Love For Yourself and Others
He’s Hooked! Hubby’s First 5K
March 28, 2011
Hubs and I did a race over the weekend — the Phillies 5k at Citizen’s Bank Park. It was his first race and (obviously) our first race together. In fact, I’m pretty sure that he’s never run longer than a mile before. I’ve done quite a few and was so excited when he let me talk him into doing it. Even though it was freezing out, it was a good first race since a few of our friends did it with us and the crowd was fun and friendly.
Our strategy
Billy didn’t “train” for the run and neither did I. He did about one mile twice the week of the race; my ankle and knee have been bothering me for weeks. So, our plan was just to go slow and steady. To be honest, I got a little worried when we were just out of the lot and he asked me how long I thought we had gone. Um, maybe a quarter of a mile?
Our plan was good though. He didn’t lose gas, and neither did I. I’ve learned that lesson before — it’s so easy to just take off with the pack and sprint — but with that, if you’re not conditioned, you can exert too much energy, get exhausted and have nothing left. The group carried us and I felt like we were going at a decent pace.
Toward the end, I’d say the last ¾ of a mile, I suggested we pick up the pace. My body felt good and I had all the energy in the world. He tells me that he’s going to lose his shoe, and I’m thinking GREAT. With the end in sight, he makes me pull over to the side while he ties it up (with frozen fingers). Rookie mistake! Out of love, I do.
Then, like the scene from Stand By Me when the boys start sprinting through the junk yard, I yell – “SPRINT!!!!” If it was a straight run and I didn’t have to dodge people, I would have beat Billy.
Our times came in and he beat me by two seconds, and we were both under 35 minutes.
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Choose YOU. Get Healthy!
March 19, 2011
Day 33 on Four Hour Body. I feel sick since it’s my Cheat Day and my body can’t deal with junk food.
I’m that type of person who’s all or nothing. Until about 33 days ago, I approached diet and exercise just leisurely. In the rest of my life, however, I was intense. If I was going to be a kickboxing instructor, I had to be the best ever — motivating, creative, dynamic, fresh, new, challenging. If I was a dancer or cheerleader (hs and college), you better bet I was front and center and earned my spot there. When I started writing, I had no idea. So, I volunteered for things, took harsh criticism and made my best effort to just keep learning and growing with it. I wrote freelance stuff — sometimes for free — so I could get as much experience as possible. People took me under their wing and I’m happily still working in marketing communications for a hospital.
Learning more about myself and using it to my advantage
Now, I’m all about diet and exercise. I’m reading as much as I can. Talking to people, learning about their experiences and what works. In that, I’ve figured out what works for me. I’ve let go of the mindless, emotional or inconsistent eating. I’ve tried to eliminate foods that aren’t nutritious, and I love it! People say I’m really disciplined and determined, but it’s just my personality. I’m all in. 100 percent.
Determining a goal
My initial goal wasn’t to lose weight. It was just to change my lifestyle. I still don’t know what my goal weight is. All I know is that life was stressful, and I was overcommitted to things — as so many of us are. And, the things I talked about above, being the best EVERYTHING — wife, daughter, cousin, friend, sister, aunt, teacher, writer, blogger — is a lot. I think I was trying so hard to be good for everyone else — to be thoughtful, motivational, someone people count depend on — and it was too much, especially since there were many real-life stresses going on.
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Create a “Facebook” Journal
January 26, 2011
I am so grateful for little moments and memories. Yesterday, I taught a kickboxing class at my brother’s karate studio and got there a bit early. I got to spend some time with my nieces and pinned their hair back all cute with a twisty bubble.
After class, I saw a little boy. His shirt said “New York” with a small logo and I thought it was a Giants shirt — hub’s team. It was actually a Rangers shirt, and I asked him if he was a fan. He was like — I don’t know, my dad just picked this shirt up somewhere. (Haha, how cute!)
So my niece, stops doing about 10 cartwheels and says, “I’m a Phillies fan.” She unzips her sweatshirt and low and behold, a Halladay/Phillies shirt. YOU GO GIRL!!!
Record these memories
Don’t let go of all the moments that make you happy. Why not buy a notebook and write one or two sentences to sum up the day or something cool that happened.
For example: “I’m a Phillies fan.” Low and behold, a Halladay/Phillies shirt.
Think of it like a Facebook update or something you’d write to your bff. Short, sweet and simple. Kinda like the messages my college roommate and I exchanged this week:
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey.”
“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.”
Hope you like this idea!
Gabby was so excited when I told her I wanted to take her picture. She posed so patiently in her Phillies shirt!
AllThingsGwen.com is my unofficial guide to health and happiness. It's a chronical of me finding my way.
I encourage you to think about “AllThings[YOUR NAME HERE]” and what’s really, truly important to you. Hope you enjoy my recipes, fitness tips, motivational posts and aha moments.
- !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Got my lucky Giants sweatshirt on. Bill's wearing his lucky Alfred Hitchcock tee, brown zip up and Merrell sweatband.
- Whenever I'm super sore, I make my husband undress me. It's not sexy by any means.
- Enjoying Dim Sum with my husband. Giants SuperBowl tradition!
- Enjoyed my Crossfit workout with friends! Totally shin planted on box jumps and may have punctured an ovary, but it's all good! :)
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