Day 365 of 365: Done!

This morning my husband joined me for my run. As I finished the run, I recognized that my running and general cardiovascular health is so much better. I ran with ease and comfort. A year ago, I huffed and puffed through an hour long 5KM walk. It was tough. I don’t know how far I ran this morning because I wanted it to just be a fun run. And it was and it lasted around thirty minutes.

My challenge is done. It’s truly been a challenge. If it was easy, then it wouldn’t have been the right thing I was looking for. Here are a few things I’ve taken away from this.

1. Even professional athletes have a day off. And I’m not a professional athlete. Wish I was. My take home would be much better and so would my benefits package.

Being active every day is harder than you think, especially doing it for this long. I’m tired and my body is regularly sore. Not in a bad way but it necessarily good either. It’s time for some rest.

2. This is a make or break challenge. Once you get through a certain portion of it (about five months for me), there was no giving up no matter what. Some days I had to get of a flight from Munich to Toronto and then run. Once that included a connection to Thunder Bay and having my dad drop me of a couple kilometres from home so I could get my run in at 11PM EST after getting up at 4AM CET.

3. Creativity is a must and so are mini goals along the way. Trying new activities and training for a half marathon allowed me to shift my focus from not only being active every day. If I didn’t do that, I probably wouldn’t have made it through.

4. Supportive family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers is a must. My husband and parents have been amazing. My friends have been keeping tabs. Acquaintances look at you like your crazy (which is a true sanity check) and strangers throw out random support and encouragement unlike anyone else you know.

Like I said before and will probably say for the next week, in so happy it’s over.

So what happens next?

I’ve decided that 2-3 rest days per week is important, especially right now. We’ll see how it goes and then decide if that should change.

I’ve signed up for a 10KM running clinic that starts January 8th. It focuses a lot on speed training. This will be followed up with a half marathon as I’m going to run the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon again in October.

I’d like to take some regular yoga classes this year. I’ve done that off and on for over ten years now. I’d like to get back to it again.

As far as blogging, I’m not sure if that will continue or how frequently I’ll blog. We’ll see.

On a special note, today is my farther’s and niece’s birthdays. That’s right, my Dad and his granddaughter share the same birthday if December 31st. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BOTH OF YOU!

Thank you to everyone who has followed my Avenue of Sweat Equity journey and for reading my blog. Have safe New Years Eve night. Happy 2014!

Jen

Day 364 of 365: One…

A year ago tonight, I sat in a restaurant with my husband and shared with him my goals for 2013.

“2013 was the year I…”

• Settled back in Canada
• Challenged myself to be active for 365 days
• Got in touch with my feelings and truly identified what I want in life.

A year ago, we were on a work assignment in Poznan, Poland.  This assignment had us spending the majority of our time there.  As much as our time in Poland was simply amazing (my views on life and culture have been greatly broadened), it was isolating too.  Not being able to fluently speak the language has major draw backs.  It’s limiting when attending parties or even considering joining a social group.  People were so kind and helpful but once the encounter of working through the language barrier was over, I both sides were happy to go along our merry ways.

Being isolated and feeling bored was no way to live.  And I was also feeling like I was on a treadmill, going nowhere.  I needed to get focused on something, anything (other than work) to help avoid wilting away.  The building our apartment was in had a good gym and pool.  We lived in a neighbourhood near three large parks.  Being active seemed like a great option.  I could challenge myself to try different activities and it gave me something to focus on each day.  At the same time, I also wanted to be back home.  We had not lived in Canada since 2005 and when we finished up in the USA, we went right to Poland.  An exciting adventure far away from where I wanted to be.  Exciting and boring all at the same time.  2013 had to be the year that I took my life back.

Setting these goals didn’t happen overnight.  In 2008, I came up with the idea of 365 days of straight activity while reading Julie & Julia.  The idea came and went because the timing wasn’t right mostly due to a lack of real motivation.  Getting settled back in Canada was something my husband and I had been focused on since 2010.  We knew our assignment in Poland would not last through 2013 so this was the time to seize the opportunity.  Personally, I’ve been struggling with being in touch with my feelings for some years now.  (Coming out of the other side of 2013, I believe this is natural for most humans.)  Overall, it took me about a month (December 2012) or so to get pen to paper and narrow in on three huge goals.

It paid off.

Getting settled back in Canada.  My husband and I finished up our overseas work assignment at the very end of August.  We were back in Canada for Labour Day weekend.  Part of settling back in Canada included stable employment, buying a home, reconnecting with friends, and getting engaged with the community.  Our employer was very happy with the work accomplished in Poland (and with the Dutch office) along with our dedication and flexibility in working in three major manufacturing facilities.  He has now assigned us to corporate global projects and allows us to be based in Toronto, Canada.  Prior to coming back to Canada, we were searching for a condo to buy.  In October, we made an offer and it was accepted.  We are almost homeowners being that we do not close until May 2014.  Until then, we live with my husband’s parents.  (It’s everything you could possibly imagine and more.)  We see our friends all of the time and we have begun to establish ourselves in our “temporary” community and in our “upcoming” community (which also happens to be the neighbourhood we lived in prior to moving to the USA in 2005).

Challenged myself to be active for 365 days.  If you are a follower, “THANK YOU!!!!”  There are 176 of you (and over 3800 hits!) and that is something I never expected.  Being active for 365 days was something else.  The first ten days were horrible.  Actually, one, two and three were not bad.  It was really four through ten but I’ll get more into that in tomorrow’s blog post.  Blogging as part of this challenge has been a great outlet.  Isolated in Poland, this blog allowed me to share with others in a free-flowing manner.  Daily blogging was also a chore.  I had two major times this year where 1) I had to take a break for a few days and 2) I just didn’t do it regularly.  I moved past both of those phases and I’m finishing the challenge strong.

Got in touch with my feelings and truly identified what I want in life.  As I mentioned above, I think most everyone goes through a phase when they feel like they are on an emotional treadmill.  Sometimes you need to be there to get through.  Treadmills are boring but if you use them correctly, you are a better, stronger person when you get off them.  This past year I’ve let go of some hurt and I realized what it is that I want and why I couldn’t see that I was actually moving in the right direction even when it felt like I was going nowhere.  Being on the back-end of this goal, I thought I would be in a different place right now but I’m not and I’m okay with that because where I thought I needed to go ended not being where I needed to be.  Emotions, feelings, desires…they are all tricky but as you peel away layers the fog slowly clears out and the view gets better and better.

With 2013 about to come to a close, I’m getting ready for a big 2014.  Most of my goals this year will be broken down into multiple projects, big and small.  In writing my goals and using the statement, “2013 was the year I…” I create a mini vision and/or feeling of what it’s like when the goal is achieve.  I start to create something to move towards.  Here’s what I’ve got for 2014.  Again, it’s all going to breakdown into a bunch of big and small projects this year.

“2014 was the year I…”

• Became a homeowner in a neighbourhood and condo that I love.
• Took control of my weight and moved my BMI to the lower quarter of overweight.
• Helped my family move towards where they need to be. (Yep, this one has a ton of personal content.)
• [I haven’t filled in this blank just yet.]

Today I went to the gym in the morning and spent 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer.

Day 363 of 365: Two…

My dear friend Sherri completed her first marathon today. She ran the last five miles in a downpour but still managed a 4:35 finish.

Congrats Girl! You owned no matter how much Mother Nature tried to interfere!

After tonight, I only have two more blog entries for the 365 day challenge. Tomorrow’s blog will be about 2014 goals. Tuesday’s blog will be a reflection on this challenge. (Between you and me, I’m really happy that it’s almost done but have little to no energy to be excited.)

Tonight my husband and I went for a thirty minute walk after dinner and then I spent a bit of time stretching. We’ve both agreed to go to the gym together in the morning. I need a good sweat!

Day 362 of 365: Three…

With the new year just around the corner and this challenge coming to an end, the question of what to do next year lingers in my mind daily.

Today I signed up for a 10 KM running clinic that starts January 8th. Later on the year, I want to run the half-marathon again and I want to achieve a much better finishing time. To get to that goal, I want to start the year by improving my 10 KM time.

There are a few other actions I need to take to improve my 10 KM time. These need to be written down along with everything else I need to accomplish to be successful.

Tonight I did yoga for runners along with some additional stretching.

Day 357 of 365: A Dedication Run

When I woke up this morning, I headed straight to the gym. I ran exactly 2.62 miles (in about 30 minutes). I specifically ran this distance to dedicate this run to my best girlfriend who will be running her first marathon on Sunday, December 29th in Jacksonville, Florida.

When I saw her in November, everything she shared with me about her training sounded great and she looked really good. And as two runners, we went to a running store together and checked out all the socks.

This Sunday will be a great day for my dear friend Sherri. I wish her all the best for she will no longer be a runner. She’ll be a marathoner.

Day 355 of 365: 10 Days Remaining

I remember when I completed my first ten days. I thought if I could make it through ten days, then I could definitely make it through this challenge. Now it’s 345 days later and there are only ten days remaining.

Earlier this week, my husband asked me how I am feeling about my 365 day challenge. Overall, I just don’t want to mess it up being so close to the end. My secondary thought is that I expected this to be much easier by now. I expected that it would be able to easily handle an hour of activity everyday. It never occurred to me that my body would be so tired and drained. Daily activity with minimal downtime is hard on your body.

Otherwise it feels pretty good to being this close to the end.

Tonight I did 30 minute yoga for runners. My hamstrings and inside thighs are tight. My lower back too.

Day 354 of 365: Getting Stronger

For the last four weeks or so, I’ve been going to physiotherapy for my right shoulder. I have tendinitis in my right should mostly due to strength/muscle imbalance.

My treatment starts with acupuncture then moves to soft tissue massage and then onto learning new muscle building exercises. I’m up to five different exercises.

One of the big challenges I’m trying to overcome is not using my “shrugging” muscles. They are a go to for almost everything I’m doing with my arms. For one of my exercises, my physiotherapist had me start with an anchored band and pull my arm from beside my waist extended out to over my head in a sweeping motion. I couldn’t do it using the correct muscles. Then she had me try doing it only to shoulder height and that wasn’t good either. I’m now working on doing this move with no resistance. I’m truly needing to re-learn how to use my correct muscles.

The other four exercises I’m doing really well. Today I did all five exercises (three sets of each, various reps) followed by a short run on the treadmill all before my day started.

Day 353 of 365: Making It Through The Holidays

It’s a crazy time of year when excuses multiply like cute fuzzy bunnies.

“I have to go finish my shopping.”

“I need to figure out what I’m going to make to bring to Christmas dinner.”

“My friends want to get together tonight before the holidays.”

“The weather’s not great.”

“I just need a night off.”

No matter the excuse, the holidays will come and go and you will either come out of them feeling good or regretting not getting in enough exercise.

My approach during Christmas is to DO IT ALL.

Get in the exercise at the beginning of the day. Even if all you have time for is wake up thirty minutes early for some lunges, planks and push-ups, that’s great.

Figure out what you still need to figure while doing your cardio (gift ideas, meal plans, creating to do lists). It’s a wonderful time to multi-task.

Spend time before or after work (depending on your schedule) to get the big tasks done (shopping).

Specifically when it comes to shopping, don’t do it when everyone else is doing it. Go out on a Monday or Tuesday night. Even get out there tonight. There will be far less people tonight then there will be Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Above all else, make sure your list is slit between must do and okay to pass on. Get the must do done first and you’ll feel like a million bucks!

Thus morning I got up and ran on the treadmill for 23 minutes covering 2 miles. My personal must do’s for today are done.

Day 346 of 365: Rest

Just woke up off the couch to go to bed. All day my husband was not feeling well and all I wanted to do was take a nap. I’m not sure of my desire to nap was brought on as a precursor to not feeling well or if it was just the cold weather other side will my body to stay in and stay warm.

I did go to the gym by myself. I ran for twenty minutes on the treadmill and then did 20 minutes on the bike.

Time to crawl in bed.

Day 319 of 365: I Have Plenty

• Day 315 – 48 Minute walk, distance not tracked
• Day 316 – 75 Minutes elliptical trainer, intervals
• Day 317 – 25 Minutes yoga and stretching
• Day 318 – 65 Minutes elliptical trainer, hills
• Day 319 – 26 Minute walk, 2.5 KM (heavy rain)

Since we’ve been back from Europe, we have definitely noticed some differences in everyday life.  Very simply, people drink more coffee in Europe and less sugary beverages with shots of espresso.  People love to walk and easily do as opposed to driving around for everything.  (Sometimes I even question if my vehicle will be towed if I “cross the line” to the next property to pick up something even though I did shop there already.)  One colleague I saw in Miami, who I also saw in Poznan, said to me, “I just want to walk somewhere.”

So quality of life is quite different.  Attitudes and perspectives on how to live and what’s important are similar but have very different approaches. 

One of the most significant changes I’ve noticed is how different advertising is and the message that is consistently sent in most ads.  Before reveling this, please let me assure you different colleague in Pittsburgh who spent approximately a year in Europe noticed the same thing. 

Advertisements in North America constantly sends you a message that you are “without” or “lacking”.  This could be anything from simple retail purchases (clothing, etc.), to vehicles, to food. 

So the question I’ve received from other is, “What is European advertising like?”  Well, I have a hard time telling you about television advertising because I did not watch a lot of television in Europe (another major difference).  What I can say is that most advertisements were for banking, at home hair colouring, and over the counter medication.  The advertisements I noticed the most were billboards.  Their focus was movies (at the theatre), travel, and grocery stores.

The other major difference between Poland and North America is that most people in Poland live in flats/apartments/condos.  This means they do not have yards and as a results, there were many beautiful parts in and around Poznan.  These parks gave people the ability to spend quality time outside.  Parks have great playgrounds for kids, gym equipment structures for adults, open spaces for very young kids to learn to kick a ball, and lots of park benches for people to sit on.  This point ties back to two above; one, I was rarely at home seeing television commercials and two, people are not being told they are without even when they have less than the average person in North America who is constantly being told they are without.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve probably had 2-3 major shopping expeditions.  I believed I was without adequate fall and winter clothing.  To a certain extent I was.  After living in Miami for 18 months and making do with what I had in Poland last year, I needed a few things.  However, as I see so many advertisements (even while watching television on the elliptical trainer) telling me I do not have enough, that is simply just not true.

When I stop to take stock of what I have, I know that my vehicle is three years old with less than 20,000 miles and is soon to be considered outdated according to what I see on television, however I also know that I’m without car payments and my vehicle is more than large enough for my husband and I who share this one vehicle. 

When I look in my closet, I have more than enough clothes.  So many apparel companies now a days do short or small runs to make you believe you have to buy fast in order to get this “limited edition/limited run” item.  However, how many exercise tops do I really need?

When I stop and think about it, I’m not really hungry all the time.  Commercials constantly “tell” me I have not eaten enough and that I should be eating something more right now but I just had a great roast chicken dinner.

It’s crazy when you really stop and think about what you are without.  I have shelter and clothes and food and transportation.  I have plenty. 

Unfortunately, there are many out there that are not as fortunate as me however does buying a fast food sandwich, a limited shirt or a new vehicle really get people a true fix to their situation or does it provide immediate gratification that will quickly pass?

One of the other “things” advertisements are telling me is that I’m not “included” if I do not have whatever is being advertised at that moment.  So again, I’m without and not included.  These advertisements are playing preying on insecurities and truly not providing a solution when we cave to their advertisements.

There are so many differences in what I’ve seen between Europe and North America and what I’ve taken away is that it’s more important that ever to be confident in myself.