Surviving the Holiday Treats

SNAPSHOT

I am saving my holiday treat for the ACTUAL day!

DIGGING DEEPER

I am going old school with my consumption of holiday treats, by enjoying them on the ACTUAL day of celebration.

It is overwhelming to have so many delectable treats at our fingertips, calling out to us at each party, meeting, lunch room, gifted cookie plates, and in the grocery store. Each time you succumb to the temptation and taste each and every cookie, bar, or pie you take away from Christmas Day.

If you partake in the delicious treats each day or each meal all throughout the holiday season by the time you get to Dec 25th a gingerbread cookie will be less than delightful. It is in the expectation and waiting for the celebration that you gain the thrill of tasting your favorites.

Think of it this way. How excited would children be for Christmas Day presents if they got a present each day of December? Well, gifts on Christmas Day would lose their appeal. For sure every child would sleep in Christmas morning.

Do you think Laura Ingalls Wilder’s childhood dinner table in the month of December was filled with Christmas cookies? No way! They didn’t over indulge all month long and take away from the specialness of the holiday. We could hold back on the pre-holiday sweets and therefore assign more value on the significance of Christmas.

The light bulb turned bright this week when I was running with a friend and she commented that she wanted to be eating Whole 30 recommended foods but didn’t think it would be possible during the holidays. We discussed how it would be totally possible if she saved the holiday treats for December 25th. Freedom! Yes, you can eat healthy and therefore stay happy this December, by saving the holiday treats for the special day only.

So the next time you are offered a holiday treat respond with, “Thank you. You are so kind, but I am saving my tastebud extravaganza for Christmas Day, a wonderful moment worth waiting for.” Hint: Holiday treats usually freeze well.

SOLUTION

Go old school this December and save the desserts for Christmas Eve and Day.

Cross Country Running Coach Decal Window Clings

STORE OPEN

After searching online unsuccessfully for a car window cling to thank my son's high school running coaches, I took it into my own hands; designing and ordering my own original decals. Carefully I selecting a decal type that LEAVES NO RESIDUE and can be seen on shaded car windows. Currently, I have ONLY TWO extra up for grabs! Plus considering adding more options in colors, designs, and words. Any feedback or orders welcome!

ORDER HERE

Give feedback and make custom requests HERE!

Confidence to Taper

SNAPSHOT

Have you ever tried to gain extra credit the two weeks before a race, hoping that one, two, or even three more workouts will give you that hopeful PR?

DIGGING DEEPER

The difficult workouts had been completed. Long long runs, fast super short sprints, tempos that dragged on and breathless intervals in amongst miles and miles of easy rhythmic running consumed my training season. With my training bank full of deposits I was ready to cash in. The chasm in front of me required belief in myself and that I had done enough training. I had to have confidence to taper before the race.

Confidence is so much harder to gain then discipline or determination. It is not something that you can just decide to do differently or more often. It is a journey you have to walk through. It takes time. Often requiring another trustworthy person to say, “You have done enough. You are good enough. You have worth as you are now.”

I truly can’t think of a time I personally gained confidence without someone speaking into my situation and declaring me worthy of my aspirations.

I certainly know when I am not confident. I weave side to side within my plans. My mood goes up and down depending on my workout results. I search for any clue as to whether my aspirations are crazy or realistic. Please let me have peace, I beg.

Hopefully, the moment comes when one word or phrase is spoken by another and I hear the resounding echo of belief. I pause, recite it, flip it over and under, testing it’s purity. Then it rests on my heart and I am at peace. At peace with myself. At peace with my past work. At peace with my ambitions.

This confidence has to be within me before I can cross that chasm. As the training season comes to within a few weeks of race day, there starts a phase of fine tuning before toeing the start line. It is formally labeled as a taper. Your weekly miles and workout durations reduce, your intensity holds steady as your body makes the final repairs and storage of energy. If you don’t hold the confidence that you have done enough and don’t start your phase of rest and recovery, then you won’t be prepared on race day.

Confidence and successful tapers go hand in hand. If you are worried that you are not good enough or have not done enough, you will search for extra credit opportunities, short cuts, or just fall into the negative realm.

I know this all seems like luck, that is to gain confidence. But it really isn’t luck at all.

First you do have to complete an appropriate training schedule or admit that you didn’t and adjust your goals.

Within your training season you need to develop friendships and mentoring relationships, and take the time to invest in those relationships.

Finally as the time comes for you to taper, begin a dose of open conversations about where you are at with your training and how you will prepare for the race. Talk with your mentors or coach. Discuss what you have done in your training, how your body is feeling, and an estimated race pace.

And now for a story on my last taper ending in an October 10-mile race.

Early September I raced a 10K that felt just awful. I even gave into the pain for half a mile and backed way off the pace I had been struggling at but still could running at. The fact I gave up within the last mile shook me and I strongly questioned how my mental strength had disappeared.

I responded by asking women I admired where I went wrong and why I couldn’t continue to push myself at my breaking point within a race. I listened to their stories and soaked in their advice.

Beth, an incredible triathlete and runner, was frank with me and said, “You have done enough training.”

I paused in relief. I had measured up to the reasonable expectation she had marked. Her words settled in my heart and I gained the confidence to let my body rest and recover and prepare for the 10-mile race.

Over the next three weeks my body felt more light and quick. Gone where the runs with heavy legs. After each run I was more refreshed than tired. The thought of running the race at a given pace became more believable.

And so I bet you are curious how the race went. My body and mind responded well to each mile and hill. I finished the last mile with a strong push crushing my expected finish time.

Now it was not a PR, that was not what I was gunning for, I just wanted to feel like a competitor again. And competitors need confidence.

SOLUTION

Confidence is found in the journey.

MUST DO THIS FALL

SNAPSHOT

Witness strength at Cross Country meets this fall.

DIGGING DEEPER

Google your local high school or college cross country team. Locate their season's racing schedule. Mark your calendar and show up.

You don't need to know anyone racing, their singlets will have their school name on them.  And most races are free to watch.

You won't regret it!

• Wear your walking shoes and leave the foldable chair in the car.  This is an interactive sport!  
• Arrive 30 minutes before the start of the races. You will need time to park and walk to the start line.  There will be several races during the meet.  Boys/men and girls/women teams will race separately.  Plus there will be different levels of races: Middle School, Junior Varsity, and Varsity.

• Find the start line - If you don't know where it is, ask around, it is the common question. 
• Look out for a map of the course and take a picture of it with your phone.  Then pinpoint a central location to view the race.  Many racecourses are spectator friendly and loop around giving you several chances to cheer.

• Follow the crowd for viewing all the action.  The parents and teammates will dart off to the next best spot to view the race.
• Cheer often and for everyone!
• Soak in the beauty of the park or golf course.
• Understand the sacrifice and devotion of the athletes.  Many have trained 6 days a week all summer in the heat, often on their own.

SOLUTION

Running is a sport, cheer athletes on!

Confidence

SNAPSHOT

My way weaves and sways and dips when my confidence is low.

DIGGING DEEPER

In two days I will toe the line at a race that I attempted one year ago. This race could easily turn into a yearly test of my fitness: weaknesses and strengths. So I am weary of the test and its results. 

Am I slipping backward? Is my age finally catching up with me? Did I not work hard enough, loving comfort?  Was all the work this year worth it?  The thoughts get tangled in my mind along with the emotions and fears.  Am I in denial? Or will I have a breakthrough?

This is test anxiety as a 39-year-old.

My son searched for the last location to place his Rummikub tile in order to win the game.  He thought it was hopeless.  On the precipice of him giving up, I blurted out, "You can win."  His dark horizon flashed with light. There was hope and he searched with confidence. He was going to search until he found the combination needed to take the win.  Nothing had changed at that moment but my declaration of possibility. He went from no confidence in winning to full confidence in winning.  I gave the vote of confidence because I saw the path to victory. 

What can confidence do in a person's life?

It can open up doors.

It can give renewed strength.

It can make the journey less painful.

As I ran with a training partner and friend last Thursday, I shared my need for confidence. I need someone, whom I believe, to say, "You can win." I need someone in my life that when I don't see any hope, they can declare an open path to victory.

I am thankful for the role I play in my husband's, children's, friends', and athletes' lives where I can instill confidence. Now it is my turn to hear those around me who are declaring my open path to victory. 

SOLUTION

Putting aside fear I embrace this opportunity to run without restraint and instead with hope and confidence. 

If you are looking for more confidence in your running, considering working with me as your coach.