Category: challenges

challenges, fitness and nutrition

Thriller Lake

2chicksandapen

When a friend first sent me the link, I laughed. He was training for an ultra running event, and who knows why but he was looking for more. I am training for a 15k in January and slowly (slowly!) increasing my running every week. I jotted the date down in my calendar, thinking I would go and support him if he did it. But a little voice in the back of my mind also wondered if I could do the three hour event myself as part of my own preparation for January…

Finding the time and energy to run in this season of life has been harder than my ramp up to a half marathon several years ago. I’m not really sure why that is. Technically, I have fewer commitments crowding my calendar. Still, I haven’t been putting the volume of miles into my legs that I should be in order to feel prepared.

As the date crept up, I decided it was time to test myself. If I end up walking, so be it. I set the goal of 5 laps…each lap is 2.2 miles. 11 miles in 3 hours seemed possible. Most of my miles these days are between 15-17 minutes. With a few breaks and to allow for some slowing in the latter miles, 5 laps would be a challenge but I was determined to try.

Another challenge was the time of the event. I would be on the course from 5 pm to 8 pm. I am a hard-core morning exercise person. Lately I have been running a mile or two in the afternoons once or twice a week, but an all-out extended effort in the evening would be a stretch.

When the day came, I had told a couple of people what I was up to but not many. I’m inspired by this image from Compete Every Day.

I packed up my stuff. I ate some extra carbs. I showed up at the right time, grabbed my bib, and lined up with a few dozen other brave / crazy souls and away we went.

Honestly, the run was pretty uneventful. I have a good playlist. People were encouraging. I was several minutes ahead of my target times on each of the first couple of loops. Some runners had full tents set up with chairs and food and decorations. The official tent had trays of cold food and hot. The runners who were competing in the 6 and 12 hour events commented on the quality of the grilled cheese, quesadillas, and more. It had a Halloween theme so some people were dressed in costume.

Aside from cheering on other racers, my mind was focused on my time and my goal. From a “back of the pack” running group on facebook, I had figured out how to set my watch for intervals. I would run two minutes, walk one. I did this pattern for most of the event. My watch buzzed me every time I had to switch.

My trusty playlist kept me going. I even had some universe whispers from a friend who has passed on. He came to me in a group of songs that kept me moving when I was tired.

Other pleasant diversions were the signs some had made to encourage runners. There was a trick or treat fun run with little kids in costume. There were dogs. There were lights. A pretty sunset and a beautiful Harvest moon.

Lap four started and my energy really started to falter. My strength in these long efforts is usually being able to stay consistent even in the later miles. At least that was the case last time around. But I could really feel my lack of training after mile 8. Slower walking in my recovery minutes. Walking creeping into the running minutes. I could also feel that I hadn’t fueled properly. I ate more running chews than I ever have. I ate less nutritious, whole food than I ever do. Combined with running with a headlamp, I was slogging across the finish line of lap 5 but I had about 9 minutes to spare. It was all just guts and will for the last mile or two, but I met my goal.

Given the chance, I would totally do it again. It gives me a benchmark to work from. It doesn’t give me “back of the pack” anxiety since I’m working against a clock and not a finish line. So if I’m free again next year, I’ll do it. I’m also looking at scheduling a half marathon in the spring.

A few kinks to work out…how to fuel for an afternoon race. Shortly after I completed the run, I was overcome with nausea. It lasted for hours. I knew it was from the sugared, artificial nutrition I had taken in (oh, and caffeine). It would also be nice to have a friend or two on the course. Even if I don’t run at the same pace as others, it does help to have someone out there sharing the suffering.

I’m clapping for myself and looking ahead. The goal now is to get out and run more often. To spend more time putting miles on my legs. Training to get faster and better. By the time the 15k rolls around, I hope to be feeling much better about the experience.

challenges, family

A Letter to My Daughter

2chicksandapen

She is strong.

She is smart.

She is persistent.

She is determined.

She is generally reserved with her feelings, but on this day, she called filled with frustration. Her new schedule brought unexpected challenges. Things that were once easy were impossibly hard. Huge classes, hard to get around. Too much to take care of, not enough time and energy. All this after the patience and persistence and hard work finally got her to the place she had wanted to be for so long. It had been different at her previous school the year before. She hadn’t expected to be happy there. But now, finally settling in at the school of her dreams, instead of happily ever after, she was met with one annoying plot twist after another.

What’s a mom to do? When you can’t be there? When you can’t just make her dinner or sit with her on the couch? Mostly, I just listened. I let her share how hard things were right now. With classes, with meeting people, with time management. With little things like eating well and parking and taking care of her dog. I gave any advice I could. Mainly, just keep going. Get up and try your best every day. It will get better.

She was calmer when we hung up. But I was shaken. I was sad. I couldn’t sleep well as I was thinking about her.

When I stopped pretending to sleep in the morning, after my workout and getting to work early, I sat outside and wrote her a letter. Page after page poured out. More mom advice and reminding her who she is. That girl I wrote about at the top of this piece. And how she is never alone.

Think of your future self, I told her. What will make your future self proud? In 5 years, will you be happy you kept going and gave it your best or that you gave up when it was hard?

I think about my future self all the time. When I don’t feel like meal prepping for the week, I know my future self will appreciate healthy food so I push through my laziness. Same with setting out my clothes for the next day, going to the gym, and a million other little decisions I make. I do it to make my future self happy, proud, or even just to make her life a little easier. A little planning, a little forethought, and life just goes better.

In a couple of days, things seemed to be a little better. We all have those rough patches. Maybe it’s a day, a week, or even longer. Pick up the phone and share it. Let people listen and help give you a little perspective and wisdom. The people who love you don’t want you to suffer, and definitely not suffer alone. Finally, things have a way of getting better with time. Believe it.

business, challenges

3 am Oh No

2chicksandapen

The alarm was set for a hair past 3 am on a Tuesday. A 6 am meeting didn’t seem so early when I put it on the calendar. Then I had to calculate the drive the time. The get ready time. The wake time. The cushion time to build in. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

To say I was dreading the alarm clock was an understatement. However, I got up like a champ. Now I thought I was up and alert but clearly I wasn’t. My first uh oh was putting on my shoes. I had picked out black pants and silky striped shirt. I was matching my shoes to the stripe in the shirt. I had a plan. Then I sat down to put on the shoes and realized my pants were not just black. Rather the pants had a baby blue square-like check pattern. Holy cow. I would have absolutely not matched. In fact I would have clashed.

Good thing I had time to make a quick change and save myself some embarrassment.

Now I am off on the highway. Munching on my snack I packed, jamming to some music. Little did I know I would be listening to Pickle Jar Patrick! Why he is the up all night funny DJ that sounds like boundless energy coming through my car speakers. Why can’t I just bottle his energy through my speakers?

I pass through the major metropolitan downtown area on the highway. Several lanes normally packed to no end, yet they seem desolate at 3 am. What a difference a little time makes in a day. Normally I sleep through the quiet in suburbia but today I was on the road alone. Enjoying the scenery in a different light or should I say darkness.

As if I thought my morning would continue peacefully I was wrong. My go to Starbucks wasn’t opening until 6 am so I was going to go without my rocket fuel for this morning. I opted to pull into the gas station for a leg stretch and a quick map check. Oh my car needs a software update. I have a few extra minutes, let me do that…

Little did I know it takes a little longer than I anticipated and my car is well let’s just say dead in the water while I waited. The minutes seem like hours. Over 20 minutes and I should have been thinking how long it would take when the console message said I could exit the car. My brain just wasn’t awake yet. All the preparation to get to where I needed to be on time seemed like a waste because my sleepyhead self said yes to a software upgrade mid trip. Who does that? 

Thank you Jesus. The upgrade completed and I could continue to my destination. Oh wait, a new feature in my car is discovered. Flashing lights under my rear view mirror and an odd alarm. I can’t make this up. I had to stop my in tracks to figure out how to solve my problem. I shut off the car. Waited and started again. Thankfully the alarm subsided and I was on the way, again.

With moments to spare, I arrived. A little flustered, but ready to put on my business smile to slay the day. Next time I’ll think twice before meeting at 6 am. I am just too old for these early morning encounters without coffee.

challenges

Have To, Get To

2chicksandapen

Lately, life has seemed pretty annoying in quite a few regards. Boring and trivial tasks pile up. Things I don’t enjoy or find satisfying are playing a bigger role in my work life. People don’t come through on what they said they would do. Frustrations at every turn. This really impacts my mood and mental state.

When I can get myself to step back and be aware of it, I try to flip my mindset from “have to” to “get to.”

When clerical tasks get piled on a work, instead of thinking “I have to do all these hours of mindless work,” I tell myself that I get to support teachers and make their days better, which is a part of my job that I value.

When a friend doesn’t come through for me, instead of feeling angry that I have to go it alone, I remind myself that I get to find out how strong I am on my own.

When the administrative muck of life comes calling, and car repairs, insurance plans, routine health visits, and phone calls make up so much of my to do list, instead of thinking I have to handle all this boring, time-sucking mess, I convince myself that I get to take care of things like this because I have a full, robust life that shouldn’t be undermined by my laziness and resistance. Sometimes my little mental flip-flop works. But, sometimes it doesn’t.

A big part of our theme at work this year is doing more things that bring you joy. Unfortunately, there just really aren’t that many. Changing my mind to try to cope and make the annoying stuff meaningful or at least relevant is my coping strategy right now. Sometimes the main thing you can change is your mind. Most of the time, you can’t change things or people. You can change your reaction to it. Release situations and people from expectations. Change your “have tos” to “get tos” and see if your outlook improves.

challenges, perspective, Uncategorized

Growth

2chicksandapen

I’ve been thinking a lot of growth lately. Not physically growing like increasing my waist size. I’m thinking more like overall development in multiple areas of life.

Trying new foods for example. Over the past few months I’ve been wanting to increase my daily protein intake. I’ve dialed into various resources to get some hints and best practices. A few takeaways to share:

Compounding protein. Find what you like and increase the dosage. 3 ounces of ham? Just double it. Yogurt, double it. Maybe find a sugar-free Greek version you like. Maybe even a yogurt drink. Mix it up if you can. For me this was a growth area, learning new ways to meet my protein objective for the day.

Aging. Not always a fun topic to discuss for folks my age as there are many trials and tribulations associated with those around the 50-year-old mark. However, I’ve been learning new things. I’ve learned to enjoy road tripping in a RV which is in itself a skill to master. Then I flip the switch to my youngest child who is turning 18. The growth going into adulthood is so much different yet full of learning opportunities for both the parent and the soon-to-be adult. New jobs. Legal responsibilities. Taxes. Higher education. Bills. The list goes on and on. 

New environments. This summer I opted to play a new sport: pickleball. Never played before. Never watched a match in person or on TV. I fell in love with the concept of learning. Meeting new people. Stepping into a new arena of sorts. Challenging myself to be better. To learn new methods. To learn the lingo. All in all it was a great experience socially, physically, and cognitively.

Attire: we all have our basic go-to items. The favorite jeans. The sweats. The leggings. The favorite shirt. In the past few months I opted for a short in a color I absolutely never wear. I chose a couple of button-up shirts that are really not my style but definitely fun to wear on occasion. I mixed up a stable go-to outfit with something new and some old to change up the look a little. These little modifications represented growth to me. Oddly different growth than many may celebrate but for me it was growth in my own way.

Patience: mastering and remastering my patience muscles. This is serious growth. Dealing with kids who keep coming back for x, y, and z requires patience and patience on steroids sometimes. Adjusting to work / life balances as you hit the empty nester milestone. The golden years. The muscles that need flexing dealing with changes in partners / spouses or other complicated family dynamics. As we age we must undergo a serious re-haul of our patience muscles, more than once.

As a reflection person, I like to celebrate moments like these. Small as they may be to some, they were valuable enough for me to share on here. With that being said I challenge you to self-reflect and think about your own growth.

Have you challenged yourself to climb a new mountain?

Have you decided to take a trip of a lifetime to a new destination?

Have you decided to take a leap of faith and try something new?

Have you been thinking about betting on yourself? Go for it! You will never grow if you stay stagnant. You will miss opportunity after opportunity. Don’t just put a toe in the sand. Run into the ocean and get wet. Get wet in life. That’s when you grow!