New Blog

Hey all, 

I'm trying out a new blog for awhile. I have a feeling like I may stick with it (changing interests) but you never know. Don't worry, running is still a HUGE part of my blogging. I just want to focus more on the outdoors (like trail running, camping, summer camp, etc). 

Come follow my new adventures!

@ Running 'Round the Campfire

:)

Happy Running!

Update: Why I Lost My Running Mojo

I wanted to give everyone a quick update on what's going on in my life. 

As you know from the last post, I have a busy schedule and my interests may be changing. 

I changed my blog name and I felt better. 

For a little while. 

Then, my sister texted me to tell me she couldn't find my blog. It didn't exist!!

I freaked out and got really worried that I wouldn't be able to have my original blog URL back. 

Thankfully, everything worked out and I'm back. 

I think I lost my running mojo for two reasons:

+ I'm always getting sick after my long runs.

+ A few of my favorite bloggers/runners stopped writing on their blogs. 

I am trying to figure out what is making me sick
and I'm moving past the fact I lost a few main motivators. 

Two things to work through.

Oh, and I'm a full time teacher and part time student. 

It's definitely taking up some of my precious running/outdoor time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other than that, I have some fun things to update you on!

1. I am running Ragnar Relay Del Sol this weekend! I finally decided to run it again. Remember that last time I dropped out? I wasn't feeling Ragnar Las Vegas for some reason. It may have been the group of people, may have been the steep price, may have been the 7 hour drive to get there, whatever. But I'm definitely doing this one!  And I'm super excited. I packed my stuff up early (strange for me) and I plan to do a full recap on it. The last time I did Ragnar, my recap was basically a bunch of photos. I was so overwhelmed by the race itself that I had no idea how to recap it. This time, I'm bringing a notebook along to jot down memories and things I don't want to forget!
   
   
2. I joined Tough Chik and I am also a Sweat Pink Ambassador! I want to talk about it more later, and do a bio on each awesome community. Coming soon!
   
3. My friend Kathryn and I are planning on running R2R2R next April. I am so excited about this. I am obsessed with the Grand Canyon (history, hiking, geology, etc) and so I'm glad I found someone to run across the canyon with...and back! All in one day. It's going to be epic. More on the preparation for that later.
   
     
   
4. I have an interview for the Girl Scouts of San Diego summer camp! It's next week and I'm a little nervous. It's a phone interview, which should be easier than a Skype interview. I hope it goes well. I really want to work there! Wish me tons of luck!!! 

That's it for now! I'll keep you updated. :)

Motivate Me! (please) Monday

 

Today, this motivation is deticated to other things in my life:

 

I've been thinking about my blog lately.
I'm not super impressed by it. It's just not what I want it to be...yet.

I've had this vision of a blog that I update at least twice a week, discuss hot topics and offer great advice. I was trying to do that for running, but my motivation has been low for it.

 It's really hard to write about something twice a week when you don't want to think about it everyday.

 

I love running but I'm not sure if I want to think about it all of the time.

I'd rather have fun with it and enjoy it.

Right now, I'm not enjoying it like I should.

I feel as if it's a chore that I have to keep doing every week.

And I know this happens to everyone.
Some fellow blogger friends have told me they stopped writing on their blogs (one of them had over 2,000 readers!) because it felt like it was becoming a chore rather than a hobby.

 

I have been considering creating another blog, solely for camp. If you don't know, I have been obsessed about being a camp professional for years. Ever since I went to summer camp about 17 years ago, I have wanted to become a camp counselor. Since becoming a camp counselor in 2005, that's all I have ever wanted to do. I even feared of getting a real job after college because I wouldn't be able to work at camp during the summers (thank goodness for the teaching profession!!).

After a few years working as a counselor, I wanted bigger and better things: aka the camp director position. So, I'm on a quest to become one!

 

If you have never been to camp or you hated it, what I'm saying would bore you to pieces.
Being a director is almost a full time job. It requires long hours of brainstorming, planning, paperwork, hiring, more paperwork, and keeping everything together.
I  have been working with two of the most amazing directors for the past seven years. They have inspired me to stay in the camp world, even if they didn't know that's what they were doing.

 

Camp has truely changed my life.

I always feel as if I have another family that I can return to every summer.

Everyone cares about each other (except for a few bad seeds that come in every few years) and it can be a real hippie-dippie kind of place.
We sing songs around the campfire, we give hugs at least 10 times a day (it's good for mental growth), and we stay up late in the bungalow, talking until midnight and listening to the owls in the trees (super hippie-dippie...am I right?).

But I love

every

single

second

of

it.

 

I wasn't sure about having two blogs. I know that if I go completely over to the camp topic, I will lose a lot of running readers (why would you want to read about camp??) and in turn a lot of friends (maybe not?).  

 

So, I'm considering merging the two into one new blog.

Running, hiking, backpacking, and of course, camp.

Basically, it would be a journal for my outdoor adventures and my journey to becoming a camp professional. I hope that it will be mostly outdoor focused but I want it to be helpful for others interested in camp as well.

 

Camp is something that I think about on a daily basis.
Running is something that I might think about every few days.

Why not talk about what I really want to talk about?

 

I would still participate in races, I would keep running with my trail running group and generally keep writing about staying fit and healthy. But, it wouldn't be the main focus. I could write about everything else too! With camp mixed in of course.

 

I won't end my journey on HEATRUNNER just yet.

I will need some time to create another blog.

A weekend won't do it for me.

It may happen during Rodeo Break or Spring Break.

And I still need time to think about it. :)

Queen of Confusion

Do I want to run today? No, not really. 

But I have to run more to get faster. I know. 

Oh! I really want to run this 50k. But you only ran one marathon.

That's okay. I'll train really hard for this one. Really? 

Well....semi-hard. Maybe you should run more marathons first.

But I'm slow. So run more. 

But I don't want to run today.  

This is basically the conversation that I have with myself about running. 

I love running. I really do.

I love the feeling I get when I push myself harder. 

I love the feeling of finishing a long run and having trouble walking because of it.

I love how happy I get after every run. 

I love all. of. it. 

But sometimes, I'll be honest, I'm really lazy. 

Not motivated. 

Not at all interested in running or working out. 

And then sometimes, running and exercise is all I want to do.

I want to run a 50k all of a sudden. 

I want to do a million push-ups and sit-ups. 

I want to do Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown non-stop. 

I am:

I've been this way my whole life. 

Never really knowing what I want.
Wanting to do everything. 

Being good at a lot of things, but never really excelling at just one thing.

Now I found something that I want.
I want to run, be fit and push myself farther than I have ever pushed myself. 

This confusion, lazy thing....needs to stop. 

I'm sick of going back and forth. 

How do some of you do it? I'm jealous of your persistence. 

You all amaze me and I wish I had your energy. 

Any advice? 

I need to get out of this rut. 

Running vs. a Cold

This cold is killing me. Okay, that's not completely true. 

But it sure is killing my running. 

I signed up for the Fleet Feet Arizona Trail Race a few months back. I knew this race sold out every year so I wanted to try it out to see what it is all about. I volunteered for Race Packet Pick-Up Saturday morning so I could talk to some runners and hear some tips for running this portion of the Arizona Trail. 

Everything was going great. Met some great runners, learned about the bottleneck section in the trail, ready to go for Sunday's race.

Only problem: I have been sick since Tuesday with a cold. A terrible cold. Lots of coughing, dizziness, sleepiness, shaking, etc. I took 2 days off work to try and recover. 

No such luck. 

I've been trying to pretend that I don't have a cold so I could do this race. 

Stupid stupid stupid. 

So here I am, Sunday morning, drinking immunity tea and resting.

Feeling guilty about taking a coveted spot in the Arizona Trail Race.

Feeling sad about missing a trail race. 

Feeling stupid for not taking better care of myself this past weekend. 

I want to run. 

I haven't run since my 1st marathon two weeks ago. 

I need to get out there. 

But I also need to heal. I still have a cough that just won't go away.

Here's to hoping I'll be out there again in the next week or so! 

Send wellness thoughts my way! :)

Goals for 2013

I've been thinking about this for awhile now. 

I've read other blogs and some of you have really long, detailed lists of goals!

My goals are not so detailed:

I want to get out there and run. 

I want to be healthy.

I want to continue enjoying my life. 

I want to have fun.

That's it. 

My goals for 2013. 

And that's all I want them to be.

Right now, I have a lot of pressure in my life.

I have pressure from my job and my classes to be on top of it all of the time. 

Why would I want to create more pressure by creating a list of extremely detailed goals?

It makes no sense.

I should want to have fun with my hobby. 

And I am. :)

Little goals will pop up along the way.
I may want to get faster, go farther, etc.
And I will take it as it comes.

But if I make a list, I will never remember what I put on it.
Believe me, I've tried that before. 

Didn't work. 

So, here I go into the new year with a few general goals.

I'm looking ahead at another marathon, and even an ultra. 

Definitely Rim to Rim to Rim.

But I will only train and sign up when I have the time and energy. 

And that's okay.

Remember, we run because we love to.
Not all of us are professional athletes. 

We do it because it keeps us healthy, motivated for life and we have a blast doing it. :)

HAPPY RUNNING!

Motivate Me! Monday

 As I'm getting back into the swings of things, motivation will definitely be required. I am still working as a first year middle school teacher and I have also decided to go back to school to get my teaching certificate. I ran my first marathon one week ago and I am still recovering from that. I would love to go for a long run sometime soon, but I have been derailed by a nasty cold. I hope to get back on my feet soon because I have an 8 mile trail race coming up this Sunday! I'm not looking for a fast race, but I have always wanted to run this race because it always sells out. I'm planning for a fun, recovery trail run. :)

As you can see, I'm extremely busy. I still want to make this blog a priority (it keeps my motivation high for running) so I will try my best to post at least once a week.