What Happens When Stuff Happens

When stuff happens we can:

• react
• respond
• reflect
• rejoice
• remember
• reverse
• reprimand
• reprieve
• reconsider
• read
• rest
• run
• risk
• reveal
• reinvent
• renovate
• report
• reach-out

Or, we can stop and get our bearings, before doing anything else.

Window of Opportunity

Sometimes our windows of opportunity are very narrow. This morning, I woke ready for my daily run.  Overcast skies and light drizzle greeted me.  This would have provided the perfect excuse to skip a day.  Getting out there and seizing the available moments provided a chance to experience much cooler temperatures than we've had in several months.  When windows of opportunity appear, we often gain more than we anticipate by quickly seizing them.

Getting Back Up

I've been fortunate to never before have fallen when running, until this past weekend.  My injuries are minimal - bruised hands, skinned knee and bruised hip.  My iPhone looks far worse than I do.

Quite close to home, I could have easily turned around to nurse my wounds, but I got up and finished my run.

Had I turned around, I'd probably have been more sore the next day.  And I might have been nervous about getting back out.  Sometimes, when we get back up and keep moving forward when we stumble, it's a far better option than seeking sanctuary and solace.

We need to know when to run and when to hide.

Degrees of Difficulty

Julia, Gar and I had long anticipated this past long weekend and approached our three very different races - 5k, marathon and half-marathon with varying degrees of preparation.  The only different challenge facing me in my 5k was Austin's hills, as the distance was within my 1 - 3 mile daily run range.  Julia prepared diligently for her first marathon, after successfully completing 4 half-marathons and two Ragnar relays.  And though several of her training runs incorporated distances greater than her previous longest distance of 13.1 miles, she'd not yet completed 26.2 miles, nor had she trained on hills like Austin would present.  And Gar approached his first half-marathon, with the expectation that years of athleticism and youth, rather than training, would serve him well.

We each completed our races with better results than expected.  And we each embraced different degrees of difficulty for ourselves.  My race would not have been a challenge for either of my children, but I increased my normal pace and ran my fastest time ever.  Gar's race was an amazing feat for him, but would have just been a 5th half-marathon finish for Julia.  And Julia's goal-setting, preparation and determination served her well in completing a race which a small percentage of the population even attempts.  Yet, scores of runners also completed her race.

It worked out beautifully that we were all proving something only to ourselves, and could appreciate and celebrate the accomplishments of our other cherished family members.

It's important to realize that what is easy for one is a momentous accomplishment for another.  Degrees of difficulty are very individualized.

Constant Choices

Before 8:00 a.m. today I'd already made several choices that impacted the rest of my day:

• a few more moments of relaxation/sleep
• creating a centerpiece for the kitchen island
• thus, running 1/4 mile less than anticipated, yet 1/4 mile more than my daily requirement to meet my annual goal

Fortunately, these terrific early morning choices positively impacted the rest of my day. I responded early to my needs for rest, creativity and exercise. 

Though our constant barrage of daily choices aren't always as clear cut as these, it is sometimes helpful to remember that each simple choice we make can positively or negatively impact our days, thus our lives. 

Make Realistic Goals

When the temperatures dipped into the 20s twice this week, I was so glad that I had set a realistic running goal for 2014.  Houston rarely gets temps that cold, so I opted to skip those two days and resume running in more palatable temperatures.  Had I not set my goal to allow for some yucky weather, early meetings and other conflicts, I could have become frustrated early in the year and abandoned the goal.  However, even with 2 missed days, I'm still on track and quite motivated to achieve my annual mileage.

Goals need to be ambitious, but realistic.

Rainbow Waiting

Yesterday morning, I seized a short window between rain showers and was able to complete most of my planned run.  A beautiful rainbow greeted me soon after my trek began.  Though I had every excuse to skip a day of exercise, by taking advantage of the few moments that were available, the rainbow reminded me that unexpected gifts are available when we seize opportunities great and small.

Better than Expected

With all of the running apps now available, I feared comparing my old trusty app with one of the newer, well-touted GPS-based programs.  Determined to meet my amended annual running goal, my concern was that I'd been overestimating my distance, and would fall impossibly short of the goal, if recalculation was necessary.  I decided to face my fear this morning and tracked my jog using both the old and new programs. What a surprise and relief to learn that my old device was registering less distance than the new app!

Sometimes facing our fears yields far better outcomes than expected.   And, we end the worry of not knowing what we'll find.

Measure and Modify Goals

Goals provide a measurable way to track progress toward something important.  Setting goals is a critical first step, followed by consistent steps for achievement.  Despite our best plans for execution, life sometimes gets in the way.  That's when we need to adjust our plan - not abandon it.

My health goal for the year was running 400 miles.  As I saw that I was going to exceed this, I set a new stretch goal of 500 miles, and was making good progress for achievement.  Then life through me a huge curve ball.  When I was unable to run during the month of October, I could have scrapped the 500 mile goal and decided that 400 was good enough for 2013.  Instead, I decided to modify my plan and still strive for what had now become a true stretch goal.  Thus, a little mist and 42 degrees didn't keep me from running this morning, nor did morning and early afternoon appointments yesterday.  I made clothing modifications this morning and timing ones yesterday.  If I'd not decided to stick with my mileage goal, I'd have easily rationalized two missed day of physical activity.

Goals keep us moving - sometimes literally.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

It's hard to believe that I've been running for a year!  Little did I know at this time last year that the novel activity I accidentally tried would become an important and positive part of my life.  This one year milestone caused me to think about why something I'd never considered embracing would make such a difference.  There are so many positives including:

• Open to new activities and ways of thinking
• Influenced by positive role models
• Focused on health
• Balancing active and busy
• Setting and achieving a fitness goal 
• Enjoying the outdoors
• Seeing neighbors
• Don't have to schedule it, able to just lock the door and start the route on my time frame
• Time to think and pray without distractions

365 Miles

It feels so good to complete an ambitious goal!  There is no way that I would have believed, a year ago, that I would have the satisfaction of running 365 miles this year.  Becoming a runner wasn't on my list of 2012 goals.  However, once I started running, it was only natural to establish a goal and track my progress.  Heat, cold, rain, snow, injury and early morning meetings provided ample excuses not to run.  And, attaining 95% of my goal would have been pretty good.  However, the 365 mile goal kept me motivated and moving.

It's day 365 of 2012 and I just finished mile 365!

It's Too...

Though Houston is blessed with mild winters, the rapid change in temperature from the 80s to the 40s makes early mornings seem especially cold.  It would have been easy to opt out of running this week, but I didn't.  Each sequential cold day, I made additional appropriate clothing adjustments to make the experience more positive.

Change of any sort always gives us an excuse to suspend our positive activities.  Instead of deciding that it is too (insert any obstacle) to achieve our objectives, it often helps to overcome the excuses by focusing on the positive outcome/feeling/accomplishment achieved by powering through any initial discomfort.

Run or Retreat?

This weekend, I was enjoying a nice run in Port Mansfield, and was excited to spot a nice buck along the route.  This was quite a different site than my normal Houston runs!  Once the deer determined that I was no threat, he quickly resumed his morning meal and I happily continued my adventure.

Soon, a smaller four-legged creature challenged my right to continue.   A feisty, territorial pointer began barking threateningly as soon as I came into sight.  Though I was on the other side of the street, he didn't think I belonged anywhere in his neighborhood.  And since it's a sparsely populated area, there wasn't anyone to ask for assistance.  Though I continued to retreat, walking backwards with my eyes on him, he was not content.  Finally, a passing car distracted him and I turned and ran back to the club. 

Everyone is fearful or insecure about something. How we address these discomforts matters.  Knowing when to run and when to retreat is part instinct and part experience.  The more experienced we are the better our instincts become. 

Sometimes running is the answer.  And other times we need to retreat. 

When to Run and When to Rest

As an accidental runner, my questions are many.  When I googled "when to run and when to rest" I got 1.36 billion hits.  So many options is overwhelming. 

Though this is by far the highest number of hits I've received for an important question, it reinforces the importance of asking credible friends and associates when we need to quickly process appropriate responses.

Real?

I'm reminded of the wonderful childhood classic, The Velveteen Rabbit, as I wonder when one becomes a real runner.  Experts tell us that good habits are established and bad habits are broken in three weeks.  Today was my 21st consecutive day of running.  Achieving that milestone prompted a trip to a running store to be fitted for running shoes to replace my cross trainers.  When I posed the question about real runners, my dear multi-marathon finisher friend told me tonight that I am a real runner.

Three weeks, new shoes and a marathoner's endorsement have given me the confidence to consider myself a real runner.

 In other areas, the love of a child, the support of a friend or the belief in ourselves also make us real.