Tag: running

Staying at a friend’s house and taking care of her pets for the weekend. Beautiful high desert area is a nice change of scenery. Out and back on some dirt roads in slightly cooler temps felt fantastic. Average pace of 9:10 min/mi.

Thinking about next big race and signing up for a half marathon in January. It is fun to have something to train for! Looking at the She Run in Chandler and should just go sign up.

Run happy!

It doesn’t happen often in Arizona so it was a refreshing change. Slow drizzle the entire 3.2 miles. At one point the sun started to come out from behind the clouds and the rain was still falling so it was like running through a beautiful shimmering curtain. So pretty to experience.

The glistening rain drops started my day off with a sense of peace and gratitude for all that I have and am able to do. It propelled me into a good coaching call, a informative zoom call, a client appointment, and topped off the evening with a full career night.

Starting the day with a run is the best way to start the day. And if you get the chance to run in the rain you should do it.

Run happy!

Surprised when I opened the front door to see the ground wet. I had no idea it rained this morning or that it was even in the forecast. Didn’t matter, of course, because it was wonderful this morning.

It was 76 degrees with cloud cover so fantastic running weather. Got home after an average 9:17 min/mi pace and was just soaking wet. I was dripping everywhere. Then I looked at my weather app and it said 76% humidity!!! Well we are in Kansas not Arizona apparently! Seriously not used to this.

The good, and bad, news is I know it won’t last. This is unusually high humidity for Arizona. I will focus on the cooler temps and keep on running.

Run happy!

The next principle in the Happiness Advantage. What is within your circle of control? Learn to master that before you go outside of your circle and you will find greater levels of happiness.

So what is in a runner’s control? Not the weather and not what other runners, bikers, and motorists do. Most everything else is within the runners control. Time of day, route, pace, and what you listen to (or choose not to listen to). Is it a training day, interval day, speed day, or recovery run? All within the runner’s control. So much is within the control that even if the weather is bad…well suck it up because you can’t change the weather on race day.

So master the things within your circle and choose to celebrate all the wonderful outcomes.

Run happy!

On the run today the author, Shawn Achor, recites the part of the book that is principle one – the happiness advantage (yes the name of the book is principle #1). Each of us define happiness differently and the degree to which we are happy in our lives does correlate to the success we have in our lives.

Most importantly, instead of saying, “I will be happy when…” and putting off happiness to a point in the future we should be focusing on being happy now. Finding happiness and training our brains to look for the positive can have a significant impact on our physical, mental, and even professional well being.

It is entertaining to listen to the book and learn the seven principles of The Happiness Advantage. I do think this first one is my favorite.

Run happy!

Got up and ran a respectable 3.2 miles at a 9:30 min/mi pace. So nice out this time of the year and still listening to the The Happiness Advantage. So much to learn and so much to be grateful for.

Met with a broker that I used to work with today. He had heart surgery two weeks ago so took him a get well basket. He is doing remarkably well and we had a great time talking and laughing while catching up.

He is 10 years older than I am and in decent shape. He likes to drink wine as much as I do! He has a contagious spirit of fun and live life to the fullest. Visiting him made my day!

Run happy!

Didn’t get up early and took my time this morning. Started off slow, not unusual, and then just said to myself to let my legs go however fast or slow they want to go today. Nothing special, just listening to The Happiness Advantage and learning lessons as I go.

Run happy!

I’ve been stuck in a mental cave of negativity and spending way too much energy on something that is now outside of my control. I was dwelling on it the other day while driving and I asked myself, “If I wasn’t thinking about this, what would I be focusing on?”

The answer didn’t come to me quickly or easily. My life has tipped so far into the uncharted territory I couldn’t see a path back. Now while running I am thinking about what is it I need to focus on today to get me back on track?

My mind is still drifting into the negative, victim place. I am aware of it and yet it still goes there. It is frustrating to know something and still not be able to control the thoughts and feelings around this difficult place I find myself.

Better every day is the goal. I guess this will be like when I started running again in my 40’s. It was tough and I didn’t think I was ever going to feel good again. It took time and a commitment to keep going. Eventually I got better and now it is great.

Keep the goal in mind, trust that good things happen in time, and run happy!

When I started running again in my mid 40’s it was a complete shock to both my body and my mind/ego. It is SO much harder to get back into shape as we age. The starting over is painful and humbling. Day by day it got better and the first few days and weeks were pretty tough and then there is a breakthrough and suddenly it wasn’t as difficult. Slowly I started improving my pace. And now it is my happy place.

Is it like this in other areas of life? Is the restarting or starting over always so painful at first? How long will it be hard? When will I show progress? These are the questions I have today. When will I find a new happy place?

Run happy!