I coined the phrase/ slogan/ tagline/ hashtag (whatever you want to call it) Run Like The Wind Bullseye years and years ago… when I first began my feeble attempt at running. At that time we had a little one in the house that was obsessed with Toy Story, and somehow or other I just started using it in my few and far between social media running related posts.
That brief background being said, fast forward a few years, and I have found myself still attempting to run, and still using #runlikethewindbullseye in my social media posts.
Random tiny story to insert here as well… One of my fondest memories of this phrase was the cold Sunday I was lined up, and corralled in (literally) in downtown DesMoines, IA with thousands and thousands of other runners all standing shoulder to shoulder for blocks upon blocks (yes, most definitely pre-covid!) and a few minutes before the gun would shoot and start the race, I got a text message from my mom with the words – Run like the wind bullseye! It’s one of those things that almost made me cry and will just always be one of those exact memory moments in my mind.
I’ve done a few large in person races in the past. I don’t consider myself an actual runner if I’m honest, and I am one that gets claustrophobic in large groups of people. But there is something about the energy, the thrill, the adenine rush of a live in person race that I did absolutely love…. As time went on and my age got older, my time got slower, and I started running more with friends that did not geographically live near me – I began to also fall in love with virtual races. And the cool thing about virtual races, was that I started to let myself just get creative with them. When I did them, how I trained for them, the distance I did for them, the race day outfits I wore for them, and the swag I earned for them. And then covid swept the world and left any kind of public group running venue shut down until further notice.
So while the world all went inside their homes by themselves, I kinda just kept on keep’n on with my running and my training and my little virtual race ventures in my little home gym I’d been slowly building over the years. (Nope, I am not one for public working out! But, you will find me nearly every morning by myself downstairs getting it done, or attempting to get it done anyway.)
I usually don’t do anything small scale. I usually have to try figure out how to kick it all up a few notches, a few extra miles, a few extra goals, a few extra of everything. And I love love love the creative hunt of putting them all together. The theme, the race details, the training details, the outfits, the mugs, the medals, the race bibs…
I’ve put together quite a few pretty amazing challenges, though I haven’t posted about all of them. Below are just a few I found, if you’re interested
I’ve done a few large in person races in the past. I don’t consider myself an actual runner if I’m honest, and I am one that gets claustrophobic in large groups of people. But there is something about the energy, the thrill, the adenine rush of a live in person race that I did absolutely love…. As time went on and my age got older, my time got slower, and I started running more with friends that did not geographically live near me – I began to also fall in love with virtual races. And the cool thing about virtual races, was that I started to let myself just get creative with them. When I did them, how I trained for them, the distance I did for them, the race day outfits I wore for them, and the swag I earned for them. And then covid swept the world and left any kind of public group running venue shut down until further notice.
So while the world all went inside their homes by themselves, I kinda just kept on keep’n on with my running and my training and my little virtual race ventures in my little home gym I’d been slowly building over the years. (Nope, I am not one for public working out! But, you will find me nearly every morning by myself downstairs getting it done, or attempting to get it done anyway.)
I usually don’t do anything small scale. I usually have to try figure out how to kick it all up a few notches, a few extra miles, a few extra goals, a few extra of everything. And I love love love the creative hunt of putting them all together. The theme, the race details, the training details, the outfits, the mugs, the medals, the race bibs…
I’ve put together quite a few pretty amazing challenges, though I haven’t posted about all of them. Below are just a few I found, if you’re interested
Unexpected Blessings - Stay Strong
Road to 46 Grit 300 Challenge
Endurance Outside the Box (While Inside the House)
Do It Scared
Not Quite As Planned
So this year I suffered a pretty major back injury, and a continued pandemic, and a son’s wedding, and a parents 50th anniversary and a whole lot of other biggish things that bundled all together that started to take it’s toll on me. Not all things were “bad” by any means – just all things leaving me a bit “weary” let’s say.
I am also one that I am always training for something big, usually with a few littler things mixed in to keep me going, but always always always I make sure I’m training for something – usually in 12 week increments, as that is my favorite half marathon training schedule to follow.
And this fall I decided it was time to create an official Run Like The Wind Bullseye Challenge.
I formatted the whole challenge similar to my Sugar Skull Challenge that I did last October 31 (2020). I did it as a tri-challenge (miles on my elliptical, treadmill, and bike – a total distance without stopping the stopwatch between any of it.). The training also included some weight training goals, monthly overall milage goals, weight loss goals, specific milage marker goals as I went through the training, etc etc etc.
I set all the goals for this new challenge, and added even more things on. Daily meditation requirements, an entire beachbody program requirement (MBF), just all the things. I found the perfect race shirt on ebay, I created the perfect medal from an ornament from poshmark, I allowed myself to order the new zyia leggings to earn to wear on race day, but I never made work really of designing and ordering a mug. (And a mug is something quite pivotal in all my challenges – I allow myself to earn a perfect mug that goes with that race/challenge theme.)
The twelve week training began and continued to tick by week by week. And I was slowly starting to fall behind in my workouts, in my mileages, in my training goal markers. And that weight loss goal I had set – well that was going up and not down. I kept getting further and further away from that goal and more and more frustrated and upset with myself.
The race day was set for the Saturday before we were to jet off as a family to South Carolina to celebrate with my parents and brother’s family for Thanksgiving / Christmas / my parents 50th Anniversary. I was getting overwhelmed by the details of the trip, I was continuing to gain weight, and I was now also working extra hours on Saturday mornings at my job. And I still had made no work of finding a mug.
I finally hit a bit of a breaking point where I knew I had to make a decision. Do I change the race day or do I just try figure something crazy out to still try make it happen?
In the end, after many conversations with the people that attempt to understand how the crazy in my brain operates and attempt to talk me off the ledge… I decided that I needed to extend the training a few more weeks, I needed to design and order a custom mug, and I needed to probably be ok that I simply was not going to meet every single goal I set within this training schedule.
So I looked at the calendar and picked a Monday that I knew was going to still be super tight to try squeeze it all in. Monday, December 13… because 13 happens to be my favorite number.
And that Sunday, the day before, arrived. And I hadn’t met all the mileage goals, was nowhere near the weight goal I’d set, hadn’t even started day one of the beachbody MBF program I put in the training requirements to complete… and I felt like a failure before I had even started the actual race day challenge.
I went to bed. I got up.
I wore the new leggings and shirt and I got myself through 20.6 total miles in 2:54:44. 6.2 miles elliptical. 6.2 miles treadmill. 6.2 miles bike. 2 miles rowing. I had set up all the Toy Story toys we had to be my audience (Woodie, Buzz, Jessie, Slink, Mr Potato Head, Rex… and no, I don’t even own the Bullseye toy oddly enough) I watched the entire Toy Story 2 and 3 movies… and I somehow got it all done. I so wanted to quit multiple times, but I just kept pushing myself, willing my legs to keep going.
I somehow actually got through it all and climbed off the last machine. I took some selfies, and then I went upstairs and I never even said anything about it. I never told my family I’d done it. I never posted anything about it on social media (not that something has to be posted to actually have happened!). I didn’t even allow myself to eat the entire chocolate recovery bar that I only allow myself to have at the end of a half marathon or longer race.
I made it through the actual race challenge, but I didn’t quite get through the entire training challenge I’d set, and I hadn’t met my weight loss goal, so I let myself believe that I was actually a failure and it was not worth telling anyone about it.
I still haven’t allowed myself to even have my first official cup of coffee in my new Run Like The Wind Bullseye mug that I had custom made. I washed the new shirt and leggings and put them in the drawer and have not touched them since. Did I actually earn them all, or did I not? At least that’s what my stupid mind is hissing at me whenever I think about it.
Ok, you know what. I did earn it. I did start the race and I did finished the race. Maybe I didn’t cross off every single box of the three month crazy challenge I created, but I need to give myself the grace to just be ok with that. I did still train and I did still meet most of the challenge criteria, right?
I’m a wife, mom, daughter, friend who works multiple jobs and lives by a set of basically unachievable standards inside my head. I’m not sure how or why or when that lovely little perfection demon came to settle so deeply within me, but perhaps it’s time I simply invite him for a cup of coffee and have a little heart to heart about all this havoc he’s causing me.
And I can think of the perfect mug to use.
#runallthemilesdrinkallthecoffee
#drinkallthecoffeedoallthethings
#runlikethewindbullseye
#motherrunner
#gritgitter
Road to 46 Grit 300 Challenge
Endurance Outside the Box (While Inside the House)
Do It Scared
Not Quite As Planned
So this year I suffered a pretty major back injury, and a continued pandemic, and a son’s wedding, and a parents 50th anniversary and a whole lot of other biggish things that bundled all together that started to take it’s toll on me. Not all things were “bad” by any means – just all things leaving me a bit “weary” let’s say.
I am also one that I am always training for something big, usually with a few littler things mixed in to keep me going, but always always always I make sure I’m training for something – usually in 12 week increments, as that is my favorite half marathon training schedule to follow.
And this fall I decided it was time to create an official Run Like The Wind Bullseye Challenge.
I formatted the whole challenge similar to my Sugar Skull Challenge that I did last October 31 (2020). I did it as a tri-challenge (miles on my elliptical, treadmill, and bike – a total distance without stopping the stopwatch between any of it.). The training also included some weight training goals, monthly overall milage goals, weight loss goals, specific milage marker goals as I went through the training, etc etc etc.
I set all the goals for this new challenge, and added even more things on. Daily meditation requirements, an entire beachbody program requirement (MBF), just all the things. I found the perfect race shirt on ebay, I created the perfect medal from an ornament from poshmark, I allowed myself to order the new zyia leggings to earn to wear on race day, but I never made work really of designing and ordering a mug. (And a mug is something quite pivotal in all my challenges – I allow myself to earn a perfect mug that goes with that race/challenge theme.)
The twelve week training began and continued to tick by week by week. And I was slowly starting to fall behind in my workouts, in my mileages, in my training goal markers. And that weight loss goal I had set – well that was going up and not down. I kept getting further and further away from that goal and more and more frustrated and upset with myself.
The race day was set for the Saturday before we were to jet off as a family to South Carolina to celebrate with my parents and brother’s family for Thanksgiving / Christmas / my parents 50th Anniversary. I was getting overwhelmed by the details of the trip, I was continuing to gain weight, and I was now also working extra hours on Saturday mornings at my job. And I still had made no work of finding a mug.
I finally hit a bit of a breaking point where I knew I had to make a decision. Do I change the race day or do I just try figure something crazy out to still try make it happen?
In the end, after many conversations with the people that attempt to understand how the crazy in my brain operates and attempt to talk me off the ledge… I decided that I needed to extend the training a few more weeks, I needed to design and order a custom mug, and I needed to probably be ok that I simply was not going to meet every single goal I set within this training schedule.
So I looked at the calendar and picked a Monday that I knew was going to still be super tight to try squeeze it all in. Monday, December 13… because 13 happens to be my favorite number.
And that Sunday, the day before, arrived. And I hadn’t met all the mileage goals, was nowhere near the weight goal I’d set, hadn’t even started day one of the beachbody MBF program I put in the training requirements to complete… and I felt like a failure before I had even started the actual race day challenge.
I went to bed. I got up.
I wore the new leggings and shirt and I got myself through 20.6 total miles in 2:54:44. 6.2 miles elliptical. 6.2 miles treadmill. 6.2 miles bike. 2 miles rowing. I had set up all the Toy Story toys we had to be my audience (Woodie, Buzz, Jessie, Slink, Mr Potato Head, Rex… and no, I don’t even own the Bullseye toy oddly enough) I watched the entire Toy Story 2 and 3 movies… and I somehow got it all done. I so wanted to quit multiple times, but I just kept pushing myself, willing my legs to keep going.
I somehow actually got through it all and climbed off the last machine. I took some selfies, and then I went upstairs and I never even said anything about it. I never told my family I’d done it. I never posted anything about it on social media (not that something has to be posted to actually have happened!). I didn’t even allow myself to eat the entire chocolate recovery bar that I only allow myself to have at the end of a half marathon or longer race.
I made it through the actual race challenge, but I didn’t quite get through the entire training challenge I’d set, and I hadn’t met my weight loss goal, so I let myself believe that I was actually a failure and it was not worth telling anyone about it.
I still haven’t allowed myself to even have my first official cup of coffee in my new Run Like The Wind Bullseye mug that I had custom made. I washed the new shirt and leggings and put them in the drawer and have not touched them since. Did I actually earn them all, or did I not? At least that’s what my stupid mind is hissing at me whenever I think about it.
Ok, you know what. I did earn it. I did start the race and I did finished the race. Maybe I didn’t cross off every single box of the three month crazy challenge I created, but I need to give myself the grace to just be ok with that. I did still train and I did still meet most of the challenge criteria, right?
I’m a wife, mom, daughter, friend who works multiple jobs and lives by a set of basically unachievable standards inside my head. I’m not sure how or why or when that lovely little perfection demon came to settle so deeply within me, but perhaps it’s time I simply invite him for a cup of coffee and have a little heart to heart about all this havoc he’s causing me.
And I can think of the perfect mug to use.
#runallthemilesdrinkallthecoffee
#drinkallthecoffeedoallthethings
#runlikethewindbullseye
#motherrunner
#gritgitter
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