Need a reminder… + Weekending

(Leggings, top, earband, and shoes)

The trails were mostly clear, which meant Andrew could join me on his mountain bike.   He pushes me to go so much faster on the trails than I normally do.  I did this same trail two weeks ago and did 10 miles @ 9:39 average pace and then did 12 miles @ 8:30 average with him on Saturday.  My legs were donezo (1666 ft of climbing) by the end, but it was excellent training for the 25k in March.  PS Andrew has decided he isn’t going to do the race anymore (it was all my idea ha), he is more interested in cheering me on for the race and focusing on biking.   

When I first put on the Speedgoats, my feet were confused because the upper felt much different than any of my other shoes because it isn’t stretchy at all, but once I got moving in them, I was very happy.  I felt like I was tigger on the trails and bouncing around.  The grip on the bottom was fabulous on the snow and dirt.  I didn’t feel an ounce of plantar issues with them on (which isn’t the case in my other pairs of trail shoes).  I was warned before I wore the Speedgoats to wear taller socks to avoid the stiff tongue rubbing on my skin, and the taller socks prevented any problems with the tongue.

Back home to the kiddos and much too tired to do any strength afterward…

Next on our agenda was Brooke’s indoor soccer game.  With each game, she gets more and more into it, and it’s fun to see the confidence she gains along the way!

At night we watched the new Hotel Translyvania movie.  The Transylvania movies are their favorite so they have really been looking forward to this.

We got a ping pong table, a huge highlight at our house and we spent many hours playing.  We might just have to sell our kitchen table and keep this here and eat off of it;) 

The kids requested animal-shaped pancakes.  

Lots of playing at home on Sunday.

And church too!

I have no idea what is going on but I am having a hard time believing it is January.

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I’m finally really excited about speed and hitting goals again! I have a list of my favorite mental tricks that I use when I want to quit, and I’m going over them again to remind myself what to do when things start getting really hard.

Time to get comfortable being uncomfortable again.  We know the pain will come as we reach towards big goals, so let’s welcome it when it shows up along the way.  

*I think about everything that isn’t hurting.  I focus on the little things that are going well, which helps me forget about all of the things that aren’t going well.  Maybe it’s my breathing that feels in control when my hamstrings want to die.  Maybe I need to focus on how nice it is to have elbows that aren’t hurting, and that takes away my thoughts from the hill hurting my legs so bad.  Focus on the good, and you’ll forget a little about the bad.

*I count steps.  It helps me to distract myself by counting my steps.  Or I’ll count trees sometimes too.

*PAIN= GROWTH.  I remind myself that without the pain, I’m never going to get stronger or faster.  Without the discomfort, I will never become who I want to be.  I focus on the benefits of what I’m feeling, which helps me keep going.

*I STOP any future thinking and ask myself if I am doing my best in the moment.  I don’t think about the five more reps or miles that I need to do or wonder how I will survive them… I think about how I am accomplishing the task in the now and let go of the rest.

*Sometimes I guess how far away the tree is down the street or the stop sign or the next gas station, and I see if I’m right according to my watch ha.  I like to throw in little games to distract myself.

*I eat or drink something.  Even if it is a small sip of a gel or a little bit of Gatorade… just getting in a bit of sugar or liquid helps me feel better.

*If I am racing and they offer ice packs, I stuff them in my sports bra or I take the cups of water and pour it on my head.  It shocks my body a bit and feels like a nice reset mentally and physically.

*I look around at the runners near me.  I tell myself they are feeling the same way I feel and they aren’t quitting.  Sometimes I’ll just stare at the person’s calves in front of me in complete awe of how our bodies allow us to run.  

*I think about how the mind gives up long before the body needs to quit… I remind myself it is my brain telling me to stop, not my body.

*I focus on my arm swing because my arms aren’t tired, but if I keep them moving, then my legs keep moving too.

*Sometimes, when I am going up a tough hill, I think about something hard that I’ve overcome in life and remind myself that I overcame something WAY harder in real life, a hill isn’t going to kill me.

*I try to go a little bit faster when I’m hurting because I tell myself that if I switch up the pace I will be using different muscle groups than the ones that are tired in that moment;)

*I remind myself that I GET to do this and that the roads are my playground… I’m secretly just in the best game of tag ever.

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What do you do to avoid quitting during a run/race when you really want to?

What was the highlight of your weekend?

What fuel have you been loving during your run lately?  

Parents—> any fun snacks/meals that you made/make for your kids that they loved (like the above pancakes)?!