"Stay With It!"

Yesterday, I ran my second half marathon!

It was hill after hill after hill after hill. Whoever said Kansas is flat is wrong!

The weather was cool and so foggy that you couldn’t see the top of the some of the hills.

It was hard.

Particularly at mile 12.

There was a steep hill at mile 12.

As I was running toward it, a man was running toward me--the wrong way! (Actually, I found out later he was one of several ultra marathoners, who, after running the 13.1 miles from Topeka to Auburn, turned around and ran 13.1 moremiles, from Auburn back to Topeka.)

I didn’t know if I could make it up that hill. As the ultra marathoner and I met, I said, “There’s another hill!”

“Stay with it! You’re almost there!” he encouraged me.

And those three words, “Stay with it!” were my mantra for the next 12 minutes!

And I finished, and I met each of my goals! I finished! I ran the entire way! And I eclipsed my time goal!

Here are a few things I learned during the race:

1. 1. The power of support. You can’t achieve a big goal without support. I stayed with one of my best friends in the world while I was in Topeka, and was able to relax into the support she provided me, from fabulous fresh-baked bread and a fantastic stew the night before the race, to a comfortable bed, to a fantastic tub for my post-race cold soak, to delicious chocolate chip cheesecake after the race, to delightful and meaningful conversations.
   

2. 2.The power of team work. I am so grateful for the organizers and volunteers who handed out Gatorade and water at the aid stations, who monitored the course on bikes and in cars to make sure all the runners were safe, who served us pancakes after the race, the photographer who got shots of all the runners and posted them on his website.
   

3. The power of surrounding yourself with successful people. Each person who ran that race was successful, and it was a joy to chat with. . .

1. •the lady from Minneapolis who said, “I’m slow, but I get the job done!”
   

2. •the gentleman from Topeka who used this race as part of his training for the Eugene Marathon.
   

3. •the kind lady at the start of the race who, having run half marathon many times, said, “It’s challenging, but doable,” when I was expressed concern about the hills.
   

4. •the experienced marathoner who won her age group and said to me during the pancake feed, said, “This is one of the hardest half marathons around!”
   

But what will stay with me forever was the brief encounter at mile 12 with the runner who said, “Stay with it!”

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Race Day Goals

In two days, I’ll be participating in my second half marathon. I’m excited and nervous! I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished during the past few months, and yet I’m not quite sure what’s going to happen on the day of the race.

I tend to be an all or nothing thinker, and so when someone suggested, a few months ago, to have three different goals for a race, I was intrigued and curious.

First, my running mentor said, have an attainable goal, a goal you know you can accomplish and feel good about.

Second, have a moderately-challenging goal--one that you might have to push a little to achieve, and yet you feel you can do it.

And third, have a very challenging goal, one that could happen for you if the stars align in perfect order on race day.

And so, my goals for the race this weekend are this:

My attainable goal is to finish the race. 13.1 miles is a long distance to go. I’ll be running on a course I’ve not run on before. There are some significant hills, and of course it’s January on the Great Plains. Weather conditions could change suddenly, and who knows what the wind will be like. But I’ve been training for the race for the past several months, and I feel confident that I can finish it.

My moderately-challenging goal is to run the entire way: no stopping, no walking. Run it all. I think I can do that, too.

And my very-challenging goal is a time goal. I’d like to finish it within 15 minutes my time in last May’s half marathon. I’d be really proud to see the clock say 2:37 when I cross the finish line.

Who knows what will happen on race day?

At this point I’m putting my faith in my training that I’ve done for the past few months. I’m intending that the weather be beautiful.

And most importantly, I am intending to listen to my body during the race, and find pleasure in 13.1 miles of eastern Kansas terrain.

Wish me luck!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Ann Ringlein's Marathon Justification Speech

Ann Ringlein is a competitive runner, manager of Lincoln Running Company and track coach at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She also leads, guides, teaches, and mentors the YMCA Marathon Training Class. She has kindly permitted me to pass this on to you. Enjoy!

From first hand experience I can tell you that training for a marathon/half-marathon takes tremendous dedication. The time and energy does not come easy in today’s busy life. Trying to fit in the miles often cuts into your time for sleep, at a point when your body actually requires more. To get this training you often have to hurry, and even skip meals, during a time when your body’s nutritional requirements are at an all time high. To top it off, your family, friends and business associates will offer you about as much sympathy for your plight as if you had a hangover! And to think we haven’t even discussed the physical pain and exhaustion of the actual event!

Now, I just hope that I can explain it in words. You have heard that nothing good comes easy. Nowhere is this more true than at mile 13 in the half-marathon and at mile 26 in the marathon! To understand the difficult of running 13 and 26 miles is one thing, but what is the good that comes from it? Once again, from experience I can tell you the accomplishment of running a half-marathon and a marathon will have life long effects. Putting a problem into perspective, studying possible solutions, overcoming obstacles and meeting your objectives are all part of this training. Your success will carry over into your business and your family life. The half-marathon/marathon is a crash course in time management. So often we are reactive and not proactive in life. Well, training for these distances will help us attack life with a plan! Many of life’s problems on the surface seem insurmountable, much like running continuously for 13.1 or 26.2 miles! To train for these distances, you need a plan. In this class we will research the subject, look to experts, and devise a plan.

The distance runner’s lifestyle is a healthy one. When training for these distances, you naturally begin living better. Knowing that you have a long run on Saturday will keep you out of trouble on Friday night! Know that you have a late afternoon run will assure you avoid a high-fat lunch. And unlike diets and promises, these lifestyle changes are easier because they’re part of a commitment of a bigger picture. You are taking the first steps into what will be the adventure of a lifetime! And, I hope, this will be a lifestyle for you forever!

The wonderful thing about about all of this is that you have this class. You are all going through this together. Some of you are first-time half-marathoners; some of you are first-time marathoners; some of you have run a half-marathon before, and some here have run many marathons. You all have something to add to this class and to share with each other. You will also learn something from each other and from yourselves. The best part of all this is, you have each other to count on to be there for the Tuesday and Thursday night runs; you have each other to help out on the long runs Saturdays--basically you are not alone and that is priceless! Enjoy each other, this process and the success it brings you in all aspects of your life.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Marathon Training Begins Today!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Training for the Lincoln Marathon/Half Marathon has officially begun. Woo hoo! Here we go!

This morning I had my first long run with my training class. I’m lucky that the local YMCA offers a class during the next four months to prepare people of all levels and abilities to run either the full or half-marathon.

Today was bone-chillingly cold, something like -4 degrees. And my schedule called for eight miles. While I was getting up and getting around in the pre-dawn hours, my head wasn’t in the game: “It’s so early. It’s dark. It’s really, really cold. Do I really want to do this? It’s the dead of winter. Do I really need to do this? What’s the point, anyway? Ugh. This sucks.”

But I layered up, got my gear together, met up with the group at the Y, and together we braved the Arctic air mass.

It really wasn’t too bad. In fact, it was actually fun! Considering that it wasn’t snowing, and there was no wind at all, the running part felt sort of easy. Of course, ice formed on everyone’s eyebrows and eyelashes, which were the only parts of most people’s faces you could see. There were a few icy patches on the roads. And at the turn-around point, my legs didn’t feel as great as they had four miles earlier. But I enjoyed chatting with several people during the run. I loved hearing them share stories of past marathons and other runners. In fact, one runner said, “I run so I can eat!” Me, too.

So, what’s the point of all this anyway? Have you ever seen a little kid run? Or a dog run? Have you seen the look of sheer delight and pleasure and fun that they’re having?

Running is fun, even in cold weather!

Mindless Eating

This is a topic I’m an expert in.

I’ve had years of practical experience.

I’ve eaten mindlessly in movie theaters.

I’ve eaten mindlessly at my desk at work.

I’ve eaten mindlessly in my car.

I’ve eaten mindless in other people’s cars.

I’ve eaten mindlessly in front of the television.

I’ve eaten mindlessly in meetings.

I’ve eaten mindlessly in my bedroom.

I’ve eaten mindlessly while standing in front of the refrigerator, wondering what I should eat.

And mindless eating was a direct reflection of my mindless living.

The less aware I was of what I put in my mouth, the less aware I was of how I lived my life.

Mindless eating for me was all about mindless living.

But when I infused pleasure into eating, mindlessness was replaced by mindfulness.

And I began to really taste my food.

I began to take pleasure in every aspect of food.

And as I took pleasure in food, I began to take pleasure in every aspect of my life.

The ripple effect of pleasure is far-reaching. . . .

Up Next: Fat-Acceptance v. Anti-Obesity--Is There a Middle Way?

Flying While Fat

I watched with great interest the news about director Kevin Smith’s being kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight because he was too fat. And I watched with interest the reaction to this event. I heard impassioned, nationally televised statements made by activists in the fat acceptance movement as well as activists in the anti-obesity movement.

And whether or not Southwest was right to ask him to leave a flight for which he was already is not the point of this blog entry. What interests me are the ideas expressed on both sides of the issue, and the underlying beliefs they reveal, and what they mean to me and to everyone who has released weight, or is in the process of releasing weight.

Kevin Smith himself said, “I am fat, and that’s how I conduct myself in this life.” I applaud him for making that statement. I applaud him for accepting 100 percent responsibility for his body weight. I applaud him for not blaming his weight issue on anything other than his personal choice.

And on the other side of this issue, a fat acceptance activist said that being heavy is not a choice. “Within three to five years, 93 to 95 percent of dieters gain back all the weight plus. So there’s really no way to make a fat person thin,” she said. This struck a nerve with me, particularly because, only a few years ago, I was fat. And now my weight is at a healthy place for my body. So clearly, you can make a fat person thin. I did it.

Unfortunately, implicit in this statement are ideas that, if the odds are that we’re just going to gain the weight back anyway, why bother? What’s the use? It must be hopeless, because that’s what the statistics tell us it is. We might as well give up, because it’s just not worth the effort. If we’re destined to lose the war, why would we even want to start fighting the battle?

As a formerly unhealthy fat person who has released a lot of weight, I know the odds are against me. I’ve lived much of my adult life surrounded by 40 to 50 extra pounds of weight. Genetically, I’m predisposed towards weight gain, as my mother is heavy, as were both my maternal and paternal grandmothers. I know that the road a fat person travels is not an easy one. I know what it’s like to be fat and invisible. I know that the road to a healthy body weight can seem overwhelming and scary and frustrating. I know that there are times when you may feel like giving up and that it’s just not worth the effort--that there’s no way you can change what seems to be your destiny. But the road to a healthy weight and a healthy loving relationship with your body doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. It is possible to love who you are, to accept who you are in this moment, and move in this moment towards feelings of health and vitality and wellness--and a healthy body weight!

And it is so worth the effort. It is so worth feeling energized where once you felt paralyzed. It is so worth feeing strong and fit where before you felt breathless from walking around the block. It is so worth being able to move your body easily through space, where before it was a struggle just to lift yourself off the couch.

I know that I could easily slip back into unhealthy behavior. But here’s the key that most diets don’t emphasize, and here’s my personal secret to releasing and maintaining weight: be vigilant and protective of your thoughts, and always focus on what your deepest desire. Always focus on what you really, really want. In any situation, ask, “What is the outcome I’m really seeking?” Answer this question, “What will bring me the most pleasure?” For me, today, what brings me the most pleasure will be found in choosing a tangelo over a donut, or enjoying the moonlight during a snowy nighttime run, or simply thanking my body for serving me so incredibly well during the past 48 years.

Yes, the odds are against all of us. But with pleasure and desire as our rock, our touchstone, our guiding light, I know that we can beat the odds.

For more information on my philosophy of releasing weight and services I offer, please visit my website: http://www.fallinlovewithyourbody.com or e-mail me directly at nannerl123@yahoo.com.

Up Next: Mindless Eating

Celebrate Everything!

We are coming out of a season of celebrations. Many of us are celebrating that 2009 is behind us, and a beautiful, clean, fresh, and exciting new year is just beginning. We’ve made our resolutions, set our goals, created a vision of ourselves and our future in 2010, and now we begin to live our life.

If your resolutions involve any attempt at self-improvement, whether it be losing weight, eating better, exercising more, or getting more rest, I would invite you to think about how you will celebrate your progress.

Celebrate everything you do that moves you in the direction you want to go. If you went for a walk on your lunch hour, celebrate that! If you took the stairs instead of the elevator, celebrate that! If you chose an apple rather something from the break room’s vending machine, celebrate that! Give your attention to appreciating and acknowledging each thing you do that moves you in the direction of your desires.

During my weight release journey, I knew that I was going to need lots and lots of rewards and acknowledgement, because I was changing deep-seated behavioral patterns and beliefs about who I was and what I deserved.

I knew that I was going to have to continually reinforceevery positive behavior, every positive change I was making.

And yet, for so much of my life, I celebrated my successes with food. Finishing a big project at school definitely called for dinner out. Winning an award at work definitely required ice cream. Finishing a long week definitely called for a weekend movie, and that weekend movie called buttered popcorn, candy, and soft drinks.

But I knew, as I was releasing weight, that I was going to have to celebrate my success without turning to food. I knew that I was going to have to find non-food ways to reward myself for releasing weight, for moving my body, and for eating healthfully.

For releasing weight, I chose to reward myself for every five pounds I lost. For intentionally being active and for eating healthfully, I became the the queen of stickers. And when I achieved my weight-release goal, I took a trip! Non-food rewards (flowers, notecards, pretty things, clothes, shoes, magazines, etc.) played a huge role in keeping me motivated through this intense journey.

What are some changes you’re looking forward to celebrating this year? And what will be your non-food ways to reward yourself?

Up Next: Food--Fuel or Love?