Run, Forest, run!

Last year I had signed up for a 5K and was unable to participate in it when I injured my foot. I stayed off my feet for a few months and it began to heal.  When I resumed exercising at the beginning of the year I learned to read my body's cues and when I felt my foot was beginning to hurt I would lay off it and let it rest.  It seems to be working because since getting a real pair of running shoes and resting when needed, I have very little foot pain.

A week ago our little town held a Fun Run, which consisted of a 1K or 5K through town.  The best thing was that it was FREE.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to do it and my oldest two girls were excited to go too.  Anytime there is a social event where they might see someone they know from school is too good for them to pass up.  Oh the joys of having tweens.  Registration was at 8am, and the race began at 9.  We got up bright and early in order to get there and register.  Because of this, we were registered numbers 1,2 and 3.  We all decided to do the 5K.  I have ran/jogged/waddled 3 miles  before so I knew I could do it.  I had a personal goal of making it under 40 minutes.

The weather was great and when the gun went off at 9, we were off.  I had told the girls not to worry about staying with me.  That they needed to go at their own pace.  I know from past experiences that the first part is hardest for me.  I have a hard time regulating my breathing for the first mile or so and slow down frequently.  I had my Runkeeper app going so I knew my pace the whole time.  Surprisingly my pace was quicker than any I had done before.  Taylor was out of sight by the first mile and Bridget started to lag behind me.

As I neared the end of the race, Taylor was waiting for me and already eating her finish line snack.  Bridget was somewhere behind me.  I ended the race at 42 minutes.  Just barely over my goal.  Taylor said she was finished in 35 minutes.  I think Bridget came in about 5 minutes behind me.  I was very proud of all of us.  It was a good race and it was fun to do it with my girls.  Now I have a new personal record to try and beat.  And this will happen sooner than later.

Post-race with the girls

Next week is the Komen Race for the Cure in Boise and through work, registration is paid for by the company.    I will be doing this one alone though and all I hope for is to beat my last time.  I have three more races lined up for the summer and now that I finished one, I know I can do it again and just improve with time.  I don't care about finishing the fastest, I just like knowing I can finish and not be last.

Motivation

It's been 23 days since I was going to recommit and sadly I have only been to the gym once. I have also only lost one measly pound. I don't know if it's the dreary, rainy weather or pure laziness. I am honestly afraid that I may become injured again.  I tried to do one of my exercise videos and even after one short session, my heel was feeling painful.  For Christmas I received a book that I had heard good reviews about and had been wanting to read.  I am only about half-way through but it has helped me accept that in order to be a real runner, I must listen to my body and know when to take it easy.  The book is No Need for Speed  by John Bingham and he gives a very down-to-earth approach  to what it means to be a runner. He explains that you don't have to be the fastest and it isn't always just about improving, its about loving what you do.  I have learned that it isn't worth it to be injured if it will cost me my chances of ever running again so I am limiting the amount of impact exercises I am going to do.  I highly recommend this book if you are a runner, want to be a runner, or just want to learn a little about human spirit.

Whatever the reason is that I am having a hard time getting on track, I have decided I can't let it control me.  I have been watching The Biggest Loser and their theme is "No Excuses".   I really have no excuses that would be acceptable. Even though I am choosing to take a break from running and high impact-exercises for my foot, there are other things I can do.  I am accountable for all my actions and I can't blame anyone or anything.  I was really inspired by Ben, who asked to be voted off and sent home.  I was a little pissed that he did that because there are so many people that would have given anything to be there yet he asked to go home.  What I was impressed about was he is a father of 9 children. He went home and managed to lose over 50 lbs on his own after leaving TBL Ranch.  As soon as I saw what he did I realized that I have no excuse, I am just stopping myself from doing what I already know I can do.

What I need is motivation.  I wasn't really seeking it, I was more or less passively prodding along, thinking the weight was just going to fall off as I miss a day here and there of journaling, or make lame excuses for not going to the gym.  Brent and I have decided that no matter what, we are going to take a family vacation this year.  We have been together 12.5 years, and married over 10.  We have 5 kids who have never been on a real vacation to a new place aside from a few trips to Tennessee and once when Taylor and Bridget were small we went to Camp Snoopy in Des Moines, Iowa.  We need this, we deserve it.  So this my friends is my motivation:  to not look like a beached whale as we vacation this summer in a cabin,  to not cringe when the camera comes out wondering if I will look gluttonous or if my chub rolls are hanging out.  I want to look back at those pictures of our first real family vacation with joy and happy memories and not worry about what I looked like.  I told myself that this was going to be my year for taking care of myself and the only one that can make that happen is me.  Wednesday's are weigh-in days.  It might be too late in the week to see any changes but hopefully I can begin to see things going in the right direction.


Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with NBC or The Biggest Loser, or with John Bingham and his book.  This is purely my own opinion and I have not received any compensation from anyone.