I am still a little in shock that I actually achieved a goal today I set out to reach on New Year's. Not that I doubted I could run 6.2 miles. (I have done runs of 4 and 5 mi before.) But looking at all that happened between January and now, I am very humbled at what I was able to do today.
I admit I haven't trained as much as I'd like this year. I think I will pay for that later today in soreness. The biggest setback was the injury to my toe in July. Nothing exciting..."Grace" dropped a pitcher on it. Since then, I've gotten runs in sporadically, but nothing super consistent.
I've walked the 10k distance before, but running it is a whole 'nother animal. Here's my recap.
Got there early enough to treat myself to Starbucks and meet up with my friends Katie (and meet all her running buds) and Joe. Saw a few other friends (Kristina and Jacquelyn) at the start line. I was pretty pumped. I was impressed I didn't oversleep, and felt ready.
I was actually able to run the first 1.5 miles or so straight in 20 minutes. I originally planned to use my Garmin for total time, and a second watch for run time (to help keep track of the walk breaks I knew I'd need). About 16 mins in, I bumped watch #2 so that was a goner. I then switched to running in even increments (10 or 5 mins), then walking 5 mins.
Somewhere between miles 2 and 3, my buddy Joe waved from the other side of the street. He got a PR today, whoo hoo! He told me later I seemed to be moving along at a good pace. Most of the race I was somewhere between 12:55 and 14:00 when actually running.
The halfway point was pretty cool, as I realized I had already done the distance of a 5k. As I turned around, "Run Rudolph Run" kicked on the iPod, a really good choice. I was pretty happy with the holiday selection and think it kept me in good spirits.
I really started to hurt around the 4.5 mile mark. My feet were pretty sore...keep in mind, I stood on them for about 4 hours yesterday handing out turkey dinners. Around 5 miles, my thighs began to ache too. There were times before those points that the cold air made it a little tough to breathe too. All I could think every time I struggled was either 1) "I can eat and drink whatever I want today if I do this, especially the pecan pie" and 2) "If the 9-11 firefighter can do a marathon, I can do this." See, the story about Matt (I think that's his name), an NYFD who survived 9-11 only to become disabled when a bus hit him years later, was on HBO's Real Sports last night. I'd read his story in Runner's World. It's quite inspiring. It was really good timing for HBO to air that last night before all the Turkey Trots today.
Around 5.75 miles, Joe was cooling down and running back towards me. If it wasn't for him, I don't know if I would have made that last .45 or so running straight. He kept telling me once I saw the finish line I wasn't allowed to walk :) It was the extra push I needed to finish just under a 15 minute mile pace. My official time is somewhere between 90 and 91 minutes. The Garmin beeped that I was done when I had about 20 feet left to go!
It was a tough race, but a good race. It was a little easier than I thought. I estimated I may walk half the route, but I only walked 1/3. I'm pretty proud of that.
Maybe next year, I run one start to finish :)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Perspective
I've been thinking a lot about perspective lately. This blog actually started it. After the first post, a friend emailed me and gave me an alternate idea to my exercise plan...if I was aiming for 15 mins a day, why not total that up (105 mins a week) and each time I exercised, subtract from it...and then I might feel less guilt for missing days? It was a great point and I wouldn't have thought of it from where I was looking. (Of course, it got my Type A self thinking I should add up ALL my minutes for the year to get an idea how much a day I averaged to set a higher goal next year...but I digress.)
Then I posted this past weekend about my tough 3 mile walk/run, and how it was harder than the 5 mile one the weekend before. Another friend wrote to congratulate me on my distances. I think she even joked about needing to be in rollerblades herself to go that far :) (Dot, you could do it even without blades, I know it!!) So here, I was disappointed in my effort, while someone else was impressed.
It's interesting to think that while we may be so critical of ourselves, someone else may be impressed. It reminds me of a favorite quote: "To the world, you may only be one person; but to one person, you may be the world." Really drives home how differently we all see everything.
I'm sure you've sensed a common theme in the blog thus far, that I'm trying to be less critical of myself and more positive. For much of my life I've been "cautiously optimistic"...which really means I expected the worst, and if good happened, it was better than I hoped. What I think I'm learning is that our life experience is based strongly on how we see things, and the world seems easier to muddle through when you look at things with a more open mind.
Example: yesterday was day 65 of no activity. You may recall my goal to hit 300 days of activity. So am I freaking out that I've "used all my days off" or even worse, depressed? NO! I have decided to step back, and look at it in a new light. Counting today, we have 42 days left this year (wow!!). That's 6 weeks. I can be active for 6 weeks. Besides, I need it more now than ever. The party season is beginning, and dang it, I like my Christmas cookies and adult beverages. I only owe it to myself to be active and not regain the little I have lost this year.
When I make it to New Year's, I'll be one week short of my longest streak ever (49 days). January was a decently easy month to stay active last year. If it proves the same, I could potentially hit 10 weeks straight. Nice way to kick off the year right!
SO...who's in on the six week challenge with me? Because from my perspective, that's something we can all squeeze in here and there, especially with a little encouragement from each other!
P.S. I just came back from a 19 minute walk. Not much, but still more than the 15 minute minimum :)
Then I posted this past weekend about my tough 3 mile walk/run, and how it was harder than the 5 mile one the weekend before. Another friend wrote to congratulate me on my distances. I think she even joked about needing to be in rollerblades herself to go that far :) (Dot, you could do it even without blades, I know it!!) So here, I was disappointed in my effort, while someone else was impressed.
It's interesting to think that while we may be so critical of ourselves, someone else may be impressed. It reminds me of a favorite quote: "To the world, you may only be one person; but to one person, you may be the world." Really drives home how differently we all see everything.
I'm sure you've sensed a common theme in the blog thus far, that I'm trying to be less critical of myself and more positive. For much of my life I've been "cautiously optimistic"...which really means I expected the worst, and if good happened, it was better than I hoped. What I think I'm learning is that our life experience is based strongly on how we see things, and the world seems easier to muddle through when you look at things with a more open mind.
Example: yesterday was day 65 of no activity. You may recall my goal to hit 300 days of activity. So am I freaking out that I've "used all my days off" or even worse, depressed? NO! I have decided to step back, and look at it in a new light. Counting today, we have 42 days left this year (wow!!). That's 6 weeks. I can be active for 6 weeks. Besides, I need it more now than ever. The party season is beginning, and dang it, I like my Christmas cookies and adult beverages. I only owe it to myself to be active and not regain the little I have lost this year.
When I make it to New Year's, I'll be one week short of my longest streak ever (49 days). January was a decently easy month to stay active last year. If it proves the same, I could potentially hit 10 weeks straight. Nice way to kick off the year right!
SO...who's in on the six week challenge with me? Because from my perspective, that's something we can all squeeze in here and there, especially with a little encouragement from each other!
P.S. I just came back from a 19 minute walk. Not much, but still more than the 15 minute minimum :)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Back on track
If there is a ball I've dropped in the past six weeks, it's been the diet/exercise one. In the quest for sanity of getting everything accomplished, I decided to push aside writing down what I gobble each day. I've still stayed semi-active, but most of my exercise has been short walks, nothing very challenging.
It's still better than zero, but I have noticed a difference in myself. Sure, I've gained a few pounds, but I try not to let the scale be the main determinant of my health success. But I have gained inches the past two months of measuring, and some clothes are not fitting the way they should...and those I do put more stock in.
So this weekend, I began the quest to get back on track. I've written down everything I've eaten since Saturday. I ate a whopping 50 Weight Watcher points that day! I probably won't hit my points target for the week, but at least I know I'm not going to a party every day of this week so I hope to control that more during the week. The win here is that I will begin being mindful of what I am eating again and being more selective to eat the smarter choices.
I've also earned 7 activity points so far, including a tough 3 mile walk/run today. It's amazing how quickly we lose the fitness we work so hard to build.
I keep thinking about something Jillian Michaels said in this month's issue of Health magazine. They asked her in terms of fitness efforts where we go wrong. While I do agree with her statement about selling ourselves short on what we are capable of, I was a little disappointed to see her come off negatively towards walking. Some days, all we can manage to get in are short walks or trips up and down the stairs. While we shouldn't settle for this on a regular basis, I'd hate to see someone read that and get discouraged that the little they may be able to get in isn't worth it. I think if it wasn't for my little walks, I might have gained even more over this time period than the 3 or so pounds I did.
It's still better than zero, but I have noticed a difference in myself. Sure, I've gained a few pounds, but I try not to let the scale be the main determinant of my health success. But I have gained inches the past two months of measuring, and some clothes are not fitting the way they should...and those I do put more stock in.
So this weekend, I began the quest to get back on track. I've written down everything I've eaten since Saturday. I ate a whopping 50 Weight Watcher points that day! I probably won't hit my points target for the week, but at least I know I'm not going to a party every day of this week so I hope to control that more during the week. The win here is that I will begin being mindful of what I am eating again and being more selective to eat the smarter choices.
I've also earned 7 activity points so far, including a tough 3 mile walk/run today. It's amazing how quickly we lose the fitness we work so hard to build.
I keep thinking about something Jillian Michaels said in this month's issue of Health magazine. They asked her in terms of fitness efforts where we go wrong. While I do agree with her statement about selling ourselves short on what we are capable of, I was a little disappointed to see her come off negatively towards walking. Some days, all we can manage to get in are short walks or trips up and down the stairs. While we shouldn't settle for this on a regular basis, I'd hate to see someone read that and get discouraged that the little they may be able to get in isn't worth it. I think if it wasn't for my little walks, I might have gained even more over this time period than the 3 or so pounds I did.
But she is right, overall. If I can carve 20 or 30 minutes out to walk up and down the block, why not pop in the kickboxing DVD and actually burn off more calories? If I can stick with that mindset these last six weeks of the year, I may end the year at a loss after all.
So, 46 days left until the end of the year. I've taken 64 days off activity this year. I just might try to workout every day left in this year. I'm going to need as much of it as I can get.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Dropping Balls & the Big Picture
To say I have a full plate is an understatement some days. There are times I feel like I'm a waitress, carrying a tray where I keep sliding and shifting to keep everything from falling off. I think that's a good way to sum up, oh, the last six weeks of my life.
I've been busier at work, where I had only 15 hours of help a week versus 30 I had in the spring, plus several events in the fall we didn't have last year or held in the spring. I've been busier as a volunteer, not only with my board position on Junior League but also with projects for the Heart Association, my professional association, etc. I've been trying to do a better job as a wife and dog mom to not totally ignore those parts of my life, which has happened in the past when things get crazy...the house gets to be a mess, we eat too much fast/prepared food, Buddy doesn't get as much attention...
Yet somehow, on the eve of the last 2 big events at work for the semester (signaling not a total slowdown but at least a more usual pace), I feel calm. Eerily so.
On one hand, the goal is in sight. Get through these events tomorrow, have one more big meeting for the week Friday, and then enjoy a weekend with very minimal plans, spending time with family and close friends. Then seven work days until the first holiday break. I am quite the goal-driven gal.
On the other hand, I think the past six weeks, while hectic, have been a little less stressful than similar periods in my life. I've been working really hard to not fret over things that are out of my control. I've also been working on my management and delegation skills. Part of that is realizing if I ask for help or for someone to complete a task, it may not be done exactly the way I would do it. But if it gets done, that's the important part. And if mistakes are made, as long as the lesson is learned so it's not repeated, that's what counts.
Could it be that (gasp!) I am becoming a big picture person? If you believe the personality profile I took earlier this year at a work training, apparently so. Me, the self-proclaimed perfectionist, attentive to every detail, was shocked to read that. And then almost instantly, proud. It made me feel like maybe I was finally growing up.
In the past, my skill for detail could sometimes be a curse. How many times did I spend extra effort on little details for events or projects that probably weren't noticed? If I knew what I know now back then, maybe I would have never worked an 18-hour day at my last job 2 nights before my major event of the year.
I keep thinking about a conversation I had recently with a friend. She is someone I admire...owns her own business, extremely involved in the community with some high-level volunteer roles, and always seems so put together. I finally broke down and asked how she does it. She was honest that it's tough, and to use her phrase, "sometimes, balls are dropped." I found the comment curious because in all my times working with her, I've never experienced a dropped ball.
I think it all comes back to expectations. Sometimes, we can be hard on ourselves and when things don't go exactly how we plan, we feel we "dropped a ball"...but really, if things are still okay in the big picture, is it really a failure? I think not. I think what is key to managing everything in our lives is being more open-minded and flexible about outcomes.
Because in the big picture, how much does a tiny detail going differently really alter your life path anyway?
(Cue up the Bob Marley ... "don't worry, about a thing, 'cause every little thing's gonna be alright...")
I've been busier at work, where I had only 15 hours of help a week versus 30 I had in the spring, plus several events in the fall we didn't have last year or held in the spring. I've been busier as a volunteer, not only with my board position on Junior League but also with projects for the Heart Association, my professional association, etc. I've been trying to do a better job as a wife and dog mom to not totally ignore those parts of my life, which has happened in the past when things get crazy...the house gets to be a mess, we eat too much fast/prepared food, Buddy doesn't get as much attention...
Yet somehow, on the eve of the last 2 big events at work for the semester (signaling not a total slowdown but at least a more usual pace), I feel calm. Eerily so.
On one hand, the goal is in sight. Get through these events tomorrow, have one more big meeting for the week Friday, and then enjoy a weekend with very minimal plans, spending time with family and close friends. Then seven work days until the first holiday break. I am quite the goal-driven gal.
On the other hand, I think the past six weeks, while hectic, have been a little less stressful than similar periods in my life. I've been working really hard to not fret over things that are out of my control. I've also been working on my management and delegation skills. Part of that is realizing if I ask for help or for someone to complete a task, it may not be done exactly the way I would do it. But if it gets done, that's the important part. And if mistakes are made, as long as the lesson is learned so it's not repeated, that's what counts.
Could it be that (gasp!) I am becoming a big picture person? If you believe the personality profile I took earlier this year at a work training, apparently so. Me, the self-proclaimed perfectionist, attentive to every detail, was shocked to read that. And then almost instantly, proud. It made me feel like maybe I was finally growing up.
In the past, my skill for detail could sometimes be a curse. How many times did I spend extra effort on little details for events or projects that probably weren't noticed? If I knew what I know now back then, maybe I would have never worked an 18-hour day at my last job 2 nights before my major event of the year.
I keep thinking about a conversation I had recently with a friend. She is someone I admire...owns her own business, extremely involved in the community with some high-level volunteer roles, and always seems so put together. I finally broke down and asked how she does it. She was honest that it's tough, and to use her phrase, "sometimes, balls are dropped." I found the comment curious because in all my times working with her, I've never experienced a dropped ball.
I think it all comes back to expectations. Sometimes, we can be hard on ourselves and when things don't go exactly how we plan, we feel we "dropped a ball"...but really, if things are still okay in the big picture, is it really a failure? I think not. I think what is key to managing everything in our lives is being more open-minded and flexible about outcomes.
Because in the big picture, how much does a tiny detail going differently really alter your life path anyway?
(Cue up the Bob Marley ... "don't worry, about a thing, 'cause every little thing's gonna be alright...")
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Revisiting Goals
I'm a Type A Virgo. This means I'm very motivated by setting and achieving goals. This fits in very neatly with my professional life as a fundraiser. For the past 8+ years, I have a set of metrics I need to achieve, and I go after it. Most times I make it, sometimes I don't, but it's a great measurement and motivational tool.
Of course, I try to apply this to my personal life as well. A big goal I've been working on this year is being healthier. Of course, goals need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. So on New Year's Eve, I translated it into getting minimum 20 minutes of exercise a day. It started out as a challenge to see how many days I could go straight. I made 49. Not bad for starters!
Then in March, one of my fellow Jr. League board members shared her outlook. She works to be active 300 days a year. I thought that wasn't bad, especially since by then I'd missed a few days. 65 days off is realistic. So that became my new goal.
As the year progressed, and I took on new responsibilities in my volunteer life, I made some further adjustments. 15 minutes was the new minimum (what equals a Weight Watchers activity point), and I started allowing walks across campus to meetings and errands count if it totaled that or more.
Then I had my toe injury on July 4. I had to be OK with accumulating a lot of days towards that 65 for a while.
So here we are with 2 months left in the year. I'm at 60 days off. I don't think 5 days off for the rest of the year is reasonable (though I will still try!) so have decided maybe 75 would do. Still not bad compared to other years, I am sure.
Another specific goal I find I'm having to tweak is to run a 10k by the end of the year. When I set that goal on New Year's, I didn't know I was going to be asked to serve on the Jr. League board this year, a role I love but does take some of my time I might have used for training (or more likely, playing online!). The leadership experience I am gaining is worth the trade off. I didn't know I was going to have the injury. I didn't think about the days where sometimes, my body just wanted me to rest.
With only the Turkey Trot left in 3.5 weeks and running just half that distance being a challenge right now, I may be revisiting this goal as well. I am rediscovering a love for walking. I'm not saying I'm giving up running, but I may put this distance on hold. If I can get back into the swing of good, regular activity (not just the 15 minute walks across campus), maybe I will train for a distance walk, like the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer one in April. Then I could tackle the longer runs again.
I think the biggest thing I have learned is that it is OK to change your goals based on what happens along the way. That it doesn't represent defeat, but rather, growth in self-awareness. And that's a goal I didn't even set out to accomplish.
Of course, I try to apply this to my personal life as well. A big goal I've been working on this year is being healthier. Of course, goals need to be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. So on New Year's Eve, I translated it into getting minimum 20 minutes of exercise a day. It started out as a challenge to see how many days I could go straight. I made 49. Not bad for starters!
Then in March, one of my fellow Jr. League board members shared her outlook. She works to be active 300 days a year. I thought that wasn't bad, especially since by then I'd missed a few days. 65 days off is realistic. So that became my new goal.
As the year progressed, and I took on new responsibilities in my volunteer life, I made some further adjustments. 15 minutes was the new minimum (what equals a Weight Watchers activity point), and I started allowing walks across campus to meetings and errands count if it totaled that or more.
Then I had my toe injury on July 4. I had to be OK with accumulating a lot of days towards that 65 for a while.
So here we are with 2 months left in the year. I'm at 60 days off. I don't think 5 days off for the rest of the year is reasonable (though I will still try!) so have decided maybe 75 would do. Still not bad compared to other years, I am sure.
Another specific goal I find I'm having to tweak is to run a 10k by the end of the year. When I set that goal on New Year's, I didn't know I was going to be asked to serve on the Jr. League board this year, a role I love but does take some of my time I might have used for training (or more likely, playing online!). The leadership experience I am gaining is worth the trade off. I didn't know I was going to have the injury. I didn't think about the days where sometimes, my body just wanted me to rest.
With only the Turkey Trot left in 3.5 weeks and running just half that distance being a challenge right now, I may be revisiting this goal as well. I am rediscovering a love for walking. I'm not saying I'm giving up running, but I may put this distance on hold. If I can get back into the swing of good, regular activity (not just the 15 minute walks across campus), maybe I will train for a distance walk, like the Avon 3-Day Breast Cancer one in April. Then I could tackle the longer runs again.
I think the biggest thing I have learned is that it is OK to change your goals based on what happens along the way. That it doesn't represent defeat, but rather, growth in self-awareness. And that's a goal I didn't even set out to accomplish.
Tipping Points
Welcome to my blog! I have felt that since joining the social media community, I have had an inner monologue of thoughts about my life that are too long for a status update, but need to get out of my head and down in word. I think from time to time, I also miss my former career in journalism as it gave me regular writing practice, and I love to write.
So here I am. I've put off blogging for a while as I'm not sure how often I can commit to it with my very full plate, but decided some blogs were better than none.
About my blog title ... In my current profession (development), "tipping points" are occurrences in our lives that may lead us to move in a significant direction, e.g. birth of a child, retirement from a job, etc. It's meant to refer to the fact that the said activity may make a person more (or less) likely to consider a gift at that time. It reminds me of a recent episode of "Fringe" where Dr. Bishop describes the existence of alternate universes, and how our decision at a certain point in life can lead to different outcomes.
I guess I've always thought of these to be termed as milestones, but tipping points sounds the most exciting of these options. I feel like they aren't just reserved for big occasions though, but can occur everyday. What I hope to accomplish in this blog is to explore how my decisions affect me, my family, and the world around me. Welcome to the journey.
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