Seaside

Today I ran the Seaside Half Marathon in Ventura. Yet another race on a whim (aka I have been so busy that I forgot that I had back to back races in February.) Not my smartest move to have been training with one short run per week but I got out there anyway and did my best.

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I wore this Nike top.

Look familiar?
Probably so because I've worn it for about a week straight. It's just so soft!

It was absolutely beautiful out today!

Unfortunately I committed the biggest runner sin ever and forgot my Garmin. I about died inside when I realized I had forgotten it.

It actually turned out okay though because it made me focus on enjoying the race running. (Imagine that!)

Although I had no idea where I was at pace wise during the race and I'm sure I had a less than stellar time I honestly can say I am super proud of myself. Physically, I am way out of shape. There is no way around it. But that's an easy fix and the least of my worries. Mentally, I was on point. I was so focused and determined to finish strong. I ran a negative split and didn't let one person pass me the entire second half of the race. I stopped counting after I had passed about 30 people. Talk about a come back!

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.

Elbert Hubbard

Anyone else run this weekend? Anyone run San Diego? Tell me about it!

Making things happen

One of the best ways to making things happen is to plan ahead. It's always good to say you're going somewhere but it's better to plan out how to get there. Achieving big plans (for instance, running a marathon) requires lots of little plans (running a certain amount of days/miles per week.)

Commit to a big plan or goal but also commit to the little goals.

A lot of people blow off little goals but in all honesty they really matter. Start somewhere and keep moving... that's how you set yourself up for success.

The other great thing about little goals is that they build your confidence and set you up for your bigger goals. It's like a domino effect. One good choice tends to lead to another good choice.

Another tip: accountability is huge. If you need someone to stay accountable to I encourage you to pick someone you will comfortable being completely honest with. There is no sense in having an accountability partner if you won't be honest. If you don't feel like you have someone in your life please e-mail me! I'd love to help you stay accountable. We are all be bff here :)

Make it your goal this week to choose a handful of things you plan to stick with all week long! Don't choose anything outrageous. Just a few, realistic, beneficial commitments.

This week my goals are to:

1. Run 3 days this week 
2. Do one plank a day (I've totally been slacking on these)
3. Drink more water
4. Bring my lunch everyday to work (this will be a toughy for me!)

What will you commit to this week?

8

There's bad races, then there's not so good races... then there was the race I had today. Today I ran the Ventura Half Marathon. I believe it was the 12th annual race? The beneficiary for the race was Habitat for Humanity.

  It's a small and local which I always love.

{Picture from last year's race}

They had a staggered start which I also love. I was originally signed up to run with the "fast" start (because of my qualifying time) at 8am but decided I better play it safe and do the 7am start. My training has been all over the place and so have my paces so I figured this was my best option. Going slow is better than not going at all.

I used Clif Shot Blocks for energy gels this race. I had never used them before but I liked them. Good flavor, but I didn't think they were as potent as the gels. Maybe that's just me though?

Do you energy gels for fuel? What about candy? I've never tried candy during a race but I heard it works well.


Let's just be honest: I showed up to the start line already defeated.

The first mile I always feel pretty good then 3-5 tend to be hard mentally for me. It's like I'm not in the groove yet and tend to focus on how much further I have to go while I should be focusing on how grateful I am to be out there, healthy, doing what  I enjoy. I tend to forget about that when way too busy having a pity party for one.

Then I realize no one showed up at the party except me and its not making me go any faster so I get out of the bitter barn for miles 6-9. Somehow I usually get a burst of energy during these miles. I finally start to into a good rhythm and my pace tends to pick up.

Then 10-11 I think start "okay...I'm ready to be done" and 13 it's all about "where the crap is the finish line!?!"

Can't win them all! I (try to) take each race as a lesson for the next one. Lesson from today: I need to keep reminding myself that even if I only have 30 min to run it's better to get out and get a few miles in rather than skip the workout completely.

"I would rather be standing at the top of a hill that I just dominated unable to breathe, ready to puke, hair matted to my face than at the bottom wondering what it would feel like."

Just need to keep moving forward! 

Getting back in the swing of things

This is the view from my run this morning. I had the (brilliant) epiphany Friday after work that I have another half marathon race coming up and I have been slacking in the running department for sure (oops!) So I figured I better get my butt out the door this weekend and pound some pavement. Luckily, the weather was super nice!

Over the two days I accumulated about 10 miles or so. For me, training isn't always about how fast or far I go.. it's about clearing my head so timing the miles was irrelevant for me.

This weekend was a good reminder for myself about how much I enjoy running and a big kick myself in the rear moment for I-better-stay-consistent-or-I-will-not-be-a-happy-camper.

 Getting out of a shape is easy. Getting back into shape is hard. Dear self: stay in shape.

Some food for thought

I saw this quote online today and thought it was so true. 

You get out of life what you put into it.

‎''You will notice that those who speak most of prosperity, have it. Those who speak most of health, have it. Those who speak most of sickness, have it. Those who speak most of poverty, have it. It is Law. It can be no other way…The way you feel is your point of attraction, and so, the Law of Attraction is most understood when you see yourself as a magnet getting more and more of the way you feel. When you feel lonely, you attract more loneliness. When you feel poor, you attract more poverty. When you feel sick, you attract more sickness. When you feel unhappy, you attract more unhappiness. When you feel healthy and vital and alive and prosperous—you attract more of all of those things'' 

I'm going to work on being a positive force in as many areas of my life as I can be. 

Strength

What do you think?