Mantra Maker

So, I got a little excited last night when I found a facebook listing of Running Mantras.  I haven't picked my own yet, but I totally see the point of them!  ---and then I got REALLY excited when this HTML clueless girl figured out how to make a Scrolling Mantra List for my blog (see lower right sidebar)!  Here are some tips that I thought were helpful:

From:  Runner's World


Mantra Maker
How to put together your perfect phrase

Keep it short
Your mantra should be an affirmation, not a novel. "When you're tired, you don't want something elaborate," says Stephen Walker. "It's too hard to remember." Keep it to five seconds or less.

Stay positive
Think of the problem you're trying to counteract and turn it around. "If you're feeling weak, your mantra should be I am strong," says Walker.

Make it energetic
Your mantra should center on action verbs or strong adjectives, not abstract phrases, says Robert J. Bell. Look for words that convey energy, like "fast," "strong," or "power."

Embed instructions
Use the mantra to remind yourself what you plan to do or how you want to feel as you're running, says Walker. Now is the time; go for it. Or, Run relaxed. Finish strong.


BUILD IT, BELIEVE IT, BECOME IT
Choose one word from each section below to create a motivational, get-it-done power chant.

A
Run
Go
Stride
Sprint
Be 

B
Strong
Fast
Quick
Light
Fierce

C
Think
Feel 
Embrace
Be
Hold

D
Power
Speed
Brave
Bold
Courage

Lose It!

A few days ago, I posted that I started using a new calorie counting program- "Lose It".  I wasn't all that impressed at first, I just wanted something new.  But the more I use it, the more it interests me.

 So I just found something new that I haven't seen on other sites I've used (My Fitness Pal, Sparkpeople, Weight Watchers)!  I think will be really helpful!  On my friends page- (notice, I am my only friend right now :-( ... more people should sign up so I'm not so lonely!)  -IF I am totally honest with what I'm eating and how much I'm exercising- it keeps track of how many calories that I'm under my target through out the week.  Note: It takes 3500 calories to lose 1 lb.  That information alone gives me a running total to shoot for... otherwise, I just aim to be "under" my goal each day.  NOT ONLY THAT, but it posts it on my friends pages, so THEY can see how much I'm under... hmmm, pressure and accountability!  I need that!

Performance Thoughts

Just a couple thoughts today...  pacing.

Since recovering from my ankle injury, I've been pretty slow, and it was really bothering me.  I was running around a 12 minute mile.  (My previous 5K pace average was around 10:30).  But, just within the past couple weeks, I've been noticing a little turn around!

• Running at North Park, my phone was giving me split times of 10:15 for my first lap-- and I had intended on really taking it easy, knowing how far I had to go.  It was fun making times like that without trying!  My second lap went slower because I was pretty tired, but I averaged 11:27 for the whole 10 miles.  I thought that was pretty good for as many walk breaks I included the second lap!
• My 5 mile yesterday, I was hitting times close to that.  When I realized how well I was doing, I set a goal for averaging under 11, including warm up and cool down walks.  I hit 11, on the dot.  Bummer.
• Today, my "assignment" was 3 miles at half marathon pace- which is significantly slower than 5K pace. However, it was beautiful out (for November) the sun was shining, and having only 3 miles to go, I got a little over excited when I was doing 9:50 splits!

Then I recalled I was supposed to be doing half marathon pace.  Bummer.  I tried to slow myself down- but that's really hard knowing you only have 3 miles!

A HA!  That was the point!  I need to learn how to control my pace- no matter what the weather's like, no matter how far I have to go- I need to learn to control it.  Me.  If I start out too fast in the Half next year, I won't make it.  I'll have to control myself- and really not take into account all the people around me.  My goal is to complete it, and that will be winning for me.



Mind control.  It's going to take some practice.

Hartwood Celebration of Lights- WALK THROUGH!

Last night, we did something truly special!  A 3.2 mile walk!  Yay!

Standing in front of Princess Elena's Castle

What made it special was that it was through Hartwood's Celebration of Lights Christmas display- which is typically only a Drive-Through event.  My family's driven through it every year since I was very young!  It was great to continue the tradition (my Dad came too!!!), and add something special to share it with my own kids!

The girls loved that we were shuttled to and from Hartwood in a SCHOOL BUS!  When we got there, Makenna was just about jumping out of her skin, she was so excited!  They gave us jingle bell necklaces, and a fun glow-y bracelet to wear!  Walking through the twinkling lights of the Candy Cane Forest, finding Rudolph hiding in the trees, while other reindeer were jumping over us, walking through the lighted tunnels, (Makenna and I tip-toed through one of them!), visiting Princess Elena's Blue Castle- the mansion (if it's blue, it's Elena's, if it's pink, it's Makenna's- girl's rule) and her Blue forest, hot chocolate and cookies half way through, and soooo much more!  The best part-- the RAIN STOPPED just in time for our walk!!!

What a wonderful evening!  I can't wait to do it again next year!

Lose It!

‎"The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment."  - from the Weight Watchers facebook page

So, I realized that I just don't have enough discipline right now to step away from my caloric numbers just yet.   Boo.

I still needed something new to get me "excited" again, well, as excited as you can get about counting calories.  So, in my internet searches, I came across Lose It.  It seems interesting, but a little less comprehensive than MyFitnessPal.   It focuses primarily on calories.  I'm having some troubles entering recipes (ex: entered a muffin recipe, but it won't let me divide it into 12 servings!), but I'm still new, maybe there's a way that I just haven't found yet.  However, it does give you fun little pictures for each food you enter!  I'm a sucker for pictures!

Update: I figured out the recipe issue!  All is well!

I'm still looking for some friends on there, so if you sign up- look me up!

I'll give an update after I've used it for a few days!  I'm off to Spin!

My First 10-Miler!

I've been slacking a bit in my updates.  It's been a crazy week.

Let me start out by saying- I love my children more than life itself.  But this week, man, they drained me of every last bit of emotional energy I had, and then some.  (My husband just asked me if there was a full moon tonight, to which I've replied-- "No, this is how they've been all week long!")  Being a stay at home mommy, I get very little breaks.  Without getting into too much detail, lets just say, I could go crazy eating junk, I could drink, or I could run.

So I ran.

10 miles.  My new personal record!!  Cranked up K-Love and just ran my stress out.  I proved to myself that I could do it, and showed myself how far I had come this year.  It's such an awesome feeling!  Not to mention, an awesome way to start the holiday season!



I have a neat little story to go along with it too!  Okay, first of all, I decided to run at North Park- a 5 mile loop around a lake.  I figured if I was too tired after the first 5 miles, then I could just call it quits at that point. So, as I was looping through the Boathouse area (about 3.5 miles), they were preparing for a race.  The road was closed, and a cop had driven up to block the road.  I was afraid he was going to tell me to go around, so I took out one of my headphones.  He didn't say anything, so I put my headphone back in, went to fix my hat to come down over my ears, and the darn thing popped out and the cover fell off and rolled somewhere in the grass.  You can't use the headphone without them, so I spent like 5 minutes looking for a tiny blue ear piece.  No luck.  I gave up, and kept running.  About another mile or so, would you believe that the cop stopped his car in the middle of the road, came over to me, and asked, "Did you lose this?  I saw something blue on the ground, and knew that you were looking for something."  Not only did he find it, but he had to drive the entire way around the lake to give it to me!  That rocked!  I took it as a sign I needed to do a second lap ;-) .  I survived!

Wipeout Hill

Took the kids to the park yesterday.  It's the first time I've been back since my wipeout in September.  (that caused me to miss two races! UGH!  ... and not run for like a month!)

So how 'bout, shortly after my fall (running in the dark w/ Run Club, attacked by a HUGE rut while running down this hill), they decide to PAVE the path??

Ah, well, at least it there for next spring.  *sigh*

Got my Butt Kicked

Okay, so, I feel really bad about saying this, but I almost feel like I took a step backward in going back to the gym.  I mean, running makes me feel so powerful-- going back to class work seemed like it would be no big deal.

Boy, was I put in my place!

I took a Medball Madness class yesterday morning- basically, it was a strength class with cardio incorporated, and I used a 6 and 8lb medicine ball.  Whol-ley smokes!  Now I remember why it was my favorite class when I went there before!  (Wait, maybe that was Spinning... or Zumba... oh yeah, I loved it all.  Not Step though, hated that!)  My legs were sore before the end of the night, and now my entire upper body- including my entire back, are crazy sore.  In my head, I hear echos of teachers and trainers saying , "When you're sore, you've gotta keep moving, Amber."  Well, I suppose it's a darn good thing it's going to be almost 70 today!  IN NOVEMBER!  Love it!

On My Own

So, this colder weather just plain stinks.  I need to keep running through out this winter to make sure I don't lose all I've worked for- but it won't be 5 days a week (outside in the cold).  And no, I won't be running in a blizzard.

With all that said and done, I had to say goodbye to my wonderful running coach, for now, and I'll get to return to "No Excuses" tomorrow morning!  I absolutely LOVE that gym- I just can't afford them both.  It will be nice to get back and see some old friends... AND, it's warm... AND they have child care... AND they have music!  So, I'm on my own to navigate this winter running thing for a few months.  In January, I start training for the half marathon with the MS Team!  There's a non-official coach associated with that, so we'll see how that goes!

I'm thinking about doing another Healthy Holiday Challenge this year.  Anyone interested?

It's About the Numbers... or Not?

There is a time and a place for numbers.  I love them.  They control my life, and give me boundaries to work within.  But recently, I think I've become a little too obsessed with numbers and have started to grow a little resentful of them!

Culprit: Calories. 
For, I don't even know HOW long, I have been tracking (most of ) the calories that go into and out of my body.  Because when calories "out" (energy used) exceeds calories "in" (food eaten), you lose weight, right?  Simple equation.  'Cept it doesn't always work.  There HAS to be more to it!  Answer: All calories are not created equal.

There is definitely something to be said for nutrition.  Really, 100 calories of apples is exceedingly better for you than 100 calories of white bread.  Quality vs. Quantity?  Yet, my brain is so trained to convert everything I put into my mouth into a number (be it calories or PointsPlus, thanks Weight Watchers...) a lot of time, WHAT it is really doesn't seem to matter.  I've tried to eat healthier, but it all comes down to calories.  So, you may have noticed that the "My Fitness Pal" link has disappeared from the blog.  My plan is to FOCUS ON QUALITY foods this month, without counting calories.  (Note to self: Reread "Naturally Thin").

It's so frustrating to work SO hard to keep all the numbers in count, even to the point of feeling deprived.  (Which starts the binge eating... we'll leave that for another entry though.)  How am I supposed to make a "life change" when it constantly feels like I'm walking on a tightrope, and can slip off at any point.  I can't.

Speaking of calories "in"... calories "out" has also added to the frustrating factor.  I love to run, and I love how it feels to finish a good workout.  I hate that my brain loves to convert workouts to calories in order to determine if it was successful.  (And then, I think-- ooh, I burned 500 calories... now I can eat more!)

I need to just learn to eat healthy to BE healthy, and exercise for the love of exercise.  Because, really, I do love it.  I WOULD do it, even if it didn't burn calories!  It just feels good, relaxes me, and gives me a feeling of power and self confidence that I've never had.

Let's see how it goes.  GOAL: Lifestyle Change.

Motivation: Anne from www.fANNEtasticfood.com