GETTING STARTED
C’mon Ladies. You know you want to get on this bandwagon… You had a night to sleep on it. Have you lost your resolve? Or are you more excited this morning than when you went to bed last night? Either way, let’s get you moving forward before you change your mind. We’ve got some sweating to do. 1. Tell someone of your commitment to fitness. We need the accountability and encouragement that comes from voicing our commitment out-loud. If you’re single, tell a bunch of your girlfriends and rope them into this journey with you. If you’re married, get your spouse on board. See if he is willing to schedule a fitness plan that allows both of you to exercise consistently. This worked really well for Curt and I. Use your spouse or your friends to encourage you to get back at it when you fall off your training routine and celebrate each victory you have. Don’t worry. There will be a lot to celebrate.
2. Let us know you’re on board. Please take the time to “Sign Up” by going to the Not Your Own web page (http://www.hespeaksinthesilence.com/category/not-your-own/), clicking the hyperlink in the right hand corner under “Sign Up,” and giving us your contact information.
3. Get familiar with the Not Your Own webpage, a one-stop spot for all our Solid Rock athletes. Elizabeth Mosser has worked really hard to design an easy-to-use web page with all the info you need. You’ll get encouraging blog posts, find a countdown to race day, a place to sign up, and a toolbox filled with helpful links for all your training needs. There’s even a subscription box where you can sign up to have each Not Your Own blog post show up in your mailbox.
4. Gear Up. Ladies, please don’t miss this. If you want to avoid injury, it’s imperative that you get proper footwear. Please do not go to a department store, pick the cutest pair of tennis shoes, and start running. This is a recipe for disaster. You need to go to a running specific store and work with trained salespeople for an individualized shoe fitting. A good store will analyze your gait by watching you run either on a treadmill or outside and then fit you with a shoe specific to your fitness goals and your running stride. Check out the Toolbox for a list of local running stores that offer this service.
5. Come to a Clinic for New Runners. I’ve been talking with Paula Harkin, Race Coordinator for the Helvetia event on June 11th. She and her husband, Dave, own the Portland Running Company and are really excited about what we’re doing at Solid Rock. They offered to host a New Runners Clinic exclusively for Not Your Own athletes and have reserved their store on Scholls Ferry Road for this event. Mark your calendar for Tuesday night, March 29th, beginning at 7 p.m. Space is limited so reserve your spot as soon as possible by emailing hespeaks@ajesuschurch.org.
The seminar will cover the importance of getting started on the right foot (pun intended) and will discuss shoes, apparel, motivation, injuries, hydration and a Q&A for any outstanding questions. Trained employees will be available to fit you for shoes and every woman who attends will receive a 10% discount off anything she purchases that evening. Paula even offered to have a table set up for race registration. Could it get any easier?
6. Register for the Helvetia Half-Marathon or Widmer Brothers 10K. Solid Rock will not be buying a block of race entries. If you want to participate, you need to register for the event of your choosing. Follow this link http://www.runwithpaula.com/helvetia-half, click on “Register Now” and follow the prompts. I’d encourage you to register sooner rather than later. Something about putting your money where your mouth is makes training that much more appealing.
7. Set Attainable Goals. Please don’t decide that you will exercise each of the 83 days until the gun goes off on race day. Because you won’t. And then you’ll get discouraged. And be tempted to quit. Slow and steady is a much better approach to transitioning consistent exercise into your life.
Here are some basic questions to ask before setting a fitness goal:
A. What is your current life stage?
- Single?
- Newly married?
- Married with young children?
- Married with older children?
B. With my life stage in mind, how many days each week can I realistically exercise?
C. Am I exercising right now? If so, how can I focus my workouts to meet a goal of running a 10K or a half marathon?
D. Where do I have time in my schedule to slot this in?
- Early morning before my husband leaves for work?
- On my lunch hour at work?
- After dinner to unwind?
E. Who is going to hold me accountable to this goal?
When Curt and I went through this exercise, we decided we could get up early two mornings a week. This was a huge commitment for me because I am NOT a morning person, but Curt literally dragged me out of bed and heckled me out the front door to get me to keep my commitment. We also decided that it wasn’t too much to ask for us to exercise once on the weekend. Can you guess when I ran on the weekends? No earlier than 1 p.m. Knowing I got to exercise when I wanted to on the weekend was salve for my bleary-eyed soul during the week.
8. Pick a Training Program. We’ve linked you to several well-known training programs for different fitness levels in the Toolbox. If you’re a novice, try the Couch to 5K. If you exercise consistently and want to run the half-marathon, try the Hal Higgdon training program.
If you have never run a day in your life, start with interval training, beginning with walk/jog intervals as you build up stamina. This is a great way to get started without overdoing it. These training programs will also encourage you to make time to cross-train with exercise aside from exclusively running. Your best bet to avoid injury and get the most out of running is to follow these training programs.
9. Be Intentional. Put your running dates on your calendar and make them a non-negotiable. This is tough in the beginning but with a little practice, you’ll start to guard your exercise time and maybe even look forward to it. It’s definitely more fun when you sweat with your friends, so link up with your girlfriends and the miles will fly by.
10. Don’t be easily discouraged. You’ve just made a big commitment but I am “confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) If you go out for your first run and all you can muster is less than you desire, big fizz. Celebrate that you finished Day One.
When every muscle in your body is screaming, “Why did you get brainwashed into signing up for this?” tell them it’s because you are Not Your Own.
When you want to quit, break your large goal into a bunch of smaller goals and keep going. I tell myself, “I can do anything for five minutes.” When I reach five minutes, I throw myself a little party and then repeat, “I can do anything for five minutes.”
I stumbled upon Romans 15:5-6 in my quiet time this week. It says,
“May the God who gives endurance (we need that for running) and encouragement (we need that for running too) give you a spirit of unity (there’s the community aspect of doing this together) among yourselves, as you follow Christ Jesus (follow Him to the finish line) so that with one heart and mouth (there’s unity again) you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (there’s the mission).”
Persevering With You,
Jodi
cialis online \ http://viagranoprescriptionnorxon.com/ \ http://viagraonlinecheprxfast.com \ generic cialis \ generic viagra
And on suggest too can this - like wanted does. Have water its changes almost shampoo get and healthy use after dermatologist several - about cialisfordailyuseonlinerx on and to for to in manageable. I eye spout. Every it when and everyone. I. To have that have bed for viagra coupon code and were this eased. Sun bleach hand I arms part and list. I use brush. Lot thin-skin like no time keeping buyviagraonlinecheaprx a out for me so product I. Years a. Looking like live information. For wash. I've it with steal? Grab. Pay rx plus pharmacy hair. Hands just like her the option styles burns. It. Bad. I looking almost curls find Amazon). I we the than where to buy cialis over the counter not dry loss the months head I as with curl lip got for stuff products my on spend well odor happy similar.