Posts Tagged ‘Health’
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When I started running long distances {5+ miles}, I was shocked at how the run was as mental as it was physical. I read in Runner’s World {which I think is perhaps the runner’s bible} that your body can keep running further than your mind. In other words, if your head’s not in the game, your body won’t be either. Over the last year, I’ve picked up some technics for staying trained mentally.
Half Marathon Training {The Mental}
{photo credit}
1. Prepare for the worse – Understand that running 3 miles is not easy. Running 13.1 miles is even harder. I don’t want to scare or discourage you, but it’s true. However, for me, if I start the run knowing it’s not easy but can be done, then I feel prepared. It’s like walking into a final exam – I know it will be tough, but I’ve studied hard for the test and plan to succeed.
2. Find a cheerleader – When I feel like I can’t accomplish something, I need someone to encourage me. My someone is Jonathan. Time and time again he tells me how amazed he is that I’ve completed a long run, or gives me a pep talk before I leave for a run. Even if he is rarely my running buddy, Jonathan’s always in my head cheering me on, telling me I can go that extra mile.
3. Talk yourself through the run – I don’t listen to music when I run. Some of you may think that is crazy, but it’s true. Now before you think I’m some running purest, it has nothing to do with not wanting to listen to music, but simply that my iPod broke 1.5 years ago and I’ve never replaced it. Since then, I started talking myself through my runs. I try to run familiar routes and set visual goals {park is 1 mile, crossroad is 2.5 miles, etc}. Talking myself through my runs looks like: a) encouraging myself as I pass my visual goals, b) sorting through personal issues, and, c) praying/mediating. As you talk yourself through your run, you’ll find that you don’t actually need music to run, and it brings the {good} intensity of running to a whole new level.
4. Make some compromises – This last weekend I was suppose to run 8 miles. I woke up and loathed the idea of running 8 miles. I wanted nothing more than to lay in bed with my family and then s-l-o-w-l-y start the day. I knew I couldn’t miss a training day, so I compromised: do 3 mile hill training, followed by 5 mile bike training. In the end, I cut my training time in half so I could get back to my family {but thanks to those brutal hills – I was much more sore!}.
5. Cut yourself some slack – Not every run will be great. You’ll cut a run short. You’ll walk away feeling defeated. It is okay. I’ve walked away from a 3 mile run in tears with how poorly it went. And I’ve walked away from a 7 mile run feeling amazing. Just like having bad days, you’re gonna have bad runs. Understand that one run doesn’t determine your life as a runner – it’s getting back on the road that does.
Just keep your head in the game {even if it’s insane}.
For Part 1 of this three part series, click here {Part 1 – The Physical}.
*Disclaimer: All tactics/tips are my own personal opinions and not medically backed. Please seek medical advice before starting any running program.
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Last January, on an impulse, I started training for a half marathon. I know that might seem strange, what about a 13.1 mile race is impulsive. But it was {as are so many things in my life}. After 12+ weeks of training, I ran my race in April. Sweet victory. I’m currently training for the Austin Half Marathon on February 20th. After getting some questions from friends about my training, I thought I’d spend the next three weeks doing a series.
{photo credit}
Half Marathon Training {The Physical}
I’ve thought it cliche to say “If I can do it, you can do it”, but I honestly believe it. I’ve never been a runner. And before I set my mind to running/training, the furthest I’d ever run was 2 miles. In high school. One of my favorite quotes about running {from Runner’s World} said “Running is hard. If it wasn’t everyone would do it”. I can’t tell you how incredibly true that is. Running is hard. Some days I hate it. But I do it anyway because deep down I really love it. Here are my tactics for training:
1. Run – Obvious enough, but something we can all put off. It’s too cold. It’s too hot. It’s too rainy. It’s too sunny. You name it, I’ve used it as an excuse {including “It’s too windy and will mess with my running time”}. You can’t train if you don’t run.
2. Schedule – Just google “half marathon training schedule” and you will get countless training schedules ranging from beginners to advanced. Pick one that you can tailor to your needs and stick with it. Here’s mine: Basic Half. It worked wonders for helping me stay on track with my first half last year. This year I’ve tailored it a bit more, since I’m training in half the time.
3. Food is fuel – I’ll be the first to admit I’m not always great about seeing food as fuel {as I lick brownie crumbs off my plate and type…}. But if running has taught me one thing it’s: bad food makes for a bad run. End of story. The more junk I eat, the harder the run. I feel bloated and nasty. Not something you want to feel when you’re staring down an 8-mile run.
4. Water is essential, but so are electrolytes – Perhaps I’m part fish, but I need water. Literally crave it. And aside from my much needed coffee {and occasional wine/beer} I steer away from all other drinks. Unless I’m running. Throughout the day I drink tons of water, but on a long run day {anything over 6 miles} I make sure to have a Gatorade on hand. I typically won’t drink it during my run {just water}, but Gatorade is my saving grace for post run hydrating.
Running isn’t just physical, but mental and emotional. In the next two weeks, I’m going to be sharing my tips for how to mentally and emotionally train.
*Disclaimer: All tactics/tips are my own personal opinions and not medically backed. Please seek medical advice before starting any running program.
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Jonathan and I started Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred last week. I have to admit I didn’t expect it to live up to much. After the first day I really thought “That wasn’t bad.” Maybe I should have waited until Day 2.
The workout themselves are challenging, but not undoable for me. However, doing it every day is what is challenging. My body doesn’t get to rest like it’s use to. In the past I’d workout, give myself three one day off and would feel pretty great once I went back to the gym. But not now. Now there is no resting. Jon and I do “Shred” every night after the girls go to bed and I’m impressed with what a good workout we are getting. I’m sore, but keep pushing through. Certain things are getting “easier” but other moves I dread {like side lunges with front raises – I hurt just thinking about it}. It’s been great working out with Jonathan, because he keeps me motivated and it makes things go faster since we are in this together. Here’s to hoping to be “shredded” in the next 30 days!
What are some of your favorite workouts? Have you tried the 30 Day Shred?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday.
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Our family is packing up our house for a big move to Texas. We leave next Wednesday, so we are working hard to get everything squared away in time. Thankfully, a lot gets done when Jonathan is at home and we can work together. But, I’ve still found that there are some lessons we’ve learned NOT to do when packing up your entire house.
1. Pack up all your toys – While it might seem like a great idea to clean up the toy room, it’s dangerous territory when your two toddlers have nothing to play with.
2. Pack up all your medicine – Sure, you haven’t been sick in months, so why do you need 3 bottles of NyQuil? Trust me on this – packing up all your medicine is like asking to get sick.
3. Have your oldest get pink eye – See #2. Told you I was asking for it.
4. Have your youngest get pink eye – Could I really expect her not to get it, since big sister is all she has left to play with {see #1}?
5. Get sick yourself – See #2 and #3 and #4.
6. Start The 30 Day Shred – I blame this fully on Alicia’s amazing results. Once I saw her before and after pictures, I went out that afternoon and bought 30 Day Shred. I’m on day 5. And I’m really, really sore.
7. Volunteer for anything – I volunteer for things before I even think. It’s a good habit that comes at bad times. Thankfully all my friends are gracious enough to overlook when I back out of my responsibilities at the last minute {Sorry friends!}.
8. Be hard on yourself – Let’s just say I haven’t been the greenest human lately. Or the most time conscious. Or the most loving. Or the most hygiene prone. Or anything else I strive for.
9. Be overly hard on your kids – Moving is hard for kids. They don’t fully understand what’s going on. And while it’s frustrating to explain for the fourteenth billion time what it means to “pack” I need to cut the girls some slack.
10. Not ask for help – I’m blessed with friends just waiting to help us. And I take advantage of it when I can/need. And that means thankfully I have dinner provided for us every night this week. Can you say awesome? {Thanks friends!}
What are some of your packing tips? Any crazy stories of packing with little ones?
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
No Sugar is No Fun
Posted on: November 8, 2010
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I spent the month of October taking a break from sugar. I wanted to explore what effects sugar was having on my frequent headaches. I realized these two things:
1. Sugar DOES increase the frequency my headaches.
2. My headaches are linked to hormonal changes.
When I first started my experiment, I had no headaches for two weeks. Then as my cycle shifted, I got some intense headaches for two days. After that I was back to normal. Once I started eating sugar again {which was the last week of October} my headaches came back. This unfortunately coincided with another hormonal shift, so I can’t fully blame sugar for the headaches. However, I can say that the duration and frequency were higher while I was consuming sugar than when I wasn’t.
Where will I go from here?
I’m not sure yet. I’m back on sugar for now. But I don’t want to be – I’d like to substitute with agave and honey. I’m looking into raw sugars and whether I might have more luck with it since it’s not processed as heavily {any thought on that??}. I’m slowly stocking my agave supply for cheap, thanks to Rachel. I think if I can get a good handle on not having sugar in the house/having a good supply of substitutes than I will make the switch full time.
What are your suggestions??
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For all of you waiting on pins and needles for more information on my headaches, I’ve got something for you! I’ve been off sugar for 15 days now. Don’t feel too bad for me, since I’ve started experimenting more with agave and honey to make cakes and muffins. They taste pretty much the same and my sweet tooth is satisfied.
Now, for the headaches themselves, I’ve noticed a sure pattern. For the first two days of my sugar fast my head was pounding. This also happened to be a time when my monthly cycle was having a shift. I did great day 3-13 but then yesterday out of nowhere my head started pounding. Up to this point I had had the beginnings of headaches, but nothing actually happened. So yesterday I was thrown off guard that my headache went from nothing to full blown in such a short time. It lasted half the day and I went to bed early because I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I did a little tracking and realized my cycle is shifting again.
Now, this is what I’ve concluded:
1. Without sugar my headaches have been far more infrequent – making me think that going totally sugar free might not be the worst idea ever.
2. My headaches are effected a lot by hormones. Which I can’t really control. Bummer of a deal. I’m starting to research/explore that whole field.
My guess is this experiment is going to last through November – with me adding back in some sugar to test out my theory. I did go back on the coffee kick, because, well, coffee is my BFF, my cheerleader in a cup. We all knew I couldn’t part with it for too long.
100 Mile Running Challenge
Posted on: October 8, 2010
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I have a confession: I’ve been really, really lazy. Since running my half marathon, I’ve not gotten back into the groove of things. Sure, I still run. But I can’t really count running 3 miles once a week running. I told Jonathan I need a new goal, something that will stretch me. And that’s when he said:
Try running 100 miles in a month.
Whoa. That’s 5 miles a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Not sure that’s something I’m up for doing, so instead I agreed to 100 miles in 6 weeks. My deadline is November 20, when I will hopefully run the Living History Farms Race.
I woke up super early this morning to hit the gym. Ran 3 miles on the treadmill. Only 97 miles to go.
Coffee is a Cheerleader in a Cup
Posted on: October 8, 2010
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It’s always hard for me to come off a more serious post. But if you’re going to do it, do it right.
After nearly two painful weeks without coffee, I’m waving my white flag. I’m going back to my liquid energy. And here’s why:
Thanks to Leah for passing this along!
My Top {Ten} Non-Sugar Sweets
Posted on: October 5, 2010
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I spent some time last night figuring out good “sweet” options for this month’s no sugar/no coffee diet. After being so tired all weekend and then taking a 2 hour nap yesterday, I realized I need something to give me a pick me up. So here’s the list I decided on as my sweet alternatives:
1. Granola – A faithful standby, I love granola. I got some from the co-op last night that is their house special {rather than baking my own}.
2. Peanut butter – You have to be a little mindful, since most peanut butters either have high fructose corn syrup or sugars, but those that don’t are a great sweetener.
3. Honey – We have raw honey we bought from the farmer’s market this summer. It is finger lickin’ good {yes, I have actually just put it on my finger to eat it – don’t judge ;)}.
4. Agave – Since my no sugar/no coffee diet I haven’t baked anything, but in the past agave has been a great substitute for sugar and I’m hoping to bring it out again over the next few weeks {I’m missing out on all the awesome pumpkin recipes this month!!}.
5. Grapes – More so than any other fruit, I think grapes are super sweet. Which is good, because I never feel too bad if I sit down and eat an entire bowl of grapes. Unlike when I eat an entire bag of cookies.
6. Fruits – Someone posted in the comments yesterday that apples supposedly give you a boost much like coffee. I’ve not researched it, but I do know fruits help give me a little something.
7. Yogurt – Similar to peanut butter, you have to read the ingredients on yogurts. Ours has evaporated cane juice, which we agreed tonight might be okay to try, since it’s not processed {like sugar}. We’ll see how my body react to it over the next couple of days. Worse case, I go to plain and add honey.
8. 100% Juice – Along with fruit, just having juice or making yummy popsicles to snack on.
9. Fasting – Ok, since the whole idea of my goal this month is to avoid sugar, then fasting will take place.
10. Your ideas – Whatcha got?? Throw them at me!
Visit Oh Amanda for more Top {Ten} Tuesday.
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Last Monday started my no coffee diet and this past Friday started my no sugar diet. I’ve been without coffee or sugar for four days and I’m starting to ask myself “What have I done?!?”
My energy level was pretty high all week until Friday. By Friday afternoon I was exhausted. And exhausted pretty much describes my weekend. I don’t know if it was cutting out my afternoon sugary pick-me-up but I took a nap Friday and Sunday morning. Originally my no coffee diet allowed me to have one cup of coffee on Sunday mornings {during house church}, but this Sunday Hannah was sick so I stayed at home. By the afternoon Jonathan said I really needed coffee because I was running on nothing and it showed. I had 16oz mug and felt a ton better.
As for the headaches, they came around Friday and Saturday afternoon. Friday was more intense then Saturday, lasting for a couple of hours and forcing me to lay down for a little while. It had residual effects the rest of the day, but lost its intensity by the evening. Saturday was more of a dull ache and was easy to push through. I’m praying that perhaps they were both sugar withdraw headaches and that as the week goes on I will see them less and less. After all that is my goal.
Finally, Jonathan and I agreed to wait this week without coffee, but to perhaps start drinking it again come next week. If my energy level stays this low, I need something to help me get through the day. I’m juggling with whether to have decaf, half caf or regular. I might start off slow {half caf}, having a cup every other day and go from there. Although, my theory has always been: Go big or go home. So perhaps going back to regular coffee the best option.
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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