I RUN NP
First post of the new year beneath my new blog title*!
*in progress. Feedback welcome.
It's one week into the new year, and I feel no shame for spending it doing a little bit of reflecting, a tiny bit more indulging, plenty of financial planning, and listing my New Years Resolutions (blog post to follow). I've almost fully recovered from my celebratory New Years Eve, and other partying that ensued this past weekend. One of my resolutions is to achieve three musts - read, write and exercise (physically or mentally) - each day of 2014. I'm working a split shift today, so I asked myself on my drive into work at 6:30am: "What activity could feel better during my pseudo-day off than going for my first run of the year?" As it turns out, nothing could.
I decided that one way to both track my fitness progress this year and hold myself accountable would be to use the Nike+ app for iPhone. A lot of my current and former co-workers use it, including Krysty (who motivated me to run even in the unbearable Dallas heat last fall during leadership training) and Annie from The Grove, who inspired me by showing me the number of runs she had completed in the last two years of her life. Talk about dedication to New Years Resolutions! I downloaded the app on my new iPhone 5S (gold - I'm in love with it) as I changed into my favorite purple sports bra and two-year-old, form-fitting LuLu Lemons, then popped up a ponytail - even though my newly shortened wispies barely fit into it. Matching purple headband and crank-able Yurbuds headphones completed the action; I even took an extra sec to apply SPF 50!
I share with my teams and customers ALL day about how fun, new accessories and inventions help us to get the most and best out of our technology. So why hadn't I been using this app until today?! I particularly loved that it let me customize this particular run to my mood (and even outfit) by asking me whether I wanted music, letting me choose between shuffle and a particular artist or album, and having me select the orientation the app would take on my iPhone's display (i.e. "hand-held" or "armband - right") so that I could glance down at it with ease.
Pentatonix' "PTX, Vol. 1 & 2" made for literally the perfect playlist today. It being my first outdoor workout in a while, I really needed some motivation - thoroughly brought on by a good beat. It was like the shuffle feature knew my body and soul: the PTX "Hit the Road Jack" remix got me started, and the Daft Punk Medley jamming Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger... into my brain was the only thing that got me through my second mile at a pace quite close to my first's!
When I was a freshman in high school and chasing my 5-year-long crush named Landon around the P.E. track, I ran a mile in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. Mind you, I was a year-round athlete and maybe 20 pounds lighter back then; even still, I was mildly impressed with what I could still accomplish today. I ran the first mile in 9 minutes 40 seconds, and slowed for a cool-down after exactly two miles 19 minutes and 31 seconds in. I got a spectacular afternoon view of Newbury Park, did a slightly inclined loop around the two intersecting thoroughfares of my quaint suburban town, and didn't feel too much pain in any particular part of my body. I hit the two-mile mark right when I arrived at the corner of Wendy and my own street, and forced myself to slow to a brisk walk in order to cool down, reflect and avoid injury. If I'm going to run a 10K in six weeks (and maybe even a half marathon by end of April), I better pace myself.
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I'm happy that I pushed past my brief reluctance and the memory of my 5:30am alarm this morning in order to get out my front door and onto that sidewalk. One accomplishment inspires the next, I'd like to think, and as my best friend Chelsea quoted in her amazing blog this week:
So, in the spirit of resolutions... will anyone be joining me for the LA - Chinatown Firecracker 10K in Downtown next month? It fits perfectly into my 2014 Resolution of "Complete an organized fitness event in CA!"
To running 2014 like a champ!
*in progress. Feedback welcome.
It's one week into the new year, and I feel no shame for spending it doing a little bit of reflecting, a tiny bit more indulging, plenty of financial planning, and listing my New Years Resolutions (blog post to follow). I've almost fully recovered from my celebratory New Years Eve, and other partying that ensued this past weekend. One of my resolutions is to achieve three musts - read, write and exercise (physically or mentally) - each day of 2014. I'm working a split shift today, so I asked myself on my drive into work at 6:30am: "What activity could feel better during my pseudo-day off than going for my first run of the year?" As it turns out, nothing could.
I decided that one way to both track my fitness progress this year and hold myself accountable would be to use the Nike+ app for iPhone. A lot of my current and former co-workers use it, including Krysty (who motivated me to run even in the unbearable Dallas heat last fall during leadership training) and Annie from The Grove, who inspired me by showing me the number of runs she had completed in the last two years of her life. Talk about dedication to New Years Resolutions! I downloaded the app on my new iPhone 5S (gold - I'm in love with it) as I changed into my favorite purple sports bra and two-year-old, form-fitting LuLu Lemons, then popped up a ponytail - even though my newly shortened wispies barely fit into it. Matching purple headband and crank-able Yurbuds headphones completed the action; I even took an extra sec to apply SPF 50!
I share with my teams and customers ALL day about how fun, new accessories and inventions help us to get the most and best out of our technology. So why hadn't I been using this app until today?! I particularly loved that it let me customize this particular run to my mood (and even outfit) by asking me whether I wanted music, letting me choose between shuffle and a particular artist or album, and having me select the orientation the app would take on my iPhone's display (i.e. "hand-held" or "armband - right") so that I could glance down at it with ease.
Pentatonix' "PTX, Vol. 1 & 2" made for literally the perfect playlist today. It being my first outdoor workout in a while, I really needed some motivation - thoroughly brought on by a good beat. It was like the shuffle feature knew my body and soul: the PTX "Hit the Road Jack" remix got me started, and the Daft Punk Medley jamming Work it harder, make it better, do it faster, makes us stronger... into my brain was the only thing that got me through my second mile at a pace quite close to my first's!
When I was a freshman in high school and chasing my 5-year-long crush named Landon around the P.E. track, I ran a mile in 7 minutes and 22 seconds. Mind you, I was a year-round athlete and maybe 20 pounds lighter back then; even still, I was mildly impressed with what I could still accomplish today. I ran the first mile in 9 minutes 40 seconds, and slowed for a cool-down after exactly two miles 19 minutes and 31 seconds in. I got a spectacular afternoon view of Newbury Park, did a slightly inclined loop around the two intersecting thoroughfares of my quaint suburban town, and didn't feel too much pain in any particular part of my body. I hit the two-mile mark right when I arrived at the corner of Wendy and my own street, and forced myself to slow to a brisk walk in order to cool down, reflect and avoid injury. If I'm going to run a 10K in six weeks (and maybe even a half marathon by end of April), I better pace myself.
I even tagged the kicks that got me through it! ^
I'm happy that I pushed past my brief reluctance and the memory of my 5:30am alarm this morning in order to get out my front door and onto that sidewalk. One accomplishment inspires the next, I'd like to think, and as my best friend Chelsea quoted in her amazing blog this week:
It's not a matter of Can you? It's a matter of Will you?
Apparently, the weather is in my favor
To running 2014 like a champ!
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