encouragement from a former addict

No, the former addict isn't me. I'm a huge fan of Craig Ferguson. He's the host of The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson, on CBS. If you're not familiar with him, I'll give you a quick background. He's originally from Glasgow, Scotland but now lives in California, USA and has become an American citizen. He dropped out of high school at age 16 and became addicted to drugs and alcohol, all the while hopping from punk band to punk band, repeatedly falling short of success. He went through rehab, stayed clean and got his big break on the Drew Carey Show.

He battled his demons and seems to have evolved into one of the wisest and most down-to-earth personalities in show-biz today.

I've been reading his autobiography 'American On Purpose,' which is a great read with brilliant story telling. I had only made it as far as the preface when I realized how good his book was going to be. In the preface he wrote, "we prepare for glory by failing until we don't."

My stomach did a flip when I read it and I knew that this statement would be added to the mental Rolodex of phrases I keep to inspire myself when I'm feeling daunted.

Through his failed marriages, his addictions, his numerous attempts to break into show business, he continued to fail until one day he didn't. That's the secret!

The people who become truly and uniquely successful aren't the people who learn how to succeed, they're the people who learn how to fail and start over. They are the sort of people who fall and get back up, dust themselves off, and prepare to fall again. They fail until they don't.

People say things like this all the time. I've heard things like this before and shrugged it off and you may shrug this off today. Realistically, no one really 'gets it' until they're ready. You need to reach that place in life where you're prepared to make a mess of things and try again, without fear of looking foolish, because you finally know that there is no other option for you but to try until you succeed.

It applies to anything worth achieving, whether it's a battle with weight, or addiction, or the drive to succeed academically, athletically, in your career, or in love. If you persevere you have an infinitely better chance of success than you have if you give up.

Long story short, it's OK to fail as long as you keep trying, as long as you keep failing until you don't. Have a great day everybody!

darkness falls

On most days, I wake up at 4:30am....in complete and utter darkness.
I walk the dog, get ready, drive into the city by 7am....darkness.
I head into an office building for 10-11 hours and emerge into...you guessed it, more darkness.
I have dinner, think about running......but there's that darkness!



I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm becoming nocturnal.

I am missing the long evenings of summer in a BIG way, and it's starting to affect my running. I have zero motivation to head out into the night. By 6:30pm I am ready to pack it in for the day. It makes no sense.

In the summer, the fun would just be getting started at 6:30pm! That would be the time I started thinking about getting in a run and maybe squeezing in another walk with my dog and maybe even hitting a bucket of golf balls.

Now? Pajamas look mighty good around 7pm.

* shakes head *

I think it's about time I re-set my internal clock.

After all, it's only November!

'movember virtual run

I took part in a virtual challenge today which allowed me to get in 5k towards my monthly goal. I decided to join Kelly virtually, as she issued a challenge to runners. She will be participating in a run to benefit and raise awareness for prostate cancer; a disease her dad is fighting. Such a fantastic cause!
My husband is actually growing a mustache in support of 'Movember - his theory is that everyone is sick of charity runs and walks, so the men at his school are sporting the 'stache and raising funds. To each his own. I still have some run left in me. ;)

The "before" shot:

Moment of Proof shot - yes, I did this one indoors given some thunderstorms:

The "After" shot. Sweat. It. OUT! <3

Ladies - has anyone else noticed some serious boob shrinkage on this journey? I know they're just fat and therefore it makes sense for them to go....but come on!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend. If you didn't catch my travel survival tips, click here.
Rae
xo

home sweet home

I've returned from sunny So-Cal with good news: I not only survived my business trip, but I thrived! If only those on the stranded Carnival cruise could say the same. Oh my!

San Diego Highlights

10. Learning about the fascinating projects that others in my field are involved in. I felt completely energized by my conference, which is a rare thing! I gathered plenty of great ideas to take back to my team.

9. Daily walks through San Diego's gaslamp district: taking in the sights, sounds, artwork and people watching. Good for the soul!

8. Choosing Starbuck's oatmeal for breakfast over the fatty/sugary hotel breakfast buffet spread. Every day.

7. Getting my 8 glasses of water in. Every day.

6. Hitting the hotel gym 2/5 days

5. Nordstrom sale. Who would've thought I'd have to go to San Diego to find an incredible winter hat? Ha! I also scored my favourite body wash & lotion through a gift set. One of the few luxuries I can't find in Toronto. ;)

4. Vitamin D! We enjoyed a few patio breaks throughout the conference, overlooking the bay and taking in the sun. It's amazing what a little sunshine can do to your energy level. I'm having a hard time adjusting to the 50-degree F weather now after being in 78-degrees!

3. Shopping at Target! Love, love, love Target. Especially as we get closer to the holidays. Oh Target....when will you come to Canada?!?!

2. Running with my coworker 3/5 days without humiliating myself. She was fast, but I had the stamina. We met in the middle with an easy jog and I got in a few 3-miles runs.

1. Logging 14 miles on foot towards the November Throwdown. Did you hear that Katie? LOL I know you're still kicking my butt, but I vow to over-take you this weekend. ;)

Hope you had a great week!

Rae

xo

i'm scared

On Sunday I will be packing my bags and heading to San Diego for one week. This is my first lengthy business trip in quite a while and I'm feeling a little uneasy about the whole situation. My current paranoia is revolving around the following uncertainties:

1. Will my butt fit in the airplane seat?

2. What will a week of restaurant food do to my progress?

3. What will five days of 8am-7pm meetings do to my butt!?

But what really sent panic through me was the following email, sent by the coworker who is travelling with me:

"I have good intetions: I'm throwing my work-out gear/running shoes into the suitcase. I am not a long distance "runner", but I can fake the Running Room's run for x minutes, walk for x minutes approach. It might be nicer to get outside vs. the hotel gym?? And my biggest motivator is peer pressure - Rae ...!!!! "

*GULP* She wants to run with me?? You'd think I'd be super-stoked to have a running buddy. Thing is, my coworker is probably 110 pounds soaking wet. I know she claims she is not a runner, but this girl plays soccer and does boot camps. Hardcore. And she has work-out gear. GEAR! She is going to wipe the floor with me! I am seriously terrified of making a fool of myself in front of her.

I am still doing the couch to 5k program. I haven't graduated much farther than running for 7 or 8 minutes with walking breaks in between. Am I "faking it"? I love running with my friend down the street, but that's because we're both complete turtles.

What have I gotten myself in for? And why am I acting all psyched-out about this? It's not as if I haven't been putting in some miles lately. I hate that I still feel like the completely unfit fat chick being picked last for sports in high school.

Of course, I replied to her note with the promise of fabulous ocean-side runs...daily. If nothing else, I have to get my Throwdown miles in (Katie is edging ahead of me and I am not liking it! tee hee).

Now, who has some business travel tips for me?

Rae

xo