My Next Race

I need motivation.

If I want my house to really get clean, having a dinner party will give me the motivation to do it.

If I want to really learn about something, having to teach a class will motivate me to learn better.

If I want to run for exercise, I need a race to make me get out of bed.

I realized this last summer when I first started running again.  I had tried running the previous summer and wimped out.  I was doing it to "get fit and lose weight."  Yeah, that wasn't motivation enough.  But last summer, I had a race in mind.  I was going to run in our city's heritage day 5k.

After finishing that race, I didn't have another one planned.  I ran once after that first 5k and then my heart wasn't into it.  There was no motivation, nothing to challenge me, nothing to dare me to do better and keep going.  I did end up running another 5k for charity a few months later, but it was cold by then and I wasn't motivated enough to run outside in the cold!

Now it is warm-ish and light enough in the mornings for me to get back out to run.  And I have at least two races in mind.  They are what keep me going.  They are what drag me out of bed and make me sweat even when I really, really, really hate sweating.  They are my motivation right now.

The first one is in less than two weeks.  It is The Dirty Dash in Midway, Utah.  To sum up this race, it is a 5k along Olympic cross-country skiing trails that have been transformed into mud with the occasional obstacle in the path to add to the fun.

I don't expect a personal best in this race.  I signed up for this race because it sounded different and fun.  My husband is doing it with me, the good sport.  I haven't played in the mud since I was in high school but I'm totally looking forward to it.

The other race I am set to do is, again, the one for our city's heritage days.  I am looking for a personal best there.  Last time I was slower than cold tar ... this time I want to have a much more respectable time.

Anybody want to recommend a 5k for a good cause?  Oh, but there has to be a t-shirt involved ... I'm all about the shirt.

Hey! A New Post!!

That's right. After nearly two months of silence, the Bloggest Loser is active again.

I've thought about posting several of the health issues I've dealt with over the last several weeks:

Eating well during pregnancy
Depression eating
Controlling portion sizes during the holidays
Healthy alternatives to holiday cookies and chocolates

Can you tell which aspect of health I've been struggling with lately?

So here it is, a new year.  Time for resolutions.  So far, I've kept my food journal and actually been kind of low in my calorie intake.  I'm going to have to bump it up a little. 

I also started exercising again.  It's been a while.  I pretty much quit running after the two 5k's I did at Thanksgiving.  So now my muscles are screaming at me.  But it's the satisfying, "I HURT SO GOOD!" kind of way. 

And here we are.  I look forward to starting this blog back up again.  I've got some recruits to help me keep things going.  I think it's going to be a beautiful thing!

Run and Not Be Weary

It's the end of my second week of the c25k program. I've begun shaving time off my runs and that makes me happy. But as I was running today I thought of running that 1/2 marathon and thinking to myself, "I don't know if I can run for 2 to 3 hours." Then I reminded myself that I've been running/walking for 2 weeks. Of course I can't run for that long. Not yet, at least. I've just got to keep going and it won't be too long until I can run and not be weary, as the scripture says.

Right?

Can You Handle the Heat?

Holy sweat fest, Batman!

It's beginning to cool down a bit around here. Today's high is only supposed to be 104*. This puts the temperature somewhere in the low 90s when I run in the morning.

Today sweat poured into my eyes. Ugh. It was gross, although my main concern was how much it burned!! Note to self: Sweat in eyes = "Ahhhh!!! It burns!"

But it was my 5 lb t-shirt afterward that shocked me (and made me throw up a little bit in my mouth).

Am I seriously writing a post on the internet about how much I sweat while I run?

I guess so. But all this sweat is making me a lot more mindful of drinking more water through the day. So that's good. And I'm actually enjoying getting out and just running. It's a bit liberating. I'm still at that walk/jog phase, but I'm doing it.

The only other time I ever really ran was in gym class in high school. We had to run a mile and a half as part of our grade. I remember groaning about it because it was hard to do. But once I got started, I liked it. I found my pace and finished at a decent time. Of course, our whole class got yelled at by the gym teacher for not finishing the 1 1/2 miles in 10 minutes like her star basketball player. Still bitter about that one.