Dedication of a Lifetime

What a week of successes! Rather than run you through everything I did this week (which might bore you to tears), I'll just hit the training highlights from the week.

Tuesday
I ran my farthest run yet: 4.17 miles. I walked 5, ran 20, walked 5, ran 15.

Saturday
I ran for the LONGEST time running in a row (without stopping). I walked 5, ran for 30 MINUTES, and then walked 5. I felt Awesome afterwards. It was my best run yet!!

Monday
Today I walked 5, ran 20, walked 5, ran 13 for a distance of 4:11 miles. The run was hard, but I feel glad I got out and did it.

My right knee is beginning to bother me again. I've been wondering whether I should do more cross-training on it - weight lifting, elliptical, etc - to strengthen the muscles around the knee. I probably should, but I'm finding it hard to be motivated.

In fact, I'm generally finding it hard to be motivated to run. I think these are the reasons:

1. Running takes a lot of time. It takes me 30 minutes to get ready, and then I exercise for between 40 and 60 minutes. Then, after exercising, I stretch for another 30 minutes. Plus, it takes me 15 minutes each way to and from the gym. This works out to be about a 2-3 hour activity every day that I do it. That's a lot of time out of the day gone, which limits my ability to do other things. I find this limit frustrating, and often wish there were more time in my day.

2. Running is beginning to feel routine and boring. Admittedly, hitting the treadmill over and over again isn't the most interesting thing in the world. This is especially true when all that's playing on the TV's at the gym is news, SportsCenter, soap operas, and 1980's music videos. PLEASE. I need some new places to run, I think.

3. I feel like I'm not making very fast progress. I feel like I go, and I pound out the time on the treadmill, but I am not progressing. The truth is (and I have to admit this, because I can see it on my Nike+ and in the above stats) I am making progress, but it is slower than I would like. This has always been the case with me. When I was little and learning how to play the piano, I wanted to immediately play like a professional. I find it annoying that all good talents take time to grow. I suppose my greatest tragic flaw would have to be impatience.

I suppose running is teaching me lots of lessons. It's teaching me to prioritize what is and is not important (more so than usual). It is also showing me just how important variety is to my life - too much of the same thing can ruin a great thing. But, perhaps it is showing me most of all the importance of consistency and patience as I progress.  My bishop shared a really great quote the other day. I wanted to share it with you. It really sums up this major lesson that running has been teaching me. It states:

"What we need is not short frenzied outburst of emotion,

but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."

- Elder Dallin H Oaks, "Dedication of a Lifetime,"

CES Fireside for Young Adults, 1 May 2005.

What the ????

Today's run wasn't much of a run.

I ran on Tuesday for 20 straight minutes, and felt awesome, but today I felt sick.

I felt really, really dizzy, for the second time this week. It's been crazy. Monday I felt so bad I had to sit while I lectured. Then, today I felt so ill that I was having a hard time driving to and from the gym (because everything was spinning). I don't think it was super safe, but I was driving slowly and carefully, and I made it just fine.

I can't figure what the problem is, though. I think it's been brought on by pluggage (sure, it's a word...) in my ears from allergies. I've been really sneezy lately, and keep breaking out in itchy allergic reactions to crap in the air. Definite allergy season.

Anyhow, so today I felt so dizzy that I mostly walked instead of ran. I'd walk 2 minutes, run for 1. I did that for about 20 minutes, and then got off. It was so NOT a workout that I felt like I didn't even need to stretch afterwards. But, at least I got out and did something.

The major highlight of the exercise (not in a good way, either) was the woman who looked absolutely skeletal. I mean, SERIOUSLY skeletal. I saw each individual rib cage bone - by her neckline. Where her breasts should have been, there was nothing - just mosquito bites. Instead of cleavage, peeking out over the top of her exercise shirt were the deep, jagged ruts of ribs. Her body had practically NO fat on it, such that I could see individual muscle groups and tendons in her body, and clearly make out where they linked with her bones. It was truly disgusting.

She, meanwhile, was chatting with another runner and showing off muscle groups. She seemed proud of how she looked, even though she looked ill.

I wondered, as I looked at her, if this is what elite runners looked like in real life. It was anything BUT attractive.

Still, though, it made me remember something very important: I run to gain fitness, not to be thin. Running to be thin can lead a person to be too thin, and that is not what I want.

I want to be fit and flexible. I want to be devastatingly sexy. Is that so wrong?

Running @ Home

I'm still visiting good ol' K-town. The family is all working today, and I didn't make any plans (which is why I'm already behind in my to do list - typical). Still, because I didn't have to be anywhere by a certain time, I had time to run. So, of course, I went down to the local cemetary to do this.

I love the cemetary here in town. A lot of people find it freaky to run around graves and headstones, but I think it is very peaceful. I remember once, as a child, telling my mom that I was afraid of the cemetary (which we always called "the graveyard" in my family - adding to the fear factor, I guess). She looked at me, stunned, and said, "Why? The cemetary is peaceful. It's a place of final rest. It's like being among many sleeping, happy, contented people. I think it's beautiful."

I was never afraid there again.

Today, I kept getting a stitch in my side as I ran. I don't know if it's lack of electrolytes, or lack of oxygen. Whatever the reason, it was LAME. But, it made me slow down and walk more than usual, which allowed me more time to reflect on things (rather than gasp for air in this 4,000 feet above sea level place). I noticed the pretty Rocky Mountains, capped with snow, and blanketed in light fog. It was cold today - 35 degrees Fahrenheit - and you could smell the wood smoke from local chimneys in the air, mingled with the crisp smell of high mountain pine trees.

I felt sad that I wasn't able to run more than I did, but I was happy that I ran/walked 3.14 in 45 minutes, with not too much muscle effort (aside from my lungs, which were struggling). With a little luck, and some blessings, I may very well be on my way to a PR for Saturday's 5k, even in altitude. Miraculous.

All in all, though, it was a beautiful exercise. The whole time ran, I just kept hearing what my sister said after she moved back from California years ago. She said, "You know, I'm just not a California girl. I love the ocean. I love the sun. But, when it comes down to it, I'm just a traditional, Rocky Mountain girl, and proud of it."

And, you know, I couldn't have said it better myself.

Blinking Machines!! >:(

Today's run was hard because my technology kept having issues. Or, rather, I kept having issues with the technology.

I started out just fine. I got on the treadmill, did my warmup walk, and even started to run. The only problem was that after running for only 1 minute, I had to pee. I need to remember to use the bathroom before a run because it complicates things if I have to stop during a run.

I paused the workout, ran to the bathroom, and was back to the treadmill in no time. It took me a few minutes to get my workout to resume, though, because I was trying to be careful to not have the same tech glitch as last time. Once I got the iPod sorted, my treadmill started acting up. I had to pause the workout again, sort out the treadmill, and then start. Just as I got started, my shoelace came untied.

This continued to happen throughout the run, such that I managed to turn my iPod completely OFF, at one point, and the treadmill got turned off TWICE throughout the run. I kept having to pause things and sort out the technology issues. At one point, when the treadmill shut itself off and I was fumbling with my sweaty hands and the buttons, my body rebelled and I ended up in a coughing fit from the sudden shift in oxygen intake.

It was really obnoxious.

REALLY. REALLY. REALLY. OBNOXIOUS.

Despite all of the problems, I still managed to run 3.6 miles today. I ran my fastest mile EVER, and even had Tiger Woods' voice come on my Nike+ to congratulate me (anyone else see the irony in Tiger being the one to congratulate my speed??). I felt stronger and less fatigued than I had on previous runs. Plus, I felt proud of myself for finishing it all.

All in all, it was a pretty good run considering throughout most of it I wanted to throw my treadmill and iPod across the gym.

Take that, stupid machines.



P.S. Just FYI: This is my SECOND attempt at posting for the day. I wrote this post earlier, went to publish it, and it made me sign back in to Blogger. I had completely lost the previous post. Have I mentioned technology doesn't like me today?? Grrr....

Running Ouch and a List

Today's run was Couch to 5k, Week 4, Day 3. After doing days 1 and 2 this week, I found that today's run was a difficult one. It was more difficult than I expected because my muscles were rebelling from the running, and my lungs were rebelling from the running, and well, basically the body was in revolution mode and I was not able to stop it. So, instead I kept running. Silly, I know, but I was really proud of myself for doing all of the expectations of the week - against my body's wishes.

While I was running, I kept thinking of all the reasons why I hate running. Then I would tell myself to shut up. Following this, I would think of all the reasons why I was not going to be able to keep running, again followed by a firm, "shut up." This moved into why I was a bad runner, with a final, "Shut up. I'm doing this, which is more than I could have said last month." My inner-critic then promptly shut up, just as my quads began to complain and I would start again at the beginning of it all.

So, to combat this cycle, which occurred throughout the run, I decided to make a list to remind me what my life would be like if I chose to stop running. Here is that list

Reasons why I hate to not run:

1. I get grouchy if I don't exercise. Sad, but true.

2. I get emotional if I don't exercise, meaning that I become unexplicably mood-swingy (this changes when I do run, in case you were wondering).

3. If I do not exercise, it usually means I am spending my time elsewhere - helpful for others, detrimental for me because I need some me-time to do what I want to do, rather than what I have to do. If I do not take time to refill my emotional well, it becomes dry and I have nothing else to give to others (which pretty much explains 1 and 2).

4. Not running makes me feel like a chubby shlub who's squishy and weak.

5. On the days I don't run, I also don't listen to music or talks on tape, which make me unhappy because I like both of those things.

6. Running helps me make Vitamin D because I'm out in the sunshine. When I don't run, I feel deprived of this vitamin, and the sunshine.

7. If I do not run I have less energy through the day, so I get less done.

8. I want to sleep more when I don't exercise. Often, these naps take 1.5 to 2 hours, whereas exercise only takes .5 to 1 hour. So, when I don't run I lose time unnecessarily from my day.

9. When I don't run I start to feel guilty about what I am eating, and I make poorer food choices. Something about exercising helps me appreciate what goes into my body more, so I start putting better fuel in, which helps me to feel better.

10. I get more headaches when I do not run. I am not certain if this is because exercise strengthens muscle groups in my back (thereby preventing headaches), or because running decreases stress levels (thereby preventing headaches). Whatever it is, it's totally true. Before I started exercising regularly, I was getting 2-3 headaches a week, which were painful and often incapacitating to the point I had to just go to bed and pray they were gone in the morning. Since I started exercising a month ago, I have only had 2-3 headaches TOTAL. Pretty good, I think.

One of the things that got me through today's crazy run was the quote, " Impossible is just a stupid word everybody uses because they are afraid to try." This was said by Serge Roetheli (pictured above with his wife on her motorcycle), who literally ran around the world. It took him 5 years to do it, but HE RAN AROUND THE WORLD! Pretty amazing stuff. You can watch a super motivational video of him here: Beyond the Epic Run - Serge Roetheli and Dean Karnazes

Here's to running, my friends, and a happier life!