Category Archives: Inspiration

Monday Motivation: Do what others say cannot be done

Posted on by

7

When I first started running, I was focused on just finishing a 5k. I was not a runner and just started last March but I knew if I set that goal for myself, I could accomplish it. Pretty soon, I realized I could run farther and longer than a lot of other people. I remember the day when I broke through the mysterious “wall” and was able to just keep running, it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I had never been really good at anything athletic but now I was able to run 4 miles and then 6 miles and pretty soon, a half marathon.

But when I told some of my family and friends about my dream to run a marathon, a few doubted me. They told me it was too ambitious, I hadn’t raced enough smaller races yet, I could hurt myself and I just wasn’t ready. It’s hard to hear this form people you love, especially when you just want them to be happy for you. But it gives you a choice. You can either listen to what they say and change your mind about your goals, or you can ignore them and go full speed ahead with confidence in your ability to reach your goal. I did the latter.

Monday Motivation: just finish it

Posted on by

2

We all know that training can be hard and there are times when we may think, I just want to rest! But it’s important to remember why we set goals for ourselves- to challenge our body and our minds. While the Olympics are so inspirational and make me feel like I can get out there and run a marathon in 2:23:07 (which I most DEFINITELY cannot), I also know I will never be at that level. But i can find comfort in knowing I am challenging myself and I can get to my own level of achievement, whatever that may be. I liked this saying in the pin below because while we may not turn out to be Olympians, we are still achieving more than those who never start. Happy running this week!

“Dead last finish is greater than did not finish, which trumps did not start.”

(via Pinterest)

Video: Run for peace

Posted on by

0

Sometimes when I’m training I forget to remember the reason I actually enjoy running. When I started running and I realized I was actually not bad at it, I liked it because it cleared my head and I found peace with myself. Running with friends only amplifies that experience and it’s important not to forget this as weeks of training go by. While it’s good to challenge yourself as a runner, it’s more important to enjoy it and always remember why you’re running. I saw this video of Kilian Jornet and thought it perfectly exemplified why I love running. Check it out:

 

Kilian Jornet: Back to the source from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Monday Motivation: Get Happier

Posted on by

2

I love this pin I found on Pinterest. I think it’s the perfect motivation to just keep going whether you’re just trying to get through a hectic work week or an insane training schedule, or both! (Like me!) It’s important to remember why we do the things we do. In the end, we all just want to “get happier.” I hope y’all have a great Monday!

“Get Happier” (via Pinterest)

The 2012 London Olympics are finally here

Posted on by

1

2012 London Olympics

I am so excited that in less than two hours the 2012 London Olympics will commence! There’s nothing more inspiring than watching the world come together to celebrate the amazing triumphs of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. I have been looking forward to this for so long and I’m so excited it’s finally here!

Of course I am most excited to watch the track events and the marathon because, as many of you know, I’m a little obsessed with running. I also SUPER excited to see my favorite all-around athlete (literally he already set the world record for the decathlon so he’s kind of a beast) Ashton Eaton. I may or may not also have a giant crush on him, but who doesn’t?

<3

Besides running I’m looking forward to being able to watch some of the other sports we don’t get to see too often like swimming (Team Phelps!) and gymnastics (which I used to do but was never really good at). There are also the other random sports that we really never get to see like steeplechase and competitive sailing- I bet you didn’t know sailing was even in the Olympics, oh it is!

Most of all, watching these phenomenal athletes always inspires me to try my best at everything and give everything I do 100 percent. Since I’ve started running I’ve always been focused on a goal, first it was a 5k, now it’s a half-marathon, and I’m sure pretty soon I’ll be gearing up to run a full marathon. But with the Olympics finally here, I know that these athletes will inspire me to really focus on my training and strive to become better. In the process I hope I can help and inspire other new runners to do their best. Most of us are never going to be Olympic athletes, but it’s not about showing the world how good you are at your sport, it’s about proving it to yourself. I hope y’all enjoy watching the Olympics as much as I know I will! Go World!

In the comments below, tell me how the Olympics inspire you, who your favorite athlete is, or what event you’re looking forward to watching!

Monday Motivation: run the day

Posted on by

0

I love this for the beginning of the week because it’s so true! Either you run the day or the day will run you. Have a positive outlook for each day and you’ll be able to conquer it no problem :) What will you choose? Happy running!

Run the day or the day will run you. (via Pinterest)

P.S. I found this on Pinterest. Follow my boards so you can find even more motivation!

Week 6: Half-marathon update

Posted on by

5

It’s a lifestyle. Train like there’s no finish line. (via Pinterest)

Another week has flown by in training and for the most part it was pretty great. I say for the most part because my long run was definitely not my best but I’ll get to that later. Week six started on Monday and according to my training program it was a rest day so I decided to do some strength training for my core and arms. I did a 25-minute ab workout On Demand that kicked my butt! I couldn’t believe it because I consider myself to have pretty strong abs but I was sore for at least three days (but I kinda liked it). I also did some arm exercises which I’m hoping to post soon.

Tuesday I went to the gym to do a quick 4-mile run and more strength-training. I was so excited to have my sister come along as my gym buddy! She has always been an athlete but said I’ve inspired her to workout more which I was really happy about. After my run (and her cycling) we did some floor exercises to strengthen our quads and some more arm and ab workouts.

Wednesday I went into Boston to a track near Fenway to do an interval workout with my cousin. We ran nearly two miles to the track and then did 4×400-meter sprints with a cool down run. It was a pretty great run besides the heat which was a killer. I am definitely noticing a difference in my mile times because of the tempo runs. If you haven’t started doing them I’d really suggest you start because you’ll notice a HUGE difference in your times. Check out a post I wrote a awhile back about how to run a tempo run with variations if you need some tips!

Beautiful view of Boston from the track!

I woke up early on Thursday morning to do a quick 3 miles run at 6:30 a.m. and it went pretty well. I ran it in 24:51 which was a good time for me and I felt great. My average pace was 8:34 per mile which is a great pace for the half-marathon if I can maintain it for 13.1 miles.

Friday was a rest day so I decided to wake up early still and do a power yoga session on Lululemon’s YouTube channel. It felt great to do the stretches and hold the poses after running the three days before. I have also found yoga to be helpful in my breathing while running.

Saturday I woke up at 7:30 a.m. to go for my long run for the week. According to my training program I only had to run 8 miles, which, compared to last week, felt like it would be nothing. However, the temperature at 8:15 a.m. was already in the low 80s and so humid so I was relegated to doing my run on the treadmill at the gym. Basically, everything that could go wrong went wrong. My headphones got tangled in my necklace causing me to stop to get it all untangled. My knee didn’t feel great the whole time so I took it easy. Most of all I just didn’t feel good at all, my stomach was acting up and it was just terrible. I made it to 8 miles which is all that matters but I was pretty disappointed with the run.

Sunday was another rest day but I decided to do a recovery yoga session on Lululemon’s YouTube channel. This was really good because my legs were still pretty tight from the day before. Also, all week I’ve stuck to my Plank A Day Challenge which has been great!

Although my long run for this week didn’t go as planned I think the rest of my week went pretty well. I’ve been lucky to not have any hiccups in my training so far (knock on wood) so one bad run isn’t a big deal. I’ve decided to fuel my disappointment in that run to getting better this week and I’m taking that energy to prepare myself for a 12-mile run on Saturday. I hope everyone else’s training is going well so far. Keep me updated and run happy!

Monday Motivation: If Forest Gump can do it…

Posted on by

5

I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was great motivation for those pesky early-morning runs that we all love so much. I’ll be doing at least three 6:00 a.m. runs this week so I might even make this my alarm. Don’t forget to follow my boards on Pinterest! :)

If Forest Gump can run for over 3 years, you can get your ass on a 30 minute run this morning.

Monday motivation: #RunHappy

Posted on by

2

After a great week of training I remembered my long-lost tradition of posting Monday Motivation. So here it is, back in full force, your weekly reason to run. Without sounding too preachy I just want to reiterate how much of a believer in the power of the human spirit I am. Four months ago I could barely run a mile without feeling completely drained and now I can run over 10 miles at an 8:41/mile pace. I ran my fastest mile last week of 6:31 and I’m just going to keep going. Running has challenged me, tested my stamina and tested my spirit but it’s made me so much stronger because of it. I’m not stopping any time soon and I hope you don’t either! #RunHappy

 

 

Week 5: Half-marathon update

Posted on by

2

A very rain-soaked road race on the 4th of July!

This week was yet again another amazing week of training. I ran my first official road race and my longest run yet! I logged just about 19 miles this week- same total as last week, different way of adding it up.

Monday night I did a tempo run at the local track. Instead of doing my normal tempo run, I used “run interval” mode on the Run Keeper app on my iPhone. It had me run a total of 2 miles with 400-meter sprints mixed with slow running. It went really well and I ran my fastest pace at 7:32/mile.

I rested on Tuesday and did some yoga in the morning to stretch. On Wednesday, I ran my very first road race. I know this is kind of weird because I’ve been blogging about running since March but this was my very first race. It was so great (besides the fact that it was pouring)! I finished the 4-miler in 37:16 with an average pace of 9:20 which I was pretty pleased with, given the conditions.

I gave myself a total rest day on Thursday and then ran an early morning run on Friday. I wanted to test my speed especially after the race so I decided to do a 2.5-mile run around my neighborhood. I was SO excited when I came back and checked Run Keeper to see that I ran my first mile in 6:30. That was the fastest mile I have EVER run! I was so excited to see how much my work has really paid off! The one criticism I have of this run is I wish I could have done a negative split, that is running faster in the last half of the run than the first. I’m going to try to work on that in the next few weeks.

2.5 miles- average pace- 8:27, fastest pace- 6:30

Saturday was my long run day, a full 10 miles. This is the longest I have ever ran and I have to say it was my most fulfilling run yet! I ran a total of 10.26 miles in York, Maine with my cousin Paige who is also training for the half-marathon with me. Our route was pretty hilly but we were unafraid, I was even really, really excited!

Map of the 10.26 mile route.

The run was fantastic! We decided to go at an easy, what I like to call “conversational” pace. This means while running, you’re able to hold a conversation with someone without getting winded. We thought we were going pretty slow but turns out our average pace was 8:41/mile, a faster average pace than I had ever done. We finished the run in 1 hour, 29 minutes and 3 seconds. The craziest part was our fastest pace was 4:51/mile! What!?!? When I looked at the breakdown, mile by mile of our run, I couldn’t believe how well we did. We peaked at mile 8, when we ran it in 6:36 and ran our fastest pace of 4:51. In total, almost all of our miles were sub-9:00 besides the 6th mile where we had our steepest incline.

10.26 mile run: average pace- 8:41, fastest pace- 4:51.

After this week’s training I am a full believer in the biggest you can dream, you can make it happen. Four months ago I could barely run a mile without feeling like I was going to fall over and die. Now, I feel like I can go forever and I’m just getting faster. More than anything, it makes me so happy. I hope everyone else had a good week of training. Happy running!