"Gut Check"

For all my friends that have said they want to do this; the following email will give you some motivation to get started as it gives me the motivation to finish what I set out to do!   In less than a month, I will accomplish my goal!

"Every morning in Africa , a gazelle wakes up.   It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.   Every morning in Africa , a lion wakes up.   It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.   It doesn’t matter whether you’re a lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running."

-anonymous

Some inspiring words from Coach Kiley: 

What this quote underscores is that you are ALL training for your own life.  Training for your health.  Exercising for your sanity.  But more than that, you’ve all put your bodies, minds, and souls on the line for others, people struggling for their own life.  People who fight and survive cancer teach us a valuable lesson: to appreciate the lives that we have, the simple ability to get together, bond, and run/walk for a common cause… the ability to help another human being in a profound and meaningful way.  People who succumb to cancer teach us another lesson: life is brutal and short and we should embrace the moment, seize the day, and dive into each and every opportunity that whispers to our inner-most children, beckoning us to come out and play.  People never regret what they did in the grand scheme of life, they regret what they chose not to do, things they said they’d get to someday but just not now.  You are all living this “Carpe Diem” life.  You’re taking on the marathon, the half marathon, some for the first time, some for the 10^th time, some to finish, some to run (or walk) faster than you’ve ever done so before!  We do not care what you look like or how much ability God has blessed you with.  We are less interested in what you have done than we are in what you are about to do.  We are not going to listen to who you have been in the past, We'll only empower who you say you dream of being.  Don’t even think you’ll be able to talk us out of who you declared yourself to be back in November.  We are and shall forever be champions for you, the greatest version of you, even if you have trouble seeing that possibility right now.  All of that said, this is the point in our training program where many people encounter the ‘gut check’ phenomenon…

THE "GUT CHECK" PHENOMENON

A very common term in competitive sports, the ‘gut check’ is a term that refers to when you question yourself, maybe you want to quit, maybe you think can't do it, it’s then and only then that you discover your true level of commitment, your true fire, drive, and passion.  Are you all HEART or all TALK?  When you overcome a gut check, you become tougher; mentally and emotionally stronger.  This does not mean that you continue to RUN & WALK through an injury.  That's not courage, that's foolishness; you’re merely setting yourself up for a MAJOR gut check to happen soon when you wind up with a major injury.  Overcoming your gut check means that when you are fatigued, sore, feeling emotionally beat down… you persevere, you remember WHY you got yourself into this (program) in the first place.  This training program is laced with opportunities to become a stronger individual spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, not to mention physically.  It’s training to develop the character of a champion.  And you are ALL champions!  For some of you, it will be braving the cross training workouts we've told you to do in the pool and/or on a bike because you can not run for a week or even a month (or more).  For others, it's just getting out of bed at 6:00am on Saturday when you “don't feel like it.”  You will all have MANY gut checks in the half or full marathon, so we hope for your sake you have many before the event, to prepare you for the upcoming tests of will. 

Reflections on 2010 and Happy 2011

So it’s officially 2011 and I guess this is usually that time where people reflect on the past year and make resolutions for the new one, so… here it goes:

2010 was a blur… lots of good and bad but mostly good.  

• I began running… I mean seriously running. This was due to me signing up with The Leukemia & Lymphoma's Team in Training program.  
• I caved in and started this blog so that everyone that cares, can follow me on this journey.
•  The company I work for made the decision to lay-off some employees; we lost a lot of great friends and co-workers. I remain thankful that I still have my job, a roof over my head, a car to drive and food to sustain my family.  
• I ran a 5k for my pace assessment at the beginning of November and then another two in a span of 2 weeks at the end of November.  
• Logged in weekly running, x-training and hill training. Thanks to the cardio trainer application on my android phone, I logged in a total of 46.1 miles since November 1st and so far in 2011 I have 12.1 miles logged. 
• I made a decision to get my California Adjuster's License and have started studying. 
• I spent money… blah blah blah :)
• Yeah… lots of stuff. There's a lot more to mention, but I won't ;)

I would have to say it was a good year, yes, a very good year indeed.

I’m not usually one for resolutions though…since they usually fall through within the first couple of weeks. Although I would not call this a resolution, I have signed up for my first EVER 1/2 marathon on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6th. I also plan on signing up for the LA Marathon on March 20th.  Team in Training is a wonderful way to get the training, moral support and encouragement all while fundraising to help save the lives of blood cancer patients. If you want to make a donation, please visit my site: http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/surfcity11/lcastroq1u. The summer season is starting up; don't pass up this opportunity to achieve something great at the same time, save lives! Check out http://www.teamintraining.org/ for more information or to sign up!  

Here are some lessons learned on my own and through others:

Reasonable vs Extraordinary

I have been sick since Sunday night but still, I went to work on Monday and left early to get some rest. I woke up on Tuesday and decided that I didn't want to miss our annual Holiday luncheon and white elephant game so I made myself get up despite not feeling 100%. I didn't do my daily run knowing my cough would get worse with the cold air at night. I woke up yesterday morning and felt like I got hit by a bus, my cough was so bad that drinking orange juice burned as it went down. I decided to do the right thing and stay home to rest up so I can fight this sickness and be done with it.

I woke up this morning and although I am still not feeling well, I felt so much better than yesterday I came into work. I was talking with a co-worker from Dallas and to my surprise, I told her that I wanted to be better by Saturday because I didn't want to miss running the 8 miles with the team.  WHAT!? Yes, that was me and no I was not taking medication! 2 months ago, there was no way you would've ever heard that statement coming from me. I was the teenager in jr. high and high school that made up excuses to avoid running! Go figure! I enjoy the Saturday runs with the team, we motivate each other and we are all there for the same reason!

So this afternoon I received my weekly coach's email from Kiley. Every week we get the week's logistics, what to expect and bits of useful information to help and motivate us for our training.  This week's email was AWESOME!  Below is an excerpt from the email: 

Reasonable vs Extraordinary
 
You are all incredible, selfless, exceptional people.  Below, see a little exploration on those with ability versus those who give that extra effort…

“Eighty percent of success is showing up.”
-Woody Allen
 
As coaches some people approach us and ask about “what it takes” for a person to complete endurance events.  I have been thinking about this long and hard for years now and here is what I’ve come up with…
 
Woody Allen’s quote above sums it up quite elegantly… truly, the toughest step in any training program is the first step out the front door.  It is the same with fundraising; the toughest part is mailing the letter(s), sending the email(s) and opening your mouth to ask people for help to save the lives of others.  Contrary to popular belief, the people who take that first step out the door (consistently) and open their hearts to ask for fundraising dollars are no different from anyone else.  Those who have succeeded on our teams over the past 5-years have rarely been blessed with more ability than those who have failed.  They simply made a choice to have their “reasons” take a backseat to the “needs” of those living life with blood-cancer.
 
 
ABILITY + REASON = REASONABILITY
Someone blessed with God-given talent is not halfway there.  You have likely heard the stories about someone who heard about a marathon two weeks before it happened, went for two-three training runs, and then completed the full marathon.  What you didn’t hear was that they had trouble walking normally for the better part of a month afterward.  That they may have completed the event in 4-hours, 30-minutes, but it was a selfish & foolish act filled with pride.  They did something for themselves, often to prove they could to someone less talented who had trained for months and months to get ready.  I’ve heard about these stories and it makes me sad.  Quite the same are the other athletes who have ability, who do sign up for a fundraising program and training program, yet never begin their fundraising.  They often drop out with a very casual, “oh well, I guess I was too busy this time around, maybe next time.”  They were not too busy.  They never make the choice, the decision to begin.  Too busy essentially means “not important enough to me”.  The lives of those suffering are not important to them?  I believe too much in the human spirit to accept that explanation.  It is too reasonable.  Reasonability kills dreams.  Reasonability suffocates that which a person wants most in life, the realization of a dream…
 
reasonability
Main Entry: rea·son·abil·i·ty
Pronunciation: "rEz-n&-'bi-l&-tE
Function: noun
 
1a: being in accordance with reason (comprehending or thinking in orderly rational ways)
1b: not extreme or excessive
 
 
ORDINARY + EXTRA EFFORT = EXTRAORDINARY
Take an ordinary human.  Add a dream.  Add the desire to do something for those less fortunate.  With hard work and a commitment to break themselves up and rebuild themselves into something they previously didn’t think was possible (what else do you call a dream?), you have someone performing an extraordinary act.  Ordinary plus a little extra (effort).  You are all extraordinary in our eyes…
 
extraordinary
Main Entry: ex·traor·di·nary
Pronunciation: ik-'stror-d&-"ner-E, "ek-str&-'or-
Function: adjective
1a: going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary
1b: exceptional to a very marked extent
 
 
To sum things up, there is no “right time” or “perfect moment” to do anything you dream about in life.  You either seize what is in front of you and turn it into something exceptional, extraordinary and magical or you live a life confined by very rational, normal and logical reasons.
 
You are all on the precipice of something special.  The next 2+ months will not be easy, but what they will be is very rewarding, very worthwhile and when you see the looks on the faces of the families you have helped give hope, you will look back on any moment you thought of quitting and laugh.
 
Welcome to the life of your dreams, where you can be saving lives, one mile at a time…

I have never been more motivated to continue on this journey than I am now.  Every dollar, every mile and every drop of sweat will be worth it in the end! 

Thank you Coach Kiley for inspiring us!

Hard Knock Hill

Hill training starts next Tuesday...wish me luck!

Here is the poem from Coach Kiley on the invite. Love it!

TNT athlete come one come all
To the rise on the road that makes the faint of heart fall
'Tis the time here and now to see if you will
Have the courage to conquer ol' Hard Knock Hill

Your legs will be powerful your spirit stout
As you cast aside the demons of that nagging self doubt
This isn't a stroll through the park or soft glade
But a place where sturdy endurance athletes are made

Each week you come one hill repeat we'll add
At the end of seven weeks your legs will be glad
And so will your heart as it will grow strong
Come build a foundation to walk and run long......

GO TEAM!!!!

Who I run for

In memory of

Joi Lanai Castro

August 1985 - February 2007

Primary cancer: Sarcoma

Metastatic Pulmonary Soft-Tissue Sarcoma

South Pasadena High 5k/10k Tiger Run

Completed a 5k with the team this morning. It was awesome running with the team. Tony (not my hubby) and I pretty much stuck together and finished the race! We rock Tony, we both shaved minutes off of our pace assessment 5k!

Almost at my goal and it feels great! Once I get there, I can really focus on my training! Don't get me wrong, I love making pumpkin rolls, but I will be glad when I won't stay up til 11 and 12 pm baking =)

Here is a picture with a few of my teammates, Liz, Judit and Monica before the race this morning!

Happy trails!

Thanksgiving weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with their loved ones.  I am truly blessed for the wonderful family and friends that have shown their support in my endeavor.

This was the weekend to run off all the turkey and goodies I had consumed since Wednesday!  The team met at the Rose Bowl for a 4 mile run on the trails.  I didn't run with my team this weekend, but do not fret, I ran a 5k for my husband's band and pageantry program, the 8th annual Taco Mambo Fun Run/Walk.  The course was in Montebello, CA with several hills.  I finished in 46.10; not bad considering all the hills!

This weekend, the team will be running a 5k for the South Pasadena High School Athletic Club.  The course is in South Pasadena, pretty flat course.  I can't wait to see my time!

In the meantime, here are some photos from the Spring Kick off to our first team run!

Happy Trails!

Lynn