Stop Listening!

September 25, 2012 4 Comments

Do you hear voices?  I do!  Not the kind that make me crazy but the kind that tell me maybe I haven’t trained enough or I’m not capable or even thin enough.  Yuck!  I’d never keep a friend who talked to me like that so why do I give these little voices any time or attention???  I think most of us have that self doubt that creeps in and wrestles with us at one moment or another.  It’s destructive and harmful to our self-esteem. So I say let’s stand together and stop listening!  When you don’t listen the little voices stop.

Here’s a perfect example:  This weekend I set out to do a trail run and I had a goal of running the whole darn thing.  Through most of the spring/summer I was grappling with an injury that is finally subsiding and now I am working on rebuilding my endurance and cardio strength.  That can be tough. Runs I used to easily do right now seem sooo long, hard and discouraging. It takes time and I know this.  But the little voices sneak in and tell me I can’t do it, maybe I’ll never feel good again and maybe I should throw in the towel.  During my 6.5 mile run this weekend within the first two miles the little voices started … “that’s a big hill- you should walk- you’re not ready for that”.  But I didn’t and kept going.  Then around three miles “look you are half way there- probably best to rest for a bit – you aren’t ready for this”.  Once again I plugged on.  Then four miles became five and then six miles and finally my finish line.  The second half of the run was better than the first because I stopped listening!  My mile splits improved and I felt confident and capable.  It wasn’t easy to stop listening and it would have been really easy to stop and thrown in the towel.  But the feeling of accomplishment far out-weighed the negative feelings I had along the way.

These little voices creep in not just when we are exercising but when we are feeling less confident.  Silencing the voices can lead to accomplishment and more confidence.  It’s a choice – give in and give up or keep going.  Next time you are faced with your own little voices – ask yourself – is this constructive or destructive?  If it’s destructive – stop listening and start succeeding!

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Rewriting My Story

July 23, 2012 8 Comments

For more years than not I’ve been a runner.  I began competing in track at age 13 and have continued to compete in various and numerous running events.  I’ve been fortunate to have had some success and with hard work achieve many of my running goals.  Running is part of who I am.  It’s how I feel good, deal with stress, get in shape, release steam, socialize with friends and so much more.  I love and crave the endorphins running provides and the satisfaction conquering a hard workout gives me.  I love setting goals and achieving them. Being a runner is part of my story.  It’s who I am and what I love.

For the last five or so months I’ve been struggling with an injury issue that has significantly limited my running.  I’m lucky to get in a couple short runs a week and even those do not feel good.  I’ve been frustrated and missing what running provides me.  I miss my running groups and running buddies.  I miss how running makes me feel.  I miss what running does for my body and metabolism.  I miss the alone time and mental release that running provides me.  I miss running period!

Having coffee with a friend recently, we talked about the concept of ‘our personal stories’.  My friend explained that each of us has as story, and how we define ourselves impacts how we react, interact and approach life. He wisely told me we have the choice any day and any time to rewrite our story. Carrying around a negative story or self-defeating story only brings on more negativity.  He gave the example of a woman with a full plate feeling her story was ‘I’m never good enough and I can’t do it all’.  With each task, request or conversation this woman is sharing her story with a defeated attitude, excuses, and negative comments. We’ve all met someone similar – she starts ever conversation with ‘I’m not very good at that’ or some other self-deprecating statement.  How much more satisfying would it be to rewrite that story to “Look at all that I manage to do!”  Having the outlook that I may not do it all but I sure do a lot would allow her to enter each new situation with confidence and not a sense of presumed failure.

I’ve realized that lately I’ve let me story become “I’m an injured, frustrated, former runner.’  While I certainly hope to find an answer to my injury issues, the reality is I am more than a runner.  If I only define myself is an injured runner, I am entering every situation with disappointment and no hope.  While I work on getting back to running – I need a new story!  I have more to offer.  While my running has been lacking my pilates practice has improved.  My core is stronger and my ability to do certain pilates exercises has greatly improved as well.  My story could be ‘I am strong and growing in my pilates abilities’.   I am also working on building my marketing business and picking up new clients and tackling new projects.  My story could be ‘I have skills and expertise that others want and I am becoming a successful business owner’. Or my story could simply be “When I work hard, I am successful.”

My story can be whatever I choose it to be.  And any given day I can change it.  If I choose a positive story, I enter my day feeling confident not defeated.  While I hope my story will again include running, for now I may rewrite it to focus on the other successes I have.

So I ask you – what is your story? What are you putting out there and telling others about yourself with your words, actions, and how you carry yourself?   Is it what you would want folks to see?  Maybe it’s time to rewrite your story too!  Each day is an opportunity to reinvent and rewrite.  If we present the world with a negative perception of ourselves, how can we expect others to see anything else?  You may never have had the desire to be a writer but like it or not you are the author of your story! Write a good one!

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Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

April 3, 2012 4 Comments

ImageFor about the past 6 weeks, I’ve been having issues with my running to the point of not really being able to run at all without significant pain and a limpy gait.  My left hamstring and gluts had been feeling like an overstretched rubber band and each stride felt like it could be the one that would snap that rubber band. I really can’t say for sure what brought this on. Just two months before my running was going so well!  I was getting faster, feeling great and enjoying my Sunday long runs.  I was feeling so strong! My mileage wasn’t crazy high and I was taking rest days.  I took a yoga class that really hurt me for days afterwards – but who knows??  Sometimes it’s hard to define that moment or figure out the cause that takes one from good to not quite right.

Being a personal trainer and pilates instructor – I know about the body.  I’m usually pretty good at figuring out what I need to do to address any aches, pains or temporary issues I run into.  Given the tightness of my glut/hamstring – I chose the following protocol:

1.  Rest – taking time off

2.  Advil- to reduce any possible inflammation or irritation

3.  Stretching and pilates – addressing especially my hamstrings and gluts

4. Limited myself to almost no running – letting my tightness be the deciding factor if I ran or not.

And after a month of this protocol- I was worse.  My tightness – even tighter!!  My flexibility even worse. I went from running five not great miles a couple times a week to struggling to run two miles once a week.  I was frustrated.  And I knew I needed another opinion so I sought out a physical therapist/chiropractor who I knew was also a runner and would not just tell me to “wait and see”.

I was worried that I had really done some damage to my hamstring or glut and the answer was not going to be a good one.  Oddly enough- my glut and hamstring were totally fine.  Seriously – no issues there!

What was causing all my problems???  My hip flexor had quit participating. All my efforts were focused on the backside or posterior chain when my issues were actually in the front of my leg. Advil, rest, and stretching weren’t going to do a thing for muscles that had chosen to no longer engage.

It was eye opening when the Doctor had me lie on my back and raise my right leg (the good one). I was instructed to resist his attempt to push my leg back down. No problem – I could probably win a game of leg wrestling with that leg. Next we tried my left leg- and the Doctor used just two fingers to push on my leg lightly- and I failed!  I could not resist and had nothing to fight his light push with.  Why?? Hip flexors asleep at the wheel. So why was my hamstring and glut area so tight?? Because those muscles were being asked to do things they weren’t designed to do and were holding on for dear life! The more I worked and stretched them – the less flexible they became. The more they fought back.

The good news is with nothing torn, strained or damaged – it was just a matter of getting my hip flexor to join the team again. I was given some simple exercises to do and instructed to run the next day!  It’s been a little over a week and I am consistently doing my ‘therapy’.  I’ve run four times- four miles each time. While I still have some tightness – it’s getting better and I don’t feel that I’m going to rip my hamstring with each stride. Sometimes I stop during my run and do one of my exercises – just to remind my hip flexor that running is a team sport and no muscles get to take a vacation from the action!

I leave you with this thought- no matter how much you know- sometimes things aren’t what they seem. I did quite a bit of research of my symptoms and never came up with anything close to what the real issue was. If you haven’t found the answer to your issue – don’t give up! Try another source until you find the answer!!

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