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Monday, September 17, 2012

On the Precipice

prec·i·pice [ préssəpiss ]
1.high cliff or crag: a high, vertical, or very steep rock face
2.dangerous state: a very dangerous situation
Ahh, such a good way to start the week off.  Yes?  In good news, my pizza legs seem to be getting back to normal.  The solution?  BAKING SODA!  Somehow, it seems to draw the mess out of the leg and soothe it.  Hey, I'm not asking questions.  Its still rashy, but nowhere near the mess it was before.  In OTHER good news...even though I'm out of the pool for a week....I CAN RUN!  I went for a glorious 5 mile run yesterday and was thrilled to death.  Was it easy?  Nope.  Was it fast?  Um, NO.  But I enjoyed every second, and even a day later, no foot pain!  Wahoo!  No PR for this lady in two weeks, but I am thrilled to death that I can celebrate my b-day doing the thing I love most....running :-)  I'm hopeful to get a semi long run in next week (8-10 miles) but we'll see what it brings.  If I can run for 45 minutes without pain, I think I can tackle 13.1 in a reasonable amount of time. 
Whew.  Glad we started with glass half full!  It always helps.  In other news, I'm still feeling a bit overwhelmed with life.  Mom hopefully gets out of the hospital tomorrow, and will have VNS coming to help her until she can manage again.  I just hope that she is able to start making some changes....otherwise I am fearful we will end up in the ER or worse next time. 
Change....is not easy.  I think we all know that.  But what makes someone deviate from the comfortable predictability to embrace something new?  Something that might be more helpful....to live a longer fuller life, to achieve a goal, to get where you want to be....but something that looks scary because you've never done it before?
For me....it's about whats on the other side.  My "after" needs to be a pretty compelling reason for me to jump off the proverbial cliff in order to embark upon the unknown.  I can think of two specific instances when this was the case:  1.  Back in 2003, when I was about 30 pounds overweight and was miserable.  I knew I needed to change for my health, but it was so hard.  So, I made a goal - to get down to my goal weight in 4 months.  I took it step by step and added in 30 minutes of activity 3 times a week, then increased to 4, and 5.  I kept a food journal.  And over the course of 4 months, I went from a size 14 to a size 8.  9 years later I've gained a bit back, but still stay within 5 pounds of my "happy weight".  If I see the scale creep up, I try to cut back on the sweets or walk a bit more.
2.  Back in 2009, I got the Iron bug.  I had done a few shorter races, but signing up for 140.6 was one of the scariest things I've done.  Could I really do it?  Who was I kidding?  Once again, I addressed my fears by being somewhat methodical.  I found a training plan and created a journal to track my training.  I watched my diet (well aside from post 100 mile rides and 20 mile runs...a girl's gotta live!) I changed every password I had to "Placid2010" or "Sub14IM" (my A goal).  8 months later, I crossed the finish line at my first 140.6, the fittest I'd ever been and under my goal time. 
Not that I always succeed. But I've found that your "why" needs to be pretty darn strong in order to conceive of a "how".  And then your "how" has to be pretty detailed. 
However....anything you want badly enough, you can achieve.  I firmly believe in that one.  And now it's time to be the cheerleader.  I can't change someone else.  but I can support it with every ounce of being that I have and help come up with suggestions to block any obstacles.
Forward, march. 

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