Resolution Check-in: Month 5

5 Months down in 2016, are you still keeping up with your resolutions? As I review what my resolutions are I am reminded that it’s very helpful for me to have these monthly check-ins because depending on what is going on in my life I forget about these goals. The good thing is that throughout the month I make notes of what I have done so I don’t have to try to remember what happened 4 weeks ago!

Here’s how I am doing with my resolutions….

(January, February, March & April Updates)

To find my true purpose of career– Within a day of posting last month’s update I realized that it may not be realistic to find the true purpose of my career within a year. As Steve jobs once said you can only connect the dots looking backward. Who knows where my career will take me and all I can do is learn the best I can on whatever job I am in. When I wrote this resolution I was little frustrated with my job and had been looking into the Live Your Passion course which promises to help find your true path within 90 days. With this in mind I thought it was a realistic resolution, but it would require committing to going through the course but that is not a priority for me right now  it’s not that I don’t have time it’s just not a priority at this moment. Training for my marathon is and that is time-consuming mentally and physically.

To do things outside my comfort zone– I did a couple of things this month 1) I applied as a ” ‘fitness bloggers and influencers’ interested in working on a campaign for a major fitness shoe brand who is launching a new workout shoe!”, which lead me to 2) I created an Instagram Account to support this blog (follow me on @sarahchasinglife). It has been a learning curve to decide what and how much I want to share. I want to keep it real and not feel pressured to take many pictures out on my run to try to get ‘the perfect picture’. I like having another platform to share my story and connect with others, but I will be peer pressured to feel like I need to have pictures like everyone I follow. I have received some encouraging comments with sharing what I do, and I would rather gain followers that way.  3) I submitted a piece of writing to be a contributor on Salty Running, results TBA. 4) I embarrassed myself by ‘performing’ a song for my best friend at her wedding with some of her family members 🙂 it won’t be the next viral video but it was a lot of fun!

Recommended Read: Here is a GREAT article that relates to both the directly above and below resolutions. The article is entitled”When you struggle with Imposter Syndrome and Self-Doubt”; It’s not who you are that holds you back but who you think you aren’t

To treat others better and think before I speak- The first half of the month I felt I was doing better with this and was trying to be more aware of my tone, and was proud of myself for it. But the accumulation of not getting a restful night of sleep I got frustrated over a side volunteer project at work and I didn’t think the meeting was going productively and felt like the committees time wasn’t being efficiently spent. But instead of just keeping my thoughts to myself or just writing it in a notebook, I expressed my discontent. I felt bad afterward and did have a discussion with the person spearheading the meeting, and instead of getting bummed for the rest of the day, I thought “Stop beating yourself up. You are a work in progress, which means you get there a little at a time, not all at once.” ~Unknown

Earlier this month, it was pointed out to me that I need to stop being so critical and negative toward myself. We are our own worst critics, and I know I need to try to not be so self-critical. So this month I also worked on treating myself better and considered “If this were my best friend, would I speak to them that way?”….days were better than others.

To train for a marathon- I also made good progress with this. First, I met with a exercise science student to develop a cross training plan to supplement my marathon training and though the first week left me sore, within 2 weeks I was already able to see some changes.  I also decided on my training plan for this marathon (courtesy of Kara Gouchers ‘Women in Running’ book), and with some advice/tips from my Dad (former runner), I feel confident moving forward with it. I officially start my training on Sunday!! 15 1/2 weeks until the big day! Since it’s my first marathon I just want to be able to complete it and finish strong, but in the midst of my training plan I am also trying for a personal best in a 15K and have a week vacation so there is some flexibility in the plan to account for this.

Read 25 books in 2016-I Started reading ‘How to be Single’ because the recent movie looked funny and I thought it might be an entertaining read.  I also listened to ‘Me Before you’ as an audio book… so that counts right? Which mean I am up to 9 completed books, since I didn’t finish 2 books this month I am falling a little behind, but I still have time to get on track.

To reduce clutter in my life-I was also pretty successful on this. I cut back on coaching and that has allowed me some ‘me-time’ and I have been able to catch up on some projects and things that are important to me (scrapbooking, blog, running). Here’s an article related to this that I found helpful. 5 steps to minimising a overcommitted social schedule

I continue to remove items (clothes, household items) in my apartment that are taking up space and I haven’t used. Sometimes it’s 2-3 items in 1 day, other times I go a week or two without boxing something up, but I feel like I am getting much better at letting something goes. If a shirt doesn’t look good on me, whether it was a hand me down or I’ve had for a while, I don’t keep it hoping I’ll change my mind, I just put it in a bag to be donated. Out of sight, out of mind, and one more empty hanger in my closet. Even if I don’t narrow down my clothes to a capsule wardrobe, I am trying to keep in mind that if I just have the clothes I LOVE and makes me “look or feel like a million bucks” then that will make me feel a lot better.

To reduce excuses and procrastination- I did good with this regarding getting workouts in this month. There were a few times that I worked out during my lunch hour if I had something going on after work vs having to wake up early or squeeze in a workout after work before I have to coach.

How you are doing with your resolutions?

Have a great June, and I’d love if you followed me on Instagram

 

 

 

Hill Seeker & New Challenges

I am a few days behind on posting this update as over the weekend I was out of town for my best friends wedding. I considered saving the update and writing 2 weeks worth later this week, but I wanted to try and stay as consistent as possible.

It’s already late as I am starting this so I will try to make this short.

Last Sunday I continued with my body weight workout from last week.

Monday, instead of a tempo run, I decided to start running some hills for a couple reasons. 1) I have plans to run a 20K on June 18th that it notorious for its hills and I’d like to feel better prepared and 2) my 5th Utica Boilermaker 15K is coming up on July 10th and I would like to run a sub-80, and since that course is a slight incline for the first 3 miles, then a big hill between 3 & 4, I want to feel strong for that race. I ran a loop and weaved around campus to get some flat in between the hills, and ended up with a elevation gain of 200 feet, and was rewarded with a great view toward the end.  When I finished 4.5 miles I felt challenged but my legs felt pretty good, I plan to continue to route or hills at least until the Boilermaker. “Don’t think of them as hills, think of them as mounds of opportunities”

Tuesday, I got my cross training in during lunchtime. Last week I showed you Thursdays workout, here is what my Tuesday looks like.

Wednesday, I decided to try out some 800 repeats, which i have never done before. Ironically I found this article that mentioned that when you complete 800 repeats and then take the average that is your predicted marathon finishing time. With that in mind I was curious to see what I would do, especially since I am running my first marathon in September. Turns out I really liked doing 800s. My splits were 3:52, 3:46, 3:47 & 3:40, averaging out to about 3:45, which I would be THRILLED with as a marathon time. I plan to  keep doing these 800s and see whether the prediction comes true. I really liked the 800s over the 400s because I had to challenge myself on speed, but correctly pace myself to last 2 laps around the track. Plus this now gives me a baseline to improve on.

Thursday, I was out of town and didn’t have access to a gym but I did have some free weights so I did my Thursday cross training workout as best I could with the resources I had, it felt good to do something even if it wasn’t the most intense.

Friday morning, the day before the wedding, I went on a short 20 minute run with my friend since we knew we wouldn’t be able to get a run in on Saturday (wedding day). We did 1 minute on 1 minute off intervals. The weather was gorgeous and it was nice to run with her before all the craziness of wedding events began. We averaged around 7:10/mile pace for our intervals. With the walk breaks it was just shy of 2 miles, which is much shorter than I usually run on Saturdays, but a short run is better than no run!

Saturday was the wedding day so no working out for me; unless you count walking up the aisle as a bridesmaid, dancing at the reception and toasting the bride and groom 🙂

Sunday, I was EXHAUSTED from the weekend because I didn’t get much sleep Friday and Saturday night celebrating with the bride and groom. I had the intention of wanting to get at least something in, but it just didn’t happen because I kept falling asleep on my couch!

Pretty short update this week, but starting June 5th I will officially be starting my marathon training so you can expect more detailed updates then.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

Lost & Found

This week was odd for me, I think the full moon effected my mood because some days I was in a funk/and a little cranky, but after working out and running I felt A LOT better. I even found an item I had been missing for a year and an nostalgic item that I forgot I had, who doesn’t like that? So that was my inspiration for this week’s post!

For my workouts this week, my cross training plan from last week continued on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Thankfully I wasn’t as sore this week. I chalk it up to making sure I ate a banana everyday, which I didn’t do last week (or it could be I’m getting stronger :-p).

For those interested, this is what my Thursday workouts look like, which take me a half hour and I am able to complete during my lunch hour. It really helps break up my day and I return to my office really energized. (disclaimer: this workout was personalized for my fitness level)

 

 

For my running this week, Monday I had a tempo run in my mind, and after the success of last weeks 5K PR, I wanted to see how well I could do running 4 miles. After a .25 easy jog, and some dynamic stretches I started running and felt good. After a few laps, I wanted to run by feel and tried not to look at my watch too much. The end result was 4 miles in a record time, beating my previous time from 6 weeks ago by 6 seconds per mile. It was so nice to see the improvement.
Wednesday I decided to get back to some interval work, inspired by my improvement in tempo runs, I hope for good things with my interval runs. I ran on the campus track, and had a few obstacles in the way- the field was set up for this weekend’s graduation ceremony so some of the chairs overflowed onto Lane 1 of the track, and then there were anchors/tethers holding the stage in place where I had to run in Lane 1 in order to not get clothes-lined!

I did a 5 minute warmup, then I did 8×400, averaging 1:44.06. (1:51, 1:43.7, 1:43.9, 1:46, 1:44, 1:45.4, 1:45.4, 1:47.4, 1:39.1) which was more consistent than when I ran the same workout on March 30th. The last few were a little tough, but I pushed through and nailed it on the last one! I felt really good though.

My last run this week today, (Saturday), I planned to run 7 miles at my goal marathon pace (9 min/mile) since my legs felt good and I wanted to challenge myself. I started off right on pace, running a usual loop around my apartment, not completely flat but no big inclines but some downhills. Mile 4 was my slowest but it was basically all up hill (200 feet gain) but then I hit downhills again and kicked it in gear for the remaining 3 miles. I felt SOOO much better than last week, but a lot of it was mind over matter. I was determined to run strong and I did.
My run on Wednesday made me feel so good afterward, that I felt a desire to want to start keeping a handwritten running journal- even though I have this blog and a Garmin GPS watch that tracks everything there is just something about being able to see results all together on 1 piece of paper in my own handwriting. So when I got home for my run I went to pick out a journal to use (I have a whole bunch because I receive one from my grandmother every year for Christmas). She always puts a quote or encouraging poem inside, so I wanted to pick a journal that I felt best relates to my running journey. When I was digging through them all I found a running journal I started 5 years ago when I first started running, which I had TOTALLY forgotten about. My first entry was in February 2011 and I wrote about how my friend Kelly had just finished the Disney Princess Half Marathon and she inspired me to not only run more but someday run that race (that race is still on my bucket list, and Kel you still inspire me everyday will all you do xoxo). But this journal ended in August 2011 due to some health issues I was going through at the time, so there was still plenty of pages for me to continue using this journal.  I flipped to a blank page and started off fresh; writing a brief summary, and set up 2 side by side pages to listed my interval and tempo runs.

 

 

It does give me one more thing to keep up on but I feel this is a worthwhile project for myself as I am a very visual person.

 

 

The poem inside the cover of this journal is still a favorite relating both to life and running: You are Braver than you think! You’ve made hard choices and taken chances. You’ve met challenges and weathered changes. You’ve opened your heart ever when you knew it could hurt, and you’ve faced obstacles that might have stopped others in their tracks-but not you! Life takes courage and you’ve got it

Of course I had to reread what I had written 5 years ago and I was realized is that I was doing faster interval work on the treadmill than I started off this year doing. At first I felt like I really hadn’t made that much progress. Yet every year and pretty much every race I done, I have always dropped time, so even though my speed work isn’t too different, it was the miles and consistency that has helped me improve.

My ‘running story/journey’ officially started in the spring of 2011, but in the fall of 2011 I had health issues and a surgery, so I couldn’t run for 4 months. 2012 I focused more on distance training for my first half marathon and 15K and was still working through the surgery recovery. 2013 was a rough year emotionally for me, I felt very lost in my life, so I was just glad to get runs in when I could, as I didn’t have the mental capacity to run intervals. In August 2013 I started pursuing an MBA part-time while working full time, so for the next 2 years I was just happy to get runs in when I could. In April 2015 I started a new job which came with a 50 minute commute, and I was still finishing up school, so it was an adjustment in time management and shifting priorities. These aren’t excuses but me just working through why I haven’t done as much speed work in the last 5 years that I should’ve and could’ve been doing. In fact my Dad still tells me the same thing now that he did 5 years ago, and I wish I would’ve been more consistent because it makes me wonder where I could be today. Then again maybe I would’ve gotten injured, maybe I would be drained and have no desire to still want to run, I don’t know but my story has worked out how it was supposed to. I enjoy running and the escape it gives me, its a way I have ‘found myself’ but I just haven’t focused enough to really set an ambitious goal and work to achieve it. Over the last few years, I would run and usually just hope for the best in a race, thought secretly always wanting to PR. It wasn’t until this year (2016) that I have been able to really commit myself mentally and physically to speed work, and I’m ready now. I am ready to challenge myself to complete a marathon, I am ready to put in the work to get results. I’m ready to really see what I am capable of. I’m ready to make running even more of a priority than it was before. This is why I feel its important to share this with all of you.

The more I run the more I love my body. Not because it’s perfect, far from it but because with every mile it is proving to me that I am more capable of more than I ever thought possible

This week I also bought myself a $9 bracelet that says ‘she believed she could so she did, 2016’ as a reward to myself for my recent half marathon and as form of constant encouragement to train for and finish my first marathon this fall. I want to remember this as the year I started to really push myself consistently with running.

To support this dedication, over the last 2 weeks I have cut back on the number of nights I coach swimming after work (from 2-3x/wk to 1) so I could spend time working out after work (vs waking up early before work to do so), and its been great. I enjoy coaching, but I just feel like I really need to do this for me right now. Coaching is almost a year round gig (mid-Sept-end of July,40 weeks of the year) so by this time of year the coaches start to get a little drained, and I feel that way. I’ve noticed that working out energizes me and I feel like I needed these reduced hours to be able to do something for myself. I plan to only cut back on coaching through September when I finish my marathon, then I will reevaluate. But right now I am riding this running motivation high and I want to see how far it will take me.

This is one of my longest posts, so I will wrap it up for this week. Hope you enjoyed it. Have a great week

Recommended article that I LOVE- How Miles have changed me

What has running or working out taught you? What would you love to commit yourself to? What is holding you back?

A 6 year goal finally achieved

After ending last week on a high of nostalgia and recovery from my half marathon I was anxious to continue improving.

I started Sunday with a routine from a personal trainer I have been working with, it was a body weight circuit and nothing too difficult following long run Saturdays. It consisted of squats, single leg RDL, pushups, planks, assisted pull-ups and mountain climbers. I did the circuit 3x through. Nothing of these moves are new to me, but I want them to get back into the routine of working out on Sundays vs having it be my second rest day of the week.

Monday was a big day for me. Since I’m not officially training for anything, I planned to go on a tempo run just to loosen up my legs. I planned to do between 3 and 4 miles. After a .25 mile warmup, plus I added 5 minutes of some dynamic moves; high knees, skipping, grapevines, butt kicks, and high kicks, I felt good and warmed up. When I started I had no goal in mind, just wanted to see how I was feeling. When my first mile was 8:09 I decided I would try to see if I could break a personal best in a 5K, a 6 weeks ago I ran one in 25:16, and 6 years ago (5/10/10) I wrote a goal that I wanted to break 25 minutes. So with a strong base from my half marathon training, I wondered how I would do. With each mile I got faster (mile 2 7:59, 3 was 7:48) and I knew as long as my legs didn’t give out and the wind wasn’t too strong I would make it, the last .10 I ran at a 7:11 pace and finished in 24:39!!! Although it wasn’t race official, now I know I can do it. One of my cousins reminded me that it was even more impressive to have done it outside of a race atmosphere. After 6 years, almost exactly to the date, I achieved a goal I once thought was completely out of my reach. I can’t even put into words what it meant for me to finally achieve this. Though it was a little odd to not be able to share with anyone right in that moment. It was a silent victory, just for me, without spectators, alone on a track on a slightly windy day in May. What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. Without a doubt I am a much different person than I was 6 years ago and a lot of it comes down to commitment, hard work and consistency. As you can imagine, I was on a runner’s high for the rest of the night. I got to thinking about my next goals; a sub 80 15K and finishing my first marathon this fall. I also need to find a 5K to register for to get a race official time.

Tuesday I started day 2 of my new cross training plan. This was completed in a wellness clinic with access to weight and other equipment. I used the TRX bands for rows, did bench presses with dumbbells, goblet squats and hamstring curls with an exercise ball- I did this circuit 2×12. Then I did marching glute bridges with ankle weights (2×15) and band walks (lateral and front and back). I finished up with some core work. It took about 45 minutes, and the band walks were the hardest! Anyone else have a love/hate relationship with those?!

Wednesday was back to running and it was a much different day than Monday. I had some vacation time to use up so I left my office at 2pm and enjoyed my lunch outside by a small pond on campus in the beautiful sunshine. When I finished my lunch I just laid in the sun for about 20 minutes relaxing since I had no rush to be anywhere. Unfortunately I got so relaxed that I didn’t have the energy to push myself on a hard work out on a run. But I went for a run anyway with the mindset that it was ok if I didn’t do intervals today. The run was slow and my legs felt like lead thanks to the previous 2 days of working out. I ran around campus, and then ran on a nearby recreation trail for a little change in scenery, plus it was flat. I ran 3.75 miles in a 35.18 (9:24 pace), not my best, but a slow run is better than no run.

Thursday was Day 3 of my new cross training plan. It was a shorter workout -30 minutes- which worked out perfectly because I was able to squeeze it in during my lunch hour. Moves included squat with a dumbbell press, weighted single leg RDL, lunges with weights and assisted pull-ups, twice through. Marching glute bridges with weight and band walks again, then some core work. It was nice that by the end of my workday I didn’t have to worry about getting a workout in, so getting this workout done during my lunch hour is something I will sometimes need to do in order to keep on schedule in the coming months.

Friday, my hamstrings and glutes were sooo sore I could barely walk. A combination of all of the above just really did a number on my legs, so I had to get a good foam rolling session in before going to bed along with a heating pad so that I could get through my long run. I may have to tweak the cross training plans so my legs don’t get so sore that I won’t be able to properly complete my speed running workouts when needed. So the next few weeks will be some trial and error before it really starts to count.

Saturday, was my long run day. Since I am in ‘maintenance mood’, I planned to run for 1 hour (I ran 50 minutes last week). The run was ok, overall my legs still felt heavy, and the last 10 minutes were a little rough so I tried to find some downhill streets to get a break J I pushed through to an hour and the distance was 6.48, so I stuck it out for 20 more seconds to reach 6.5 miles (9:17 pace). Afterward I did a lot of stretching and foam rolling.

Overall this week started on a high with my 5K time, but ended with heavy legs. I don’t have any frustration, I just know I have to be aware of how hard to push my body so I don’t end up with an injury, but at the same time challenge it to continue to improve and reach my desired goals.

What was the best part of your week? What goals are you working toward? What’s the longest you have ever worked to achieve something?

 

Recovery & Nostalgia

After finishing my half marathon on Sunday, this week has been one of recovery and a little nostalgia, I’ll warn you now I get a little sappy toward the end of this post.

Monday I had taken the day off from work, and I was glad I did to catch up on sleep, and just relax for the day. During the afternoon I went for a 30 minute walk to stretch out my legs and hips, which helped A LOT.

On Tuesday, I left work on time which gave me time to get a half hour workout in before coaching. I decided to complete Week 3 of the Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution program, something not super challenging but not too easy either. It was a good workout, and even though I consider myself in shape, it has been months since I did this workout so I used some muscles I haven’t used in a while, which meant I felt it a little the next day.

Wednesday I was back to running, I did a 1/4 mile walk/warmup, then 3 miles @ at 9 minute/mile pace. I probably should’ve gone a little slower, but after the first half mile my legs didn’t feel as much like lead anymore so I kept going! Following my run I did some planks, pushups, and marching glute bridges, 3x through.

Thursday I wasn’t as lucky as Tuesday and was only about to get a 20 minute workout in today before I had to leave to coach, so I did most of Body Revolution Week 4 , I wasn’t as sore the next day following this workout.

Friday was a good day. I met with a trainer at my work’s wellness clinic to go over a cross training workout plan for at least the next 6 weeks to complement my marathon training. Most of the exercises were all ones I have done before (glute bridges, dumbbell press, neutral grip pull ups, etc) but the plan adds ankle weights or instability, then it progresses to get more difficult with each passing week. I could have probably come up with a plan myself, but by delegating to a physical therapy student, I provided her with a learning opportunity, and gave me one less thing to try to figure out in my life. I am going to do a ‘test run’ of the full workouts next week to determine whether anything needs to be tweaked before officially starting my marathon training.

Today, Saturday, I did a ‘long run’. It was slow and steady (9:19) for 50 minutes, which came to 5.37 miles. Some parts of it felt better than others, but I just enjoyed being out on the road and entertained myself by listening to Me Before You on audio book. Is anyone else planning on going to see this movie next month? (Here’s the trailer)

Over the next 2 weeks or so I am not going to push myself in working out/running, I just want to ‘go with the flow’/see how I feel, and I give myself a little mental break before officially starting my marathon training plan.

Besides working out, May 6th, also marked my 4 year anniversary to the date since I finished my first half marathon, my first big running accomplishment. Which got me thinking about how much my life has changed since that day; I am in a different apartment, started this blog, have a different job, I started and completed my MBA, I have been through a lot of personal growth, and pursued things I’ve wanted. But one of the things that hasn’t changed is my running. It still brings me a lot of joy (more than frustration and anxiety), and has showed me that I can achieve anything by dedicating myself.  4 years ago I would have never thought it was possible for me to run 9 minute miles, let alone complete a half marathon at an 8:45 pace. 4 years ago I didn’t picture myself running 2 more half marathons or getting ready to train for a marathon. Each year of running I learn more about myself. Each race I get faster and it makes me want more. I have goals of running a sub-80 minute 15K, sub-25 minute 5K, and over the last few days I realized that I want to complete more half marathons and would love to eventual complete one around 1 hour 45 minute. It seems out of reach now, but I know with consistency, commitment and hard work I can get there someday. “I may not be there yet but I am closer than I was yesterday”

Running has taught me how rewarding it is to push my limits and to work toward a goal. It is my stress relief, my ‘me-time’, the one thing in my life I can control. (For more reasons on Why I Run)

What has running meant to you? Do you ever look back at your life a few years ago to see how much it’s changed?

One last thing, in case you are interested, you can now follow me on Instagram @sarahchasinglife

Resolution Check-in: Month 4

Seeing your progress is one of the most powerful ways to sustain motivation

Although I prefer writing and sharing stories about my running, sharing my progress of resolutions continues to keep me accountable, and if my story connects with someone struggling with the same things, than I am still achieving my goal of this blog.

Now 1/3 of the way through 2016, and here’s the update of my resolutions

• to train for a marathon: With the success of completing my 3rd half marathon, I will officially be starting my marathon training at the end of May. I have been researching various training plans and have also met with a personal trainer at the wellness clinic at work to provide me with a personalized cross-training plan. I am looking forward to challenging my fitness levels, and hope that I will stay injury free.
• to find my true purpose in my career- I didn’t find my true purpose this month, haha, but I did have some perspective provided from a good friend on not overstepping my boundaries at work just because I am anxious to have work assigned. I have tried to improved my attitude, and the last 2 weeks of the month were MUCH better than the first 2, so I hope it will continue in this direction.
• to treat others better and think before I speak-This month has been tough on me regarding this because I am trying to be better, and then when I slip up I beat myself up over it… recognizing it is an improvement, but I still need work on stopping it before it’s happening. Some days I feel  it’s a good thing I live alone because I don’t have to interact with someone and say something offensive/rude/sarcastic. But at the same time, how will I practice getting better at this skill if I am not around other people? So when I was at my parents recently I tried to just really watch my tone and helped out with outdoors chores as an ‘actions speak louder than words’ type of thing, I may not always say the right thing, but I do try to do the right thing.      Another example is that I had written up a blog post, but as I read through it I realized that it may come across as offensive to others, even though it made me realize how grateful I was in my ability to do something, the story/lesson wasn’t worth the potential of it coming across as hurtful when I don’t really know the other person’s story. So I deleted the post.
• to do things outside my comfort zone- I don’t have anything to report on regarding this. So this serves as a reminder for me try to find something in May- maybe it will be more fitness based with trying new exercises.
  
• Read 25 books in 2016- I finished 2 more books in April (Lean In & Running for Women), so I am up to 8 books read this year. I have a vacation booked in July, so I hope to get an extra book read during that time.
  
• to reduce clutter in my life– I was VERY successful in making progress in this goal this month. I did a lot of reflecting on if I were to hit the refresh button on commitments I’m involved with, what would I still choose to do.  I made a list of all the things going on in my life ranging from my full-time job, commuting hours, coaching to spending time with friends and family to time for myself doing things I enjoy (running, scrapbooking, reading), etc and I had nearly 20 items..20! I was surprised, but it made total sense that I felt like I was juggling too much, and feel guilty when I can’t do it all. Looking at all those things helped me to think about the priority of the item. From that list I started making changes to stop feeling so obligated to different tasks… I removed myself from a local emerging leaders committee because I have not been able to attend any meetings because of where I work and I always feel bad I can’t contribute a full effort. Another council I’m on I almost discontinued with after 5 years but when I realized why I have been involved for as long as I have I decided to give it another year (again) with hopes that by being able to attend meetings in person my attitude about the group will improve.

Breaking busy is about more than identifying the things in our life that suck the life out of us. We must also identify what gives us life, what recharges us and restores our capacity 

I also reorganized a tall bookshelf I have in my living room that I see everyday. It started off full of DVDs (who watches those now anyways with Netflix?) board games (which hardly get used because I don’t have friends over as often as I’d like), and picture frames. It was a lot of clutter to look at. So after seeing a few pictures on Pinterest and getting some inspiration from my youngest sister in law- I reorganized the shelf to only have books on it of some of my favorite authors/series; Sisterhood of the traveling pants, Nicholas Sparks, Sarah Dessen, Emily Giffin, Running books and then some framed pictures. I’ve read that removing clutter from areas I see everyday reduces the clutter I feel in your mind and it has done just that. By physically touching all the old items on the shelf and moving new ones into it I also decided what items I still enjoyed and what items were just taking up space in my apartment.

I also did some spring cleaning of my closets…. over the course of the last few months I have removed 2 garbage bags worth of clothes and just a few days ago donated them to a great cause United Nations Girls up. There was a collection box at work and it felt great knowing it was going to support a good cause.

Through the decluttering and downsizing process, I’ve realized that it’s so much more than organizing your stuff, emptying your closets, or living in a smaller space. It’s about creating a life with room for what matters most. Be More with Less Blog

Lastly I cut down on more tv shows, and officially cut the cable cord. Returning my cable box will not only save me money but also free up time I spent mindlessly watching tv. I am not home much anyway due to the previously mentioned list and after less than 2 weeks I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner!

• to eliminate excuses and procrastination-Again I don’t have much to report here, which just means that I didn’t keep very good track of this throughout the month. But I did come across this: “Instead of thinking ‘I don’t have time’, try saying ‘it’s not a priority’ and see how that feels'”(Laura Vanderkam). I think getting into the habit of saying that sentence could really have an impact on achieving this goal.
  

Thanks for reading. Are you still sticking with your resolutions?

2016 Bridge Run Half Marathon results

May 1st arrived, RACE DAY! My first race of 2016.

After a very restless sleep, I woke up to a steady rain. If it was any other day I would go back to sleep until the rain stopped or at least slowed. But over the last 12 weeks I have logged 142 miles to train for this race. It was not going to be a pleasant run but I didn’t know want my registration to go to waste and as one person told me.. I might as well go and if for nothing else treat it like a training run

I had laid out my clothes last night; that would keep me warm and semi-dry, I decided to wear my new shoes and I had pinned my number to my shirt so I didn’t stumble around this morning. I also had french-braided my hair- one of my race day traditions (or superstitions). I had my usual pre-race breakfast- eggo waffleswith peanut butter plus half a banana.

As I left the house in pouring rain, and drove to the race I just kept thinking… This sucks, this sucks, this sucks!! And hoped the rain would lighten up. As I got close to the start line I took a wrong turn even though it’s not the first time I have been to this race! The rain was just throwing me off, and I hoped it wasn’t a sign for how the race would go! When I got to the parking lot there was hardly anyone there. So it made me wonder if everyone else was staying home! Since I got to the race an hour early (mainly for the good parking spot), I just hung out in my car to stay warm and dry. It wasn’t until a half hour before the race did I use the bathroom (which were thankfully inside a stadium) and 15 minutes before the race I donned a cheap poncho and went to the start line to warm up, thankfully by then more runners had showed up.

As we all lined up at the start it wasn’t pouring as hard now but there were some technical difficulties so we all had to wait in the cold (low 40s) a little longer so the race started 7 minutes late. I lined up in a good spot, ditched my poncho because I didn’t want to try to take it off mid-race or have it create drag and was ready to go. When we started I had a pretty decent start and didn’t trip over anyone or get blocked. Over the first mile I kept looking at my watch to ensure that I didn’t go out too fast. My watch said I hit the first mile in 8:48, but I hit the mile marker at 9:05. My race plan was to run 9 min/mile for the first 3 miles then I would pick up the pace after that, I did exactly that. I felt good with each mile I ran, but was conscious of how many more miles I still had to go. I continued to decrease my average pace closer to my goal of 8:45.

The course was mostly flat, and the slight inclines that gave me trouble last time weren’t as bad this time around. Around mile 6.5 I saw my biggest fans/supporters, my parents, and was feeling great. At this point in the race I stopped trying to look at my watch so much and just run by feel. I planned to negative split the half, and I was on track to do that. At 8.25 miles I continued to feel good and I just had a feeling come over me that I would make my goal 1:55 time (8:45 pace) even though I still had to knock 5 seconds off my average pace.  So when the miles felt long around mile 9 and I came on one more hill I reminded myself that it was the last hill to conquer. I did a lot of self-talk throughout race ‘you got this’, ‘go for it otherwise you will regret it’, ‘just keep up with this pace’. Mile 10 to 11 was my fastest mile at 8:24, but then the last 2 miles were into the wind and I started to struggle. It didn’t help that around mile 11.5 my headphones started acting up and I ran without music because I really needed to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other instead of trying to fix them.

My legs were starting to feel it a little, and with the wind in my face, I needed a distraction so I started counting to 100 repeatedly until I made it to the 13 mile mark, saw my parents again and the downhill finish line was in sight. I didn’t think I had anything left in my legs, but I finished strong, and crossed the finish line in 1:55:22. Phew… I DID IT! Despite the wind and rain, I accomplished a personal best by 3 1/2 minutes, I was whipped!!

Once I got my hard-earned medal,I walked to the post-race tent to get some food, but wasn’t up for eating much right away. After I walked back to my car with my parents to get warm clothes, we went to cheer on the start of the 5K race which followed the half marathon, I like to stick around the race area for a little while to cheer on the other runners. But once I saw the 5K finisher 15 minutes later, I was freezing and was ready to go home… where I spent the rest of the day napping or relaxing on the couch because I couldn’t move! I am sooo glad I took tomorrow off from work! But it made me wonder how I will feel when I finish my first MARATHON in 4 1/2 months. Stay tuned for my training recaps on that, and thanks for reading!

Did you race this weekend? What was your toughest race condition?