Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Gratitude in Planning Ahead
I've talked previously about planning ahead to make sure you are prepared for your runs and how you can apply that to your everyday routine to avoid surprises in your day. This week, I planned ahead so that I was able to completely enjoy the late season snow that was predicted for the pre-dawn hours. You see, we had an unusually long warm stretch for a week earlier this month. I cautiously reveled in the sun and near 60 degree temps as did everyone else. (It's always so much fun to see how the outdoor population increases so dramatically on these short warm spurts.) In addition to fully taking part of as much outdoor activity to boost my vitamin D levels as I could, I kept in mind that I do live in Wisconsin and on occasion it does snow as late as April. I saw this week that we were to get a snow overnight Tuesday. I generally run at 5am. While many others I came into contact with yesterday were complaining about the snow, I tried to redirect them to the forecast of 47 degrees today. That's means the although it would be cooler at night and yes snow would fall, it would also melt. Early this morning, I got out my cleats for my shoes and headed out. The snow was so beautiful! The temp was 30 degrees, for a winter runner this is amazing weather. I was warm, lightly dressed and comfortable. The snow continued to fall as I ran through a silent, fresh winter wonderland. I rested assured that later today, this would all melt and we would still be on our way to Spring. I had the best of both worlds! I had my cake and ate it too! Thus, the power of knowledge and preparation enabled me to truly bask in the splendor and beauty of the early morning snow and fully appreciate the times the snow has peaked out to warm us today.
Monday, March 2, 2015
I'm Baaaaaaaaaack!
Oh yes, that is a line from a movie I am fond of, "Armageddon." It signifies that someone who has not been heard from is back and with something BIG to say!
A year of many significant life changes has left me with little time to post. Do you remember taking those stress tests in school? Scientists Holmes and Raher assigned values to negative stressors based upon their significance in your life. Basically, the higher the score, the more negative stress you have which theoretically increase your likelihood of developing unhealthy habits or sicknesses. I decided that since I feel I've dealt with pretty much every form of negatives stress in the past 6 months, with the exception of death, that I should take this test again. My reason for taking it is to show that I have proven how that no matter what each day brings, we can overcome! Let's take a look first at a few things I realized about myself and then how I have dealt with my stress over the past 12 months.
First, I became thankful for the things that I have not experienced to add stress to my life.
1. I have not been arrested or sent to jail for anything. Yeah!
2. None of my children have left home. Yeah!
3. None of my friends or family members have died. Yeah!
4. I did have an outstanding personal achievement. I got a personal best in a 5K race. Yeah!
Since I already know I have a high score, I chose not to focus on that, rather on the positive. HOW did I do this? HOW did I manage to not get sick during these "stressful" 6 months? I focused on four main things.
1. I pray. I mean truly talked to God and asked for help because no amount of running would be enough to get me through all these changes.
2. I am leaning on family and friends. Everyone always tells us to do that. Maybe you can relate to me, if you are a giver. Leaning on others, accepting help, even accepting words of encouragement can be very difficult if you are used to being the one offering support. I learned. I lean.
3. I keep exercising. I know this is a stress reliever for me. I also realize that I simply am not able to do as much as normal, but some is still excellent for me. I may not be logging long miles, but I am still logging. I realize it is the best I can do right now and it will get better.
4. I keep a list. I decided that focusing on the bad is way too limiting. I began and still keep a list of my accomplishments. It began with something as simple as getting my own cell phone with my own money. Simple, but powerful. Whenever I feel myself being sucked into the deep pool of self-pity, I read over my list, I pray, I exercise, I ask for help!
I am happy to say that I have survived and I am thriving! Each day does bring challenges, some are heart wrenching and take all the strength within me and an unknown amount of strength I gain from God, family and friends. What I know now is that I will make it. In the midst of all that goes on in my life, life keeps going. The clouds still form, the world keeps spinning, life goes on and I'm not going to miss it!
A year of many significant life changes has left me with little time to post. Do you remember taking those stress tests in school? Scientists Holmes and Raher assigned values to negative stressors based upon their significance in your life. Basically, the higher the score, the more negative stress you have which theoretically increase your likelihood of developing unhealthy habits or sicknesses. I decided that since I feel I've dealt with pretty much every form of negatives stress in the past 6 months, with the exception of death, that I should take this test again. My reason for taking it is to show that I have proven how that no matter what each day brings, we can overcome! Let's take a look first at a few things I realized about myself and then how I have dealt with my stress over the past 12 months.
First, I became thankful for the things that I have not experienced to add stress to my life.
1. I have not been arrested or sent to jail for anything. Yeah!
2. None of my children have left home. Yeah!
3. None of my friends or family members have died. Yeah!
4. I did have an outstanding personal achievement. I got a personal best in a 5K race. Yeah!
Since I already know I have a high score, I chose not to focus on that, rather on the positive. HOW did I do this? HOW did I manage to not get sick during these "stressful" 6 months? I focused on four main things.
1. I pray. I mean truly talked to God and asked for help because no amount of running would be enough to get me through all these changes.
2. I am leaning on family and friends. Everyone always tells us to do that. Maybe you can relate to me, if you are a giver. Leaning on others, accepting help, even accepting words of encouragement can be very difficult if you are used to being the one offering support. I learned. I lean.
3. I keep exercising. I know this is a stress reliever for me. I also realize that I simply am not able to do as much as normal, but some is still excellent for me. I may not be logging long miles, but I am still logging. I realize it is the best I can do right now and it will get better.
4. I keep a list. I decided that focusing on the bad is way too limiting. I began and still keep a list of my accomplishments. It began with something as simple as getting my own cell phone with my own money. Simple, but powerful. Whenever I feel myself being sucked into the deep pool of self-pity, I read over my list, I pray, I exercise, I ask for help!
I am happy to say that I have survived and I am thriving! Each day does bring challenges, some are heart wrenching and take all the strength within me and an unknown amount of strength I gain from God, family and friends. What I know now is that I will make it. In the midst of all that goes on in my life, life keeps going. The clouds still form, the world keeps spinning, life goes on and I'm not going to miss it!
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