procrastination

So today I learned what most parents will never tell their kids. "Procrastination makes you do awesome things; you will always come out on top." After being on a trail running/gym going hiatus for two months, today was my day.

I hammered out my fastest 5k to date. 28 minutes and 14 seconds later, I completed my course. I even had to take my super, fierce Tough Mudder shirt off and carry it.

like.a.bamf

ALL NEGATIVE VERBS ASIDE

(can't/won't/didn't)

I CAN

WILL

DID 

IT!

More to come, stay tuned...

thirteen days

We are down to the wire, my friends. The first Tough Mudder was held just this past weekend and from what I heard, it was bitterly cold.

Amy told me that this week I need to hit it hard at the gym, as next week we will be prepping for the big event. This is huge. This is a gigantic ordeal for me. It's been almost 365 days since my new life began. I made promises and dedicated the last said days to training and making this life transformation. I'm almost there, I can seriously taste it. I have anxious butterflies though.


The Thirteen Day POA

• Eat clean
• Train dirty
• Stay hydrated
• Surround self with positive people
• Crush negative anxieties of any kind (i.e. butterflies, moths, etc.)
• Analyze Under Armor situation
• Limit adult beverage intake
• "Hills and Valleys"

"Think positive, be positive and try to be around positive people this week! 

Crush those anxious butterflies." - Amy

Let's get it done.

mud mix

If you are looking for a mix - this is the one you want. 26 songs, exactly when you need them the most.

1. Knockout - Lil'Wayne and Nicki Minaj
2. Big Pimpin' - Jay-Z and UGK
3. Bawitdaba - Kid Rock
4. Can't Hold Us Down - Christina Aguleria f/Lil Kim
5. Pretty Lil' Heart - Robin Thicke f/Lil'Wayne
6. Requiem in Blood - DJ Low Cut, Randam Luck and Banish
7. Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg and Dat N* Daz
8. Roman Holiday - Nicki Minaj
9. Get Me Bodied - Beyonce
10. Down With The Sickness - Disturbed
11. Going Through Changes - Eminem
12. Look At Me Now - Chris Brown f/Lil'Wayne and Busta Rhymes
13. Y.U. Mad - Birdman f/Nicki Minaj and Lil'Wayne
14. Make Me Proud - Drake and Nicki Minaj
15. Up All Night - Drake and Nicki Minaj
16. It's Time to Take Off - DJ Low Cut and Reef the Lost Cause
17. 867-5309/Jenny - Tommy Tutone
18. 'Till I Collapse - Eminem and Nate Dogg
19. Red Nation - Red Nation f/Lil'Wayne
20. Wild Child - The Holdup
21. Massive Attack - Nicki Minaj f/Sean Garrett
22. Roman in Moscow - Nicki Minaj
23. The Beautiful People - Marilyn Manson
24. Party on Fifth Avenue - Mac Miller
25. BedRock - Young Money and Lloyd
26. Young, Wild and Free - Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa and Bruno Mars

Thank you iTunes for making this mix possible. 

don't stop, get it get it

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” -Thoreau

Yesterday, I set a massive goal.  "2 hours." I really didn't think I was going to stick to it. Actually, I thought, "oh, that won't be hard." I recalled a 2 hour expedition last October and I did a mere 6 miles in that time, so I thought it was going to be nothing.

 

I hit the trail. I began with a brisk walk and then when I reached song 2, I had to run. I was running with short steps this time. Chewing gum also helped tremendously, which is where I attribute almost all of my success to - Thank you Dentyne Ice Peppermint. I didn't stop. Not once to adjust my clothes or stretch - I just kept moving and breathing. 

 

Mile 4, I had to take my likeabamf shirt off, only to realize that my headphones had free range. While wearing the shirt, they were confined to my body - safe.
When I go to the parking lot at the end of mile 5, I checked my time. To my astonishment, 5.8 miles in 50 minutes! WHAT?! How could this happen? How did I run (yes, run, not dilly dally and half ass it) for 50 minutes and not get a side-sticker or be tired? Instead of stopping right there, I decided to lighten my load and keep moving. I dropped my shirt and cellphone off at my car (in the cooler), took a quick swig of smartwater, grabbed another piece of gum and continued running. 

 

Miles 6 and 7 intimately passed by and I kept running. Normally, I play these mind games and psych myself out. I think about my breathing too much and get side pains. I also think about how I dislike running or how my feet hurt. Often, I will say, "you need to stop, you're going to pass out." Saturday, this run was simply for the run. It wasn't for myself or anyone else. I ran to run. Just when I felt like stopping, a new song came on. This mix just fueled me. I don't know what higher powers were enlisted while I was composing this mix, but every song was in place just where I needed it. There were times where I was dancing, while running. I was singing along and grooving to this music. 

 

At one point, while I was at the Southern Lehigh Library parking lot, I had to make a decision. There was a woman walking her dog and only one person can really fit under the bridge. I could awkwardly follow her and then branch off when the path widened, or I could re-do my previous hills and valleys [similar to one of the regions in PA ; word to my teacher friends and scientists who were thinking the same thing] routine without any road blocks. Just as the neurons were sending the decision to my brain, "Til I Collapse" came on my mix. It was almost instant that I transformed into a gazelle and sprinted through the hills and valleys. There's something about Eminem and Nate Dogg that just propels me in the most powerful way ever.  I SOARED up, down, through, around and inside out that route. My arms pulled me through, my legs extended the entire length of my stride. When this happens, any fears or insecurities diminish and dissipate into the air around me. This is for sure a sight to see, I can only imagine how crazy it looks, but amazing at the same time. I was gliding. But suddenly - my music stopped. I ripped my iPod out of my pants and almost dropped it on the ground. As I held it in my hand, I kept propelling, but it wasn't the same. Keep moving, keep breathing. When I finally managed to get the song back on, I was nearly out of breath. After the song was over, this was the only part of my run where I walked for about 2 minutes before resuming running. As I ran by this father and son duo, the father mouthed the words, "holy shit that was fast." (Mouth reading - another one of my super hero abilities.) 

 

While running back to my car, thinking, it's been at least 2 hours, right? Well, while circling my car like a vulture, I discovered it had only been and hour and a half. This meant, I had thirty more minutes to go. Thirty. At about mile 7 and a half, I had 30 minutes to go. The decision was was simple; I kept going. I ran in the woods, around the soccer field three times, along the parking lot blocks all while listening to really, excellent music. My legs burned, I was sweating like crazy. I could smell my skin; I smelled like a margarita, straight up. I felt like I was on the beach, which made my run more enjoyable since that is one of my most favorite places to be. 

 

"Mile 9 completed," said Nancy, the lady trapped in my iPod, "4 miles past your goal." I had one more mile to go. In my mind, 10 miles would be about 2 hours. While running that last mile, I thought about a lot of things. I thought about how Jackie (The Reckless Runner) told me that once you get passed mile 3, everything else to come is easy. I also remembered reading her blog about the day she ran 10 miles. It was one of the coldest days ever, but she did it. That kept replaying in my head as I ran. I also though about how running a half marathon may not be all that bad. I mean, I'm working on running ten miles and what's 3.1 more? At that point, running a half marathon didn't seem impossible. I thought about the Tough Mudder; after all, that is the reason why I am doing this. The Tough Mudder is about strength - physical and mental. It's about endurance. Yesterday, was truly a test of my endurance. After running like a gazelle and not stopping, required so much inner and outer strength. To be honest, I never thought I had it in me. I thought I wouldn't make it.

 

Once simplified, my weakness was not weakness, for it transformed into strength and kept me moving. "Mile 10 complete, " exclaimed Nancy, "five miles passed your goal." Time check: two hours, ten miles and zero tolerance for giving up - I was finished. I did it for the run, plain and simple.

 

i'm a goal setter, a go getter

As I carb up [v. - to eat carbohydrates] for my run in just a few, I thought I'd update for a hot minute.

• Sunny
• 70*
• new gloves 
• new mix - "the mud mix"
• Road ID infant bracelet

What a great day for a run!

Today's run and motivations are brought to you by:

• "I've got miles to go before I sleep..." - RF AND my reckless friend (RF), Jackie
• "I run to be FIERCE - LIKEABAMF" - NikeiD and yours truly

2 hours

I don't care how you get there, but you've got to keep moving.

Blasting off!

TM: 28 days

one tough cookie: be prepared: not just for boy scouts anymore

one tough cookie: be prepared: not just for boy scouts anymore