I made a post about this earlier, but couldn't get the dang video to upload. You might prefer the South Florida background to the text.
Equipment, equipo, equipage, accoutrement. Don't go trying to cross time and space with just a breakfast bar.
I knew that while I was running my half marathon, I would need to manage my energy level to make sure I could go the distance. So, Michael and I stopped at a 24-hour McDonald's at 4:20 am to get breakfast.
Well. Some of you may know that at 4:20 am, McDonald's is not serving breakfast. They're serving their all-night menu, which consists of 3 things, one of which is a QuarterPounder.™ I did not know this, because I am old, and I very seldom visit Mickey D's at 4:20 a.m. Anymore. So, anyway, we decided that we needed some time to digest this meal before running 13.1 miles, so we went ahead and bought a couple of QuarterPounders.™
Along the route, we drank what they provided at the water stations, which was both water and some kind of energy drink. Energy drinks are usually pretty acidic, but they provide important fuel, carbohydrates, which your body can draw on as you run. And then there are the energy gels, which are also hard on your stomach. I started to worry a little bit.
However! I had packed two Pepcid AC's™ in my little waist pack, because everybody needs a contingency plan!
Fortunately, I never needed to use them, because I was tuned into my body and switched over to just water as I noticed my stomach getting unhappy. A friend of mine who ran the full marathon, though, had a horrible time with his stomach, and ended up vomiting after crossing the finish line. So I was glad I had my contingency plan.
Before I left the house, I took 3 Extra-Strength Tylenols™ and 2 B-complex vitamin pills. I rubbed Aspercreme™ on my feet as a precaution. (Remember how unhappy my feet were.) At 11 miles, I shared a gel with Michael that we had brought in our packs.
If I had not equipped myself so well to take on this challenging task, I would not have faired as well, and perhaps would have failed. By packing the right equipment and supplies, I had a successful and fun event.
Are you equipped for the journey to your dream future? Do you have a thought-out contingency plan?
I want you to get there feeling good!
This 5 word challenge is from Amanda.
Here's how it works: you get 5 words and with these 5 words you have to write an entry. The words might or might not be related. You decide how to combine them, and how long your entry will be. You tag your entry with 5wordchallenge and whatever other tags you like. Finally, you put the words in bold.
This week's words are: frost, quell, midnight, excavator, carry
Here's my entry:
Your ill-chosen words and worse-chosen actions have finally laid a frost on my desire for you. You've quelled the fire that once raged, your tiny adjustments of the thermostat culminating in a big, flourishing twist that iced the place. At midnight, the love excavator came to dig up and carry away the frozen bones of our romance.
The hole was not that deep.
Well, my friends, I did it! Yesterday I ran 13.1 miles in 2:11:49, just a smidge over 10 minutes per mile. I LOVED it! One thing that really contributed to my joy at this event was the companionship of my boyfriend, Michael. We made an agreement before we ran that we would only run the event as fast as the slowest runner. So, he stayed back with me in the front of the race (I was holding my pace down on purpose), and then I stayed back with him in the back of the race (his knee was on fire). It was so wonderful to be part of a team! We watched the sun rise over the Fort Lauderdale beach, and it was gorgeous. It was freezing cold (well, for South Florida, and for people in running shorts) in the dark morning hour before the race, but we warmed right up after a mile or so. Runners began to shed pieces of clothing as they warmed up, anybody out there could have put together a fabulous t-shirt collection by picking up the discards. At the 10th mile, a rain storm that had threatened the whole race finally let loose, pouring freezing cold rain on us and blowing a cold wind up our shorts. But I was still smiling! At the finish line, it was a relief to line up to get our legs rubbed by professional masseurs.
So now--on to the marathon! Considering an October event in Lowell, Massachusetts...could combine a changing-of-the-leaves tour with the run.
My feet do hurt, but not as badly as I thought they might. Maybe they're getting used to it. I certainly hope that's the case, because I have miles to go before I'm through!
Wishing you success in your next big risk-taking adventure, and think about who your support team should be!--K.
Wanted to give a shout out to my new Vox community for their kind words and encouragement over the past couple of weeks. I have visited many of their blogs, and I am just thrilled to be a part of this creative community! Keep it up, folks, your unique takes on life are valuable, touching and fun.
]]>Ever have that feeling? Like you should be accomplishing more, but you're just not? I've been feeling kind of diffracted and distracted lately. It happens from time to time. But this time, I think it's related to the fact that I'm not doing the corporate life anymore. My schedule is more my own. I rarely set an alarm clock any more. I went shopping at Dillard's in the middle of the day today, instead of spending the lunch hour in my in-box.
And then I got to thinking. "Wait a minute, Kim." Which is something I often say to myself. "Isn't the life of your dreams supposed to be full of shopping trips at Dillards? Aren't you hankering for a life that is not so nose-to-the-grindstone-y, so stressed out, so hyper? Isn't a slower, more gentle and fun lifestyle exactly the thing you are trying to create?"
And I realized that yes indeed, it was. One of my core beliefs is that creating the life of your dreams is EASY and FUN. So. After that consideration, I realized that I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to. My dream life is spinning out right before my eyes, just as it is supposed to. I am spending brain cycles and emotional energy worrying over nothing.
Which is, of course, the topic of about 99% of all worries.
It's Friday night. I'm going out. Have a great weekend, my friends! :-) --K.
I made a post about this earlier, but couldn't get the dang video to upload. You might prefer the South Florida background to the text.
Ran 10 miles yesterday! My knees and feet really wish I would stop it. Bu I can't! I'm running my first half marathon on February 18th.
It was a great feeling to accomplish that long run, despite the aches and pains and stomach upset along the way. I kept telling myself, "none of this will matter in two hours." It really did make me feel better, and gave me what I needed to keep running.
What if you could apply this to all your goals? Will the impatience, frustration and anxiety you're feeling matter once the goal is accomplished? My guess is that we will only remember the joy of accomplishing the goal, and the emotional investment we made to get there will fade away.
What are you working on today? Are you running into some obstacles? Try it: "None of this will matter once..."
Let me know how it works!
Wishing you every possibility--K.
I came back from Vegas last week, and they were pushing Super Bowl tickets in the baggage claim. It turns out that people just didn't feel like paying those high prices! In the Miami Herald on Thursday, I read about a travel agent who had purchased a large block of rooms from a hotel with plans to sell the rooms at over $400 per night, but then had to give back most of the block because he couldn't sell them. The hotelier then sold them for a little over $200.
So it got me thinking: what things in my life am I paying too high a ticket price for? There are things I'm investing time, money and energy in that I'm never gonna get a payback on. I bet you've got some, too.
A friend of mine once said, "Your strategy should tell you what to do, but it also should tell you what not to do." What is your strategy telling you to stop doing so that you can make room for the life of your dreams?