Tammy's Bird Brain

If you are anything like me you have a battle going on in your head while you run.  Before I even start the battle has begun.  It first starts when I schedule my run and then after that I am trying to talk myself out of going finding excuses like:  it is too cold, it is too hot, it is too windy, it is too dark, etc.  If I can get myself out the door then the whole time I run I am battling the voice in my head to keep from walking.  That silly voice is constantly saying:  “your legs hurt, your lungs hurt, your shoes are too tight, the song that is playing isn’t motivating, it would feel so good to walk, it’s ok to walk, you can take a shortcut,” etc.  This voice can be very discouraging and frustrating and can make running more painful than necessary.

So to silence this discouraging voice I have found a few things that help.

1. Music does help and I make sure my playlist is foolproof; that is no song comes on that I want to skip.




2. Making a goal and sticking to it.  If I plan ahead of time what I want to accomplish I usually do it but if I start out running without a goal then I am free to do whatever I feel like which means at the slightest discomfort I give in.  For example:  I must decide on my route before I start running or I will only go for 25 minutes and I won’t push myself or if I don’t tell myself I need to work on my speed then I just putt along at a leisurely pace and I don’t get a good workout.




3. I went to a running workshop about Chi running and it drastically improved my running and helped me win my mental battle.  Chi running helps you to focus on your body’s alignment, breathing and cadence (steps per minute).  Since I have all this to focus on I have not time to listen to that pesky voice.




4. I have always wanted to try to listen to a book while I run and have the hope that it will help the time go by faster.  I also wonder if this would affect my pace.  Has anyone tried this?

Think about how you are going to arm yourself during your mental battle so that you don’t give in.  Usually I find I am stronger than I give myself credit for so I just need to push through and keep going.

Filed under: running by Tammy
Tags: « running tips »
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This morning I woke up and remembered that I dreamed about something but couldn’t remember the dream but only remember this riddle running running through my head all night:  “How is a raven like a writing desk?”

So all morning my brain had this continous playback:

How is a raven like a writing desk?  How is a raven like a writing desk?  How is a raven like a writing desk?  How is a raven like a writing desk?  How is a raven like a writing desk?  How is a raven like a writing desk?

It brought back the frustration I felt when I was little and heard this and new it didn’t make any sense and that a raven was in nowhere like a writing desk but I still wanted to know the answer!  And if you don’t already know the answer is never given because there is no answer which I confirmed because I googled it.


Lewis Carroll’s answer was “It is nevar put with the wrong end in front.”


I have found that I am not the only out there with this curious frustration and in my curiousity I stumbled upon this great column that explains it in more detail and giving Lewis Carroll’s answer so I share it with you now for all those Alice fans out there and in celebration of the new movie!

Filed under: movies by Tammy
Tags: « movies »
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I went running yesterday.

It is a miracle.

I am training for the Moab Half Marathon which is on March 20.  (Yes, that date is right)

I have a friend and we decided to help motivate each other by running with each other every Monday night.  I am so glad to have a running partner; it really helps to keep you motivated and I recommend it to anyone who wants to start running.  Even if you don’t get together but you just communicate weekly or daily about it.  I used to text a group of people when I ran just so that I had someone to answer to.  Anyways, I am very glad to have a partner.

We did a 4 mile loop and I had to walk four different times due to being out of breath and having side aches.  My knees also go really stiff and my body was screaming at me but that’s how the first run is.  I haven’t been running in almost 4 months so really, what did I expect?

We did it in 40 minutes which I was happy about but of course I got teased about from Clint.

Here are some tips to start running whether you are a beginner or just starting up again:

1:  Tell yourself when you are starting, plan it into your schedule and stick to it.

2:  Get a training plan so that you have a schedule and cater it to what you can do.  I always get on Runners World and just fill in the info and it gives you a training plan.  For me I am more motivated to run every other day.  It is too daunting to go every day and I usually will talk myself out of it but if I know I have a rest day I can stick to the plan.  So be honest with yourself and what you can do and then once you feel like you need more then add more.

3.  Listen to your body but also push yourself.  If you feel like you need to walk look ahead and find a point where you are going to begin walking and then where you are going to begin running again.  That way you won’t just decide to keep walking because let’s face it, walking feels better and is much easier than running.  Remember, this is new so don’t injure yourself on your first run.

4.  Go for at least 30 minutes.

5.  Remember it doesn’t help to go running once a week and why go through the first runs pain if you aren’t going to stick to it.

6.  Remember the first run is always really hard but it gets better each time.  Stick with it and don’t get discouraged if you don’t lose weight right away, give yourself at least a month to see a noticeable difference and to feel a noticeable difference.  (Don’t let this discourage you because you will get stronger each run but I see so many people run for a week and quit because they haven’t lost 10 lbs or can’t run an 8 min mile.  You’ve got to give yourself some time.)

7.  Figure out what motivates you to run.  Is it music?  Get an MP3 player.  Is it food?  Allow yourself a little something to splurge on.  Is it TV or movies?  Whatever it is reward yourself for your efforts and remind yourself of your reward.  (I enjoy music but stress out that I won’t hear the crazy man sneaking up behind me so I am constantly looking behind me.  Hope I didn’t scare anyone but hey, that comes with womanhood.)

8.  Sign up for a race; it is a great motivator and try to get someone to do it with you.  If you can’t sign up for a race you should attend one and cheer people on.  It is a great motivator when you see an 80 year old running a marathon or to see the wheelchair competitors or to see a runner leading a blind runner!  Anyone can participate!

Running is an individual sport and it is a great community to be a part of.  Everyone who runs is aware that it is a personal sport and that everyone has a Personal Best (PB) and they are really supportive and excited with you.  Everyone is on a different level; it is just fun to be a part of it.

It is beautiful March and it is the perfect time to start running!

Enjoy!


p.s. Please comment and leave your personal running tips!

Filed under: running by Tammy
Tags: « me me me - running - running tips »
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I hosted an Oscar party Sunday night.  You can print off an Oscar Ballot from online and you pick who you think will win and then obviously you see who got the most right.  I decided to start it at 7 and DVR The Oscars so that we could fast forward through some of it.  We ended up started much later then expected due to the homemade pizza bar and one of the pizza stones breaking in the oven.  Homemade pizza is so good by the way.

So we all sat down to watch and we enjoyed the benefit of being able to fast forward and rewind.  We must of rewound a lot because when we got to best actor the recording ended and we did not get to see the rest since it was over.

YES, I MISSED THE BEST PART OF THE OSCARS!!!!  I MISSED SANDRA BULLOCK WINNING AND THE HURT LOCKER BEATING OUT AVATAR (thank goodness!  Avatar was pretty cool but the story line was not original and the tribe was African not alien.).

Of course I am writing a strongly worded written letter to my cable provider to let them know that when you DVR a show it should record the whole show not just when it was scheduled to end.  Everyone knows the Oscars go over the planned time, right?  It is the reason that the producers of the Oscars shut the microphone off after giving each winner about 15 seconds to speak.  They might as well put in a trap door; it would be just as humiliating as turning off the mic and blasting some music at them to get them off stage.

So, the party was fun, I won for the most guessed right, and my friends are great and were good sports about missing the end.

Happy Oscars everyone!

Filed under: food, friends by Tammy
Tags: « food - me me me - movies - party »
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I realized this past week that I missed blogging but still don’t know what to say so I here is a link to a blog post that I love and completely agree with.

Rebecca writes about Stephanie Meyer and she states it perfectly.  It is if she read my thoughts but I could not have written it as well as she did.  So thanks Rebecca for giving me something to blog about and ending my massive 1 week hiatus.

Filed under: General by Tammy
Tags: « me me me »
6 Comments »

First off thanks for reading this blog.  It makes me feel somewhat important to people out there in the world.

Second, I am taking a break from blogging .  I am not telling you all this so that you will comment and tell me that you can’t live without this blog because I know it’s not true.  I just have a lot going on and feel like I can’t blog about it.  I am grateful that family, friends and work collegues read this blog but sometimes things happen that I would love to share but feel I can’t because it might hurt people involved or even uninvolved.  Which means I am breaking one of my personal rules.  I am not being honest.  This blog is usually an outlet for me but is not anymore.

Maybe I will pick it back up at some point but for now, adieu.

p.s.  thanks Jake for making my blog look good.  I hope it wasn’t a total waste of time.  Check out Jake’s blog, he and his wife Reagan are doing cool things pretty much every second of their lives.

p.p.s. I am contemplating just turning this blog into movie reviews.  Sounds good right?  Much better than my actual life.

p.p.s.  check out what I was doing almost a year ago!  Crazy how time flies!

Filed under: General, life, work by Tammy
Tags: « me me me - work »
10 Comments »

I had such a fun girl weekend.  Clint was gone and I spent the whole time with my wonderful friends.  It was great.  I got a Clarins facial and it was the best product I have ever had on my skin!  I need a thousand dollars so I can buy the whole Clarins line.  In a couple weeks I am going to give chair massages at the Clarins counter so if you want an amazing massage and to try some amazing skin care then let me know and I will tell you  how.  The product is so wonderful that I am accepting it as my pay at a time when I should be looking for work.

Anyways, I am trying to mentally prepare myself for another hard week at work.  I don’t anticipate losing my job this week but the air is so heavy there and the mood is like being at a funeral.  I feel like I have to whisper and try to contain any laughter or happiness.  It surely sucks.

Filed under: General by Tammy
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I have gone through some lame phases in my life but they have helped me learn about life and become who I am.  Like the phase where everyone seems to be cooler than me and so I would just copy people and their mannerisms trying desperately to be cool.  This phase lasted a big portion of my life.  I would change tactics quickly when people would call me out on them like when my mom asked me one time why I wasn’t moving my upper lip when I spoke. “Uh, because this girl at school talks this way and she is way cooler than me.”  I didn’t actually respond this way I’m sure I just got red in the face and walked away.  Or the one time someone asked me why I was suddenly pronouncing my T’s.   “Uh, because it is so lame to talk with a hideous Utah accent since the girl from California made fun of me for it.”

In high school I was like “Yeah, I am just one of the guys, they just tease me and push me around because they like me.  I just don’t get along with girls but that’s ok I prefer to hang out with guys anyways.”**  This is a stupid phase.  One of my biggest regrets in high school is not hanging out with my girlfriends more because I was too worried about getting the guys to like me; which they never did by the way.  I think the trying too hard completely backfired.  I allowed myself to be treated horribly by guys because I was raised thinking that if a guy treats you badly that means he likes you.  Ummm…..NO!   It means he will treat you like crap, have absolutely no respect for you and then go for the girl who won’t give him the time of day.  I’m glad I can look back and laugh and hopefully I will be able to pass my wisdom down to my kids.  Yeah, I know, I won’t hold my breath.

One phase during my 20’s was that I wanted really close girlfriends because let’s face it, we all want amazing girlfriends like the girls on Sex and the City.  Admit it or not we would love to meet once a week for an amazing dinner or breakfast and gossip about stupid girl crap and get the chemical high from our brains.  (I can’t remember which chemical but I love it!***)

I remember the time in my mid 20’s I finally became comfortable in my own skin.  I stopped wearing a padded bra and embraced my small boobs.  That was a pretty big deal for me.  hahahaha.

And as you know I received my brain when I turned 30 and I am loving it!  A brain provides comfort, wisdom, stability, rationality, actual confidence and gets rid of a lot of insecurities and petty behaviors.  I have accepted my Utah accent and actually like it; I also have some great girlfriends.  And as you  continue to get older you don’t have time for silly crap, which is nice.

I realize I am rambling and doing a horrible job grammar wise but I am in my 30’s and I just don’t care  if you are analyzing this post.

So the phase I am in now is motherhood mixed with this new organic/buy-local/gardening/free range thing.  I ordered my organic heirloom seeds and the square foot gardening book.  I am well on my way to becoming the “do it all soccer mom while secretly taking speed”.  (Crossing my fingers.)

See ya, don’t wanna be ya.

**If  are a woman and you have noticed that throughout your life you do not get along with other women then you have a problem.  It is not the other women’s problem.  All women need other women to provide strength and comfort.  You need to look inward to figure out what’s going on there.

***looking forward to Michelle’s birthday party tomorrow night!

Filed under: farm, food, friends, life, motherhood by Tammy
Tags: « friends - life - me me me - The Female Brain »
6 Comments »

Holding out for apologies is an idiotic waste of time.  In most cases the person you are hoping will apologize doesn’t even know you are waiting for one.

In the end you must ask yourself a few questions:

1:  If I don’t get an apology will it really change the way I feel about this person?

2:  If I do get an apology will it really change the way I feel about this person?

3:  If I just forget about the hoped for apology will it help me and the person to be happy?

4:  Do I care about the other person and their happiness?

5:  Can I truly let it go?  Is it that big of a deal?

Stubbornness is not that great of a quality.  It usually leads to unintentional hurt feelings just so that you can be right.  Benevolent, charitable, peacemaker, forgiving, kind, are all qualities I would rather work towards and if I want them I must take the opportunities that come along and practice them.

Happiness is a choice; optimism is a choice, as well as everything else.

Today I choose happiness.

Filed under: life by Tammy
Tags: « forgiveness - life »
2 Comments »

To welcome me to work today was a round of layoffs followed by a conversation where it was stated that I still had a job for this month but who knows for next month.


Fart.


I really hope I don’t have to look for a new job.  I really like my job.

Filed under: work by Tammy
Tags: « work »
4 Comments »