Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Conquered

"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential." 

       --Liane Cordes


I'm still riding the high from running my first half marathon on Sunday I'm really still processing it in facts.

1:34.48.

30th overall, 12th female out of more than 10,000.

First in my age group.

But this picture seems to sum everything up.


This is me and my sister after the race. Yes, we look considerably more tired here than in the pre-race shots. But more important than all of the numbers and times is the fact that I got to share this moment with my sister. This was both of our first half marathons. This is my sister who decided back in middle school that she wasn't a "runner." But she set her mind to this race and trained for it and ran it! She conquered it.

The human body is amazing, but the will to reach our own potential is even more awe-inspiring. 
 

Friday, January 11, 2013

Be Anica

I received "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin for Christmas and I devoured it in about a week, reading and contemplating almost every single word of the book. Typically I don't read what I deem as "self-help" books. I judge them to be too cliche and not specific for me and where I am in my life. But because this was a gift, I figure I'd give it a shot and I'm really glad I did.

The author spent one whole year trying to figure out what made her happy and how to be more happy. Throughout the book, she talks about what she did and how it helped her, while also using research and studies to back up her findings. She did small things like lighting candles in her office to big things like making an effort not to nag her husband.

I really enjoyed this book. It was written in such a conversational tone that I felt like Gretchen and I were sitting in a coffee shop discussing what makes each of us happy. And a lot of her arguments made sense. She never said "do this and you'll immediately be happy." She pointed out how sometimes the changes she made increased her happiness but also how, occasionally, they just didn't.

This book made me think about what makes me happy in my life and since it's the beginning of a brand new year, I decided to transfer these concepts that Gretchen brought up in her book to my loose resolutions.

1. Be Anica. One of Gretchen's personal commandments is to be herself and to realize that sometimes you just don't like things even if you want to like them. I might like the idea of getting all fancied up to go out on the town, but in reality, I know that I really just want to curl up in my sweats and read a book. And I should be ok with that because, well, that's...me.

2. Write and read more. Plain and simple. Those are the things that bring me happiness. Why not do them more often?

3. Do it if it takes less than a minute. Put away that pair of earrings as soon as I take them off instead of letting them pile up on the bathroom counter. Wash the dishes right away instead of letting them accumulate in the sink - they probably take less time to scrub than you think.

4. Embrace the special and the mundane. Basically, be in the moments. In each moment.

5. Don't nag. Whether that's at home or at work, be cognizant of the fact that I live mainly in a world of adults who can do things on their own. While I might tell my boyfriend to not forget his coat more than once and I feel like I'm just looking out for him, he's a grown man who can chose to grab his jacket or not.

6. Spend more time with friends. This one always seems to be on my list but I am going to try to really make an effort to hang out more. I might be reluctant to go at first, but it's totally worth it once I'm in those love-filled moments with friends.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

The Count Down to Tink

We're in the final stretch. In just two weeks, my sister and I will be lining up for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland. After my failed attempt at my last half marathon, this will be the first time I go at the 13.1 miles.

I have been trying not to dwell on the race or psych myself out. Every time I start thinking about getting in the corrals or what it's going to feel like at mile 9, I make myself think about something else. Focusing on the things that I cannot change before the race is not productive for me at this point. Instead, I am hydrating, keeping track of how I feel, and stretching A TON. I am trying to get myself as limber and loose as possible.

I'm also trying to stay positive about my training up to this moment and the fact that "it is only a race," as the boyfriend likes to point out to me. He's a runner, too, so it's not like he is trying to downplay what it takes to tackle a half marathon. He is instead telling me that there are tons of things out there harder than a race and that I need to keep a level head.

After countless cross country races and track meets in middle school and high school, my mind has a standard operating procedure going into big events like these. It tends to make my breath come quicker, my mouth taste weird and my stomach reject anything that I put into it. But it is just my brain and I have been trying to combat it by shifting attention when it tries to psych me out. Tackling your brain and mental capacity is something that many long distance runners deal with. When you're out there on your own for mile after mile, there's nothing to keep you company except for your brain. Using your brain as a positive power instead of letting it have control over you is key and sometimes very hard to do. Here's hoping that I've trained it well enough.