Monthly Archives: September 2016

Running and real estate, Running and Spirituality, The joy of running

Ten Steps to Start Running at any Age!

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According to the Runner’s World magazine, there are eight crucial steps to help someone start running.

http://www.runnersworld.com/get-someone-running/8-steps-to-help-someone-start-running?cid=NL_QOTD_-_09092016_8StepstoHelpSomeoneStartRunning&utm_source=RWD07&utm_medium=email&smartcode=YN_0000988866_0001568475

I agree with all their steps, but I have come up with my own 10 steps to help you start this amazing journey. First, I need to share with you my mom’s story and how she started to run at 63 years old after never having exercised in her entire adult life, other than taking short walks to get places she needs to go, since she does not drive.

Mom’s Running Story

On Wednesday evening, September 7th, 2016, I came home elated from my track workout with Fleet Feet Fit running group that I joined to prepare for the California International Marathon that I will run this December, hoping to qualify to Boston. I sat next to my mom and told her what a great workout I had. I also told her that we have a few ladies in their 70s running with us and that they  were amazing. I added that running makes your knees stronger and that’s when my mom clicked: “I guess I should start running, too.”

I was speechless, as my mom usually refuses any kind of physical activity, but then I realized that this was the moment that I was waiting for: my mom’s desire to change and try something new. I immediately transcended my surprise and shock and replied: “Awesome! We’ll go tomorrow morning on a very easy run/jog/walk around our neighborhood.”

“I’ll be ready and wear my good shoes,” my mom said.

The next morning after I dropped the kids off to school, my mom and I took off, after doing a few stretches. My mom started to run with a straight back, relaxed shoulders, and a perfect stride. She ran about a quarter mile, after which we stopped and walked a little bit. Once she started again, I took this amazing video of her first run ever at the age of 63 (she’ll turn 64 in December), which shows that we don’t have to be athletic, strong, gifted, or special to start running. We just need a gentle push, the motivation to better our health, our bodies and minds, and the desire to try new things, as you never know what you like if you don’t try and experiment with life’s joys and surprises.

In reading about Dr. Walter Bortz’s exercise dictum in the Runner’s World magazine: “It’s never too late to start, and it’s always too soon to stop,” I knew that my mom’s timing was perfect and was so happy for her. Her lower back and knees have been giving her a hard time for many years, so she decided to get her body stronger, which is what we all need to do: counter any weakness in our body with new strengths that come from running. We can overcome an aging body and can sharpen our minds at any age.

Carmen’s advice and 10 Steps to Help Non-Runners  Start Running:

 

  1. Share your running excitement with your non-runner friends by showing them your Strava app, telling them about your beautiful running routes, your races, etc.
  2. Do not ask your runner friends to start running unless they are very open to trying new things. Instead, let your friends ask that they go running with you, or let think them it was their own idea to start running at their own pace and in their own way.
  3. DO NOT tell your non-runner friends that running is EASY like I did with one friend I turned away from running, even though I meant to say that it is easy to go out wearing a decent pair of shoes and just run.
  4. Encourage your friends to start slowly and with only one mile or less on their first official run, as well as to take walking breaks until they build up their stamina and strength.
  5. Emphasize the need to go to a specialty shoe store, such as Fleet Feet in Sacramento to be evaluated by a running specialist and buy the right shoes, as they will make or break your non-runner friends.
  6. Encourage them to join running groups after they can run for at least 30 minutes without stopping. Running with others builds confidence, excitement, and most importantly, commitment.
  7. Encourage them to eat real food and hydrate properly.
  8. Challenge your stubborn non-runner friends to a 5K race by telling them that it is too hard for them to do it and see their ambition go up.
  9. Encourage your friends to read articles in the Runner’s World and other publications, watch videos, and learn more about nutrition, as knowledge is power.
  10. Share the mental, physical, and spiritual benefits that come from running and be your friends’ running ambassador to help them change their lives with running.
Running with my mom! What a special feeling and moment! Running is life!
Running with my mom! What a special feeling and moment! Running is life!

 

My mom's second run on the American River Parkway.
My mom’s second run on the American River Parkway.

And if you wonder about my mom’s commitment whether to run or not to run, please watch this video. Running is a CHOICE to feel infinite JOY. Running is also a CHOICE to be healthy and strong. Running is LIFE.

 

HAPPY FEET! RUN WITH JOY!

For more info on running and real estate, whether buying or selling, please e-mail me at carmenmicsa@yahoo.com, or call me at 916-342-2446. Running for real estate with joy!

Running and real estate, Running and Spirituality, The joy of running

Running is Oh, so Easy, and Oh, so hard!

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“If you want to become a runner then get onto a trail, into the woods, or on a sidewalk or street and run. Go 50 yards if that’s all you can handle. Tomorrow, you can go farther.”

Scott Jurek

My first month as a runner when miles felt double and sometimes triple the distance.
My first month as a runner when miles felt double and sometimes triple the distance.

That’s pretty much how I started running down the street for like a quarter mile in March 2015, after which I increased the distance, my stamina, and so on. Therefore, if you hear me say running is easy, I refer to this aspect of running that allows great flexibility, a road right outside your home, and a decent pair of running shoes.

A month after I started to run, I ran the Zoo Zoom 5K race and finished third in my age group. I guess running is easy- ha!ha!
A month after I started to run, I ran the Zoo Zoom 5K race and finished third in my age group. I guess running is easy- ha!ha!

 

RUNNING IS EASY

I don’t know how many non-runners I can convince with the above-mentioned statement before I actually make them run away from running, but I will explain my reasoning and my positive affirmation about running as an easy, healthy, and even highly enjoyable activity.

  1. Most running takes place right outside our doors, so we don’t need any special places to start running.
  2. Running is easy to do on your own.
  3. Running does not require much planning, as you can always lace up your shoes and bolt outside your home.
  4. Running is plain fun every time we decide to venture outside of our homes, our worlds, and our comfort zones.
  5. Running is powerful, as it opens our hearts and souls to new possibilities, while we continue our journeys down the path of exploring life with curiosity, mindfulness, and awareness.
  6. Running is social and can bring people together.
  7. Running is blissful and puts us in a great mood after we are done.
  8. Running is healthy for the mind and the body.
  9. Running helps us live longer.
  10. Running makes us smarter.
  11. Running makes us happier and more content.
  12. Running is an easy way to explore new places.
  13. Running is time efficient.
  14. Running burns a lot more calories than other activities about three times more than biking, for example.
  15. Running makes us sleep better.
  16. Running increases the good hormones in our brains.
  17. Running takes us closer to nature.
  18. Running brings us closer to God.
  19. Running is healing.
  20. Running is LIFE.
Enjoying nature and the deer at Ancil Hoffman Park, my own running Paradise.
Enjoying nature and the deer at Ancil Hoffman Park, my own running Paradise. Picture taken by my friend Holly Macriss.

THE HARD, THE BAD, THE UGLY, & THE STRUGGLE

One of my good friends from Sac State Kellie Edson shared this wonderful story about the butterfly and the chrysalis and their metaphor for life’s struggles. So powerful! It applies to running, too, as we struggle sometimes, but then we finish our short and long runs, our races and marathons as changed people, light, beautiful, and victorious!

“Along a dusty road in India there sat a beggar who sold cocoons. A young boy watched him day after day, and the beggar finally beckoned to him.

“Do you know what beauty lies within this chrysalis? I will give you one so you might see for yourself. But you must be careful not to handle the cocoon until the butterfly comes out.”

The boy was enchanted with the gift and hurried home to await the butterfly. He laid the cocoon on the floor and became aware of a curious thing. The butterfly was beating its fragile wings against the hard wall of the chrysalis until it appeared it would surely perish, before it could break the unyielding prison. Wanting only to help, the boy swiftly pried the cocoon open.

Out flopped a wet, brown, ugly thing which quickly died. When the beggar discovered what had happened, he explained to the boy “In order for the butterfly wings to grow strong enough to support him, it is necessary that he beat them against the walls of his cocoon. Only by this struggle can his wings become beautiful and durable. When you denied him that struggle, you took away from him his only chance of survival.”

The butterflies swarmed around and filled the day with the beauty of their colorful wings.
The butterflies swarmed around and filled the day with the beauty of their colorful wings.

From this story, here are 10 hard and yet beautiful aspects of running:

  1. Running is hard, or I should say challenging, since I don’t like to use the word hard.
  2. Running is a struggle on some days depending on our mood, pace, environment, weather, the alignment of the planets, etc.
  3. Running reminds us of our own fragility before we can feel our strength.
  4. Running leaves us breathless literally, not figuratively.
  5. Running takes a lot out of us.
  6. Running can take a toll on our bodies.
  7. Running takes courage.
  8. Running is not for everyone, and yet we were born to run.
  9. Running means getting outside our comfort zone and that’s challenging.
  10. Running is sweating.
The love of running!
The love of running!

Yet, when we run, whether it feels easy or hard, we can all ask ourselves: “How can we disrupt our complacency and satisfaction with things we do on all levels of our lives?” Answer: “By gently pushing ourselves to do more and to require more of ourselves, as we are all perfectly capable of reaching higher professional, fitness, intellectual, and any other goals we set our minds on achieving.”

HAPPY FEET! RUN WITH JOY!

For more info on running and real estate, whether buying or selling, please e-mail me at carmenmicsa@yahoo.com, or call me at 916-342-2446. Running for real estate with joy!