The Magic of a Good Playlist

Today, being Saturday, was a good day to give running outside a try. I am still a newbie at this, so I decided in order to push myself, I would run outside of my neighborhood so I would not be tempted to just run back home when I got tired. I ran (I say run, but it is still pretty much a slow jog, bear with me, it makes me feel good) out of my neighborhood and around the CSUS campus. I started out really good, I ran for THREE WHOLE songs, took a one song walk break, and then ran some more. I was well into my second running stretch when I started second guessing my lofty goal and wished that I was on a treadmill so I could just stop and go home, when the angelic strains of Gloria Gaynor's inspiring anthem of victory started on my ipod, inspiring and uplifting me, and reassuring me that I will, infact, survive. Let me just tell you though, that that is one LONG song, 8 minutes and 2 seconds to be exact, but I made it through and even survived a little Maroon 5. After that, it was time for another small walk break to one of my favorites, Rob Thomas and his Matchbox buddies, about falling and dusting off, and "if I am too tired to make it, be my breath so I can walk" (SWOON!!!). I did finish strong, and am feeling really great and looking forward to my next class and run. Laters!

Accountability

I am writing this post in hopes that you all will help me stay motivated. I think that if I go ahead and write my goals down, I may feel a little more of a sense of accountability as I try to reach them if I know other people are watching me. I joined a gym a month or two ago with a few goals in mind:
1. fit into my pants again
2. look better in my pants when I do get them on again
3. lose as much fat as I can so that when I get a tummy tuck (ha ha), it will be cheaper with less lipo.

That pretty much sums up my list of starting goals. Pretty vague though, so I thought I should set some milestone type goals. I have read so many blogs about 1/2 marathons and have always thought that they were definitely not for me. My attitude is changing, however, and I have realized that in order to reach my goals I am going to have to get out of my "status quo" comfort zone, and try new things. So, I am signing up with Sara, Emily and Josie (my SILs) to run a 1/2 marathon in St. George in January. Just verbally committing has worked wonders for me. Now, instead of a sleeping-in-as-long-as-I-can Emily, you will find me at the gym most days at 5:30 am either in a class or on the treadmill and for the most part LOVING IT! Several times, I have even woken up before my 5 am alarm!
I know, I know!!! I didn't ever think I would say that, but I love the feeling of sore tired muscles that I had forgotten about and the quiet in the morning when all the kids are still sleeping. I am still a beginner so I am still building up my stamina. I start with a brisk walk for a quarter of a mile then I run for as long as I can. It started out as a 1/2 mile run before I wanted to die, but now I am getting up there to 1 1/2-2 miles inbetween walk breaks. I certainly do not expect anything grand timewise, I just want to be able to finish the race and look somewhat good doing it.
Also, there is another race in Sacramento in Nov or Dec that I might try. I will have to see how I am doing, but I think for that one my goal will be to do the 10k.
So...here is where you come in....
1. Periodically ask me how I am doing. (by the way, I haven't weighed or measured myself and I am not going to, I think I will measure my success by how I look and feel).
2. If you have any tips for beginning runners, let me know.

Thanks in advance for your help!

It Was Quite a Day!

I love politics, especially in an exciting presidential year. I love listening to speeches and debates. I find myself on pins and needles waiting for the daily poll numbers and trying my hand at political analysis. I have very definite opinions about the way things should be and am usually not afraid to tell people how I feel, but I realized recently that my social world is full of like minded people, and that I have never really had to get out of my comfort zone, politically speaking. A few years ago, 61% of the voters in California passed an initiative stating that only marriage between a man and a woman is recognized in California. A few months ago, that decision was overturned by a the State Supreme Court, so now we have a new proposition, Proposition 8, that will hopefully be passed, adding an amendment to the state constitution, preserving traditional families. We have been instructed by the First Presidency to do all that we can do to help, including donating our time and resources to the campaign. We were given a folder a few weeks ago with the names of people in our voting precincts and the streets that they live on. We have been asked to walk door to door polling these people. That folder sat on my entry way table for two weeks. I would walk by it a just get sick at the thought of the task at hand. I prayed for strength and was always comforted that all would be well, that this was something that is VERY important to the Lord and to the Prophet, and that I should just buck up and do it. So I did. Yesterday was our walk. I am happy to report that I was a brave girl and even did the talking a few times! We were able to contact a lot of the people on our list and only had 2 definite NOs and 1 Undecided, and MANY people who were definitely in favor of the amendment. There were a lot of people who were willing to put up a yard sign for us, and a few who wouldn't "because it is just to controversial, but thank you for doing this for us." It really pointed out to me that there really is (I hope) a silent majority, and that we all really need to get involved to spread the word. It was a real test for me, but I did it and know that I will be blessed for it. So...Please pray for our state, and pay close attention to your own state politics.

On a lighter note, we had a great ward activity last night. We all had so much fun. My ward is my favorite thing about California. We had a Chili cookoff and guess what??? WE WON!!! Ben and I had a lot of fun doctoring up our recipe, adding this and that and it turned out delicious! What was our secret ingredient? LOVE! (and chocolate! shhhh!)