{Motivation Monday-Favorites from Spirit of the Marathon II}

Posted in Motivation Monday by sneaksandstilettos

I hope you all had a great weekend. Yesterday Ryan and I watched Spirit of the Marathon II to psych ourselves up for our long runs. It was great, I teared up, I would watch it again. As I was watching I kept track of comments and quotes that stuck with me. Here they are to motivate you this Monday morning.

#1-“There are no easy marathons.” I would totally agree. No matter if you’re running your first marathon or your 100th I don’t think any of them will be easy-not in my experience. 26.2 miles can be so humbling

#2-“One of the best ways to see a city is to run it.” This is why so many of my vacations revolve around races. I can think of no better way to truly see and explore a city than to run its streets, trails, bridges, paths, and roads.

#3-“You have to give 100% all the time.” If you have a goal or a dream, then you must give 100% to it or you won’t achieve it. Simple.

#4-“You go through this pain and suffering, but you feel you are stronger than when you started.” A person’s description of the last miles of the marathon. Their thoughts are so spot on. It hurts, but yet you’ve never felt stronger.

#5-“You roll this stick on your legs and it hurts like hell. It’s great. You roll your body on this foam and it hurts like hell. It’s so great.” Foam rolling is a bitch…but in a hurt so good way.

#6-“[In the 1970’s] people thought if women ran (long distances) their legs will get big, they’ll grow hair on their chest, there uterus will fall out, and they’ll sweat in public which is unfavorable. Today there are more woman runners than men.” Go figure! I can say that I’ll take my more muscular legs, I’ve experienced no chest hair growth, I still have my uterus, and sweating is awesome. There are so many advantages and benefits to running. Get out there and screw the naysayers!

#7-“Life is a journey. You can either be a spectator or you can live it. The marathon is the greatest analogy to life.” Get out and run your journey.

#8-“Running is my time. I don’t think about the future or the past. It becomes meditative.” I’ve always felt like running was for me.

#9-“Running is my religion.” Running is always there for you, rejuvenates the soul, and can be shared with those around you. It is great for the soul!

Happy Monday!

21Mar2014

{Friday Fab 5…March Madness, Spirit of the Marathon II, Trampled by Turtles, Bloody Mary…}

Posted in Friday Fab 5 by sneaksandstilettos

{#1-Unspool the Tangles}

Hearing another blogger mention how she might enjoy some alone time reminded me of how much I love running alone to unspool the tangles. I like training with Ryan, but I do miss my alone time on my runs when I was running just for me. I don’t feel like the tangles get unspooled as much when I’m running with someone. Anyone else feel this way?

{#2-Bloody Mary}

We enjoyed a Bloody Mary with a green beer chaser on Saturday. Oh, how I love a good, spicy Bloody!

{#3-Spirit of the Marathon II}

When I first heard Spirit of the Marathon II was coming out I might have peed a little I was so excited. I loved, LOVED the first one and still rewatch it anytime I want to be inspired and humbled by the sport I love again. While I’m super excited to watch it there is no way that is happening in the next week because…

{#4-March Madness is here!}

Once again Ry and I have a bracket contest going. I have won the last couple of years and am looking to keep the streak going. The mind blowing weird part this year: without even seeing each others brackets or hearing about what either had chosen, we’ve chosen the same two teams to make it to the final championship round. We each picked a different team to win it all. Could be interesting this year!

{#5-Trampled by Turtles}

I was recently introduced to this band by a coworker and his wife and all I can say is WOW. I love them. I’ve basically been listening to them on repeat for a month and a half. As luck would have it the sort-of-local, Duluth band is playing near us tonight. Can’t wait to hear them perform live tonight.
Check them out in the video below.

and one more of their songs I love (it’s a cell phone recording, but still good)…

29Jul2013

{Motivation Monday-Spirit of the Marathon}

Posted in Motivation Monday by sneaksandstilettos

I’m a sucker for watching movies that are both inspirational and involve sports. Look in our DVD bin and you will find far more sports movies than rom coms. True my husband also is a fan, but like he really bought any of them. From Field of Dreams to Remember the Titans to The Mighty Ducks they have been watched many times and seem not to lose there inspirational impact. The Ducks..err Geese are one of the reasons I’ve always loved the story of the geese so much that I use it in my classroom at the start of the school year every year.

When it comes to running movies they are rarely as popularized as other. One of my favorites is Dean Karnazes’ story of running 50 Marathons in 50 States in 50 Days. Another favorite, Running the Sahara, documents three runners and their 111 day journey across the Sahara desert. What prompted this post in the first place was me reading last week that a sequel to my favorite running documentary is due out this year-Spirit of the Marathon II. I actually might have squealed; that’s how exciting this news was to me. So why so exciting?

Well, first of all, the original came out as I was training for my second marathon. Watching it captures all of the emotions that go into running a marathon. If you’ve ever stood at the starting line of a marathon or ran your own race, then I swear you’ve felt the emotions in the runners around you. First timers are nervous, excited, and anxious. Veterans are excited, perhaps uncertain about a PR, and hopeful for a good race. Charity runners are carrying thoughts of people they are running for and their own race-pride, hope, and worry. Elites are chasing for that win or top performance. There is happiness, pride, fear, anxiety, uncertaintly, and excitement all at once.

All those emotions were there. It is true what they say about your first; you’ll never forget it. Marathon that is.

For those who have ran a marathon watching this movie will bring back all those emotions of your first race. For those who have always wondered why someone would ever want to run that far, this movie offers a glimpse into those reasons and the complex emotions runners feel as they travel 26.2 miles in the Chicago Marathon. It also gives you perspective of first timers yet to complete the distance, seasoned runners, and elites. You hear from marathon greats like Frank Shorter, Paula Radcliffe, Deena Kastor, and Katherine Switzer.

http://www.nhpr.org/post/profile-kathrine-switzer

Part of my pre-marathon routine is to watch this movie a week or two before my race to really get the emotions and excitement going. If you’ve ever wanted to relive the emotions or try to understand the emotions of a marathon, check out the preview of the original below. It is six minutes, but so worth it. I got goosebumps as I watched it again last night. I won’t give away any endings other than I always tear up. What can I say? I don’t cry in real life about a lot of things, but play a running movie and I ball.

The sequel, Spirit of the Marathon II, will come out later this fall!! In a similar format, it will follow runners as they train and run the Rome Marathon while also focusing on the impacts running marathons has on people and societies. The documentary looks at reasons why people run marathons from overcoming cancer, to breaking social norms, to seeing how far the human body can go. You can bet I signed up for the update emails AND I’ll be buying it as soon as it comes out. I know Ry just can’t wait (cue sarcasm). Click below to watch a preview.

If either of these videos doesn’t have you out the door to run or signing up for your next race, then maybe it is time to lace up anyway and get some fresh air to your brain.

Happy Monday!