Hawaii hangover

Well it's been 2 weeks and I have been running, keeping up with my running schedule but also travelling.  A well deserved holiday in Honolulu kept me off the computer but not the treadmill.  Training continues on holiday and I managed 3 runs, a cardio workout and a trip to the top of Diamond Head crater.  One day I laced up and head outside, running in Ala Maoma park with what seemed like half of Honolulu.  At 6:30 in the morning they needed traffic control on the pathways and runners and walkers fought for space.  It was wonderful running in the warm temps with chirping birds and an ocean breeze cooling me off.  Now its 3 weeks to my first race in Halifax, I am a bit worried as my hill training is not happening but I will finish it, even if I am crawling.

"In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that." 
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

Voices in our head

We all have voices in our head...the ones that say you can't, or it's too hard, or why bother, or my favorite, I 'm too tired.  Our job is to tell them to shut up and go away and prove them wrong.  Now I have a new voice in my head that I have to listen too, her name is Stephanie.  Stephanie is my running coach, she teaches the 10K clinic at the Running Room.  She has this habit or waiting by the side of the road and as you run by she shouts things to you about your running.  She keeps saying to me "shorten your stride" and I say, "I thought I was".  Now I have her on a constant loop in my head as I run ‘short, short, short strides’.  Last night as I ran I did not have music, I had Stephanie saying 'short, short short' and the darn thing is, she's right; it was my best run for a while.  I noticed last Saturday that once I shortened my stride the run went easier and I finished my 8K.  Stephanie is our biggest cheerleader, always there to help us and encourage us to be a better runner, which is the kind of voice I want in my head. Today as I venture out for my LSR of 7.5 K I will have my music on and Stephanie in my head cheering me on and I will not be running alone.

Hippity Hop to it

Well it has been one of those weeks, you know the kind, where the planets align to make your life as difficult as possible.  Work, family and running all collide,making you feel like you are not doing justice to any of them.  I managed to run only 3 times this week and one session of circuit training, my LSR was 8K yesterday.  I wanted to run Thursday but was way to tired and Friday I was on a roll with work and did not want to stop.  It happens, trying to work out/run 5 times a week during my busy season is tough and now it is even tougher as it ends earlier.  In May I am participating in a study for someones PHD thesis about women, emotion and sports. They were looking for women who workout more then 150 mins a week, who have a child living at home and who work more then 30 hours a week.  There are questionnaire everyday for 2 weeks and they are trying to study the effects of juggling too many things on emotions/motivation relating to working out.  I can tell them after this week that we do the best we can, occasionally we drop a ball or too but we keep our eyes on the prize and move forward, shaking off our past failures.  I will always put family and friends first, and I am learning to put myself second and work third...but it is a work in progress.  40 days until the Bluenose!

Easy like Sunday morning

Well it's Sunday morning, time to lace up the shoes and head out for my long slow run.  Gone are the days Sunday morning meant sleeping in till 9 and relaxing my way into my day. Now by 9am I have walked the dog and am out running whatever distance we are doing this week, 6K today.

I did mange to meet my goal of running 4 times this week, actually managed 5 runs but the quality was less then desirable for some of them.  By Friday the week had caught up to me and I had a terrible run. I really wanted to stop half way through but pride would not let me.  Even my running coach could tell I was not feeling it that night.  It got me thinking about why I run, I joke it's so I can eat but what really makes me run.  I run to eat, I run to achieve my goals, I run to keep up with my husband, I run to feel healthy and then it hit me, like a bolt of lightening...I run to feel good about myself.  When I run, I feel proud of myself, when everyone tells you you can't, it's my way of telling myself, I can.  Good run or bad run, I run for me.   So it's time to shake off my bad week, lace up the shoes and get out there for me.

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.
Abraham Lincoln