What I have in common with J.Lo

Well, other than brown hair and plenty of bootie! LOL! J Lo trained and completed her first triathlon this year and I am starting to train for my first as well. (Officially, of course, once the docs release me to do so!)

This morning I went to the Music City Triathlon. I decided since it was so close, it was a perfect opportunity for me to support my friends and see this thing up close before I compete in one.  I’ll sum it up by saying it was a brutal event. Not normal triathlon brutal; it was conditions brutal. The wind was strong, blowing white caps on the lake, and little sand storms on part of the run course. Apparently it was so bad they stopped the swim portion of the race after a few waves started. I was amazed and in awe of the people participating. 

I knew about 8 people competing and was fortunate to be able to talk to all of them. It was really great seeing some of my old GM/Saturn coworkers battling through this monster of an event. Shelly Collins is one of them. She’s a mother of 2 little girls and works full time. And, get this, she is training for an Ironman next year. That’s the 140 mile event that requires about 20 hrs of training weekly. Another friend is training for one of them this fall. She was supposed to complete today, but had to withdraw. You can read about this extreme endurance event from Ironman Dan Perkins here. 

It was energizing and inspiring and really got me psyched up to start training for next year. I will also admit that it was a little frightening to see the athletes in pain. Yes, it was painful for some, not so much for others. I would’ve died.  But what I loved so much about being there and talking to my friends like Shelly was the level of concentration and focus and determination that it brings to each individual. According to Shelly she basically doesn’t sleep. She instead chooses to get up at 3:30 in the morning to train. Wow, talk about dedication and inspiration!

People dont get it. I didn’t get until I got the running bug. Now I get it. It’s a need. It’s a religion. Well maybe that’s a bad way to put it. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a disciplined lifestyle. I read it over and over again in blogs, forums and magazines. It’s a healthy, intentional, and productive way to live. All within balance of course. My challenges will be training because of my circumstances of being a single mom. But I am going to do my best and hopefully be a positive, healthy, and inspiring role model for my kids.

Read more about JLo’s experience below.   

 

J.Lo, McConaughey Rise and Shine for Malibu Triathlon

Wedding Planner costars Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey reunited on the shores of Malibu on Sunday morning. The two were among the hundreds of participants at the annual Nautica Malibu Triathlon, which benefits Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles’ Pediatric Cancer Research Program. 

The 39-year-old singer/actress finished the half-mile ocean swim, 18-mile bike ride and four-mile run in 2 hours, 23 minutes and 28 seconds, according to People

magazine. Husband Marc Anthony cheered from the sidelines and escorted Lopez to the VIP area after she crossed the finish line.J.Lo, who gave birth to twins Max and Emme in February, enlisted the help of trainer-to-the-stars Gunnar Peterson to prepare for her first triathlon.

Plenty of other stars also competed, including Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Scott Foley, Monique Coleman, Jon Cryer, Anna Kournikova and The Bachelor Andy Baldwin.

 

 

 

Courtesy of E! Online Entertainment.

Self-Discipline vs. Willpower

 I was looking at my blogging posts for the month of May and two things struck me. First , they are not seemingly very uplifting or positive, which was the intention of this blog. Second, I have slacked off on posting.  That’s not with intent either. It’s just kind of been a busy month and I have been overwhelmed with the divorce, the job search, the move, the hunt for a preschool and training. Not to mention my credit card was stolen and now I have over $3000 in fraudulent charges to deal with, which is not fun. 

But overall, I don’t think those are necessarily good reasons for not posting. They are more like my excuses for not running at times, just quick reasonings I can pull together off the top of my head that sound really burdensome, thus legitimate.  Have I been busy.. Yes.  Have these things actually happened.. Yes.  But they haven’t stopped me from going shopping or attending some Mom’s Night Out events.  I’ve had plenty of idle time staring at these walls.  So my issue is not about time. Then I remembered an article I read about self-discipline.  Here goes a summary…

While “discipline” implies teaching and enforcing a set of rules that others should follow, “self-discipline” involves self-imposed rules, requirements, and expectations. No one can impose self-discipline on another. It can be inspired or modeled but not enforced by others.

Self-discipline is the ability to get your self to take action even if you don’t feel like it.  It partners with goal-setting, planning and drive. It is not the same as willpower. Willpower is internal drive alone. It’s the spark that makes you want to achieve. You either have it or you don’t. You can’t change your willpower or improve upon it.  However, self-discipline is like a muscle. It can be trained and therefore, improved upon. By setting small goals and working your way up to bigger ones, we can all make strides toward achieving our goals.

This is one of my weaknesses. I’ve never had any willpower or self-discipline. Well, none that has suited me. This is what I have struggled with a bit in my training for the runs, reading my bible and in posting for the blog.  I do think that realizing it is have the battle, just as with any problem. 

So, here’s my plan…  Over this holiday weekend, I’m going to refocus my energies. I have to get some things in order around my new house and move some stuff from the old house still.  I need to do something to improve the speed of this computer and set up a system. 

Well, I would say wish me luck, but luck has nothing to do with it, if you are setting goals and enacting self-discipline.

 So you you all have trouble with self-discipline? What do you do to help manage it?