Wednesday, January 12, 2011

On Obstacles and Being Awesome

I'm training for my first Half Marathon, and today's run was an easy three miles. I woke up on time, but everything after that was a mess. 

* I forgot to fill my water bottle last night. No big deal, but my cousin is sleeping on the couch in my living room while visiting from Austin, so getting from my home office to the kitchen is a pain. But I did it. 

* I got back to my home office and remembered that my aunt and cousin had borrowed my Jeep yesterday, so my keys were hanging on the key rack... in the kitchen. So back I went. 

* Once again, back in my home office, I headed out the door.... only to see my husband's Jeep still parked behind me in the driveway from last night. I could move his car, but the extra set of keys are on the key rack... in the kitchen. 

No problem. I was a bit annoyed but knew I had a solution. I was only running three miles, and I know a course from my front door out to Park Blvd and back. Plus I have my iPhone which tracks time and distance, so I was good to go. 

* Except I loaned my second charger to my cousin yesterday. My only charger was on the iPad... which meant my iPhone's battery was nearly dead.

I had already updated my status here and on Facebook to say I was doing a three mile run. My friend posted back that I was insane for being up so early. I typed this back: 

"Apparently, you and the powers that be agree. Ric's jeep is parked behind my car in the driveway AND my iPhone isn't charged. I can't drive to the gym and I can't listen to music and track my time/distance running on the street. Looks like this morning's workout is pushed back to this afternoon. *sigh*" 

Immediately after which, I typed this: 

"As soon as I typed that, I realized it sounds like an excuse. Screw it. I know a 3 mile course and I can run one day without music. I'm outta here, be back in 30 minutes." 

And off I went. I ran 3.38 miles in 33 minutes, and the whole time I ran, I kept telling myself, "this is why you're awesome." 

There will always be obstacles. There will always be complications and interruptions and reasons to not do what we plan. Ultimately, though, we have to make a way. We have to commit to ourselves, to our physical health and emotional wellbeing. We have to decide what we want and not let anything or anyone hold us back. 

That is what makes the difference between reaching our goals and falling short. And that is what makes us awesome. 

SDJ 

Who's awesome? This guy! 
 

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

What My 5 Mile Run Felt Like.

How does it feel to run 5 miles on a treadmill? I'll share my running commentary from this morning: 

Speed 6.1 mph. 
0.00 - Okay, let's do this. Tunes on, attitude in place. Go! 
0.11 - Brrr. It's cold in this gym. 
0.26 - Ugh. Are my legs already stiff? 
0.38 - (looking out the gym window) Ooh, people on the bus! 
0.50 - Ten percent done. Go, Johnny, Go! 
0.96 - Sweet. Almost one mile down. 
0.97 - Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run.... 
1.00 - Woo hoo. 
1.25 - Ugh. I hate this song. I need to remove it from this playlist. Let's see if I can skip it without falling off the treadmill. 
1.26 - Anastacia's "Sick and Tired." Yeah, baby. (singing) "Ooh, sick and tired of always feeling sick and tired....." 
1.37 - If this was a 5k, I'd be nearly halfway through. 
1.43 - (singing) "Walk, walk, fashion baby, work it, make that bitch crazy" 
1.50 - Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run... 
1.55 - 5k Halfway... ooh, that rhymes, 5k Halfway, 5k Halfway 
1.56 - Ok, that's a stupid rhyme. Quit it. 
1.57 - Hello, Running Zone. I feel it. I'm at the right pace, feeling strong, all systems go. This is the sweet spot. 
1.89 - Ooh, almost two miles already, 
1.97 - Run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run... 
2.02 - Dang it. I missed the two mile mark. Meh, it's all good. 
2.25 - Still in the groove. I like this part. 
2.50 - Halfway done today, still feeling strong. 
2.97 - La, la, la, I just can't get you out of my head, la, la, la 
3.00 - Another mile bites the dust. Another miles bites the dust. 

Speed change. Down to 6.0 mph. 

3.10 - Yeah, that's a 5k. Easy, peasy. 
3.25 - Stupid calf. Stop clenching up on me. Oh, am I even breathing? Deep breath in, deep breath out. Make the oxygen go all the way to the calf. Is that how it even works? I can see Coach Nancy rolling her eyes and laughing at me as I explain my breathing plan. It feels like it's working. That's a good thing, right? Ooh, another bus. Hi, people on the bus! 
3.45 - Almost to three and a half miles, which means just a mile and a half to go. I can smoke that bad boy, no problem. 
3.53 - Oh, hello, cute guy I've never seen before. And of course, you're going to run on the treadmill next to me. And at this stupid angle, you can watch me and see my dashboard but I can only see your reflection in the mirror. 
3.55 - Yeah, cute guy. I see you looking. Yep, I'm still cruising along strong and feeling good. 
3.68 - Why did I put slow songs on this running mix? Really, Last Dance by Donna Summer. Yikes. How gay is this iPhone? 
3.93 - Bronski Beat and Cher? Gayest shuffle mix ever. I need to fix this. 
4.00 - Eighty percent through this run and I'm okay. Just keep going, John. Just keep going. 
4.13 - I Love The Nightlife by Alicia Bridges? Really? I love this song. I should totally change the lyrics and turn it into a running song. Like, instead of "I love the nightlife," I could sing, "I love my new life, got to cardioooooo, on the treadmill nowwwwww-wow-wow... oh, I love my new life, 'cuz I look good, in my gym clothes nowwwwww-wow-wow..." 
4.15 - I worry me. 
4.25 - Okay, I'm still kicking it. I'll crank up the speed my last half mile. 

Speed 6.5 mph. 
4.50 - Here we go. Go, man, go. 

Speed 6.7 mph. 
4.61 - Oh, man, flippin' half mile is long. Run, baby, run. 

Speed 6.9 mph. 
4.73 - Oh, this song rocks. (singing) One day in your life, will remind you, something something leave it all behind.... 

Speed 7.1 mph. 
4.85 - I'm doing it, doing it, doing it, doing it, run, run, run, run, run... 

Speed 8.5 mph. 
4.90 - Last bit. Sprint, baby, sprint! 



That's it. Me and my five mile run. There was more rambling and self-coaching along the way, but this is the best recap I can provide. Sometimes I felt slow, other times I felt fast, but I always felt I could do it. And that makes the difference, folks.