Confessions Of A Shameful Runner

 

I have a confession to make:  I am a shameful runner and have been for years.

Let me explain…

My running journey started out in 2006 when I experienced my first heartbreak.  With no prior heart healing experiences to call on, I turned to running to get through it.   Slowly, I started out running at a 12 minute pace and eventually worked into a comfortable 10 minute mile, where I stayed for years and years to come.

During the 365 days of sweat challenge, I shaved off another minute, leaving me hanging tight at a 9 minute mile.   It’s a pace I’m comfortable with and rarely do I speed up or slow down.  It wasn’t until I created My Sweat Project on Facebook and Instagram that I noticed how intense some runners are and that I was incredibly far from running like them.

My old running obsession.

This longing was causing me to feel shame within my running self.   For months I started tracking my runs on NikePlus and would gauge my running ability off of my times and those of others.  The pressure I was putting on myself was making me fall out of love with something I truly enjoy.  Not only that, I started ditching my running partner, Journey, because she slowed me down.    It felt horrible.

After months of dodging running as much as possible I decided to try out a 60 day running streak.   Feeling inspired by my little goal, I ran 3 miles everyday for the first four days with my favorite running accessory:  a little black dog and my iPod (sans the running tracker).  Day 5 it was wicked cold, which helped me decide to skip my outdoor run since I don’t belong to a gym

That run skipping day invoked this simple thought, “I get to create what my running looks like and make it fun again.”  With that, I want to give my new running rules ideas:

• No timed runs.
• Bring Journey.
• 5 days off out of 60

New running style.

Three small things change the way I view running.  I’ll keep up with this for the next 60 days and see if I can fall back in love with the sport.   Low pressure = bigger gain.

Is there something that you can do to make working out more fun and less stressful?  I challenge you to find a version that feels the best to you and ditch the stress.  More fun means you’ll stick with it longer.  Promise.

Please share with other readers what works for you in the comment section below.  Now get to some sweating that you truly enjoy!

Kick Holiday Weight Gain To The Curb This Year

 

Make this November about health, not extra servings of pie.

The average American gains 5 lbs during the holiday and most people never lose the extra lbs.  That’s right, it stays on year after year after year…

Scary, isn’t it?

 

Make this the year that you beat this scary statistic and make a commitment to your body that you can be proud of.

 

This November the inspirational, Sam Lambooy of Slambooy Fitness and Betsy Fry of Find Food Peace and 365 Days of Sweat are hosting a “November Workout Challenge.”  Instead of hibernating as the days get shorter and colder, choose to workout everyday in November and take charge of your health.

 

Here’s the rundown:

 

• Workout everyday in November.
• You choose the intensity, duration and type of workout.
• Post what you did in the Facebook group “My November Workout Challenge.”
• Take photos of your workout and post them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #activenovember and find all the other people around the world participating (seriously, we already have an Aussie and a Brit!).
• Be an advocate for health and invite your friends/family to join you!
• A free conference call for all participants led by Sam Lambooy and Betsy Fry.  We will be giving tips, encouragement, inspiration and answering all questions.

 

Are any of these reasons why you don’t want to participate:

 

• November is the best month for eating and starting off my winter hibernation the right way!
• The holidays are the ultimate diversion from my health goals.
• I’ll start working out again after the family season ends.
• It’s too cold/dark/snowy outside and I hate being confined to the gym.
• I have been thinking about committing to a regular workout regimen, but it’s too hard to commit to anything during the holidays.
• I intend on being in a tryptophan coma all month.
• There will be too much traveling/family time/shopping/stress to try to include working out.

 

If any of these sound familiar to you, then take a risk and let go of your excuses.  We challenge you to leap out of your comfort zone for one month.

 

 

Now that you’ve read all about the challenge, it’s time to make a wholehearted commitment to yourself.  All you have to do is write “I’m so down to sweat!” in the comment section below.   Once you do this, we will add you to the Facebook support group and answer any questions or calm any fears you may have.

 

Welcome to the challenge!   We are so happy to have you!

 

With sweaty love,

 

Betsy Fry and Sam Lambooy

A Wealth of Knowledge For You!

Even though the weather in Colorado is still boasting record high heat, I am day dreaming about pulling out my long-sleeve running shirts and breathing in cool crisp autumn air.   Can you believe that summer is almost over?  It seems like just yesterday closets were being switched from winter to summer clothes and lawnmowers were being pulled out of the garage

All of this season changing talk was what reminded me that I have not posted any of my new posts on my 365 website.  In case you have not subscribed to my new blog, I wanted to share some of the cool things topics that have been covered at FindFoodPeace.   Including a really cool free monthly challenge group that you can join today and the most popular blog post I have ever written.  And of course, some other fun topics that might resonate with you:

3 Tips To Never Miss Another Workout

Stop Dieting and Lose Weight Now! 

 

What I Learned From Mastin Kipp

What I Wish I Would Have Known In My 20s

The Key To Happiness You Might Be Missing

Enjoy the rest of your summer and don’t forget to indulge in your favorite pumpkin flavored treat!

5k Update & A New Summer Challenge

June is coming to an end, which means that the 5k running challenge will be left in Colorado’s fire’y-ist month.   I wanted to share a quick update on how I did, or did not do.

The first 20 days I ran everyday (except for a day I went hiking for a few hours instead).  On the 21st day I had a dermatology appointment, which resulted in taking off a few suspicious moles and made my running come to a screeching halt.  You can read about that scary experience here.

As I was allowing my new wounds to heal, I dusted off my hybrid bike and rode around the local reservoir.  Less impact = less pain.  Everyday I went between 10-17 miles.   Good enough to keep me feeling active when I was supposed to be inactive.

Now that a week has gone by, I was able to run again today.  I went out for 3 miles and felt like I had lost whatever strength I had accumulated in the first 20 days.   I was baffled by how quickly it can be lost.

A new month is approaching and I am setting a new goal:  30 days of running or core power yoga everyday.  A mini 30 day sweat challenge sounds like a good idea!   The first 20 people that commit to doing a 30 day sweat challenge will get a complimentary life coaching session!   Write “SIGN ME UP!” in the comment section below or if you’re shy, shoot me an email betsy@betsyfrycoaching.com

What are you doing to stay in shape this summer?  Do you have specific goals that are helping you to stay on the fitness track?  Publicly declare those goals in the comment section below and I’ll help hold ya accountable.

Free Coaching & Updates

There is a lot of awesome action going on right now over at Find Food Peace.  Including photographs by a real photographer (if you are a business/website owner and you have not done this yet- get. on. it!), weekly blog posts on how to create a body & a life you love and a new affordable life coaching program for the masses.

In case you have missed any of my recent posts, here is a quick recap  for you:

Stick To Your Goals With One Easy Step

A Common Mistake That Dieters Make Daily

Love Your Body In A Swimsuit By This Weekend

Lose Your Negative Thoughts In Seconds

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Teach Yourself

How To Become A Happier Person

The Three Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight

If any of these posts speak to you or if you have any burning questions, leave your comments below the blog and I will get back to you ASAP!  I have some spare time carved out of my day just for that 🙂

How Consistency Can Change Your Health

Today is Day 10 of the June 5k running challenge that I am taking in part in and I thought it was time for a quick update.

I have always used RunKeeper to keep track of my runs on my phone (via GPS) and have recently switched to NikePlus because it shows an outline of my running course.  How cool is that?  Technology is awesome.

Here are my average pace/per mile times for the identical 3.14 mile run the past 10 days:

• Day 1:  9’32″/mile
• Day 2:  9’26″/mile
• Day 3:  9’24″/mile
• Day 4:  9’20″/mile
• Day 5:  9’22″/mile
• Day 6:  9’18″/mile
• Day 7:  9’13″/mile
• Day 8:  9’26″/mile
• Day 9:  Opps!  Went hiking for 2.5 hours instead!
• Day 10:  8’58″/mile

It’s interesting to me that although my times are not always improving, that I am still getting faster.  Consistency has been my best friend these past 10 days and I want to challenge you to add some sort of consistent workout into your life.  If you’re new to the ball game, here are some options to ease you into a healthier lifestyle:  walk for 20 minutes per day, try the couch to 5k running program, complete a yoga video in the privacy of your own home, take the steps at work (every time you leave your office).  Start small and see how it works.  And be gentle to yourself if you slip-up (see Day 9 above).  Just get back on the horse and pickup where you left off. 

Do you have a consistent workout schedule that you love?  Have one that you have been wanting to try?  Leave a comment in the section below and share what works for you or what you think sounds awesome!   Your gold nugget fitness tip could work for someone else too!

Free Green Drink Class!

It’s no secret that I adore green juice.  I have shared numerous recipes over the past few years, like this one, that one and the other one.

After four years of being addicted to green drinks, I  decided to stop being stingy with my knowledge and share it with anyone wanting to learn- for free!  Here are all the details:

Have you been wondering what the deal is with the green drink craze? 

In this free two-hour workshop, you will learn:

-Countless health benefits of green juice (there are a ton!)

-Easy nutritional boosts to add to smoothies and juice

-Tips for drink perfection (so you do not taste those greens!)

-Meet community members also interested in a healthy lifestyle!

–Bonus:  You take home a recipe book with 25 simple recipes that taste great, fill you up and will help you kick poor eating habits to the curb!

–Extra bonus:  Try as many juices and smoothies that you can handle!

When:  Saturday, June 22^nd from 2:00-4:00 pm

Where: At my home!  Address will be emailed to participants.

Space is limited to the first 8 people to sign-up

Email: betsy@betsyfrycoaching.com to reserve your spot!

*Please bring $5.00 to cover the cost of drink materials!

*If you are not located in Colorado and would like a copy of the PDF that I have created, please comment below “Juice Me!” and I will email it to you asap!

Looking forward to toasting green drinks with all of you- and virtually for those of you in other states 😉

Interactive Challenge

Although we are still three weeks away from the official day of summer, I am going to declare it summer in Colorado.  Today the temperature is in the high 80s and judging by how hot our home was last night, I am guessing the temps did not drop much lower than that in the evening.

With the summer months comes bbq’s, leisurely bike rides, family time, fresh mown grass, long sunny days, lemonade and popsicle’s,  road trips and afternoons spent lounging at the pool.  Some people workout more to look dyno-mite at the beach and others use their precious time to spend with family.  Typically, I come out of winter hibernation and use May-October as my months to explore outside while sweating as much as humanly possible.  

This year is no different.  A friend of mine started a website called Slambooy Fitness  (last name: Lambooy.  Fun play on words, right?) to share his knowledge and passion for fitness with others through his health tips, workout plans, meal prep instruction, and monthly challenges.  His first challenge already has a massive following that I wanted to share with you, in case you needed some support/inspiration/challenge in your (sweaty) life.  Here’s the deal:

• Run a 5k everyday in June (start today since I am just now telling you about this!)
• Post your run details on Instagram or Twitter
• Use #slambooy5kchallenge to find others that can support you
• Start your summer off by annihilating this goal!

This month I am committing to this challenge and I hope that you will too!  If you need any personalized support, shoot me an email and we can cheer each other on.    Happy sunny, sweaty and goal-crushy summer!

**Picture LOL: my cousin found this on a workout site and forwarded it to me.  How did this person know that I rock a 10 minute pace?!**

The Single Most Important Thing You Can Teach Yourself

In the past month alone I have had four clients ask, me “what do you mean by ‘take the time to feel your feelings?  How do I do that?’”  It was a really good question that was asked by incredibly bright women.

A lot of us go through life thinking that suppressing our true feelings makes us seem courageous, fiercely independent or free from emotional neediness.   Sound familiar?   See if you can find yourself in this example:  You are at upset with yourself for not following through on a goal and rather than face the reasons why, you choose to forget about the goal and ignore the emotions felt alongside of it.

By doing this you are telling yourself that whatever you are feeling is not important enough to be felt.  Then some of these thoughts come along, “This feeling will pass.   It wasn’t a big deal anyways.  I was making too big of a deal out of this situation.   These feelings are definitely not justified.”

You convince yourself that whatever emotion you were feeling should not have been felt, then you repress it and move on.  Who gave you this message that what you are feeling should not be discussed or felt?

If this sounds like something that is part of your routine, then I have got some news for you; these emotions will never stop coming.  They will painfully creep up on you for the rest of your life and it is your choice whether you want to keep sweeping them under the rug or if you want to examine the crap out of them.  Trust me when I tell you that the examination process is way more fun than sweeping.  Who likes cleaning anyways?

Dive deep into your feelings

Before you dive in and start a feeling frenzy, remember that nobody has ever died from feeling a feeling.  A feeling is just an emotion, nothing more.  There is nothing to be scared of and so much to be learned.

So the next time waves of emotions come up, I want you to stop and follow these seven quick steps:

1. Identify the emotion.   Am I feeling sad, lonely, scared, angry, confused, annoyed, thrilled, trapped or overwhelmed?
2. Focus solely on the emotion, not the stories created around the emotion.   Example:  I am upset because I have gained 15 lbs this year.   What you make the story mean:  I have gained 15 lbs and now that I have started gaining, I will NEVER stop.  I will end up living life as an obese woman that nobody will ever love and I will die alone.
3. Feel your emotion.  With your one chosen emotion in mind, sit down, close your eyes and allow this emotion to really sink in.  Feel the depths of this emotion.  Explore why you feel this way.  Ask questions about it.  If you feel inclined, grab a journal and write it all out.
4. Physically express your emotion.  Once you are done sitting with your feeling, decide if you would like to have a physical reaction to it.  Do you want to cry?  Scream?  Hit a pillow?   What physical reaction will allow you to feel this emotion deeper?
5. Shake it out!  You will know when you are done feeling it emotionally and physically.  Stand up, drink a glass of water and shake out the excess emotions.
6. Put your emotions in motion!  Go for a walk, dance to your favorite song, ride a bike, clean your cabinets.  Use this flow of energy to move your body.  Trust that your body knows what to do.  If you are too spent to move, then choose rest and be okay with that option too.
7. Acknowledge yourself for a job well done.  You just felt all of the depth of an emotion and survived!

Keep on using this model until you become comfortable with your emotions.  The first time you run through this it might feel awkward and could take a while.  Over time, this process will speed up and you will become a master at feeling your feelings and a spiritual teacher in your own life.  I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds way better than picking up a broom.

Let me know how this process works for you!  What happened once you let go and felt something?  Did you feel a shift?   Empower your feelings and leave your story below!

New Coaching Program For The Masses

I had this crazy idea that I was dying to try out with some of you!  I created a new life coaching group called “The Peace Posse” to give more women the option to try out life coaching, without having to make a massive financial commitment.  You will receive top-notch one-on-one coaching and get your hands on tools that will help you break free from painful emotional eating quickly.  This Posse would also be ideal for former clients, looking for some small accountability along the way.

Here is the scoop:

• Two private 20 minute coaching sessions per month for $49.
• Add an additional 60 minute coaching session for $149 per month.
• Awesome coaching techniques taught to you in shortened, 20 minute calls.

*This coaching option will only be available to 10 clients at a time. If you are interested, please email me, betsy@betsyfrycoaching.com and I’ll get ya all hooked up.