Would You Run For This Wednesday

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Would You Run For This Wednesday

So, I thought a good way to stay connected to my readers is by connecting life with food. But not just any ordinary food. Food that makes you run harder, faster, longer. Good tasting...no. Great tasting...no. Mind blowing...no. Taste bud blowing food! Yes, that sounds right. 

So, 'Would You Run For This Wednesday' will be dedicated to a food that I find delectable, tasty, sinful, and most of all worth running for.  I will provide the link/blog to the recipe and you can let us know if you made it, ate it, and what you thought of it.

Ok, I for one WOULD run for this food! I LOVE carrot cake...especially with cream cheese frosting. Of course we are talking adding a mile or two, maybe a couple fartleks...but SO SO SO worth this food.

Would You Run For This? 

This....and a whole lot more.

After such a long hiatus, it is time again to record, ramble, and vent the doings of how Mother Runner is going to get her stride back. 

JUST GO.

But, is it really that simple? Can one just open the door and go?

Can one just lace up, in my case velcro my Vibrams, and go? 

Is getting out the door truly the hardest part?

What does it take for a Mother Runner to gain strength, confidence, and fantastic paces again? Let alone fantastic legs?

Well, one things for sure...it is not just getting out the door, it is this and a whole lot more.

So for the non-runner, yes, you have been lied to. Many times. Running is not just you and a pair of your favorite Nikes. It is not the cheapest workout, at least not once you get good at it. It is not all love, peace, and buds in your ears.

For the beginner runner, you are either just realizing that you need so much more than your sneaks for your new hobby. Wait one tic, did she just call running a hobby? Oh, you betcha! You beginner runners must approach running as your new hobby if you want to progress in any fashion. Your running needs to be come a passion that unfolds and reveals new obstacles and challenges that you want to conquer. You will have no desire to conquer such feats with a workout. With a duty. But with a hobby, that you have a passion for, that is where the battle of conquering is won.

For the vets, you are reading this and chuckling along reminiscing about the days when getting out the front door was hard. When taking to long of a hiatus was the LAST thing you did in your running career, only to find unless a dog has chewed the foot off your leg, you would never stop running for any period of time unless that hiatus included Dr. orders of RICE.

So, getting out the door is hard. But it is on a long list of hard.

Motivation...HARD

Burning in chest...HARD

Chub rub...HARD

Sweat, everywhere...HARD

Sore legs...HARD

Time management...HARD

Lack of sleep...HARD

Planning...HARD

Training...HARD

Where will you start Crystal? You ask. For me, it all begins with a pencil and my running log book.

I will scour the beginning pages of my running log, looking for clues on how hard I should push myself that first week out. I will look for past experience to guide my jiggly, post-partum, drooping butt out that front door.

Yes, post partum. I wouldn't have taken such a long break from the one thing in life that brings me clarity, sanity, pleasure, pain, and great satisfaction for just anything, or anyone. But for that little guy, pictured oh so sweetly above, I would do anything. Including, but not limited too, gaining weight and putting my hobby on the back burner. I had visions of my pregnancy as a runner. A lean, pregnant runner. One of those runners you have no idea is pregnant until I turned sideways. Well, life can throw you a few curve balls here and there. In my pregnant adventure, I was sick. My last long run as a pregger  was 10 miles at 8 weeks pregnant, and I just had to throw in the towel (or throw it up) until 15 weeks along, where I felt great and decided to go for a run. Mid run, I did not end up feeling so great. My pace went from 9 mpm to 12...in just  few weeks. I was winded. I was tired. I was sore. I was not "that" pregnant runner I had always envisioned myself to be. So, I decided to grow a human instead.

Now, here I sit planning and considering my time management as I begin my running journey again, with one more mouth to feed. With one more time consumer. With one more distraction.

No one said it would be easy. In fact many said it would be hard. Thats ok. I embrace every detail in it. Hell, I'M IN!! And for those who do not know what that means, it mean I'm in the ING NYC Marathon 2013...theres motivation in that...at least I know it will get me out the front door...for now. Then, it will be my desire to remain sane, clear, happy, and of course sporting nice legs that will keep me crossing over the threshold.

I'm baaaaack! New weekly posts, updates on my crazy year off running, and the latest random craziness from a mother runner!!

It's ALL About Me.....And Then Some

For some time now I have not quite had my head on right when it came to what I wanted to share with cyberspace.  Then it dawns on me.  When I run, my mind is (usually) so clear, my thoughts are (usually) fluid, and I realize......
TURN OFF THE DAMN MUSIC! 
I ran for two years without music and fell in LOVE with running.  I feel in love in with my Creator all over again.  I feel in love with ME.  I knew myself so intimately, that at times a 15 mile run could go on and I wouldn't even realize it was over.  Running meant that I had time to go deep into my mind, and peek around and bump into old memories and experiences.  I had the time to delve so deep into thought, I would go those places most are afraid to go, you know, the who's, what's, and why's of creation and existence.  Oh yes, I went that far...that far down the preverbal rabbit hole.  Where many never venture because the fear of the unknown paralyzes them.  I go there while running, well I did. 
I finally ran the other morning without the buds.  Without PODRunner.  Without BEP's. Without Adam Lambert (yes I listen to him....and no I do not care what his sexual orientation is....he can SING).  I ran without EMINEM (and YES I like him too....and no I do not care what he stands for or doesn't...his music pumps me up).  Instead I ran with an old friend.  I ran with ME.  The feeling of joy crept over me like I was intoxicated.  My first few strides were that of a newborn yearling.....ok, slight exaggeration, they were that of a runner that has been shown the LIGHT.  My mind was consumed by the life pumping in my ears, legs, heart, and veins.  My breath quickly became patterned and cadence like. The very best part.....my mind was free.  Free of pre-meditated thoughts from Fergie, Steve Boyett, Will-I-Am, and of course Adam.  My thoughts were like you opened fire in a racket ball room with a pellet gun that shoots out tiny little rubber bouncy balls.  They went CRAZY!
My mind became clear, my thoughts became mine, and the rebirth of my creative side took place.  
It became so clear that running is for ME. 
Its all about ME. 
MY pace.  
MY run.  
MY time.  
MY heart rate.  
MY splits.  
MY pr's.  
MINE, MINE, MINE, ME, ME, ME.  
Yup, sounding pretty narcissistic right about now huh?  Well, running is just that. When you are not doing it, you think about it.  When your not thinking about it, your talking about it.  When your not talking about it, your reading about it. 
And sure, we all have our reasons as to why we run.  Some run for thinner thighs.  Some run for charity.  Some run for those who cannot.  Some run for doughnuts.  Me, personally, you know why I run, I have said before that I LOVE food, and I run to eat (A LOT).  But I must admit, being a size 2/4 ain't to shabby either! 
In fact it is AH-MAZING!  
I know, that sounded really narcissistic of me....yeah, well I'm a runner.  It's all about numbers, and calories, charities, inches, and pant sizes ALL play a part.
You see, it's ALL about ME.
Your reading MY blog about MY running experiences, and I share them, because I am slightly (due to running), narcissistic.  Is that a downfall?  Well, you may say YES, and never want to read this again, or you may find that deep down inside you want to do something bigger, better, stronger, faster, (for YOU) more than you ever have, and reading my truth about how I feel makes you either A- Live vicariously through me or 2- You get the balls to do it yourself.
As EMINEM would say "You only get one shot, do not miss your chance and blow this opportunity comes once in a lifetime."  When I hear that, I think I have been given a shot to utilize this body to its maximum potential.....and why not?  Ask yourself that. 

WHY NOT? 

Why shouldn't I push myself to the edge, look over, and leap with confidence that I WILL land on two feet (running preferably)?

Quit with the lame excuses.  For every hour you work, you can find two that you fill with BS.  For every hour you fill your life with, you can CHOOSE what and how you fill it.  And I am not saying walk to the edge and leap into running, leap into life and LIVE. Live your life, don't survive it. That is NOT living. Do something that pumps life in your veins, and what ever IT is.....do it with GUSTO!