M is for Motivation... and My Thursday Doubts

It was grey and cloudy when I woke up this morning... it was supposed to be sunny and blue.  I was quite disappointed.  We had a run planned for today and I lingered over my morning coffee and a soduku puzzle.... The Captain made omelets and toast for breakfast and they were delicious!  I ate very slowly and enjoyed every bite.

A while later, I wandered up the dock on a little scouting mission to check out the weather.  It was a cool 3°C and quite humid... which translates into cold and damp, and I DIDN'T WANT TO RUN!  I could hardly believe I really felt that way, but as I wandered back down the dock to the boat, I acknowledged it was true.

It is so much trouble to run in the cool weather, especially when we are staying on the boat...  tights, jackets, gloves, headwear... and then making sure to strip off our sweaty gear in the cockpit enclosure so as not to bring the moisture inside... so much organization and todo that I really just felt like scrapping the whole idea.

As I neared our slip,  I remembered that it is December 1st and that I was starting the 25 Days of Christmas Challenge today and that empty, unadorned tree on my blog popped into my mind... and I thought about The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge and The Winter 100 Challenge... but it was cold and damp out there and I was arguing with myself and I really didn't know which side was going to win.

As I opened the zipper on the enclosure and stepped inside, I started to wonder how I might tell The Captain that I didn't want to go... but when I came inside, he was warming up our running shoes in front of a space heater, and he already had changed into his running clothes.  How could I not want to go?  He only runs because I want to;  he runs only to keep me company, so if he was ready to head out, how could I possibly not go?  Well, of course I could not tell him it was off... I thanked him for warming up my running shoes, and quickly donned my gear too, and off we went.  I never told him about my doubts.

As we ran, I warmed up of course, and the clouds started to break apart... the longer we ran the nicer the weather got and by the time we were done and doing our short cool-down walk, the sun was shining and there was a lot of blue sky showing.  The promised day had arrived.  I was so glad that I had made the decision to run today!  Not a long run, but a very enjoyable and kind of speedy run, and I had a whole new outlook on the day.  We ran an out-and-back route for a total of 6.64 km, according to Map My Run.

W3 R47 @9/1 W4
stretch 5 minutes

After we stripped off our sweaty togs and left them to dry, we went below and put on cozy warm clothes and I made us each a smoothie with chocolate milk and an banana... mmmm.... now that was the icing on the running cake! 

I earned my wonderful, steamy hot shower today!  And then I remembered I am going to a Weight Watchers meeting tomorrow morning for my December weigh in....

What motivates you to get out go for a run, or hit the gym or jump into the pool, on a day you don't really feel like it?

Here are some things that might do it for you, too:

• Making a workout date with a partner or friend
• Signing up for a challenge or event
• Looking forward to a food/drink or other reward at the end of the activity
• Making entries in a log book or on your blog or your Facebook page
• Telling someone else what you are going to do, or Tweeting about it
• An upcoming date with your scale or tape measure or skinny jeans!
• Being able to look at yourself in the mirror and feel proud of your accomplishments
• Looking at signs, posters, pictures, jewellery or clothing that gives you a confidence boost

I hope you will share your motivators with me - I may need to call on them one day!



So Long November, December is on Her Merry Way!

November was a much more active month for me than I initially thought it was going to be.  At the beginning of the month, I was afraid that I was not going to be able to run again till the end of the month, because of my then-recent eye surgery.  I thought I was restricted to some walking and resigned myself to that, knowing I could still take part in the Pile on the Miles Challenge from November 1st through the 25th.

But, after seeing the doctor I was given the go-ahead to resume my normal activities and that made me very happy.... to put it mildly.  I was ecstatic!  I was allowed to run and also resume lifting some weight, too.

So in November:

• I ran 48.67 km
• I walked 53 miles
• I did Pilates a few times
• I did my upper body routine with 8 lb dumbells and my lower body resistance routine a couple of times each week

All in all a good month, and December promises to be even better.

Along with The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, and The Winter 100 Challenge, I have taken on another that begins December 1st and runs till Christmas Day.

It is one that I found on Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans called The 25 Days of Christmas Challenge.  It involves doing some fitness and drinking 8 cups of water, every day.  There is a Christmas Tree pattern that you can print and hang on your wall... and give yourself a sticker ornament every day that you do some activity, just like an Advent calendar.  Only, this will be so much better for me than the one I usually have that offers up a piece of candy every day!

I have chosen to keep my tree on this blog so that it will be right in front of me.   Poor tree; it is sad-looking and unadorned right now, but I commit to putting an ornament on it every day, and make it look as pretty as a festive Christmas Tree should be.



If you are interested, go check it out and join in the fun. I think it will be great to watch the decorations appear on the tree as I work-out my way through December till Christmas!

Don't Forget Magnesium

That was the headline of a newpaper article that caught The Captain's eye yesterday morning, in our local paper.  The secondary headline read "Reduce leg cramps, hypertension, and diabetes".  He thought that I should probably read it as I have suffered from leg cramps in the past and do like to keep abreast of the health news about things that affect either of us.

The article goes on to say that studies show that many North Americans are not getting sufficient amounts of magnesium, but that most of us don't even think about it.  And that it can be a fatal error.

"Magnesium is nature's natural muscle relaxant, but this fact went unnoticed for years."

Without rewriting the article here, I will just summarize it by saying that low levels of magnesium can cause angina, and trigger irregular heart rate (auricular fibrillation).  It may also aggravate hypertention (high blood pressure) and is associated with increased insulin resistance.

"... a magnesium deficiency can result in hypertension, muscle cramps, restless leg syndrome, diabetes, migraine attacks, emotional trouble, fatigue and an irregular heart rate."

According to this article, 350 mg of magnesium per day is optimum for health benefits.  It also stated that most of us are not getting this much and should be taking supplements.

Here are the amounts of magnesium in common foods:

• 1 baked potato with skin - 55 mg
• 1/2 ounce almonds - 43 mg
• 1 shredded wheat biscuit - 40 mg
• 1 cup plain low-fat yogurt - 43 mg
• 1/2 cup brown rice - 42 mg
• 1 banana - 32 mg
• 3 ounces grilled salmon - 23 mg
• 1 slice whole wheat bread - 24 mg
• 3-1/2 ounces edamame - 60 mg

For the sake of full disclosure, the article was written by Dr. Gifford-Jones, a medical journalist with a private medical practice in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  His web site is DocGiff.com.

I do journal my food every day and use a software package called FitDay.  I used it online, free, at their website for a while, but eventually bought it so that I could have it on my own PC, and not have to go online to make my entries.

Do you keep track of what you are eating?

Do you have particular nutrients that you like to make sure you are getting enough of?

Another Running Challenge.... and My Monday Run

Who is up for another running challenge?  If I am, then I know you must be, too!  I would love it if you would join me and the others who have already signed up for this fun event.  Come on, I dare ya!

The Running Mom is having a Winter 100 Challenge that begins on December 1st.

All you need to do is run 100 miles between December 1st and February 29th, keep a log of your mileage, and then send it to The Running Mom when you are done.

All of those running miles we are racking up for The HBBC might as well do double duty and count toward the Winter 100 Challenge, as well.  And if you need more motivation, I have it on good authority that there are some wonderful prizes involved, too.

For details check out Kristen's  Winter 100 Challenge post. 

I was so happy to wake up to a blue sky this morning.  After not doing much at all in the way of exercise on Sunday, I was chomping at the bit to get out and get moving in the sunshine today.  Even The Captain was ready for some action... so I packed us a bottle of water and put some CLIF SHOT BLOKS in my pocket, laced up my running shoes and off we went.

I love running near the water on a clear, windless, sunny and blue day.  There are so many happy people out and about and it is fun to greet everyone along the way.  That is such a nice benefit of living in a small town.  People are just friendly and seem happy to be out and about and alive!

We took it pretty slow... no walk breaks at all.  Just a leisurely, chatty, fun run in the morning sunshine.  And then, to extend it all a little longer and get some additional time on the feet, I took us home via a different route today, along a trail the runs adjacent to the highway... all in all it was 9.55 km.  (That works out to 5.97 miles.  1 km = 5/8 mile, right?)

We drank the water, and ate the BLOKS and arrived back at the marina just before noon.  A good looooong stretch for me today as my left hip socket was a little angry by the time we were done running.  I stretched for a full 10 minutes and loved every second of it.

W2 R79 W3
stretch 10 minutes

Chocolate milk and bananas whizzed in the blender were the reward for our run today.  Mmmmm.  Have you tried that yet?

My Weekly Recap

I did pretty well this past week, I think, in spite of the rain and wind we had here.  I managed to get out and run twice and got in some good walks, and a couple of strength workouts, too.

Here is how it went:

Sunday:

• walk .33 miles
• run 8.75 km
• stretch 5 minutes

Monday:

• N/A

Tuesday:

• walk 2 miles
• upper body w/8 lb weights 10 minutes

Wednesday:

• walk .5 miles
• run 5.8 km
• stretch 5 minutes

Thursday

• N/A

Friday

• walk 5 miles
• upper body w/8 lb weights 10 minutes
• lower body 10 minutes

Saturday

• walk 2 miles