Training for a 50K!

I'm currently training for a 50K race.  That's right.  It seems crazy, doesn't it?  Some days I think it is.  I'm so busy with work and my children and everything else.

But here's the thing.  I'm not getting any younger.  And I want to do a marathon.  But I want to do trail running.  I find too much road running boring.  I just love running in a forest on trails.  It's very therapeutic for me.  It's peaceful.

For some reason, there aren't any trail marathons that I have found.  Trail races seem to jump from 25K to 50K.  A marathon is 42K.

That's why I'm doing a 50K.  I've also done several 25K now, so I feel like it's time to move to the next level. 

I may never do it again.

But I'll be an ultra runner.  (I love the sound of that.)

Life Layers

I was lying on the bed reading and my daughter came up to me and said, "Wow, Mommy, you have lots of layers on your neck."

Layers.  Meaning wrinkles.

After I took a deep breath (I had been trying to relax and my daughter's comment kind of shot that to you-know-what for awhile) I tried to re-assume my zen state.

I thought about it for a bit, and decided that I definitely preferred the term 'layers' to 'wrinkles'.

I do have lots of life layers, after all.  I am 41 years old.  I have three children.  I have a husband.  I have two jobs.  I run.  I do boot camp.  I write.  I....the list goes on.

I have earned every single layer.

Life layers.  Much better!

Moms Can Totally Be CEOs!

I was thinking today that moms can totally be CEOs.  We definitely have the skill-set.  We handle high-level negotiations and multitask like no one's business.

Picture picking up the kids after school.  You immediately enter into no-holds-barred, every person for herself discussions.  For example, I have three kids. 

Whose turn is it to have a play date?  Who has been invited where?  Is Child A grounded from play dates?  If Child B is invited to another child's home, are you able to co-ordinate pick-up of that child while also supervising your other child's play date being picked up at a simultaneous time?  And frankly, do you even have enough seats in your car to accommodate all these kids?  And what if Child C absolutely has to pick up his Magic cards PRIOR to his play date with Friend Z? 

Suddenly you realize that Child B has hockey, and that you have to sort out the play date mess, get each child where they are supposed to be, and then make dinner ASAP in order to get him to hockey, on time and fed.  Do you even know what you're making for dinner?  Most. Likely. Not.

Every day when I'm about to pick up the kids from school, I have to strengthen myself mentally in preparation for the emotional warfare that I will soon encounter.  "But I'm not grounded TODAY off play dates, Mom!  That was yesterday."   (Who the heck knows?  Not me.  I can barely remember what I ate for lunch.)

"But it's MY turn for a play date and Friends W, X, and Y are all busy!  Don't they know it's MY TURN?"

"Carly is too shy for a play date today but what about one a week from tomorrow?"

It's not just play dates, either.  It's just all the general activities that go with children who are older and are into sports and music.  It's like a math problem.  (I've always HATED math problems.)

Child A has hockey at Arena Z at 5:15 p.m..  If Child B has hockey at Arena X at 6:00 p.m., and yet you have to pick up Child C from her dance class at 6:30 p.m.(and remember you promised her a hot chocolate after her dance class) and then pick up Child A from hockey, do you have any sanity left to work on homework and do your own workout?  (Wait: you forgot that Child B needs extra prep time to get on all his goalie pads.  You fail.)

There are (epic) fails, but mostly you manage to get each child where s/he needs to go, fed and with homework done.

The boardroom would be a piece of cake.

I Am Not Lying In A Hospital Bed....I Am Not Lying In A Hospital Bed

I was doing a hard workout during boot camp - I can't remember if it was burpees or multiple push ups with our hands in different positions - and I was really feeling it, let me tell you.  I was just thinking how hard it was and how tired out my body was getting. 

Then my friend and instructor said, "Just think of how lucky we are to be here tonight!  You're not lying in a hospital bed; you can do this!"

It changed my whole perspective.

I know about the power of positive thinking, but it's always good to have a reminder.

Many times now, when I'm having a stressful day at work or at home, I will say to myself: "I am not lying in a hospital bed...I am not lying in a hospital bed..."  and suddenly everything looks pretty good.

 

Pushing Through!

I was doing the Escarpment Steps on my lunch hour as a workout.  For anyone who doesn't live in Hamilton, these are steps that (surprisingly) go up the Escarpment.  They are generally very steep and many people use them as a workout because it's so hard to do them multiple times.

As I was ascending the stairs, I saw two men in front of me.  The one had stopped, his face red and sweaty.  He was shaking his head.  The other man yelled laughingly to him, "What happened to, 'I'm going to push through'?"

Pushing through.  The one guy had decided he just couldn't do it.

I've been there.  I'm sure we've all been there.

There will come a time when you feel like you just can't keep going.

For example, as I was doing the stairs, I knew there would come a time when I would want to quit.  My breath would be coming fast and hard; my lungs would be screaming out for more oxygen.  Lactic acid would be having a field day with the muscles in my calves and thighs.  I would be sweaty and tired.  My body would be telling me in many ways, on many different levels, and none of them delicate or subtle, that I should just...stop.  Stop now.  Basically the stairs (or whatever) is kicking your *ss and you just want to lie down, roll over, and be done.

However.  I have learned that I can, in fact, push through.  I can take a moment, breathe out as much carbon dioxide as I can, and take in as much oxygen as I can.  And then I keep going.

It's not about hurting or injuring yourself.  It's about challenging yourself and striving to improve.

And once you know that you can do it once, you realize you can do it twice.  And once your mind knows, it will tell your body.  Then your body will grudgingly comply.

And then your self-confidence increases, and your faith in your body too.  And then - the sky's the limit.