Didn’t Focus Enough on the Darn List

I can’t believe the years just flew by like that because my 101 Things To Do List in 1001 Days still has a lot of uncrossed items. AND, many of them are EASY items. I could probably read one of those books in a day so long as they’re not boring, dry, or hard to read as that would put me right to sleep. Many of the other things would just require me shelling out many shiny pennies that I haven’t figured into my budget yet. The thing is, it’s my fault. I could have fit them all in but I just didn’t actively put forth the effort to get these items crossed off. Except for the lose weight part … haven’t figured that one out yet. In fact, I might’ve take a couple steps in the other direction. But I still have 6 months to get everything done. So we’ll see.

Oh yeah, on another note, in generalities, don’t be afraid to pay your dues in fear that you might be wasting your time because you think there’s an easier way other than paying your dues. Paying your dues is a fact of life, but it is also a necessity. Things always don’t come freely. And even if they did, you wouldn’t be ready for them or you wouldn’t be deserving of them anyways.

In the mean time, as you pay your dues, go ahead and look for an easier shortcut. And when you find that shortcut, great! At least you have experience to back you up as you go for it. But if you never find that magical easy way in, at least you have been paying your dues and that should pay off any time now too. But of course, work smarter, not harder. Don’t do something over and over in the same fashion in hopes that it will eventually work. Continuously try different methods if other methods are producing no results. Now… go take over the world.

“Off and On and Peace” Poem

I haven’t done this in a while, writing poems that is. I used to obsess about poems though, and write them down constantly about every little thing in my world. That world was still small (and I wasn’t very good)  as I was still in grade school. But so what, I borrowed ideas from other people and stanzas from songs that I heard and expanded upon them. That was the first time I thought I could be a writer (4th grade). A professional poetry pseudo- Robert Frost type of writer.

And good poetry is amazing to read, and hear, and imagine. Just thinking about it tugs at my heart strings. But right now I want to share something I wrote, and I don’t profess it to be anything great. Nor am I saying you’ll get more of these but this one is called Off and On and Peace.

Five years, I would’ve thought

That was enough

To make our love so tough

It could weather the storms of life

 

I admit when we met

My walls were iron strong

But you showed me love and truth

And so I opened myself to you

 

You became my waking moments

You were the warmth when I slept

I changed so much at that time

Even just for our relationship

 

But those five years were off and on

We never did find our peace

And so we said our goodbyes

I felt you let go of me

 

Adieu, my heart, flourish on

I really really miss you

But when I think how much happier you are

My soul smiles for you too

Florida Sun with the Parents

One of my many goals in life is to take my parents on vacation. Something purely fun and enjoyable that would leave us with happy memories. At first my parents were thinking about wanting to see the Grand Canyon as their trip but after much consultation with the weather and forecast pattern, we thought it too cold to visit Vegas and the Canyon. Instead, we flew to Florida and visited Sea World in Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay.

Yes, it was extremely warm down there (if high 80′s is considered warm). I don’t know if it was because I’m so used to cold weather or what but I seemed to be sweating a lot more than most people at the theme parks. My parents wore long sleeves because they didn’t want to get burned. Quoting my dad, “I would prefer to be a little warmer than to be brown, burnt and freckly.” My sweet mom was a trooper, she lasted days of walking even though she has issues with her knee and foot.

The first exciting thing we did in Florida was to go on a rollercoaster ride. We just got to Sea World and the first attraction we got to was the Manta rollercoaster and of course, I couldn’t help but insist that my parents go on it with me. My convincing point to my mom, “It’s just like riding a train.”

Let’s just say that was the first and last rollercoaster ride for my mom (and yes, I have the picture they took of the ride when we descended the scary hill). I thought the ride would … help her expand her horizons. But maybe it was too much too fast.

My parents want to go on a real safari. Maybe someday I’ll take them to Kenya, but the next best thing I could think of for now was Busch Gardens. We fed actual giraffes and someone drove us around the animal compound to see zebras, impalas, rhinos, wildebeest, and such. We were up close to exotic birds and petted kangaroos. 

We even had a very personal encounter with a not so exotic animal, a squirrel. The second day at Busch Gardens, my dad stuffed a few acorns into the lunch sac we brought with us. He didn’t care for it much, but did take it to bury it in some secret squirrel spot. He then came back and proceeded to eat crunched up fortune cookie from our hands. This shy little bugger had no qualms about grabbing it from our fingers.

We did see a lot of amazing shows. Dolphin shows. Killer whale shows. Animal trick show. Even a show similar to Cirque du Soleil called Cirque Dreams. Our main staple food-wise was the Chinese Buffet 500 meters or so away from our hotel where my dad gladly ate their baked mussels. 

We had a lot of good fun. I never had been more relaxed in my life. I felt so carefree and got a lot of things in my head written down on paper. (Now that I’m back though, I barely have time to review what I wrote.)

And this ride is called Shiekra. Named after a hawk-like bird in the Middle East. It has a 90 degree drop, a TRUE 90 degree drop of 200 feet. At first when I saw it, I was just scared to even watch the people riding it. My parents too. But I was determined to make the most of our trip, I mean, what’s the point of coming all the way to Florida and not experience the best of the best? How can I call myself a rollercoaster junkie if I couldn’t even get on this one? So I looked at my dad and said to him, “I’m gonna try it. You?” My dad kinda chuckled and said, “I don’t know, maybe not.” So I strode off to stand in line by myself. It seemed scary because I would be doing it myself, but I felt good because I was facing this fearful beast called Shiekra and not cowering away to see flamingos or something. Alas, five minutes later, my dad walked up and joined me in line saying, okay, let’s do this. THAT felt good.Yes, these are my beautiful parents.

Snowboarding Come True

I said I would get out there for snowboarding one of these days. And I did it! Started off with a three hour long private lesson and then hit the slopes solo for several more runs with Koko. Turns out, my feet are “goofy”. But luckily, so was my instructor. I have a bit more practice and learning to go to look decent on the slopes, but I’m getting there. Just need to work a little more on my turns that keep turning into falls and wipeouts. (Yes, I had several of them among some other good/smooth runs.)

The experience was amazing. I loved it and am so glad I was able to experience it. The closest ski hills from me are at least an hour away, and at first I was afraid that my car might not be up to driving in snowy weather especially up ski mountains. But slow and steady was the key.

The people were super nice to me when I got there since I had no clue what to do to get to snowboarding. My first lesson? How to attach my ski pass to my jacket.

That night after snowboarding, I kept being startled awake because I dreamt I was snowboarding down a ski hill and kept tripping up and doing face plants all the way down. And even though I felt pretty okay that day after snowboarding (except for my hip that took a hard slam against my camera and cellphone when I fell), the next couple of days were awful. I was sore in places I didn’t know I could be sore such as my ribs, mid back muscles, and sore everywhere else like my shoulders, arms, legs, calves.

Snowboarding can definitely be a full-body intense form of exercise and highly recommended. I hope next year I’ll be able to do it more often. I will also review this: http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/learn-snowboarding/

My tip for next time: add a ski jacket so that I don’t have to drive home with a wet cold back. Buy ski gloves too so that they don’t get cold and wet. Oh yeah, and take it easy on myself, but don’t over worry or don’t over think the concepts of snowboarding.

A Shaman’s New Year

Traditional Hmong shaman/animist believers celebrate their New Year according to the lunar calendar on an auspicious day, if possible, some time in mid- to late-November. For the shaman, he or she may need to prepare up to a month in advance before the celebratory day as food, live chickens, paper money and incense needs to be bought. Plus, the shaman needs to do a pre-session of ua neej to let the shaman’s spirits roam free for a few weeks before the New Year.

New Years are important because it’s a day of cleansing and renewing the protection of the house, blessing everyone in the household, remembering the ancestors, and starting on a fresh foot.

As a shaman, the New Year contains a few more steps than a household that does not have a shaman including having to ua neej. My father does it in the morning sometimes a week ahead to get it over and done with, a family who doesn’t prepare or who prefers doing it later can do so. It all depends on preference.

During this session of ua neej, my father calls back his spirits that he had let roam a few weeks ago. (Did you know that for a normal person, he or she has 32 spirits (plig) that are his or hers? But more on that some other time.) He checks on the spirits of everyone else in the household and eventually gets to calling the spirits of the pigs which he had used to help ua neej for other people. These pig spirits are still roaming in this realm and during this time, he sends them to the upper realms to reincarnate. The shaman keeps track of each pig by keeping their jawbones by the altar and every time New Year comes around, the shaman would send off the pigs with blessings and ceremonially burn the jawbones that their job is done here.

To start off the New Year’s Day, the shaman or head of the household would brush out any bad spirits and bad intentions lingering in the house (if he didn’t have to ua neej anymore). This is usually done through the use of a tree branch (my dad likes the evergreen family for this purpose) being swept and waved around every corner of the house chanting words of cleansing and clearing of anything malevolent or undesirable to be brushed away and out of the house.

In the above picture, this evergreen brush is marked with red cloth and paper money which my dad left outside under a tree and forgot to trash it.

After clearing the house, it needs protecting. This is done through pasting pieces of paper throughout the house.

The paper money attached to the top of the door represents the place where the house spirits are stationed to guard the house. Two pieces of paper money are attached to all door entryways with a door. One piece of paper money may also be attached to all other furniture, appliances, or large important/highly used objects including cars. A piece of paper is also attached to all four corners of the house on the outside as well, setting up a perimeter in a way.

After this, the shaman or the head of the household will hu plig meaning he or she will set up at a doorway entry. A chair is placed at the door where a bowl of uncooked rice is set up with eggs on top. A few incense sticks are lit up and two chickens are set nearby. The door is then propped open where the shaman or head of the household will sound the gong continuously and then proceed to call in all the household member’s spirits back, bless every individual in the house, to bless the family financially, and ward off anything bad.

Once that is done, the chickens will be taken to the kitchen to be butchered and cooked. The shape of the feet after being cooked and the curl of the tongue will be read like a fortune.

Before eating the dinner meal, the shaman or the head of the household will call on his ancestral spirits such as his father, his grandpa, his great grandpa’s spirits, and so on to a feast. The usual set up is as shown above. He will let them know that it’s the New Year, that he has prepared dinner for them (of rice, boiled chicken, and alcohol), that they should come eat and be merry, and to help keep the household safe and healthy.

Past that, it’s time for everyone to dig in after a full day of work, activity, cooking, and waiting. The family, as a general rule to be financially fortunate, is expected to not use money to pay for or buy anything.

If you wanted to do your own traditional Hmong New Year, you can either ask an experienced shaman to help you out during the hu plig, or spirit call or try doing it yourself. A shaman may be your best bet though as they have their own equipment and gongs. But if you attempt to do this yourself, the key points to remember are to call all family members’ spirits, to bless everyone individually in the house, and to ward off anything bad from getting into the house be it illness, bad spirits, or curses. Also, remember to feed, love and respect the ancestral spirits during this day as well.

The traditional Hmong New Year can be very long and laborious. Much of the details that happened throughout the day has not been elaborated on here…yet. But please feel free to ask if there areany questions.

Living an Evening On Full Throttle

I’ve been anxiously waiting for almost 3 months to be able to go see the So You Think You Can Dance tour show in Milwaukee. But this wasn’t some weekend matinee, no, it was a one night show on a Wednesday night, located 3 hours away from where I work and live.

And yes, I did work that day.

And yes, I did have to work the next day too.

But so what? I work every weekday. Besides, it’s not like SYTYCD tours every year, or with the same people, or has the same routines on the show. It’s not like I go see shows every night or even every month. With a once-in-a-lifetime moment like this (because Season 7 was my favorite season), I wanted to seize the opportunity of having a spectacular night. To live it up. Hype it up. If that involved 6 hours of driving in one night, I was willing to do it.

I worked a part-day that day, managed to take off a little after 1:30 pm, which was great because that gave me enough time to grab dinner with Koko at Cheesecake Factory around 4:30 pm where we attempted to finish the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake along with our dinner (we failed miserably by the way).

It was nearing twilight as we took a very scenic cruise through Lake Shore Drive where we ogled the large beautiful houses made of bricks and stones, with private black top drive-thrus and big grand front door entrances. We even stopped at an amazing spot above Bradford Beach where you could see a blue Lake Michigan stretching as far as the eye can see, to meet the sky on the horizon.

When we made it to downtown Milwaukee, it was around 6:15 pm. Street parking was full, the parking structure closest to the Bradley Center, where the show was held at, was charging $20. Yes, I thought that sounded pretty ridiculous too. We managed to find $5 event parking 10 blocks away – and that wouldn’t have been so bad except the whole state of Wisconsin was experiencing a freak of weather of high winds and mid-30s degree type of temperature. Then again, it helped Koko and I snuggle even closer together! Hee hee.

On our walk towards the Bradley Center, we made a quick stop at Old German Beerhouse where I downed my first shot of Goldschlager with Koko – my first bit of alcohol since last January too. I thought the drink would have a metallic taste because of the gold flakes in it but nope, just tasted like a super-concentrated Big Red gum. Then, it was time to skedaddle to make it to the show.

By the way, the show was Amazing. See for yourself (the youtube video). I was already familiar with 85% of what was danced on stage – but they were all some of my favorite routines so I didn’t mind watching them again. I cheered at the beginning, middle, and end of all the great routines which ended up being just about all of them. I’m surprised I didn’t end up with a sore throat or that my voice didn’t give out half way through the night!

The show itself was 3 hours long. Koko treated me to a SYTYCD tee shirt to commemorate the evening – and to help feed my obsession with SYTYCD, I bet. Boy, the night seemed magical because one moment I was doing work at the office in a town surrounded by woods and farmlands and the next, I was in the city having a fantastic dinner and show. So sad I couldn’t stay in the city overnight, instead, I made the 3 hour drive back home and collapsed into bed at 2am.

What this night has taught me:

It’s awesome to have a full night of fun and new experiences.

But not all nights have to be action-packed. There are days that you need to take it easy on yourself, to relax and enjoy a quiet time. Having too much action may burn your candle at both ends.

But you should not have to wait for an excuse to have an exciting evening either. Don’t wait for a holiday or your birthday or some type of special occasion. If you want to have a brilliant evening, then go out and celebrate your want for a great evening. Permit yourself to have a lot of fun, do whatever it is you want that night, drive the extra miles if you have a certain place you want to go.

And make the most of your evening out, live in the moment, relish on how fantastic the present surrounding is. Don’t worry so much about ‘being on schedule’ or doing things ‘according to plan’.

How do you live an evening on full throttle?

Do the things you want to do or are interested in. This may be things you’ve never tried before but interested in like crewing a sailboat, or something you’ve done a million times like go out for ice cream and a walk. Just stack up a whole bunch of ideas of things you want to accomplish for that evening and go about getting it done. For instance, how about a game of bowling, grab some pizza for dinner, head over to the movies, and topping the night with a toast of white wine at a local pub with two of your best friends?  But this particular point isn’t as important as the next one, which is …

Enjoy every possible moment. Be happy and ignore all the stupid inconsequential stuff of life. Is the weather a little cold? So what, it means you get to snuggle up with someone that much closer! Did someone bump into you? Ignore it … move on. Focus on the fun. You can either decide that a bad mood will dictate your night or that a good mood will dictate your night, it is your choice.

Be with others who will boost your mood. It is great fun to have others to share experiences with. But beware that not all company is equal – if you have the choice, choose those who can have fun or is at least receptive to having fun and enjoying him/herself.

If you have no other choice though, then refer back to point TWO. Stop worrying about the inconsequential small bad things and focus on the good. Enjoy yourself, amidst people with foul moods. Or else, enjoy a great evening alone.

Be outwardly enthusiastic no matter how lame you think you look. The more you show your enthusiasm for a great night, the more it’ll pump up your excitement and enjoyment of the night. Ever heard of fake it till you make it? It really does work – so long as you remain open minded.

At the start of the SYTYCD show, I actually felt a little reserved. I was a bit self-conscious on what others would think of me if I did what I wanted, which was to scream my head off out of excitement and to show my appreciation and love for the show. Would they think I’m a complete looney and improper? But then I thought, “Who really cares?” All I know was that if I didn’t enjoy myself to my full capacity, the only one who would miss out or regret it would be me. So yes, I got over myself and screamed, waved my arms wildly, and every time I did so, I felt awesome.

In fact, laugh out loud at yourself. If things don’t go as you had planned, don’t feel bad. Laugh and go along with it, or change your plans. That day I was driving to Milwaukee was particularly windy, and I had worked hard at making my hair look great, but after two steps outside, the wind blew my hair into a million and one directions. I couldn’t help but laugh at myself in the predicament because fixing it would have been futile and useless so I just let the wind do its job. Ended up with an incredible tousled look.

What to Eat and What Not For a 5k Race

I did a little research on what I should eat to help maximize my endurance in anticipation for my 5k race and many people suggested that eating plenty of carbohydrate would help – mainly, spaghetti for dinner and a plain bagel with low-fat cream cheese a couple of hours before the race.

I suppose these suggestions worked out fine as I beat my time goal but they were not the yummiest, most scrumptious or aesthetically pleasing food. My spaghetti was whole-wheat pasta with no-frill garlic-something marinara sauce and sprinkles of Parmesan cheese on top.  The plain white bagel was toasted and I spread some fat-free cream cheese on top and I could only force myself to eat half of it (I should have bought the chocolate bagels or blueberry bagels instead, darn).

Filling up on carbohydrates is what runners call carbo-loading. The glycogen from carbohydrates is what’s stored in the body and can later be used to increase a runner’s endurance during long-distance races. Some say carbo-loading is only necessary for people running long-distances but I think the more fuel a runner has at his or her disposal, the better.

I’ve come up with better alternatives for what to eat before a 5k race that’s much tastier and will fuel your body better than a bowl of spaghetti and cardboard bagel.

For dinner, pasta-mixed with cooked chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, a little cilantro, a little olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Easy and quick to make.

For breakfast, toast one piece of dark bread, spread peanut butter on top (I used all-natural dark choco peanut butter- no sugar added), then slice 1/2 of a  banana on top. Simple, easy and filling. You can eat the other 1/2 of the banana too.

Things I would avoid eating 24 hours before the race:

Anything too-rich in fat, for example: coconut, alfredo sauce, butter-based items. These take a little longer to go through your digestive system and in my experience, makes my legs feel heavy. Simple carbohydrates will pass through your system much more easily.

Anything rich in salt because salt makes you retain water causing bloating and possible edema.

Too much dairy products, I find they make me slower and heavier.

You don’t need a lot of protein before the race but you do after the race for muscle repair. If you are going to eat meat, go for lean proteins such as chicken breasts, turkey, and fish.

Personally, coffee gives me the jitters. So I avoid it like the plague even though some say it gives them a great energy boost before the race. If you want to experiment with this, you can.

***

My second 5k run went well. I didn’t beat my previous time – ended up with 34:10, but I didn’t stop to walk at all, if that counts!  It rained the whole time. Within 2 minutes, my pants were soaked and partially plastered to my legs, my shoes and socks were all wet (from stepping into puddles), rain was dripping off the end of my nose steadily, and at times I couldn’t even see. Plus, I think their timing system is lousy since they didn’t get my time in right away. But what do I know, I just have to do better next time. The best runner got a time of 17 minutes and 40 something seconds I think.

For more information on food for runners, see Run the Planet.

My First 5K Race and After Advice

I found my first 5k race from the website runningintheusa.com and then picked the state I wanted to run in, which was Wisconsin. I was thinking of doing a race that I could get emotionally attached to as per my previous advice on a previous post, but after looking at the list and crunching some numbers dollar- and time-wise, I decided to stick with the race that was closest to my house.

The funny thing is, counter to my advice, I didn’t list the target date for when I wanted to compete in a 5k race after the 5k that I DID want to participate in passed by. I figured I would keep training until I got the 3-miles down or when I felt “good enough”. Guess what, as I’m slightly anal-retentive, it seemed like I was never “good enough“. And as the mornings got colder and stayed dark longer, I knew that if I didn’t do the 5k soon, I was NOT going to run in one this year.

So I bit the bullet and signed up for the 5k race that was 7-days away, in the next town over from my house. Yes, I did freak out because I still was only running 2.5 to 2.8 miles consistently.

(But remember Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” Meaning, if I give myself 20 more weeks to get ready for running the 5k, I’d take up all those 20 weeks going from 2.5 to 3.1 miles. But if I give myself 1 week to get ready for running the 5k, then I’d take only 1 week to get myself from 2.5 to 3.1 miles.)

There are some things I wish I could have done differently before my race:

1. Get to the site and registration table at least 30 minutes beforehand. I thought I was going to be late for my race because my mum kept pestering for me to get some things done before I left. Luckily for me, the race started about 15 minutes late giving me a chance to stretch and mentally prepare myself.

2. Eat a better breakfast. I’m going to do a different post on this subject.

3. Have someone there to support me for my race. Yes, it was a little lonely finishing the race with no one to pat my back and telling me “good job” as I collapse on the grass while seeing others having their supporters there. It was really nice though seeing people, strangers really, clap as I crossed the finish line. It made my heart sing. I bet finishing the race would have been more awesome if I could have shared my victory with close friends and family who knew about my long training journey.

So did I meet all my goals like I had planned? Almost.

My time for the 5k race was 33:17!!! They made me wait a week and a half before letting me know my time meaning I had a week and a half to despair and agonize whether or not it took me over 40 minutes to finish the race (my ultimate goal was less than 35 minutes as written earlier but I had mentally given myself permission to take 39 minutes and still be happy). The 33 minute time might not seem like much but it has made me deliriously happy and astonished at myself (actually, I thought it was some kind of mistake at first).

There was a couple of times during the run that I fast-walked it. Probably around the 2.5 mile mark. But not for too long because people kept passing me up. But I did run a 5k race this Fall, October 2nd to be exact. I also have another one coming up on October 23rd (Saturday) – only because I kept thinking I didn’t make my goal time so I wanted to try again to see if I can better my score.

As for general advice for the first wanna-be 5k race participants. Just sign-up for a gosh-darn 5k race already. Parkinson’s Law should kick into effect and if does not, don’t be so hard on yourself! I actually think I should have done a “practice 5k race” ahead of time so I would know what to expect instead of setting standards for myself without having experienced an actual race.

Yay for another number crossed off my 101 things to-do.

Results of 7-Day No Sweets Challenge

I made it! Today is Day 8 since starting the 7-Day No Sweets Challenge.

I must confess though that I did have a small piece of a fortune cookie after going out to eat at the local China buffet four days ago. Does that count as a “sweet”? I mean, it’s pretty plain, has no chocolate on it at all and certainly not something I would pick up as my junk food of choice. Okay, maybe it does count.

But you know what was so amazing about that piece of fortune cookie that I absentmindedly threw in my mouth? It was soooo delicious! I felt like that was the best tasting fortune cookie I have ever had in my life. Once I realized this, I knew I had just failed my No Sweets Challenge. But the piece was so small and I haven’t had anything sweet since.

Did I tell you that this challenge wasn’t as tough as I thought?

Some astounding results have happened though since I undertook this challenge.

*I don’t have the urge to eat something sugary everyday anymore. I didn’t even think this was possible for me! I was certain that by day 7, I would be dying from the lack of cake and ice cream and would want to gorge myself immediately on all the junk food available in the house like the kids in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Not the case at all.

*I have lost 4-5 pounds. And yes, that was in this one week that I started the No Sweets Challenge. Believe me, it was a pleasant surprise and not what I expected. It’s probably not only because I cut out sweets from my diet but also because of other natural changes that occurred as a result such as not eating as much or mindlessly when I’m bored.

*I feel really good about myself. I feel lighter, my legs and arms do not feel heavy. And since I learned that I lost a few pounds, I feel pretty amazing and that I could continue with the No Sweets Challenge for a little while longer (without feeling deprived or subjected to some kind of punishment).

*Another thing that has naturally changed is that I don’t eat as much processed foods such as bread, pasta, cereal, and potato chips. Last night, I bought plain bagels and fat-free cream cheese in preparation for my 5k Run tomorrow (according to some online advice), and I ate some for a quick snack yesterday. The bagel tasted like cardboard and I only managed to cram 1/2 of it along with some fat-free cream cheese in my stomach before knowing I didn’t want to finish eating it.

*Edit: Did I mention that my face cleared up of break outs? Well, now I have. I was getting these boils and pimples on my forehead that were hideous and large that were hard to cover up. (Not those little white heads that you can pop and be done with it, no, but red bumps that got bigger if you tried squeezing them.) After a week of the challenge, they’ve cleared up and haven’t come back.

This weekend, I’m giving myself permission to eat some kind of dessert but I’m not going to force myself to if I don’t feel like it. I’m sure that when I eat my next piece of chocolate cake, I’ll appreciate it so much more and savor it because it will have been such a long while (for me at least) since I last had sweets. I mean, if a little fortune cookie can taste so good, imagine how much more awesome a chocolate cake will taste. If I can keep this up for another 14 days, I’m going to be shocked at myself.

I’m curious to see how much a no-junkfood diet can take me in 21 days versus just 7 days.

So if you want to lose a couple of pounds, not be dependent on sugar or processed foods, feel amazing about yourself, maybe you should try a variation of the 7-Day No Sweets Challenge. Just a thought.

How to Motivate Yourself to Train for a 5k Race

Since the start of June, I’ve been working hard at crossing off one of my to-do items. Mainly, training to run a 5k race! The ever popular 5k race, or 3.1 miles race, can be found at many different events around every state. Who wouldn’t want to participate, get a t-shirt and a piece of paper to tack on to her tank top? As for the progress of my training, I just want to assert, I’m so PROUD of myself at how far I’ve come! I’ve only had one day where I ran over 3 miles continuously – but that’s more than I’ve ever done in my life. The only part I really need to work on improving is decreasing the 12+ minute per mile I’m averaging.

My goals with competing in the 5k race:
1) I don’t want to look like a couch potato. No walking any part of the race course.
2) I don’t have to be one of the fastest runners. But I can’t be slower than 35 minutes either.
3) I want to run the 5k race this summer — (I wrote this post this summer, and now it’s Fall, so it’ll have to be ‘complete the 5k race by this Fall).

The reason I decided to go for this goal was that I wanted to do something big that would make me very proud of myself for having completed. (Especially since this goal has always eluded me.) It’s a goal I had always thought near impossible to complete since I’ve never been a runner or much of an athlete. Plus, completing a 5k race is something others would recognize as being a big accomplishment too. How many people usually go out and run 5k races? Just fractions of a fraction of the populace. I’d earn bragging rights! The side benefits of getting into shape, having more endurance, and maybe losing weight are not bad either.

Like I said, running is not my forte. Neither is patience. But I have been able to get myself on a training schedule and have stuck with it for almost four months now. I’ve had slower progress this past month though due to the rain, cold, darkness, and fatigue (excuses are creeping up on me).

Previously, the obstacles I faced when trying to cross off “Run a 5k Race” from the list were:

LACK OF MOTIVATION

My biggest issue with exercising is MOTIVATION. Sure, I start off like everyone else, completely gung-ho. And after the novelty wears off in as little as a few days, I forget the reason why I was so gung-ho in the first place. For three years I’ve been trying to train for a 5k race. Each attempt was  a flop. In fact, if oftentimes flopped before I even had a chance to go out jogging. I just had no lasting motivation. I could always come up with the most mundane excuses too (i.e. it’s too hot, I can’t get sweaty right now, it’s too dark, it’s raining, I’m tired, I’m hungry, I’m full, I don’t have time, I don’t want people to see me because I’m fat, slow, breathing hard, unfit, there’s no good place to run, and so on).

LACK OF BELIEF IN MYSELF/PUSHING MYSELF

There were pockets of time when I DID have motivation to run. But another obstacles was, I didn’t push myself when I did have the motivation.  For some reason, I would automatically slow down to a walk when I felt my legs getting heavy and my body feeling tired. (Heck, this happens after 30 seconds of training — how was I ever going to run 30+ minutes continuously?) I didn’t push myself to see how far I could go. I didn’t even really believe I could. I was so stuck in the belief that “running a 5k race is so hard” that I … I subconsciously made myself quit while I was ahead.

LACK OF IDEA ON HOW TO TRAIN

What would have helped tremendously was if I stuck to a training schedule. Through a friend, I found out about the 5k training schedules that can be found online whether it was Hal Higdon, or Cool Running, or Jeff Galloway training schedules. After browsing through them, I didn’t think I would be able to follow the “rigorous” training (self-defeating thoughts would bombard me once I started contemplating that I had to run 1.5 miles three times a week on the first week — how the heck was I supposed to do that when I could barely run 1/4 miles straight?). I also saw the time commitment needed for training — 15 weeks! That’s almost four months! I’m a “NOW” person, I wanted to be able to train and run a 5k within the month. Talk about mixed expectations of myself!

So what did I do? I would take these schedules, modify them to be 8 weeks long at the most. Then, I’d try out MY schedule for a week or two max, and completely forget about it.

But I think I have now figured out the “magic formula”.

I’ve stuck to a running schedule, and have been running regularly (aside from the couple weeks where my ankles swelled up and I was too busy packing/moving and working on the new house to remember to go running). Every week that I’ve been running, I can run for a longer periods of time and run farther. My self esteem has boosted 200 percent in the past two months.

So what is the magic formula to finally running your first 5k race? How do you get over the lack of motivation, lack of self belief, and lack of idea on how to train?

Step 1. You must really want to do this goal. If it’s not a priority right now, that’s okay. Tell yourself it’s okay. When you’re ready to commit to it though, read on.
Step 2. Pick a fun 5k race that you can go to participate in. If you have a particular emotional attachment to it, all the better. Initially, I picked the goal of getting ready for the Storm the Bastille 5k Race in Milwaukee on July 8. Storm the Bastille is the running event preceding Bastille Weekend, a French festival of sorts. July 8, that gave me less than 7 weeks to train for it, but I loved the idea of participating in Storm the Bastille so much that I was determined to make it to my target date.
Step 3. Pick a training schedule that will help you accomplish your goal. I did my research until I found a  5k training schedule that I liked. A schedule that seemed reasonable for someone like me who hasn’t run in a while to get from zero-k to 5k within 6 weeks. This is the Nike Schedule which I have linked the pdf to below.

Nike beginners-5k
Step 4.  Sign up for your 5k race, NOW and get some support. Even if you have no emotional attachment to it, make it something you can’t back out of or would make you look really bad by backing out of. Do this by scheduling a big family reunion at the event or have a big group who is going to participate in the race with you who you can’t let down. Set the date with your best friend there at the finish line to cheer you as you cross. Having a support will be of great motivation, and make the event bigger than just a race. Make sure there are no party poopers — otherwise you might as well just go by yourself.

Step 5. You have it in you to do the training schedule, more than you know. As long as you make the 5k race something big, grand, fun, rewarding thing to look forward to, then sticking to the training schedule will be that much more easy. I thought the Nike 5k training was pretty tough but I pushed as hard as I could through the target amount of time set. The first day was not bad for a ‘first day’. I was required to do a 1 min walk interchanged with a 1 min jog for 20 minutes. A couple of times I had to make the 1 minute walk a 2 minute walk because I couldn’t catch my breath. By the following week, the 1 min walk/1 min jog seemed like a piece of cake that I wish I could return to instead of doing the 1 min walk/3 min jog.

Step 6. Sometimes, the motivation will disappear – so find your raison d’être. This is the MOST important part of the magic formula. You may think, “the race is so far away, I’ll just skip today.” But don’t do it, because you’ll spiral out of control.  What you need to do is — get a motivating factor for the NOW (“A reason to be”). For some people, it could be to train in order to look good in the dream wedding dress. It could be that boy you’re trying to impress with the new physique you’ll have. Others, it may have to be a running buddy or even a personal fitness coach constantly yelling at you (can you say bootcamp?). Everyone is unique and different — you have to find what works for you. The reason has to be so compelling, so emotionally charged, otherwise it won’t work very well. Keep going until you find this reason, and you’ll know when you find it because you’ll return to it again and again to keep you motivated even when you’re not running. It’ll be something you think of and dream of constantly or that person is continuously butting their head into your life.

My motivating factor is a boy (a boy I like) and he inspires me to better myself. I tell myself — especially when my lungs are burning and my legs are feeling jello-like — “I’m doing this for him”. And when it’s a bad day or I’m having a hard time, then the wording turns into “Eat your heart out [insert name of boy]!” This subject works for me because it is highly emotionally charged and something that crosses my mind quite frequently, therefore, reminds me constantly of my goal of being fit and completing a 5k race.

The motivating factor may need to change once in a while, and you’ll know when you should change it because it will no longer serve you in reaching your goal.

Of course there will be blips on the road. Like I said, I intended to participate in the 5k run on July 8 but it didn’t work out that way. I fell off the bandwagon of training because I didn’t make time for it. Instead, I allocated most of my time into painting and fixing up the new house. Then, I had some ankle swelling issues because of an infected mosquito or bug bite that made walking painful. I was off course by at least 10 days.

Essentially though, FIND THE TIME to just do your training. Make room for it in your schedule even if you have to sacrifice a half hour of TV or sleep in the evening in order to get up early to go jogging. Then, DISPEL YOUR EXCUSES. They are just mindless drivel that are keeping you away from accomplishing your goals. Finally, MAKE RUNNING A POSITIVE THING IN YOUR LIFE. Tell yourself you can do it … and the reason you’re doing it is because of you, your health, your life, your self-esteem, your self-belief, for the motivating factor that’s keeping you going.

When you fall, pick yourself back up.You’ve come this far, don’t turn back. Keep going, try to pick up where you left off. Because I’m sure, when you cross that finish line in the 5k race, it will be sweet sweet victory!

At least that’s how I dream it will be. I’m still looking forward to running my first 5k race very soon. I’ll keep you posted.