Run or Die

If you scroll through the Facebook postings from the local chapter of my running group, you may see the following:

"Anyone want to meet up tomorrow morning?  I need at least 9 miles."
"Who's running this weekend?  I need 15, 11 min pace."

These posts always give me a little chuckle.  In this country we tend to get a little to loose with the work need.  "I need this new outfit."  "I need the new Garmin GPS watch."  Do we ever stop to think about what the word need really means?

In real life, most of the people I know are fortunate enough to have food, shelter, and clothing on their back (plus a few extras).  I am so grateful to God for all of it.  Do I really need to run?

I was sitting in front of our hotel with my husband during our recent vacation.  It was early in the morning and I saw about ten people all coming in from their early morning runs.  They were jovial, glistening with sweat, and ready to take on the day (I imagine).  We boarded the bus for our excursion and came to a pause at a stop light.  I saw a couple jogging on the path that runs alongside the main road here in Cancun.  An interesting feeling started to bubble up inside of me:  jealousy!  I was jealous!  I wanted to run and sweat and feel my heart pumping and my feet on the road.  Me, me me!!!  "I NEED to RUN!!!"  It wasn't I should run, could run, will feel guilty if I don't run.  It was the feeling that I must, must, must run!

I always say that I'm retiring from running.  I say that I will bike or swim or find some way to exercise that doesn't wear out my bunions or my knees.  In the end, it always comes back to me and my running shoes hitting the pavement, mile after mile, fast or slow, running or walking.  I need to run! (After I get home and all of the tequila is out of my system of course. :0))

What fitness activity is a must for you?  What do you need???  I can't wait to hear!

Natasha

Ten Tunes Tuesday (Dance, Dance)

"Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world." -- Voltaire

When life hands you lemons, slice those babies up and make a margarita! Life has a weird way of working out sometimes. Last week was a good week, but a stressful week. I got some of my workouts in while I was away, but I'm still in a funk - I just can't seem to find my groove, and it's just adding to my stress level. What gives?

When I was in college, I had a habit of dancing in my bedroom whenever my mind would be uneasy. I would pick out some good tunes, turn up the music, and just sing and dance until I couldn't feel my legs. If that didn't work, I'd pack up my CDs and go for a long drive to the foothills of the Sandias... getting out to hike for a bit until I could breathe again. I lost this habit when I moved to the gulf coast, and I'm not sure why.  For whatever reason, I found myself dancing again suddenly when The Weekend's song, "Can't Feel My Face" came on my radio while I was cleaning house this weekend. I'm not sure what spurred it - I just let my music play as I danced and cleaned my little heart out. It reminded me of how helpful this habit was in college, so I figured I would employ this stress relieving tactic for the rest of this week too. As an added bonus, my little 30 minute dance session apparently burned 485 calories, so it doubles as a workout too! Score! 

Here are some of the jams I danced to this weekend:

1. The Weekend - "Can't Feel My Face"
2. Natalie La Rose - "Somebody"
3. Nicki Minaj - "The Night Is Still Young"
4. Skrillex & Diplo -"Where Are Ü Now"
5. Silentó - "Watch Me"
6. Tove Lo - "Habits"
7. Zedd - "I Want You To Know"
8. Pitbull - "Fun"
9. Sage the Gemini - "Good Thing"
10. Prince Royce - "Back It Up"

I'm hoping I can get a better handle on my stress this week. It's hurting my sleep, and that's never good. What tactics do you employ to relieve stress? Do you like to dance like nobody's watching too? I hope your week is filled with more calm than mine! Until we meet again, my friends....

Cheers!

Becky

Goodbye Cardio!

"If you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always gotten."

-Tony Robbins

So, most of my friends know that I have been running for almost 20 years.  It's something that I started with my oldest best friend for no reason at all.  There wasn't a whole lot going on in Santa Fe at the time and we were always guaranteed to place because there weren't that many 13 and 14 year old entrants.  Fast forward to today.  I still love to run.  It's mostly because of the endorphins and the stress relief.  Most recently it's because I just enjoy the companionship of my MRTT running buddies.  Also, you can do it anywhere and any time with minimal equipment and preparation.  

But wait a second!  Why the hell do I look exactly the same?  Three miles, or 5 or ten and no change.  WTF?!?!  I've been forced to accept the fact that despite the many benefits of running, muscle sculpting and weight loss are not part of it (for me anyway).  What's the point in hitting that 13.1 if you can't bounce a quarter off your booty? (I haven't actually tried this...yet)

In light of this discovery, I recently joined a weight lifting/figure shaping competition.  It runs for 90 days and to my surprise includes minimal cardio.  I'm back to body weight exercises and good old fashioned heavy lifting.  I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it's not too bad.  Frankly, it's preferable to trying to get in miles with humidity in the 80 and up percentage range.  So farewell to our old friend cardio.  I am on to short runs and HIIT.  

Stay Tuned!

Natasha

P.S.  This post is dedicated to my daughter Olivia who maintains that I look like Beyonce no matter what even thought she has no idea who that is.  

P.P.S.  If you are looking for a running group try www.momsrunthistown.com.