Why I Worked so Hard to Accomplish 500 Miles in 2020

I didn't think this medal was ever going to come.  Late December 2019 it was ordered, but there wasn't clear information on the website as to when it would be shipped.  The company I Love To Run make good medals, but their costumer service is severally lacking.  A few years ago I sent a couple emails, none of which were answered, and comments on social media prove others have had the same experience.  But they make really nice medals, so it's a shame. (This is a virtual race medal representing 500 miles achieved in a year).

This medal was designed after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic medal.  I can't post the pictures here as they're copyrighted, but they are gorgeous.  What's amazing is that the original Tokyo medals were made out of recycled materials: "With more than 90 per cent of Japan’s local authorities participating, a total of 78,985 tons of discarded devices were collected, a haul which included approximately 6.21 million used mobile phones, along with digital cameras, handheld games and laptops, all of which were then classified, dismantled and melted down by highly trained contractors. This meant that the final goals of 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver and 2,700kg of bronze were reached by the time the collection cycle closed on 31 March 2019."

I ordered the medal as a memento, because I was excited Tokyo was getting the Olympics, and when visiting Tokyo in 2019 they had the mascots and Tokyo Olympics symbol at the airport.  Then 2020 happened, the Olympics were postponed, and it's a huge question mark if they will happen this year.  Hopefully things will turn around so they can, but at this point it's a long shot.

The 500 miles in a year medal arrived yesterday, so I'm completely surprised and relieved, and it will serve as a reminder of last year.  A token of trial and loss.  A symbol of pulling myself together and getting those miles finished.

It's a beautiful medal.

What I've Learned So Far in Taekwondo: Earning My White/Yellow Belt

 I received my white/yellow belt in my Taekwondo class yesterday.  There was an awards ceremony of sorts last Friday, but I was up in Park City helping set up the Utah State Odyssey of the Mind tournament that night, so I didn't know I had earned a special award: Outstanding Basic Tester.  This award is given to an individual in each age category and level bracket, so I earned this award for the adult category (teenage+) and basic level (white though yellow/green).

For the Outstanding Basic Tester adult award, it was between myself and a teenage girl who is seriously fierce and has such a wonderful, friendly personality.  We both ended up getting the adult award, the only tie, because the black belts who tested us couldn't come to an agreement.  Mainly we both had the same intensity, but I had better technique and she had better mobility.  Yeah, the mobility is something I'm working on.  There's so many ways I can grow.  Great motivation :0)

But still, I was so worried last week!  Thinking I may not even advance!  Goodness, I worry over things I shouldn't worry about. Got to stop that.  At the same time worrying kept me focused and passionate over what I was doing, and making sure I was doing it right.  So there's room for worrying, just within reason and sanity.

I also completed the testing last week in pain.  On my left big-toe, doing the first kicking pass in the beginning of testing, a couple layers of skin peeled off, reveling a raw under-layer.  Technically I should have asked for a band-aid, since everything is done bare foot, but I didn't.  I completed every skill in testing regardless of how I felt.

Maybe that was stupid.  Maybe I should have said something, but I never did.  And I didn't just survive, I scored really high on all the components.

It's been awhile since I've fought through pain like that, but I'm actually glad for it, because the experience reminded me of who I am and what I'm capable of.  It feels good completing a difficult task and facing fears.

 Mainly I'm learning to trust and push myself.  I feared the dive roll during testing, but I didn't just perform the task, I did so with good technique, rolling along my shoulder just as I'm supposed to.  I am nervous, though, for when I'm expected to dive roll over objects, which I believe is around the green belt.

Another thing I've learned?  Doing Taekwondo isn't going to help me lose any weight.  In these three months I've lost 0 pounds, for realzies.  It's my eating.  You can't lose weight without combining healthy exercise with healthy eating.

But I'm realizing how much my focus shouldn't be about weight loss.  I tell myself it's not my focus, but it is.  My focus has got to be health.  Plain, simple health: Energy, strength, positivity, endurance, flexibility, feeling good, etc.

Yesterday my Taekwondo master brought her 83 year old Mom to class.  She has really bad sclerosis of the spine, and yet she's able to stand up straight.  Technically, according to her Doctor, most people with her condition are confined to a wheelchair.  I worked with her on blocks, taking turns, and I was really inspired.

I have goals like fitting into smaller jeans and so forth, but I realized what my main goal is: when I'm 83 years old I want to be healthy, have vitality, and be strong.  I don't like where I physically am at 32, but starting now, focusing on positive and proper health goals, I can totally be rocking it as I venture into age 33 and beyond.  Health starts now, no matter where I am or what I've done.  Health starts now. 

And I'm going to put God first in this process.  I haven't yet, depending entirely on myself.  I have a health journal and on the cover are the words: "Love God and live with joy!"  Isn't that wonderful?  I love it.  Everyday as I cursive my thoughts I'm going to see this phrase, and it will remind me what's really important.  Of what my priorities should be.  Loving God and living with joy.

Finding a good Book is like finding a good Exercise

I always find it sad whenever I hear someone say they don't like reading; My first thought is they just haven't found the right book, or the right genre.   Not everyone likes Shakespeare or Hemingway.  As I've stated in past blog posts, it was the Star Wars expanded Universe books that got me into reading, and from there I started getting into other series.  There's something for everyone.

And I always find it sad when I hear someone say they don't like to exercise; My immediate thought whenever I hear that is they haven't found the right exercise.  Crazy as it sounds, exercising doesn't have to be a chore!  It can be enjoyable and fun.

On the Shape magazine's website they have an article 20 Super-Fit Chicks Who Don't Run.  Worth poking through, because it's refreshing!  I once thought that in order to get really fit I needed to be good at running.  All the celebrities seem to be doing it: Marathons here, 5k's there, the occasional triathlon.  It's inspiring, but there's a little something that stops me from running: I hate it!

I started training for a 5k last year.  I was motivated!  I had one of those 2 months to a 5k calender keeping me on track, and I actually got through the first month.  Plus I'm competitive and like earning awards and getting free shirts.  The world of 5k's seemed like a perfect fit for me.  The chance at a medal and an expanding wardrobe.  But I just couldn't like running.  

Hiking, on the other hand, is great fun.  Not the right season for it, but I love getting into nature and smelling the woodsy air.  And I love Zumba and Spinning.  Love it so much that it doesn't feel like exercise, even when I feel like I'm about to die.

There are so many great ways to get exercise, and it doesn't have to be the torture chamber we see on The Biggest Loser.  A fun bike ride, a game of tennis, basketball, a walk around the mall, etc.  So many possibilities!  Like finding a good book, there's a perfect exercise for everyone.

. . . and who knows, maybe one day I'll give the 5k another try and end up liking it.

Exercises for the Snowed In

It snowed last night, and I've found that when it comes to sticking to an exercise routine and going to the gym, snow is one of the first things that stop me, especially at 6 a.m.  Some people don't mind driving in snow and ice, but I'll avoid it if I can.  So I workout at home on days I can't make it to the gym.  Here are some great, free online resources I've found:

For the Family:

Sparks People, at sparkspeople.com, is overall an amazing website for all things health and motivation.  There's a great, friendly community, but also recipes and articles on a variety of subjects.  And of course there is a video section with cardio, pilates, yoga, and ab workouts.  The site itself is a little overwhelming at first, but once you figure out where everything is, the website really is amazing.  It's worth checking out.   

For Guys (though there's good stuff for everyone)

Nerd Fitness: Level up your Life is a blog, but Steve shares some great health information, and he has a Free Resource section where he's put together workouts that have links to YouTube.  A really fun blog, and I love the Lego pics.  Here's a link to the videos.

For the Gals

A lot of Women Health magazines have workouts with videos and articles avaliable for free on their websites. 

Fitness Magazine has a nice variety of videos, and this is one of my favorite places to go.  They even have a short workout video called Cold Play: Your Winter Workout Plan.

Self is probably one of the more well known health magazines.  Here's a link to their workout section.  BTW, they have a lot of prizes and drawings, and it's never a bad idea to enter.  A couple months ago I randomly got a package through FedEx, and inside was a free workout DVD for a contest I forgot I entered.  That was pretty awesome.      

Shape Magazine has some great workouts.  I need to try the Fat-Blasting Rebounding Routine.  I love my mini trampoline, and Rebounding workouts are really good for you.  I know it looks silly, but it really is a great workout.

Youtube

I discovered the Mahalo channel when I was searching for Tap dance videos, where they have a great series.  Honestly, they have series for just about anything you want to learn.  They have a couple Fitness playlists, and here is one of their videos: 

And if you want to dance here's a Tap video (link to all):

There's Hip-Hop as well, if you want to check that out.

Have fun!

Sarah

101 Goals in 1001 Days, Take Two

Back in January my Sister-in-law Krista introduced me to the Day Zero website, where you aim to make 101 goals that you'll accomplish in 1001 days.  It's a 3 year bucket list.  Back then I spent several weeks planning out perfectly what my 101 goals should be.  I was meticulous, but overwhelmed, and not honest with myself with what I really wanted.  There was a problem of making some of the goals too big, like learn 500 Japanese Kanji.  So, in many ways, I didn't allow myself a chance for succuss.  I did complete 14 goals before giving up, so it wasn't all bad.

Recently I decided to reevaluate my list and start anew, and decided that my greatest chance for success was to keep many of my goals private, so that I can create a list more honest to what I need at this point in my life.  And I devised a way to keep myself on track.

This time around I typed out my goals into categories.  As I'm working on a goal I'll keep track of the details on regular lined paper, but as soon as I finish a goal, I'm going to type out a journal like entry about my experience, what I learned, and maybe include some pictures.  Even with all this I still may not be able to finish all the goals, but if that happens those goals will bump over to the next 1001 days, which will start June 2, 2015.

Some of the goals I'm working on:
Read 6 Young Adult/Young Reader book series
Read 100 Sci-fi/Fantasy Short-Stories
Learn Amigurumi
Learn Wire Art Jewelry
Compose an Original 8-bit Song
Learn to Edit Videos
Take a Cooking Class
Attend a New Exercise Class
Make a Visual Goal College
Have an Original Star Wars Marathon
Lean the JLPT N5 Kanji
Visit Another Country
Etc

This time around I'm going to have fun with this!  And learn a lot at the same time:0)

Sarah

An Easy Way to Measure Running Distance

Earlier this year, back when I was training for a 5k, I would run laps to help me prepare.  Since then I've found that I don't much care for running (bad knees), but I did "run" into a problem when I was training.  Keeping track of the laps.  Listening to music to help me stay focused, I would count the laps in my head, or on my fingers, only to lose track and question my distance.  I thought it would be cool if I could find some device with a clicker to do the thinking for me, but thought I wouldn't be able to find something like that.

Then one day at the craft store I was wondering the yarn section when I stumbled across an interesting device.  A knitting counter!  There's a few models, but I choose a model from Clover.  You can wear it as a pendant, which is nifty since you don't have to hold it, and mindlessly click it at the beginning of each lap.  Unfortuanly it doesn't come with a cord, but I was able to use a chain from a necklace I don't use.

Since buying it I've used the counter to measure the 4 mile distance I'm determined to walk, and it's wonderful.

Sarah