Celebrating Accomplishments

I feel very proud of what I have accomplished with my running.  However, I hate it when people downplay their own accomplishments by comparing themselves to me.  When talking about fitness, I often get, “I ran three miles yesterday, which is nothing for someone like you…” or “my little run must seem silly to you..”  Not at all!  It is all about pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.  I am especially excited if I can be part of someone taking those steps toward fitness.

I know a woman who has struggled with her weight.  She is determined to get in shape and has started walking.  Walking for an hour is difficult for her, but she does it.  She puts one foot in front of the other and gets out there.  Good for her!  I am sure that often her walk is harder for her than a six mile run is for me.  So is that any less of an accomplishment?

I recently had a friend complete her first 5K.  To me, in some ways, that is as big of an accomplishment as running a marathon.  She isn’t an athlete and has been working hard to get out there and run.  She doesn’t run fast, but she runs.  That 5K was a big step and a scary one.  When you have never run a race, it is an intimidating thing.  She got out there and did it and I am super proud of her. 

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to pace my sister-in-law in her third 5K.  It was a beautiful morning at the beach and a small, fun race.   Kristi likes to run with music.  As we were lined up at the start, she said to me, “I know it’s silly, but I am really nervous.”  That’s not silly at all!  It is totally normal to be nervous.  I still get nervous starting a race.  Any race. I told her that the nerves would help her.  She hadn’t run much since her 5K on July 4.  Her work schedule had been crazy and between that, her three-hour round trip commute and raising her five-year-old daughter, she didn’t have a lot of extra time to run. She warned me that I would be running my slowest 5K ever.  She convinced herself that it would be her personal worst.  I told her that she might surprise herself.
 
We started off and her nerves had her running a bit faster than we ran in July.  I told her that she had plenty of room to slow down.  It was a beautiful sunny day in Malibu and it was starting to get hot.  The race didn’t have any water after the first mile.  I was proud of Kristi who kept going with a smile.

There were three runners right by us at the starting line who told us they were running their first 5K’s.  I congratulated them.  When I saw them out on the course, I cheered them on and when I saw them afterward, I asked how it went.  I think it is important to encourage runners of all shapes and sizes to push themselves and to celebrate it.  They were all very excited and proud.

As we were deep into the second mile, I realized that we were on pace to come pretty close to Kristi’s last 5K.  I pointed out the finish line and told her that she definitely wasn’t running her slowest 5K.  I encouraged her to pick up the pace a bit.  She dug deep and sprinted toward the end.  As I stopped my Garmin, I was so excited.  Her time was 34:29—eight seconds faster than her previous PR!!  As I showed it to her, I was as excited as I would be if it were my own PR.  I had tears in my eyes as she realized that she had pushed herself hard enough to achieve a personal best.


Once again, I had a great pacing experience.  It reminded me that each accomplishment needs to be celebrated.  Each person has his/her own obstacles to overcome.  Whether an accomplishment is someone taking that first walk around the block, running a 5K PR or qualifying for Boston, we need to recognize it as a personal achievement,  I am fortunate that I am able to be part of several women achieving their goals.  In the next several weeks, I will be celebrating even more accomplishments as two of my friends complete their first half marathons and another her first full marathon.  I’m looking forward to it!

Congratulations to Tess on getting out there and walking/jogging, Mellisa for running your first 5K and Kristi for setting a new personal best.  You are all stars!!

Holidays and fitness

We are smack dab in the middle of "the holidays.*"   This is the biggest time for excuses when it comes to exercising.   I was talking to a friend a couple of weeks ago who is on a weight loss journey who said that her goal is to maintain or only gain a pound or two during the holidays.  I told her that she is setting her sights too low and that she shouldn't expect to fail.

There are a few tips to keeping on track during this busy time.

1) Have a Goal-
It needs to be a specific goal.  Stating that you will exercise during the holidays probably won't get you up in the dark or during a storm.  A race goal in January or February is a great way to get motivated during the holidays. Two years ago, I had thought about running my first half marathon in January.  I printed out a Higdon training plan and half-heartedly started training.  Excuse after excuse kept me from running.  I didn't even sign up for the race and so it was easy to let it go.  Last year and this year I signed up for my January races to keep myself on track.  Even simple goals like "run 20 miles per week" or "go to Pilates every Wednesday" is better than no goal at all.

2) Have a Plan-
A schedule is my way of making sure I get my mileage in.  The best way to get your exercise in during busy time is to make it a planned part of the day.  I know that right now if I ran when I felt like it or had time, I wouldn't do it at all.  I have to get up early to do it before my kids get up and my husband goes to work.

My plan is not set in stone, however.  I overslept a day last week and didn't have the time to get in a run before the activities of the day had to begin.  If my schedule didn't have wiggle room, it would have sent me into a tailspin of stress.  Instead I told myself I would just have to run another day.  If that didn't work out, I knew that it would all work out in the end.  If an exercise schedule causes stress, it is not doing the job it is meant to do.

3) Watch the Treats-
Duh, right?  This seems pretty obvious.  However, this time of year, holiday treats are EVERYWHERE.  When you have plates of Christmas cookies from the neighbors staring you in the face and you have five million things to do, it is so easy to have a lunch of shortbread and brownies instead of a salad or a pita.  Try to keep some easy meals on hand.  Even a Lean Cuisine or pre-made salad** will work for a quick grab during this chaotic week.

The good news is that the more you are exercising, the more you want the healthier food (most of the time), although this time of year that gets harder and harder.  I think that many diets have it backwards.  They start with the food and calorie counting and add the exercise as almost an afterthought.  If you focus on the exercise, you will find that you can't do it well if you are eating nothing but junk.  My friend Kelly had a pretty rough run on Saturday.  She realized that it was due to eating crappy all week and having several meals consisting of holiday treats.  She was really bummed because that long run is the only time all week she gets to herself and she ruined it by failing to fuel properly.  This week she is thinking about everything she eats and how it affects her long run, one of her favorite parts of the week.

But what about the parties?  The best way to keep from pigging out at a party is to eat a small, healthy meal before going.  One of the mistakes I make is not eating all day before some sort of event (because I am usually running around like a crazy person trying to find something to wear or cooking something to bring to the party).   If you aren't starving, you can pick and choose what you want to eat instead of shoving anything into your face.  It is ok to indulge a little.  I mean, what is the point of running hundreds of miles if you can't enjoy good food?  The key is moderation.

I hope that you all enjoy the next week or so.  I hope you are able to spend it with friends and family.  In all the chaos of the next couple of weeks, I hope you are able to squeeze in a little time for yourself to run, swim, ride, do some yoga etc.

Happy Running...


*I actually meant to write this post before Thanksgiving, but have barely had time to keep up on regular posting. Sorry these tips are so late in the season.
**Careful... some of those pre-made salads are loaded with fat and calories.