Friday, January 20, 2012

10 Things I Think I Love About Running

While checking out one of my favorite iPad apps; ZITE tonight I found a terrific blog post at www.irunnerblog.com. He is a marathon runner and has a terrific blog that I now follow. He was posting his top 10 list about his love of running to keep himself inspired.

Last week Lennie and I started a new 10k running clinic with the Running Room. Lennie has never run before but he thought as a Christmas gift it would be great to do one together. Turns out that he is fantastic at running, unfortunately has a bad knee, and didn't realize how hard it was to run. As a great, frequent hockey player, he thought that his physical strength from hockey would carry over into running. After he ran his first 6k he said, "I respect you even more now for running 42 of those." It was hilarious to see him struggle to get up the stairs for the first couple of days. He then commented "I have never relied on handrails so much in my life." Too funny to hear him moaning and groaning about sore muscles.

www.irunnerblog.com asked his Twitter followers to help him stay motivated and he got a response from @TriMeOn who suggested that he "list ten things you love about running……..”. I decided that to keep myself moving forward and excited about running that I would do the same thing. 

We all know that I do not love running but am trying it for a couple of years to see if it is something I can see myself doing for many more years to come.  Being "big" and the thyroid thing do not help provide success in this sport.  Runners are fit, lean, fast and a tad crazy and I am only a few of those things :) Making this list helps me realize that running is great and I love the people and success of it but not necessarily the work involved.

10 Things I Think I Love About Running...

...being able to drink lots of chocolate milk
...talking about running with Lish and Lindsay
...being in Springbank Park for hours on end
...tracking my mileage on www.dailymile.com
...pushing myself during tempo runs
...wearing capri tights
...finish line photos
...the Port Stanley Sunday summer runs
...the look on people's faces when they find out I am a marathoner
...my Garmin watch

I could go on and on and will continue to focus on how fun races are, the wonderful friends I have made, and that it has added years to my life.

What would be on your love of running list?

Saturday, January 7, 2012

20 Instructions for Life by The Dalai Lama

I have now seen this list on several other blogs, Twitter and Facebook.
Not only is the Dalai pretty smart, but these lessons are so relevant. I just had to share.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three R’s:
- Respect for self
- Respect for others
- Responsibility for all your actions

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Was it a Good Year?

Every year Lennie and send a funny picture with our Christmas card that also contains a year at a glance letter.

This is the first year I did not include one. When I started to write the month by month reflection, every month ended up sounding crappy so we just didn't send it.

We have received numerous complaints that no letter was in the card to read and I have explained to everyone that the year kind of blew and it would have been depressing to read. Lennie thinks I should write one and let everyone else be the judge if this was a good year or not.

I live with the 50/50 rule. Half the days will be great, the others not. Half the weeks will be good, the others not. And, half the months will be positive and the others not so much. Here is the break down of 2011.

January
The year started strong with me joining a Biggest Loser competition at Olympic Fitness and moving to my new job at the board office. Lennie coached girls basketball again and I had neck surgery to remove 1/2 my thyroid.

February
I was enjoying my new job while Lennie continued to play hockey numerous times a week. Pathology back from surgery indicated thyroid cancer and another surgery is scheduled.

March
We had to say good bye to our fur baby of 18 years, Tigger. Great trip with Megan to Florida to see mom and dad while Lennie had a terrific time in Vegas with Jamie M. I had my second neck surgery to remove the rest of my thyroid.

April
Stayed at home resting and enjoyed walking every day to get my strength back while Lennie stayed off his injured knee.

May
Ran my first race since October and sucked with a 1:17 10k. Lennie earned a well deserved Award of Distinction nomination. Ran my 2nd 10k race and pulled out a respectable 1:13.

June
Lennie celebrated his 43rd birthday and wrapped up a long school year. We celebrated our 18 year wedding anniversary and opened the pool for summer swimming. I started my 19 week training program for the Chicago marathon in October and got 26.2 tattooed on my foot. I got to see the Backstreet Boys in Toronto with Lish and Lindsay.

July
Lennie and his golfing buddies had their annual trip to Lakewood Shores. I completed a 180km bike tour and raised more $1000 for the MS Society then suffered through a long week of Thyrogen shots to see how my body is dealing with cell production. My hair finally decided it had enough so I had it cut off and I looked like a doofus all summer.

August
The Chicago Rutherfords poppped in for a fun filled vacation in Canada. I completed my first 30km race in Toronto on a very humid night finishing in a dismal 4:22. Kara P, the maid of honor from our wedding, who I had not seen in years, paid us a surprise visit and it was nice to catch up. The annual Grieve pool party was held on a glorious day with all the family in attendance. I got to meet the BackStreet Boys at their VIP event during their concert in London and it was crossed off my bucket list.

September
Back to school we went after a short summer and I ran the Springbank 1/2 marathon in a yucky time but it was just to practice some race strategies.

October
I turned 43 on a weekend with Lennie and my brother in Chicago while completing my 2nd marathon 11+ minutes faster than last year. The Grieve family Christmas was excellent with homemade gifts from everyone and I had the chance to be a keynote at an OPC event.

November
I got promoted to Principal after a grueling promotional process and carried the Rick Hansen medal on it's cross Canada adventure. Lennie took a trip home to see our Quebec family and friends while I travelled to Pittsburg for the annual UCEA convention.

December
A well earned 2 week vacation in Florida rounded off the year for us.

Ok, looking back now, it really wasn't too bad (except for the cancer and Tigger dying). We are really looking forward to 2012, one more year until our sabbatical, and a healthy happy year.

Lessons learned - I am stronger than I thought I was, I have a lot of caring people in my life, I can say no when I need to, and if I do not rest my days are difficult.

Resolutions- start a book club, run another marathon, and strive for this work/life/balance that I hear so much about :) oh, and be nicer to Lennie.

Hugs to all.