Much Needed Motivation

Motivation Tips from Complete Running:

Sign up for a race as soon as you feel up to it.

Find a committed running partner. It is much harder to skip a run when you have someone else depending on you.

Remember that you will have plateaus in your progress and tough days along the way.

It gets easier.

Accept and appreciate the fact that not every single run can be a good one.

Be prepared to remove the words “can’t” and “never” from your vocabulary.

Do not compare yourself to others. Run within yourself and for yourself first

Don’t expect every run to be better than the last one; some of them will hurt.

Don’t think too much about it or you won’t do it.

Even a bad run is better than no run at all.

If you normally run with music try skipping it and listening to your feet to hear your pace and your gait.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t experience weight loss immediately.

Start a running blog and read other running blogs regularly.

Running is not an excuse to triple your intake of doughnuts because runners gain weight too.

*I can fully attest to all of these tips in some way or another. One of my favorites is "even a bad run is better than no run at all." Lately, my runs have been hurtin' and I have to remind myself that at least I'm doing the dang thing. My motivation has definitely needed a pick me up lately as I've been seriously considering whether or not I'm officially insane for signing up for my 2nd half marathon within a few weeks of my 1st. Here are the stats:

• Last Monday: 6.25 miles on the TM (some hills, some speed). This was my last decent run and I thoroughly enjoyed it!


• Last Thursday: 5.5 miles outside. This was just plain hard. I was recovering from a sinus infection...enough said.


• Saturday I ran 10 miles outside at the oceanfront. Positives: it was beautiful out and Billy rode a bike alongside me, acting as my traveling aid station equipped with water, tissues, and Clif Shot Blocks. Negatives: it was just plain hard. I was slow and struggled with cramps (which I never get!). This run left me wondering what the heck I'm thinking with another half next week.

Aside from running, I've been doing well with incorporating crosstraining. Last week, I ran 3 days, crosstrained (weights & some alternative cardio) 3 days, and took 1 rest day. Hopefully I can continue this trend because it felt very well balanced. I honestly don't know how I'm going to perform this Saturday in the Dismal Swamp Stomp. I definitely don't think I'll PR; in fact I'll be surprised if I can run the whole thing without taking a couple of walk breaks. I'm hoping this weak streak will pass before then.

Wedding News:

April 4th was my bridal shower! I had an amazing time. My mom's good friend Amy hosted the shower, and my MOH Chelsea organized and ran it. I was so overly impressed with both of them and the work they put into it. The food was incredible, the games were fun, and the gifts were generous, to say the least. Most importantly, the company was wonderful.

My cousin Rachael (who is a bridesmaid) flew in from GA. She plays volleyball on scholarship for Kennesaw!

Enjoying ourselves (Joanna did too regardless of her deathly bored expression!)

I get to open these little letters on the wedding day, wedding night, honeymoon, and our 1st anniversary!

How cute is this cake?

I love these girls.

The story behind this one--the chocolate fountain lost its flow! That didn't stop us from eating it, of course.

I can't believe how much fun I had at my bridal shower. My only complaint is how fast it seemed to go by. I will definitely remember that day.

Billy and I worked hard on getting the invitations and the envelopes put together. I don't know if I mentioned, but my neighbor offered to print out the names and addresses on the outer and inner envelopes (she is a computer whiz and has all the software for that type of thing). This saved us a couple of hundred dollars that we would have spent on a calligrapher, or the time it would have taken me to address them by hand! I finally took the invitations to the post office today. Everyone in line and behind the counter could tell that I had my arms full with boxes of wedding invitations and gave me congratulations! I thought that was sweet. I can't believe today marks 2 months till the day!

I think I mentioned last post about my job announcement. Basically, I was offered a sort of promotion by my friend/ex-boss (she left our company a year ago to start her own physical therapy company!). She's actually more of a mentor to me and I really look up to her and admire her work ethic. I've actually been thinking about going to work for her ever since she left my current company, and I finally feel like God opened the right doors for this to happen. It is definitely a promotion, which will help out financially and also help out with my current job boredom (I feel overqualified and as if I've peaked with my current position). The sad part: I work with some amazing people. I'm going to miss my friends there! I put in my notice about a week ago.

I'll be back with a race re-cap (if I survive)!