Champion of Change: Accountability

Do you have a fitness or health goal for 2011?  Then go public! We're on the third Champion of Change and that champ is accountability.


Accountability is the hardest tool, I think. Consistency takes discipline, data takes time, but accountability takes a lot more. To truly be accountable, you have to be willing to quit putting lipstick on a pig and be brutally honest about what you're doing.  That takes humility and guts. But it's a powerful tool so its worth it.


An easy way to incorporate accountability into your wellness is to go public. Why do you think so many people start fitness blogs, Twitter handles, join online forums, or exercise in groups?  They know that simply having an audience will encourage (or shame) them into following through on their goal.  And more times than not, that audience will celebrate your victories, help you get up when you fall, and motivate you when you're not sure you can do it.  I started this blog back in 2008 for accountability, and I've done more than I ever imagined I could.


But there are some pitfalls - when you're looking for an exercise buddy or cheering squad, make sure you're not just getting an enabler.  For accountability to work, you should have mutual interests, a positive attitude towards each other's goals, a real desire to change, and dependability. If the person you pinky-swore on New Year's Eve to exercise with every day this year hasn't shown up for a workout yet, and as a result you haven't shown up for a workout yet....well you see what I mean.  That kind of buddy can do more harm than good.  


Accountability can be a tough pill to swallow, but if you're serious about your wellness you'll look into it. Don't be afraid to go public with your goals.  It can add an entirely new and unexpectedly wonderful aspect to your wellness that can be a springboard to amazing things.


Your audience is waiting for you!

Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch

Ouch.

Step.

Ouch.

Step.

Oh, hi. Don't mind me. I'm just walking off this morning's run.

Ouch. Ouch. Step.

Sometimes you get out there and start running, you know, and you just glide effortlessly down the street.

Ouch. Ouch. Step. Ouch.

And other days you have to dig really down deep to keep from getting back in the car. 

Really deep.

I dug to the bottom today.  But I did it. Eight miles of hills, done. My quads are still punishing me.

I think I will bike tomorrow. 

Yeah, I am definitely biking tomorrow.

Ouch

Step

Ouch

Step...

:)

To Fanny Pack or Not to Fanny Pack? Race fueling.

So my half marathon is about three weeks away and I'm starting to think strategy.  Up to this point my strategy has pretty much been to start running when they fire the gun and stop running when I cross the finish line.  But apparently, competing in races of higher mileage are a little more complicated than that.

There are accessories to be bought.

I have only dabbled in the world of running-gadgets, and it shows: I usually head out for runs completely unprepared for anything that may befall me.  I have an iPod and headphones, and sometimes a watch. No Garmin, just an old-school watch with the old-school time.  It does have a little button I can push to make it light up, though, so....there's that.

Anyway, this morning on my training run I asked my lovely running lady friends whether they thought I needed a fuel belt for the half marathon.  If you're not familiar with fuel belts, they're pretty much fanny packs that have little pouches for water, food, your keys, whatever.  I have never had a need for one because honestly, I rarely ran far enough to require mid-run refueling.  But now I do, and since I will be running in the daylight and with other people, I'm guessing that stuffing it all into my sports bra (my usual modus operandi) may not be the classiest move. 

Oh calm down, you've done it too.

SO ANYWAY... that launched a whole conversation about fuel belts versus race ready shorts, Gu versus Shot Bloks, sipping water versus gulping it....which left me thinking that my original plan of "start running, then stop running," wasn't gonna cut it on race day.

So, what is your experience, fellow long-distance runner types?  Fanny pack? No fanny pack? Shorts? Lumpy bra?  What are the cool kids doing these days?

Raise Your Hand if You're a Not-Skinny Runner

One of the benefits of running in a group is the extra accountability, but an even greater one is the extra perspective.  A couple weeks ago, as I ran through the wee hours of the morning with a new friend, we launched into a conversation about - what else? - body image, body dysmorphia, and the societal stereotypes and expectations of women in fitness.  Chief among them was our annoyance with the perception that a woman involved in a sport should automatically display the body of a supermodel.

It's just isn't so, friends. 

Plenty of women (and men, mind you) who are physically active on a regular basis have bodies that fall far from the waif category.  I'm one of them.  I work my butt off in the gym and eat super clean, but I still have the mom bod.  It's a muscular, strong, and fit mom bod that I am proud of, but my body has always been more utilitarian than bombshell.  I'm not fishing for a compliment, it's just true! 

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that sometimes I'm ashamed that I am surprised when I see not-visibly-fit people out at races, or read about the workouts of my friends on Facebook, or sit in awe at the distances run by women who don't look like they should be able to do that. I'm human, and I am just as guilty of the "SHE'S a RUNNER?!" reaction as you are.  Come on, you think it too.  


But let's evolve, friends.  Raise your hand if you're an athlete in a non-athletic body. 

My lack of bombshellness is something you will just have to come to grips with, people.  If you don't like it, kindly avert your eyes to Faces of Beauty, the section of a fabulous food blog focused on women in their most beautiful state - perfectly natural - that inspired my challenge to you. 

This is me as an athlete in a regular-person bod.  

Send me your pic, too. heather @ wellnesswithoutpity (dot) com. 

Let's see what we can do to change some perceptions, shall we?

Ode to My Sister

My sister is uaually game to
pose for ironic pictures,
which is fun for me.

Sisters are interesting.  At least mine is.

We have almost nothing in common, yet everything in common.  Growing up three years apart, we were close enough in age to annoy each other and our very different personalities clashed in some pretty stereotypical ways: she was popular and had 40 best friends, I stayed on the fringe of a smaller group of friends and worked on my angst.  She was a cheerleader throughout high school, I was in the choir and had unfortunate haircuts.  She went to the big state university, I went to the small liberal arts college.  We're like a Lifetime movie, but hopefully without the philandering husbands and/or neighborhood crime-solving. 

And thank God, because I really do not have time for crime-solving in my life right now.  If my husband decides to have an affair or a mystery involving my neighbors needs to be solved, everyone is just going to have to wait for me to deal with it because there is only so much I can do at once.

Well anyway, naturally over the years we've gotten older and wiser and realized that the other is actually a pretty cool person.  Recently, this discovery has been through our shared tolerance of running. Over the past year we've started running together and while she is way faster than I am, it's been a nice shared interest.  We've even registered for a half-marathon and will complete it next month!  This past weekend I was home visiting and it was really nice to have her for a running partner, both for the accountability and the company. 

Not everyone is lucky enough to have a sister at all, much less one that they actually like running with.  I'm thankful to have both.  If we were actually a Lifetime movie, this would be the part where we're leaving the court room, having just ensured the life sentence of the crazed woman who had drugged and seduced our brother so she could make him fall in love with and marry her, ultimately confirming her deluded belief that she was the psychotic mother of his children.  And we would say something cliched about how for two people with almost nothing in common, we really do make a good team.  Then we would laugh and go have coffee together.

But since this is a blog and not a movie, I'll just say thanks Betsy for becoming enough of a dork over time to go running with me and for running slow enough for me to keep up.

:)

*ahem* It's time for FOOTBALL!

Hey yall, I don't know if you noticed or not, but it's FRIDAY!!!!  We made it!  I swear this has been the longest week and I think the entire city is celebrating because:

1. It's Friday, duh.
2. It's the Friday before a long weekend.
3. College football finally kicks into high gear.

All good reasons to celebrate.  Also all very legitimate ways that your nutrition and training plans can get off-kilter if you're not paying attention.  Please please please do me a favor this weekend and

treat yourself right, yo.

Remember, a cheat day only cheats you!  If you plan to tailgate, pack an ice chest of clean eats to munch on in between the occassional chicken wing or bratwurst or burger.  Drink a bottle of water in between each beer to stay full but keep the calories at bay.  And just for good measure, get out there early and run a few miles, take a spinning class, do Zumba, do SOMETHING to kick your metabolism in the rear and off-set some of that game food!  ESPN College GameDay doesn't start until 9:00 am.  You can burn a crapload of calories before then.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and stay healthy!  Remember, you want to still fit into your favorite team shirt by the end of the season!

Good day!

Like Clockwork

It happens every time.

Girl dreads running.  Girl goes running.  Girl tolerates running. Girl goes running again, begins to enjoy it, begins to look forward to it, begins to look for more opportunities to do it, and finds herself talking about "getting in some miles," and sending jittery messages on Facebook and Twitter looking for someone - anyone - who might be running the next morning.

Anyone running Tuesday?  Yeah, you?  Hey, you mind if I come?  Just this once man, I just need to get some miles in before Thursday. 

Hey, anyone running Thursday?  Not far, just six or seven miles, man. Just a little something to get me to the weekend.

Once I got over that OMIGOD I AM GOING TO RUN SIX MILES thing, and now six miles is like, whatever, I want to see what else I can do.  Saturday I had a great brick workout - bike to the run start, run five miles of hills, and bike home - and it felt incredible.  It feels really really good to be endurance training in a challenging way. 

This weekend I registered for the half-marathon!  I am really looking forward to running in it, especially since my sister is also doing it so we are training together via text messaging.  We have about six weeks of training to go, and I feel completely confident that we can do it. 

I just regret that there isn't a triathlon to do before the end of the year!  

What's your by-December-31-or-else goal?

Five is the new six

Okay, so I didn't run six miles today, but I did run five, thanks to my friends Emma, Vicky, and Co. 

A 5:30 am start and a nice drippy humid jaunt around the neighborhood was just what I needed to reconnect with the reality that yes, my legs can actually move continuously for more than three miles.  And it was easy!

And now I am really looking forward to my Saturday morning group run because it kicked my butt last week and now I'm all, "shut up humid hills, I am soooo over you."  And the hills are all, "whatever, you said that last week and walked half of it," and I'm all, "well that was then and this is now so shove it," and they're all, "yeah, well, your shorts look dumb with that shirt," and I'm all, "talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening!" 

Anyway, group running is a new thing for me.  I've always eschewed group fitness because, well, as hard as this may be for anyone who knows me to believe, I am actually pretty anti-social.  Stop laughing.  It's true! I guard my workout time like a dollar I found in the dryer - it's mine, allll mine! People who tried to talk to me in the gym got short, curt answers that said, "I'm busy, please move on."  I don't work as hard when I am chatting, and I try to follow the same consideration for others when they are working out. 

People who workout with me in the mornings will tell you I fail miserably at this. 

Anyway, group running is a whole different story.  Listening to the chatter of others, engaging in conversation with a fellow runner, or just having the accountability of being with other people makes running infinitely more enjoyable.  In fact, studies (translation: articles I read on the internet) show that running in a group increases motivation, provides a more supportive environment, challenges us to beat a personal best, and can even enhance your career.  And naturally, running in a group is a lot safer, too, especially when a group of women run together long enough that their periods start to sync up and they can combine that primal aggression. 

Seriously, a whole pack of women high on hormones?  I'm scared of that

and I'm one of them.

Anyway, my five miles this morning were a cinch because I made myself more accountable and surrounded myself with distractions from what would normally have been a boring run.  I really can't wait to do it again.  If you're interested in finding a running club in your area, check out this resource that can help you do it. 

Good day!  And good run!