Since a tweet changed my outlook last week, should I say I had a good tweek? (a.k.a. Big Darn Week, part two)

It was a no good, terrible, horrible, very bad day or two to start the week last week. Super busy. Trying to put together offer on house. Spacey children who kept leaving lunches at home in the morning, and homework at school in the afternoon. A puppy in a combination of growth spurt & teething phase, leading to regressive behavior.

My heart wasn't really into any exercise that wasn't two-wheeled, and even that was only because of the escape into audiobooks & podcasts I enjoy on rides. My running continued to stink, as it has since getting back to hot & humid Atlanta from vacation, in June.

I was following my normal early morning routine (lunch packing / breakfast rush, stretching, coffee, blog reading, weather checking), when I thought I don't really want to do any of this stuff today. Then I saw an early morning (for her, since she's in TX) tweet from MizFitOnline. It was something about taking on the day with open arms.

It struck a chord with me. What the heck did I really have to complain about? Nothing on my list of grievances was beyond the level of minor annoyance. So, I scrapped all the plans which weren't possible to work out, opened up, and took on the day.

Strapped leashes to my pups for the morning upper body workout - I mean walk. Laughed my butt off at the ability of my lovable little idiot to tangle everybody up in the leash, and at the look on the face my sweetheart of a Peter T. Dog. I would swear he rolls his eyes at Clifford, and that the head tilt & lolling tongue is his own brand of laughter.

Dropped off the forgotten lunch at the elementary school, and took my lunch down to Riverside Park for a ride. Realized my helmet was hanging from the roadster back at the house, so went to a less heavily traveled road, with bicycle lanes for my ride. 10 miles or so, listening to the Adam Smith episode of The Thomas Jefferson Hour (fantastic episode, btw - almost enough to make me start a 3rd attempt to make it through The Wealth of Nations)

Hopped off the bike, changed shoes, and headed down the trail by the Chattahoochee River. Before I'd lost sight of the parking lot, the heavens opened, and I was completely drenched. Ugh. So much for that.

But, wait. That's the kind of thinking that put me into a funk in the first place. Mopped off my face, and started into the woods. Everything was lush and green, and the rain quickly dropped the temperature and cleared away the general pea soup humidity we'd been having for days.

It was the best time I've had running in months. Jumping over rocks and roots. Ducking under branches. Splashing through the runoff streams the trails had turned into. It. Was. So. Much. FUN!


While leaping over a particularly deep & mucky puddle, I was reminded of MizFit's recent posts about being your own superhero... and I definitely felt like one. Pulled out the iPhone, risking water logging, snapped a few pix and moved Mighty Little Man to the top of the playlist.

I'm not sure what my superpowers are yet, but do know that kid chaos and weather are not going to be my downfall. (The photo is of my super soaked feet, as light blue speed silk singlet & white sports bra are better suited for dry, sunny day superhero activities.)

That one tweet was just the nudge I needed. With the improvement in attitude came a big improvement in my workouts. Running is fun again.

Being your own superhero

Carla, aka MizFit has an excellent post today which asks the question "How have you acted as your own superhero lately?" She opens it with a story about her toddler tornado daughter at the park which is just marvelous. It's one of those snippets which bring to mind all the breakthrough moments with my kids as I saw them growing into their personalities.

I love that MizFit keeps coming back around to the topic of self-image. Being your own superhero is a great message for me to repeat to the kids. All three have strengths, and I'd like them to focus on those as they head into the awkward years of middle and high school. I don't want to overdo it, and build a Stuart Smalley self-affirmation into their heads, but I do want them all to think of things in terms of balance, and bringing their best to the effort in whatever they try.

It's not going to be easy. With my daughter, it's an external thing - she's worried about what other girls think about her. From coming home in tears because a friend thought her bookbag was ugly, to being upset that she has a tougher time with multiplication facts than a couple of her other friends... it's a challenge.

In the case of the bookbag, I reminded her that she likes the bag, and picked it because it makes her happy to see the little bird & tree stitched on it. It's okay if somebody else doesn't like it, because it's not theirs. And, when she thought about it, DD admitted she didn't really care for the other girl's backpack, because it wasn't a color she likes as well. It gave me a chance to point out that one of DDs strengths is that she doesn't judge others based on silly things like backpack patterns.

With anything she brings up as a failing, I try not to patronize her by giving her the automatic "you're great" speech. If she's having a tough time with math, or with running, or art class - I remind her that she's great with science and language arts. She may not be able to run longer distances, but she can sprint like crazy, is a strong swimmer, and is a fantastic companion on long(ish) bike rides. With drawing, multiplication tables, and piano it takes practice. She'll keep getting better, or figure out she likes something else better - like photography and flute.

With the boys, it's more of an internal thing. They are their own worst critics. With them, it's a matter of reminding them they need to keep trying at the tough things - in school, sports and in plain old life. One of two things will happen. They'll either improve through practice to kick butt & love what they used to struggle with, OR find some other aspect of it they do love, and kick butt at that, instead.

B2 will beat himself up about anything less than perfect, and can talk himself into giving up before ever trying. He often has to be shoved - I mean gently nudged - into things. I can't count the times I've said "You're right - you might suck at [fill in the blank]. But you might not. You might even really be great at it. If you don't try, you'll never know."

B1 has a healthier attitude, and tends to shrug off his doom-n-gloom after a few minutes, then try - or try again. He's also very encouraging of others, and is always willing to throw in 110% to help out. (I love this about him.)

Oh, dear - I ended up rambling all over the place. What I was trying to get at is that MizFit's superhero approach is perfect for helping the kids shape their outlook on life. It's great for me, too. Just like comic book superheroes, we all have abilities and strengths that make us great at some things. With the areas in which we excel, there's also our fatal flaws and weaknesses. The trick is to focus on the things that make you super, and use those strengths to help you work on the other stuff.

And, if you're completely stuck... that's what a league of Superfriends are for.

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Along this theme, MizFit's post reminded me of a song by Steve Burns, Mighty Little Man. It's from his album Songs for Dustmites, and it always makes me smile.



When the kidlets were smaller, there would be a victory run through the house anytime this song popped up in the playlist. Sometimes, the 1st grader (B1) would lead the laps around the house, sometimes not. The toddler B2 would run around, arms over his head, like he was crossing the finish line, singing the chorus at the top of his little voice. The not-yet-walking DD would bounce in her high chair, walker, or spot on the living room floor, waving her arms and "singing" along.

Being Ourselves

The fabulous & inspiring MizFit had a wonderful video post Monday about being unapologetically ourselves. It's so easy to forget about this in the middle of being what everyone else in our lives needs/expects us to be.



The comments sections after her posts are always fun, but Monday's is even better than usual.

Unlike MizFit, playing the clarinet well is not part of my true self. But...playing the clarinet badly, along with many other instruments, is something I feel no need to apologize for, as I thoroughly enjoy it. (I do play the flute and saxophone rather well; the guitar, piano and others are just for fun.)

It's the little things

Just in case the weather doesn't cooperate with plans for a 20+ mile this evening, I took Peter T. Dog out this morning for a lope. It rained most of last night, and everything is cool, damp, and lush. The kudzu is in bloom, adding the exotic scent of grape kool-aid to the air.

It was our very own, not-so-tropical, rainforest run.

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Picked this little gem up from Dr. J at Calorie Lab.

A former olympic athlete has been banned from a department store in the UK, for running up the down escalator. What makes this snippet a gem?

You see, Mr. Hildreth just celebrated his 80th birthday, and unlike his previousathletic accomplishments, his celebratory behavior was not looked at favorably! At least not by the owners of Elphicks department store in Farnham, Surrey, where he decided to run up the down escalator to celebrate the event!

“‘I did it to celebrate my 80th birthday and it took me about six weeks to crack it,” he said, quite satisfied with his run!

It all started this past summer when Peter was making his daily visit to Elphicks, and was going up the escalator to their coffee shop. “It reminded me of 50 years ago, when I used to run up the escalators in London for a bit of a lark,” he said.

When asked about his training, he said, “It’s best to begin in little bits, so you start by coming down — say about five or six steps — then turn around and sprint to the top. And then gradually increase it.

“The most difficult bit is getting on at the bottom, because the bottom steps are constantly moving towards you and disappearing.”

I'm inspired! But, I think I ought to keep my goal of getting in trouble for kid stunts in my senior years to myself. Not sure I should let my kids hear I'm planning to be a juvenile delinquent when I grow up.

Making Progress

I snapped this photo on the Silver Comet Trail. This little fellow was half way across the path, and I helped him out of traffic and over to the grass.

This being the last day of June, and the halfway point of the year, I decided to take a look at my mileage logs. First, the numbers:


June, 2008
Bike: 160.5 miles
Run: 44.4 miles

Year-to-date:
Bike: 566.2 miles
Run: 204.8 miles

I'm starting to rack up the miles now that summer is in full swing. 60-70 miles per week, once you figure the gaps for vacation and camp. The three times per week store commute still makes up the bulk of my trips; the weekly group and/or solo ride are now the bulk of the miles.

I'm still not fast. I'm still not up to the skill and endurance level where I'd like to be. I still need to learn how to fix a flat & do emergency repairs, which I want to accomplish before I bump up to 50+ mile rides. Just like my little turtle friend from the trail though, I'm getting there.

No rides today. Today, younger son (B2) and I are playing mechanic on B1's old bike. We'll be cleaning and oiling the chain, checking brakes and inflating tires. Then, we'll be heading over to Riverside park to practice riding without training wheels on the large grassy areas.

One good thing which came from my wipeout a couple weeks ago - B2 is ready to give it a shot. If mom can fall over and be okay, falling must not be that bad. B1 and G are off at sports/travel camps today, so he can be clumsy without being mocked by siblings. B2 is still worried about falling, but says he really wants to blow past the other two and call them the slowpokes. I'm more than glad to help.

iCing Transformation Challenge, Day 27

Gala Darling's iCing Transformation challenge is up. For the past 27 days, I've worked toward the goal of two days per week of raw food goodness, and exercising 20 minutes (or more) each day.

Of the 27 days, I've exercised 24. Took one day off after a twisted ankle, one day with a sick child, and one day where I was totally swamped with a project. It was a bit tough at times to break away, but the 20 minute bar I'd set made it easy to reach. Even on the busiest (or rainiest) days, I found myself cheerfully spinning or running past the 20 minute mark. I now look forward to exercising every day, which is nice. Granted, the beautiful May weather is helping.

The goal of eating fully raw two days each week wasn't quite met. I am managing one day completely, with the two days following being 2/3 raw. Lots of salads, fresh and dried fruit, nuts, and juices. I'll need to read up before I try to do more than I am. I learned the hard way I need a more substantial breakfast before heading out on a three hour ride. Berries and banana on a bowl of steel cut oats and soy milk gets me a lot further than berries and banana alone. So, not as raw as I'd hoped, but a darn sight healthier than I'd been before.

I may not have met my goals exactly as I set out, but this 27-day challenge has helped me form a couple of very healthy new patterns in my life. I'm taking the next four weeks to get them firmly established. I'm keeping the exercise mark exactly as it is, and will reward myself at the end of the 28 days with a lovely new running dress from SkirtSports. That's right, a running dress. If I'm going to run like a girl, I might as well flaunt it!

Thanks for the extra motivation and support, Gala. You were a big help on this.

iCing Transformation Challenge

Gala's challenge:

I wanted to let you all know about something I’m planning to kick off soon. It’s called the iCiNG Transformation Challenge, it will run for a month & it revolves around us taking control of our lives & our bodies in a concentrated way! It’s like weekly resolutions but amped up in a way that would make even Victoria Beckham exclaim, “MAJOR!”.

The iCiNG Transformation Challenge (iTC) will run from the 21st of April to the 18th of May. It would probably make more sense for it to start at the beginning of a calendar month, but that’s so far away & I am impatient!

I recently decided I wanted to commit to a month of really looking after my body, to see what kind of results I could get. I often find it hard to stick to an exercise routine, just because it feels really aimless & sometimes the thought of exercising every couple of days until the end of my life freaks me out! By giving myself a task that lasts for a month, I find that much less of a mental hurdle & far easier for me to grasp. The idea is that I will realise how great I feel when I put effort into my physical well-being, & will want to keep it up.

The reason I’m announcing it is because I also thought that if we commit to this & do it as a group, we’ll all feel like we have lots of support & love helping us achieve our goals!

27 days. Less than one month. Heck, it's less than four weeks. I can stick with anything for 27 days. I signed on. She's put together a discussion thread for everyone to post their goals, progress, setbacks and encouragement. I've been reading a bit this week, but haven't posted my update yet. There's a great group of people there. I'll be joining the discussion today; it just took me a while to put my goals together. I started the challenge on Monday, but spent the first week honing in on what I was trying to accomplish.

I wanted to make sure they were reachable, while still being a stretch out of my comfort zone. These are all challenges I'd like to continue past the 27 days, so I want this iTC time to be used for the formation of new habits.

Here's my original personal challenges, along with the tweaks I've made throughout this week:

1 - Eat at least one balanced raw food meal each day. (Became 2 full days of raw food)
I already do meet my original goal most days, with either whole fruit and flax or a homemade smoothie for breakfast. I even eat raw for lunch several times a week. To take it to the next level, I'm now eating raw foods for the entire day, two days each week. This will help me learn to plan for my nutritional needs and to fit it into my daily schedule. I'm hoping to add an extra day in another month; this should make it a smoother transition.

So far, it's going really well. By spacing the two days, I was able to make sure I had everything I needed the day before. No panic at meal prep. Since I already had the ingredients in the house, I even had a mostly raw day the day after each of my official raw food day. I could get used to this.

2 - Exercise at least 20 minutes each day. (Became at least 20 minutes of cardio)
I've been an every other day fitness person. Or three days on, two days off. If I want to increase my speed and/or endurance, I need to be more consistent. I picked 20 minutes as my minimum to give myself a kick out the door. Twenty minutes is the time it takes to run to and from the bank, or to ride my bike to the store and back. Or the time it takes to walk the dog and kids around the park. At the very least, I can do one of my regular daily errands on foot or bike for a quick burst of cardio.

This minimum requirement is working great so far. I had a 25 mile ride on Saturday, cut short by the anticipated thunderstorms; and a multi sport day on Thursday where I rode 15 miles, followed by a two mile run. A couple days of 30-minute runs, and one day where I was pressed for time & took the dog on a quick 20-minute, two mile lope (his pace), then hopped on the bike for a quick grocery trip. One of the 30 minute runs was completed while I was waiting for my bike to be serviced at the Silver Comet Depot.

There have been so many great comments on the discussion threads over at iCing, and I'm really looking forward to adding mine while catching up on the last day or so from the other participants.

Setting Goals

Eat healthier.
Exercise more.
Get a handle on finances.
Be more organized.
Get rid of "stuff".

Everyone's big goals. When worded that way, there's no way to fail. Of course, there's also no way to succeed. Nothing to measure. No box for that little gold star.

Making a list of specifics is tough. It can be scary, too. As soon as you write it down, you're accountable.

I've been guilty of the vague goals for years. Not just in that New Year's Resolution sort of way, either. I'm not good with daily checklists. I make a mental list, and get much of it done each day. The kids get to school with packed lunches, I make progress on my mapping projects, and everyone has clean laundry to put away each evening after a home cooked supper. [Almost] Daily practice for weekly music lessons is done. (Drums, guitar and piano, all at once. Each from their own corner of the little house.) We make it to dentist and doctor appointments. My clients get their proofs on time... mostly.

Sounds okay, but it's stressful. I'm always reviewing that mental list, trying to remember if I'm thinking about the right day, and wondering what I forgot. And I do forget things. There are many nights I'm up until midnight, doing that last load of laundry so the red uniform shirt is clean for spirit day. Baking oatmeal muffins for breakfast because I failed to notice the batch of waffles I made over the weekend has run out. Or scrambling to put together the last few layers for a map due the next morning.

I read so much about the difference a list makes, yet I never quite get around to trying it myself. I know specific goals work. It is easier to get myself out the door on foot or bike knowing I have the Spring-5k / Summer-10k/Thanksgiving-half marathon goal. (Yes, I did run/walk a 5k in March. Am signing up for May's Race for the Cure, so I'll have two under my belt.)

I'm going to try expanding the goal setting into my daily routines. Thanks to a few blogging ladies, I don't have to do it alone. I'm going to be reading these three for a bit of inspiration over the rest of April and May:
Gala's iCing Transformation Challenge (April 21-May 18th)
Steph's Two Tiny Changes, a weekly series at Back in Skinny Jeans
Daily Deliberate Changes from Tia at Living Deliberately

I came up with my personal goals for the transformation challenge and my two tiny changes this past weekend. Started on my written checklist yesterday. One of the things I'm working on is prioritizing. As such, it's time for me to start on two weeks' worth of paperwork, filing and invoicing.

Will post my goals and weekly changes this evening.