Calm and Collected

Another 3 mile run has been crossed off of the list!  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a run, and I'm happy that I chose to wear a long-sleeved shirt instead of a hoodie, otherwise I would have been an even sweatier mess!  Even though I ran solo today, I was able to take the time to truly embrace the neighborhoods that I traveled through, the strengths and weaknesses in my life, and the beauty and support of my family and friends. 


As I'm working through my daily life, I'm trying to place my life, actions, and decisions in God's hands, and while my music selection for running may not have been the biggest step, I feel that each and every song that I heard had a purpose to my run today.  Typically, I create playlists with an abundance of upbeat songs, because they keep you motivated and help you to run at a fairly good pace.  Instead of using one of my pre-made lists, I decided to put my iPod on shuffle mode, and asked God to play the songs that he felt would motivate me on my run.  All of the songs that I heard were not typical to what I would run to -- they were calm, soothing, and had deep and emotional lyrics.  I began to get discouraged after I heard slow song after slow song, but about 1.5 miles in, I realized that I needed to enjoy the beauty of what I was doing.  I sometimes forget that I'm not running just to knock out an awesome workout, but I'm doing this to improve my relationships and to make myself a better me.  After I came to this realization, and I began listening to the lyrics of the songs, I found that each song was telling me something about where I stand in my life right now. 


The last song of my run stuck out to me the most, and brought a huge smile to my face.  I realize that I shared a song last week, but I'm going to share this one with you as well.  We often forget about the beauty within ourselves, and are constantly seeking to change ourselves for other people.  Take a stand for yourself.  Love you for you.  You are strong.  You are beautiful!

Mommy ♥

While today's run was nice and short, a mere 2 miles, I had the BEST company ever -- my mommy!  It's amazing how much better your days are when you spend some quality time with the woman that you look up to the most.  I've truly treasured the moments that I've had with my mother throughout the past 21 years, and know that I wouldn't be the young woman that I am today, without her help, support, and guidance.  Thanks mum!  :)

We took a stroll towards the river walk, and once we arrived, I took off on my run and met back up with her 2 miles later.  Even though she wasn't able to run with me, it was amazing to be able to spend some quality fitness and mother/daughter time together.  We made a couple of pit stops on our way back (all of which were more than entertaining), and finished off the walk with a good show -- compliments of the WPD.  I have to say that they need to work on a better ending next time!

The internal motivation had continued to remain strong and ever present in my daily life.  This journey is positively changing so many aspects of my life, and I am more than proud of myself for taking on this challenge!  End of Week #2 -- Check!

Hello Hurricane, Nice to Meet You!

Seriously, who decides to run outside when there are 60 mph winds?  I guess I can once again call myself crazy (tally of craziness has now hit 2), but there was NO way that I was going to run indoors on a treadmill, twice within one week!

I had my first day of Fartlek training, and for those of you who don't know what this is, it is a form of interval training, in which you work on building endurance and speed.  It was definitely an interesting workout compared to the distance workouts that I've had over the past week and a half.  I may have had the wind working against me, but an overabundance of frustrations from the past 24 hours of my life, more than motivated my legs to move quickly.  It's amazing how much events in your life can bring you down one moment and then motivate you the next.

This may be a random side note, but I want to share the following song with you.  When I woke up today, I would have rather stayed in bed all day and lounged around my apartment.  But, I set my hopes high for the day, jumped in my car, and heard this song.  It brought me to tears, but it helped me to once again realize the beauty and support of God, even when you don't think that he is with you.

The Treadmill

As a courtesy to my body, I decided to run my 3 miles on the treadmill today, and absolutely despised every second of it!  The fitness room was so unbelievably hot, lacked circulation, and merely provided me with the view of a beige wall -- how exciting!  I have come to the conclusion that treadmills provide some form of mental block, because I had so many thoughts of wanting to stop running.  It could have been the dehydration and boredom that were setting in, or the fact that I was sweating like it was 100 degrees outside, but no matter the circumstance, I'd prefer to run outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather! 

I'm happy to report that I survived the 3 mile run, and am amazingly enough looking forward to my next running workout on Wednesday; I'll just make sure that the next one is outside!  :)

It's Meant to Be!

In church, we have been working through a series entitled "ME," which focuses on gradually working towards "the me I long to be" all while ridding of "the me I don't want to be."  Each week, I have found that one specific passage or concept addressed by Pastor Guy has had a significant meaning to my life.  Today's passage nearly knocked me out of my seat -- the passage itself was clearly placed in today's sermon for a much better reason than I'll ever be able to understand.  Let me share it with you ...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.  And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

- Hebrews 12:1

After reading the passage, Jamie and I looked at one another, and all we could do was smile.  Clearly, I am working through a journey that was meant for my life, and thanks to today's sermon, I am even more excited to continue pushing myself beyond limits that I never thought I could conquer!

End of Week #1

Today's workout brought my first week of training to an end!  I worked through muscle pain at the beginning of the week, managed to increase my speed, and conquered several 2 mile runs.  Not too shabby for the beginning of the program!  I'm happy to announce that I have more excitement and passion for this whole experience, even only being 1 week in.  I'll admit that I've had days where I was absolutely exhausted and have had troubles with working my runs into my overzealous schedule, but I'm living proof that it CAN be done.  If you find something that you are passionate for, you will make time in your life, and will eventually work your life around activities that mean the most to you.  This is my way of taking time for me, and yes mom, I've finally listened to your advice!  :)

I plan to enjoy my weekend, take a couple of days off of running (it's all in the running program, I promise), and mentally prepare myself for the week to come.  From this point on, I will gradually be increasing the mileage each week -- typically 1 additional mile per week -- and it's a scary thought, but I know that I can do it.  Thank you for all of your support up until this point!  1 week down and only 25 weeks to go!

Absolutely Gorgeous ...

While running today, I came to the conclusion that I absolutely LOVE running in the fall.  It's not too hot or too cold.  The leaves are gorgeous hues of gold, red, orange, and brown, and make the most calming crunching noise under each of my strides.  Each leaf falls flawlessly from the tree above and gracefully makes its way towards the ground.  And then there is the smell of fall.  You know, that distinctive smell of fall.  It's so hard to describe, yet it smells so amazing.  All of these elements mesh together with one another and create a serene and calming environment -- something that makes each run more and more enjoyable.

I rocked another 2 miles today, and it seemed so simple.  It was a stellar run, and I was even able to pick-up my pace quite a bit compared to my past couple of runs.  I'm not sure if it was subconscious ambition, or the lingering fact of knowing that I had to be to work within the hour, but no matter the reason, I am very proud of my accomplishment.  It's not going to be nearly as much fun running indoors, on a treadmill, during the bitterly cold Wisconsin winter days, but I'm going to enjoy the beautiful weather that I have now, and face that battle when it comes.

Motivation!

First and foremost, I have to give thanks to Jamie, not only for her encouraging slogan for my challenges in life (the current title of this blog), but also for being my running buddy.  Jamie and I started swimming with one another last spring, where she pushed me beyond limits that I never could have imagined.  Then, we decided to go running one day, and I was able to return the favor.  :)  We've clearly discovered that she is the swimmer while I am the runner, but both of our strengths will be supportive to each other's weaknesses.

Even though the running program didn't start until today, we decided to take a leisurely run yesterday, and managed to knock out 1.5 miles without any issues.  It was definitely a good confidence booster so early in the journey, especially because I haven't hit the pavement in a couple of months.  Today's run rolled around, where we ran our first 2 miles of the training program, and I began to realize that this is really it.  I'm working my way towards achieving a goal that I have set for myself and my life.  Although my legs are sore and my sleep is no longer going to be of any issue (aka - this girl is going to crash as soon as she hits her pillow tonight), I'm excited to see how I change over the next few days, weeks, and months to come!

The Journey Begins ...

So I've been contemplating running a half-marathon or marathon for a while now, but haven't had the ambition or drive to even think about training for such a significant race.  Honestly, it's crazy to even think about running 13.1 or 26.2 miles, right?  Well, I guess that I can now consider myself crazy! 

I've faced the battle with my weight for as long as I can remember, and in turn have lacked self-confidence in my daily life.  Both family and friends are uplifted by my positivity, smile, and ambition to help others succeed in their lives.  While it is flattering to know that I inspire others, I have realized that I must begin taking care of my own needs, because if I don't, I will be unable to help others in the days, weeks, and years to come -- one of the many things that I strive to do in my life.  By becoming a healthier, more confident, and beautiful woman, I will develop into a more positive and inspirational role model to many.  

It's going to be a long journey, filled with happiness and frustrations, tears and smiles, plateaus, fears, support, love, and passion.  While training, I am hoping to improve my relationships with my family, friends, and God, become a healthier me, and come to find and love myself throughout the whole process.  Here's to the next (and possibly best) journey of my life!

"The only journey is the journey within." 

Rainer Maria Rilke