Try Something New!

One of my favorite things to do on my Fridays off when it’s cool out is head down to Sloan’s Lake and go for a nice jog!  I had fully planned on that this weekend, when I got the invitation to join a friend on Saturday for a trail run, instead!

Let me just tell you, I do not consider myself a runner.  The furthest I’ve ever run is 5 miles, my normal max is 3, and I average around a 10 minute mile…on a good day.  For those of you who also don’t run, that’s really more of a jog J  I’ve never run an organized race of any kind, and prefer not to turn it into a competition.  My jogs are truly a communing with nature, just an enjoyment of being physical, and I’ve never wanted to turn that into anything else!  So, to be honest, while I was looking forward to trying something new with the trail run, I was also slightly apprehensive.

First, I hate feeling “unfit” again.  I spent the first 2/3rds of my life “skinny-fat”, and the last third being pretty heavy, so these last couple of years have been an entirely new and wonderful experience for me, being physically fit!  So when I try something new, I’m always afraid of feeling weak again.  It’s a feeling I don’t readily want to return to, for any reason!  Second, this run was partly uphill.  Let me tell you, it is very much an ingrained habit of mine to take the path of least resistance, and an UPHILL run is as MUCH resistance as you can POSSIBLY put in a path (and then there was the added challenge of LOOSE ROCK and BOULDERS to leap among; a lunar field, I believe my friend so aptly described it as!).  So I was really questioning my ability to do the run AT ALL, let alone KEEP UP!  But novelty absolutely won out, and one of the things becoming fit has taught me is never be afraid; to go without fear in all things in life!  As I like to tell my son when he doesn’t want to try a new food, “You’d never know how much you love lemon meringue pie, if you’d refused to try it once!”  So, in the hopes that this would be closer to lemon meringue pie than, say, liver, I gamely went along!

It was just over an hour, and 4.3 miles of oh-my-gosh-I-am-not-used-to-this!  Of all the bizarre things that hurt on me after that run, it’s the outside of my lower calves!  There are some pretty great opportunities to break or twist your ankle on that run, and me being the consummate klutz, such was absolutely NOT out of the realm of possibility for me!  I did roll my ankles lightly a few times but managed not to biff it completely (much to my running partner’s relief, I think!), and the added taxes on my calves showed up in the form of some pretty good soreness that has lasted well into today, 48 hours later!  Walking in heels today actually DOES kinda hurt, for all of you who are always asking me that question J

The other thing I learned was that holy crap, there are different ways to develop your quads, and I am *seriously* lacking in what I’ll call the “launching points”; the part of your quad just above the kneecap that literally puts the spring in your step.  I had erroneously believed, up until Saturday, that springing was mainly calf-work.  Oh my, no, your quads are very involved, and mine have some work to do to get up to speed!  I considered stationary biking while standing for fast intervals; my friend suggested treadmill sprints at the highest incline, run on my toes.  I considered pushing my friend off of the overlook we were standing on!  J

So today my advice to all of you is, go out and try something new this week.  I have to say, once I got halfway through the run and realized it wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared it would be, I was totally exhilarated and completely stoked to finish the run, and to try it again one day soon!  I can completely see making such a run a regular part of my exercise repertoire, and it is so good to do something with my body that challenges it in new ways.  Challenge creates growth, and growth is something we all need to experience in our lives for maximum health and enjoyment!  It was also good to try working out with a friend; I tend to be a loner in my workouts, and I was surprised how much I enjoyed getting to share my workout with someone else!  So if you’re normally a groupie, go it alone!  And if you’re normally a loner, grab a running buddy and hit the trails!  Literally!

Wishing all of you a fantastically challenging and enlightening week, as you continue your personal Wellness Journeys!  Remember, when it comes time for your workout today, and you’re mentally enumerating all the reasons to avoid it, Don’t Think; Just GO!

Today is NOT the Day You're Going to Quit

In the beginning stages of adopting a diet and exercise plan, there is only one idea that's important; there was no yesterday, and there is no tomorrow.  There is only here, now. 

The first mistake people so commonly make when trying to make lifestyle changes is that they beat themselves to death with the idea of from now on.  From now on, I will work out every day!  From now on, I will eat only steamed vegetables, broiled chicken, and fruit!  From now on, I will be a pillar of willpower!

And then life happens.  If you're lucky, and you don't completely derail yourself from the get-go being daunted by that attitude, you make it down the road aways and even see some progress.  But, sooner or later, something really fucks with your mojo.  In the past two years, I've had an unexpected pregnancy, a miscarriage, surgery, a suicidal family member...yeah, a lot has gone on that has completely challenged my willpower and motivation, at least in the short-term.  Black-and-white thinking was not what got me through.  Just being here, now, *was*.

Don't waste the mental and emotional energy on trying to map out the rest of your life as this perfect picture of health and vitality.  Are you going to get there?  YES!  Will it take commitment?  ABSOLUTELY!  But what happens when you fuck up?  When your REAL life deviates from that perfect roadmap you planned?

I'll tell you what happens, to the vast majority of people.  They get completely derailed, and never get back on track.  That one day, that one mistake, and they believe that they have FAILED.  And no matter how many successful yesterdays they had, all they can see is that their perfect roadmap HAS A FLAW IN IT NOW.  And so, they give up.

Listen, folks.  In diet and exercise, it doesn't matter what you were doing yesterday.  And it doesn't matter whether or not you succeed tomorrow.  All that matters is *today*.  TODAY is NOT THE DAY YOU ARE GOING TO QUIT.

TODAY IS NOT THE DAY YOU ARE GOING TO STOP BY THE DRIVE-THROUGH.

TODAY IS NOT THE DAY YOU WILL SKIP YOUR WORKOUT.

TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY.

Don't worry about tomorrow, it can take care of itself.  Forget whatever happened yesterday, it's ancient history.  All that matters, is that, just for today, you have commitment.  Just for today, you have purpose.  Just for THIS ONE DAY, you will not cave. 

Anyone can live through any sort of constraint for 24 hours.  Anyone can obey the rules for just one day.  It's positively easy.  So just today, follow your plan. 

When tomorrow gets here, guess what?  It's today again.  And remember...today is not the day you're going to quit.

Let's not try to plan out our lives, based on what we think we know today.  What we know today, is true today, and that's as far as you can count on it.  So for today, stay the course.  Just choose just for this day, to eat right and exercise.

Every day, get up, and make that choice again, just for today.  That pie will still be there tomorrow.  Those cookies will still be waiting to be eaten for dessert.  That treadmill can be passed up for the rest of your life.  Just for today, stay the course.

Today...is NOT the day you're going to quit.

Don't Think.  Just GO!  Just for Today.