Motivation Monday

Happy Monday! I did a LOT of pining on Pinterest and I found this gem to motivate myself:

If the Rhino can hit the treadmill to become a magical Unicorn then I can hit the treadmill to become a magical Sarah.

Also, I have been dangling a carrot in front of my face for the last few weeks to get in the habit of running: Expensive things! I want the Garmin Forerunner 220. I WANT IT NOW! But I’m making myself wait until I am running consistently, which for me is 3 times a week. And I have to do it for 6 weeks so hopefully it will become a non-negotiable at that point. That is why that has been one of my goals every week so far.

Speaking of which, here's an update on my goals from last week...

1. Run 3 times per week - nailed it! I didn't even half ass it this time. Woohoo!

2. Research cross training - nope. Didn't do it.

3. Join a gym - done! Samantha and I were going to do the Pi-K Group Run on Tuesday but it was hot so we went to her gym instead and I liked it so much I got a membership that very day!

And my goals for next week:

1. Continue to run 3 times/week - 3 weeks down, 3 weeks to go.

2. Run solo – I'm going to be running races alone for the most part so I won’t have Shelila or Samantha there to pace me so I need to get used to the solitude and regulate myself a little better.

And another motivating factor: my run fund has continued and my total is now $38. So yay!

Happy Haunted 5k – 138 days | Wine and Dine Half Marathon – 173 days | Avengers Half Marathon – 181 days | Walt Disney World Half Marathon – 236 days | Disney Princess Half Marathon – 279 days

Evil, Thy Name Is Bed!

I have been dealing with a motivation problem.

I feel awesome during the day, ready to run once I get home from work and then I get home. And I see: My Bed. My best friend/worst enemy. Giver of rest and taker of time.

Hello Pillows. Hello Blankets. Hello Mattress.

It's a problem.

But the thing about me is, I'm a problem solver. In theory.

So here are the solutions that I have come up with/am putting into practice.

1. Get up in the morning to run. - This eliminates my get home from work collapse into bed problem. But a new problem arises: my alarm goes off and I want to keep on sleeping. Which can then be fixed by solution number 2...

2. Get a running buddy. - AKA Shelila, one of my BFFs from elementary/middle school. She recently moved in with my other BFF Pattserella who lives down the street. Now that she lives close by, it's pretty easy to arrange to get up just a little bit earlier once or twice a week to go for a quick 30 minute run. We've already done it once, and I found it really helped. She kept me paced pretty well too which is great cause I tend to sprint straight out and then can't keep it up. But at some point, Shelila might want to sleep in so that brings me to solution number 3...

3. Join a running group. - I was a bit hesitant about this one. I was (and still am) concerned about my pace. I know I'm not very fast, in fact I'm pretty darn slow. I don't want to slow anyone down and I certainly don't want to be the slowest person there. So I went into one of the local running stores and talked to them abut what groups they had set up and if they were appropriate for beginners. The guy I talked to anticipated my concerns and guaranteed me I would not be the slowest one. He also said that he was a pacer for a Galloway group and that they practice that during some of the group runs which really helped me feel confident about wanting to try the group out. Plus, it's right by my work and starts 30 minutes after my shift ends so it must be fate, right?

So that is my plan. Get up early to run, both solo and with Shelila, and start going to a running group where I will hopefully make more running buddies!

Also, less than 2 weeks until Expedition Everest! I'm going to be running as a team with my sister-in-law (I'll be dressed as Anna and she'll be dressed as Elsa) and I'll be doing a recap for another blog so stay tuned!

How do you stay motivated?