Two months until Across the Years 24 hour race

This is the story of the original Strolling Jim Horse

Well I have been running, doing weight watchers, and really striving towards new heights this past month.  So far this month I have been able to train my mind and body pretty well with two runs in the 35-40 mile range over the weekend.  Man these runs are tough but so satisfying at the same time especially when I KNOW that they are preparing me for a much more challenging race………..Across The Years.  This is a 24 hour race and my goal is to break my previous distance record of 63 miles.  I did that in 16 hours I think so I don’t think I will be there at the moment with my conditioning but the funny thing is, this isn’t the BIG goal race for me.  This race is going to really prepare my mind and body for my favorite race of all time which is the Strolling Jim 40 miler held in Wartrace, Tennessee.  This race holds a special place in my heart.  Oh, getting off track lol.

I have a few months to prepare for the 24 hour race.  Just in case you are interested in knowing what preparing for a race like this means here is a little bullet point outline

• Visualize the race in a quiet place AND while running
• Losing more weight and eating healthier
• Doing some resistance training as these long ultras take their toll on many different parts of your body especially your back and shoulders
• Running 4-5 times per week
• Super long run every 2 or 3 week that is from 10 hours to maybe 15 once I get closer
• Staying positive and not letting the naysayers make me believe I am crazy for striving to be my best
• Talking it all over with a coach once per week

And finally, just keeping on keeping on with the good habits that always create a new us!

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Simple ways to get out when you don’t really want too.

There are times (I had them all week lol) that it feels hard or like you don’t want to get out and run, exercise, walk, etc.  So what do you do then.  How do you trick yourself into doing what you really do want to do but don’t feel like at the time.  Well, I think you have to build a habit around the thing you want to do.  Like get your running clothes on the same way and do things that create a routine around it.  So then, even when you don’t feel like doing it, if you can START the routine your mind will kick into gear and get you through the rest of the routine/habit.  So here is what I did this weekend when I didn’t want to get out there.

 

 

 

1.  I put on my running clothes even though I kind of intended to still skip the run.

2.  I put on my running shoes even though I was laying down on the bed.

3.  I told myself, NUMEROUS times that I could just go out and walk.  (Remember, I was supposed to run but to just go out and walk STARTS the routine ya know what I mean

4.  I stepped outside to feel what the weather was like and wake the hell up

5.  I put my watch on and got Ipod ready.

6.  I started my walk which eventually turned into a run because I was now IN my routine and it all felt pretty “right”.

That’s all folks

Step by step the weight comes off

Losing weight is a son-of-a-gun!  It takes time.  It takes effort.  It takes pain.  It takes deprivation LOL.  Well you don’t have to actually deprive yourself but there really shouldn’t be anymore “eat the whole large pizza” nights. HAHAHA.  I lost weight this week and feel pretty darn good about it so I tried to celebrate the victory and reflect.  I remembered that losing weight is both a mental and physical journey.  In both aspects all it takes is one step after another.  I remembered that it takes time and patience is essential to our success.  I realized that just doing the small things right, day after day, as boring as it can get will give you the results that you want.  Sometimes the pathway to success is not so exciting and that is ok because it is not excitement that gets the job done.  IT’S ACTION.

Update on the journey

img. credit:www.tynesweb.com

This is an update on my journey.  The funny thing about being on a journey, whether it be weight loss or personal growth or whatever, is that there is no end to it.  Just like the road in this picture, a persons journey is a long and eventful passing of time which makes you into the person you are.   Often times the journey takes you on a road that is up hill. LOL.

Anyway, I have kept the weight loss faith.  I have not forgotten what it takes to succeed and win some of the battles that we all have to fight.  I don’t always win but I get my share.  Since shortly after the start of 2014 I have lost significant weight, I am happy as heck with my family at home, and my journey has taken me to a place I NEVER dreamed that it would take me.  Well……….I guess I dreamed of it I just never thought it would come to reality.  The last post I wrote on the blog was in November 2011 and it was set to private because it was deeply intense and personal.  The things I wrote in that blog were things I only dreamed of, things I never thought I would experience because the things I was currently experiencing at that time were so bad that I figured I could never grow strong enough to create change in my own life.  Well, I did!!!!  Actually, I can hardly believe that I did it.  Maybe someday I will share that part of my journey with you.

On the eating and exercising front I am winning the daily battles.  The weight gained is now coming off at a good clip, my fitness level is increasing dramatically, and my mind is being refreshed with new vigor.  I never did gain all my weight back but I did gain a good portion of it.  It was hard, REALLY hard because you begin to think you are a bad person or that you are not worth what you once were.  That is bull crap.  You are worth it and you are still that same ole’ person who has desires and dreams and hopes that all things can be possible for you.  It just so happens that you are in a shell that you aren’t happy with, a shell that keeps that “good” you from coming out, a shell that diminishes the power of happiness in your life.  Sure you can still be happy and you would be better off if you COULD BE but your mind plays tricks on you.  It tricks you into believing you are LESS when you weigh more.  The sooner that you can realize this the sooner you can take the bull by the horns so you can go for it and get what you want.  Life is ahead of us, and life is really short………..I am taking the simple daily steps to get the most out of my life. 

Oh yeah, last week I also just finished my 27th marathon.  It was my slowest one, and by far the most difficult but a great victory nonetheless. 

Weight watchers: if you blow it……..hold on cuz it might not be so bad

So yesterday I had a scare at work that basically through me (somewhat unknowingly) into myemotional eating persona. LOL.  It was stressful that’s for sure and the minute somebody asked me if I wanted some fast food I hoped right on that band wagon without a thought.  Then I felt guilty about it and ate a bunch of candy.  All in all I ate 91 WW points for the day.  It was a true blow up but I stopped it after the candy since I was actually pretty dang full of the yummy fatties.  I wasn’t going to count any of those points but today I decided it is what it is and I should count it.  I turned out that it was not such a horrible blow up after all.  Sure I emotionally ate which I don’t like to get into when I can help it but even after counting all 91 points I still have 13 weekly points left.  That was a huge relief and I could have enjoyed many more hours of “NON-GUILT” if I would have just counted it right away and known the truth.  So it was a good lesson RELEARNED!!!  If you blow it, just hold on, stop, and count the calories/points.  It is usually not as bad as you think it is.  It is the guilt that you let fester that kills you because you hop right back into that bad healthy cycle.

Today was a much better day for eating.  I also ran.  Yesterday I didn’t run because of the work emergency and the mass amount of food made me to full to run.  But I was back at it today.  It was a drizzling dark night tonight with heavy heavy fog.  The run was tough, I ran faster than I normally do and I just wasn’t in to it.  I didn’t enjoy it that much but sure was happy that I did it.  Here are a couple of pics from the run.

this is what my run looked like to me. it was actually pretty beautiful and neat

Creating an atmosphere of confidence in your mind for your journey

image from studentbranding.com

I had a terrific week and a few days ago I wrote a lot about the confidence I had in running long distance training or race runs.  As I ran my 6 mile run today I thought and thought and thought about this but I didn’t know I was until I finished.  I said to myself mid-way that I should go for ten miles because I knew I could do it and it would increase my long run distance build-up faster.  I held back though.  I thought to myself that I am 100% sure that even right now I could push through and battle out a marathon finish.  I mean heck, when there is so much on the line (a finishers shirt!!!  🙂 ) you always finish.  I know I could.  Would it be really fun?  Would it be “relaxing” and benificial?  Would it foster good thoughts or bad ones?  Then it struck me about training for me personally.  My body responds well to pretty much any kind of training I think.  I recover well.  I can go a long ass ways.  But it REALLY struck my that a conservative build-up (like the one I did when I first started running) did more for creating an ATMOSPHERE OF CONFIDENCE within my own mind than it did for creating a super fit person.  Of course the super fit goes along with the running but the multiple ultras and marathons, the way I explained to myself in my writing how I thought and felt going into a race, the sense of almost scoffing at a distance (with respect though) because I had done the work in the trenches far before hand.  It struck me that the ATMOSPHERE OF CONFIDENCE in my own mind was what I need to foster more than anything.  THAT is what creates IN ME the ability to stick with it, the ability to enjoy it, the ability to endure much longer distances.  In other words, I held back.  I cherished the “small” 6 mile victory.  I saw in my minds eye the red line on my confidence meter bump up because I finished my 6 miles in complete comfort and with a sigh of satisfaction followed by a smile.  There is plenty of time to build-up to 20, 30, 40 mile long runs.  I was reminded of the times where I had a 30 mile long run and I felt this exact same way when I finished: in comfort and with a smile.  Not sore for days, happy I did it, confident I could do it again. 

 

It also then dawned on me that training (or even starting exercise for the non-exerciser) is  a work of creating that atmosphere of confidence in the mind.  Making sure to work it in a way to create small victories to maximize and ensure that the confidence builds.  The body will make the changes it needs to, but the mind almost needs to be tricked into believe in itself if that makes sense.  It may seem slow forcing delayed gratification but suddenly you end up doing 50 times more than you ever thought feeling like its easy just like that 6 mile run.  I am committed to this.  Developing that atmosphere of confidence, developing that consistency of victory.  Maybe not moving on too fast but making sure I have lots of victories along the way.  Building, building, building.

 

Hopefully that all made sense because I just rambled a lot. LOL.

A new dawn ahead: Weight Watchers, Running, and a Fresh start

A new year is ahead of us.  This year has been a very wild ride for me personally.  I have not been posting here at all for sometime for various reasons but have not stopped writing because writing is something that helps me learn about myself, my ways, and my weight loss journey.  I hope that I have not lost all my friends here.  I am going to start posting regularly again and I am pretty darn excited about it.  Please feel free to join in on my adventures for 2011. 

For starters, I have gained about 50 lbs.  Yeah that is a lot but what can I do about it now except move forward into a new and exciting dawn. 

This was during my run tonight.

Here I am just days ago during my family christmas

Running

Part of the weight gain came about because of a serious burn out on running that was largely due to personal life stuff that I described on the blog earlier this year.  I tried hard to hold on to all the running I was doing but I just couldn’t, not with the mental stress and life changes.  Plus, I was working really hard on balance. I think I went to far with it though………….LOL!  So I never stopped running but I cut way back and am currently on my way back to running more and getting fit.  Come along with me as I progress again in my fitness, endurance, and running.  I feel like I am practically starting all over with running but I am far from that I think.  Still, way out of shape in my opinion and the extra wait is not fun to run around with.

Weight Watchers

I am, as you may have guessed, doing weight watchers for the “healthy eating” portion of my journey.  I get lots of points on this new POINTS PLUS plan.  Seems pretty well.  At the current time I am not going to meetings but doing it online.  I am having good success with it so far and plan to continue that for sure.  With the exception of xmas day I am eating pretty good and counting EVERYTHING. I know what to do, I am not making excuses, and I will succeed. Soon enough I will look like this again. LOL

Stay tuned to the blog to follow my journey-a-fresh.  I am excited and I hope that my posts can help you on your own journey with real life inspiration.  IT’S GOOD TO BE BACK.  I AM COMING BACK TO MOVE FORWARD!!!