"I'll have the salad"

Several years ago, a client of mine was meeting with me for the first time.  As I went through all of the basic questions to try to help determine how we could reach her fitness goals she stopped me and said, “I need to be honest with you. The reason I am hiring a personal trainer is because I really need to look like this!” As she said this she began to dig through her purse to pull out a folded piece of paper which she handed to me. As I opened the folded paper I realized that it was a cut out of a fashion magazine, a size 00 model in next to nothing clothing. “What do you think?” she asked in all seriousness.  This essay is for her…

My first memories of exercise come from high school. My junior prom was coming and I really thought that it was important for me to look my best. Every day after school I would go to the community gym at our local pool and workout for 2 hours. I remember stepping on the scale after several months of working out and dieting, the number read 117 lb. I was happy.

My next exercise memory came when I graduated from high school and went into the working world. The pressure to be thin and beautiful at that age came at me from all angles. I remember comparing myself to every woman that crossed my path. “What size does she wear?” I would silently ask myself. “Does she put dressing on her salad?” At that time of my life I walked one hour every morning before work, worked a physical job for 8 hours a day, went to college, and somehow managed to get to the gym 5 days a week. Size 0, my pants said.  I was happy.

Time went on and another chapter in the exercise novel was written, the day I discovered running. At the time I thought that I had stumbled across a breakthrough to keep me at my hard to maintain size zero. I would run and I would stay thin, “easy”, I thought! What I found is that running wanted to save me from the destruction I had created in my body. The more I ran, the more my body craved fuel. Training for a marathon on less than 1000 calories a day did not compute!   My pencil thin legs rebelled and became muscular columns of locomotion. It was impossible for me to be both a runner, and a starved woman looking for perfection.  The stronger I became, the less important it was for me to be model thin, and for the first time in my life I could say I was actually happy!

So to the woman I met years ago with the picture of perfection in her purse, I ask, what is a tiny pair of jeans worth? Is it worth depriving yourself of everything good in life? Is it worth basing the mood of your day by what the scale says in the morning? Or do we stop worrying about what society says is the ideal and start letting our bodies decide what it the best for us? Challenge yourself to let go of unrealistic expectations and focus on being healthy. Give your body what it requires and it will reward you in surprising ways! And for God sakes, don’t be afraid to buy bigger jeans!

My Mother, Myself

At what time in our adult lives do we surrender to the fact that we are just like our parents? Maybe some of us never do, especially if our childhood was not the “Leave it to Beaver” type. In fact, some of us spend our entire lives trying to live a different life than the one we grew up in. Although I did not realize it as a child, I was lucky! My parents, although tough at times, made me who I am. I am my mother’s daughter, and this became evident to me a long time ago. It was proven again during this weekend’s JFK 50 miler.

I was accompanied to the race in Hagersville, Maryland by my mother, probably my biggest fan! She has been to all nine of my Ironman races, even coming as far as Hawaii to watch me compete.  She is probably one of the most devoted mothers a child could have; this has been proven time and time again as she will drop everything to fly across the country, just to make sure that I had a dry pair of socks to change into at mile 38!

My mother is active, but not athletic. When I was born she was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. At one point in her life it was so bad that she had to crawl to my crib, walking was not an option. Thanks to modern technology the RA is under control, but I know that every day she has to will herself to get out of bed because of the constant pain in her joints. Growing up, I never heard her complain. She worked hard, and no matter how much the wind blew, she put her head down and kept going.  You might say, she is stubborn, but I have heard that us Germans can be that way!

I did not admit this to her, but during the race I had made up my mind at mile 32 to quit when I got to the mile 38 aid station. As I plodded through the miles from 32 to 38, feeling the marble size blisters on my feet rub painfully against my shoes, I thought about my mother. She was waiting there for me, with my bag of socks. She had flown over 1000 miles to help me get to the finish, because, “that’s what mom’s do,” she would say! But I knew that most moms would not do that, only mine!  There was no way that I could quit; I was doing this race not just for me, but for her.

As I made my way to the finish line I knew my mom was waiting, just as she always had.  The last 12 miles of agony seemed to melt away as I crossed the line and went to find a patch of grass to rest in until she found me. “Are you good enough to walk she asked?” “Sure” I said rather sarcastically! As I limped down the road to the car she looked at me and with a smile, half serious and have joking she said to me “I could carry you!” What she did not know… was that she already had!

If you can't beat um'... beat um'!

Typically when I am out on my long trail runs I come across several different types of wildlife, if you are a hunter, you would be jealous! It is not at all uncommon for me to find a deer grazing in a meadow, or even a turkey which I will end up chasing down a trail for over a mile while yelling at the poor frightened animal, “I will not eat you, I am a vegetarian!”  Today was different; there was not a deer or turkey to be seen. I did however come across the animal I fear most, the Running Man.

All of us have had an encounter with the Running Man at some point in our lives, in fact maybe some of you reading this are a member of the “Running Man” species. Here is how to identify a Running Man, he stands 6 feet or higher, with long, muscular legs (usually shaved), a determined look on his face and an incredible pace.  I, the Northern European running women stand no chance against my foe; at a measly 5’4” tall, my legs are at least one foot shorter than his and my pace, well… much, much, slower. The only thing we have in common is the fact that we both used a Bic on our legs that morning!

The Running Man seems to prance through the woods like a deer and all the while I imagine that he is probably snickering about my ridiculously slow speed.  I am incredibly jealous of the Running Man. When he crosses my path I pick up my pace and silently think that someday I will be able to keep up with him. I find myself starting to daydream that I and the other Running Men, are prancing down the beach barefoot in out matching white t-shirts like in the movie Chariots of Fire. Then suddenly, I look ahead and the Running Man is gone, I am kicked out of my daydream and back into reality.

There is one thing about the Running Man that I forgot to mention, although we started our runs at the same time, the Running Man finished his much earlier than mine. As I was heading down the trail to start my second loop, I saw him pull away in his car… his run was done, mine was just beginning.  I know that I can never be the Running Man; I will never have his grace or Kenyan like speed, but maybe… I can just run farther than him?  I hope that as the Running Man was pouring himself a cup of coffee after his workout today he thought back to the girl on the trail, he might ask, “I wonder if she is still running?”…

I was.

The Training Program, starting mid January 2011

Week Number	M	T	W	T	F	S	S	Total
1	--	2	4	6	--	14	8	34
2	--	4	8	6	--	16	8	42
3	--	4	8	6	--	16	8	42
4	--	4	8	6	--	18	10	46
5	--	2	4	6	--	14	8	34
6	--	4	8	6	--	18	10	46
7	--	4	8	6	--	18	10	46
8	--	4	8	6	--	20	12	50
9	--	2	4	6	--	14	8	34
10	--	4	8	6	--	20	12	50
11	--	4	10	6	--	23	12	55
12	--	4	10	6	--	23	12	55
13	--	2	4	6	--	14	8	34
14	--	4	12	6	--	25	13	60
15	--	4	12	6	--	25	13	60
16	--	4	12	6	--	25	13	60
17	--	4	8	6	--	10	8	36
18	--	4	12	6	--	28	15	65
19	--	4	12	6	--	28	15	65
20	--	4	12	6	--	28	15	65
21	--	4	8	6	--	10	8	36
22	--	4	15	6	--	30	15	70
23	--	4	15	6	--	30	15	70
24	--	4	15	6	--	30	20	75
25	--	4	8	6	--	10	8	36
26	--	4	15	6	--	30	20	75
27	--	4	15	6	--	30	20	75
28	--	4	10	6	--	10	10	40
29	--	4	--	6	--	10	--	20
30	5	3	2	--	--	100	--	110