May 12, 2014

Motivational Monday #62


Happy Motivational Monday! It has been thunder storming all day today, and right now we're under a tornado warning, because there was a tornado that touched down about 5 miles from here. This morning, I ran on the treadmill because it was lightening outside. I only got about four miles into a seven mile run, and then the power went out! Oh, well, at least I got half of it done.

This isn't very motivating for Motivational Monday, but I ate ice cream yesterday, ruining my no-sweets streak for May. I had been craving it SO badly, and after running 14 miles, I just kept thinking, "It's okay to have a treat!" I don't plan to totally give up on my challenge, though--I haven't had any sweets today. I honestly don't even feel bad about eating the ice cream yesterday. It wasn't a binge, and I ran 14 grueling miles for it ;)

My proudest moment of the week is earning a badge for reaching 30,000 steps in a day (yesterday) on my Fitbit. The 14-mile run gave me almost 25,000 steps, and I was determined to reach 30,000 by the end of the day. In the time that I've been wearing a pedometer of some sort, I've never reached that number!

What are you all proud of this week?


Alma has lost 50 pounds over the past couple of years, and ran her first half-marathon in February 2013. She did the Surf City half; she really wanted to do the OC half, but was too nervous because of the hilly course. After that, she did the Long Beach half in October, and even talked a couple of friends into doing it with her. If you do all three "beach city" halfs, then you get a special medal, so that was Ama's goal this time around. In late October, she found out that she had a cancerous tumor in her lower abdomen. She had it removed in January, and then decided that she wanted to do the OC half. She talked her mom into doing it with her, and her daughter and two friends joined in as well. Last weekend, they all completed the race! Alma finished in 3:33, which is an hour longer than her last half-marathon time, but she is very proud that cancer didn't stop her from finishing! (Alma's race report)



In April, Kristine sent me an email to ask my advice on whether I thought she should run a marathon that she'd signed up for. She was registered for the full 26.2 miles, but during training, she injured her knee. Her longest training run was only 13.1 miles, and she wasn't sure if she should still attempt the full or if she should drop down to the half. Since her knee had healed, and she just wanted to finish the full, she decided to go for it. The worst that could happen would be a DNF (did not finish). She went for it, and SHE DID IT! She ran the full 26.2 in 5:33:03! She's very happy to cross this goal off her bucket list :)



On Thanksgiving weekend, Liz completed her first 5K. She immediately signed up for another 5K on New Year's Eve, and realized that while she wasn't very fast, she thought she'd enjoy training for longer distances. She began to build up a base, and then in February, she started training for a half-marathon. On Saturday, Liz reached her goal! She finished her first half-marathon, and even had "Remember when you couldn't do this" written on her arm. The course included a 1.9-mile hill, and she finished in 3:20:08! (Liz's race report)



Kasie always hated running in gym class, but her husband asked her to run a 5K with him in 2009, and she reluctantly agreed. She ended up having so much fun that she got hooked on it. She's done many races now--5K's, 8K's, half-marathon relays, etc. But she was interested in doing something different, so she decided to try a sprint triathlon. Yesterday was the big day--she swam 400 meters, biked 8 miles, and ran 2 miles in 1:02:24! She had so much fun, and said she looks forward to doing another.



Katie just completed her longest race distance to date--an 8K! She registered for the race in November, with the goal of finishing before the course closed (there was a 90-minute time limit). Katie is used to being the last person to finish the races that she's done, and was thrilled when she finished in 1:23:18--and number 1406 out of 1869 finishers! She was so thrilled that she upgraded her next race to a 10K, instead of the 5K. She's been running for a year, and has lost 85 pounds! (Katie's blog)



For the past few years, Kim has been interested in running, but she would only do a few minutes here or there. She decided to get serious for 2014, and set a goal to run a 5K and a 10K race. She joined a 10-week "learn to run" clinic from a local running store, and is currently 9 weeks into the program.  On Saturday, she completed her first goal--to finish a 5K! She ran/walked a race called The Fast and the Furriest, with proceeds going to the SPCA, and finished well under her 45:00-time goal with a time of 38:24!



Don't forget to check out more stories on the Motivational Monday Facebook post!

10 comments:

  1. Congratulations, everyone!!!

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  2. It is currently storming here too. It makes it hard to be motivated when the weather is yucky.
    Woo hoo, Motivational Monday!! Way to go everybody!!!

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  3. I always love Motivational Mondays :) Congratulations everyone!

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  4. Congratulations to everyone! Wonderful!!!!

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  5. I think it is fine that you "cheated". afterall- you are doing this challenege in order to make sweets a treat and not a food group...you are accomplishing your goal. one sweet isnt going to break it. I am a hugeeee sweet person and when i saw you were doing this it motivated me to start to do it too...i made some rules for myeslf though...my goal was to decrease sweets...like you so elegantly put it...make it a treat and not a food group. so i told myself...hey if im at a birthday or something and someone made cupcakes...im not gonna be THAT girl who says no and just sits there...i dont want to be anti social and not be fun. so eat the damn cupcake. haha on mother's day i made my mother panna cotta- one of her favorite desserts and of course i ate it! tonight, my sisters and i are making rice pudding bc we are trying to start a business and ill be tasting that too. but on the every day-to-day basis....do you need that bowl of random icecream, cookie, chocolate, etc..no. i think im doing pretty well so far...but let me tell you- EVERY SINGLE DAY I WANT CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha

    cant believe the power went out on you! too funny.

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  6. What wonderful Motivational Monday!

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  7. wow all of those people are absolutely awesome! So inspiring!

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  8. I love reading your Monday posts! It's great to read about people who are making their goals a reality. Today I am proud that I ran the farthest I probably have since high school. It was still probably only 1/3 mile, but that's better than sitting on the couch, and I'm proud.

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  9. I love that you post these each week. Sometimes I get down on myself after reading fitness blogs and feeling like my just-under-3-hour half marathon PR isn't good enough, but then I read these stories and remember where I came from, and how worthwhile every single person's story really is. So thank you.

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  10. :)) I love reading MM's!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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