I've talked earlier in the year about this (check out the blog entry here), but we'll sum up the situation. When my Nerd Husband fell last January and broke his hip, I realized that life throws you curve balls no matter how old you are. You aren't excused from illness or hardship just because you're young. There is no time like the present to do the things you want to do because tomorrow you might not be able to do them. So I got a crazy idea - I was going to run my first half marathon.
I did my research. I asked for advice in my online running groups. I debated. I trained for 5ks and a 10k throughout all of 2018. And finally, I signed up for the Princess Half Marathon to be held in Walt Disney World on February 24, 2019.
My training was to officially start on October 23rd, but guess who came down with a chest cold on October 22nd? Yep. There's one of those little curve balls I talked about. So I decided to postpone the start of my training until November 6th. I'm two weeks behind, but I readjusted the training schedule to something I think works. I also knew it would be better than pushing it while I wasn't well. Starting anything while you don't feel good is a big de-motivator, in my opinion.
Speaking of motivation, I knew starting out the gate that I'd need to find some fun ways to spice up these training runs (because when I thought about it, running 10+ miles just really didn't sound like "fun"). I went to the Dollar Tree because that's my go-to place when I'm looking for cheap and fun ways to make a smile happen. I picked up a crazy amount of Disney Princess stickers, and a set of Disney Princess puzzles (4 mini puzzles in one package). I also picked up a few dry erase boards, some self-stick letters, and a couple packages of adhesive glitter paper.
Next, I knew I'd need some calendars for me to keep track of things on, so I went to the Disney Family website and found a printable calendar for November. It looks like they produce a new calendar page each month, so I'll have to keep an eye open.
The first thing I wanted was an inspiration board - a place where I could cheer myself on, write notes, and leave post-its. I used the largest dry erase board I had as well as some of the self-stick letters to create my "Run, Princess Shada" inspiration board. ("Shada" is a Star Wars nickname that was given to me years ago by some very good friends of mine, and it's stuck with me for almost 20 years now.) I still need to attach some string/yarn on the back so I can hang the board in a visible space, but I'm quite happy with it.
The next thing I knew I wanted was a little corner of my cubicle at work to be dedicated to my training. Let's face it - if you work full time, you spend most of your awake time at work instead of at home. That's where I knew I'd need to see motivation more than anywhere else. I took my printed November calendar and hung it in my cubicle along with a Disney Princess dry erase board (that I modified to a bit with stickers to reflect my favorite princess, Rapunzel) to help me count down the days until race time. I also printed and hung up a map of last year's race, along with a couple sheets of glitter Princess stickers that I could use to mark my completed training days on the printer calendar.
Let's talk a bit about this calendar because this is an unexpected find that I think will really help motivate me in the months to come. The fun thing about these calendar pages is that they seem to add little fun days along the way. Nachos Day was November 6th, and the 45th anniversary of Robin Hood was on November 8th for example. Both of those days were training days, and I honestly didn't think of incorporating the "themes" into my day until I mentioned it to my Nerd Husband last night that I thought it might be cool to watch Robin Hood on its anniversary. NH said, "We'll celebrate both themes tonight - nachos for dinner and watch Robin Hood." We did just that, and it was amazing. So I'm going to do my best from here on out to incorporate the fun days into my training days.
The last motivator that I came up with revolves around that group of Disney Princess puzzles I bought. I love puzzles, and I don't feel like I do them all that often because they always end up in the way while I'm working on them. But the few that I've complete and loved actually act as artwork above our fireplace on a rotating basis. Right now, there's a Thomas Kincade Cinderella's Castle of there, and it's gorgeous. Anyway, I digress... The Disney Princess puzzles motivator is going to work a little something like this.
With each training session I complete, I "earn" one piece of the puzzle. I won't draw my pieces from the pile until the end of each week, so I can draw up to three pieces at a time. The pieces might be for any of the four puzzles, so that will be the tricky part. I'll have to collect my earned pieces, sort them out based on which puzzle I think they go with, and the final goal is to assemble them as quickly as possible. It's a bit of luck mixed with a bit of skill and a lot of making-this-up-as-I-go-along. I think it'll be a good time.
I'll be posting quite a bit about this on social media when I can because I think it has the potential for a couple of good things:
1) Make people happy. It sounds ridiculous, but honestly, I think my goal in life is to try and bring a smile or a laugh. It's the reason I do a lot of what I do or share what I decide to share. So if me making a silly face and talking about stickers makes your day, then follow along on my journey.
2) Make people believe they can do what they set their minds to doing. I realize we all have limitations and things that hold us back, but I do truly believe that we have a lot of power in our minds and bodies, even if they're "broken". I've personally dealt with a history of mental illness for a vast majority of my life. I know how broken your mind can feel. While I've not dealt with physical disability and I know I can't imagine the full effect of the situation. I know I've witnessed those who have dealt with it, and I've seen how broken their hearts can be when they can't achieve what they once could. That's heartbreaking. But I believe there are ways that we can work within a system and make things the best that we can make them. We might not achieve what we could if we weren't "broken", but I believe that having to work within a system designed to hold you back makes your stronger, wiser, and more determined. And it makes victory so much sweeter. I want people to know that and remember it.
While I'll be posting little blurbs on social media, I'll be keeping the bulk of my wordiness out of the limelight and leaving it here in my blog. I know I get wordy when I write, and that's no for everyone. But if it is for you, then it's here, and I hope it helps you in some small way, shape or form.
I've got this. I can do this. I know I can, and I believe I can. I'm nervous that I can't. There might be people who say I can't. But the small voice inside of me that rises up in dark times whispers to me, "Run."
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