Tag: 5K

Biting off more than you can chew…..

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Biting off more than you can chew.....

Okay readers, so I have a confession. Sometimes I get SO excited about what I THINK I can do, I forget to check out all the factors and then realize I have bitten off more than I can chew. If you are unfamiliar with the phrase, maybe a visual will help.

I signed up to do a 13 mile marathon at the end of March, on the strength of two slowly walked 5K’s three months apart. In talking to a few people (you know who you are) I realized this was not only ambitious, it bordered on dangerous. (with apologies to Mr. Izzard) “You’re British, so scale it down a bit”

It is embarrassing to admit this and have to walk back my goal, but here goes. I have signed up to RUN a 5K by mid March. Intermediate goals include, working out two – three times a week. Doing a slow jog for the first half of the 5K on 1/18/2014 and doing intermediate training with a personal trainer including using the tips from Couch to 5K.

I think its important to shoot for the moon and if you fall short of your goal, you wind up among the stars.. but never forget to pack your spacesuit or your oxygen.

I think sometimes in the rush to get things done, we forget that each goal we set has intermediate goals and its just as important to build a foundation of baby steps which then lead you to a larger milestone. If this is obvious to you, congratulations, you are ahead of me.
If it is not, then take a minute and look at that picture again.

Think about it….

Last place is asleep…

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I walked my second 5K on Saturday and it was exciting to me to realize how far I have come in just a few months. My first one was in June and needless to say there have been several things keeping me from this monthly commitment.

But no more, I am actively putting exercise in my life again, because with paleo I feel great, but the weight loss has died down. The answer? Exercise. I also realize that “cheating” on the paleo diet once a week rather than once a day will help too!

I made the comment as I walked up to the administrator, ” I am not last, YAY!” He smiled and marked my time on his computer and said, Last is asleep. It really hit me that even suiting up and walking is better than not being there. Its a great metaphor that can be applied to almost any goal. Give yourself some grace and take baby steps to get there. At least you are in the race!

Think about it.

 

Balance is everything.

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I am going to make this short and sweet since I am on a break at work but guess what!!! ITS CHEAT DAY for my diet.

I was questioning myself and wondering if it was a good idea or “okay” to be THIS excited about processed foods including chocolate and cheese consumption that I am going to do today and realized yes, it is! There is balance in everything. For six days, including Halloween, Renaissance Festival, and a pancake breakfast, I have adhered to the paleo way and its been difficult, but not impossible because we have the balance of a long-awaited cheat day. 

I think that the build-up to that of cheating every other day helped me stay true but really, after you make the decision you are working towards a goal, (the aforementioned 50 pounds lost and resulting photo shoot) the discipline required starts to show up in other things too. I am walking in my second 5K in exactly 9 days and this forces me to incorporate exercise in my routine as well as stay true to our paleo way. What are you working towards? What habits and discipline have you found along the way?

 

I am Shattering Expectations, you can too!

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This Saturday I am walking in a 5K. I will pause for your reaction.

This former fat kid, who was told many times, “you have such a pretty face, you just need to get rid of the baby fat” is walking in a 5K. I never thought that was possible. I use the phrase “shattering expectations” very purposefully. I have a picture of myself as fat which started in middle school and pervades daily. My only choice is to shatter that image with everything that I do that defies that image.

So when I look in the mirror I do not see the slimming figure I am becoming. I see the overweight teenager who was mercilessly teased. In other words, someone who would NEVER walk a 5K let alone run in one. (my next goal)

Funny thing about memories, they aren’t always accurate. In this case, they aren’t even close. I was recently going through some pictures of me in sixth grade (see below) and I am not fat, was not fat and this was my figure going through high school but somewhere along the way someone told me I was fat and I believed it over and over and over again and it is only now in looking back and considering the things I told myself and the relationship I have with food that I realize I am a healthy weight for my size and losing the weight is within my grasp and I have already lost 45 pounds of the weight I have carried along with a lot of negative thoughts about myself.

What do you say about yourself that when looked at through anothers eyes simply isn’t true? Image

You control your life. Did you know?

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So I walked into work yesterday and someone brought donuts. My husband and I are doing a major lifestyle change including eating a paleo diet. For those that don’t know, you are allowed to cheat one day a week and hubby and I cheated Sunday. So there was no way for me to rationalize having a donut but man did I want one…. which got me to thinking each time I walked by, why do I want a donut so badly. Yes they are delicious, but you know what is better than a donut? Knowing that I lost 3 pounds last week by eating healthy foods and exercising. Is it hard to do that? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I will not die if I do not eat a donut but continuing down the path I was headed could have led to heart disease, obesity and other health problems. I am not out of the woods, I still have 50 more pounds to go, but I am gaining (ha ha) on the first 50. I only have 12 more pounds until I hit 50 pounds lost.

In a burst of I-can-really-be-a-different-person-if-I-only-try, I signed up for a 5K on June 15th. I am walking it, not running it, and can’t even really believe it myself but there was a time I thought I could not LIVE without chocolate or cheese, or bread or potatoes and 6 out of 7 days of a week sometimes more….. I now do. Amazing what we can do when we try.

What would happen if you did that thing you were scared of, what would that look like? Think about it.