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Monthly Archives: March 2013

Lessons From The Treadmill

25 Mar

I’m training to run my first 5k in May. I’ve been talking about doing it for a while. Now I’m actually doing it. (That’s another blog for another day.) At any rate, I’m on week 4 of the Couch to 5k program. This is the first week where it got hard. (for me anyway) Alternating between running for 3 and 5 minutes for 30 minutes. For me it was grueling, it was hard, and it was the most rewarding so far.

I was reminded of three valuable lessons while doing the workout.

You can do more than you think you can
I’ve never been a runner. I’m the guy who absolutely loathed P.E. class when we had to run a
mile. But in week four, I’ve realized that not only can I walk on the treadmill, I can run on it
for 5 minutes straight. Doing more than I thought I could. Now I know, if I can do 5 minutes I
can do 8 minutes (that’s week 5 of the program)

Pain is temporary
During the last 5 minute run, my legs hurt, lungs were burning, breathing was labored. The thought of ending the run prematurely quitting definitely crossed my mind a time or three. But I kept going and finished it. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I finished, the pain that was so unbearable seemingly quickly dissipated. I realized that the pain (well strong discomfort) that I was feeling wasn’t as bad as I thought. Imagine how I would’ve felt had I quit early.

Greatest growth comes when you leave your comfort zone
This whole thing is outside of my comfort zone. Running in a race, 1/2 a mile no less a 3 mile race is so not me. It’s something I’ve never done and training for it is something I’ve never done. But there in lies the beauty of it. I’ve grown in the 4 short weeks I’ve been preparing for it. I’ve run more. I’ve become for fit. I’ve become more confident and most importantly I’ve gained more belief in myself that I can do anything.

Those are three major lessons I’ve learned on this journey. I was glad that I was reminded of them while on the treadmill. Remember you can always do more, pain is temporary, and growth occurs outside of your comfort zone.

 
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Posted by on 03/25/2013 in Exercise, Weight Loss

 

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Three Questions….

13 Mar

dI’ve been reflecting lately on how I’ve been able to finally turn the corner on my health. What made this time different? How was I able to keep going?

The answer to those questions(and many others) was answered in three questions I asked myself the first day I started. Unknowingly, the answer to these three questions shaped the foundation for my weight loss.

The first question I asked myself was “What do I want?” The question, at first glance, appears simple. However, it really required thought for me. What did I want? Did I just want to lose weight? Did I want to be healthier? It took about an hour to answer that question. Knowing what you want is essential. It begins to bring clarity to what you’re looking to accomplish.

With the answer to the first question in hand, I moved on to the second question. “Why do I want it?” When you figure out what you want and why you want it, you start to get an emotional tie. I’ve found that by having an emotional tie to what I wanted, a need to accomplish it was created. The need was so strong that I became almost obsessive over it. (I prefer the term laser focus.) That focus, obsessiveness, whatever you want to call it became the seeds of discipline that sprouted into a no excuses attitude.

Lastly, and maybe most important, I asked myself “What was I willing to give up to get what I wanted?” In my case, it was an hour of my day to exercise. I was willing to give up a couple of hours of sleep so I could exercise before going to work. I was willing to give up soda. You get the point.

Everything has a cost associated with it. You have to decide if what you want, why you want it, and the things you’ll have to give up (some temporarily I might add) are worth the cost. And if it’s worth it, are you willing to pay the cost.

For me, it was definitely worth it. And looking back on it, the price wasn’t nearly as expensive it appeared in the beginning.

 
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Posted by on 03/13/2013 in Inspirational, Weight Loss

 

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