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Marathon MOTIVATION
Today is an especially inspiring hodge-podge of quotes, links, videos, and songs that I have found motivational in my past three months of training for my first marathon. Getting goosebumps just thinking about it now!
First off, I started a “Marathon” board on Pinterest (obviously…) you can follow here —> Marathon.
1.) Many marathoners have professed the power of the “mantra”. Who am I to question them?
**Mantras are phrases that you can repeat to yourself to bring your mind back to a relaxing and calm state**
The phrase I selected:
(source)
Its simple (easy to remember!) and should be a reminder to relax in case I feel some nerves or doubt.
2.) A lot of people ask Why are you running a marathon? If you have to ask, you won’t understand. To them, running 26.2 miles (by choice!) seems like hard work, a punishment, not a fun activity for their Sunday morning. That is not the case for myself and the thousands of other racers I will be joining at the start line.
Running literally changes you. Long distance training increases your endurance and patience in tough situations. It’s stress relief…energy release…”me” time…cardio exercise.
3.) This video is a pretty sweet compilation of running clips. How cool would it be to have video of clips from each of your most memorable runs/workouts in scenic settings, vacations, camps, etc.?! Future project for myself…
4.) Now something a little less serious…..
(source)
It’s funny because IT’S TRUE! My neighbors can confirm ;)
5.) If I needed any further motivation, it would be this right here:
My dad is on his bike next to me whenever I need a running partner at home. He and my mom are so proud of me and supportive of my marathon training. If I ever doubt myself, I can think about the amount of time & energy they have put into helping me get here! How lucky I am to have parents so happy to help me achieve my dream!
6.) It’s no secret that MUSIC is one of my biggest motivators. Whenever I download new songs, my first thought is always “I can’t wait to go running so I can listen to this!” What a fitness nerd…
I’ve posted a series of songs from my marathon training playlist so I’ll continue with this little treasure…”Breathe” by Ryan Star
Been listening to this one since high school!
7.) Because my research on tapering before a marathon concluded that the final week is all about CONFIDENCE, I will include this last personal bit of motivation. I’ve watched myself grow from a struggling high school cross country runner, to a recruited D1 collegiate athlete, to FINALLY a marathoner. It makes me proud. Every day I am grateful for the ability to run because it is my passion, something that I will never give up. My motivation is the fact that I have been thinking about this challenge for more than five years and I am finally going to accomplish one of my biggest goals :)
Track Throwback from Senior Year!
**Bonus Marathon Training Playlist Song!**
This one seems obvious. But a playlist wouldn’t be complete without Mr. Eminem. I plan on repeating this song no less than 6 times during race day ;)
If you have some other source of inspiration please share! :)
New Year’s Resolutions
Nearly everyone comes up with a New Year’s Resolution, something they want to improve on themselves at the start of January 1st. I would be willing to bet that “Lose Weight” trumps “Learn to Knit” every year. All the extra food around the holiday really must put people in guilty-mode, and the changing of the year seems like the perfect opportunity to rectify their calorie-transgressions. I don’t see anything wrong with that! Whatever motivation someone needs to change their unhealthy habits!
However…….anyone can SAY they want to become more healthy/quit smoking/smile more/floss daily. But how often are these resolutions carried out through December? Heck, half of the people probably don’t even remember what their resolution was eleven months later. The decision to change something on January 1st is the easy part. The act of forming a new habit daily is a little more challenging.
I know that come tomorrow morning we will start seeing a flood of new faces at the gym, strangers hogging our treadmills and looking curiously at the Oblique Twist Machine. As annoying as it might be to have more crowding in the gym, it is a positive thing that for a little while, people are prioritizing their health. The surge of new gym-goers is usually short-lived though.
For me, being “healthy” is an every-day-resolution and I also think it’s pretty vague. How are you going to be more healthy, lose more weight, or be more positive?
So what’s my 2013 resolution?
To drink LESS coffee and MORE tea. Currently, I drink probably 4 mugs of coffee a day. Honestly, the only 2 things I drink are coffee and water. I just like having a warm mug of coffee to wake up to and to sip while I’m reading, on the computer or watching a movie. But I suspect I would enjoy a mug of tea almost as much if I were to give it a chance.
I’m not cutting out coffee completely! That’s crazy talk. But after 2 cups in the mornings, I will switch to water and tea for the rest of the day. Starting today! My second cup is right next to me and I’m actually savoring it, knowing there is no refill ;)
Secondly: I still can’t do a pull-up! So this year one of my goals is to be able to do at least 1 pull-up on my own. (We have a snazzy assisted pull-up machine at the gym that takes as much of your weight off as you want, so I will slowly work down to nothing!) :)
One year I will resolve to overcome my fear of roller coasters. Not this year.
Missy has a New Year’s Resolution too!
So far it’s going splendidly.
What’s your resolution?! :)
College Girl’s Meal Plan
Since my College Girl’s Grocery Guide became so popular on Pinterest I am continuing with a similar topic: meal plan.
I sincerely believe the best way to maintain a healthy diet is to pre-plan every day’s meal. Lots of times I do this the night before (after I’m full from dinner) on the post-it sticky notes on my laptop. I plan my breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks and sometimes dessert. But it only works if you commit to eat what you’ve planned, instead of impulse calorie-bombs like pizza or ice cream.
Now that it’s almost the start of a new year, and a new semester if you are in school, it seems like a good time to clean up some eating habits. And a lot of time, people eat junk food because they want something quick and available. Which is usually nothing super healthy. So here is a basic list of easy, healthy meals that are nutritious and affordable:
Another good reason to plan out each day’s meals ahead of time is to be able to make a grocery list and have every ingredient you need on hand. If you’ve got a meal plan and a grocery list, you won’t even need to walk down the ice cream aisle because it’s not on your list! ;)
I didn’t include snacks on this list, but I’ve got plenty of light snacks on my Healthy Study Snacks Page:
As for dessert: I definitely can’t say that I skip dessert every night. And that is also why there is not ice cream in our house! Because when there is, I will eat it.
- Some night’s at school, I’ll make a bowl of oatmeal after dinner.
- Other times at home, we’ll pop some light popcorn to go with a movie.
- I think sticking a fat-free yogurt in the freezer for half an hour is also a yummy treat :)
- And so is frozen banana slices with peanut butter!
- Lots of nights I’ll enjoy a decaf coffee with yummy creamer.
- But sometimes you just need chocolate….Dove dark chocolate squares are my favorite.
Basically, if you have the day’s meals all planned out you will be less tempted to reach for the candy bowl or order the pastry at the coffee shop because it isn’t on your agenda! And before you order anything from a restaurant, you should check out the calorie content first – you might just be shocked.
- Typical restuarant salad entree: Around 1,100 calories (Almost 2/3 your daily needs!)
- Typical coffee shop muffin: 550 calories (Add in the latte and that will take an hour on the treadmill to burn off)
- Typical restaurant pasta dish: 1,200 calories
Pin the meal plan here: 
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