amazing. It was over 50 seconds. My dogs are not use to seeing me on the floor so they huddled around me and that is why it was only 50.  But there is something about beginner's luck that did me in.  After my first plank, I heard the other members in the challenge doing 20's or so and I started to doubt myself.  It took me all month again to be able to do 50 seconds. For the longest time I couldn't get past 13 seconds.  It's all mental and I know it.  Our running coach says "You can do anything for a minute."  She also says "A plank a day keeps the doctor away."
2. Sign up for a race.  I was already signed up for a few races but I added the Lunar Rendezvous at the last minute. The Lunar run also completed my last challenge.
3. Run a timed 5K  I have to say I was pretty disappointed.  My official time was 50:17.  The good news is that the last time I ran this way was in 2009 and I ran a 54:42 on that day.  The bad news is that I was 1 minute 9 seconds slower than I was last time...oh well.

But along with the challenges, I had many wonderful discoveries and moments.  The most important one has to do with my family.  My husband starting running with us.  He has not run consistently since high school.  He is a two pack a day smoker and he works 12 hour days in the hot sun with no AC as a UPS delivery driver.  But he has decided to take small steps to become healthier. So every Saturday morning at 4am the lights turn on in my house as all three of us get ready to go for our long run with our running group. So my immediately family has become an active family.

Bonds are being made stronger between my sister and me.  Growing up in different households, in different cities with a 14 year age difference meant we didn't see much of each other as I grew up.  But now I see her, at minimum, once a week.  My daughter is getting to know her aunt. She also is in awe of her Uncle and has asked him to be her personal trainer.  He has agreed and is really making her work but she loves physical challenges.  She is really enjoying her time with him.  

I met a friend in our running group that is more my pace.  We ran together a few Saturdays ago for the first time.  It was so much fun.  We pushed each other and yet we were still able to talk, which helped the run seem shorter.  However, I had the Lunar run the next Saturday and she was at the Grand Canyon the following Saturday, so we will see each other again this weekend. 

I haven't tried spinning again. I am enjoying water fitness and water Pilates.  I am learning the poses in yoga and still heart rate training.  Most importantly I am still enjoying every bit of it.  The scale isn't moving as much as I had hoped but my body is changing. I am getting into clothes that didn't fit before.  Clothes that use to fit me tight, now are comfortable if not baggy.  My face is clearing up because of all the water.  All in all I would have to say that this challenge has been good for me.