Hello world.
It's been awhile since I've posted anything and I noticed my little blogger icon just now and thought I should probably update.
So, I have pretty much epic failed my 30 day challenge. I think I went the entirety of last week without a lick of real exercise (other than one day of dragon boating)
I could throw in the towel and assume that I set the bar too high. But I don't think I did. I think I just stopped trying very hard. And the thing is that since I publicly announced my challenge and was doing so well at it up until then, I thought about it every day even though I didn't always push myself to do anything. And that's better than not thinking about it at all. So I am going to start another challenge on the first of June. Anyone else in?
Today I made up for lost calories burned. This morning I went to the two hour dragon boat practice and paddled through the entire practice (including 20 minutes of straight paddling with varying intensity levels). Not only did I paddle the entire practice, I also paddled a time trial on an outrigger canoe (pictured ). I was a bit worried about having a sliver of fiberglass between me and the Willamette, but once I got comfortable with the idea I really liked how connected I felt to the paddle and the water. My coach told me he didn't expect me to finish the 250 meter time trial in under 2 minutes and I finished 1:51:97. I was pretty proud of that. It was nowhere near the fastest time among the women, but it was a personal victory and it wasn't the worst. The girl with the fastest time was watching from the dock said that my form looked really good for a beginner and that I was really getting the technique. I loved hearing this after feeling so frustrated with it a few weeks ago!
This is the exercise that will stick I think. And I've also realized that even though I feel like I know myself better and better, there's always more to learn. I only wished I would have realized that team sports is the way that I stick with things a long time ago!
I'm pretty much very competitive by nature. I like to be told I that I exceed expectations. But I also like doing things on my own terms.
For example, I played little league softball for 6 years. When I started I sucked. I couldn't catch, I couldn't throw, I couldn't run, and I couldn't bat. Not only that, I rarely did what my coaches told me half the time because I wanted to learn my way.
My way tends to consist of not to exerting too much energy while trying to figure things out. Rather, I pick them apart and get them just right before I really dig in and push myself. This initial picking apart of things takes quite awhile though and usually within that time period my coaches have always determined that I'm pretty much lazy or just really out of shape. Anyway, once I started to really understand the mechanics of batting, I put more effort into it and became one of the best batters on my team. And as I thought about this I realized I did the same thing with every other sport I've ever played - volleyball I wouldn't run but I was one of the best at digging out the ball, swim team I got out of the pool all the time to catch my breath but I killed at the swim meets. The list goes on.
That said, I should have realized long ago that the best way to stay motivated for me is to have someone there to underestimate me. And that usually means a coach. This coach yells at everyone else in the boat but me when they stop paddling. This coach told me he had low expectations for me. And that's why this coach has fostered my stubborn determination to prove him wrong. The second thing that keeps me motivated is feeling a sense of loyalty and responsibility to a team. My team could care less if I stuck around. But I'm determined to have them see me as an equal. Not just an equal, an asset.
Since it was so nice this afternoon I couldn't resist the urge to attempt the bike ride from home to the high school I teach at. So Paul went with me. It was pretty much brutal getting there, but almost all downhill coming back. We rode about 8 miles and took a break to eat cheap food at Salvador Molly's in the middle.
Overall, I feel like today makes up for some of the exercise I haven't been getting. Now if only I could get back on the calorie counting wagon! I lost 5 pounds in a week doing that. If I could just work at it a few more weeks I'd be at a goal weight in less than two months + muscle tone from all the exercise!
It's been awhile since I've posted anything and I noticed my little blogger icon just now and thought I should probably update.
So, I have pretty much epic failed my 30 day challenge. I think I went the entirety of last week without a lick of real exercise (other than one day of dragon boating)
I could throw in the towel and assume that I set the bar too high. But I don't think I did. I think I just stopped trying very hard. And the thing is that since I publicly announced my challenge and was doing so well at it up until then, I thought about it every day even though I didn't always push myself to do anything. And that's better than not thinking about it at all. So I am going to start another challenge on the first of June. Anyone else in?
This is the exercise that will stick I think. And I've also realized that even though I feel like I know myself better and better, there's always more to learn. I only wished I would have realized that team sports is the way that I stick with things a long time ago!
I'm pretty much very competitive by nature. I like to be told I that I exceed expectations. But I also like doing things on my own terms.
For example, I played little league softball for 6 years. When I started I sucked. I couldn't catch, I couldn't throw, I couldn't run, and I couldn't bat. Not only that, I rarely did what my coaches told me half the time because I wanted to learn my way.
My way tends to consist of not to exerting too much energy while trying to figure things out. Rather, I pick them apart and get them just right before I really dig in and push myself. This initial picking apart of things takes quite awhile though and usually within that time period my coaches have always determined that I'm pretty much lazy or just really out of shape. Anyway, once I started to really understand the mechanics of batting, I put more effort into it and became one of the best batters on my team. And as I thought about this I realized I did the same thing with every other sport I've ever played - volleyball I wouldn't run but I was one of the best at digging out the ball, swim team I got out of the pool all the time to catch my breath but I killed at the swim meets. The list goes on.
That said, I should have realized long ago that the best way to stay motivated for me is to have someone there to underestimate me. And that usually means a coach. This coach yells at everyone else in the boat but me when they stop paddling. This coach told me he had low expectations for me. And that's why this coach has fostered my stubborn determination to prove him wrong. The second thing that keeps me motivated is feeling a sense of loyalty and responsibility to a team. My team could care less if I stuck around. But I'm determined to have them see me as an equal. Not just an equal, an asset.
Since it was so nice this afternoon I couldn't resist the urge to attempt the bike ride from home to the high school I teach at. So Paul went with me. It was pretty much brutal getting there, but almost all downhill coming back. We rode about 8 miles and took a break to eat cheap food at Salvador Molly's in the middle.
Overall, I feel like today makes up for some of the exercise I haven't been getting. Now if only I could get back on the calorie counting wagon! I lost 5 pounds in a week doing that. If I could just work at it a few more weeks I'd be at a goal weight in less than two months + muscle tone from all the exercise!
That's awesome. I had a little bit of experience with dragon boat racing when I was in Australia. It was great fun - even if half of it was the fact that we were proud not to tip over like one of the other teams did... ahem. Good luck with all this, it's amazing.
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