Supplemental Training

Grateful for challenging days. J

Today I am going to write about supplemental training and adding it to your main training. I have been doing some weight training and this week I will add Insanity in place of the supplemental training I was doing. The main reason I am doing this is to just keep my body guessing. I mean running is obviously my one constant, but I need some diversity though. So, to do this, I add it through my supplemental training.

Adding Insanity once or twice a week as cross training is beneficial in a couple of ways. The first way is to add some spice [see above] just so I don’t get bored. The second way Insanity is beneficial is because Insanity is a HIIT (High Intensity Interval) program. It will improve my endurance and help me keep on track.

Perfect!

I am not a coach for or affiliated with Insanity or other Beach Body products like P90X or Chalean Extreme. I just like working out at home and have found many quality DVDs over the years and Beach Body has plenty of them.  I have a lot of fitness DVDs as a whole. These keep me from getting bored.

The best advice I can give for training and adding additional training listen to your body. It’s okay to add supplemental training, but know your body and make sure you don’t over train.

Well that’s my subject for the day.

Train smart and enjoy your journey!

 

 

Meditation

 

I am grateful for insightful friends

 I had been struggling with getting quality sleep for a couple weeks now.  This in turn was affecting, not only me getting my mileage in, but also the quality of training I was getting. I had been talking to my friend Andrea about this during that time. She asked me to meet with her on a break on Thursday afternoon, because she had something for me. My friend Andrea is very much into yoga and meditation and she gave me meditation or mala beads. They are 108 beads that are in a necklace formation and help center you when you meditate.  You chose a calming mantra and go from bead to bead saying his mantra. She and her husband had made them for me. I was stunned. I am not used to others being concerned for me, and even with my anxiety and depression I am usually the strong silent independent type. So, to receive such a gift literally left me speechless. Which if you ask any of my friends so not like me at all! J

If I am being honest meditation is very hard for me. I have a hard time keeping my thoughts centered. Usually my mind is racing thinking about things I need to do an hour from now or the next day. Getting my brain to calm down is really hard. This is why I was having a hard time sleeping my brain won’t shut up. At this point I was taking a sleep aide and anti-anxiety just to get to sleep. This is fine as my doctor had prescribed it to me. I didn’t like doing it, as I didn’t feel like I was getting quality sleep.  So, when I received this gift I researched Mantra’s and came up with one that fit me.  Then 15 minutes before bedtime I took a half of a sleep aide only and meditated using the beads and my mantra.  What happened? I had the best nights sleep in probably a month. Woke up early feeling refreshed and did a short morning meditation and got a quick run in. Believe me when I say that rarely happens! When it does I am usually very lethargic and literally dragging myself out of bed. Today though felt completely refreshed and ready for whatever the day brought.

I may not know much about meditation but after today I am going to make a real effort to fit it into my morning and nightly routine. Thank you so much Andrea for this unexpected gift. I think it will help with my training but in the bigger picture I think it will help decrease my anxiety and my depression. Well, just wanted to share my experience with you all. Have a great weekend and enjoy the journey.

 

 

Fear

I am grateful for colorful nail polish J

 What you are grateful for day to day may change, but whatever you are grateful for write it down. Many times it will make you smile when you need to smile most.

Today I am talking about FEAR. This is a difficult subject for me since I have General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Panic Disorder. Fear, for me, is different.  Fear is a part of my daily life. I seem to be afraid of something all the time.  Fear for me is the root of all my excuses. These are just some examples.  I can’t run because potentially injuring myself. Insanity (high interval training work out DVD’s) looks too scary. What if it is to hard on my body and I have a heart attack? Seems pretty extreme doesn’t it? Hell even walking across a busy street my brain will go to the extreme. This is the way someone’s brain works when you have GAD. You are constantly taking a situation and thinking what the worse possible scenario is. Therapists call it Catastrophizing.  Looking at a situation and thinking something catastrophic is going to happen even when there is no basis for it.

 I don’t let it beat me though. I use deep breathing exercises to calm me down when I can feel myself starting to get anxious. I also use my Cognitive Behavioral Therapy instructions as a means to talk me down from my metaphorical ledge.  I have a much better hold on it than I did years ago or I wouldn’t even be trying to train for half marathons. There are those who have GAD and panic disorder much worse than me and it can be debilitating.  Thankfully with the therapy I have had this is not the case with me anymore.

 I will not allow Fear to control what I do in life. Life has not limits and anything you want to do you can do! As long as you don’t allow fear or excuses to derail you from what you really want to do. Have a wonderful week, and as always enjoy the journey.

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P.S. Remember anything I talk about in my blog is my opinion from my own experience. I am not a doctor or trainer.  I am the same as you, fumbling along in life to make my life better because we all deserve that. I implore you though if you need help get help. You deserve it!

Failure is not an Option

I am grateful for days off and sleeping in

 

I decided to change my format a little. Before each of my blog post I will write something I am grateful for today. Gratitude makes every day better.

 So, I was going to write about fear today, but on my day off I had an epiphany. This came during a moment when I was cleaning my office. I was going through all of my books and I noticed how many I had on fitness and nutrition. I also noticed I had put together binders with schedules for running, losing weight, or training in general. Normally I would look at this and say “Crap I am such a failure look at how many times I tried to do something and how many times I quit!”  Then probably run to the nearest gas station and buy donuts, gummy bears, and other fat and sugar laden foods. Then sit in front of the TV eating everything blindly switching channels until a sugar coma commenced. LOL oh dear, that is kind of embarrassing. but remember I said I wasn’t going to sugar coat anything.

 Today, though, I looked at it and went hmmm yes I have tried training before only to fail. I have bought numerous books on the subjects of running and nutrition and they sat in my office collecting dust. This wasn’t my first though. My first thought was running, fitness, and nutrition are important to me and something I feel passionately about or I wouldn’t continue to try and fail, and try and succeed. The first time I failed I would have just quit taken all these books to a local used book store and never given it any thought any more. But I haven’t I am usually always thinking about running and fitness. Even in my darkest days when I could barely drag myself off the couch let alone go for a run fitness has always been on my mind. For me it is not just a passing fancy that I will forget about in a week. It is something I feel strongly about and I know this will never change.

 So my question to you is what do you feel strongly about?  What is something that you have perhaps failed in the past but you are constantly trying to achieve? Something you think about all the time.  Don’t get down on yourself for the times you have failed or not done it  pick yourself back up and get back at it. When you do achieve it you will feel like you just won the lottery. Well have a great weekend everyone, and enjoy the journey.

 P.S. any comments on my blogs or suggestions you would like to see me write about it greatly appreciated. Just let me know in the comments section or email me at paula.applen@gmail.com.

 

Excuses

Yesterday I was sick and decided not to push myself and I didn’t get my run in. It was the right decision but that will be 2 days since I have run, and that is where excuses come in for me.  I take to many days off and 2 becomes 4, 4 becomes 6 and before you know it a week has gone by and I didn’t get any training in. This has happened to me in the past and it all boils down to excuses and how bad you want something.

I was the QUEEN of excuses… “Oh I am depressed today, work was crappy, didn’t get enough sleep, it is too late”…. Any of these sound familiar?  When a friend of mine suggested doing a half marathon in November I really thought about why I wanted to do it. What it came down to was I had to quit worrying about being slow or what others thought of me; I am not competing with anyone but myself. And in reality excuses for me boiled right down to fear. Fear of being to slow. Fear of people mocking me.  Fear of embarrassing myself.  So, excuses were easy to make.

 Well the more excuses I made for myself the worse I felt.  Which in turn triggered my anxiety and depression which made is SOOOO much easier to sit around and do nothing. I had the best excuse of them all. I was going thru a clinical depressive episode. Now please don’t think I am making light of this I am not, but for me, someone who is very aware of her depression and anxiety episodes, I was using it as an excuse.  I knew what I needed to do to help me thru this episode, but I would take the easy way out.  No more! Life is too short to not do the things you want to do just because of excuses and fear. So, the next time you cannot do a run really think about your reason to do your run. Is it an actual reason or an excuse? Be HONEST with yourself. It is not easy to do but in the long run you will be thankful.

 We delved into fear a little tonight but with my next post I will talk about that more. Until then enjoy the journey… excuse free.

What you think matters

This is just going to be s short write up today since I am beat. I got my long run in today, 6.5 miles. So I am halfway to the half marathon mileage.  Was it hard? Yes, am I glad I did it? Hell yes. It means I am making progress, and I am feeling more confident about being able to do the half marathon on 11/30.  And confidence and mind games are half the battle when it comes to running and doing races or anything for that matter. If you think you cannot do it well then you are right. You more than likely can’t. I have to remind myself of this daily, since I am my own worse enemy.  Other people can tell me, I am crazy for doing a half marathon in November in MN. They are not the ones that matter. What I say and think matters.  

So, remember that when you are contemplating doing a endurance sport, writing a blog, writing a book,  or any other goal that seems out of your reach, what you think matters.  If something seems particularly crazy or scary remember anyone that has done anything worth doing was scared at some point. They believed in themselves and kept trudging away at it, and made it to their destination. These people are no different than you  or I they believed in themselves and we can too.  Well, I am going to rest and chill the rest of the night.  Again enjoy the journey.

 

 

Thank you

I just wanted to say thank you to Trish Blackwell for pushing me to do this blog, and for mentioning my blog on her podcast. When I was unsure about doing it, she was always 100% confident in me. I am eternally grateful

If anyone wants a wonderful website to help with confidence and being comfortable in your own skin http://www.trishblackwell.com/ is a wonderful resource. Her weekly podcasts are inspirational and motivational.

Enjoy the Journey