There is a time

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-7

 ¹ There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  ² a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 ³ a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
 ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 ⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 ⁶ a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 ⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,


Now is a tough time of year. It's officially Spring, but there is still snow in some places and more might be coming, according to the weather person. This is when my feet long to feel the pavement moving under them. This is when I want to cast out all the winter air left in the house and let warm breezes make it smell like lilacs and sunshine. I long for winter to feel like it's really over.

I have to remind myself that it's coming. There is a time for Spring, just like every other season and it's coming. Just as in the middle of Summer when I'm wishing for cooler breezes, now is the time to enjoy the surprises of the season, hard as that may be. It's one thing I'm not good at, wanting something and not being able to have it. Like most American I like immediate gratification. I like things when I want them. I'm trying to exercise my patience right now, hoping for Spring to get here but enjoying the Thunderstorms that may or may not bring a white dusting to my lawn.

The verse above, my favorite with one of my favorite songs to match, helps me remember that there is time yet. While I may be waiting for Spring to come, now may not be the time. When I get impatient and want to be healthy, fit and running 13.1 miles right now, it may be something to build up to. The time will come and when it does I will be ready. I will be ready for Spring, I will keep training and I will be ready to run. I'm preparing myself for that time. There is a time, and it's coming.

2011 5K #3

41:39

Easy run 2:1 intervals and WOO HOO! A nice run, not very much pushing on a pretty hilly course and I'm still down almost 3.5 minutes from my run a little less than a month ago. I'm loving it.

I'm trying to gain a little speed, hence starting over on my intervals because while I like running I want to be just a BIT faster. When I'm running I'm in between an 11 and 12 minute mile now, it's the walking that I need to work on. Just building up that endurance, but it's so fun to watch that 5K time drop every month!

I think I'm going to sign up for a real 5k for April instead of my virtual ones. It's nice enough out now that in 2-3 more weeks a morning run won't be horrid. Then there's also over 6 weeks before the 5K that I really want to run back home, so I won't be pushing myself too hard right before another race.

I've added weight lifting to my exercise regimen. Twice a week I'm doing a 45 minute workout and it's lunges, squats and everything galore. I did it after my run the other day for the first time and whew. I understand why that's supposed to build endurance. Here's the thing, I feel stronger. When I run hills it's slower than I'd like, but I feel myself pushing up those things and then coasting down.  When I run on flats I can feel my from and my legs just pushing forward and I adore that feeling. My breathing is good and as long as I don't go to fast right now no side pain. (The other day I went way too fast on a 2-mile run and oy. I walked a bit of that one).

I'm so happy with where my exercise is right now. I feel like I'm pushing but I'm not burning out. If I need to skip a run and do it the next day I can. If I need to cut my 3-mile run down to 2-miles I do. I'm listening to my body and just enjoying what I can accomplish right now. I can't wait until my final 5K in October because I'm excited to see where I am after running through the heat and humidity of the summer and then becoming stronger because of it. Who knows, maybe I'll tough it out and become a winter runner, too!

All in all, I'm ecstatic with my progress and hope to have more good news to share with you through the year!

Be motivation

We talk about motivation. About losing it, finding it, wanting it. As people wanting to change their lives and keep up the momentum motivation is a big part of a day, whether we realize that or not. We sometimes "need" to be motivated to work out and eat well. Sometimes I disagree with that and other times, when my butt is dragging on the ground from the moment I wake up, I see the truth in motivation.

What I realized last night, laying in bed waiting to doze off, is that we are motivation. Our actions and thoughts can move someone to change their life. I'm not saying all we have to do is say it and it will be, but someone seeing us in action and observing the benefits we've obtained through healthy living can cause a chain reaction and before you know it, your life has changed others.

Now, I'm not saying that my actions are the only reason these people have changed their own lives, but I'm saying it plays a part! I've talked about wanting to lose weight and wanting to be healthier for a long time. I've dabbled in it, going on diets, pushing exercise for a little bit at a time and sometimes I did pretty well. When I started this journey it seemed like everything fell into place.

Now, the SO has decided to run a 5K with me this summer and we both eat healthier than we did five years ago. After hearing about me running my first 5K near my hometown last year, a lifelong friend decided she was also going to reach for that goal. Last I heard she was running faster than me and well on track to having a strong finish in the May race. When I found out my father was diagnosed with diabetes, and thinking of the history of obesity, high blood pressure and all that comes with it that runs in our family, I decided to take my own first steps into making my life a healthy one.

We are motivation. Every positive choice to make, every decision that leads you to a better, healthier life is one that can lead someone else there as well. The days you struggle to work out and the days where all you really want is a chocolate chip cookie remember that. Remember the look on the face of someone you have touched. Remember that when you give it your all on the elliptical at your gym you may be giving someone else the inspiration to keep going, too. When you pick up carrots instead of cupcakes at your grocery store someone may see. Be motivation.

Knocking elbows down

I'm a little competitive. I'd like to tell myself that I'm not, but I enjoy winning like everyone else. The thing is, I'm not competitive because I want to win. I'm competitive because I want to be good. I want to be better and do better and sometimes, if I'm not, I feel like a failure.

I want to run faster and longer because it's a personal goal. But I also want to run faster and longer because I could "beat" other times from other people. If I don't reach those times or goals I won't quit. I don't know if I'll ever quit running because I get so much enjoyment out of it. But I do want my feelings of failure when someone else performs better than I do to become feelings of enjoyment for them in their victory.

Just because someone else does well doesn't mean I can't succeed. I try to keep telling myself this, but I think it's one of the areas I need to work on the most. My success doesn't mean someone else has failed, just like my failure doesn't ensure the success of others.

Unfortunately this doesn't just pertain to running. I know as long as I can show improvement and have room to grow that I will continue to try at  activities such as baking and bowling. I will continue to lose weight even though I'm not losing as fast as someone else, as frustrating as that may be. But this competitive "bug" is annoying me.

I want to look at something a friend has done and feel pure excitement for her accomplishments. Sometimes it's like pulling teeth because I want to be at that level so badly. I want to beat them and stay ahead of the game. I want to play chess with the SO and be excited for him that he's played a game so well, rather than disappointed in myself because I feel I played poorly.

They say practice makes perfect, so maybe if I perfect the art of losing (not on purpose) I'll become more relaxed about it. I don't need to be perfect, I just need to be me.