Running has enabled me to better deal with life in general... to roll with the punches, to deal with bad situations and celebrate the good. When things/people annoy me
(I'm an opinionated person, it happens), I'm able to internalize it... and then
let it all out as my Asics breeze the pavement. With each step, my worry and stress wash away. I'm not saying everything is peaches afterward, but I usually finish the run with a better perspective.
The things that tick me off are the
very things that fuel my run. It's one of the reasons I like solo runs. I fall deep into thought about situations happening in my life. And typically the more upsetting they are, the harder I run. On my long run yesterday, I choose a hilly 6 mile loop to do twice. I thought a lot about
SUAR's cousin Sherry... and
Miss Zippy's recent post about "not giving up, not letting evil win." It pushed me up those hills and got me through 12.5 miles in the cold.
(It also reminded me to put my pepper spray and pocketknife in my pocket before heading out.)
In general, it's pretty easy to emotionally fuel my RUNS. Now when it comes to weight loss, that motivation has to burn 24 hours a day for months on end to keep me away from the chocolate and pizza! A bit more difficult to stay focused. A week before the
Weight Loss Challenge started at my local gym, a friend backed off my team to create her own. I was a little hurt... and kinda ticked when she said, "
But Jess, you don't have enough to lose... and I want to win." She probably meant this as a compliment, but I didn't take it that way. I read into it as...
YOU CAN'T
You Can't lose enough to be an asset.
You Can't produce results.
You Can't win.
Thoughts like this stimulate me beyond measure. I get fired up. I take challenges seriously, and whether she realizes it or not, one was just laid down with that comment. So in week 1 of our Weight Loss Challenge, it was my fuel, my fire.
Each time a run got hard, I made myself think about the You Can't.
Oh-yes, I CAN! And I picked up the pace.
When I craved a snack, the You Can't sign on my fridge convinced me to grab a handful of carrots instead of my normal afternoon chocolate. I CAN make the right decisions.
After nailing sub-9 paces on my tempo run this week, I thought about my upcoming Half Marathon in February. PR? Just maybe... I CAN!
While on vacation this past weekend, weigh-in results from my team began to roll in. I started to doubt myself. Would I be able to stack up? Well I'm here to prove... I CAN! My official weigh-in was
-8.5 lbs for week one. That's a weight loss of
4.7%. I was beyond pleased. I'm not jumping on any fad diet or starving myself. I'm making whole meals for my family to eat together each night... just selecting the right foods to support my vigorous training.
(See my Photo Food Journal on FB here.) Here's what I got done last week Jan. 9-15...
Run 33 miles
Bike 44 miles + 1 Spinning class
Swam 1500yds + 1 water workout
Yoga DVD twice
Boxing workout once
Strength Training twice
Ab/Core workout four times
Hell-Yeah, that's one good week!
And I plan to do it again. Here's this week's blueprint...
My point of all this is not to toot my own horn. As we all know from watching
The Biggest Loser, week one of weight loss is always big - week two is the true test. My point is that whatever chip is on your shoulder, whatever person is bugging the crap out of you... USE IT! Use that emotion to fuel your workouts. Even if you have to exaggerate it a bit, the emotional power can bring your workouts to incredible heights.
Now someone please piss me off this week and be my fuel! Hahaha!
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