Mind vs Body

I read somewhere, and it has stuck with me "the mind will give up long before the body does" - so it's not just a matter of training the body to do these challenging physical activities - it's training the mind. I am working on it, little by little.

I ran (and remember when I say run, it's about 50% run/jog and 50% brisk walk at this time, but steadily increasing to more run!) last night and used a visualization technique - I would picture the telephone pole that I would run to before I would take a break and then when I got there, I would go to one more telephone pole. I would think to myself "this is the absolute farthest I can run..." and then once I passed it, I would think "I'm not dead, I can go one more." - eventually, I figure I will be able to use this theory to go 2 more, and then 3 more, and eventually, I will be running the whole way to the halfway mark, and then halfway home again.

The important part for me is to focus on the mark ahead and pick closer ones and then if I want to extend further, to break it up smaller once I get to my original mark. My regular run takes me kind of into a bowl, up the other edge and back again and I do some running both down and uphill as well as on the flat. I have also been working on regulating my breathing, thinking about it and so then I don't end up as often gasping for breath. It is really beginning to become a reality for me to be able to do the 5k. I got this. :)

On the same vein as training/looking after my mind (which is the point of this whole blog) is looking after my body. I do get more achey when I do the run at my place because of the hills - and last night, I noticed some soreness in my knees immediately following running. I applied "ice" (I knew that bag of navy beans would come in handy someday - since I don't know how to cook them!) and they felt better almost immediately. Another going concern is footwear.

I am currently running in a $30 pair of Dr Scholls, which I know is not a good idea. Quite frankly, running in those, on the terrain (highly concussive - pavement!) at the size I am, I am pretty lucky not to have really hurt myself by now. Our local Source For Sports has a "Buy One Get One For a Loonie" sale on until September 18th and while I was originally thinking of seeing if someone would split with me and we could each get a pair of running shoes, right now I am thinking that I probably could use two pairs - one for the gym and one for outdoor running/walking. Once I put that kind of investment into it, I can't give up!

Another thing really fueling my desire to run is the app for MapMyRun.com -- I just got an LG Optimus One android and I got the app almost right away after seeing it on G's iPhone. Since I love to improve on my time, etc - it is perfect! I am also quite excited as I'd like to do reviews of the various apps available in the Android Market for the various calorie counting websites, etc for the blog. Love doodads!

Goals & Accomplishments

One of the things that I like the best about this whole weight loss mission is setting goals and reaching them, or making lists and ticking things off of them. I love to set a goal to do something X times per week and meeting that goal.

It is with this in mind (as well as the need for G to get in shape and my subsequent support and participation) that I have decided that I am going to run the 5K Citizens’ Run & Walk at the Fall Classic Road Race on September 25th, 5 days after I turn 26. Everybody who has found out that I have the intention to run a 5k wants to know what time I want to finish in... I keep telling them that I just want to finish! To give it some relevance, I completed 5.44k the other night with G and his brother in 1:01:10 and I did 3.43k in 0:29:38 tonight - it took me about 31 minutes to finish that on July 26th.

The best part of deciding to run this 5k is that my friend, Jill from Scuffed Boots Photography invited me to come to Moncton to run the Miss Movember 5k for Prostate Cancer on November 26th, so I will have a "starting point" with the September 5k and then be able to compare in November. These are the sorts of things that I enjoy, just like seeing how much time I am shaving off of my times for running each time I go out.

So this is what I am working for right now. G is working for Basic... I am working for these two 5k events. I think I need a new pair of sneakers...

Revelations

I inherited a deep love for horses, and horseback riding - I grew up on a farm with horses always around, and so I find that, by times, I compare most things in life to horses. For example, last night during what we've come to dub as a "run" (it's actually a walk/jog/run split - not a full run... yet!), I concluded (but I must admit I was aided in coming to this conclusion by G's brother) that G and I are like two distinctly different breeds of horse.

G is like an Arabian. They are commonly used in endurance racing - this is the breed of horse you hear about making a 30 day race across the desert. Industrious, they have the stamina to go forever. (The thought also came up that G is stubborn, like a mule - I concluded that he is, indeed, an Arabian mule.)

Myself, on the other hand, am a lot more like a quarter horse. They are named such because they are the fastest horse over a quarter of a mile. I could sprint off pretty quickly but eventually the brothers caught up and surpassed me, even if I could hold them (or at least G!) off for a period of time, he could run twice as long as I could at a steady pace.

Overall, though, it was good. It was helpful to have G's brother, who is fitter than us (but not uber-fit... yet!). I can only push G to the limits of what I can do - and he can only really push me as far as he can push himself because it's pretty useless to say "Go faster! Don't worry, I'll catch up! Save yourself-... oh wait, this isn't that kind of movie...

Forgiveness

Without forgiveness life is governed by...an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.

- Roberto Assagioli

I got this quote this morning in my inbox from SparkPeople.com, a really useful resource tool for weight loss. I thought it was interesting and timely (nothing happens for no reason in my life, I'm telling you!) considering that I spent much of the day yesterday reading through my blog on SparkPeople. There are at least three major "start overs" since 2006, where I've dropped off on my journey but come back with a renewed vigor. There is a lot of "I can't believe that I let myself down". There is a lot of really good, inspirational stuff there, too. A lot of methods that worked that I had forgotten about. Goal setting week by week has really helped, etc. The fact of the matter is that while I was reading through all of the "I've really let myself down", and "I can't believe I did this to myself... again!", and then even the more positive messages that I was writing for myself, one thought kept running through my mind... Fall down seven times, get up eight.

I think that is probably the mantra of my life, and probably what I should have named the blog. Fall down seven times, get up eight. Particularly in this venue in my life, as long as I keep trying, I get credit. And so, with that in mind, I got a 3 mile workout in last night with one of my Leslie Sansone DVDs -- I almost fell prey to many of the issues that impede my workout - sometimes there is a lot of work to do in the barn and I don't get a chance to do much to myself until quite late at night. Last night, for example, we were drenching sheep and lambs and it was about 9 when I got into the house - too dark to go for a run AND nobody had had supper yet, plus I had to do a load of laundry.

The first thing I did was get on my workout clothes. I find if I am at least in my clothes, I have less of an excuse, and I feel silly putting them on and then NOT working out. Then I put on the DVD and let it sit at the splash page so Leslie was watching me as I started the washer filling, put on supper, filled the washer with clothes - by that time, supper was mostly cooked so I could turn the stove and the Foreman grill off and let it finish itself with the residual heat while I got my workout started. Reasonable compromise, I think! And I felt pretty dang good even though I was seriously dragging at the end of it, and sweating like crazy! Funny how I look at sweat like an accomplishment now, and before, I didn't like sweating at all, and that was part of my aversion to exercise!

In other brief news, I feel like my clothes are fitting too tight lately, and my face looks like a teenage boy's. Also, G has lost something like 11lbs in the last couple of weeks so I need to seriously step up my game!