Sisters in Sport, Final Check-in

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Jen

Do you remember my big goal for December, 8 hours of sleep at night? Remember how I was really confident it would all work out perfectly? I said, “I’ve identified all the little obstacles to achieving the 8 hours of sleep a night goal, and I’m actually feeling good about getting there, even with the holidays approaching.”

I’ve been doing such a great job with my mini-monthly goals since using my Believe I Am Training Journal and I was feeling confident about my sleep goal. When mapping out all the reasons behind my lack of sleep and making an action plan, I knew I could definitely start to sleep more.

The month started off great… sort of. December 1st = 9 hours of sleep! Amazing! December 2nd = 4 hours of sleep (the night after my marathon)! Uh-oh… This was easily explained by my normal trouble sleeping the night after a marathon, plus early morning flight, with the added problem of a domestic abuse situation right outside our hotel room leaving us listening to screaming, crying, security coming, then finally the police taking the people away. December 3rd-6th, all solid 8 hour days.

First 6 days of sleep, not too shabby (except the 4 hours night!)

Then, some curves. Christmas shopping and prep. Get-togethers. Jeff out-of-town. Being home for the holidays and just wanting to spend every minute with family. The list continues… the sleep declines…

So, while I was far from the 8 hours a night every night, I did hit 8 hours more this month than any in the past since my daughter has been walking. And that says a lot considering everything that was going on this month. It’s nice to have a goal written, in my own handwriting, at the top of a page that I look at every single day. It makes me more mindful, more likely to do what I set out to do. It reminds me of a friend who was keeping a food journal this summer and she started choosing the salad bar every day for lunch because she knew she had to answer to the food journal/herself.

I’m thankful for this journal. It’s helped me through a lot the past 3 months. I use it in addition to an online running log that auto-uploads my garmin data. I like the handwritten process of the Believe I Am Journal. How I can write anything I want (including space for a novel in back if I wanted… well almost)! How I can see my own handwriting, my own thoughts, my dreams, desires. As I said before, this is the second Believe I Am Journal I’ve owned and it’s even more helpful the second time around because I’m finding more uses, more deeply ingraining the visuals, and figuring out more about myself. I now carry it around in my purse, a great idea I got from another Sister in Sport. I would recommend the journal to anyone and EVERYONE. Except my 8-year-old nephew who called it “a girly little thing” when I pulled it out after a run during Christmas festivities. Maybe ask before buying it for your 8-year-old nephew.

I’d like to finish by saying that I used the GRATEFUL visual a lot during my training and racing these last few months. After a few heartaches in early October, I started using the visual shown below:

I really connected with the last line “It’s amazing how many doors start to open when you are grateful for what you already have.”

I loved it so much I got it in cozy sweater form.

So there you have it! For January, I’m back on the strength goals again. I’m already feeling weak in the glutes/hips/hamstrings from just a month of taking it easy post-marathon. I need to get back on board. This time, adding some … weights!!

Sisters In Sport, 2nd Check-in + Marathon Snippet

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Jen

Oh boy. What a weekend! In case you don’t know, I ran California International Marathon on Sunday. Every time I think about the race, I remember another thing I want to share with you all. For now, here’s a quick recap, more info in another post.

I raced my 8th marathon in drenching rain and heavy winds (against us on the point-to-point course the whole way) and finished in my 3rd fastest marathon time 2:54. I had a 7 week training cycle, with 4 races and 2 long runs along the way. I tried new things on race day, and they all worked out in my favor. I never hit the wall, fully enjoyed every minute, and came out hungry for more.

My speedy friend Mason and I were interviewed by the local CBS station immediately after I crossed the finish line. Watch below to see my strange facial expressions, how I looked when I crossed the finish line, and how my race-day french braids held up.

Before I post the full marathon recap (another day) I want to revisit my Sisters in Sport goals update for November. First, a little refresher. When I got my current Believe I Am Journal at the end of September, running a 2012 marathon was the LAST thing on my mind.

Notice my end goal of successful LATE 2013 marathon? Turns out, I accomplished part of my huge goal, just a year early.

When I made my goals and started logging workouts in my journal on October 1st, I told you I was working to build my hip/glute/hamstring strength – just a little piece of the end goal puzzle. Then in mid-October, a crazy week led to a few crazy ideas and the next thing I knew, I was signed up for California International Marathon.

After signing up for the marathon, the end goal (successful late 2013 marathon with sub 2:43 time) remained the same. The little pieces of the puzzle along the way remained the same as well. I was just throwing extra running into the mix.

October hip/glute/hamstring goals were proudly met. November goals of continuing the October routine and adding core, drills and additional hip exercises started out great for the first two weeks! Then, taper weeks came and strength stuff fell to the wayside, as appropriate!

Now we are in December, and while I don’t want to give up the incredible strength routine I’ve been following, I am in marathon recovery and think I need to switch focus for the month of December. I’m going to focus on an entirely separate part of my goals page, my sleep.

I really need this much to feel great and perform my best.

For the past 2 years, I’ve been running on empty, never getting enough sleep to feel rested. While I have enjoyed my extra cups of coffee, I know I really need to sleep more. And maybe it’s a little sad that I need to make this an official goal in my journal to get there, but that’s what I have to do. I’ve identified all the little obstacles to achieving the 8 hours of sleep a night goal, and I’m actually feeling good about getting there, even with the holidays approaching.

I want to end this post by sharing a few things the journal has helped me with this month, aside from the stated goals:

Visual cues – I have never been one to summon specific visual cues while racing. Since getting my Believe I Am Journal and reading fellow Sisters in Sport blogs, I used the Ninja Stars cues with great success. During my Turkey Trot, and a bit during my marathon, I focused on the words “Strength, Courage, Wisdom” in their ninja star glory and imagined throwing them right onto the shirt of the person ahead of me, pulling myself right up next to them, and then past them. I was in shock over how effective this tactic was! In the words of Yo Gabba Gabba “Try it, you’ll like it!”

Strength, Courage, Wisdom Ninja Stars

Positivity pages – That’s not what they are officially called, but that what it is to me. A large section of the back of the journal consists of totally blank, and lined blank pages where you can dream. It’s just extra jot-it-down room and I really enjoy this section. I love filling these pages with positive ideas that I want to revisit often, especially before tough workouts or races. The journal tends to live in my purse so I can write down a few quick words here and there that help me later.

So there you have it! November goal recap (not so hot), December goal plans (optimistic about it), and quick marathon recap (woohoo). Expect more details about California International Marathon in my next post!

Sisters in Sport, 1st Check-in

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Jen

I’ve been working in my Believe I Am Journal for a month now, and it’s time to check-in with myself and all of you to see how it has been going. In my first post about Goals and Believing, I talked about my goal of an Olympic Trials qualifier and the smaller steps I’m focusing on to get there.

2013-2015 Marathon goal planning

The goal I chose to focus on was hip/glute/hamstring strength to set myself up for less chance of injury on my way to a super speedy marathon. The Journal has given me an easy way to record my strength and stay accountable. My Sisters in Sport have kept me motivated every week with their posts and encouragement. It has been wonderful. Here’s what I’ve been doing.

First two strength sessions of the month. I would like to claim the title of “worst handwriting of all sisters-in-sport bloggers”.

Twice a week, I’ve been focusing on strength exercises. One day, I do between 120-130 lunges (between 60-65 per leg, per session). Another day I do specific glute strengthening exercises – a few exercises from the following Coach Jay Johnson video. I really recommend incorporating a few of these exercises into your strength routine. (Just don’t add too many at once, you WILL be sore!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GLrKr54yA0&feature=player_embedded

Like everyone else, I have little free time to throw in extra workout-related-stuff, so I knew I’d have to get creative. My first lunge session was completed in the hallway of Currie’s dance studio. In this outfit:

sweater, scarf, boots and skinny jeans while doing lunges

I got the feeling that if I waited to do lunges after Currie went to bed, they wouldn’t get done so I went ahead and did them in my “street clothes”.

My next session was done 2 days later when Currie (thankfully) decided to take a nap. Boom – just like that “week one strength” was done. Each week’s strength workouts followed a similar pattern. I found a way to get the stuff done without adding stress to my life or rushing through the exercises. Seeing my progress in the journal motivates me to keep it up. Hearing that others are doing well helps me even more.

A few days ago, right before I drifted into dreamland, I noticed something and jotted it down in the blank pages in the back of the journal. Check out 10/29 below:

No idea why I was flexing my booty in bed (dirty jokes aside), but glad I did. I felt so strong and wonderful!

A positive I didn’t expect from the Journal is it’s helped me keep track of little quotes, sayings, etc that I pass throughout the day and want to remember in my racing. Anytime I see something inspirational, something I want to think about during the marathon, something I need to remember during training, etc, I pull out my journal and write it in the blank pages in the back of the journal. I visit that space often, reread it, etch it in my mind.

Digging these quotes this week.

So what’s next? I’m training for my marathon for the next few weeks. As far as my strength goals go, for the month of November, I’m going to continue the current routine, but add some core (think planks), some drills and some additional hip exercises. Adding slowly, staying consistent, enjoying the process.

Do you have a Believe I Am journal? How are you doing in terms of goals this Fall?

Goals and Believing

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Jen

I just received my second Believe I Am Training Journal and have been excitedly flipping through the pages and planning out the steps to achieve my goals over the next year. In case you don’t know, these journals are much more than training logs. They were created by professional women athletes – USA Champion Lauren Fleshman and Irish Olympian Roisin McGettigan. These ladies created the journals to be used as a “training tool” that easily helps you plan and set goals, record your training, use visual cues, and work on your mental game all in one simple journal.

If you know me, or my blog, you know my number one piece of advice for performing your best in life is BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. In my About Me section, you can read about my mental journey and how it took me 28 years and one child to begin to truly believe in myself and my running. “Believe in yourself” was my first bullet in my Secrets to Success post. I wrote another piece on confidence and how it has changed my running in this ME Monday post. In my mind, BELIEVING is by far the most important aspect of training. Many of us work hard. Few of us truly believe we can do it. It’s something we have to practice daily.

This is where the journal comes in. I got the first version of the Believe I Am journal right when they first came out and I’m ready to get after it again with my other Sisters in Sport bloggers and go after my goals! I have an end goal of a super speedy marathon and an Olympic Trials qualifier.

No, my end goal isn’t “super speedy marathon” although it might look that way based on the little preview I gave you here!

I’m going to get there and I’m working on all the little steps I need to take to make it happen. I’ll share the little pieces with you at the end of each month. I hope you will share your goals, successes (and even failures) with me too!

My current goal is to work on my strength so I can keep all the normal “hot spots” happy, allowing me to train the way I want without downtime from injury. Specifically for me, this means hip/glute/hamstring strength. All of my running problems stem from these areas and I need to get strong if I want to perform well. I’m really good at hitting all my RUNNING workouts in a training cycle. I’m not so good at all the “extras”. Let’s change that.

Yes, got 120 total lunges done, 60 on each leg, in the hallway outside Currie’s dance class. Starting off October in a strong way!

So there we go. I’m ready to get started! Will you join me in setting some goals, friends?

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Category Archives: Sisters in Sport

Sisters in Sport, Final Check-in

Sisters In Sport, 2nd Check-in + Marathon Snippet

Sisters in Sport, 1st Check-in

Goals and Believing