When she asked me to join her in doing a 5 k, my husband advised me to say yes before I thought myself out of it. And he was right. I would have found an adequately deep rooted internal conflict to make me back away from a new adventure in life. Often we can see uneasy growth coming from a mile away… in this case I saw it 5 k away… I had enough desire to move beyond my self inflicted limitations to say yes and leave the thinking for later.
All posts in The Jogger Within?
A Week Of Mornings
If you like table top books I highly recommend ‘A Year of Mornings’. Inspired by this photography book’s subject and approach, AND to celebrate not being sick every morning any more, I collected a week of morning pictures for this post
Jogging Must Wait
I am sure there would be a few women who would be a little unimpressed with their hubby bringing them home work out equipment, as a surprise… ha ha ha but that isn’t myself, this time anyways
With jogging not going well this ice-y winter I have been looking for other options. Between migraines and thyroid issues I have started to really appreciate how good exercise wards off feeling awful. Needed a new affordable option, with the benefit of taking little time. I can’t get away to nor afford gym membership
Just a few months after the new year a lot of decent equipment started popping up on second hand sites and my man found this little beauty (only a month or two old) at his jobs classifieds. With a steal of a deal struck he picked it up right away.
First night I managed 5k while watching ‘Republic of Doyle’. I am a little sore but not as sore as landing on the ice or twisting my joints to avoid falling has been. So for now jogging must wait till spring thaw and here’s hoping my exercise bike keeps me in enough shape that I am not starting from nothing with jogging again.
Thanks honey 🙂
TTFN
Withdrawal
(A RELATED THOUGHT… or perhaps not… but wanted to share…Everyday as I head outside I see these daisies… and many many more… all over my front lawn… SO IS LIFE, they seem to say to me… they are unplanned for and not socially acceptable all over my lawn… but… sorry neighbors they are the very reason I mow my front lawn infrequently. I far prefer these hearty and lovely little flowers to the sad brown grass that tries to survive under my glorious trees. I didn’t plan for my lawn to be any different from the neighbors but these little beauties are all that survives well and they are much prettier then what I would have controlled into being.)
Wow do I need to write!! I feel like all the fabulous moments my kids and I are experiencing are fading into oblivion without my having the ability to record and think them through on the family blog. Thankfully I haven’t needed a lot of de-stress blogging so I have been okay with letting this public blog lie… letting the sleeping blog lie… hmmmm, I like that… anyhow.
I need to be okay with the risk of memory lose as I have no personal computer to update so frequently. I need to just grab this summer by the… heat waves…. ??… and GO WITH IT! This is where life is right now! No computer for me and so I must cope with the blogging withdrawal and continue on.
SUMMER, by the way, has been absolutely fabulous so far! The big kids are at camp and I am spoiling the smaller two. Garnet and I are getting lots of alone time and the dog is getting fun in the sun with an even more active me. I am not letting the specialist appointments slow me down. We, meaning Riddick THE DOG and I, are back to short jogs each morning and enjoying the energy boost that that provides.
SUMMER, by the way, has been absolutely fabulous so far! The big kids are at camp and I am spoiling the smaller two. Garnet and I are getting lots of alone time and the dog is getting fun in the sun with an even more active me. I am not letting the specialist appointments slow me down. We, meaning Riddick THE DOG and I, are back to short jogs each morning and enjoying the energy boost that that provides.
(‘gasp’ a jogging photo… kinda… me right after a run, looking good cuz I took down my sweaty pony tail before picture was snapped, he he he)
There have been gallons of iced tea drank already, plenty of patio time, fun stops at parks, pools and more. The garden is doing super well in spite of the water ban. What else can I add? Going north to the grand folks with my crew next week and hope to put some deliciously northern snap shots on here soon enough and the fun continues after that trip with tea parties, camp for me and my two babies, a tenting weekend and swimming lessons.
How will I cope with school starting again?
TTFN
Updates and TIME
(SUMMER!)I am not accustom to catch up posts, but with the death of my personal computer I have been left with no choice but to put a little update up and do the best I can with borrowed time on other persons computers.
Things have been up and down in the health department. I am currently finding it a struggle to get into the specialists I need to see, because of how unusual my birth defect is, most doctors don’t seem to understand how it works or what it is exactly. HOWEVER, I have been able to get into the specialist for my families genetic disease and that is a big relief. I can honestly say I have a next step and plan to get things done that need to be done for me and that is a long way from my overwhelmed feelings and dread of the idea that I might have to be a squeaky wheel.
With school wrapping up just around the bend I am so very pumped about summer. We have been finding plenty of excuses to get outside, from meals on the patio more often this year to going to more community events. We just got back from an art sidewalk sale in a near by neighborhood. It made for a lovely weekend afternoon for the kids and I. I had just got back from a run and had more then enough enthusiasm to head out with the kids for the majority of the day.
Speaking of my run… ah it is a lovely part of my life right now. I find I bound out of bed on the days I get to run at the river with my girlfriends. There is so much activity down there, it is so beautiful, it just inspires me to get out more, in our city. Today was special because I have been pretty sick for a bit and couldn’t get out like I enjoy. It felt extra good to get out there. I opened my runners shoe box and smiled. I sighed as I said, under my breath, “I missed them.” The house was all still asleep, or so I thought, Garnet heard me and snickered I am sure… I like my running shoes and so I suppose I am becoming a passionate jogger.
As I was waiting in the back yard for my ride I heard a window open and saw a little face peek out at me from his bed. “What are you doing mama,” my oldest boy asked?
“I am going for my run dear”, I couldn’t get over how cute his sleepy face was.
“Oh yeah. Are those your new shoes” he asked with a wide eyed look?!
“Yes. Do you like them?”
“They are so cool” he sleepily said with a nod.
I was keenly aware of the example I was setting for my kids, thanks to his and my little exchange. Mom being active has become a regular thing for my children now. They expect me to have a long hike or run early every Saturday. My parents where both very active outdoor sportsmen and hard working farm folk so I had an excellent example growing up too. With our city lifestyle I have had to find a very different way to set an example for my crew, but I am glad I have found it. Not that their Dad isn’t a superb example too. He is an avid mountain biker and a dedicated road bicyclist. I hope they will find healthy activities that they enjoy and can make a regular part of their lifestyle.
A little bit by choice, and a little bit thrust upon me, I am thankfully pulling back lately. I find the city life hard, but I am focusing on making it work for me, instead of me working for it… I am learning about how much I need personal space and CALM mom and kid time… like what I had back in the day, when we lived in a small prairie town. I am learning more about myself and my kids all the time… while I take the time… and I am enjoying time NOW!
TTFN
Beginner Jogger
I have avoided calling myself a “jogger” for a long time… I kept saying I am just getting into it… just trying to be active, nothing more… but the fact is I can honestly say I now LIKE IT! I really do! It took the whole winter but I feel confident enough to call myself a jogger… or at least to be open to telling people I jog.
Steps to Jogging Confidence
(these are my steps… you know, what was in my head when I set out to master jogging… going from HATING IT to ENJOYING IT)
(these are my steps… you know, what was in my head when I set out to master jogging… going from HATING IT to ENJOYING IT)
1) Proving to yourself that you are disciplined, that it isn’t just a fad and that you are not a fraud…
Joggers have a reputation. They are strong, disciplined and really passionate. I didn’t wanna be a joke and jump into calling myself a jogger too quickly, so this is why proving I had the discipline to keep it up was important to me. Started jogging shortly after getting our dog, Riddick, to keep him well exercised. When I started to see benefits in my health it became something for me too. I got up almost daily and jogged with my dog before the kids awoke (around six). I managed to maintain this for the whole winter. The discipline it took alone to getting up and out there made me feel pretty good about myself.
2) Being willing to be spotted jogging.
Long before jogging myself, I always spotted them. I followed their form and wondered about their style of run and their outfits… So going from early, and dark, morning jogs to doing it during the light of day was stressful for me. Thankfully I was able to start into this stage while still in my frumpy winter gear. I didn’t want to be spotted doing a shot-y job of what is called jogging. What if my running form looks like the funky chicken and I just don’t know?! Daylight brought out self confidence issues in the jogger me, but the harder step was letting the bulky winter wear go and dawning the work out gear for warmer weather
3) Buying and wearing those tight work out outfits.
I like mary janes (a type of shoe, flats) and dresses, big flow-y dresses… not a sporty girl… sooooo the sporty gear sure was intimating and felt so foreign when I started wearing it. I just had to tell myself over and over to stand up straight and suck it in baby!
It was also really hard for me to invest the cash on shoes that weren’t super cute. My very sporty biking husband informed the clerk “DON’T let her pick based on how they look!” The clerk informed him she had a lot of colorful types that no one else wanted and was more then thrilled to pawn them off on someone like me. This made me grin. They are as cute as sneakers can get, I assume, COLORFUL and very comfortable. (Pssst! Did I mention they match the little jogging skirt I had picked up just before the shoe clinic visit?! Don’t tell my husband!)
4) Jogging socially!
I have no idea why I put this off to last?!! Jogging with girl friends has turned out to be one of THE BEST parts of jogging! We have a beautiful river side city to enjoy and company really helps you go longer without getting side tracked. Is this why people get ipods and listen to inspiring music as they jog? I haven’t tried that yet, but since I am not a highly competitive sort I will often cut jogs short, when I am alone, because I get bored or my mind leads me on to other things and pretty soon I feel drawn away from my work out. Anyhow, the girls inspire me. I really look forward to our weekend jogs together! We have a beautiful route along the river and over a couple of the bridges. It doesn’t hurt that this route just happens to lead us to an award winning coffee shop at the end.
(The coffee!)
Well this is all I have for now. Ramblings of everything that has been bobbing around in my head since I started this adventure. I am a happy person in my body and all the more as I continue to exercise regularly.
P.s. Sorry, no jogging pictures of myself or my jogging pals… speaking of confidence… I don’t know about them but I don’t think I am ready for a jogging self photo on my blog yet:)
TTFN
