Out with the old, in with the new!

Here it is, 2010, quickly approaching. Why is it that the end of a year brings so much introspection and the beginning of a year brings so much hope? Does the changing of the date make that much difference? Could we possibly throw out the old and replace it with new?

If we are throwing out the old, how do we know just what to throw out?
I learned a while back that if you want to improve a system you must plan, do and review on a regular basis. Applying this to a year, I would say that we are at the point when we must review first.
What did I do well and what can I do differently? Did I make some improvements where they were needed? How can work smarter, rather than harder?
These are just some of the questions I have been asking myself the last couple of weeks. The process can be overwhelming, but if we never ask ourselves these things, we will never grow and improve.

The next step is to plan. How will I integrate the necessary changes into my life in the coming year? I have a whole year to work on this - I don't have to get it right immediately. I do have some time to work on it.

The final step is to do it. To borrow the phrase from Nike, "just do it!". Another phrase makes an excellent point - "You'll never know until you try." How true is that? So many times we desperately desire to make changes in our lives. We will never know if something works unless we step out and try it. So what if you fail! At least you'll know what works and what doesn't.

I promised myself last year that I would work on my running speed. I did that. I am still doing that. It has not been easy, but I stuck to it. I ran lower mileage and worked a consistent schedule. Guess what. I am faster than I was a year ago. That plan worked. It worked so well that I am still working it and plan to continue. Not all of my goals were reached. Some were unrealistic and others just fell by the wayside.

I will be more intentional this year. I will have a shorter "to do" list. I am going to categorize my goals - one business related, one marriage related, one parenting related and one personal. I'll have to think about if I am going to share them on here or not ;-) Maybe I should for accountability purposes.

These are my new year (and old year) thoughts. 2010, I am ready for you. It is going to be a good year. It is going to be a busy year. It is going to be a year of many changes for the Simpson household as I send TWO of my children off to college and I train for my 4th marathon.

Goodbye 2009, it has been a year, that is for sure. It has been a challenging year. It has been a year for growth. It has held times of deep sadness and profound anger. Curious? Maybe I'll share later. It has been a time of great joy and excitement, too. 2009, a year of extremes, I guess. All in all, I am grateful for a year filled with laughter, love, family and friends (new and old).

Welcome 2010 :-)

Holiday Running

I am often asked how to survive the holidays without "falling off of the wagon" - the exercise, healthy eating wagon, that is. After you have worked hard to lose weight and get healthy, heading into a period of time when you are surrounded by temptation can be difficult, to say the least!

I believe the keyword is expectations. What are your expectations? If you are expecting to lose weight, you probably need to step back and revise your expectations. If you don't, you will see temptation at every turn. There are so many opportunities to eat our favorite foods - parties, family gatherings and gifts from friends, family and neighbors. Depriving yourself during this time can lead to overeating later.

Instead, expect to maintain a good, moderate level of activity and plan to indulge a bit more than normal. If you are going to a party - contribute a healthy dish or eat something healthy before you go so that you are not as tempted when you get there. When faced with a buffet style situation, eat mainly what's healthy - fruits, veggies, proteins and eat smaller portions of the more indulgent foods.

As far as activity, keep a regular schedule - get out there and stay active. If you miss a day, don't beat yourself up, just be sure to get in some time the next day. Exercising through the holidays is a wonderful way to combat the added stress that a lot of people feel during this time.

Most of all, remember - everything in moderation.

Comparison running

You've heard of comparison shopping. Now I am going to tell you about comparison running. Comparison running can be a good thing and a bad thing. It depends on how much and why you are comparing and how that comparison motivates you.

When you run with a group, it is inevitable that you will compare yourself with everyone else out there. It is impossible not to do to some extent. Comparing yourself can be good in that it can motivate and encourage. I learn a lot by watching others and talking with them about their training. Everyone out there has something to share and something to offer the group.

Each person that walks/runs progresses at a different rate has their own set of challenges to overcome. One common obstacle is comparing ourselves with others and having unrealistic expectations that lead to discouragement.

There is a delicate balance between pushing enough, but not too much. It is important to push, otherwise we will never progress. For instance, to run faster you have to run faster. You have to push your muscles to places they are not comfortable going. If you don't, you'll stay where you are. Now, if you are happy with where you are, that's fine. If you are not happy with where you are, you have to step out and work towards that next goal by pushing yourself out of that comfort zone. This is what I have been working on lately - pushing myself to go faster. It is not easy, but it is working. Speed has not come quickly for me (pun intended!). I am picking up some speed, though. In the last year, I have shaved a minute off of my mile and I am not satisfied with that, so I will continue to push - not too much, but enough to accomplish my goal.

Set a goal. A goal that is right for you. Work towards that goal, looking to others for encouragement and knowledge to help you on your way. Step out of your comfort zone and reach for something new.

It's not about the speed

This is something I have to keep telling myself, as well as others - it's not about the speed. It is about getting up and getting out! It is about making the decision to be active rather than sedentary. It is about eating something that is good for you, rather than something that works against you.

With all of the wonderful gadgets out there, it can be difficult NOT to concentrate on speed. I have a watch that will tell me how far, how fast and how long I run. This can be a great tool when I am planning a run and need to know how long it will take. It is also a wonderful way to train for speed, so that I know - that very minute - how fast I am running or walking. However, it can also be a pain! Some days I get too wrapped up in how fast (or slow) I am moving. I lose sight of the fact that I am up and I am moving! I may not need to go that fast that day. I may benefit from a slower walk or run that day. I have just the remedy for this obsession when it becomes too much. I walk out of the door WITHOUT my watch. Yep! I do. I know this is unheard of for some, but I believe it is good for us every now and then to just get out there and go.

I think the next time I head out, it is time for me to leave the watch at home this time. Just go and enjoy, listening to my body and enjoying my surroundings - won't you join me?

Simple Disciplines

"Simple disciplines repeated over time compound into massive success." I heard this said many years ago and have referred back to it over and over again.

Training for a marathon, consists of repeating simple disciplines, day after day. The main discipline is, of course, getting in your miles. Getting up, putting on your running/walking gear and heading out the door for a few miles is easy to do. BUT, it is easy NOT to do. Every day is a decision. Will I or won't I? For those who decide, "I will", continue in their training, gaining strength and endurance with each walk or run. By the end of the training season, they are ready for a marathon. On the other hand, those who decide, "I won't", might continue in their training for a while, but eventually stop altogether and do not achieve their marathon success.

What are the things in your life that you say, "I won't" to today that could make the difference, if repeated over time? The only way forward is to take one step at a time. Do those simple things that are easy to do and will make a positive difference in your life.

People say to me, "I could never finish a marathon!". My response is, "You could if you began with one mile and over 40 weeks built on that one mile by increasing a little bit each week."

26.2 miles doesn't come from nothing and neither do most achievements. Most people who succeed do so because they are willing to do the simple disciplines it takes.

Oops. It has been too long.

So much has happened since my last blog, but since I don't always blog about what is going on, I guess it doesn't really matter much.

Since my last entry, I have seen many of our participants cross the finish line of their first marathon. Wow. It is an incredible experience to watch someone cross that line for the first time. To see them approach, knowing that it is as good as done and seeing that wave of emotion as it becomes a reality.

Most of our participants started 40 weeks prior to their marathon, by walking ONE MILE. That is usually a difficult mile. Now, many of them have done 26.2 miles - in a row! Or they have done 2 half marathons - 13.1 miles each.

There is something about a physical accomplishment. I think the reason is that a physical accomplishment is not just physical - it is also mental. Marathoning is especially mental because you have a lot of time to yourself. You cannot escape you. Training takes time - not just on the day you train, but the entire training season. You can't go from 0 - 26.2 in a week. It takes time, effort and desire to build a foundation and see it through to the finish line.

That's true with so many things in life - school, relationships (especially marriage and parenting) or any other long term goal. There are many lessons to be learned from training for a marathon. I intend to discuss them here. But not now. Now I am hungry because I ran 5 miles this morning.

I think I'll go eat.
:-)

Simple answers aren't always easy

The question is, "How can I run faster?". The answer is, "Run faster."

I am not a fast runner. I am not even a fast walker.

My first marathon time was 6:13:42. I walked, I ran, I stumbled along, I finished. My next marathon, the following year, was 6:10. I ran a good bit more, but apparently it did not speed me up much. Two years later, I ran my third marathon. I was on track to do a 5:35. After an asthma attack at mile 16, I think, I ended up finishing with a 5:53 time.

Yes, my time is improving, but not by much. After doing some reading, I found that the consensus is this: you can't work on two things at once and see much improvement. For example, you can build endurance and you can increase speed, but not at the same time. So, I have scaled back my long runs and have been working on my speed for the last several months. I am probably still doing too much mileage on Saturdays, so I am going to scale that back a little more. I am seeing improvement and this is quite exciting for me. Speed is not coming easily. It is taking a lot of work. It is a challenge and one I intend to meet. It make some time, but I will get there.

Here's what I am doing: I cross train on Monday, run for speed on Tuesday, strength train on Wednesday, moderate run on Thursday, rest on Friday, group run of 6 - 8 miles on Saturday and easy run/walk on Sunday.

Mark is running with me on Saturdays and I think it is making me stronger. He is a stronger runner and is keeping me going. I look forward to our time together and seeing how much better I can do each week. I know I'm going to get there.

Being tired

How often do we allow ourselves to be tired? Why don't we give ourselves permission to be tired? It seems there has to be a "valid" reason for fatigue. What is a valid reason? Stress, whether it is physical or emotional can be exhausting. If you are tired, you are tired. As "they" say nowadays, it is what it is. So, if you are tired, you are tired. Take care of yourself.

About this time in our marathon training program (week 31 of 40) I send out an email to our participants letting them know that it is perfectly normal to be unusually tired right now. The mileage is high, it is hot outside and they have been training hard for quite a while. I tell them to pay attention to their bodies and rest as needed. When I am in the midst of marathon training, I feel perfectly justified to rest. When I am not, I often suffer from guilt if I am tired.

I am not training for a marathon right now, but I am tired. I am going to follow my own advice. When you are tired, rest. Personal motivator, Jim Rohn, says "Only rest long enough to gather strength". Good advice. Rest is for gathering strength and right now I am all out of strength.
I think I'll rest a bit.

Doing it for someone else

One of the most difficult things about my job (there are not many) is that I can't do it for someone else. I can encourage, teach, motivate, but in the end it is each person's decision to do it or not. Every day we all face a choice - what will I do with my time, talents, resources, etc.?

Throughout the 5+ years of Marathon Makeover, I have seen all kinds of people train for and finish a marathon. Tall, short, fat, skinny, happy, sad, quiet, loud, kind, mean - you name it, I've seen it. All types have come to us wanting to finish a marathon. They also come with all kinds of reasons ranging from wanting to get healthy to wanting to mark it off of their bucket list. I have seen a lot of these folks through to the finish and some have chosen not to continue. Unfortunately, a few could not continue or finish because of injury, illness or life circumstances and that can be so disappointing. There are those who don't continue because they just don't believe that they can do it. That makes me feel sad. My belief for someone will only carry them so far. In so many areas of life, you have to have that belief in yourself, that you can do it - whatever it is. Sometimes this has to be believed while most around you are telling you it is impossible - or crazy! It is in these times that you must bend your head into the wind and press on and just keep moving. During training, one must fight back the negative and push towards the positive.

There is a shift that occurs, however. This is what I call the magic of the finish line. Each year, we have participants show up at the starting line still doubting their ability to finish. I continually tell them that they can. A part of them must believe it or they wouldn't be there. And then. And then they do it. They run the race and they finish. I don't do it for them - THEY do it. Their belief system begins to change. It invades every part of their lives. That's what happens when you do something you were not sure you could do - something others told you you could not do. It causes you to step back and reevaluate everything in your life, especially your self limiting beliefs.

I love it when people get there but I can't get there for them. I can help them get there. I can encourage them along the way and I can tell them how to get there. In the end, it is their choice. Choices can be difficult. Choices make all of the difference in our lives.

You can always go farther

It is Saturday, so it is a long run day for us and our participants. It is a long run, but short mileage. Well, relatively short. You see, we are at the end of our training so a 7 - 9 mile run is considered short. A few months ago, it would have been considered long. It is all relative, right? Next week will be 18 miles. Yikes. THAT is a long run. That is, unless you are training for a 50 or 100 miler. Hmmm....I think 18 miles will always be a long run for me.

Thinking about long mileage started me thinking about the fact that you can always do more and go farther than you think you can. I guess it depends on your motivation. How badly do you want it? Those who hang in there and train for a marathon up to 18 miles must want it pretty badly. For every person out there training, there is a unique reason that motivates them. What motivates you?

We encourage our participants at the beginning of our training to discover their "why". Knowing what your why is helps to keep you focused. There are days when you don't want to get out of bed, much less put in your time or miles. Your why must be powerful enough to get you up and out the door. Your why is a powerful thing. My why has changed over the years. Now, I run to be healthy, to be my best for me and for those around me. I run because I tell others that I believe they can too. I feel a responsibility to them to keep moving.

If you are reading this and you have never stopped to think about why you do what you do, I encourage you to think about it. What is your why? Why do you get out of bed in the morning?

One of those days

Some days it's just hard to get out of bed. For me, that's one of the hardest things about training for a marathon. There are days when I just don't feel like training, yet I need to get up and put in my time or miles. Luckily, today is NOT one of those days when I have to train. It is Friday, which means, it is a rest day. Whew! I didn't sleep well and don't feel well. Oh well.

You may wonder what I would do if it was a training day. One of two things - I would either force myself to get on up, lace up my shoes and head out the door or I would take an extra rest day. Sometimes our bodies just need to rest and sometimes it is a mental thing and we need to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. It is a balance which can be difficult to find. Isn't that a struggle for many areas of our lives?

Finding balance in all that we do can be challenging. We all have 24 hours in a day - how are you going to spend yours? Working, playing, spending time with family? Training for a marathon forces me to carve out time for exercise 5 -6 days out of the week. Because I am organizing that time, it carries over into other areas of my life and helps me to organize my time for work, play and family.

One of the ways I do this is to make a list, or two lists: a daily list and a "running" list. The daily list is just what it says it is. It is a list of the things I need to get done that day. The running list is list of things that need to get done, whether it be today or the next week, month, etc.

When things are written down, I am less likely to forget to take care of them. Putting them on a list frees my mind to think about other things. Keeping a list also keeps me focused. Speaking of lists, since "radio show" is first on my list today, I'd better get up and get going!

Gotta run!

My first confession

My first confession was made "public" on our way to the airport to catch our flight to Chicago for the 2004 Chicago Marathon. In the car was Mark, our friend Matt and fellow marathoner, Rodney. We were packed up, loaded up and headed out. Woo. hoo. I remember sitting there, listening to them talk about how excited they were. I was silent and someone noticed. Rodney asked, "Robin, aren't you excited about running your first marathon?" As I always try to give an honest answer, I told him that quite frankly, "No, not really - you see, I don't enjoy running. In fact, I hate it."

After a moment of stunned silence, someone asked me, "Then why are you doing this?" Good question. I answered, "Because I don't want to quit - I want to finish this."

I am not a quitter. I don't like to leave things undone, although, you would never guess this if you visited my home!

This is the major reason I saw that first training season through to the end - I don't like to quit or to feel like I have been beaten. I think most of us feel that way and if we do quit, we are our harshest critic.

Now you may wonder if I feel the same way. Do I still hate to run? No! I love to run, however, it does not come easily and it was not an overnight change. After I finished my first marathon, I considered it over and done. I had no intention of continuing. Then the friends and family members of those we had taken to Chicago started asking, "You are going to do this again - right?" It seemed to be a no-brainer. We seemed to have stumbled onto something that could change peoples' lives for the better. That was a big step towards what is now Marathon Makeover. We have evolved a lot since then and will continue to improve in the years to come. I have gone on to complete two more marathons and am still running.

The best part of running, for me, are the benefits of running. I feel better about myself, more confident. I am healthier - mentally AND physically. When I run, it is time for me. I have more energy and enjoy life more.

I call myself a reluctant marathoner because I don't "look" like a marathoner and a lot of the time, I don't "act" like a marathoner - but guess what! I AM a marathoner!

A little bit about me

I thought it best to jump in before I go too far and tell you a little bit about myself.

I am a 42 year old wife and mother of 3 beautiful, smart and talented girls. My husband, Mark, is my best friend and partner in Marathon Makeover. He supports us with his "real" job as a licensed marriage and family therapist.

Mark and I met in college about 25 years ago. 3 years later we were married and have just celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary this past June.

We were blessed with twin girls after 5 years of marriage - they have truly been a joy! A little over 7 years later, our third daughter arrived and added even more happiness and excitement to our lives.

I have been a stay at home mom and have faced the challenges of working from home in the area of sales while juggling three kids and one husband.

When Mark came up with the idea of training for and completing a marathon, I did not even consider my participation in it being any more than that of a cheerleader. Little did I know, with a little encouragement from a friend, I would begin this journey with him and many others.

At the time that I began to train, I had no prior athletic experience whatsoever. I was a cheerleader in high school, not a track star! As an adult, I enjoyed spurts of activity such as periodic gym memberships, occasional aerobics and walks around the block. In other words, I was not and did not ever intend to be - a runner.

My journey towards my first finish line began with one single step out of my front door as part of my first mile of training. Yes, I began my marathon training by WALKING ONE MILE. That is where we start all of our Marathon Makeover participants.

36 weeks after I took that first step, I finished the 2004 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. I learned a lot along the way and 5 years later, I am still learning as I go. I may not know much when all is said and done, but I do know this - I am a marathoner!

To begin....

Many times, I find that the hardest part of any project is the beginning. I think about it, over analyze it, gather all that I need for it and begin. There always seems to be some sort of time delay between the first three steps and the last. Is it fear? Is it laziness? I'm not sure which and yet, maybe it is a little of both.

I am no longer on the third step and have begun the last. I think I will be here for a while. You see, I am addressing the confessions of a reluctant marathoner - me. I want to tell who I am, why I ran my first, second and third marathon and why I continue to run. I believe sharing my experience may help someone out there, whether they are a runner or not. It will also help me put into perspective just what I have been through and continue to experience on this marathon journey.

I became a runner at the age of 37 years old. Yep! That is not a typo. I was 37 years old when my husband, Mark, came home and told me he was going to train for a marathon and asked if I wanted to join him. Yea, right. My response was a quick "no, but I will be your best cheerleader!"

Now you may be wondering why my husband was training for a marathon. He was not a runner either. At the age of 38 he was busy working and indulging in the past time of being a couch potato. He was challenged by a runner friend to train for and run a marathon. He accepted this challenge. The friend offered to train him if he could gather at least 5 friends and give him 6 months. Mark set to work, asking anyone and everyone we knew if they wanted to train for a marathon. When he asked a friend of ours if she would train, the friend's response was, "I will if Robin will." Oh no! Why did she have to say that? I thought for a few seconds and said (with a stomp, if I remember correctly), "Ok, I'll do it."

That is how Mark and I began, as a team, to train for and run marathons. The best part of the story is that since that day over 5 years ago, we have gone from couch potatoes to marathoners and have brought along over 1000 others that have achieved marathon success!

This blog is to be a collection of lessons and experiences that have happened along the way. I hope you enjoy - gotta run!