Monday, May 2, 2011

Banishing the negatives

So lately, I have been desperately trying to banish the blues, to break clear of the lazies and refocus my energy on upcoming events. It has been some stressful times, and will continue to be in the near future. The weather has been crappy, I am trying to plan the purchase of a home for us and an international trip in the fall, in addition to managing the finances to fund these expeditions, manage my husband's vast expectations on what we can afford, and manage to pay all the monthly occurrences that come up, which I am having problems juggling. I have just felt with the blah weather and so many financial stresses on the horizon, that my body is telling me to take a break and rest.



Does this rest mode help me? NO! I need to fight the inner lazy person, and remember all the benefits that exercize brings. This is why I went out for a glorious little run on the weekend, when the sun was shining bright and the weather was a balmy 20+ degrees. I took the time to mentor a neighbourhood girl who is 14 and wants to get into running on a regular basis. It was amazing to see her enthusiasm and just how much knowledge I have gained over the years with respect to running. This was evident when this girl, we'll call her A, showed up at my house in a cotton T-shirt, converse shoes, no water, no clue. I quickly fixed her up in my shoes, made her change her shirt and pants, got her a water bottle and some sunglasses, and got her set to go.

We set out on a route that took us about 3.75km, with a lot of walk breaks. It felt great to get out there and not focus on pace or time, just running when A wanted to and stopping when she needed a break. I will be starting her on a C25K program to do on her own, and will run with her at least once a week on the weekends to keep her company and motivated.

This run has reinvigorated my spirit a bit, and got me focused on my races that are fast approaching. I haven't yet signed up for my second half, but I think I will once I am back running 3 times a week. I know I can do it, I just have to get my mind out of the funk it is currently in, and back focused on a goal. Sometimes it just takes the push or encouragement of a family member, friend, mentee or stranger to get you refocused.

Who motivates you?

4 comments:

  1. Right now what motivates me is losing weight. I just want to fit into smaller clothes and I really want to feel comfortable being in shorts over the summer. Also a motivating factor is the fact that we have all of a sudden fallen into a group of friends that are pretty active and I want to be able to keep up with them when we do stuff together!

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  2. Faster race times! That's the only thing that does it for me and is why I sign up for far too many races. Good job bringing the teenagers along!

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  3. My hubs and run group totally motivate me. I can motiveate myself..but it tends to be in the form of guilt..which works in the end. :)

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  4. I am always fighting the internal lazy person. Group running seems to help me

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