Wrapping Up Another Month

 Bring on the month of GRATITUDE!    I have so much to be thankful for.

This past weekend is just a small dose of all the good things I have in my life:  family, friends, health.

On Labor Day 2014 I ran a sub 2 half marathon.  Since then I have run 28 more and always chasing a sub 2 hour finish.  Saturday morning it happened!  Let me rewind a bit...  In August, Michelle joined me in Dubuque for the Alzheimer's Half Marathon.  I hadn't been following a training plan and the  night before I decided I would try 1 mile/ 1 minute intervals.  I finished in a 2:09.  I was shocked at that and felt really proud of the under 10 minute per mile average pace.  At the end of September I ran the Quad Cities Half marathon in 2:03:+   

With the Galena River Fall Half Marathon just one month from the QC Half, I was curious to find out if I could break 2 hours again.  While I haven't been following a training plan, I have been getting in the miles and feeling really good while running.  My average paces have been just under 10 per mile.  It left me wondering, could I average 9:05 for 13.1 miles?  

In case you didn't know, it Halloween week (hahaha) and that can be crazy at any school.  Friday was a pretty crazy day with a cross country send off parade, a fire drill, and the Halloween party.  By the end of the school day, I was really wiped out.  After a 2 mile shakeout run and a solid dinner, I was feeling ready. My "race plan" was to run 2 miles/ walk 1 minute.  It seemed like a good way to step it up from what I had done in September.  

I thought for sure I would sleep well Friday night so that Saturday would be a well rested run.  NOPE.  I couldn't find the clothes I wanted to wear for the race.  I didn't fall asleep easily Friday night.  I was awake at 4 am on Saturday.  OY!   

As I was getting ready on Saturday morning, I got a notification on my watch that my poor sleep had increased my recovery time and that I needed to take it easy on Saturday.  That wasn't what I wanted to do.  I wanted to go for a sub 2 hour half marathon finish time.  We pulled out of the driveway pretty close to on time but as we drove up Alona Lane, I realized that I didn't have my phone.  Luckily we were still close to home and I was able to find my phone quickly.  

Arrival at the race and packet pick up was smooth and simple.  I used the porta potties quickly and headed back to the car to stay warm.  All the nerves hit.   I was in my head big time.  As I was lining up at the start, Michelle gave me a hug and I began to fall apart.   I cannot tell you how much it meant that Donna and Michelle were here with me this weekend.  They believed in me when I didn't believe in myself.  A thank you will never be enough to let them know how much I needed them in that moment.  It can seem easier to give up on goals at these moments but they didn't let me forget that I had it within me to hit the goal time.  

Michelle noticed something behind me and pointed for me to turn and right there was Roger and Kate.  They believed that the race would be a good one for me, too.  

With the strength of other believing in my, I was able to believe in myself.  I was strong and ran a great race.  When I came through the 11 mile mark, I passed my cheer squad and I wondered if I could hit my goal.  My watch wasn't reading overall pace and the GPS had gone a little wacky so I had no idea what my time was.  Michelle hollered, "1:39."    That meant I had 21 minutes to make the final 2 miles.  

At about 12.9, Donna and Michelle were standing and cheering for me.  I felt like I could do it.

When I saw the finish line, the clock was reading, "0:00:00."   That didn't help me...  I ran through the finish and stopped my watch:  1:56:40!!!!   I did it!  

Confidence does not come easily for me, but I am starting to see my potential again.

As November begins tomorrow, I am beyond grateful for all the connections that help to build me up. 

I met my step goall every day this month!!!  Hoping to do it again in November.

 

Gifts to My Heart

 August was a month filled with many blessings.  I am going into September with a full heart!  

I'd like to share with you some of  the gifts to my heart.

The last year and a half has really changed my connection to "my people"  but during August I had so many perfect opportunities to connect with some of my favorite people.  Those connections are so necessary and it truly was an important part of my month.  While there is a part of me that liked (maybe even loved) being able to be home instead of having plans, I have been seriously missing out on what used to be...

In August I got to run with some of my #FFCREW.  It felt SO good to see them and hug them and spend time catching up with conversations! 

And did I mention the Crumbl Cookies?  

That simple couple hours was so important to my recharging and it wasn't the only thing that was life-giving.  

I spent a few days that same week in Madison.  I tried new to me foods.  I spent time sitting....yep, just slowing down and sitting. Time walking slowly along the water of Lake Monona. It was a gift to my heart in so many ways.

I also got a new pair of running shoes from Movin' Shoes.  New shoes always make my heart happy!

And then I got to enjoy more time with Michelle as we ran the Alzheimer's Half Marathon.  We were 1st and 2nd in our age group!    

We got a medal for the run, a 2nd medal for placing in our age group, and the Made to Move Summer Challenge Finisher Medal.

This summer lover is just a little sad to know that tomorrow brings a new month filled with all the crazy of new school routines and stressors, but my heart is happy and full.

Don't for a minute think that there weren't really hard and stressful things in August, too.  I am trying to choose how I feel and what I focus on so you get to share in my blessings.  I hope you will take some time to count yours, too!

August Miles run:  120.3

August Step goal %:  29/31 - 94%

I started the month with a slow, steady 10 mile run and I finished the month with an early morning 4 miler at a pace I haven't seen in over a year.  That gives me hope for a sub 2 half SOON --maybe September, maybe October but definitely before 2021 ends!

Dreamer:  To embrace the challenge and welcome new beginnings.

Here's to all that the 2021-2022 school year will bring.  

Birthdays, Olympics, and Balance

 "A child whose birthday is coming up is so excited, they count down the days. But as we get older we seem to lose the excitement. We need to rethink and be happy we have reached another birthday."

                                                                     — Theodore W. Higginsworth 

    In the summer of 1982 (July 23 to be exact) I remember the awesome birthday celebration that started my summer tradition of amusement parks and sparklers.  I love that I have a summer birthday.  I always felt like the July 4th fireworks were like the kick-off to a major 3 week party that was just for me.  As I got older I didn't always celebrate quite as big as I had when I was in elementary school but summer birthdays were perfect for me.  I could do pretty much anything to celebrate myself.  

    Somewhere along the way I quit wanting people to know it was my birthday.  I don't think I was afraid of getting older because obviously that beats the alternative.  I just didn't want any attention.  I didn't know how to respond when I was in the spotlight.  

    This year I turned 45.  I didn't go out for a special meal with my family or even have cake or ice cream.  I ran 4.5 miles with my favorite running buddy and watched the opening of the Olympics.  I wish I hadn't ever lost the excitement for my birthday.  I hope I can change that in the years to come.

    Now let's talk Olympics!!!  I love to read biographies about the Olympians.  One of my favorite books of all time is In The Water They Can't See You Cry.  While I don't swim, I loved this memoir of Amanda Beard who competed in the 1996 Olympics at age 14.  Even as I was growing up I remember idolizing athletes like Nadia Comaneci (gymnastics) and Flo Jo (running) and more recently Deena Kastor for her distance running skill.  When I started running after Kate and Will were born, I loved learning about Kara Goucher and Sara Hall.  One thing that I really loved about Kara Goucher was that she had been from Minnesota.  I felt like her midwestern connection made her somehow more like me....

    When it was announced that the 2020 Tokyo Olympics would begin on July 23, I felt like it was the perfect birthday honor.  Kate and I would get to watch the US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT)  together early that morning but my excitement for the Olympics was short lived.   I did not have the attention span for watching that I had previously.  Some mornings I check the medal count and some mornings I don't.  In the evenings when others are watching the events, I am choosing to read or scroll social media.  I've decided to change the focus of the Olympics so that I do get more out of them than I have been.

    I'm going to be paying close attention to the athletes in a different way because I want to be able to model the things they do that make them great.  I know that I won't be going to the Olympics but I can still chase some dreams!  If I want to be my own best, I need to pay attention to what the best do.  

    

This leads me to the final piece of what I want to write about:  BALANCE.  It is really easy for me to be obsessed with things.  When I have an interest, I think about it so much that I often have to devote time each day to doing other things so that things are in balance.  

    The gymnasts show us balance in amazing ways but the balance I am thinking about has to do with the mind more than anything else.   I think one of the most important balance lessons is the idea of knowing ourselves deeply enough to name our feelings and understanding the feelings of others.   I want to write more about this idea of balance but in an effort to quit rambling tonight, I will continue it another time.

Let's wrap up the fitness for July:

I met my step goal for 28/31 days in July!!!  That's 90%.  I'm super proud of that.  I currently have a 21 day streak going.   I don't know how much longer I can keep it up, but I'm going to shoot for 30 days....

I have 3 weeks until my half marathon in Dubuque.  I did 10 miles this morning and will do another long run of 13 miles on Saturday.  I'm excited to see what my August Made to Move race will be.

  

July Plans

 July is always a big month.  This year it's as big as always.  It starts out with all of the Independence Day Celebrations (which actually start with the Lancaster Jaycees Fireworks on the last Friday of June).

This year July marks my only vacation time.  I am on vacation through Sunday, July 25.  I thought 3 weeks would feel great but then I started putting things on the calendar and realized that there were really only 6 days that I didn't have something planned.   As I was working on filling in our family calendar, I decided to make a running calendar, too.  As part of the Made to Move Summer Challenge I will be running a half marathon in August so I need to follow some kind of a training plan so that I'm ready.

Running Calendar

Family Calendar

I completed 3 really successful weeks of summer school with some amazing kids in June.  One of the things we did during our last week together (20 minutes per day) was watch Luca.  Have you seen it?  It seemed like the perfect movie preparation for summer!!  Summer boredom causes the main character, Luca, to go to the surface of the water and explore farther than he should.  

Let's talk about boredom first, shall we?  I wish I could think of a time when I felt bored since 1994.  Seriously.  It just isn't something I ever struggle with.  I think it helps that I always have books I can read and household chores that can be done.  Even when I could be doing those things, I often do other time wasters instead.  Oh how I wish I knew what boredom felt like. 

Luca and Alberto grow a friendship and make plans with an Italian girl named, Guilia.  The threesome is determined to win a triathlon so that they can buy a scooter.  I love the events in their triathlon:  swimming, eating pasta, and bike riding.  While the movie is definitely made for kids, I am so glad that I got to watch it.  I took away so much for myself.  BE BRAVE, BE BOLD, BE YOU!  Luca, Alberto, and Guilia grow through their experiences in the movie and Luca finds the courage to be himself even if it means giving up certain hopes and dreams.  I'm coming away from watching this movie with the confidence to chase some bold goals---please know that none of my goals include swimming. 😜

I've also been reading some great books and I hope to finish 4 more books during July.  Two of the books I'm reading are Mere Christianity by CS Lewis and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  If you have some great book recommendations, please do share them with me. 

Wrapping Up June

While I didn't get as much running in during June as I had originally hoped, I did enjoy lots of time with my family.  My Garmin goals only hit 21/30 days.  I can do better in July.

My Made to Move 10K was pretty rough and so I am glad that my pace for our July 4th race was nearly a minute per mile faster.  

My 5th annual ICE CREAM STREAK was successful with 30 days of ice cream.  Culver's was probably the most popular ice cream I consumed followed by Phish Food from Ben and Jerry's.  3rd Place goes to Happy Joe's Feature Flavor and the close 4th place of Vesperman Farms.  I haven't had any ice cream in July but I'm sure that I will have some while I am visiting Virginia this week.

My final wrap up on June are 2 connections to my "professional life."  I finished Unit 2 of my LETRS training and have a pretty great score.  I also renewed my Illinois teaching license just to keep my options open.

Planning ahead and working toward goals is something I hope will help me.

Big goals require dedication and commitment not just interest....  Here's to chasing BIG Goals in July and August.

Friday Five

 Hello and Happy FRIYAY!   This week marks the mid point of 2021.

Here's a #fun #fridayfive of #summer  for my 900th Instagram post:

1.  Summer is my favorite season.  One of my favorite things during the summer months is fireworks!

2. While I am not an outdoorsy person I do love time outside.  This week I spent time outdoors walking, running, reading, and just relaxing.  Hopefully I will get some biking time outside next week.

3. As much as I love summer and outdoors, I don't like swimming.   I hated swimming lessons as a kid.  My younger sister was in a higher swim level than I was by the time I was in 3rd grade.  I admire anyone who swims/lifeguards because I couldn't ever do it.

4. My favorite TV show right now is Rebel with Katey Sagal and Andy Garcia.  I'm a little behind on episodes.  Maybe I love the show for its storyline or maybe I love the show because of Andy Garcia.   Have you seen it?

5. I'm currently reading Radium Girls and it is absolutely intriguing to me. Even though it's about the early 1900s, it's really making me think differently about things today.  If you've read it (or seen the movie), I'd love to know what you thought. 

#headupheartout #fridayfive #ffcrew #zoomarunclub #fellowflowers #stillirun 

Be a Winner....

 For about a month I have been really thinking, deliberately reflecting, about what it means to win.  I know that seems like a really silly thing to be pondering and putting so much into but I while watching different spring sporting events that my kids have been in and working on my own fitness, I struggled with what it really means to win.  

When I would run half marathons when I first started running in 2011, I remember my own kids and even my students asking me after the races if I had won.  I would always giggle and explain that no I hadn't won but sometimes finishing is an accomplishment.  There were a couple of times that I did "win."  For example at the 2015 Riverview Run 10K, I was the first place woman runner.  It was a small race and I was running really great paces with every mile in the 8s.  My whole thinking around this idea of winning has been brewing since I would watch Will's track meets and Kate's soccer games this spring. 

What does it mean to win?  

There are days lately where I feel like "winning" is simply making it through the day and getting all the things I need to completed.  As I was preparing to run the Fellow Flowers Made to Move 10K in Madison on June 12, I knew I was not going to win or be in the top 3 for my age group.  A few years ago that would have crushed me.  A few years ago I was in a different place.  Winning on June 12 was simply getting my rear to the event, toeing the start line, and completing all 6.2 miles with a smile.  That was a HUGE WIN for me and I am proud of that.  

Over the last year plus, I have come to realize that winning comes from your MINDSET.  

My dear, amazing daughter has really helped me see that.  Her attitude is amazing. She focuses on the positive in every situation.  When I, too often, hold onto the suck and the negativity, she finds the positive.  She is optimistic about everything and I am so proud of her for helping me to really learn from hard lessons and use them to put effort into the positive.  

While watching my son compete in track, I felt his frustration at times.  The events he was in were all individual and he would often feel defeated with his performance.  Winning in track is definitely different from team sports and that was a good thing and a bad thing for my competitive son who did NOT think it was good enough to come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th.... or so on.  

As I would watch both of my kids compete this spring I thought a lot about what it meant to win and then I wondered why winning was so important.  

I was not an athletic kid.  My competitions were in academics.  I could win spelling bees and academic bowl meets.  I could have the highest GPA possible and take all the college prep classes.  I could give the Valedictory Address at graduation but I had no idea how to be a winner. Winning seemed tied to the athletics and not so much my academics until my recent concentration on winning and what it means to win.

I have come to the decision that sometimes winning means simply letting go.  

As I have been running some of my miles I have been trying to absorb my feelings into my heart and transfer those into my legs with each step and then let it go.  Winning is learning how to feel the frustration and manage the joy of success, too.

It's time for me to make some plans to improve and get back to being a winner.  This #medalmonday from Made to Move is my first step toward being a winner again.