Day 12

2.5 km run tonite.....
ok , I'm not going to panic, its just a set back.
Luckily my sister is in town who is a massage therapist and a Yoga instructor. She was good enough to work my left hamstring and legs.
Her description:
 your hamstring muscles are like guitar strings and she said right now they are twisted up like a licorice stick. So she spent time working out the twists - yes...it was uncomfortable!
She said, flush out the area twice a day - I looked at her with a puzzled face??.. apparently , if you sit on a cold pack then alternate with a warm pack this moves the blood and helps speed up the repair of torn muscle tissue.
Then she gave me some yoga moves to hold a good stretch in and was adamant about using the foam roller every day  to keep all muscles supple.


She ended with "you know...you are getting older, is all this really necessary at your age?"


...silly sister...

Day 11

4 km run through River Valley at lunch - little concerned about sore hamstring, had to stop:(

Day 10

Little too hot for me to run...pushed out a hard 13km

Motivation

The topic of Motivation came up a little while ago and it seems to be in my thoughts lately.
What is your motivation...what makes you get up and get after the things you want?

When something is new to you its easy, its exciting and challenging and just shear interest is sometimes all you need to get you motivated to work at something.
I think the tough part comes when its not so new, when something becomes frustrating and maybe even boring to you, the motivation becomes sapped.
This is when we usually revert back to old habits, excuses for why we cant get to something and convince ourselves it really wasnt for me anyhow.

Motivation is hard to keep and I find its a moving, changing tool for me constantly.

What I mean is, my motivation source can change over time, it can come from another person, a role model, a mentor ,sometimes its a new goal, measuring progress or even new running shoes,  whatever it is that motivates me or inspires me I have come to realize that I need to change it up on a regular basis to stick to something that starts to get tough or frustrating...that being said.. it is nothing without the discipline to do the work it takes to get there.
In the past a picture of someone who inspired me used to get me to the gym. In the past hanging around people that were already accomplished in their field made me want to study hard to get my Certification.
Kung fu, the motivation came from many sources but mostly from watching others do what I could not....yet.

I always thought of Motivation as the external driver and I always thought of discipline as the internal driver.

With the two concepts hand in hand you could accomplish whatever it was you put your mind to.

Day 9

4.6 km tonite...need to figure out what a when to eat before I run, sometimes I feel like I'm running out of energy and if I eat too much or too soon, feels like a rock is in my stomach...

Day 8

trail run through Chickakoo - 10.5 km

Day 7

HaHa...Sifu A.Regier! ...not a chance! you are doing that up the mountain run,.. if I managed to get up to the top they would have to roll me back down! You are by far the better woman for that:)


...ran 5 km before work this morning...

Day 6

Weekend was too busy...I only squeezed in a 3km run, gong to have to stick to it this week

Day 5

Ran this morning and this evening for a total of 16km - now if I could just do that all at one go!...and a bit more..:)

A Stressed Society?

Are we a society in turmoil? Are the pressures of our busy society producing a level of stress that is breaking the ethics, morals and judgment of the average citizen?

I cant help but bring up all the random shootings in the media. I have almost become desensitized to it, broken heart-ed about it  and tired of it, all at the same time.

Gun control?.., ban the reporting of the event to reduce the copy cat effect?

I don’t have the answer but have a question  that I am sure has crossed everyone’s mind…WHY?...what leads up to  individuals taking innocent random lives before they take their own? What is the mental state and what led up to this state of mind?

I think this is where we need to put our resources. What is the root cause , the common cause, if any. How can we take care of our own, watch for signs of mental distress and extend a compassionate heart to those who are going down the road  of deep despair and hate.

We, as parents, colleagues and friends need to come out of our own busy bubbles and realize our actions have an effect. From raising our children to passing someone on the street. Our actions have a rippling effect.

This might not solve the real issue but our compassion for others may help to relieve the pressure and stress our society seems to increasingly carry.

Day 4

13km around town -sore feet- maybe new socks to go with new shoes!

Day 3

5km of hill running in River Valley at lunch

Day 2

ran around town today-12km, pretty slow. need new shoes!

Day 1

Today is the first day of my 2 month plan to improve my running.
Went to Chickakoo and ran 5km through the trails.
Some steep hills I could only walk up.....MOSQUITOES..they are a great motivator to keep you moving.