Tips for How to Qualify for the Boston Marathon
“Boston is a state of mind.”
It’s Boston Marathon time. Oh how I love the Boston Marathon. Last year, I had the opportunity to watch it, as I was a few weeks into maternity leave. I know my son didn’t realize how cool it was to see Des Linden bring it home, nor did he get tears in his eyes like his mama did watching her run down Boylston and break the tape. It still was fun to watch with him.
While I won’t be running the Boston Marathon again anytime soon, I know this year’s race will inspire several runners to go for their own BQ this year. Based on my experience qualifying for the Boston Marathon – and failing at it twice first – I thought this would be the perfect time to share a few things I learned through those failures. Here are my tips to run your Boston qualifying race.
Run a Familiar Course
Most people don’t set out to qualify for Boston Marathon on their first 26.2 undertaking. And if you’ve done it, you really don’t need my advice…but I appreciate you reading this so I’ll at least try to make it entertaining. For everyone else, there’s benefit to knowing the course and planning your race strategy appropriately. You can’t predict the weather but at least you can have a heads up on the other environmental factors around you.
Ready to run Boston? I’m here to help.
From the obvious like knowing when hills are going to hit and aid stations are offering gel to the less-thought-of ones like knowing when a relay exchange or popular cheering section is coming up helps to plan for the best experience.
I had run the Fargo Marathon a few times before attempting to BQ. While the course did change a bit each year, I still had the benefit of it being my hometown race, so I knew the roads and I could practice them even during my training.
Eat to Run
I know, I know, we run so we can eat. But we also need to eat so we can run, at our best.
There are foods that fuel performance and, equally important, those that encourage recovery better than others. I’m talking lots of lean protein, leafy greens, vitamins – the obvious stuff. While it may seem obvious, the real trick is actually doing it. It’s easy and tempting to forgo a smart spinach egg-white omelet, sweet potato, and orange for the more appealing half a pizza and candy bar. I mean, you just ran 16 miles. Bring on the carbs and sugar, amIright?
It doesn’t have to mean giving up pizza or other foods you want to eat. Just make a conscious effort to balance it and remember that what you put in is what you get out. Small yet smart changes to my diet played a big role in my BQ. Again, it’s still okay to #treatyoself. I mean, I’m never going to give up Reese’s. Never.
Lift Weights
While runners tend to focus on miles, miles, OMG I need to run more miles, racking up the mileage can lead to burnout and injury, while strengthening the legs makes them, well, stronger.
Achieving a BQ is about more than being faster, it’s also about better overall endurance and creating a body that can withstand step after step pounding pavement without breaking down and fatiguing as badly. It also doesn’t hurt to focus on upper body weight training, too, as a strong back, shoulders, and arms can mean better posture, form, and breathing, all adding up to better run.
I will caution that, as the weekly mileage increases, overall strength can be harder to maintain. I’ve found that I need to accept the fact I have to lower my weights, but still keep up reps. For those looking for ideas, here are a few of my best leg workouts.
Do Speed Work
To BQ, you need to run faster. How are you going to get faster if you don’t try to get faster?
Speed work like various short sprint methods is essential to get the body accustomed to a faster pace as well as build better endurance. The best part about speed work is it doesn’t have to be super intense or done with every run, either – in fact, it shouldn’t be all-out, hard running every run. It can be a gradual build.
I found success with doing it one run a week. Some weeks I’d do my (not) patented Lindsay Intervals. Others it would be a few 60-second sprints sprinkled across my 5-10 mile run. Yes, it’s gotta be done but it can be done at varying levels. Here’s another idea of a running interval workout to get faster.
Push Speed on Long Runs
That important speed work I talked about – while dedicated speed work should be kept to maybe just one weekday run per week, it’s important to push the pace on long runs, too.
In order to maintain a goal pace for a marathon, one has to practice that pace during training. It’s not going to magically happen during race day.
I made this big mistake on attempt #2. I did speed work on my shorter runs during the week but I never pushed it during my long runs. I assumed it was more important to make sure I had the endurance to make it through my long runs and that my adrenaline would perk me up enough to maintain a faster pace come race day.
While my speedwork and adrenaline held up through the first 16 or so miles, it really started to slip away around mile 18 or 19. The heat and humidity didn’t help, but the real problem was I hadn’t practiced sustaining that pace for the long haul.
So, I learned and the following year, I practiced race pace during long runs. This was a key differentiator in missing and achieving the BQ.
Visualize the BQ
I hate myself a little bit for providing this type of fluffy advice. But I swear, there really is something to the power of visualization, seeing yourself in the moment of what you’re trying to achieve, especially towards the end of the race.
My coworkers were pretty pumped for me.
For me, this was big around mile 21. At that point, the BQ was still well within my reach and I was feeling confident. As I continued into miles 22 and beyond, I felt stronger, I didn’t feel like I was starting to bonk and tire out. Part of it was my solid training, but the other part was that I saw myself actually crossing the line in my goal time and it fueled me to keep pushing.
It’s easy to collapse in the last couple of miles of a marathon, where you’re so close yet so far away. No matter how well-trained you are, things happen on race day, especially in those final miles. Visualize the victory and it will help.
Embrace Support
For some, the goal of a BQ might not be that tough to achieve. I think for most though, it is. And it’s tough to achieve any goal in isolation.
There’s a lot others can do to help you achieve a goal, whether it’s mentally cheering you on or picking up your child from daycare so you can squeeze in your speed work run. I was very thankful to have the support of so many people when I prepared for mine, from the simplest, “how’s your training going? You’re going to be great,” to the larger pieces of advice from fellow runners. If you don’t think you have people in your life who will support you, I bet you do – and if nothing else, contact me. I’m here for you!
The other side of support is accountability. Knowing I had so many people who had cheered me on and believe in me throughout my training, and were sending me good vibes on race day really helped push me. And the best part about it? I didn’t have to ask a single person for their support; it all got thrown at me, with enthusiasm. Especially considering it was my third time trying to achieve this goal, that was a really special feeling.
Take Care of Yourself
Pushing for a BQ is going to put a good amount of stress on most, more than training for a marathon with no speed goal in mind. Don’t forget to take extra good care of yourself.
Ice, nap, foam roll, up the water intake, stick massage, sleep more, use rock tape (do it properly it you’re going to use this, don’t just use it for shits and giggles or because you think it looks cool). If you start to feel something sore or tight, take care of it. And good rest is part of good training. I know this one is tough, especially those who have littles.
I admit, even though I listened to my body, I didn’t do a ton of extra care during my BQ training. I did foam roll, drink more water, and take a post-long run Saturday afternoon nap most weeks. That worked for me but don’t skimp; if you feel you need more for yourself, do more for yourself.
Good luck to all you wicked fast runnahs taking on Boston Marathon this year! May your journey from Hopkinton to Boylston be filled with smiles, memories, and feelings of pride. You earned it.
Who else has a good BQ success tip to share? Or do you have a personal question related to your quest for a BQ? The comments are all yours so please leave one, or tweet me @LindsayIRL.
Words of Wisdom for Personal and Professional Wellness
“Nothing will happen if you don’t take action.”
The older I get and the more I write, the more I notice my personal and professional life seem to collide…in a good way. Back in the day, most of my 20s, there weren’t many boundaries between my professional and personal life. It was too much work, not enough life. Balance was off.
Now that I’ve worked towards setting boundaries and keeping some distance between the two, they’ve started to mesh, in a good way.
But this isn’t a blog about work life balance. That’s for another day…
Former Dragons back on campus to learn!
I recently attended an event at a local university, my alma mater, MSU Moorhead – go, Dragons! The keynote speaker was the smart and witty PR pro, Shonali Burke. She shared inspiring stories with good takeaways to keep in mind for anyone who works in PR, social media, event planning, marketing, or related field.
As a writer and PR pro, I enjoyed the event and opportunity to hear her speak. As a blogger and wellness enthusiast, I enjoyed the event and opportunity to hear her speak. Worlds colliding.
She ended with the quote I used to kick off this blog (so simple yet YES), and three key messages. I thought about them and how I try to apply them to myself, both personally and professionally.
1. Face your fears
There’s value in failure. I’m a big believer in doing things even if you’re scared to fail – in personal life. I’ve shared many personal stories, one I’m most proud of is my decision to – for the third time – try to qualify for Boston Marathon, even though I was scared I’d fail again.
I’m a big believer in doing things even if you’re scared to fail – in professional life. When I earned my new role at RDO Equipment Co. of PR Specialist, no one had been in that role before. The company had never had a PR program. It was up to me to build it and make it successful. It was scary and I know I made mistakes and failed in some areas along the way. But I’ve also learned from those mistakes and failures, and been successful in several other areas along the way.
I did it – after failing twice, I achieved my goal of qualifying for Boston Marathon.
On another note, I faced one of my fears at this event. One of my fears is speaking up in large group settings. After Shonali spoke to my belief of not letting fear of failure get in your way, I had to ask her if she could share an example of a failure she learned from. Probably not a fun question for someone to answer but she obliged.
2. Be of service
One of the reasons I started blogging (and continue to do it regularly) is because I genuinely want to help others be well. As much as I do it for my own enjoyment and stress relief, I really do want it to be a resource people can look to, whether to learn or find the answer to a question or to laugh and just be entertained.
One of the reasons I love what I do as a PR pro is my work provides helpful info to customers and potential customers. It also provides content for our website, marketing team, and salespeople.
3. Keep your feet moving
This can be taken quite literally in the running world. I think about it when anyone asks me for advice as they’re about to run their first race, whether a 5k or marathon. One of my key pieces of advice: don’t stop moving. Ideally, keep running, even if you’re running so slow you’re practically walking. Or, if you need to slow down to walk, do it. Just don’t stop moving.
This also extends to wellness. Keep moving towards your goals, even if the steps are small some days. It’s so much harder to get back going again once you’ve stopped, so just keep moving.
And I think you can see how this applies to professional life as well. Some days suck. Some days are just unfocused and unproductive. But that doesn’t mean you just give up and stop. There’s always something small that can be done to keep yourself going. It might not have the biggest impact on your work but it does on your work well-being.
Tying it all together is the quote: Nothing will happen if you don’t take action. Take action – face your fears. Take action – be of service. Take action – keep your feet moving. Take action in these three areas and make good shit happen.
Thank you, Shonali Burke for your lessons and entertainment. Side note, I really want to visit Washington D.C. – not just because I love history but because I want to try one of your famous dosas…then tweet about it. Obviously tweet about it 🙂
Do you feel you can apply Shonali’s wisdom to your personal or professional life? Do these concepts inspire any new ideas or actions? Please share your thoughts in the comments or tweet me, @LindsayIRL.
Meal Repetition for Good Health and Wellness
“Lather, rinse, repeat.”
Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs are two people who’ve made the concept of repetition smart, trendy, and charmingly quirky. I’m talking about the way these two are known for wearing basically the same outfit every day.
The supposed reasoning behind their outfit repetition is that, by removing the decision of what to wear each day, it frees up the brain for more important, billionaire-esque thinking and decisions.
Feel free to roll your eyes. It sounds a little reaching, right? I imagine the reason they wear (or, in Steve’s case, wore) the same thing every day is because they simply don’t care. And that part, I respect. They’re smart, successful, and aren’t lacking in funds for whatever their hearts desire(d) – why should they care what anyone thinks of something as meaningless as their wardrobe?
One of my favorite foods for any meal – waffles.
Regardless of the reason why, I started thinking about this when reading an article more wellness-related. It was about people who eat the same lunch every day and the advantages that practice can have on overall wellness, provided said repeated food covers the nutritional bases.
I found myself interested right off the bat because I don’t like eating the same lunch every day. This is equal parts interesting and ironic because I enjoy eating the same breakfast nearly every day (a wheat waffle with peanut butter and half a banana) and I often eat the same thing for dinner most nights (two eggs on avocado toast with a side of veggies in some format – maybe a steamed blend, a sweet potato, or raw with hummus).
Even though I enjoy it and it nicely fits into my evening time that’s more focused on keeping a one-year-old happy than cooking, I feel the need to at least try to mix up my dinner because I want to be sure I’m exposing myself to different nutrients and flavors. And with lunch, I have even more of a desire to do this.
But, why? A first thought is my belief in inclusive eating; including all foods rather than restrict foods from a diet.
My usual dinner checks off important nutrition boxes – protein and good carbs, plus iron, antioxidants, and tons of vitamins. Logic tells me that if I were to fashion a regular lunch that includes different veggies, another protein, and a fruit, I’d have my nutrition bases covered, even without factoring in my typical snacks like Greek yogurt, fruit, and nuts…and chocolate. I admit it, I snack on a lot of chocolate.
On the day I began writing this blog, for example, I enjoyed a salad with mixed greens, spinach, and cucumber, a half cup of cottage cheese, a cup of peaches, and a small side of tater tots (because, tots – mmmmm, tots). I enjoyed it and it made me happy, it was reasonably balanced and healthy.
Which brings me to the other side of things. Just like my example lunch, I enjoy the taste of eggs, sweet potatoes, and hummus-dunked veggies – so why am I so worried about enjoying the same foods daily?
I think part of this has to do with the fact that my life includes an office job and a one-year old. In short, my daily routine is nearly identical every day.
I can’t imagine life without some of my favorite lunches here & there.
And you know what? I LOVE it. I love routine, I love consistency, I love schedule. I LOVE it. The fact that my days are often very similar is something I love. So, again, why would that make me feel as though I need to change up something as equally important in my lunch.
The real bummer of this self-reflection is one of the reasons I’ve never done well with meal-prepping is because – you guessed it – I don’t enjoy eating the same lunch day after day after day.
I think it’s time I take a good look at my opposition to eating the same lunch every day and, perhaps, try it.
As an initial effort and a way to dip my toe in before diving in headfirst, I ate the same lunch the day following the article read and my start to writing this blog. And it went well. I looked forward to my lunch, knowing it was going to be delicious, which it was. I didn’t dread it, thinking it would be the same boring lunch again two days in a row.
Then, I tried it again – two days in a row of the same lunch. This time a veggie and egg pita with hummus and feta cheese, a mixed veggie blend with lentils and beans, and a Greek yogurt. Again, delish, reasonably healthy, and balanced.
I started thinking my next step is to try three days in a row or just go for it and do a whole week. What I discovered, though, is my lifestyle, not an aversion to food repetition, got in the way.
I like grabbing lunch with friends or coworkers occasionally. I regularly run errands over the lunch hour and grab a quick lunch at one of my favorite places on my way back to the office. And, a key flaw in this concept, I don’t always plan ahead well enough to make and pack my lunch.
All those reasons all hold different weight. And they’re all valid. So, maybe I won’t be a star meal prepper and reap the rewards of having the same lunch every day. For the record, that would be nutritional reasons, not that I assume I’ll achieve any level of Zuckerberg or Jobs-esque thoughts.
A final note: My husband rocks at meal prep and genuinely enjoys his repetitive lunches. And I mean, he’s a really smart guy…maybe he’s onto the next Zuckerberg/Jobs trend in exercising brilliance.
Do you eat the same lunch or other meal/snack every day? Why or why not? Maybe you’ve never really thought about it before and this will enlighten you into something that might work well for you. In either case, please share your thoughts in the comments. Or, as always, tweet me @LindsayIRL.
Get Up Early & Establish a Morning Routine for the Best Day
“Rise and shine.”
Everyone has the time when they’re at their best or do their best work, whether that’s housework, work work or workouts. Typically, we’re either an early bird or a night owl, with some variations of both mixed in.
But the morning and the night can do more than be our time to do our best “things.” They can be the time we set ourselves up to be our best “selves.”
Ugh, I cringed when I wrote that. I find the trendy concepts of “be your best self,” or “living my best life,” equally annoying and basically just a social media must. But, in this case, it supports what I’m going to discuss.
We had a wellness lunch and learn last week at work. The topic was all about routines and, as a creature of habit, lover of schedules, and one who thrives on routines, I was all ears.
The speaker talked about establishing morning and evening routines. People were invited to share examples of their own routines to help inspire those looking to create or improve theirs.
Every day can’t be a vacation – but you can have a good start to every day.
It makes sense that morning and evening present ideal times to establish good habits and routines. The bulk of our days are typically filled but early morning and late in the evening usually give some flexibility for making them ours.
I’m more of a morning person and I have a pretty great morning routine already. Part of this has come with getting older and better managing my time. I wake up early to work out, get myself ready, and enjoy breakfast, which includes deep breathing and mindfulness work – all before my son or husband wake up. On rest days or those that I have the luxury of an evening workout, the routine is the same, I just get to sleep a little longer.
Either way, I love it. I enjoy that quiet time to myself, when no one is up but me. While some days it’s hard to get up so early, it’s worth it and I always appreciate it.
One thing that struck me about everyone who shared a story, and all the examples the speaker shared of famous successful people – they all get up early, too. And that’s the time they dedicate to important habits for themselves.
It makes sense. Even for the most well-planned, Type A person, it’s easy for plans to change and the day to get away. That 5:30 workout might have to be bumped due to a work deadline, child emergency, or numerous other reasons. But if it’s the first activity of the day, before most of the world is awake, there’s nothing to get in the way.
On another note, the first part of the day quite literally sets the tone for the day. There’s even a saying associated with bad days: Waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Waking up being the key there, implying a bad day begins the moment the day actually begins.
Getting up early to add valuable things to a morning routine or simply make it less hectic and rushed is so worth it. For those who aren’t morning people, even getting up just 10 minutes earlier – the smallest effort can make the biggest impact.
Do you get up early? What’s your morning routine – or what are you striving for in a morning routine? In either case, please share your thoughts in the comments. Or, as always, tweet me @LindsayIRL.
Training for a Marathon with Injury, Insecurity, and a One-Year-Old
“Set a goal so big it scares you.”
Having a big goal is…kind of scary. Having a big goal and putting it out there, publicly….kind of super-scary.
But here it is: I’m training to run Grandma’s Marathon in June. Today I ran a 10k and kicked off my official training schedule to tackle 26.2.
For anyone who knows me and was expecting something big, that’s probably a giant letdown. I’ve run marathons before, I’m usually training for one every spring.
So why the big fuss over keeping this one to myself so long?
We’ve run together. We’ve hiked together. Now we take on a marathon together.
For the first time ever, I’m training for a marathon with a very real possibility I won’t end up being able to run it.
First off, I have a bad hamstring that keeps me on edge every day.
Second off, I worry about the strength of my pelvic floor being able to handle 16, 18, and 20+ mile runs.
Third off, I have a one-year-old. My son just turned one, it’s crazy to refer to him as a one-year-old vs. my baby. Oh, parenting!
The combination of these three very large factors gives me worry that I won’t be able to complete my goal of running Grandma’s Marathon alongside my oldest friend, Maggie.
After she mentioned her goal to run a full marathon this year, I eagerly jumped onboard with her. How fun! We could run together, her first marathon, my first since becoming a mom. A great opportunity to help each other, vent to each other, and push each other. Plus I love running and I love running marathons and I love the idea of running Grandma’s Marathon after having the itch for a couple years now.
But, the reality is still a factor. Will my hamstring cooperate? Will my pelvic floor strength be good enough? And, most importantly, will the love and chaos, the fun and fatigue, everything that comes with being an equal parenting partner and mother to a one-year-old be enough of a non-factor?
I thought about that last sentence and was very careful to say anything resembling prevent, stop, or get in the way of my goal.
While my muscles could stop me from running in June, my son will not. Because if I choose to skip runs and stray from my training plan because he needs more from me, or I need more sleep or downtime, it’s just that – my choice.
I’ve continued to love and make time for working out and running, even while adjusting to the change and demands of parenthood. Here’s hoping that rings true with marathon-ing as well.
Fellow marathon runners, how did you balance parenting and getting back into marathon running? Any advice, words of wisdom, or other “wish-I-would-have-knows” for me as I take on this challenge. Please share in the comments or tweet me, @LindsayIRL.
Good Music for a Good Workout
“Stay positive and love your life.”
Have you ever had a really good workout…because of music? I have, it was a run last week. In fact, I can attribute a lot of great workouts to great tunes.
Ah, 311. So much love.
In related news, today, March 11, happens to be my favorite holiday. #311day is a day to celebrate my favorite band and its music.
In addition to many great memories, I owe some of my best workouts to 311. Today was no exception, as I knocked out a solid run and short, heavy lift.
While it’s true I don’t partake in the popular practice of running with music and headphones when I run outside, I count on good tunes to keep me going on my treadmill runs and encourage hard, heavy lifting. There’s definitely something to the power of music when working out.
What’s your favorite workout music? Give a shoutout in the comments or tweet me, @LindsayIRL.
Don’t Worry About Self-Care – Just Take Time for You
“Taking care of yourself doesn’t mean me first – it means me, too.”
Every now and then, a new trend comes along that seems to drive wellness culture for a few minutes – a form of what I call ‘shiny object syndrome’. You know what I’m talking about.
Remember ‘strong is the new skinny’ and the soon-to-be-followed ‘dad bod’? Even now the concept of wellness seems to be getting hotter, replacing weight loss, fitness, and even CrossFit (did you see Weight Watchers changed its name and identity to be about wellness, not weight?).
To me, wellness shouldn’t be trendy and it should be based on you – however, the world we live in today means for many, the opposite is true. It’s all about trends and one-size-fits-all ideas. The latest one I’m noticing: Self-care.
Check social media or the internet and I’m sure you’ll find no shortage of self-care-focused info.
The concept of self-care is that you must take time for yourself, everything from the lavish – dreams of spa days and massages – to the simple – taking a half hour to read a book or relax in your tub. It seems to be aimed at women, mothers in particular, because the rule is women put all their energy into caring for others, there’s nothing left for them to give to themselves.
Time for fitness & friends is what I need for me.
Yes, it’s important to take time for ourselves – but that’s what your individual wellness is all about. To create a whole “thing” of it with the self-care movement, I don’t think so.
What do I need to do for self-care? Am I doing enough for self-care? OMG, now I need to make time for self-care, too?!
All of a sudden there’s a new pressure on us to achieve one more thing: self-care. But, at its basic, self-care is simply taking time for you, doing what you want, what makes you feel good. It doesn’t need a fancy new name or trendy movement. It’s ‘me’ time.
For me, this most often shows up in the form of something sweaty. A heavy lift, a good old EFX sesh, or, my usual favorite, the long run. Sometimes it involves food, meeting a friend for lunch or enjoying breakfast before my guys wake up. And a couple times a year, it involves dedicated time with my best girlfriends.
Then there are some days where what I need to do to be at my best is sleep in and take a rest day. And I do it – I mean, rest days are important after all.
I make time for these things because I want to do them, they’re part of who I am – not because I’m desperately seeking time to care for myself or feel pressured like I have to practice self-care because it’s the newest trend.
We should always be taking care of ourselves, at least a little bit each day. Some days, there’s not much to it. And that’s okay. We have enough on our plates, there’s no need to add to it with the pressure of achieving the idea of self-care.
What do you think about the self-care trend? Has it inspired you, stressed you out more, or have you not even noticed it? I love hearing other points of view so please leave a comment or tweet me, @LindsayIRL.
Why I Love Working Out on Vacation
“Vacation, not to escape life, but to make sure life doesn’t escape you”
Winter is prime time for vacationing. When thinking of vacation, most people imagine laying on the beach, relaxing by the pool, not having a care in the world. While these are delightful thoughts, vacation for me is a little different.
Hiking Heisman
I pack resistance bands, seek out hotels with great gyms or near running paths, even voluntarily choose to go places with 20-degree weather and snow so I can ride my board all day long. I love to stay active when I travel, whether it’s work or vacation – and I recently realized I’m not the only one.
Last week, I spent a few days in Arizona with some of my best girlfriends. I initially planned to go for a run at least a couple of the days and was excited to find out most of the other girls wanted to do the same. As we started planning additional activities, hiking, yoga, and walking around at the zoo all made the list.
Yay, other people who wanted to combine activity with lazy time!
I even arranged for us to do a private functional fitness workout with an old friend of mine, Dale Haines of @762fitness, someone I met during my HARD CHARGE days and who I’ve stayed in touch with, thanks to mutual love of – you guessed it – working out.
Sweat & swell with my favorite girls
From the more intense activities like his class and hiking Camelback mountain to the less-intense goat yoga, walking around the zoo, and easy morning running, I had the best vacation, spending quality time with some of my besties, getting my sweat and swell on, and, of course, plenty of good food and wine.
Best of all, our “up for anything” attitude meant we experienced things we never would have otherwise. Hike and climb up a mountain? Do box jumps, balance on a moving stabilizer, then do an arm workout with giant springs? Do yoga with goats? Check, check, and, I can’t believe I did that, but check!
Some may think vacation is all about doing nothing and relaxing. I think vacation is doing what you love…and relaxing. Since I became a mom, working out is much more of a luxury than it used to be, as is relaxing, so I enjoyed the opportunity to do both. It’s the kind of balance that keeps me well.
Do you like to stay active on vacations? Or do you prefer a whole lotta nothing on vacation? Maybe you’re someone who tries to find a happy medium between the two? Let me know by sharing a comment or tweet me, @LindsayIRL.
Giving Back and Going Outside the Fitness Comfort Zone
“Count me.”
You know that feeling when you think you’re in pretty good shape – your workouts are challenging but doable and you feel like a badass after a really good sesh?
You know that feeling when you think you’re in pretty good shape, then you do a workout you’re not used to – and you feel like the most out-of-shape person and like you may die?
Good friends, a good sweat, and a good cause
Ah, yes, THAT feeling. I’ve had that feeling plenty of times in my life and, just today, got to enjoy the experience again as I took part in a charity cycling event for Giving Hearts Day.
I’m not embarrassed to admit that cycling is a weak point for me – even considering my thick, strong legs and butt. I essentially stopped doing triathlons, not so much because I suck at cycling, but because I legit do not enjoy it.
What I do enjoy, however, is competition and doing things for charity. Naturally, I was eager to participate in this event. Plus, last year we came in second place (UGH, the worst) and, being eight months pregnant at the time, I couldn’t go full-on, all-out – so I was determined to fully pull my own weight on the team this year.
I cycled. I cycled my ass off. I pushed the entire time, sweated like a mofo, and was exhausted at the end of the 10-minute ride. My team won our heat.
So, I may have felt less-than badass and more like I was getting my ass kicked, but it was a great sweat sesh and a great opportunity for me to mix up my workout. Plus, we raised some money and awareness for a great charity.
How often do you take the opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and let your workout work you? What type of workout is that for you? Please share a comment or tweet me @LindsayIRL.
It’s Not Motivation, It’s Not Habit, It’s Determination and Goals
“Habit eats motivation for breakfast…but determination achieves more goals than habit.”
Most of the time, the quote I use to begin every blog is sourced elsewhere, whether something that has been said, a song lyric, or a line from a show. But this time, that’s a quote I came up with…by somewhat combining two famous quotes.
Anyway, enough about that. The real purpose of this blog, like all, is to give you the story behind the kickoff quote. I’m in the middle of reading the book, Atomic Habits by @JamesClear. The author presents his perspective that habits are the real reason we do great things – and not so great things, too.
When it comes to working out, I think most of us religious runners, gym rats, Cross Fitters, etc. believe that habit is a key force behind our 5 a.m. runs or evening lifts, whatever workout we’ve taken to as ours.
Habits are important – but goals are what drive us.
There is some truth to this; I’ve said plenty of times that healthy choices only work in the long term if they become part of your lifestyle – so, in a way, I support the idea that, “habit is what keeps you going.” (slipping in another legit quote there for ya.) And it definitely has nothing to do with motivation; hopefully we’ve all learned that motivation is bullshit – feel free to read my blog on the myth of motivaiton.
Atomic Habits has some really wise pieces of info – although it shits on goals a bit (and I LOVE goals). This is one part I don’t agree with and want to present an alternate perspective, my perspective.
The author believes that once people achieve a goal, they stop their good behavior. Only if they have the habit developed will they keep going.
He also notes developing habits isn’t about achieving goals, it’s about being the person you want to be, defining yourself as that person.
I don’t agree with either of these. I still believe it’s the other way around, that goals are the foundation to achieving what we want, good habits included.
I guess, personally, I don’t make the effort to be well – like run, lift weights, eat lots of veggies, and write in my journal – to because I want to be a runner, a gym rat, a vegetarian, or journaler (that’s not really a word but you get it). I don’t care about these labels or anyone defining me by them.
I do all these things because they make me feel good. I’m set goals all the time to do these things, which makes me feel good. I’m driven by the fact they help me manage my stress, my weight, my happiness – again, which make me feel good.
I’m driven – not in a habit.
I believe if you really want to do certain things – even be a certain person, if you care about labels and others’ perceptions – you need to be driven. And what drives us? Goals…not habits. The key is, and where the author’s point is very valid, you have to keep setting goals.
For real, Atomic Habits is a great book so far. I’m only about halfway into it and it has given me a lot to think about, more “oh, yes that makes sense,” than, “no, don’t agree with that.” I’m looking forward to continuing the read and, hopefully, expanding on some of my current thoughts and opening my mind to new thoughts.
What do you think about this? Are your positive actions due to habit, an automatic response? Or are you making choices based on goals and drive?
The comments are all for you to share so please do. Or you can always tweet me @LindsayIRL.