Runnin’…Down A Dream…

My definition of Hard has been challenged over the past few days. Three people in less than two days either said something, posted something, or texted something that made me examine if I really am trying to do The Hard, or if I am “resting on my laurels”. If you’ve never heard that phrase before, HistoryExtra.com says it means that “you get lazy or complacent about what you could achieve because you’re too busy basking in the memories of former glories.” I have a tendency towards patting myself on the back for a bit too long before I move on to another challenge. So I have upped my efforts, particularly in my running. Yesterday was a wonderful opportunity to run in cooler temperatures, as we had been blasted by severe storms the night before. With the triple-digit summer we’re having, it was a nice respite from the brutal heat, despite the harsh weather. Additionally, I had the chance to run in the rain, which I love to do. I was hoping for stronger rain, but I’m grateful for what came down.

To challenge my current level of Hard, I chose to move up to the next running level, which is six running intervals of 60–90 seconds each, followed by one to two minutes of walking. My legs were killing me, and by the end of the session, I felt the need to take something for my achy legs. I have found that homeopathic remedies work very well, so I put five Arnica Montana under my tongue. I shouldn’t have been, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they worked. My legs felt much better quickly.

Today was a similar run. The difference was the weather…while not pouring down it was a good steady rain, and I was pretty wet once I arrived home. I really enjoy running in the rain. No one else is doing it, so I feel like a badass for paying the price. I’m fairly certain my neighbors all think I’m nuts. I made sure I waved at almost everyone that drove past me.

When I do something hard like this, I feel amazing. My confidence rises. My drive to do more increases. My badassery quotient skyrockets (at least in my mind!). It reminds me that I CAN do anything I set my mind to doing.

When I’m doing the LiveHard program, weekends are for easier workouts. I stick to walking, an easy ride on the stationary bike, or yoga. When working out twice a day seven days a week, there still needs to be some time for rest. So less strenuous workouts are my way of “resting”.

Yoga has been so beneficial for me. It helps with my breathing, flexibility, and often focuses on specific areas of my body to make my runs better. There’s plenty of room to do yoga in our game room. Yoga by Adrienne is my current favorite, as she has videos specifically for runners. Hooray for smart TVs and YouTube!

I enjoy walking through our neighborhood in the evenings almost as much as I enjoy running in the mornings. The nice thing about a walk is I can choose to listen to something different, like a podcast or an audiobook. The audiobook is going to be something fun, as my reading for LiveHard has to be an actual self development book. So an evening stroll listening to something light is often a good way to start settling my mind for the evening.

When I’m on the stationary bike it’s also a time for something different, as I like to watch something from Netflix, Amazon or whatever. I recently finished “Stranger Things”, which Sarah encouraged me to watch. I didn’t love it when I watched by myself…I don’t care for horror, gore and scary. But the show was well done enough that I wanted to finish it. I had made it through two seasons and was sufficiently invested that I needed to finish it. Sarah “graciously” offered to watch it with me so I could get through it, and honestly I’m glad I did. It was a great show, but I don’t think I’ll be watching it by myself ever. I also watched “Ted Lasso”. Goodness, if you’ve not watched it, get AppleTV NOW. It’s such a fantastic show, very well written and the actors perform their characters supremely. Rather than a show about soccer, it’s about the relationships between the people on and surrounding the team. I can’t rave about this one enough.

I have one more week to go for Phase 1, then I take 30 days off before beginning Phase 2. Phase 2 is the same as 75Hard, just compressed into 30 days. The final phase is Phase 3, which will be completed the final 30 days prior to my anniversary of starting 75Hard. Once I complete Phase 2, I’ll have the final quarter of the year before starting Phase 3, so the holidays will be a special challenge to keep off any weight I may have lost. Here’s to doing more Hard!