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Jul 24, 2010

And Sometimes You Surprise Even Yourself

July 24, 2010 By

Two years ago, I never could have dreamed that I could be a runner. I was out of breath climbing a flight of stairs.

A year ago, I could never imagine running 8 minutes straight. After all, I tried couch to 5k and I couldn’t get past the 5 minute running intervals.

So once I got past running 8 minutes straight this week, I took a look at the Week 5, Day 3 plan and was a little disheartened when I read the simple statement of, “Run 20 minutes with no walking.”

Um, WTF?

I just reached a huge milestone by running 8 minutes straight – a feat which took me TWO tries to accomplish, mind you – and now they suddenly thought I could more than double that?

I was immediately depressed and thought this was the end of the road.

I reached out to my running friends on Twitter for advice on how this was even possible. And – bless you, social media – they came through with lots of support and advice, the primary theme being: go slow, slow, slow.

It’s been really hot this week, so I waited until after 9pm to give this a try. Did I expect to actually do it? No way. I told myself that if I could just make it 10 minutes, I wouldn’t feel bad at letting myself have a walk break. 10 minutes was the best I was hoping for, really.

After the 5 minute warm up walk, I started out at a slow jog, forcing myself to slow down as much as possible so I didn’t tire myself out too quickly. The first few minutes were easy at this slow pace.

As usual, when I got about 5 minutes in, my body started to protest. It usually does this during the first run interval, with knees aching and legs feeling heavy and hard to move. It’s like my nervous system throws out one last-ditch attempt to get me to stop this crazy heavy exertion and go find the nearest ice cream truck instead. The best way to describe it is suddenly being hyper-aware of any little ache or sore spot in your body. It sucks, but I know if I push past it then it will all calm down.

I got close to 8 minutes, and while the aches were calming down, my breathing was starting to fall apart. I realized I could go even slower at that point and did so, regaining a decent breathing pattern while plodding on at a pace that a speed walker could easily lap me with.

At that point I resolved not to watch the clock. I focused on my music instead, trying to visualize the videos to the songs I was hearing. My body reached a comfortable numb state, where it kept moving and I did my best not to think about it. I realized just how muggy it still was as I breathed hard but resolved to keep going.

I finally looked at my time remaining, and was shocked to see that I only had 5 minutes left! At that point, I realized I couldn’t let myself stop now – it’s only 5 more minutes, right?

Those 5 minutes were perhaps the longest of my life. My hips started to burn, my side ached, and despite running as slow as possible, I was quickly losing all of my reserve energy. I was drenched in sweat and it was now dripping into my eyes and making it hard to see. But dammit, I wasn’t giving up at the very end!

At last, I reached the cooldown walk, and I roared a “YES!!!” in response. OK, maybe it was more like squeaked out a “YES!!” as I gasped for breath, but it felt like a roar.

I never expected to run for 20 minutes straight, even when I was doing it. But I did it, proving that I am capable of doing nearly anything. I need to give my body a little more credit, I guess. And trust my fellow social media running friends.

Translation to all reading this: YOU are also capable of doing nearly anything. If the woman who couldn’t even go up a flight of stairs without getting winded can do it, you can too.

Filed Under: c25k, motivation, success


Jul 21, 2010

Double Rainbow All The Way!

July 21, 2010 By

After my spectacular fail at running two eight-minute intervals on Sunday, I set out to do it again last night. It was still hot and humid, but the benefit of the evening is that I don’t have rays of sunshine burning into me. It wasn’t quite sunset yet, but with the threat of rain moving in, I didn’t have the luxury of waiting until dark.

I’ve realized that I’m a perfectionist, and being unable to complete that run on Sunday really upset me. I carry failure with me far longer than I carry success. Last night’s five-minute warm-up walk was spent trying to battle the doubt in my head, wondering if I had hit the maximum I was capable of, wondering if it was really just a crazy idea to think I could ever be a runner when my body is far more acclimated to a chair and a desk. But then the C25K app dinged – telling me to run – and I said What the hell, let’s do it right this time.

Here’s the cool part, though: as I was just starting that first run, I turned a corner and noticed a double rainbow up in the sky. It wasn’t raining anywhere around me, but there they were – two bands of color against a dark cloud. I immediately thought of Nathan Fillion’s double rainbow tweets, and the silly double rainbow YouTube video those tweets are based around. If double rainbow equates to interstellar awesome, then this was a sign that I was going to make it through this run.

The first eight-minute run was tough, just like last time, but I managed it. Then the second interval started, and I was immediately flooded with worry and doubt again. I tried to push it out of my head, focus on the music, look for the now-faded rainbows, but I couldn’t shake it.

With three minutes left to run, full exhaustion hit. I was losing steam and I knew it. Pushing hard, I decided that I was going to do this, no excuses. A minute and a half left, and I started to feel sick. You can vomit after the interval is complete, I told myself. One minutes left, and I reminded myself You can do anything for one little minute.

And then that calm male voice from the C25K app came through my headphones: Cooldown. I did it. I was weak all over, I was gasping for breath, I still felt like vomiting (but didn’t), and I could barely see through the sweat in my eyes, but I did it.

I ran for two eight-minute intervals. One more milestone achieved.

Filed Under: c25k, success


Jul 21, 2010

An Early Love of Reading

July 21, 2010 By

Earlier in the summer, I was invited to visit the Columbus Metropolitan Library to learn about their programs, specifically their summer reading club. This was something the girls were only mildly excited about, because going to the library is a semi-regular occurrence for them. But little did they know that was the day the library was kicking off the summer reading program, and there were all sorts of special events going on at the library all day to celebrate.

Now, we don’t just have any old library here in Columbus – we have the TOP library. Columbus Metropolitan Library was named the top library of 2010 by Library Journal, along with several other honors they’ve received before. Our library is awesome – the diversity of their offerings is unmatched.

Cordy and Mira were both excited to sign up for their first summer reading club. Aaron signed up, too – adults are welcome to participate. Cordy already had a library card, but Mira got her first library card that day. (And wouldn’t you know it – it was PINK.) They each received a sheet to track their progress and selected several books to start with.

For the next few weeks, this was how we usually saw Cordy at home:

Yes, it’s a comic book, but there are words, so it counts!

Her nose was buried in a book, trying to earn time to get another box marked off of her sheet. But Mira wasn’t slacking, either – she brought me book after book and begged me to read until my eyes crossed.

And with only half of the summer complete, they have both finished their summer reading club tracking sheets. Aaron took them to the library on Saturday to turn in their tracking forms, and each girl received a library tote bag as her reward. They now use those tote bags to take library books to and from the library.

I’ve been thrilled to see Cordy’s interest in reading develop over the summer. I think she’s a stronger reader now than she was at the end of the school year. She may have trouble with social skills in kindergarten, but at least I feel confident that she’ll do fine with her academics this fall.

There’s still time to get your child enrolled in a summer reading club. Even if you don’t live in Columbus, this is something many libraries do each summer. Even my small hometown library had a summer reading club when I was a kid, although back then I had to give a verbal book report to the children’s librarian to earn my stamp. (You kids these days have it soooooo much easier! *said in my best old person voice*)

And if you have more time for reading that doesn’t involve navigating to Facebook, check out any adult reading club activities your library might have as well.

Locals: should you happen to live in the district of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, be aware that a levy to help fund the library will be on the November ballot this year. This will replace an expiring levy and help fund new services, as well as bringing back Sunday hours to the suburban branches. Don’t forget to vote for this levy!

Full disclosure: I was invited to come to the library as a special guest, and received a very nice presentation about all of the library’s services while my children were entertained by library staff during storytime. I received no compensation, other than the time of the Executive Director and other staff. Our family loves and supports our local library, and encourages you to love and support your local library, too!

Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, growing up, Mira, reviews


Jul 19, 2010

With A Little Help From My Friends

July 19, 2010 By

I realized a few days ago that I have been running (well, running and walking) for a month now. I’ve kept to a single program for a month! Anytime I reach an accomplishment like that, I have to remind myself that despite the criticisms I’ve acquired throughout my life, I can do just about anything I put my mind to!

Of course, then a day like today happens. Week 5, day 2 of the couch to 5K plan, and I had to run two 8-min intervals, with a 5 minute walk in-between. It sounded do-able, but I didn’t make it. I managed to squeak out the first 8 minute run, and even recovered pretty quickly during the 5 minute walk. But halfway through the second run, I lost any pattern to my breathing and felt sick. I had to walk for 2 minutes of that interval, and I felt miserable. Probably didn’t help that it was insanely hot and humid, too, but I was more focused on my fault, not the weather’s fault.

Thankfully, friends came to my rescue online and reminded me that this is a hard week of the program, but that one setback isn’t failure. They’re right, and I’m going to try again on Tuesday.

Also, another little stroke of luck came my way last week to help me in my goals of shedding the weight and getting healthier. Healthy Choice is hosting a Better for BlogHer Challenge, and I was one of the bloggers selected to participate! As part of the challenge, I’m replacing just one meal a day with a Healthy Choice meal, and at BlogHer I’ll be meeting with Tara Gidus, “The Diet Diva,” for a one-on-one nutrition, fitness and wellness consultation.
Eating one Healthy Choice meal a day will be the easy part in this journey – I’ve already been eating them several nights at work, because they’re easy to pack, easy to prepare and taste better than many frozen meals out there. The real challenge will be consistency.
To go along with this new challenge, I’m also going to rev up my fitness routine. Right now I’m running three days a week and not doing much else otherwise. I plan to work some other type of fitness routine into some of my off days, whether it be biking, swimming, walking, or just doing some crunches.
We’re just over 2 weeks away from BlogHer, and my goal for the next two weeks is to make that scale show a number lower than 187 – where it’s been stuck for MONTHS now. Nothing has made it drop lower than 187. Last week I stepped on and it flickered between 186.8 and 187.0 several times before giving me the digital scale version of the middle finger and settling on 187.0.

That number will be lower in two weeks.

Full disclosure: In exchange for my participation in the Healthy Choice Better for BlogHer challenge, I am being compensated with product coupons and gift cards. No guarantees were made for positive reviews, but if this helps me get below the 187 mark on the scale, I might just kiss the Healthy Choice reps at BlogHer!

Filed Under: c25k Tagged With: ,


Jul 16, 2010

Do Not Be Alarmed

July 16, 2010 By

If you’re one of those people who has a sharp eye for detail, you might notice that this little blog has slimmed down slightly, at least where the address is concerned. I decided that after 5 years, it was time to drop the unsightly blogspot from the middle and just be http://www.amommystory.com/.

It fit better on my business cards for BlogHer, too.

Hopefully this transition is seamless, but if there are any hiccups, please let me know. I’m told that any links to old posts or feeds will still automatically redirect to their proper places. I’ll admit I have no idea how it works – I’m impressed that I managed to redirect the domain at all without calling for help.

And hey, maybe this transition to a slightly more professional-looking domain name will result in a slightly more professional blog?

Nah.

Filed Under: BlogHer, mom blogs, random