Random Thoughts About My Dad

Today is dedicated to my dad, my original exercise and fitness inspiration.  My dad is a runner, and I can still remember hearing him leave the house in the wee hours of the morning to run each day.  Running was just part of what dads did, like going to work or turning off light switches.  It was a given that Dad was running, every day, even on vacation, and even on Christmas morning.  When I would try to buy him a father's day card, I could never find a good one because they all depicted dads lying in laz-y-boys watching TV.  My dad never did that.  We didn't even own a recliner.  We did not recline.  

My dad's runs taught me, albiet silently, about discipline, the value of "me" time, and the joy of having a hobby that was solitary and unifying at the same time.  My dad's ways taught me that it was okay to be who I was.  His seemingly-spartan mostly-vegetarian diet inspired me to think about what I put into my own body, and I proudly baked him loaves of healthy bread as birthday gifts for him, because he truly didn't want anything else.

As a kid, I eventually started to run with my dad, and even though I was really slow and carried an inhaler, he let me come along.  I now realize how many workouts I probably screwed up with my slow pace and frequent pleads to walk the next block. I wasn't a regular running partner by any means, but whenever I was motivated enough to run with him, I felt like I was part of a special club. The first time I ran three miles without stopping, I called my dad. I was in college, living in a dorm four hours away. He reminded me to not run in the dark by myself. Then he congratulated me.

My dad has a collection of t-shirts from races long past, some marathons and some church 5ks, and as a kid I would rummage through his dresser for a race t-shirt to wear so I could be more like him. He doesn't race anymore, but he still has the shirts. I know because I wore one the last time I was home. :)

My dad is a man of few words, so the ones that are directed towards me are valued and treasured. I am a woman of many words, most of which are directed to no one in particular and rarely of the sentimental type.  But today I feel compelled to say, "thank you; I love you," to my dad. 

Thanks Dad for teaching me about the value of self-reliance, discipline, and a daily sweat.

I guess that is just part of what dads do.

This is how to finish a race

It's the weekend, and you know what that means: its a race to the finish between you and your head games.  So, when it's Saturday night and that second (or third or fourth) glass of wine is making it really hard to remember why you decided to stop eating brownies, I want you to think about this video and how you want to start Monday morning.

(hint: that would be without a food hangover)

The good people at Triumph Triathlon (on Twitter @triumphtri) posted it on Twitter this morning and reminded me that Friday is the starting gun on the big race between me and my metabolism.  Thanks guys! I have a plan to make it to Monday, do you?

The Plan: DO THINGS

Last week I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Southwest Airlines founder, Herb Kelleher:

"We have a strategic plan. It's called doing things."

And as one of the only airlines out there actually still doing okay (as least in the category of not pissing off all of your customers, which seems to be the strategic plan of other airlines), I think he knows what he is talking about. 

And that quote reminded me of this picture, which I love. 

And THAT reminded ME to remind YOU that while sitting around and thinking about your goals is great as a visualization tool, only getting up and doing things is going to make them happen.

A reminder from me to you: do things today.  Preferably in the direction of having super-hero arms. :)

Good day!

That *&%^ing Box

When I pulled into the gym this morning and saw a different trainer's car instead of Captain Awesome's, I was relieved.  On Monday I told Capt. Awesome that I wanted Wednesdays to be plyometric and agility days, so I can start getting ready for the Ultimate Fitness Challenge in November, and because I am a masochist.  I haaaaate plyometrics.  I really hate jumping.  And you know I hate that damn box.

So when I learned that Jennifer was filling in for him today, I thought I was off the hook.  I like working out with Jennifer because we always do different stuff and she comes up with a lot of compound exercises, which keep my heart rate up and my GoWearFit calculating away on those calories.  So we set up a circuit full of fun little things to do and I got to work.  And then she said, "oh, I forgot to set up your box."

The box.

That 21 inch plyo box is the one solitary thing in the gym that scares me.  I mean like really scared, mental block, go to jump and then freeze scared.  It's one of those things that just gets inside my head and messes with me.  But I want to master it, cause that's how I roll. 

But we set things up in a different way: we kept the box a little low (2 risers and a step) and put a bench behind it so I could squat/tap the bench in between jumps.  It really helped!  I did 8 or so and then moved on.  The next round, she added a riser, and I did 13.  The final round through the circuit, I completed 15 jumps.  Having the bench behind me really helped me not be scared I was going to fall backwards and break my coccyx (which happened to a friend of mine and kept her out of the gym for WEEKS, the agony).  I still really disliked jumping, but I have to admit I didn't hate it.  That was nice.

Okay, so for a lot of you out there jumping on a box is not that big of an accomplishment.  But for me, it felt like I had climbed Mount Everest.  And more importantly, I didn't get out of doing plyometrics today like I thought I had, which means that Ultimate Fitness Challenge training has officially begun.

Over the next few months I will be highlighting some of my favorite ladies of Women's Tri-Fitness, the athletes who inspire me, intimidate me, motivate me, and teach me how to do things that are outside of my workout comfort zone.  I hope you are as inspired and entertained by them as I am!  I look forward to introducing them to you.

Have a healthy day!

Can she do it? YES SHE CAN! But she might not.

Warning: I am going to get all self-righteous-motivational-speaker on you.

Removing the word, "can't," from my vocabulary has been one of the most revealing things I've done for my personal wellness.  It's a cliched motivational-poster-type thing to say, but a really helpful thing to do.  I mean, when you really pay attention to the number of times you say you can't do something, it starts to take a toll on your self-esteem, doesn't it? Some people go through their entire day belittling themselves with reminders of all the things they are unable to do.  That must suck!

They can't eat healthy, they can't exercise, they can't get places on time, they can't do

wah wah wah. 

Yeah, get over it.  I'm busy too.  What they're really saying is, "I won't."  It could be, "I haven't yet," or "I don't want to," or "I didn't," but rarely is, "I can't," a true statement. To be clear, I am referring to things not bound by the laws of physics. :)

I hear it in the gym all the time and it just pisses me off.  Erika can tell you first-hand about when she told me she couldn't run.   How sad it must be to go through every day feeling like a miserable failure!  So I started challenging myself to really stop saying it and be more honest about what I was really saying.  After a while, I started applying that rule to my life outside of the gym, too.  At work, at home, and in relationships with people, I found that when I stopped short of saying I couldn't do something and honestly admitted that I just plain didn't want to, I had not done it yet, or I wasn't going to, I was a lot happier.  Maybe I am imagining things but I think the people I communicate with are happier too. :)

I often hear people say they can't live without sugar, can't wake up earlier to exercise, can't run or jump or whatever, and believe me there have been times when I have believed that about myself.  But I know we can, we just don't want to. And that's okay as long as we realize that some of our goals will not be fully realized until we do. 

Listen to yourself over the next few days.  How often do you catch yourself saying you can't?  What are you really saying?

Attn: New Mothers! Breastfeeding is no longer necessary!

New baby at home? Congratulations!

Be sure you stock up on plenty of soda! Thanks to my hilarious friend Christy for this little dose of fear-mongering. I always wondered why I never seemed to fit in at school.  Now I know the truth.  Thanks for nothing, mom!

Have a healthy (non-cola) day!

Sweat-a-thon!

I have this running route that I like to do on Saturdays.  It is five miles, really hilly, and kicks my butt every time. Plus, its reallllly humid these days so its really just a miserable run. But I do it anyway because I like being miserable.

But one thing I do when I am not able to complete a run is to switch to intervals: run all-out for a sprint, then walk or jog.  Sprint/walk/sprint/walk all the way home.  I did this last weekend, partly for the increased cardio and partly to get rid of a bee that was intent on following me home. Let me tell you, that was one determined bee.

As I randomly intervaled my way home I thought about all of those Couch to 5k podcasts out there and wondered if there was one for intervals.  Well of course there was!  I downloaded this high-intensity interval training podcast for the treadmill by Skip Orem at GetFitPod (okay my husband did it for me because I couldn't figure it out) and tried it out this morning.

It was great!  It was HARD!  Because I hate surprises, I listened to it on the way to the gym so I wouldn't waste my cardio time learning the workout, but it's pretty simple: run when he tells you to run, walk when he tells you to walk.  You choose the intensity, but Skip is great at challenging you to be honest about whether you are really working hard enough.  I mean, HIIT is called high-intensity for a reason!  You gotta be dead at the end!

He also has a podcast for running outside, as well as a bunch of others I haven't checked out yet.  Give it a shot!  I will definitely do it on a regular basis, and since it has plenty of room for growth, its something that can stay in my little toolbox for a long time.  Learn more about high-intensity interval training here and give it a shot when you find yourself in the middle of a run that needs a little spice.

Have a healthy day and a great weekend!