Monday Motivation: Sometimes, it's gonna suck.

Doesn't sound very motivating, I know.

But it's true, and I discovered this on my run yesterday. All in all, it was a great run, and I was excited to knock out a 10-miler to get myself back into distance training mode. But the humidity was killer, the hills seemed to stretch on forever, and the rocky, gravelly portions of trail seems to be taunting my ankles as I could feel the uneven surface try to roll my foot one way or another.



Going into the run, I thought, "Yeah, this is going to be a tough one."

During the run, I knew, "This is gonna suck."

Three-quarters of the way there, I almost cried out, "God-DAMN this really sucks."

Then, I was finish. And I realized it all wasn't that terrible.

Why am I writing about this? Because unlike other posts out there that will tell you out to wrestle with your inner doubt and come up on top and make the most of your workout, yesterday's run had nothing to do with doubt, fear, or uncertainty. I know me and I know my abilities and some runs are just going to be hard, whether or not I want them to be. My kind-of-sucky 10-miler was simply a lesson in patience and mental fortitude, because there was no room for error when it came to my pace or footing. I had to simply put on foot in front of the other, pay attention, not get antsy and charge up the hills to wipe myself out, and not pay attention to mile splits.

Whether it's a tough run or a tough day workout, sometimes you have to dig in and plow through, even knowing there won't be any euphoric "runner's high" or other reward to look forward to at the end. There will be days when, unlike what we've been told by inspiring Pinterest boards, the workout is NOT going to make us less stressed, less cranky, and definitely not less sore.

But to be frank, if I only decided to go through each day on a guarantee that it would be a perfect one, well, I'd never get out of bed.

So find a way to embrace the hard days. Know that it's gonna suck, and be OK with that. I think I have some really crappy runs to thank for some of the more fantastic ones I've had!

What was your best, worst run/workout?

One of my best worst runs was the Sunrise 8K in Simpsonville, SC. It was a hot morning, even for starting right at 6:00AM and I think I had to stop twice as my stomach tried to turn itself inside out after running too hard up a series of hills.

Me trying to wave my sister off to stop her from taking this picture.

It's a New Dawn, It's a New Day...

As I start yet another new restaurant job today, I thought I'd share a little mid-week motivation with you.

I wasn't expected to change jobs after merely four months at the previous restaurant, but if I've learned nothing else this year, it has been to not sit idly by and "just deal" with situations that are not beneficial or lucrative to my goals (or bank account). I used to worry about the implications of the ever-growing "previous employment" portion on my resume, but there are some advantages to being nearly 30 and with a child.

The thing about stagnancy is that it's like a sneaky bug that just kind of sits on your shoulder, not doing anything, until you happen to look or a friend flicks it off for you. While it's no mystery that I'm not exactly thrilled to still be waiting tables at 29, I have been far more proactive in this season alone compared to years passed regarding my future. I said if I was going to still wait tables, it would at least be in a location where I could get excited about meals prepared by a talented chef. I said if I was going to still wait tables, I would be more productive in my free time and get my crap together to also start spending more time in the gym.

Even though the first restaurant didn't work out (honestly, I'm not nice or accommodating enough to deal with the insane particular needs of this specific hotel's clientele... or upper management, for that matter), I'll still be working at an establishment I can certainly say I'm proud to work for. At the gym, I'll be picking up another class or two soon, and am waiting for corporate to approve me to start training, which is already a given but still a formal process that they need to go through.

Take that, stagnancy.

Now, how about some Muse? Their songs are so epic, I can't help but to feel fired up and ready to go whenever I hear anything by them. My daughter loves to hum/mumble/sing along to "Uprising." Nothing but the best of rock for my little girl :)

What's your big goal you're working toward right now?

Where are you getting your motivation from this week?

Weekend Rewind and Monday Motivation

We've been a little indulgent this weekend following my shifts at work. I gave myself a hall pass to skip my runs since my workouts from last week combined with some pretty busy shifts had my body begging for a break. This break just happened to involve a little food/pub crawl in Decatur on Saturday night, including Brick Store Pub and Cakes & Ale. We may have eaten ourselves silly.

Cakes & Ale -- don't remember what it was called, so I'll name it "The Chocolate Gut Bomb".

Cakes & Ale -- Caramel Bundt Cake aka "The Caramel Gut Bomb"

As if that wasn't enough, we decided that for Sunday night, since we were already going out to finally see "The Avengers" (AWESOME, by the way), we'd do the whole dinner and a show thing and went to CineBistro. If you've never been to a theater that combines dining with the theater experience, you really need to. CineBistro, for one, is 21+ only after 6:00PM, which is fantastic if you don't want to be in a theater with a bunch of giggling teenagers who can't stop texting for two seconds (for the record, seeing a phone lit up in a dark theater is as annoying as hearing it ring). Another plus is that everything is in one spot, so if you're so inclined to eat a whole meal before or during your show, you save yourself the rush of driving first to a restaurant, then to the theaters. Also, the chairs are HUGE, and COMFY. My legs still felt like lead from work so I welcomed the chance to slouch and recline.

After all the food, beverage, and Robert Downy Jr. I could handle, it was time to get back to being good this morning. My body, now finished begging for rest and calorie-dense foods, was ready for some fruit and exercise!

Breakfast was early as I had a meeting/motivation seminar to attend at work. It's a two-part thing the company I work for hired an outside consultant to run. At first, I thought he was going to tell us how we suck and what we need to do to get better. But it wasn't like that at all. This guy was... intense. He was all about completely turning our minds inside out and forcing us to shift our paradigms, even those of us who claimed to have a pretty nice disposition to begin with (such as myself). I mean, he nearly made me cry... about four times. A lot of what our speaker had to talk about was gratitude and understanding, as well as living in the moment instead of walking around carrying the burdens of our past on our backs. And while the stories he had to share about cancer patients and wounded war vets broke my heart, I definitely got what he was driving at.

I left the meeting armed with several motivational quotes and mantras to meditate on for today's run:


If you don't know where you're going, it is impossible to get there.

You can not become the person you wish to be tomorrow if you make an excuse for not being that person today.

If you are happy 80% of the time, you will spend 80% of your time worrying about the other 20%.

Confidence is not built by doing only what we know to be safe.

You see, this guy is just a quote machine!

Armed with all of this motivation and inspiration, I left work for a flat and fast 8-miler at a nearby recreation along the Chatahoochie River. I always enjoy running here, not just for the reprieve from Atlanta's hills, but for the fact that I can feel somewhat removed from the choking congestion, horns, and exhaust of the city. Don't get me wrong, I love being a city runner, but when it's already hot and humid you I need a nice tree-lined path or road away from all the noise.

 
I thought a lot about living in the moment. We certainly did THAT this weekend. I still feel the residual guilt of calories consumed lingering at the back of my conscience. I thought about how lucky I am to have those moments of indulgence along with the will and desire to come back to doing something good for my body. I tried to identify anything from my past I still allow to hold me back. I rethought my approach to the grandiose goals for my future that are so intimidating I've held off on attempting to achieve them. I thought about our meeting, and a question the speaker posed to all of us, "Use two words you would want others to perceive you as."


I decided I want to be Funny and Fierce. Because I know exactly when I do or do not wish to be taken seriously. I want the liberty to talk about bodily functions and the grosser aspects of being a runner, but I want to be perceived as someone with the drive and conviction to be taken seriously as a trainer and an athlete.

FIERCE! Grrrrr.

So, enough dawdling from me. It's time to get serious about what I want to do and stop using excuses to hold myself back. Will I start a business from scratch like I wanted? No. Does that mean I should give up on getting a full-time job as a trainer? Absolutely not.

Step 1: Dusting off those ACE books....


What two words do YOU want others to think of, when they think of you?

Workin' On My Night Moves

I have been told, read, and even experienced many reasons why I should run in the mornings. Many boast that it buys them an extra hour or two in their day, getting their runs in first thing. Others love the sense of accomplishment that comes from being up before other people, the birds, and the sun. During my previous (brief) AM running kick, I personally enjoyed the peace and solitude, especially when I made it back to the house in time to brew and drink a cup of coffee before anyone else was up.

Not to knock those early morning go-getters, but generally speaking, I have found running in the morning is just not for me. From time to time, I can do it for a few weeks, but sooner or later I start slamming the snooze button again. And let's face it, when I work up until or past midnight, eat dinner at 1:00AM and then hopefully wind down enough to go to bed by 2... I'm not exactly setting my alarm to go off three hours later for anything.

In the summer time, I really love my night runs. At night, especially in the summer, the humidity has typically subsided, it's naturally cooler, and you get this neat sensation that you're just FLYING through your run. I especially love night running in the city. Everything is lit up, so there's little risk of stumbling or tripping (although, this is ME we're talking about... I find ways to fall) and it's fun to make fun of the people in my head who are already hammered at 9:00PM. Seriously, who gets drunk that early? Well, I guess if you're a nine-to-fiver who gets started at 5:15...

Another cool effect of night running is that in addition to feeling faster, I feel taller, leaner, and more graceful. Standing at a statuesque five foot two, I like catching a glimpse of myself in a storefront window, all lit up under the street lights, legs looking long and gazelle-like. I mean, everyone looks better in mood lighting, right? I feel like one of those gorgeous women in a gritty, urban, sneaker commercial.

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Now, if you click the link for the source of the image above, it brings you to a "Shape" article meant to help readers determine their roadblocks to maintaining daily exercise habits. One of their suggestions - of course - is to exercise first thing in the morning. Well I say, the best thing is to determine what time of day works BEST for YOU.

Sure, I could have gotten up and run after five hours of sleep to run before my husband had to leave for work. But, I like my sleep. So sue me. Plus, there was that whole pesky cold thing, and sometimes waiting an additional 8-10 hours makes all the difference in the world when it comes to trying to recover. Ultimately, I'll run whenever it fits into my day, and I encourage everyone else to do the same. Sometimes it's 15 minutes here, 20 there, but whether it's morning, noon, or night, doing nothing first thing the morning is exactly the same as doing nothing at the end of your day.

When is the weirdest/earliest/latest time you've ever worked out?

Three Things

1. miles

It's been a pretty solid workout week so far. With my sights set on a marathon in the fall (still have yet to choose) and maybe even a triathlon, I've been approaching my workouts with a new fervor and enthusiasm. I know normal people do things like pick an actual event and a deadline to train toward but prospect alone is enough for me to start working harder and focusing my workouts. One huge plus to spending equal amounts of time running and cycling is that my foot has stopped hurting (as much, for now). *knocks on wood*

Mon - 6.5 @ tempo w/ hills and fartleks
Tues - spin
Wed - off / work
Thurs - 4mi playground run
Friday -run or bike + weights
Sat/Sun - long run and/or long ride

2. munchies

I already shared my recipe of the week so I'm gonna take a moment to bitch about diets.

Ladies, stop ordering plain salads. If you're a guy and are offended that I didn't address you in this statement, then I'll tell you to stop it, too. Most fad diets that focus on restricting calories and deprivation only train the body live on fewer calories instead of training it to burn more. I mean, if you really want 1200 calories a day, be my guest. But if you want to have more energy to do more - maybe run a little faster or farther, or simply just to enjoy your workouts more - then you need to eat more.

Many nutrients work syngeristically: that is, in order for the body to get one nutrient, it must often be consumed with another. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble vitamins that are best consumed with healthy fats such as fish or nuts. Your body needs vitamin C for calcium absorption. The lycopene and lutein are two powerful antioxidants found in spinach and tomatoes, which is why eating both together packs a healthy one-two punch. So if you decide to cut out an entire food group you are missing out on key nutrients your body needs that can not be simply replaced with vitamins in pill form. So when you order a salad, no grapes, no nuts, no egg, no bleu cheese, no dressing and a wedge of lemon on the side, I'm going to roll my eyes at you. Not because you're being annoying and 10 of your friends ordered the same salad with an equal number of variations and special requests, but because you're not doing yourself any favors by eating just a plain head of lettuce! When you find yourself crashing at 4:00PM and running to the vending machine for a pick-me-up, you have only your salad to thank.

This is about as happy as my guest looked eating her dry salad.
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 3. motivation

I can't claim I'm the only person who has ever said or thought this, but I tell my class to ask themselves every week, just as I ask myself during each workout or run...

Each time you get out there, make sure you are doing just ONE thing different. Maybe you can decide to get completely out of breath for 30 seconds when you've always run along at a conversational pace. Maybe you can go tackle that big hill you've always avoided in your routes. Maybe when the instructor tells you to add one gear for resistance, you go ahead and add two.

I think training plans are great, but as I consider buckling down and getting serious about eventually doing a triathlon, if I follow the simple philosophy of working a little harder each time I get moving, I'm sure to get where I need to go.

Are you a salad eater? How do you dress it up so you don't feel like you're eating rabbit food?
I like whipping up some dijon mustard with olive oil and honey for a quick dressing and putting everything I can find in my salad: nuts, raisins or craisins, carrots, celery, tomato, cheese, goldfish...

Do you have a big workout goal you've struggled to attain? What do you tell yourself to push toward it?