Do you think you have one more in you?

I have the honor of coaching a women’s-specific running group. It is my most favorite thing to do. To see progress in the women I coach is not only hugely gratifying–hooray! something I’ve developed is actually successful!–but it is incredibly inspiring. At our interval session tonight, the plan was to do 6 sprint intervals, but then we (me and my co-coach) challenged the women to do one more. “You think you have one more in you?” we asked. “Let’s do it!” they replied. They ran that interval with such grit! Then we challenged them to one more all-out sprint. “Let’s do it!” They totally rock. I love these women!

 

Just a girl and her whistle…

It had me thinking: do I have one more in me? Or can I put in a little more effort sometimes? I’m trying my darndest this training cycle to be consistent, which sometimes feels like that extra effort. These incremental gains add up to big results down the road. In the past, I pushed myself too hard, completely blew up, and eventually gave up my goals. If there was an excuse not to work out, I found it. It’s not like I hated exercise; I hated not seeing fast results. I didn’t persist. I didn’t give one more effort. A little bit of a disconnect? I think so!

This time, I’m taking it slow–giving a little extra when it’s smart to do so–and you know what? Taking it slow and building over the days, weeks, and months has done more for me than all the previous years of halfhearted fitness attempts. I believe I’m in the best shape of my life physically and mentally. Of course there’s always room for improvement, but I love the trajectory I’m on. They say slow and steady wins the race. I say slow, steady, and perseverance wins the race. Because of this consistency, when I need to put in that much more effort, I can–and I delight in that.

Do you have one more in you? Will you take the better road one small step at a time?

 

2016 Race Plans

 

Hey, I’m back! Did you miss me? The last half of 2015 was downright crazy–and I moved to Northern California on top of everything else going on! The hard thing about moving is that I haven’t been in the area long enough to get a feel for the running community or find out which races are good. Despite that, I think I’m going along with my various training plans and picking a race that lines up the best with them. In the past I’ve tried to run one race per month to keep myself motivated, but I think having a few bigger races on the schedule will help to alleviate that lack of motivation–not to mention that no race is cheap ’round these parts!

 

March: St. Patrick’s Day 5K. A local 5K is in order, especially one that will not take place in snowy weather. Did I mention I love it over here?

May: Sonoma Human Race 10K. This lines up with my training plans, is local, and is for a great cause.

 

The San Francisco Marathon

July: San Francisco Marathon 5K. I can’t believe this race is local for me! I’m stoked to run along the Bay! This is just to see how I can hold 5K pace–and establish that I have a real 5K pace (#goals).

 

August: I’m running the Santa Rosa Half Marathon! I’m really excited about this. It’s a run though wine country, which is gorgeous, and there’s a lot of sweet swag. Here’s to hoping I stay healthy this year–or at least through the summer…

 

September: Disneyland 10K–This has become a tradition for me and my sister, so of course I’m running. Also, we always celebrate our birthdays together during that weekend. What could be a better gift? FYI, registration starts on February 2.

 

This is what I have so far. I might throw in a few 5Ks to keep the holidays interesting…

What race are you most looking forward to this year? Anyone in Northern California running any of these races?

See my other races/recaps here.

WednesdayI’m linking up for Wild Workout Wednesday link up with Angelena Marie from  Angelena Marie: Happy, Healthy & Balanced , Michelle at Fruition Fitness  and Nicole from Fitful Focus!

 

 

 

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Race Plans for 2015

I’m linking up with Patty from My No-Guilt Life, Erika from MCM Mama Runs, and April from Run the Great Wide Somewhere for Tuesdays on the Run. This week’s topic is 2015 Race Plans.

race plans 2015

So far, I have my races planned through May and then one in September.

January: Frigid 5k. This is a small local race to get everyone motivated. I’ve never run it, but it’ll be a good experience, I’m sure.

February: Hale Freezes Over 5k or 10k. I’m not sure whether I’ll be running the 5k or the 10k, but I’ve run the race before. It’s put on by the Hale Center Theater, and all participants receive free show tickets in their swag. Pretty sweet, right? There’s delicious food at the start and finish, and it really just feels like a family event. 🙂 I can’t say enough good things about this race. And I’m running it with a lot of the Blister Sisters! We haven’t run a race together in a really long time, so that will be great!

Blister Sisters!
Blister Sisters at Moab’s Winter Sun 10k!

March: Rex Lee Run 5k or 10k. This is an annual local race that’s celebrating its 30th anniversary. This will be my third time running the race. It features a good course, a great price, and a huge raffle at the end. All in all, a great choice for me.

See? We do run together sometimes!
See? We do run together sometimes! Me and the Engineer

April: Pink Series 10k. This is an all-women race in a neighboring town. I’ve never run one of the Pink Series races, but I’m excited about it.

May: My first half marathon of the year! I’m still trying to decide which half to run, but I’m leaning toward a smaller race, the Alpine Half, on May 23–or my town’s local race, the Provo City Half Marathon, which is larger but earlier in the month (May 2).

– – No idea for June through August – – I’ll get back to you on that.

Then, of course, the Dumbo Double Dare the first week of September! Woo! Looking forward to this.

Fast forward to November. I’d really like to run my marathon in November, but I’m waiting on choosing one until I know where we’ll be living at that time.

I'm ready to #race in 2015! What are your race plans? @frenchfryrunner #running #goals Share on X

What race are you most looking forward to this year? Anyone in Utah running any of these races?

See my other races/recaps here.