Couch to ATHLETE!

As I was eating potato chips smothered in Alfredo sauce, blue cheese and scallions Saturday night I was wondering why I enjoyed them so much. If you think about it we are all taught growing up that we should eat to live NOT live to eat. Sometime over the last few weeks I forgot that simple concept. Not only did I indulge in what was quite possibly the most unhealthy (but amazingly delicious) appetizer of all time, I also indulged in TV gluttony this weekend. I spent a few hours (understatement) watching MADE, I used to be fat and True Life on MTV. One episode of True Life impacted me greatly. It was True Life: I'm addicted to food. The young lady featured on this episode talked about her incessant craving for food. I could relate... If you have never suffered from an addiction it might be difficult to understand what it feels like to crave food when you are not even hungry, and I don't even think it is explainable. I was watching this poor girl continue to walk in the kitchen a...

TRY TRY AGAIN!!! It is unusual for me to sit around and focus on my failures but this week for some reason failure has blinded me. I have taken 5 steps back. You heard me FIVE whole steps. I went to my standing Tuesday night meeting and learned that I had lost three lbs and you would think that would be all the motivation needed to stay on track, run my six days a week and go to the new toning class at the Y, but that was not the case. Now I have a choice, let that destroy my spirit or move on. One of my favorite authors, Paulo Coelho, has a blog with 10 second reads. I often take the 10 seconds for reading and a few hours contemplating what I read. This week he posted a piece about choosing the path . He sums up his blog by stating "The true path is chosen by our ability to love it, not suffer for it." What I figured out is that although I was blindsided by my lack of motivation for a week, my true love is in the path that makes me suffer a little. I know that a little suffe...

Before I make a statement such as "I still don't get the point of football..." on facebook, I have to first make sure I have a FANTASTIC argument for running a marathon. I can always count on one of my dearest friends to keep me on my toes, which I absolutely appreciate. Any time someone questions why I would even consider doing a marathon, or alluding to its pointlessness, you know I have to respond. Typically my response is something along the lines of, well who hasn't considered a marathon at some point? Haven't you? I just had a conversation with someone who told me they have NEVER considered doing a marathon. She followed that up with saying she never thought she could do a marathon because of her weight, which brought me back to my point; she has thought about doing a marathon, but instead thought about it from the other perspective. I think it pluses, she thinks in minuses. I mean seriously, some people "consider' marathon runners crazy, some peopl...

As I was running today, and having a very hard time of it, I remembered my list. You know the one; it was referenced in my blog last week. Or should I say it was the topic of my blog last week. 100 things I am going to do in 2011. So far somewhat good. First I want to mention that I have challenged myself to use more positive language. One of my colleagues was telling me that people who swear a lot do so because they have a limited vocabulary. I have promised myself that I would swear less this year so as not to limit my vocabulary. In doing so I have remembered some of the essential guidelines for using language to empower myself to do said things. I am no longer using the word should because as we all know, often times when we say should we really mean we aren't going to do it. Think about it... Have you ever caught yourself saying you should do something when you know in your heart of hearts you aren't going to do it? That is how I historically lived my life. I would say I ...

I do not do New Years resolutions; I instead set goals and stick to those goals. I only make that statement because I have a number of goals for myself and I try and update that list on an annual basis. The list helps guide my life and I get so much satisfaction when I can tick items off the list. Feel free to read through my an abridged version of "100 things I will do in 2011" and join me or support me along the way. I will blog about my accomplishments throughout the year. As always you will notice these goals are meant to keep me off the couch and will help me with my overall goal of health and happiness: 1) Write in my blog once a week 2) Run two half marathons 3) Run a full marathon 5) Ride a century 6) Do a triathlon 7) Do my dishes before I go to bed 8) Learn to play puff the magic dragon on my guitar 9) Participate in the warrior dash 10) Zip line in Hocking Hills 11) Run six days a week 12) Start lifting weights 13) Get an allergy test 14) Learn how to tune my bik...

I embarked on a new journey this weekend. I decided to try some trail running with my running buddy. Over the past few weeks I have started thinking about how I am going to continue my training through the winter. I already know that the treadmill is not for me, and there is nothing more relaxing to me than the rhythm of my breathing while my feet continuously hit the pavement; and even better, having random conversations with my running buddy that would not be even remotely tolerable to most human beings. I have contemplated reacquainting myself with the treadmill, trying the whole pool running thing, or simply cross training through the winter. Just thinking about all of these options either gives me anxiety or makes me somewhat sad. Call me dramatic if you will but I know me and I know what will hold me back! This past weekend my running buddy and I went out to Highbanks Metropark to do our last long training run before the 10k this weekend. The trail was not forgiving, as a matter ...

I have many different topics that have been rumbling around in my head that could potentially be their own blog posts, but I’ve decided to get it all out at once. Self indulgent you may think? Perhaps, but I'm OK with that. From Seas to Mountains If you ever find yourself traveling to high altitude from almost sea level be prepared for gasping breaths while running, hiking or cycling. More about this in a future post. When I’m Not Blogging I recently took a road trip and spent hour after hour in the car. I wouldn’t do it any differently because my Dukie Man and I had the best time and it forced me to think a lot. I managed to maintain my training schedule while on the road which was amazing in itself but I bet you can guess what happened when I got back to Columbus. That is right, the exercise sabbatical has crept back into my life. This I am not proud of… So here is what I learned, when I am not following my training plan (or when I’m on vacation) I’m also not blogging. You may as...