With most things, there’s a fine line between “not hardcore” and “too many excuses.” Setting a reasonable, realistic goal is critical in walking this line. For most people most of the time, “hardcore” is not the way to go. It’s not sustainable. If you’re in a situation where it’s critical to be all in and … Read more
A workout definitely feels more accomplished if I’m sweating hard at the end. Of course, the photo was taken after an outdoor run the other morning. It was hot and sunny, so the sweat wasn’t really indicative of the run being harder than the same run in the winter, but it still feels better. (In … Read more
Get out. Exercise. Eat real food. Cut the processed crap. Cut the added sweeteners. Quit smoking. Get enough sleep. Cultivate relationships with people offline. Turn off the TV. Why? You deserve it. Feeling good in your body, being healthy, having energy, are worth it. We’re told at every turn that it’s not. “You deserve a … Read more
A few years ago, I was doing a 10k and was maybe a little undertrained. (What?! Never!) Was running it with a good friend and we knew we’d have a good time, even if we didn’t have a good time. Somewhere around mile 5, I got a text from the guy I was dating at … Read more
I used to need to be distracted to be able to get through a workout, especially running. Nowadays, I often look forward to the time for quiet thinking. Not just because it’s quiet (see: elementary band teacher and mom to a loquacious 7-year-old) but because there is something different about the thinking that happens on … Read more
At some point recently, my Facebook memories claimed this quote: “I have eaten a lot (for me) of junk food in the last week or two, and I feel like crap. It is amazing to me that how I feel right now used to be ‘normal.’” If we’ve never been on a path with decent … Read more
I’m here today to give some confidence to the slow and less enthusiastic among us. I’m a runner. I’m slow. Lately, I’ve been running 12- to 12.5-minute miles. At the fastest I’ve ever been, I ran 5K in 29:20 (or something close to that). Once. (I had only one other 5K under 30 minutes. It … Read more
In January, I wrote about a chart I’d made to track behaviors of health and self-care. I had thought—or, more accurately, hoped—that seeing holes in the list would spur me to do some of the things that simply haven’t been getting done, even if the increase was to once a week, or once every other … Read more
If you’ve been following my story with regards to bouldering, you know that in December, I gained the skill necessary to complete a route and competed in my first competition, and in January, I participated in my second competition. Both of these were driven by desire to climb in this year’s big competition in April. … Read more
You run. It doesn’t matter if you run fast or not. (It doesn’t matter how you define “fast.”) It doesn’t matter if you run short distances, long distances, or crazy long distances. It doesn’t matter what your body shape is. We sometimes have trouble giving ourselves a label when we feel like we’re “less than” … Read more