Good morning!
So, I think I set out to start writing again and I was really excited to sit down at the computer this morning...then I got distracted by reading up on some blogs I had stopped following and now I am completely confused. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but not I am all overwhelmed with new thoughts swirling based on what I have seen other people doing...
But I am not other people. I am me. I am going to write what I want and I am going to trust that YOU are going to read if you like it and move on if you don't. Ok?
Anyway, I have much to tell! A lot has been going on around here. Not only "here" as in, in my house (um, can you say school starts in just one month?!?! For ALL FOUR!!!), but also "here" as in, my world. Where do I even begin???
1. Baby Boot Camp. Feels like a great place to start. Because it kind of started me back in the whole working out "thing". I joined back in February after reading about their meetups (safely via e-mail) for probably a year. I noticed an email about a "Challenge" and you all know how I love a good challenge! I went to my first workout class and loved it. Not only did I love the workout (because holy moly, turns out running doesn't involve many arm muscles!), but I absolutely adored the women I met that day. So nice and encouraging and just there to workout together and coo at each other's babies and make friends! It was awesome. Still is awesome, by the way. You can check out their website (
www.babybootcamp.com) to see if there is a class near you and for more details, but the overview for Charlottesville is that we have the option of attending any or all of the 5 days a week classes held 9:15-10:15. You bring your child/ren and they are free to play or sit in the stroller while you work out! All of the exercises incorporate a stroller and there is tickling of babies and singing of silly kid songs....all while working out! It's super fun. Our head instructor is Kira and I am just such a fan of hers. She rocks. And kicks my rear on a regular basis. However regular I can make it to class, that is. Ha! So, at the beginning of the challenge, I was weighed and measured and we had certain fitness tests we did...then we did all of the above again at the end (plus a few times throughout the three months). Would you believe I lost NO weight (ugh), but increased my push-up ability from 9 in 1 minute to 30 in 1 minute!??!! Real push-ups, by the way. I definitely was feeling fitter and even running became easier with all of the cross-training....this was very important because of my next topic....
2. My sister, Jo. Back in April, I believe, maybe even March? I think April, though. Jo began dieting to lose weight. And lose weight she DID. She joined Cross Fit and was feeling excited about those workouts, but also came to me and expressed an interest in running with me! At the time, I was not running much. I, obviously, still wanted to, but I just had no running buddies and was finding all sorts of excuses to get out of it anytime I had a run "scheduled". So, for the month of February (when I began concentrating on Baby Boot Camp as often as possible), I literally logged 7 miles run for the MONTH. 7. Miles. Ugh. Somehow I even dropped to THREE miles for the month of March!!! What?!? (I am pulling these numbers from dailymile because I always made it a point to log every run on there, but I am just really feeling like maybe I forgot to log a run or two or more?!?) Anyway, regardless, you see what I mean about dropping back on my running. I probably hit the gym a time or two and did some elliptical. Okay - so Jo comes to me and wants to begin running with me. As I watch her drop all of this weight and get serious about fitness, I start to get inspired by her! I start to remember what it was like in the beginning! It's amazing! In April, I logged 23 miles...likely most, if not all, were with her. We started a little bit slow, but quickly upped the mileage. I wanted her to start with the Couch to 5K program so she wouldn't get injured, but I realized quite fast that she was ready to GO! So, we got out of that training once we ran 3 miles without stopping and she felt fine. We ran our first 5K (together) on June 1 and finished in 32 minutes. Jo said she hated every minute of it, but she's still running with me....so it must not have been that bad! As I watched her improve, I realized I wanted to be a part of her running career forever....so that meant I had to make sure I improved as well. And kept improving. I found a half marathon, we signed up, and now we are training to run that in September! We train together two days a week and then hold each other accountable for the other 1-2 runs. Luckily, I have more people holding me accountable....because....
3. I started a Couch to 5K running group on Mondays and Thursdays! I am having the best time with these women. Although, I should say we had one man consistently coming...no, wait, 2! So, I should say I am having the best time with these people. One day I was out on a run by myself. I had started the Runner's World run streak (run one mile each day between Memorial Day and 4th of July), and I really wasn't sure what I was feeling up to. So, I headed out with the intent to run 1 mile. I ended up running 5. I felt SO good and light and just FAST....it was awesome. I did a lot of praying during that run and a lot of listening, just checking in to see if there was something more I needed to be doing. I felt so incredibly moved and led to SHARE my love of running and the changes it has made in my life. I realized I wanted others to know you don't have to be fast and you don't even have to love it all the time. You just need to be out there and know that your body CAN RUN. Every
body can do it. It doesn't have to mean your feet are far off the ground and your legs are spread in a sprinter's stance. You just have to get out there and set your mind to something. Also, the close relationship my sister and I now share (after a long 30+ years), is completely due to all the running we do together. When was the last time you sat with a friend and talked, with no distractions, for over an hour? It's virtually impossible in my world. Our runs are our gab time. We are doing something healthy for ourselves (in more ways than one) and we just talk and talk and talk. In the beginning, it was mostly me doing the talking as Jo figured out her breathing and pace techniques, but now the time just flies by. And somehow, even after almost 2 hours sometimes, we still have stuff to talk about later! :) I'm getting off track. So, I have a couple of women who have been very consistent in showing up to the track on Monday and Thursday nights and even doing a workout on their own at home during the off days. They are amazing. They have no idea how much they inspire me with their own determination to DO this thing they really weren't sure they could do at first! They show up and they work. I simply asked everyone to get out of their "comfort zone" whatever that may be. I truly am okay with someone showing up and just walking the 30 minutes, but to see them pump their arms and get their heart rate going when I blow the whistle is just awesome. I have started running with them to chat their ears off and distract them from the run times :) They all promise they like it. With it getting so hot in the past couple of weeks, I have had several people drop out, but I have confidence they will come back when things cool down. The hard core ladies who have stuck it out with me will continue to progress and I have no doubt they are already inspiring many with their perseverance. I have a "group" that starts at 7 and then I start another workout at 7:30. Speaking of them being inspirational leads me to my next big news....
4. I am going to be a part of an article in Fitness magazine! About a year ago a friend of mine contacted me to let me know she had given my name as having been instrumental in inspiring her to get fit when asked by a freelance writer. This reporter/writer (?) contacted me to ask who was my inspiration. At the time I gave the name of Ashley, who you may remember from her guest appearances on here. :) She was the first person to ever tell me about the Couch to 5K program and I think you can tell from this entire posting alone how much I love that program. Ha ha! So, I gave Ashley's name and then didn't hear anything for quite some time...then all of a sudden the reporter e-mails back (several months ago) and tells me the magazine has decided to run the story and I will need to interviewed. Well, that was exciting enough, right? I get the phone call and chat with her at great length. She ends the call by saying I will be contacted regarding a photo shoot. Wait, a what? Yes. A PHOTO SHOOT!!! So, that was cool. My thoughts were all over the place, I had no idea what to expect. A photo shoot? What on earth? I get a few emails about scheduling and then it was set up completely....they bought me a plane ticket to Little Rock, Arkansas. I was going to be photographed by a professional photographer, complete with hair and makeup artists! Eek! I don't even know how to explain the grand ol' time I had. Let's begin with the fact that I was gone from my kids and husband for 2 days. 2 glorious days. Before you get all judgmental about my honesty, just know it has been a LONG summer. We have hit some horrible ages and there seems to be nothing but fighting on most days in this house. Truly. This break from all of them was long overdue. And it was very, very much appreciated. So, I get to see Ashley who I haven't seen in over 2 1/2 years. It felt like no time had passed. Then I get to go to dinner with Ashley for lots and lots of conversation and no worries about being home at a certain time. It was just perfect. Her daughters were spending the night at her mom's, so we even got to go home and just chat with her husband and try on all of the clothes we had been sent for the photos. I swear, I felt 21 again! :) Not that I got photographed at 21...just the whole trying on clothes together and being silly. The photo shoot was the next morning. I actually thought I was going to get up early and get a run in, but I instead decided to lay in bed and enjoy the silence. Ahhhhhh. We showered and headed to the Scott Plantation. I am not going to give a ton of details on the whole shoot because I feel like I've already typed so much, but I will just say having your hair professionally done and then someone follow you with hair spray for the rest of the morning - then having makeup applied to make you look natural and beautiful (how did she DO that??)....and makeup artist follow with some powder to keep you looking that way even in the hot sun. Oh, a girl could get used to all of that. I didn't even mind all the smiling for a few hours! I will say, though, that we totally napped later that afternoon. Getting to meet Ashley's daughters (one of whom I met when she was 2-ish) and hang out with her and just relax with no pressure....there aren't words to express how great that was. I came home feeling refreshed and ready to get back in the daily mess of my household. Truly refreshed. So, the article is set to be in the November issue and I CANNOT WAIT!
I think I'm going to stop here. Mostly because my children have been running through the house screaming and fighting this entire time and I am sick of getting up and down from the computer. :) But also because I am not even sure anyone will have time to read all of this mess! Now that you have mostly been brought up to current day, I plan to continue blogging each day about our half marathon training and the Couch to 5K group. I want to be sure to document feelings expressed by everyone so I can bring it back up and show them how far they've come if they begin to get frustrated later on in this program. I also hope to one day share stories straight from them. I want to SHARE inspiration and success stories and sometimes even some not-so-successful stories that ended up being successful in other areas. One message I keep taking from church is to just JUMP. Get out there and do what it is you have been feeling led to do and have FAITH that you will succeed. And even if that success doesn't look the way you expected it to look, you have to believe that it was right in the grand scheme. I know that, even if I got injured today and had to stop running for a while...or, (ugh) forever...I have planted some seeds in others. I would continue to be with them in any way possible during their journey. It isn't about me proving anything. It is about assisting others to do things they don't entire believe are possible. Things they may have dreamt about doing, but came up with excuses about why not. I am loving the friendships I am making. Even if I don't see some of these people more than once or twice a week, I feel like these are some of the strongest relationships I have ever formed. And a woman cannot have enough strong friendships!
