Here We Go Again

I'm starting to see a vicious cycle in my running life. It goes a little something like this: Run, get into it, dig it, take a break (vacation, work reasons, whatever), fall off wagon, get run over by wagon, get back up, convince myself to start over again - and that's how it goes. It goes and goes and goes and goes.

So how do you stop the vicious cycle and just do it?

I pondered that question for quite some time tonight over a nice glass of cabernet (but of course). There are many articles out there that tell you how to overcome the 'barriers' that lead to the vicious cycles.

According to the Mayo Clinic, not to be confused with Mayo Winery (another favorite and sometimes contributor to my barriers), came up with a list of things to do to keep yourself motivated.  These were swiped right off of the Mayo Clinic's site.

Set goals. Start with simple goals and then progress to longer range goals. Remember to make your goals realistic and achievable. It's easy to get frustrated and give up if your goals are too ambitious. If you haven't exercised in a while, a short-term goal might be to walk five minutes once or twice a day. An intermediate goal might be to walk 20 minutes three or four times a week. A long-term goal might be to complete a 5K walk

Start slowly. If you push yourself too hard at first, you may be forced to abandon your program because of pain or injury. It's better to start slowly and progress gradually.

Think variety. Vary your activities to keep boredom at bay. Alternate walking or biking with swimming or a low-impact aerobics class. When the weather cooperates, do your flexibility or stretching exercises outside. Play soccer with your kids. Join a health club or martial arts center to broaden your access to different forms of exercise.

Have fun. You're more likely to stick with an exercise program if you're having fun. If you're not enjoying your workouts, try something different. Join a volleyball or softball league. Take a ballroom dancing class. Trade your running shoes for a swimsuit. Remember, exercise doesn't have to be drudgery.

Make physical activity part of your daily routine. If it's hard to find time for exercise, don't fall back on excuses. Schedule workouts as you would any other important activity. You can also slip in physical activity throughout the day. Be creative! Take a walk during your child's music lesson. Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Pedal a stationary bike or do strength training exercises with resistance tubing while you watch TV at night.

Put it on paper. Are you hoping to lose weight? Boost your energy? Sleep better? Manage a chronic condition? Write it down! Seeing the benefits of regular exercise on paper may help you stay motivated.

Seek support. You're not in this alone. Invite a friend or co-worker to join you when you exercise. Work out with your spouse or your kids. Take a class at a local fitness center.

Track your progress. It may help to keep an exercise diary. Record what you did during each exercise session, how long you exercised and how you felt afterward. Recording your efforts can help you work toward your goals — and remind you that you're making progress.

Reward yourself. After each exercise session, take a few minutes to sit down and relax. Reflect on what you've just accomplished. Savor the good feelings that exercise gives you. This type of internal reward can help you make a long-term commitment to regular exercise. External rewards can help, too. When you reach a longer range goal, treat yourself to a new pair of walking shoes or new tunes to enjoy while you exercise.

Be flexible. If you're too busy to work out or simply don't feel up to it, take a day or two off. Be gentle with yourself if you need a break. The important thing is to get back on track as soon as you can.

Okay, so I've done all this. 5k was the first goal (hence the blog title), support in the form of the Moo-challenge with Rachel; reward myself (daily with a glass of wine, herein might lie the problem but like all problems we'll just ignore it for now)......

More investigation is necessary on the subject. And on a better note - I'm on the up-side of the cycle. Clocked in four miles yesterday and three miles today. Let's see how long this holds out. I have my theory - and I bet I hit the wrench in the spokes when the Oregon Brewer's Fest rolls around.

Maybe there's an app for my iPhone for motivation. I'll check it out.

Gadget Geek

It is here - the day I have been waiting for a long, long time: the launch of the new iPhone 3Gs. My heart be still.

Getting the iPhone was quite a challenge. The Apple Store in Washington Square was set to open at 7 a.m. on Friday the 19th of June and I planned on being there with my nose pressed against the window prior to opening. So at about 6:15 that morning, the trusty lab and I headed that direction in a sleepy kind of daze. I figured it would be simple, considering I had already pre-ordered mine when the news first came out of the phone's release.

Walking through the mall you could hear the sound of a crowd. People were already gathered and I saw evidence of a sleeping bag on the floor. What the hell? The queue was set up and it was about four or five lines deep by the time I staggered in (with trusty lab in the car, waiting patiently). Nothing was moving all that quickly and I started to get nervous about the time it was going to take to get to the front of the line and then into the store to get the phone and get it working.

An hour later, one dog check (he was fine) and a new found Starbucks coffee that someone was kind enough to bring me, I found myself with Apple rep "Brandon." Looking like he had just rolled in after a Grateful Dead concert, he attempted to set me up with the new phone. Seriously, he looked like he needed a date with Irish Spring and a razor sooner rather than later. Getting through the process took about an hour, since I, of course, had problems switching my number over from my previous carrier. I was the 2nd case of that they had ever seen - which I just contribute to my bad karma. Since Kooper has a micro-chip with the old number in it - I battled my way through AT&T customer service (who were shockingly helpful) and got 'er done. Really, it's all about the dog, who was still waiting in the car.

Two and a half hours later, one bored Labrador and way more hassle than I needed that morning, I had the brand spankin' new iPhone 3GS in hand and was heading back to the office. I must say - this is quite possibly the coolest gadget I have ever had and am wondering how I lived so long without one. I have deemed it "my boyfriend."

I haven't quite had the chance to figure out all the features yet, other than setting up my bluetooth so I can still look uber-geeky when I'm out and about and I've dabbled a bit with the voice command option (very cool). There are a lot more functions I need to take the time to explore.

Yesterday I did manage to take a picture of Kooper at Laurelwood pub where we enjoyed a refreshing Organic Red after a nice hike up in Forest Park (where we got rained on). No one seemed to mind though. Camera works nicely, although I must figure out a way to disable the "current location" and/or "find me" options. Seriously, no one needs to know that.

Road Hazards

While on vacation in Maryland last month I set a couple of goals. These consisted of the following: That I wouldn't 1/ get bombed every night and that I would: 2/ go running to keep up on the marathon training schedule. With my family, sticking to #1 was going to be challenging and #2 was going to prove to be nearly impossible. But I was ready to give it a go.

So one morning early in the trip, when I wasn't feeling so great after failing miserably from sticking to goal #1 but somewhat still determined to stay on schedule, I headed out to go for a run. Where my sister lives, the country roads are quite narrow

- there really isn't a shoulder (nevermind a bike lane), so she suggested I run down a side road close by. I still had to take the main road in order to get there - about .3 miles in the danger zone. And, as my luck would have it, I heard the sound of hooves on the pavement not long after I took off on my little adventure.

It was the dreaded Amish buggy that I had the good fortune to hear heading my way. Not one, but three. They seemed just as shocked to see a crazy woman running down the road as I was to see three buggies full of people dressed in Amish attire being pulled in horse carts. I waved, they waved (at least they were friendly about it) and luckily, I got out of the way - long enough to take a picture. They don't quite like it when you take their photograph, so I had to be stealthy about it. Nothing says stealthy like standing in the middle of the road like a dingbat with a camera in your hand. I don't think they spotted what I was doing and if they did, they don't really have a 'reverse' gear to flip a quick u-turn to run me over, now do they?

After avoiding being trampled by the convoy, I made it to the road and started my own trot when obstacle #2 started to take effect. The weather on the east coast is much more humid than it is here on the west coast, so by the time I even got a short distance into the run I was already drenched with sweat and felt like I had gone further than a few hundred yards. The air is thick and hot making running that much more difficult and had me wishing for air conditioning, not to mention a nice, cold beer.

Down the road and back was only a mile each way, but that was quite enough. As I was running along I took in the sights & smells - like people outside shooting archery (sight you don't see everyday) and horse doo (smells from the Amish). At the end of the road there was even a hill I had to try to navigate -- down and back up, which with the heat was a challenge. The bugs were about as big as my head and felt compelled to dive bomb me as I ran, probably due to my lovely smell by that point. You think they'd follow the horses, but no such luck. Maybe I smelled like a horse, who knows.

The rest of my vacation was quite a bust, for running anyway. I did manage to drink my way through quite a few states, saw Elvis, caught a never ending cold and am now back attempting yet again to get back into the groove of training for the Santa Rosa marathon. Minor setback but I expect to make a complete recovery and get back to it.