Best pace yet!

My running buddy and I ran this morning at 6:00 a.m., 4 miles @ 9.35 pace. This is our best time to date. The run felt great, I personally think that it is due in part to our new face gators (it's pretty chilly in Salt Lake City at that time of the morning in December) and also the fact that we took a little break (1 week since our last run). Due to health, it was necessary. It was just the best way to start my day!

Time is moving right along, we have one more week on our current training program, then a week of for holidays and rest! Then December 28th the 4 month marathon training schedule begins. I am so excited! It is so nutty to think I wasn't even able to run for two consecutive minutes during the 1st week of September, and now 4 miles feels like a "short run" to me. I am constantly amazed at what our bodies truly are capable of in short amounts of time, if we are just persistant. So grateful for my health!!

Also, went to a cold weather running clinic last Wednesday and it was really insightful, and opened my eyes up to proper layering of running attire, safety, and some really cool gear! My christmas list was created in a 1 hour class. Hope that everyone has a wonderful Holiday season filled with wonderful memory making, laughter and lots of love!

Quote: "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself."

and: "Just go out there and do what you've got to do!"

My first 5k!

I ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving morning...in 32.33 minutes. Feeling pretty good about the standard pace me and my running partner have established so far. We ran a 5 mile run this morning, which was a bit difficult, we were both pretty stiff and sore...but we did the mileage, even though it wasn"t perfect. We are on the tail end of our endurance training...3 more weeks...and then a week off, and then serious marathon training begins...woohoo!

hope everyone had a fantastic Thankgiving, and we'll keep you up to speed with the next chapter of our training.

Take care, and I will update soon.

Beth

5K race on Thanksgiving day

I am so excited about running in my first race in preparation for the marathon in April 2010. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and I am running the 5k (3.1 miles) for the Human Race campaign. My running partner (Sarai) and I will be hitting the pavement at 8 a.m. in Draper City, UT. Originally we were planning on running the 6k (3.75 miles) up City Creek Canyon; but we missed registration by one day! Ah well, live and learn. My hubby who is not really a morning person, will be coming along to support me, and see his wife in action. I am so happy that I have so much support as I pursue this goal. I am truly Thankful this Thanksgiving for so many amazing friends and family in my life. I am so aware that so many people do not have the ability to run at all, and I feel that I am given the gift of a fully functioning body and that it is not only my obligation but also my absolute joy to utilize what it is capable of doing!
I am so thankful for my health, and my awareness to be proactive with my body and my life. It has not always been the case, and perhaps because of poor discipline and bad choices that I have made in my life I am genuinely filled with such gratitude and a reverence for how amazing our bodies are at this point in time!

I hope everyone has a truly lovely Thanksgiving Day! And to all those who will be racing tomorrow, good luck and have fun!!

Quote's for the post: "I feel the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more"
"It's easier to go down a hill than up it but the view is much better at the top."

Gearing up for my first race!

I realize that it has been over a month since my last post, due to technical difficulties that have since been remedied, I was unable to devote the time required to make any updates.
I also, have not been able to upload any new photos but will be able to do so in the near future so I can share my progress with whomever is interested.

I am still running, and successfully accomplished my first goal of running for a solid 30 minutes straight. Feels pretty incredible to have hit that mark, and keep moving toward more accomplishments/goals. I will say that "Little by little, does the trick!" is such a truth for me. I did hit days that were filled with frustration and lack of motivation, but worked through them. Some days I missed, and had to make up in one way or another. Some days I ate better than others. Some days I got the proper amount of rest, others I struggled with runs that were difficult due to the lack of rest, hydration etc. It is a continual process of reinventing habits, and there is always something that can be improved upon!
I have found that the challenge to simply stay focused and persistent is truly the biggest goal and the motivating force behind each and every decision. Make no mistake, every decision you make, every choice for either this or that, to do or do not, will or will not - does in the end either take you a step closer or farther from what you choose (your goal), this is an absolute universal truth!
It is empowering in every moment to know and seems to make decisions easier and clearer, it keeps the emotion (laziness, excuses, etc.) in proper alignment to your focus.

Enough of the "soap box", I will put it away and stand on it again I am certain on a later date.

My new goal is to run a 6K (3.75 miles) on Thanksgiving morning. This will be my first race in preparation for the marathon in April. I am looking forward to it a great deal. I do have an awesome running partner, and she will be running it also. We have been working through an endurance program, but both took a week off due to illness, and we just had our first run together since a week and a half ago. It was such a beautiful morning, with a stunning hot pink sunrise over the wasatch mountains. I did feel as though I was running in mud a bit. I am not all that surprised after giving my body a very long break. Happy to be back on the training schedule again though. It is also true that "if you don't use it, you lose it". The race is in two and a half weeks, and will be the first of many!! I am so excited!

I will let you know how it goes, and what will be next, once I know for myself.
My quote for this post is:
"Health is the thing that makes you feel that now is the best time of the year" and
"There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either in or out. Ther's no such thing as life in-between."

New friendships and new motivation!

This weekend was cool for a couple of reasons;

Saturday morning I did my 1st outside run/walk with 3 newly aquainted awesome women! It was a short 2 mile run/walk, but it felt great to be outside and get to know a little bit about each of the fitness goals of these women.

2nd, I had a great conversation with someone very dear to me on Sunday that I gained so much inspiration from. It was an exchange of ideas and observations on goals and commitments that we as humans can sometimes lose sight of or become overwhelmed by. It was a great reminder for me to continue to challenge myself and stay focused not only on long term goals but also on the here and now!
I want to share this reminder with anyone reading this: You can have anything and everything you choose for yourself in this life; but choose one or two things to focus on at a time. With persistence, dedictaion and passionate aim you can have it all! Just remember that you must start with one success, and build on that success to get you motivated and confident enough to tackle that next mountain - whatever it may be!
Much love to this individual and I know that the goals he is setting and has set for himself are there for the creating and the taking!

I am so excited that I am on the home stretch of my 1st training program! (8 week beginner running program/runner's world.com). I am now into my 3 week countdown to a solid 30 minutes of running roughly 2-3 miles. I am finding it hard to hold myself back some days and not push to run the whole 30 minutes now! But, I took this program on specifically to train smart and slow and steady; so that my foundation is good for injury prevention. I am sticking to it, but some days more than others require restraint on my part.
Amazingly, in just 5 weeks (some felt short and others long) I have gone from a woman who struggled to run for a single minute to someone who is finding it hard to stop running at 15 minutes for that minutes walk/rest!!! We have unbelievable bodies that really can change and become stronger, sometimes it feels like it takes forever, and other days I can't believe what we truly can accomplish in just 5 weeks! Amazed and grateful that I have the ability to run, and humbled by how selfish I have been for so long to not run, when I could've and so many others cannot!


I have new commitments to run with people now, which is always a great motivator! Also, doing more runs in the morning now, and truly loving that! I just feel so great to have an accomplishment as the beginning of my day! I look at the whole day through very different eyes when I have taken care of me first, and know that the rest of my obligations and commitments every day are just icing on the cake.

Good luck to you in making choices and setting goals! Be specific, set dates to achieve goals by!

Quote for this week: (Ii have two)

"Decide carefully, exactly what you want in life, then work like mad to make sure you get it!"

"Most of us serve our ideals by fits and starts. The person who makes a success of living is one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That's dedication"

B.

Last night I had a great run. I am currently running 13 minutes at a 4.8 pace (treadmill), with a minute of rest and repeat. I am covering roughly 3 miles in 30 minutes. I have officially been bitten once again by the running bug! It's great!!! I actually want to run again tonight, but according to the training schedule I am supposed to just walk for 30 minutes tonight. I think I will be doing pilates instead, really work my core. I am down another pound and have lost 1/2 inch more off my waist. Feeling great in my skin and have tons of energy! The end is in sight. 3.5 weeks more and I will have reached my first goal of running for a solid 30 minutes and covering 2-3 miles in that time. At this point, I am already starting to think about my next training schedule. I want to focus on distance and speed increases. Want to push myself from running 3 miles in 30 minutes to running 5-6 in roughly an hour. I would like to increase my speed from 4.8 to 5.3 / 5.5 over 9 weeks. Still doing the reasearch on the best way to accomplish this for myself.

I also have started to reach out to local runners/running groups so that I can start taking my runs outside as much as possible after I complete my next 3.5 weeks at the gym on the treadmill. Fall is just such a beautiful time to run outside, and the more I run outside the better adapted I will be come race time in April.

Quote: "Life takes on meaning when you become motivated, set goals and charge after them in an unstoppable manner."

B.

visual stimulation....

So, I decided to post some photos of the progress. I started this journey on August 26th, 2009. Roughly 3.5 weeks ago. I started at a weight of 163 lbs. A body fat % of 34%. I am not someone who is obsessed with what the scale says, so much as how I feel in my own skin and the size of my jeans. At the time that I started this journey I was comfortable in my size 10 jeans (well-worn), and now I am wearing a very comfortable size 8. The biggest accomplishment of the past 3.5 weeks has really been the body fat % lost. I have gone from 34% to 30% in 3.5 weeks! I think that is awesome! I am proud of myself, and completely motivated to keep working hard and stay focused on the ultimate goal of being in great enough shape to run that Marathon in about 7 months!!!

I thought it would be a good idea to post the photos not only for my own sense of accomplishment, but to serve as a reality check for anyone who wants to wake up tomorrow as the fittest version of themselves. It should be a gradual process, with small victories! That is how you know you are going through your own transformation in a healthy way, and with results that ultimately are long-term and lasting lifestyle change related. So, take stock in the small things, the numbers will change, however slowly it may feel. Know that these small accomplishments are what add up to the big goal!!! Be proud of what you can do, and never stop trying to do just that little bit more!

Recap of photos: I started the 1st photo at 160 lbs, and about 33% body fat. In the 2nd photo, I am 157 lbs, and 30% body fat. All in 3.5 weeks. Nothing Grande, by media standards, but an accomplishment none-the-less.

Good luck to you on your journey!!

the beginning....

My name is Beth, and I am on a journey. The journey to discover the physical, mental and emotional me, that I suspect has been pawing for an expressive outlet for most of my life, and frankly, I am tired of telling the little voice inside me to be quiet!

In fact, I am not sure why I have spent so much energy trying to keep her under wraps for as long as I have? I think that there are a multitude of reasons, none of which have much sway with me currently, so recalling them is a bit of a trick. Regardless, this is me now. I am a work in progress, and happily so!

I have always had a silent but sincere goal to run a marathon by the time I was 30 years old. Well, as biology and humurous father time would have it, I am 30! Will be until July of 2010. So, the SLC Marathon in April fits the bill. And here we go!

Starting this goal while I was a smoker, and a pretty regular drinker, plus not being really that regularly active at all...has given me the opportunity to accomplish a lot!

Starting with the smoking and drinking, together with my husband, who has been so strong and amazing!! This is still a work in progress, with more days of success than failure. To be discussed in further detail at a later date.

The workouts were not as hard amazingly!!! I have a good friend and a neighbor who happens to belong to the same gym as I do, and so working out for the first week was more about keeping a commitment, than it was about any certain physical accomplishment. That quickly changed however, and the search for training programs for beginning runners quickly became my focus. Along with proper nutritional guidance, and as many motivational quotes and success stories as I could find!

Well, I am happy to say that I am three weeks in and have lost 6 lbs. Have lost 3% body fat. Have lost 5 inches total on my body. And I can almost run for a solid 30 minutes, for roughly 3 miles.

I have 4 more weeks on my current Beginners running program until I have hit my 1st goal of exactly that: 30 minutes, 3 miles. I am so motivated, and focused!!!

Quote of my week: "It never gets easier, you just like it more!"

Until the next post, peace to you on your path!