Today's Choices

Jillian Michaels posted a great tip on Facebook the other day:

Smart Tip: Most people sabotage themselves because they aren't mindful in the moment. Let your daily actions be governed by your goals & dreams. Whenever you are making an important decision first ask if it gets you closer to your goals or farther away. If the answer is closer, pull the trigger. If it's farther away make a different choice. Conscious choice making is a critical step in making your dreams a reality.

Each of us has sabotage spots in their day. Some struggle with getting the workout out in, some like me struggle with eating the right thing in the right amounts. This spills over into other parts of our lives as well. We have good intentions, but in the choice of a moment, if we are not mindful of what we are doing, we can automatically make a choice that is governed by an impulse or a habit rather that what our goal is. I think we can all be better in this. Make conscious choices in your eating, your exercising and life in general. Is the next action I'm going to take going to move me towards where I want to be or will I regret making the choice. It's good to keep our goals in front of us and use them to weigh our choices.

I did well on the workout this week. My long run was 7 miles on Friday. This represents a lot of progress in my endurance. Usually on Saturday's I try to do a hike, but it had been storming most of the day after my run on Friday and it was cold so it would have been sloppy trying to do a trail. Near my home, I have access to the Provo River Trail which is paved, but even it was treacherous in spots. I took my time to get through the slick spots. They were running a race and I saw a runner slip and smack her tail bone a good one. I had sympathy pains for sure. She bounced back up and ran off, but sometimes the after effects can be long lasting.

About 2 1/2 miles up. Iced over trail.

I have run this trail enough to know where it is especially icy so I was careful and got my run in without falling.

Big Clyde gets a special shout out for how he has stepped up his workouts! Impressive times and distances! I enjoy reading about his progress here. He has a down to earth sense of humor and his choice of pictures always amuse. Mark A. keeps hanging in there on his walks. Great job Mark. Gordon is back in the saddle on his mountain bike. Bet he's glad. He has even done Bob Yoga torture with Martha! Way to go you two! Emily and Corey are doing great in the workout department. Sarah, Mike, Rachel and Troy are on track for a serious competition in July for running and hiking. Should be fun! Hang in there and I will too!

Spring has Sprung

Spring arrived Sunday with a bunch of gray skies around here. It has been this way for quite a while. I am forgetting what blue skies look like. Hope your spring is a bit warmer and sunnier than ours has been so far.

Training went well last week. I did my usual training runs: intervals on Monday, tempo run on Wednesday and a long run on Friday. I was able to run the entire 6 miles on the long run which was great progress for me. For the first time in a long time, I ran without listening to music or podcast. I really concentrated on my running form and paid attention to what my body was telling me. I do enjoy music, but this was a good run without it. I may do that more often.

Saturday, I decided to hit the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from a different trail head. The elevation gain and loss was moderate for the 1.25 miles and then I headed up Dry Canyon. I ran what I could but didn't push myself overly hard. Dry Canyon is steep and is hard for me to run up it at all, but my heart rate still pushes high even if I just hike it so it is a great workout. I made it up to the snow line and turned back.

From the top most part of the run.

On the way back down Dry Canyon. Nice flat spot where you can catch your breath before the next steep section comes.

Shout outs to so many of you who are working out hard and making progress! Keep up the great work. You are all a great source of inspiration to me. Hang in there and I will too!

Take a Hike

Even though the weather has not warmed up dramatically, the temperatures are moderating and the storms with any snow in them have dumped on us and then melted quickly. Typical for March in this area. I have a great view of the foothills from my office and can tell when some of the lower trails have cleared off. I decided to make Saturday a hike day.

Back in the day when there were mastodons and saber tooth cats, there was a huge lake that covered a lot of Utah called Lake Bonneville. At some ancient time, the lake overflowed drained most of the lake and through the years the rest evaporated and left behind the Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake and Sevier Lake. Why the ancient geology lesson? Because the Bonneville shoreline still remains. Salt Lake and Utah counties have developed a trail system that roughly follows the shoreline and is enjoyed by hikers, runners and mountain bikers alike. It is still a work in progress, but long sections of it have been completed with several trail head access points up and down the Wasatch Front. One nice thing about the trail, is it is close to home and is at a low enough elevation that it can be used most of the year.

For this being my first hike of the year, (not counting snow shoeing), I felt it went great. I did a 6 mile round trip and it felt great to hike at a good pace and I enjoyed the elevation changes. Even though it was a challenge, I still had enough energy when I was done to spend a couple of hours doing yard work. As I was mulching up some old leaves that had been buried in the snow and then laid some fertilizer down after, I remembered how a couple of years ago, I had to stop several times mowing the lawn and rest before I could finish. Thank goodness of miracles in our lives!

It's not very green yet, we still have a ways to go before that happens, but it sure was nice to get out!

So many of you are doing so well. Mike is down 30 lbs, Sarah 20!!!!! That is so great!!! Mike, Sarah and Rachel are improving their mileage and the times are great as well! Big Clyde is doing well both on the bike and running! Keep up the great work my friend! Bill is so amazing on his running ability, my long runs are a warm up to him. He is a great trail runner. Todd thanks for the inspiration! You are doing great! Hillary has been losing some more weight. Way to go! Mark A., way to keep after it! I'm sure many more of you are doing exceptional things as well! Hang in there and I will too!

Shake It Up

I have shook up my routine a bit and it has paid dividends. First, I have modified my 5K training schedule and patterned it after Run Less, Run Faster. Even though I haven't read the book, I have read others' experiences and have also visited the website to glean enough information to get me going. My original schedule had me running 6 days a week. It involved three training runs and 3 "easy" runs. What I am doing different now is I still have three training runs, (intervals, tempo and a long run), but now instead of an easy run in between, I cross train. For cross-training, I am doing the Bob Harper - Inside Out DVD series. Most of these, as well as the Biggest Loser DVD's do circuit training. You get both aerobic and strength training. Bob really emphasizes core strength and most of these DVD have an extra strength segment as well. I have been really happy with the results so far. I can really concentrate on my run days and give it all I have. The cross training days give me a great cardio, core and strength training. I also throw in some of the exercises that I learned at physical therapy. I end all of my running and cross training with stretching and that has helped a lot too. A lot of the aches and pains I have been having lately have gone away. I am now free to work on my endurance and speed again.

No snowshoeing this weekend. Instead it was an outing with the Scouts. It was the annual Klondike Derby with our scout district. We had a great time even though we are currently at two scouts. Our numbers were few, but they gave it their all and did well. I did manage to embarrass myself the next day when we were reporting our outing at church. One of the men asked if it was cold and I stupidly said, "It was in the 20's but we slept warm when we put Hotties in our sleeping bag." Dang! I should have said "hand warmers". About all I could mumble out amid the laughter was, "I think I better sit down now!"

Shout outs to Sarah, Mike, Rachel, and Troy. Tough competition for the 10K and hike in July! Hillary is hanging in there. Emily is doing great! Todd and Bill are running machines! Clyde is on the mend and hanging in there! Mark - keep up the great time and distance you are putting in! Jeff is training for a marathon! Hope the rest of you are doing great as well! Hang in there and I will to!