Thursday, May 21, 2009

A Bump in the Road

Monday night after the children were all tucked away in their beds, and Hubby was working away on his stationary bike, I went down to the beach with the intention of running 3 miles. After about 1/2 mile my hip started giving me fits, and I ended my "workout" leisurely walking down by the moonlit water...which...I have to say had it's own benefits! My hip started hurting a couple of weeks ago. Last week I stayed off of it in an effort to let it heal. So monday night I was feeling much better, but after running it started to talk to me again... I believe I've hit a bump in the road...or maybe even a wall. Anyone have a jack hammer?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Bandits

I didn't get drawn in the St. George Marathon lotto. That's okay. I'm still going to train, and we'll find another marathon...or not. My knees and hip are yelling at me to slow down...and so I will. Congrats to Susan, Christy, and Kathy!!!! I will be there to watch them cross the finish line...and who knows...if I'm ready........I've heard bandits show up to these things and run too...not that it's the plan...I'm just saying...

Saturday, May 9, 2009

I Did It!!!!

This morning I woke up with a very sore body. I had my rest day yesterday, and I really wanted to challenge myself today...Saturdays my "big run" day. So, although it was a chore just to get out of bed, I decided I had to keep going. And so I did. Hubby told me about shuffling last night. He use to run 50 milers with heavy packs on his back...Marine stuff. He told me they would shuffle which is taking a real slow easy jog using as little energy as possible. I decided to give this a try. I shuffled. It wasn't about speed, it was about being able to maintain a jog for at least a half hour. Since I will be doing a 3 mile run for my first conditioning run, I have driven through my neighborhood, and found a good 3 mile course. My goal was to be able to keep it up for a half hour. When a half hour was up, I was fine!!!! I couldn't believe it! I continued on my course in a shuffle, and completed the whole thing! It took an hour, and I went 3 miles. I was dripping in "glow" (boys sweat--girls glow), but I DID IT!

Friday, May 8, 2009

I'm Running a Marathon

Wendy called last week and said that its the last day to sign up for the St. George marathon. It was already well into the evening, and although we had talked about waiting a year, I went on line and signed up! We just have to wait to see if we get picked in their lotto.

Our first item of business...SHOES
So Wendy and I decided we needed running shoes. We went to the runners store to buy the exact shoes our feet needed to support us as we run. Henry came along...almost more than he could handle. It wasn't so much that he wanted to pull down every shoe and play with it like a car...that wasn't it at all. The poor guy had to sit there and watch his mom RUN through the store. I tried a neutral shoe on and ran down their little path so they could observe my stride and see if I was pronating. Once was a little embarrassing for the little guy, but he handled it well. Then they had me try on shoes that would correct my stride, and run down the path again. He was good with that. I think it was when they asked me to squat down in my shoes...that put it way over the top. Immediately he demanded that I sit down. After that he begged me to sit down every time I got up to run...I'll tell you, the boy just can't take his mom out in public anymore!

Second...
Sooo, I'm a little out of shape. Okay, I'm a lot out of shape. Really, I'm in a good, round shape, but that doesn't work if you want to run a long long way. That just means the marathon itself won't be the only marathon I will be running...I have to get into good physical shape. I'm finding that's a lot more difficult than finding a pair of shoes. I went online and found a 16 week training schedule...perfect! The only clincher is that I need to be able to run for 30 minutes without stopping by the end of next week. Our first conditioning run will be 3 miles...I have to be able to run 3 miles just START training! Last night was my first jog...3 mile jog. To be honest with you, I don't think I actually jogged even half of that. I couldn't jog even 10 minutes without stopping! I have sooo far to go to be ready to START conditioning...I'm not giving up...

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Creating Peace

By Rebecca Linder Hintze
May 2009
Greetings!

Do you feel as if the world is conspiring against your efforts to create peace? The daily news paints a bleak picture for our world. Does this leave you feeling hopeless and afraid?

On top of that, do you find that your kids are loud or fighting? Are you frustrated when you're unable to pay bills, upset when you find yourself arguing with a spouse or family member, or exhausted from experiencing stress on-going at work. In the midst of your daily unrest, do you believe peace possible?

Absolutely, peace is possible! Despite all the unrest and turbulence around us, we have the ability to choose to remain peaceful, hopeful, and positive, and enjoy happy, healthy, and fulfilling lives.

While it's not likely that any one of us will solve all the chaos that exist in our external world, thankfully we each have the power to resolve the conflicts that reside in our internal worlds and adopt habits that create more peace.

How do we resolve inner conflict? Truly, the answer is long enough to fill the pages of books! But for now, I'll quickly summarize a few simple ways to begin living a more peaceful life.

Tip #1: Look inside. Happiness, peace, a sense of well-being and self-worth come from the inside out. Not from the outside in. Instead of wasting time pointing fingers around us, begin focusing on resolving internal conflict first. Once the chaos inside lessens, our external world will seem more relaxed.

Tip #2: Be your best friend. And as you do so, you'll discover your authentic self--what uniquely defines you. Never in the history of the world will there ever be another person just like you! Also, take care of you! Often we have to give ourselves what we wish we could get from somebody or something else. When we rely too much on others and depend on material things, we feel out of control. As you become your own best friend, you will feel more self-reliant, confident, and less stressed.

Tip #3: Manage yourself wisely. Understand what is within your control and what is not, and then use your personal power to manage situations, others, and your emotions properly. First of all, all that you fully control is you--your thoughts, feelings, actions, and behavior. Others have the same personal agency. Exercise your right to control only when it is appropriate. When it isn't appropriate, choose to manage your response by respecting the freedom others have to act within their appropriate power.

Tip #4: Know your emotions. As you apply tip #2 and become your own best friend, develop a healthy internal communication process--one that keeps you aware of your own thoughts and feelings. As you stay on-top of your emotions by acknowledging and processing through them, you'll find tremendous internal peace that will carry over and affect your external world in a powerful way. As you begin to understand your own emotional responses, you may identify negative thinking. If so, re-frame your thoughts so they are healthy and accepting. (For more on healing destructive thought processes, see Healing Your Family History.)

Tip #5: Seek out what's positive. Particularly, find the gifts in the unexpected and uncontrollable circumstances of your life. All of us would like to have the power to create a plan and then perfectly manage the steps by which we arrive at our final destinations. However, the universe simply doesn't always work that way. Life surely brings unexpected results and unexplained paths--many which feel negative. Within the most challenging experiences (ones that we might like to wish away--like our current economic state), seek to find the treasure. We find great peace when we acknowledge the blessings of trials and suffering early on and relinquish our attempt to control situations we simply cannot change. Also, to successfully follow this tip, you may find it necessary to tune out negative communication (including television, radio, internet, etc.) that prevents you from thinking positive.

Tip #6: Stay Faithful. When we have a sense of assurance that no matter what happens, things will eventually get better, and that somewhere, someone trustworthy is in control, we feel much better. This sort of peace is not dependent on circumstances. Rather, it allows you to see beyond your surroundings and fix your eyes on a point in the distance that allows you to hold steady on your course and ride out the storm. As you strengthen your faith and grow spiritually, you'll find the greatest peace possible. Now, more than ever, it's time to search for spiritual answers and find peace in personal prayer and meditation.

For this month's homework, apply these tips and make them your natural and intuitive responses to life. As you seek positive, personal change, your influence will help create peace for our entire world. Watch the youtube video to see just how many lives you may influence!
Many blessings,

Rebecca Linder Hintze
Author, Healing Your Family History
©Rebecca Linder Hintze, 2009.