Share Your Motivation
My sister Patty is my best friend. I remember as a kid, fighting with her like cats and dogs. My mother used to say we would always have each other. She was so right!
Patty has become intrigued by this running, run /walk, treadmill thing. She thought she might feel a little better if she had a daily exercise routine. A challenge she faces living in the north is that it's dark in the morning and dark before she leaves work. She got a mack treadmill and has been using it regularly for a few weeks.
I teed up the possibility of having her join me for the Women Run the World 15k in May. I have sent her a Couch to 5k program and a 15k training program. I think she can do it and she wants to do it. Yay!
I want to put together a goodie basket for her with some essentials, such as good socks, body glide, sport beans, and a book with motivation. Motivation from my friends.
This is where I need your help. Please leave me a comment or email me with some motivation to share with my sister. My goal is to get 365 pieces of advice (tell your friends or post on your blog too!) to put in a spiral-bound book. I will share the final result with every contributor.
Please include funny, serious, silly, scientific or whatever you like.
I want to show my sister as much support as I can. And I want her to see that everyone of us is behind her and are rooting for her!
Thanks in advance!
posted by Maddy @ 10:55 AM
10 comments
![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
10 Comments:
Wow - how can two girls that are so pretty look so different from one another? One brunette with wavy hair and one blonde with straight hair. WOW!
I am contemplating some advice/motivation right now. I will stew on it a while.
Merry Christmas!
"Eat what's right; not what's left."
What a great idea. I agree that having a sister is the best blessing a girl could ask for.
Running advice: Create fail-proof training plans, but allow for flexibilty. Don't be too hard on yourself. If you stick with the training plan as much as possible, you will finish the race. And sometimes it ends up not being about finishing the race, but the actual training that really changes your life forever.
Two pieces of wisdom cemented my running career when I as first starting out eight years ago. The first was, Run first thing in the morning. That way things don't come up during the day that prevent you from running.
The second was, Run further. My first foray was a dash to the end of the block and back. I was so proud of this effort. I told a co-worker who rolled her eyes and said, You put on running shorts for that? She was right, and soon I was regulalrly running 2.1 miles five times a week, not a whole lot but it worked for me as I dropped 40 pounds and it stayed off (I also stopped eating anything that was around--a variation on David's comment). Get up, throw on running clothes, out the door, a 19-21 minute run up to the school and back. Done for the day and in the shower 25 minutes after I arise from bed.
Good luck to your sister!
This is not my final "comments" comment, but I MUST agree with Peter: first thing in the morning is crucial. There are NO other commitments at 5:30 AM! It's just getting to bed on time that is often the challenge.
And I recommend "The Complete Book of Running For Women" by Claire Kowalchik. Google it!
Hey Maddy - sorry it took me so long. I went from nothing to running and the thing that worked for me was reading about John Bingham running SLOOWWWLLLYY.. I had always set out too fast, gone out too quickly and then worn myself out. Run slowly. Very slowly. And then - just keep going. Set yourself an achievable goal - say 1 mile - and do it. Run as much as you can, walk the rest, but get that mile in. And be brutally honest with yourself - no more excuses. You've got to get that run in. First thing in the day is good - works best for me - but it's hard in winter! And you know what - the rewards are unbelievable..
Maddy, I've been running with my 21-yr old daughter over the holidays as she has not run since last year and her longest was a 5 mile race. I let her set the pace and its been great for me to make me slow down. I just keep telling her how great she's doing (she is!) and how much I'm enjoying the time together.
Ahh, you are the sweetest sister ever! I have a sister too. She's only 11 months older than me and like you two, we use to fight like crazy - over the phone, clothes, the car, boys! Now, we love spending time together. She's also my "phone a nurse" whenever I have a health issue. I don't know what I would do without her.
Since I'm not all that creative on my own, here are some of my favorite quotes:
Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible." - Doug Larson
"Tough times don't last but tough people do." - A.C. Green
"There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open." - Nike
My altime favorite!
"What matters is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
Happy New Year Maddy!!
In November 2005, my friends and family got mad at me. "Fat and Lazy," they said, "Take care of yourself!"
They asked me to go to a Doctor that cares. I had to find a new one. He diagnosed me with "Metabolic Syndrome." High cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc. Translated that means - Fand and Lazy. If you don't care for yourself how can anyone else care for you?
Run, he said. Run I did. I changed my diet to run more efficiently. I lost 65 pounds. I feel so very much better!
I have run a lot since that fateful period of my life. I ran 1,866 miles in 2007. Through the influence of friend's like Maddy I was influenced to compete. Even though there were a lot of runners in each and every one of the competitions, I was competing with me.
I just replaced my personal treadmill. It died under my feet with 2,825 miles on it. I hope that my new treadmill will last much longer and provide many more miles.
I'll leave you with this thought. I now love to run. It gives you an inner feeling of success. The ability to succeed is an amazing feeling. Now I am truly in control of what I can do!
I hope it's not to late to add my favorite quote to this!
"Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance."
-Bruce Barton
You are both so lucky to have one another as sisters. :)
Post a Comment
<< Home