Friday, March 21, 2014

Every-Damn-Day

I am sitting here all choked up by the stories you submitted in response to my giveaway question:

At what moment did your life change for the better?
What made that happen?

{If you haven’t had a chance to read some of the answers – go HERE because you will be inspired}

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Yes my desk is messy. Stop judging.

I wish I had 209 pair of shoes to give away, because your stories were so heartfelt and genuine. I read each one. I love it that so many of you “get” that growth and bettering our lives often comes out of experiencing challenge, heartbreak, risk taking and maybe a certain amount of damn suffering (or AFOG as I like to call it).

It is exactly these types of stories that inspire people to know it is possible to rise above their own circumstances and to make their life as they want it to be. I don’t think happiness simply descends upon us without effort. Most of the time we have to actively seek it by making changes that are not always easy or comfortable. 

One of the most important things to note is that nothing in life is stagnant. Things are always changing. While we can’t control everything, we also don’t have to be victims of our circumstances. I think that is why I initially called this blog, Shut Up and Run. Because it is within our abilities to make a decision and to go for it without a lot of drama or excuses.

With that said, I think Stacy’s comment embodies a lot of what my blog is about – challenging oneself, moving out of one’s comfort zone, finding self discipline and consequently moving towards a better, healthier life. I love her “EveryDamnDay” motto:

 “I would have to say my life changed for the better on Jan 1, 2012....that is the day that I quit smoking, gave up soda pop, and started walking. I weighed in at 265lbs, I was about to turn 44 that year. I knew I needed to change my life style.

It used to take me about an hour to walk 1mile. Sad but true. On Sept 15, 2012 I began my everydamnday walking at first and eventually getting to the point that I was running/walking. I hit 365 days and kept going, I made it to 500days of every day walking/running. I choose to take a break mostly due to the extreme winter we have had. But I'm happy to say that as of today I'm 100 lbs down, still smoke free, diet soda has came back into my life but only occasionally.

I've started my everydamnday again and I'm currently on day 15. I bike, hike, run, & speed walk. I will be 46 the end of this year and I'm in the best shape of my life.”

Do you think it was easy or convenient for her? Do you think it was effortless to quit nicotine and soda? Do you think  it was fun to walk that first mile when it took an hour? Not likely. But she shut up and did it. Just because it’s hard does not mean you should stop.

Wow this post was a bit deep. PENIS! <-------- Just to lighten things up.

What used to be your excuse for not training/running/exercising/dieting? Mine was I was too busy to exercise and that running was too hellish and hard.

SUAR

PS: Stacy – email me at beth@shutupandrun.net

35 comments:

  1. Today I didn't run or do anything physical. I just arrived in Florida. Got up at 3 am to catch my flight. Floated around the pool. I am so relaxed. Oh, and I'm tapering for my race on Sunday.

    All good excuses...

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  2. Congrats Stacy -- you've earned it! And Beth, I knew we could be friends -- today when I saw "Growth and Development" (code for the puberty films) on the calendar for the 5th and 6th graders I couldn't resist shouting "Uterus!" and "Breasts!" and "Penis!" at my 6th grader to make her blush and giggle.

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    1. Ha. When my kids were little they were so embarrassed by real words for body parts we would drive down the road and I'd periodically shout out "penis vagina!" and get shouts of "Mom!!" I was freaking them out. But I continued just to make them crazy. For crying out loud they are body parts. Don't be embarrassed. Just please don't show them to anyone until you're 35.

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  3. I hope Stacy has a blog called everydamnday! If not she should!

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  4. I was a lazy beast today. i am battling a nasty sinus infection and allergy flare up and I have a 12 hr run tomorrow. But that is OK. If I wasn;t a lazy beast then I am sure I would not make it all 12 hours tomorrow.

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  5. My excuse was: "...but my asthma!" (cue whiny tone). I've since learned that managing my health means my asthma is easier to manage, too. Look at that, things come full circle!

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  6. My father in law used to say "excuses are like assholes - everyone has one!". To which I say - amen. My primary excuse used to be laziness. Now I ether run or do yoga every day without fail. It is not something I have to count or track because it is as much a part of me as my brown hair.

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  7. Here's a great quote from my Runner's World 2013 calendar:

    "Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about them, I just do them. The decision has already been made." PattiSue Plumer, two-time US Olympian

    Everydamnday Stacy! I'm with ya!

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  8. My old excuse: lack of energy + time. Looking back to that time in my life, those were 100% real and valid. It took making changes to non-exercise related parts of my life for me to be able to add exercise into my schedule. Which is to say I could have probably fit it in, but it would have made my entire life/situation worse and it would have spiraled to epic failure pretty quick. Now? my only excuse is laziness.

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  9. My excuse was always, I'm too busy. And then I was suddenly in a new state, in corporate housing, with a failed 5 year long relationship, and I decided it was my time, and i got to decide what to do with it. I still have days where it just doesn't happen, but now those days are the abnormal days.

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  10. This is great. Go Stacy!! I had read your entries and I was actually going to post... I wear a size 8... give them to Stacy.. I am glad she won.

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  11. Go Stacy, you inspire everydamnday!!

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  12. Thank you for the give away, glad to have been the one to win. FYI...today my workout was 3.1miles of which I didn't wanna do, fought myself the entire time. BUT got it done none the less. :)

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  13. Wow Stacy! That is so awesome. You deserve it!

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  14. Love it!!! It's the HARD that makes it GREAT.

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  15. I think everydamnday needs to become a new acronym like JFR or SIUP. EDD Stacy-you are awesome!!

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  16. I think everydamnday needs to become a new acronym like JFR or SIUP. EDD Stacy-you are awesome!!

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  17. Awesome job Stacy!!

    I just want to add that I adore your blog. I get several blogs delivered to my inbox and yours is the only one I read everydamntime. Most of the time I will stop what I am doing to read. You are the right mix of inspiration, honesty and smartass. I started following you as you trained for your Ironman. Even though I had just begun running and didn't have a clue about a lot of the things you were talking about, I enjoyed hearing about your journey. Thanks for the laughs and wisdom.

    I felt bad that the first comment I ever left on your blog was an entry into a contest so I wanted to say a quick thanks for your blog.

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  18. Congrats, Stacy! Very inspirational, and very happy for your progress! My biggest excuse was time. No more. For the last year, I've put running first - everything else falls into place. Bonus - I like myself way better, and am therefore (I assume) much easier to live with.

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  19. Way to go Stacy!!!!!

    I used to have the excuse that I didn't have time. Funny thing - that was before I had kids... so I really had loads of time... I just wasted it watching Seinfeld reruns and other super important things.

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  20. My wife and I started a runners world running streak that was supposed to be last Memorial Day to Fourth of July. We hadn't been running a lot but we did at least one mile everydamnday. We continued and are almost at 365 days. The streak has taught me that I am capable of anything and that it is my mind that gets in my way, not my body. Sometimes you just have to shut up and run is the absolute truth!

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  21. Good for Stacy. It takes a lot to get out there and get yourself going especially if you're doing it on your own.
    My excuse was being afraid of embarrassment and failure. I think as we get older, we realize that not everyone is watching us so we let go of that excuse and just start doing it, tackling the challenges because it's more important to at least try than to go on wondering if we even could.

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  22. My excuse used to be that I couldn't work out because my knee (which I broke a bone in) would be sore. My group exercise cert, my Zumba license, 2 marathons, a handful of half marathons, and about 30ish pounds later, I wonder why I ever made that silly excuse to myself!

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  23. I was just plain lazy. I liked the idea of looking and feeling better from exercise and dieting, I would even get gym memberships for a whole year and only go twice. I only worked full time, no family around. I look back and think i wasted a lot of time doing crap!

    I now run/bike 4 to 5 times a week, have 2 little ones and study full time as well as doing work experience. I am absolutely shattered some days and can't seem to get enough sleep. But i'm not gonna stop doing what i now crave.

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  24. My excuse was being a SAHM to 2 kids. But all my excuses went out the window when they started school. I was faced with a choice: get busy living or sit on the couch some more. I'm so glad I chose life!

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  25. You are so right, so many wonderful points in this post....other than your lightening up at the end :P It is beautiful to read inspirational stories, and how lives were changed. I have been competing at a high level since 14 so it is hard to remember a time before that, but I do remember getting injured in my sophomore year of college and deciding I was not going to let it beat me, and I would come back stronger than ever. I did, and ended up running 16:10 in the 5k that next year! That was a life changing moment for me, but one I believe was necessary to push me to that next step!

    Thanks for being an inspiration, and being a source for inspiration when i need it :)

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  26. Great job Stacy! I remember when i was a child, I often saw people well over-weight and thought to myself, "I never want to look like that. I want to be able to run a mile everyday, just because I love being outside, breathing the fresh air and staying happy." I used to picture myself hiking mountains and exploring new beauty on the planet. I wanted to exercise everyday so I could stay fit. I never thought I would be a marathoner like I am today, but I am so happy that I am able to exercise on a daily basis, whether I decide to run 5 miles or 20 miles, I am so happy I am able to run and help out others!

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  27. My excuses changed over the years. When I was young, it was because I couldn't afford a gym membership or decent running shoes (!?really!?). Then I had kids, and my excuse was that I didn't want to give up my time with them (as a full-time working mom, it was a valid excuse for not leaving them behind to go to the gym or out for a run- but somehow it never occured to me that I could exercise at home while I was with them or take them with.....) The fatandlazy just kind of takes over your being, and is what you consider 'normal', so why change, right?

    Then this lady I worked with started running. It was a surprise to everyone when she did it- she was in her 40s, a heavier build, and very sedentary. She started running and training, and pretty soon she's training for a marathon while we all sat back and watched her journey with amazement. Within a couple of years she had run several marathons, and had convinced many of our co-workers to start running with her. One day I said to myself "If she can do it, why can't I??" So I started. Just went out, bought a pair of shoes, and started. Could only run a block at first, so I would run a block and then walk 3. It took me a year to work up to running a whole mile. Now here I am training for my first full marathon, with 11 halfs under my belt. And I no longer feel the need for excuses! And yes, I have thanked this lady numerous times for being the positive role model I needed.

    Here's to all of us being a positive role model for others!!

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  28. Oh, how I LOVE that saying about finding a way and not an excuse...definitely one for the old memory box! Excuse- "I like my sleep too much." As a busy working Mom of three, there just wasn't enough time. Until I decided that there IS time...albeit 5am, early weekend mornings, just before dinner/ homework/ kids bath craziness. And after I got injured training for my first marathon, I again challenged the belief that there wasn't time for strength training to reduce my chances of injury. Again, WRONG! Now I wouldn't give up my twice a week strength training as part of my running if my life depended on it (ok, perhaps an exaggeration..., but it would really, really suck.). ANUS! :)

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  29. I just found this blog because I typed into my google search "Running with bowed legs". I have bowed legs and my main problem is that one leg is more crooked than the other. It causes me to be more prone to IT band issues. Of course when I was on the rowing team in college, at the ripe age of 20 my crooked leg gave out, IT band got swollen and has never calmed down since. For almost four years I have been battling this injury. People always say "no pain, no gain" but if my damn coach hadn't pushed me so hard and had eased me into the running regimen maybe I would not be in the pain that I am in today. I have seen four doctors, two physical therapists and two chiropractors over the years. No one believes that I can be helped. They say "You have a structural bone issue, Sorry. Just don't run."

    Fuck them. I used to run, I was the most active child ever. I refuse to let this pain get to me. But people don't understand. If you have straight legs, and you are just feeling lazy wake the fuck up and realize how damn lucky you are. Everything is painful for me. Lying in bed and twisting the wrong way I feel knee pain. And guess what, I can't do shit about it except research on my own and try to fix some muscle imbalances that people with bowed legs often have. So if you have straight legs, please get out there and run. For me, because I can only run one mile without pain (used to run half marathons and 5-8 miles a day). Now walking up and down the stairs pain free is a blessing. I am 23 years old. So if you have no pain, GO RUNNING! Life is short, make the best of it.

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