It’s now been my first month working with the new trainer. The swimming is progressing and I’m slowly but surely getting back into running mode; it’s time to start incorporating the bicycle into my workouts. So last week I unhooked my bike from its trusty resting spot hanging from the roof of the garage to discover that both of the tires were flat. I shouldn’t have been surprised, especially since it had been up there since last summer’s race, so I dug out a bike pump and feverishly worked to pump air into the tires. It seemed to work so I put it in the rack of my car and headed out to the trailhead.
While waiting at the last stoplight before parking, a man stepped into the crosswalk to pass in front of me. He shuffled along, certainly not in a hurry and looking mostly downward. I inadvertently smiled at him and apparently he saw me because he did a double-take and looked at me quizzically. I was in such a good mood, ready for an easy bike ride (I suspect I won’t be getting many such passes before Coach kicks them into painful mode) and besides, I naturally like to smile. The stranger didn’t return the smile but picked up his pace to the other side so I counted that as a win.
My own smile soon faded of course when I realized that the tires were flat again. Since riding the bike was out of the question, I turned around and went home to go for a run instead. My dog was especially happy about the change of events! Despite what I’ve said about running with him, I feel safer when he’s with me. He started whimpering with anticipation as soon as I put on my running shoes; I think he’s missed running as much as I have. We started out well enough, nice and easy just around the neighborhood in circles (since the patchwork cul-de-sacs seem to take away my sense of direction), and as we ventured out a little further the rain lightened up. Or so it seemed. Out of nowhere, I heard a woman’s voice call out to ask if I was training for the Tacoma marathon. Confused, I looked around to see who it was and stopped to talk to her. She was a Cub Scout mom, complete in uniform with her little guy in tow, and she told me she’s interested in running and looking for a partner. As we talked, the rain really kicked in so we cut it short, a new friendship forged. I couldn’t help but smile at my good fortune.
I shouldn’t have been quite so surprised by the quickly changing weather, rain of course is nothing new and I’m no longer surprised when it stars pouring as soon as I open my front door to get started, but this day I experienced a whole new scenario: it rained hail. It drenched my clothes and pelted my face, and Seamus finally stopped cold in his tracks, right in front of my legs, as if to ask me what we were doing. That would mark the end of the workout!
While telling my training partner about the chain of events, she questioned why the woman talked to me; I must not have had my "game face" on to ward off interruptions. I beg to differ; I think a smile is part of my natural presence. I love my smile, it's one of my best features, and I often smile while running because I enjoy it so much. I have some various words of advice and encouragement that are taped to my bathroom vanity that I read in the morning while getting ready. They offer a variety of advice for improving life's outlook, and more than a couple include smiling in their suggestions. A smile helps make a situation a little easier to bear, and is an easy way to acknowledge somebody or soften a situation when the need arises. It can brighten your outlook and is highly contagious to others. To quote Buddy the Elf, "I just like to smile, smiling's my favorite." My sentiments exactly!
So while training isn't always fun and enough rain can dampen anyone's mood, a smile can certainly make it easier to bear. I encourage you to smile more and see what develops!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Progress: No Matter How Small, It All Adds Up!
Dragging myself to the pool this morning at an early hour was a challenge, but thankfully I had a friend to join in the misery with me. The laps I struggled with just a few short weeks ago came easier, despite the wicked way the pool's bottom dropped dramatically towards a very deep end, a very different sensation from our standard lap pool that's currently out of commission. As I moved through the stages of my workout, able to complete all of it this time, I was energized to see how far I've already come. My mindset has slowly changed back towards training mode and I'm really starting to get excited for my events this year.
At a conference this week one of our lectures was on emotions and while the lesson was intended to be tied to the changes in the economy, it instead focused on the idea of how our emotions affect us as individuals. It was a simple enough concept but it really drove home just how much control we each have over our own lives. It all boils down to choices. Choose to be happy, or just go through the motions. Choose to be accountable, or let it slide off your shoulders as somebody else's problem. Choose your attitude, your mindset, the way you react when provoked. Every choice impacts another, each one shaping your journey. At the end of the day, it's your life and your responsibility to yourself to make the most of it. At some point we must all come to terms with what we're experiencing and let that direct our path forward. It's easy to get bogged down in the heavy emotions that come with the occasional painful encounters of life, but for each event that we're able to conquer comes some sense of self and generally a lesson or two to reflect on for future reference.
Having the right mindset will be half the battle through my continued recovery, training, and competition. To maximize my fitness goals I will have to make the choice to focus on my progress on the road and in the pool rather than the negative pressure of worrying about how far I have to go even to catch up to the level of my training partner. As a tough competitor against myself, this will require its own level of effort as I'm torn between what I think I should be able to accomplish at this point and where I really am. Learning to accept the reality of my current abilities will enhance my learning experience, as well as motivate me to work harder and better appreciate my milestones. Being off my feet for an extended break has dampened my spirit but not the drive to continue racing, so while today's longest stretch of 8 laps is quite shy of the 20ish lap distance I'll have to do in my triathlon, it's already an improvement worthy of pride. As my late grandpa's favorite saying goes, "attitude is verything", which can't be emphasized enough!
At a conference this week one of our lectures was on emotions and while the lesson was intended to be tied to the changes in the economy, it instead focused on the idea of how our emotions affect us as individuals. It was a simple enough concept but it really drove home just how much control we each have over our own lives. It all boils down to choices. Choose to be happy, or just go through the motions. Choose to be accountable, or let it slide off your shoulders as somebody else's problem. Choose your attitude, your mindset, the way you react when provoked. Every choice impacts another, each one shaping your journey. At the end of the day, it's your life and your responsibility to yourself to make the most of it. At some point we must all come to terms with what we're experiencing and let that direct our path forward. It's easy to get bogged down in the heavy emotions that come with the occasional painful encounters of life, but for each event that we're able to conquer comes some sense of self and generally a lesson or two to reflect on for future reference.
Having the right mindset will be half the battle through my continued recovery, training, and competition. To maximize my fitness goals I will have to make the choice to focus on my progress on the road and in the pool rather than the negative pressure of worrying about how far I have to go even to catch up to the level of my training partner. As a tough competitor against myself, this will require its own level of effort as I'm torn between what I think I should be able to accomplish at this point and where I really am. Learning to accept the reality of my current abilities will enhance my learning experience, as well as motivate me to work harder and better appreciate my milestones. Being off my feet for an extended break has dampened my spirit but not the drive to continue racing, so while today's longest stretch of 8 laps is quite shy of the 20ish lap distance I'll have to do in my triathlon, it's already an improvement worthy of pride. As my late grandpa's favorite saying goes, "attitude is verything", which can't be emphasized enough!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Inspiration Comes in Various Forms
It's come up in conversation several times recently to wonder how long I’ve been running, and honestly it’s something that hasn’t always been a constant in my life. Some of the darkest times in my life were escaped with the help of running; many times it became a relief mechanism, a way to get out and think things through that somehow made whatever was so troublesome at the time seem less so, at least for a moment or two. Other times it was an activity I could do with a friend, which made it more enjoyable. But for every time I stopped for a bit due to a busy schedule or some other excuse, it seemed like it was more and more difficult to pick it back up and stick with it; the curve to return to where I had left off was steeper and harder to overcome. This is the longest consecutive streak I’ve maintained, and I’m doing more with it now than I ever have before, but I had abandoned all forms of exercise for quite some time before then. How I got back in the game this time is a story that I can laugh about now though it didn't have a happy beginning...
It was the summer of 2008 and that was the year I had finally done two things to be more active in my life: in February I had the opportunity to ski in Taos with one of the partners from my office and his wife. It was the first time in more than 20 years that I had attempted to ski, having sworn it off after a bad encounter in church camp that left me riding back down the ski lift, and it was the most athletic thing I had attempted in several years. Despite an initial snafu caused by too much vanilla vodka and crème soda the night before, it was generally uneventful yet thoroughly invigorating to just be active, although the initial panic attack I experienced on the ski lift certainly helped get my blood flowing as well! Secondly, at the encouragement of that partner, I joined the company softball team. I use the word "joined" loosely as I struck out twice in the first game, my bat swinging in full motion yet nowhere near the ball. It was humiliating, despite the team’s efforts to be supportive, and thankfully my prayer to never be called up to bat again was answered. I later found my niche as the team childcare provider, a vital position that I enjoyed immensely and found to be not nearly as painful as trying to catch the ball with my face in practice. It was during one of the games that a cute little girl named Abbie politely asked if I had "a baby in my tummy." I was mortified! I secretly suspected people had wondered that but were too polite to ask, especially since I generally dressed in baggy shirts and long skirts thinking it would somehow hide my ever-expanding frame, the product of too much convenience food and nowhere near enough physical activity. So while it didn't happen overnight, that was the final straw that prompted me to get out and get moving again. I started out slow and painful with a few 5ks and my first sprint triathlon, and it was many more months before I started tackling half marathons, but I have kept running or at least moving. Now that I've earned the title of marathoner, I don't want to stop.
I waited a long time to tell Abbie’s dad that story. I watched a similar wave of humiliation wash over his face as I repeated her innocent question and could see him mentally will the ground to open up and swallow him, but I was quick to assure him that it was just the push I needed to do something more and I had results to show how far I had come. After that, every time I finished a new race I would proudly show him my medal and hail the “inspiration of Abbie” that had given me that nudge to finally do something more and stick with it.
Sometimes it just takes something little like that to make a big difference. Other times it's something a lot bigger than that.
I will be running my next marathon in October - the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. I've wanted to do this race ever since I read about it years ago in Runner's World, and even better than getting there will be that I'm doing it in honor of a friend that I lost last December, Dawn Thompson. I have the opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of so many, and that's an incredible inspiration as well.
It was the summer of 2008 and that was the year I had finally done two things to be more active in my life: in February I had the opportunity to ski in Taos with one of the partners from my office and his wife. It was the first time in more than 20 years that I had attempted to ski, having sworn it off after a bad encounter in church camp that left me riding back down the ski lift, and it was the most athletic thing I had attempted in several years. Despite an initial snafu caused by too much vanilla vodka and crème soda the night before, it was generally uneventful yet thoroughly invigorating to just be active, although the initial panic attack I experienced on the ski lift certainly helped get my blood flowing as well! Secondly, at the encouragement of that partner, I joined the company softball team. I use the word "joined" loosely as I struck out twice in the first game, my bat swinging in full motion yet nowhere near the ball. It was humiliating, despite the team’s efforts to be supportive, and thankfully my prayer to never be called up to bat again was answered. I later found my niche as the team childcare provider, a vital position that I enjoyed immensely and found to be not nearly as painful as trying to catch the ball with my face in practice. It was during one of the games that a cute little girl named Abbie politely asked if I had "a baby in my tummy." I was mortified! I secretly suspected people had wondered that but were too polite to ask, especially since I generally dressed in baggy shirts and long skirts thinking it would somehow hide my ever-expanding frame, the product of too much convenience food and nowhere near enough physical activity. So while it didn't happen overnight, that was the final straw that prompted me to get out and get moving again. I started out slow and painful with a few 5ks and my first sprint triathlon, and it was many more months before I started tackling half marathons, but I have kept running or at least moving. Now that I've earned the title of marathoner, I don't want to stop.
I waited a long time to tell Abbie’s dad that story. I watched a similar wave of humiliation wash over his face as I repeated her innocent question and could see him mentally will the ground to open up and swallow him, but I was quick to assure him that it was just the push I needed to do something more and I had results to show how far I had come. After that, every time I finished a new race I would proudly show him my medal and hail the “inspiration of Abbie” that had given me that nudge to finally do something more and stick with it.
Sometimes it just takes something little like that to make a big difference. Other times it's something a lot bigger than that.
I will be running my next marathon in October - the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. I've wanted to do this race ever since I read about it years ago in Runner's World, and even better than getting there will be that I'm doing it in honor of a friend that I lost last December, Dawn Thompson. I have the opportunity to help make a difference in the lives of so many, and that's an incredible inspiration as well.
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