Well, she doesn't know it yet, but I don't think she'll mind. My great friend, and the woman who got me into this mess:), Erin, has written a message to me this week that I think we can all learn from. I have been trying to keep it a secret from all of you, but my training for this half marathon just isn't going well at all. I have gained some weight and it's weighing me down. I haven't believed in myself and I've been avoiding it all. I have done a lot of work on my bicycle and with yoga but have not focused on the running the way I should.
Today, Erin, our guest blogger, ran 7 miles. This was her longest run EVER and up until today, she had been feeling very much like me about not finding the motivation. I was honestly shocked when I saw that she ran 7 because I really can't imagine doing it right now. So, I asked her how she did it and this is the response I got:
"I COMPLETELY know how you feel. I have not been running even close to this in the past two months. I usually do 3 while an occasional 4 miler for a "long" run!
But this morning it was all about my mentality. I told Bryan that I was going to be gone for 2 hours. I was going to try for six miles, but when I was plugging it into the Ipod Nike system, I told myself, "Why not try for 7?" It was a beautiful day outside. I kept telling myself that I could walk anytime after five miles and I that I would go as slow as I wanted. Mile 1 and 2 sucked, and I started to lose confidence. I slowed down to what felt like a jogging/walk. Then I hit the halfway point and thought, "I am doing okay." It felt so good to "head back" and know that I was on the last half of the run. Miles 5 and 6 were so slow, but I just kept telling myself, "You have the best opportunity to get to seven today." I hadn't had alcohol last night, I got a full night's sleep, I had a good breakfast, I didn't have to be home anytime soon, I was running by myself, and I had great weather. I told myself that if I was going to hit 7, today was the perfect day. I cannot tell you how much I kept talking to myself on the run today - it seemed constant after mile 4. The last mile was so hard, but I knew I wanted to hear that Nike+ system tell me, "Congratulations. That was your longest run yet."
My first response was utter jealously and a bit of self loathing. I'm sorry, that's just brutal honesty. I am very proud of Erin and instead of turning this into a chance to beat myself up, I am going to use her energy to try to turn my mess around. Several weeks back I wrote about the mental stamina and strength necessary for endurance running. Now is the time to practice what I had preached. Erin is living proof that it works.
Thanks for inspiring us all this week, my dear friend.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Kids with Passion
One of the neatest things about having children is how much you can learn from them. I missed writing my blog last week because I was so busy learning from my son. Not to mention carting him around, making sure the baseball uniform was clean, and trying to serve something other than chicken nuggets. Maybe this blog will sound like I'm bragging, and really, I am. I'm sure that some of you will say, "oh, all kids are like that. She's just biased." And that's ok. There is a part of me that truly believes something special is happening with my son. He is teaching me about passion.
I have one of those little boys who lives for sports. Football, basketball, baseball. . . .It is possible that his father brainwashed him at a young age. He spent countless hours at fields and gyms watching his cousin before he was old enough to play himself. But this summer, I am learning that my son has fire in him for baseball like nothing I have ever seen. He watches Brewer's games like Jesus himself might be playing. All of them. He will play catch until I literally have to stop at the risk of needing rotator cuff repair, and then he just finds his dad to play some more. He SLEEPS WITH HIS FREAKING BATTING HELMET.
Sam is on two baseball teams, one being the tournament team for kids 8 and under. We play or practice baseball at least 4 nights a week, if not more. That doesn't count the hours against my shoulder. It is amazing to watch him on the field. He takes infielding very seriously, studies the pros, and then mimicks their actions. He's working on the hitting part, and I'm sure that will come, but for now he is blowing me away with his play in the field. He could be exhausted, sick, in a bad mood, and he would never skip practice.
And this is where the learning comes in. Do you know how often I skip a workout, or shorten it with excuses like "I am just so tired from a really long day," or "I'll run an extra 15 minutes tomorrow"? My kid wouldn't even consider leaving practice early. In fact, he wants to practice more when we get home. I would never sleep with my running shoes on my pillow, but maybe I should! If I gave to running the same passion that Sam gives to baseball, I would already have run that 1/2 marathon and may be planning for the seemingly unreachable full 26.2.
Drumming up that passion is hard. It's something that just lives inside certain people. I'm really jealous of my son for having it innately. And really proud of him for putting it to good use. I think I have it in there, maybe not for running but for other things. If I can somehow direct it toward my workouts and put in just that much more, I know I'll see more progress. I guess I'll watch Sam at his tournament next weekend and see if I can learn just how to dig up this passion and put it to use.
Trust me, I have no delusions that my son will one day play second base for the Brewers. I am not one of those parents. For his sake, I hope that he finds something else in life that stirs the same passion in him because the cool thing is that I already know he will work hard and be successful. Perhaps it's my passion for this child that will drive me forward!
Find your passion and have a beautiful week!
I have one of those little boys who lives for sports. Football, basketball, baseball. . . .It is possible that his father brainwashed him at a young age. He spent countless hours at fields and gyms watching his cousin before he was old enough to play himself. But this summer, I am learning that my son has fire in him for baseball like nothing I have ever seen. He watches Brewer's games like Jesus himself might be playing. All of them. He will play catch until I literally have to stop at the risk of needing rotator cuff repair, and then he just finds his dad to play some more. He SLEEPS WITH HIS FREAKING BATTING HELMET.
Sam is on two baseball teams, one being the tournament team for kids 8 and under. We play or practice baseball at least 4 nights a week, if not more. That doesn't count the hours against my shoulder. It is amazing to watch him on the field. He takes infielding very seriously, studies the pros, and then mimicks their actions. He's working on the hitting part, and I'm sure that will come, but for now he is blowing me away with his play in the field. He could be exhausted, sick, in a bad mood, and he would never skip practice.
And this is where the learning comes in. Do you know how often I skip a workout, or shorten it with excuses like "I am just so tired from a really long day," or "I'll run an extra 15 minutes tomorrow"? My kid wouldn't even consider leaving practice early. In fact, he wants to practice more when we get home. I would never sleep with my running shoes on my pillow, but maybe I should! If I gave to running the same passion that Sam gives to baseball, I would already have run that 1/2 marathon and may be planning for the seemingly unreachable full 26.2.
Drumming up that passion is hard. It's something that just lives inside certain people. I'm really jealous of my son for having it innately. And really proud of him for putting it to good use. I think I have it in there, maybe not for running but for other things. If I can somehow direct it toward my workouts and put in just that much more, I know I'll see more progress. I guess I'll watch Sam at his tournament next weekend and see if I can learn just how to dig up this passion and put it to use.
Trust me, I have no delusions that my son will one day play second base for the Brewers. I am not one of those parents. For his sake, I hope that he finds something else in life that stirs the same passion in him because the cool thing is that I already know he will work hard and be successful. Perhaps it's my passion for this child that will drive me forward!
Find your passion and have a beautiful week!
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