Couch to ATHLETE!

Post Earthquake at twilight. Can you see the crack? Last week I blogged about my struggles with running while on the road. I am proud to say I got over my challenges, found my stride and enjoyed the new sites and sounds of city running. Here is my story: While laying in bed last Tuesday I was shamefully recognizing I had gotten very few miles in so I quit feeling sorry for myself, stuck my feet in my shoes and headed out for some of the most enjoyable routes this season. Tuesday morning I was scheduled to meet a co-worker for a run. Much to my dismay she never showed so I headed out alone. I had a great run past the White House around the Washington Monument (pre-earthquake) and back to my hotel. Tuesday evening I was picked up by a great passionate woman who took me to the burbs to run with her running club on what she proclaimed a 'flat' trail. There was nothing flat about this five mile run. I have never been so challenged while running!!! It was a very motivatio...

One major struggle I have encountered over he last five years has been maintaining a training schedule when I am traveling for work. This really would not be a problem if most of my work travel took place over the winters as winters are appropriate times, in my mind, to take exercise sabbaticals. I could feel myself slipping slowly on Saturday morning. I wasn't even on the road yet but for some odd reason I found myself oversleeping until 6:30, and then 7:00, and then 8:00. I convinced myself when I woke up that I would put my things together for my dog sitter and then head out for 10 miles. Well, Sunday came and went with little success for logging any substantial mileage and so the story goes... It is Tuesday now and I hang my head in shame as I consider the limited opportunities that have presented themselves to me to get in a good workout session; I have only minimally capitalized on those opportunities. I am feeling both thankful and frustrated about the remainder ...

A couple of things I have to say today. I know this is two in one week but this one might actually have a point? You tell me! First I have to say, when I am in doubt about what I am about to post on my blog I should take a step back and press the delete button. Last night's post was TERRIBLE!!! I don't know whether I should thank my close friends or shame my close friends for NOT telling me to take that crap down. Well at least the video was good! And yes I am leaving it because it will remind me to reflect before I post. I discovered today how crucial running is to my mental health. I had a somewhat frustrating day. It was long, tiring, mentally draining and the list goes on. I got home and was exhausted. I thought it might be nice to take the night off and just lounge around my freshly cleaned house. I was sitting on my couch, reading a book and I got the itch. Without even thinking, I was in my favorite running clothes and at the corner of Goodale and Grandview Avenue. I...

This week has been interesting on so many levels! I'm going to stick with the running levels though... First I had experienced pure euphoria, most likely because of an amazing pace coach who made me realize that everyone has hard days. The true test is sticking with it and making it through the tough days. The quiet nature and gentle words spoke volumes about the care he puts into helping people across the finish line. I'm going to have to say thank you next time I see him. I had a moment of, it could have been me, this week. My favorite bike path has fallen victim to a man approaching people with a knife. I should have been in the same location at the same time as the woman who was approached but for some reason I wasn't. Call it what you will but I'm calling it luck. It wouldn't have bothered me as much as it did but it was at 3:00 in the afternoon. I guess I need to find a new bike/run route to work for awhile and check the news to see if he was caught. I neve...

Happiness comes in very small packages. Have you ever looked around at your life and tried figuring out what is going to make you 100% happy? I'm sure you have; everyone has at some point in their life. Have you ever had that moment where you all of a sudden felt fully fulfilled in life, just to not truly understand where that fulfillment and happiness came from. You know the moment. It is that moment where all of a sudden you realize you are totally happy, everything is perfect and you never want to let it go just to realize the next moment that feeling is gone? I know I have. I started writing this post about a week ago. The same day, one of my friends wrote a post about the very same thing. I decided to hold off on posting it because I couldn't eloquently make my point and I probably still won't make my point. But here goes nothing! I have been striving for that moment of sheer joy for a long time. If you know me, you know that I am a very happy person 95% of the tim...

Sunrise over Oman I know I may, at times, make it sound like picking up a more athletic lifestyle is easy. Well I'm here to tell you it's not. This post is not meant to discourage anyone but instead acknowledge that it can be tough. At times you may run into people who think you are crazy or less than encouraging. When I run into these folks often, it can impact my mind and I may start to believe it. Recently I was telling one of my biggest supporters about my desire to attempt a half iron man at some point in the near future, just to be met with skepticism. I honestly wasn't expecting it and was a little taken back. I realize the intensity and time it takes to train for any endurance sport takes persistence and is more about the power of the mind but if there was any time to take on the challenge it would be now when I am childless and enjoying the positive benefits of my new lifestyle. When I was faced with this less than positive statement I felt like I hit wall, a ...

Doesn't that snow look delightful?  As the depths of hell, or what I might think hell feels like, descends on Columbus Ohio I have been reflecting on whether my desire to run/be an athlete is a personal treasure or torture. This morning I ran to work in the thickest humidity. I had a big bottle of water in one hand and a smaller bottle of G2 in my other hand. The water was half frozen when I departed on my journey to work, half way there it was thawed and warm. I kept pouring it over my head and saying to myself "why do I do this to myself." Most things we do in life have either positive or negative ramifications. Every once in awhile something that is good for us may feel like torture but what you get in the end is a treasure. I am always baffled when people make decisions to continue torturing themselves when they know the end result is going to hurt. It pains me to watch people continue to walk into the same wall over and over again, when they have the choice to i...