Tag Archives: believe in myself

Back from Vacation!

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Just came back from the best vacation ever! Tyler’s family is much more relaxed on vacation than my family was, so it was an adjustment… and I had to FORCE myself to slow down! We didn’t even have Internet.  Even though it was more relaxed than what my family does, we still did a lot of stuff, and kayaking was one of them! We went twice last week, and I got stuck a couple times because the water was so low- AND I almost died getting stuck over a water fall with rocks jutting out at the bottom! Don’t worry; we only had class 1 rapids on the first two miles, and the rest was pretty calm. :)

Since we were nestled in the mountains in the middle of nowhere, there were plenty of hills to train on. Not that I’m actually training for anything right now, but I can pretend. :)   I was seriously sore every day that I ran. I did a couple four-mile runs, but on those mountain trails, it felt like twice that! It was so awesome to run on such gorgeous trails.Williamsburg Run for the Dream

I did terrible on not eating sugar during our trip, and I’m going to have to pay for it for a couple days. So back to the strict diet from here on in! :) How are your summer fitness goals coming along? What do you find the hardest to maintain during the warmer months?

Mile 13.1

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What does Mile 13.1 looks like for you?

For years, I didn’t understand the number bumper stickers people slapped on the back of their cars. 13.1 or 26.2 (or even higher). The day I walked in the running store to meet up with my first run group, I understood. I understood 3 things.

1. Running is VERY hard work.

2. People take (a lot) of pride in their distance.

3. People run for completely different reasons, like health, strength, endurance, peace of mind, organize their thoughts… they run for charity, raising money for a great cause, run to clear our heads.

I started running to cope with a very difficult time in my life. There was nothing that could keep my from crying, so the only way I would stop for 30 min is if I was running. So I started running every day. This was the only time of day that I was forced to think happy thoughts… if I didn’t, I was forced to walk.

And one day, everything that made me cry for months, just didn’t matter anymore.  That’s when I understood the power of running. Not only was I in better shape than ever before (even though I’ve always loved the gym!), I knew my own strength. I made decisions I’d been afraid to make before and stood up to people I’d be afraid of, because of the confidence I’d gotten during my runs.

That’s what Mile 13.1 means to me. It’s been a journey of almost 2 years, and I’m a completely different person. This is why I love to run.

Being Intentional

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It’s so easy, for example, to go on vacation and throw your entire diet (of healthy eating) and training schedule out the window, only to have to start back up from square one when you get back (Thank you Christmas break!).

Spring break is coming up for some people (does that mean anything anymore that I’m not in grade 7?) and Easter (the 3rd best chocolate holiday in the WORLD), which is desperately trying to sabatoge my training schedule like Christmas. In case you need a kick in the butt, try out the ever eipc Biggest Loser Trainers Bob’s Vacation Workout.

IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! WE ONLY HAVE EXACTLY 52 DAYS to get in the BEST shape we’ve ever been in and race on the hilly track for 13.1 miles! 

We’ve using Hal Higdons 1/2 marathon training Schedule: Novice 2 as our coach and the most amazing weather =) I’m enjoying this training plan because we just ran a 1/2 marathon last week, and it’s giving us a bit of a break, allowing us time to work back up to 13 miles. I’m working this running thing in-between my work schedule, school, and being around for my husband. It’s a lot, but thankfully he’s running with me =)

It’s about being intentional about your goals. Whether on vacation, or just getting caught up in life, be intentional about getting where you want to be. Dreams without deadlines and plans of actions are just… dreams.

I’m probably going to fall slightly short of my 60 miles/March goal, but I’m proud of all the progress I’ve made AND for setting a new PR: Running 13.1 miles!! I’m still so proud of myself!

Ps. if you are at all enjoying my posts, please leave a little love (aka: comment on my BLOG people! I know your reading it!!)

SHAMROCK RACE!

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I woke up Sunday morning after about 2.5 hrs of sleep because there were gun shots(yes, gun shots) outside our apartment all night. I almost didn’t run in the race because I woke up feeling miserable, but Tyler was so encoraging and supportive, and helped me decide to run! (thanks hunny!)

My goal was to run the first six miles, and then run/walk the rest of the miles because my training had gone so poorly.

Parking for any Boardwalk race is a mess, and yesterday was no exception. The irony of parking in a bank parking lot in the handicap space while running a half marathon kept me smiling until the start! For the first couple miles, Tyler and I were smiling at each other in sheer happiness of being able to run this race.

Because, exactly one year ago, after the Shamrock race (we were running 8k’s back then) he took me to Fort Story and proposed. It was so precious and one of the happiest days of my life!

Back to the race. It was so glorious to run by Fort Story and remember our proposal exactly one year ago… and we actually ran RIGHT by the Lighthouse (on mile 8) that we visted the day he proposed!  The terrain was wonderful, we consistantly run on the boardwalk, so we were used to the route. While we were on base, running by the lighthouse, there was this mommy with two little kids in her stroller that allowed her kids to get out and RUN along side her! This was the most adorable site ever, and I was laughing for the remainder of the mile :) I was truly inspired to keep running. And I did keep running! At each mile marker, I decided to run that mile, and walk the rest. Until I got to mile 11, and then decided I was going to run the WHOLE thing! I’m so glad I did, and I’m so proud of myself!

I set my all time Personal Record yesterday. Not because I did great time, but because this was the FIRST TIME I’D EVER RUN 13.1 MILES! Setting my next PR is going to be easy since I really took it slow and ran it at 11:21 minute miles (according to my tracker), and 11:49 according to the race timer. They are different because I turned off my tracker during our washroom break… because I wanted to know our exact running time.

Seriously, I’ve never been prouder of myself in my whole life. I never thought I’d be able to run STRAIGHT for 13.1 miles, and I DID! I crossed the finish line, strong and feeling good. I’ve never been happier to stop running!

Goodbye, Hello

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Ok, so you remember all those great new years resolutions you made back in… January? How are those coming along? I mean, it’s been about 35 days since we carefully carved out all the goals for the new year, some were naturally extremely unrealistic (like getting all A’s), but others were easy (like laugh everyday). Just in case my new years goals weren’t enough pressure, I also set month goals, like eat veggies every day (check) and buy new running shoes (check). Maintianing this blog every week was another January goal (check), but I failed in running 9 miles this month. My excuse is that I purchased new running shoes and needed to break them in! I think I’m good to go because I did almost 5 on Saturday and don’t have any blisters.
I need to catch up and run my goal of 11 miles this month in order to prepare for the Shamrock 1/2 marathon in 6 very short weeks…

In short, my goals are to say good bye to the unhealthy eating, and hello to the trails this month! Wish me luck!  

I sincerely hope I’m offering just a small glimpse of encoragement to those who have extremely busy lives and are struggling with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes things need to be removed from our lives in order to make room for our workouts, and other times we just need to get up earlier, workout instead of watching a TV show, take a walk on our lunch break, or park further from our jobs in order to get some much needed exercise in.

You can do it!

Weekend Run

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Saturday I did a great 3.3m run in about 27 min as I ran to the LuluLemon store for my pilates class. I didn’t use my RunKeeper app because I was using my map to figure out how to find the store, but that’s my rough figure. When I got there, I had to immediantly start my class, and I could hardly sit up straight, my hips were so tight! After some serious stretching and a lot of pain, I was able to FINALLY touch my toes (which is never a big deal to me), and I felt MUCH better!

I LOVED the piliaties class, and will probably sign up for for enough classes to get me to Christmas.

Then on SUNDAY, I went running with a girl from our run club and she matched my slower-I’m-going-to-run-6-miles-pace perfectly! It was a glorious run with the most perfect weather ever, and we just kept running. My goal was to run SEVEN miles, but I started dry heaving at SIX so I did what it took to get back to the car. Safely. And not throw-up in front of the new girl. Unsuccessful. Embarrassing.

I know this is discusting, but it’s not the first time I’ve thrown up from running. This time it was obviously from running too soon after lunch, but I’ve done it before from over exerting myself. What I’ve learned to listen to my body, and walk when it’s telling me to walk.
During a race, yes, I will do what it takes to get the best time I possibly can, but I’m not going to bring myself to throw-up again because of a run. It was horrible. After I got home, I threw up straight for 30 minutes and felt like crap the rest of the night.

But while I was miserable, I basked in the pride that, today, I ran further than I’ve ever run before.

Going to beat my record and run SEVEN miles next weekend!

Wicked 10k!

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It has literally been WEEKS since I updated my blog! So much has been going on, that you deserve a quick update!

Two weekends ago (on Halloween weekend) my husband and I ran in the Wicked race. It’s a 10k race (6.2 miles) where everyone is supposed to dress up and run along the boardwalk. It was supposed to rain and be the nastiest day in the world, and the night before Tyler and I even talked about not going. But there was going to be Blue Moon beer served at the end, and we all know Tyler will run for beer :) . So we drove the 3 miles from our house to the convention center, and stood in our corral. We were in Corral 3 which means that we aren’t AMAZING runners, but we don’t really suck either! It was still freezing out, so I crouched down so the wind couldn’t get me… Or I held onto Tyler for dear life to keep me warm!

We finally started running and I was so distracted by the costumes that I forgot how cold it was, how much I hate running in general, and that I’d much rather be snuggled up next to Tyler in bed on a blistery cold morning.

In fact, I didn’t ever stop my stride until mile 4 when I had to pull my hair into a pony-tail again because the wind ripped it out! I was doing so well, Tyler didn’t even leave my side until mile 4!

That’s when he hit a really great song and took off in front of me :) But I kept up my pace and ran down the boardwalk with freezing cold  and didn’t even break my stride! In fact, I only came in about 35 seconds after Tyler :)

When I got my results on my phone later that day, I was so stoked: I placed 152 out of 833 for my age group “Female 25-29″. I discounted it by saying that all the girls in my age group were probably walkers… but I’m still pretty proud of us! I finished the race in under an hour which was one of my October goals!

After the race was over, we headed over to the food (which was chili served in a bun) AMAZZZZING and then over to the beer tent. Which is precisely when the forecast-ed rain storm hit! We were warmly sipping Blue Moon while the slow walkers were drenched by the monsoon. =( Sorry guys!


We seriously looked like little Wicked 10k advertisements walking back to our car dressed like this: Our technical shirts, runner bibs, metal and running caps! I’m extremely proud of us, and we are well on our way to running the 1/2 marathon in March!

Discipline for training

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I’m afraid this post isn’t as inspiring as some of my others… I’ve been incrediably lazy all week, and haven’t run since Tuesday. I did the bike for 30 min and then weights on Friday, and by Monday, I was incrediably guilty. So I ran 4.67 miles in 50 minutes. It’s really not a great run, but I’m just proud to be running that distance. It’s going to take some serious work to reach my goal of 45 minutes for my Neptunes Fest on October 1st! I’m hoping to be running with some friends, so that will make me run faster… I hope!

If I’m going to reach my goal of running the half-marathon in March, it’s going to take a lot of work. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or I don’t feel well. I still need to get out there and get my exercise in. I’m still going to take care of my body, but I’m going to start being relentless about working out EVERY DAY. Maybe I’ll get two REST days a week, but none of this FOUR rest days that I took last week. Running isn’t fun for me, and it’s definately not easy, but I feel wonderful when I’m done, and I know that I’m going to reach my goal.

I’m strong, and I know that through Christ I can do anything. He tells us to ”run with patience (endurance, persistence) the race set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith … For consider Him that endured … lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.” (Heb 12:1-3)

 – the need for endurance is obvious; the focus of our vision; keeping the rules; self-discipline; and the desire and determination to win. If we lack in any of these areas, we will become vulnerable to defeat and failure.

In every area of my life, I want to be disciplined, in my eating, quiet time with God, and maintaining my school… so this training is a glimpse in my overall disciple.
As I’m able to be disciplined in every other area of my life, I  will be able to be disciplined enough to prepare for the Shamrock Half-Marathon in March.