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"Nothing diminishes anxiety faster than action." ~Walter Anderson

Do you sit around and worry about stuff?

 How's that working for you?

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Honestly, sometimes you do feel paralyzed. Something needs to happen. You need to take that next step, but you're not sure what to do. You're scared. Maybe you're afraid of failure. And that's normal. We are all a little afraid. But nothing happens... if nothing happens.

So, my assignment for you today is this:
Think of something in your life that you want to change.
Take one step towards changing that today.

It's easy to talk all day about the great things you will do, and that's important, too. We want to have the vision in our mind all the time. But there comes a time when the talk has to stop and the action needs to happen.

So, go do it. And get closer to that goal.

"Action is the antidote to despair." ~Joan Baez

Biking with Barbells, Running, Eating, Life

First of all- I saw this in the gym yesterday. Now, it's been a few years since I taught group cycle, but from what I remember, there were no barbells. Is there something I don't know about? Am I behind the times? What do you think?

While at the gym, I had a pretty nice 3 mile run. I really struggled with the first mile... but, knowing that I always struggle with the first mile, I am finding I can get through it.

I was tempted to run longer, but I've made a crazy plan to run 8 MILES on Friday, and I want to save some energy for that. I read somewhere that you shouldn't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10%, so I'm trying to keep it low...

I have also been doing better with eating, but there are still a few challenges. Is it just me, or is it really difficult to eat healthy AND eat frugally? Plus, all my son wants for dinner is "cheese. And a tortilla. And 2 pieces of cheese." (He wants to be sure he gets that cheese).

And, I'm being bombarded with stories of people who are hard core runners but who are ABOVE their ideal weight. This is discouraging. I passed the point of "working out JUST for weight loss" a long time ago, but I still fantasize about having one of those "runner's bodies". The more I read and learn, the more I have to accept that it's more about diet than exercise. Luckily, I enjoy exercise, and I do it for other reasons...

I woke up this morning at 4:00 am because it was the only chance I would have to workout. I really didn't want to. I didn't even give myself a peppermint mocha for it. But I did it, and I'm glad. However, I'm even more determined to get to sleep before 9:30 tonight...

Have a great day!

Sarah

P.S. Don't forget to enter the giveaway on my Facebook page!

Epiphany

"I had an epiphany."
-Angel Angel, Season 2

This is me at the end of today's run. Not sure why I look so confused.

I went out today for my "long" run. The goal was 5 miles. I psyched myself out beforehand:
"I will not worry about speed."
"I will go slow."
"I will take walk breaks."

So I did. I did a run 4 minute/walk 1 minute split. It was amazingly manageable (although, after about 25 minutes, the walk breaks seemed to get much shorter.)

I planned to do 60 minutes. This breaks down to 12 of these 5 minute segments. (See how I continued to psych myself out?)

Anyway, the epiphany part, or "why I run."

I was about to get to my last interval. The song "This is your life" came on. I did something a little strange: I prayed.

I looked up, and the sky was such a beautiful blue (it really was amazing compared to the weather we had all week.) I just said, "God, thanks for getting me this far. I know you don't hear from me much, but I'm really, really thankful for my kids and my wonderful husband. I really like my life. It's not perfect, but that's okay."

And I ran as hard as I can for a little over 5 minutes.

"This is your life. Are you who you want to be?"

As I heard those words, I thought, "Yes, I think I am." I mean, I've made mistakes and I've done SO MANY things I'm ashamed of. But, today, I'm exactly who I want to be. I find myself asking every day as I make little choices: "Is this who I want to be?"



So, it's runs like these that keep me coming back.

Have an awesome day.

Sarah