Step 1: Have a hot beverage ready (a “tall” is not enough!)
Step 2: Get two bags of ice.
Step 3: Run cold water into tub, and get in, fully dressed, with a big sweatshirt on top.
Step 4: Add ice, set timer for 15-18 minutes.
Step 5: Read or carefully play with smartphone (i.e., don’t drop it in the water!) to take your mind off the cold. Wiggle your toes and flex your feet from time to time to make sure they don’t freeze.
**This post is brought to you by the rapture that wasn’t, by Reverend Baker’s sermon the morning after, by this awesome Nike t-shirt, and by several life lessons.
My religious upbringing didn’t include much focus on the Book of Revelation or “the rapture.” As Reverend Baker put it in his sermon this week, when Jesus said (in John 14:6)
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
He didn’t mean that He is a door that you open and all of a sudden (woosh!) there you are in heaven. Rather, He is the way to follow as you live your life. Being a Christian is as much about the journey–how you live your life–as the destination–how you might spend the rest of eternity.
I used to think that losing weight and getting fit were destinations–goals that I could reach once or for all and then get on with the rest of my life. After I reached my weight loss goal, it took a bit of time (and a few pounds regained) to learn that eating right and staying fit were the keys to living the rest of my life. (My mantra in those days: If I go back to my old ways, I’ll get back to my old weighs.) Every day I have to make choices about what I will (or won’t) eat and how much I will (or won’t) move my body. Reaching my goal weight might have been the end of my weight loss journey, but it was only the beginning of the rest of my life.
I can draw the same analogy about work. As an associate, I had a general goal of making partner in my law firm. Now that I’ve been a partner for a few years, I see making partner as the start–not the finale–of my career. Becoming partner meant charting my own career path and doing the hard work it takes to be successful. Every day brings new challenges, new accomplishments, and yes, sometimes, new frustrations!
Understanding life as an ongoing journey suits me well. I try remind myself to “relax and enjoy the scenery,” and when the path gets rocky I remember that Jesus is walking with me every step of the way.
Did you ever reach a goal that turned out to be just the beginning?
What’s your favorite t-shirt slogan?
Today I did my last long run before the Zooma Half Marathon on June 4. (Some people might think that it was my last long run before the rapture, but I doubt it!)
The 6:00 am weather report was good:
It’s 57°F, Sunny
Although I have to say that even when it’s only in the 60s I prefer a cloudy sky to bright sunshine.
Afer last week’s 12 mile run, I had no worries about doing 10 today, but I wasn’t expecting a “great” run. Allergies had brought me sneezing fits and a big headache last night, and I wasn’t sure that I was fully recovered. For dinner last night I just had 1/2 a Kashi pizza that I split with my husband, and I didn’t sleep very well–I fell victim to late afternoon Starbucks again!
I fueled up with a chocolate Muscle Provider protein shake and one Cliff crunchy peanut butter granola bar, and filled my water bottle with water. I got to the bike path at 6:45 and it already was busy. I saw several groups of women who were in the middle of their runs, and a few others like me just starting out.
My first mile was faster than usual (9:37) which always tempts me to reassess my target pace (whatever that was). My next few miles were in the 9-ish range, so I decided to aim for that.
I’m not used to having so many other runners on the trail when I run. I’m pretty sure it impacted my pace, and got me thinking about one reason why my race pace can be so much faster than my training pace–if our paces are close, I “need” to pass the person in front of me!
The first person I encountered was a woman who was keeping a great pace with nice form. I probably would have been fine staying a bit behind her, but I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to match her pace. I pushed mine a bit to pass her.
The next person passed me–but he was talk, dark and shirtless, so I didn’t mind the view for a while. He had an interesting but inefficient gait–lots of up and down motion.
The next memorable person was a very tall guy. I felt like he was twice my size–I probably came up to his elbows! He also had an inefficient gait, but with lots of side to side motion–almost a sashay!
During the last half of my run I had several sub-9:00 miles, and I decided to try to finish strong and keep that pace. (The last three miles are downhill or flat). My breathing was still pretty easy, but I had to increase the effort for the last mile. When I reached my stopping point, I was psyched to see that my total time was 1:30!
I walked about 1/3 mile back to my car, stretched a bit, and then headed to the grocery store for ice and to Starbucks for a “grande bold” to get ready for my ice bath. The second bag of ice definitely made it much colder, but it was bearable.
After a hot shower and some breakfast, I made these cookies from Corey’s blog (The Runners Cookie):
If this was my last run ever, I have no regrets!
Garmin Data:
Total Distance: 10.0 miles
Total Time: 1:30
Spilt Times: 9:37, 9:08, 9:03, 9:12, 8:47, 9:09, 8:49, 8:53, 8:55, 8:43
I first learned about Operation Beautiful a few months ago, when some of my friends started “passing notes” and spreading the word. I left a few notes myself and have a picture of one that I texted to a friend:
As explained on the Operation Beautiful website:
The goal of the Operation Beautiful website is to end negative self-talk or “Fat Talk.” If this little blog only does one productive thing, I hope it helps readers realize how truly toxic negative self-talk is — it hurts you emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
What’s not to like about that?
I don’t struggle with “fat talk” very much, but I have struggled with similar issues–like judging myself by how closely I stuck with my diet or letting the scale control my mood. It’s been a while since I’ve been “there,” and I hope that my self-worth, self-confidence, and self-esteem are strong enough so that I will never go back.
It pains me when I see other women, teenagers and even young girls, struggling with these issues. It’s not hard to figure out why–mainstream media bombards us with messages that thin = good/happy/successful and fat = bad/miserable/failure. We have to fight off unrealistic expectations and resist pressure to try to conform to unhealthy norms.
That’s why we need a village–a blogosphere, a Twitterverse, a WorldWideWeb– to get behind Operation Beautiful. Spread the word. Believe the truth.
You are beautiful.
This is my training log for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon. (You can read my training log for week one here, week two here, week three here, and week four here.)
I can’t believe the Zooma Half is less than three weeks away! I am doing well with training without getting injured (knock-on-wood) and am a new convert to ice baths, which should help even more with that. I am still on track with training for a sub-9:00 min/mile pace, but I am still wary of the weather on race day. I just don’t do well in the heat, and think even the 60s is hot for a long run!
Less than one week after the Zooma Half, I am running the Lawyer’s Have Heart 10K. For the first time, and in honor of my Dad, I am fundraising for the American Heart Association, so please visit my donation page.
May 16
21 min elliptical
free weights:
deadlifts/military presses/push-ups
plie squats/tricep dips
lunges/bicep curls
wall squats with fitball/lateral raises/front raises
bent-over rows/hamstring curls/leg extensions (Bowflex)
chest flies/crunches/tuck & pile (on fitball)
side-lying leg lifts/crunches (on mat)
May 17 (4 mile tempo run)
Treadmill workout:
5 min walking warm-up
15 min running warm-up
4 miles @ 7.0 mph
3 min running cool-down
5 min walking cool-down
May 18
21 min elliptical
free weights:
single-leg deadlifts/military presses/push-ups
plie squats/tricep dips
forward + reverse lunges/bicep curls
step-ups/lateral raises/front raises
bent-over rows/hamstring curls/leg extensions (Bowflex)
crunches/tuck & pike (on fitball)
side-lying leg lifts/crunches (on mat)
Notes: My right leg felt “weak” after yesterday’s tempo run, so I decided to add in some single-leg strength moves (deadlifts, step-ups) and did reverse lunges for 2 of my 3 sets of lunges.
May 19 (speed intervals at track)
warm-up: 3 laps @ 9:30 pace
8 X 400:
2:14 (8:34): 2:12 (8:32); 2:12 (8:32); 2:09 (8:13);
2:11 (8:34); 2:06 (8:13): 2:09 (8:31); 2:07 (8:07)
cool-down: 3 laps @ 9:24
May 20
20 min yoga (Rodney Yee “twists” program)
free weights:
single-leg deadlifts/military presses/push-ups
plie squats/tricep dips
forward + reverse lunges/bicep curls
bent-over rows/lateral raises/front raises
crunches/tuck & pike (on fitball)
side-lying leg lifts/crunches (on mat)
May 21 (last long run before Zooma!)
10 miles, 1:30 total time
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
