Beginning Meditation Free Link

In these uncertain times anxiety is at an all time high.  While social distancing and staying at home, I decided I wanted to resurrect my blog and give wellness tips once again.  Quite a bit has happened since I last wrote here, but suffice it to say; through all the struggle and strife I could not be happier.  My mindset is the key.  As Buddha once said, "Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most".

I am keeping my distance, yet continuing to do things I love like running, teaching group exercise and imparting my (well seasoned) healthy lifestyle tips.

Many people do not know that I am a certified Life Coach.  I have used the knowledge in my every day existence but never went into practice.  I may be delving deeper in this arena as I have retired from full-time work and am doing small projects to enhance my life and those around me.  I still aspire to inspire.

Let's start with a beginning meditation. This is only 6 minutes long, yet will help you set the tone for the day.  I welcome any and all feedback.  Please let me know what you want more of, less of, etc.  There are some workouts on the @shred415greensboro instagram site you can participate in for free.

Click here for Meditation

I may not be on the Appalachian Trail right now, but my mind is.  Please subscribe and tell your friends so I can share more, free wellness ideas.

I Want to Flirt With Pain, Not Dance With It

I've been rather silent in the blogging world.  That is usually a good thing or a bad thing.  Right now it is a good thing.  I've been busy doing/living and haven't had much time to sit down and write about it.

Since the day after New Year's Day, my hubby Dan has been on a clean eating path.  Well.  Maybe not completely clean, but pretty darn close.  He's lost over 12 pounds thus far and I couldn't be prouder of this commitment.  He's been working out regularly as well, so some of the bodyfat he's lost has been replaced with lean muscle tissue.  Congrats to him.  The only downside is that I've had to be super organized and plan lunches and dinners on a daily basis.  We ate out twice in the month of January.  That's a new record for us as we like to dine out approximately 1-2 times a week.  Dan has been good about eliminating beer (for the most part) and indulging in an occasional glass of wine.

My daughter, Mandi, also moved back in the house the beginning of the year.  It has been fun to see her mature into this beautiful, young woman who I adore so much.  With her, came my favorite grand doggy, Skittles.  She has been a delight to have around and keeps Cameron and Louie on their toes.  Here is me cuddling with Skittles on the couch.



The New Year also seems to have inspired me to purge/organize the house.  I have been milling about cleaning drawers/closets here and there with no real direction, but I am enjoying the 'feeling' of getting organized.  I guess it is similar to planning, training and then racing in running.  There is no better feeling than knowing you trained adequately and you left nothing out there on the course.  Which, by the way, brings me to the real jist of my blog today:  I want to flirt with pain, not dance with it.

I seem to be at a crossroads and sometimes being too knowledgeable about something can make a mere hill feel like a mountain.  I used to revel in the craziness of feeling like I couldn't take another step.  I used to drink in the feeling of knowing I gave it my all.  For goodness sake, I was so focused on the finish line during a race (in high school) that I gave it everything I had and lost a little control of my bladder. Yuck!  But it is true. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm training hard these days.  This week I've had a good mix of tempo runs, recovery runs and cross training.  I am doing hill workouts again, but have yet to step on the track.  I did a couple of speed workouts on the treadmill.  Here is my little workout room that I love to occupy in the privacy of my own home.  See that little piece of equipment on the far left of the photo?  That's one of my most prized possessions:  Back inversion table.  That is what has saved me from spending countless dollars on back, IT band,  and hip rehabililtation issues.  I don't know what I ever did without one, but then again I was 40 when my hubby bought it for me. Anyhow, back to flirting with pain.  I am a motivational speaker....why can't I light a fire under my butt and as the saying goes, 'Just Do It'  (which, by the way, is trademarked, so I'm going to make sure I give Nike all the credit-why can't I come up with something inspirational that ensures our financial future?).  I will address this issue further when I return from my pacing duties at the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon next weekend.  I am going with a great group of Ladies from the Woohoo Crew and the Sole Sisters.  I will certainly have lots of photos to post from the race!  Here is Skittles wishing she had a matching pair of Kinvaras, and a walk.

Crooked Road 24 Hour Ultra

I was afraid to tell anyone my goal.  I didn't want to disappoint anyone, most of all myself.  I envisioned me accomplishing my goal but I had reservation because I wasn't sure if I would be recovered enough from racing in a half marathon the weekend before.  I finished in 1:30:42 and won my 45-49 age group at the Richmond American Family Fitness Half.  It wasn't a PR, but I felt like I ran pretty hard. After the half I had a full week with classes and clients and continually thought about my goal:  75 miles.  Seemed incredibly lofty since I quit after 56 laps last year.  Only a few friends knew the details because I was experiencing some fear of failure issues.  The more the week progressed the more I decided I was being silly and needed to articulate my race intentions.  I announced it to my noon class at the Yafter a vigorous BodyPump class on Thursday.  There...I said it, even explained how I was going to accomplish it.  I was going to walk more than I did the previous year.  My nervousness began to kick in.  I hate to disappoint people, especially myself.  To make matters worse, I intentionally started this blogsite the night before the event so I would have my intentions immortalized on the internet.  After writing the first entry I tried to go to sleep.  Sleep eluded me until almost midnight.  I woke up before my alarm at 6 and nervously gathered my belongings and got into my car.

I arrived and unloaded all my bags I thought I would need for the 24 hours.  Dena, my friend, and I brought way too much stuff last year when we participated in this race.  I am sheepishly admitting I brought just as much stuff, if not more.  This year I brought in addition to 2 big bags of clothes 2 yoga mats, sleeping bag, pillow etc.  I also brought tons of food that I did not eat because the organizers had a bountiful table filled with  pretzels, M&M's, grapes, raisins, bananas, cookies, burgers, soup, etc.  I was able to make it to the starting line with 10 seconds to spare and we all took off.

It was great running into several runners that I competed with last year.  Runners in ultra events are extremely friendly. There is nothing like a small loop and 24 hours to really get to know some of the people around you.  I was known as the smiling lady because even in the cold of night, I was thrilled to be where I was.

I'm sure I will blog about specific memories from this race, but for now...here are some photos taken by the race director, Ricky Scott.  Who, may I add, was very inspirational to me and helpful when I started doubting myself.  Here are some photos

This is the one and only hill on the course.  This is early in the race....although I smile throughout the rest of the photos, I can assure you I truly  f e l t  the smile in this photo.  I felt great.  I felt great until about mile 31.  More on that later.
The temperatures were in the 30's to begin with and warmed up to 50 something and then got very, very cold at night.

It warmed up nicely in the afternoon, so I was able to take off layers.  Yes, I'm still smiling.  Let me leave you with 2 more photos.  First one is taken around 1am and I was freezing, shivering and trying to keep warm by the fire with help from Johnny and Gloria who bundled me up and brought me soup.  They thought I was done. 

I'm smiling, but this was because I was finally getting warm.  I had 4 layers of clothes on, 2 scarves, hat, and gloves with hot hands in them and I was still cold!  Here is the end of today's story:

The photo says 23 hours, 17 minutes and 26 seconds.  I can now say I'm an ultra runner, but I still feel like a miler :)

In health and wellness,
Cindy

Starting at the very beginning

Well..hi there.  Welcome to health and wellness on the run.  Literally.  On the Run.  I'm a runner.  We are a diverse, interesting bunch of people.  I hope you will sit down and read a little, laugh a little and want to share some of your experiences here on this blog.
I am going to start by saying tomorrow I'm embarking on a physically grueling challenge.  I am participating in the Crooked Road 24 Hour Ultra.  I cannot say this is my first because I attempted this last year and when it got cold and dark I left after 10 hours and 53 miles.  I am excited about this endeavor because this year I am going solo.  Yup.  My incredibly patient and understanding husband, Dan, is away on a golf outing with some fraternity brothers in Pinehurst, NC.  Last year he never uttered any complaints, but I felt guilty about him sitting (freezing) there watching me go around and around (did I mention around) a .95 mile loop in a park in Rocky Mount, VA.  With him gone I am excited to push myself farther than I thought possible last year. 
Last year I did not use my Ipod at all.  This year I have charged up 3 Ipods and even downloaded an audiobook.  I packed my sleeping bag, pillow, foam roller, marathon stick and more simple carbs than you can imagine. 
Running has been my life since 7th grade when we had to do a mile for the Presidential Physical Fitness Award.  I knew I was an athletic soccer and basketball player but didn't know the world of running till I finished my first mile in 6:02.  I still don't know if running was an instantaneous love, or if beating the boys was more compelling.  30+ years later and I'm still running. 
Well...I am going to stop rambling and try to rest for my big event tomorrow.  I am lucky enough to have a great friend allow me to stay at her lakehouse to shorten my drive to the starting line.  I will definitely keep you posted!
In health and wellness,  Cindy