Tag: charity

Mondays, Motivation, and Mel Robbins.

Mondays, Motivation, and Mel Robbins.

by Aimee Settlemires ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It’s Sunday evening. Another weekend has come and gone. I look back at the past week, what I have or have not accomplished, and wonder how I can improve on the week to come. What can I do better? What can I do to make my routine smoother? What do I actually need to accomplish this week? I always get the Sunday Scaries.

I personally love Mondays. I know they are not everyone’s favorite day of the week. I know for a fact that Garfield the cat was never a fan. For me it’s a day to hit the reset button. Even if I had a terrible last week. Even if I didn’t run, bike, or lift one single weight. Even if everything that could go wrong went wrong. It no longer matters because Monday is a brand new week full of possibilities. Sunday evening I program my Monday work out and repeat the phrase “never miss a Monday.” I tell myself that this week will be my week. I set myself up for success no matter what last week looked like.

Speaking of routines and positive self talk, has anyone listened to the latest motivational speaker that’s trending? Have you heard of Mel Robbins? If you are on social media I am sure that you have heard of her. I recently came across a couple of Tik Toks talking about her viral morning routine. So, me being curious on anything that might give me some get up and go in my mornings, decided to take a deep dive.

I started watching a few clips and I liked what I was hearing. This “Let Them” theory of living life. I decided to buy her book The Let Them Theory on audible. I have never bought a self help book or had any real interest in reading a self help book. As I get older I find myself struggling to let some things go and focus on what really matters. Do I dwell on what other people think of me? I would be lying if I said “no”. We are human, we all want to be well liked, but sometimes that comes at a cost. If we are always worried about what others think when do we live for ourselves? I won’t say the book is life changing or that I am completely made over by reading it. I am not about to go tattoo “Let Them” on my body, which some people have done. I will say that it’s a really good book and has some interesting approaches to self care, relationship building, and pursuing one’s goals. Definitely a recommended read if you want to take a hard look at your life and see if there are areas that need improvement. Now that I have that crossed off my TBR I can continue reading my normal book interests of dragons, fairies, and orcs who make coffee.

As the night comes to a close, and I set my alarm to start fresh Monday morning, I know that I probably won’t feel like getting up. My motivation won’t be there, and I will have a million excuses as to why I should skip today’s already planned work out. When motivation fails me I hope routine will save me, because I know that I need to keep showing up for myself every week. Movement brings me too much joy to skip. Every Monday is one Monday closer to those 26.6 miles in Chicago.

Visit my Instagram average_girl run to get all the latest updates on my progress. See my post from today below about my long run Sunday.

Remember! I am still collecting donations for St. Jude. Click the link below to donate!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGbZ2n6pyWB/?igsh=ZXU3emJwaXY3dGtq

Finding Motivation for Marathon Training as a Busy Mom

Finding Motivation for Marathon Training as a Busy Mom

by Aimee Settlemires ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It’s been exactly one week since I filled out my application to run the Chicago marathon for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Shall we reassess the progress that has been made? Honestly, no progress has been made. I wish I could say I got a solid training plan drawn up, but I didn’t. The first wave of excitement that came from confirming my commitment to the race faded pretty quickly. I got off work Thursday morning and fell right back into the day to day race of being a mother, one who was severely behind on laundry.

Motivation waxes and wanes. Consistency is what produces results. Isn’t that what they say? (Who is “they” exactly?) How am I supposed to become consistent if I am not motivated? I trick myself into becoming motivated. I did watch Legally Blonde this week. I did it just to see that one scene where she really starts to apply herself at Harvard Law. If you are a millennial woman, you recognize the exact scene. I was still hitting the snooze button and letting the day fall into place with no wish to “start”. No amount of watching inspiring movies was going to generate enough motivation to separate me from my bed. Early mornings are just plain hard. My bed is just not a place I want to leave in the morning. My body is smashed between two sweet baby boys. Their fingers are tangled in my hair. It’s their guaranteed move to make sure I stay put. Their warmth radiates off their small bodies. The soft sounds of their breathing lull me back to sleep after I hit the snooze. Pure bliss.

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I want to start jumping into marathon training right away. I want to download a marathon plan and have a guiding light lead the way. This is my second marathon, and, while my first one went awesome because my only goal was to finish, my training was less than perfect. My longest training run was 15 miles. I went into that race not knowing if I could even run 26.2 miles. My finish time of 5:30:13 was a blessing. This time around I want to be stronger, more prepared for the miles.We are still 49 weeks away. Most marathon plans are 16 weeks or 22 weeks long. I could train for one twice if I wanted to. Perfect right?

I am struggling to get anything in and there’s no sense of routine or focus point. It’s just whatever I can get in with whatever time I have free. Which isn’t a lot especially if I am in the middle of a work week. I will try and get thirty minutes of something, whether it is yoga or cycling. I haven’t found a consistent routine for my training. It just feels like I’m floundering with the physical part of marathon training. I don’t have a program to guide my daily activities. It’s also really early to be starting one of those programs. Besides I am not ready to even start a program like that because I haven’t been running. I sound like a broken record I know. Starting is overwhelming though.

I work night shift at the hospital as a nurse practitioner. My work weeks start Thursday night and end the next Thursday morning. Seven nights in a row, twelve hour shifts, no consistent sleep. During my “on” week I have to choose between getting more sleep or working out. I can’t just fall out of training every other week. When I trained for my first marathon I would run when I got off or run before going in. We have added a new baby to the mix since that last race. I need to get home to him as soon as I get off. I am still his main source of nutrition. I need to work out because I need to get stronger. I need to sleep so my body can recover. I am stuck in this endless cycle. Should I get some sleep? Or should I get in a quick workout? It can be maddening. If you have made it this far in reading my blog I bet I can read your mind. “Why on earth would she decide to run a marathon when she clearly has too much on her plate already?”

Short answer, because I want this that bad. There is never going to be a good time in my life to do this. There will always be something in my life that is taking up too much of my time. My kids will be this age or that age. They will still need me just as much as they need me right now. There is always going to be work. Maybe not the same schedule, but I am not going to quit. (Unfortunately, there is no chance of me becoming an endorsed marathoner.) My husband and I moved into our newly built house that we (he) built on our own. It’s not finished. We live in what I like to call “construction chic.” This house is a lifelong project that will fill my weekends up for the rest of my life. When is a good time to start training for a marathon? I want to do this so badly. There is no time like the present moment. I will have to make it work.

Now, I have finished thoroughly complaining about the situation. Only I can control it, so what am I going to do about it?

Create a Routine

Routines and consistency produce results. We know this. I know this. It may take time, but eventually, just like before, running will become easier to me. Most days I hope my love for physical activity will be enough to get me moving. I know some days I won’t feel motivated. I won’t feel inspired everyday to leap from my bed and hit the pavement before the sun rises. On those days my routine will hopefully save me. I will select my workouts at the beginning of the week and have them all written down. I am a girly who loves a list. Even more I love crossing things off that list.

Develop a Training Plan

Right now I don’t need a training plan for a marathon. It’s too early and I am no where near ready for that. I need to just be running in general. I don’t need to worry about how many miles I am getting in weekly. Don’t need to stress about how many miles my long runs are. I need to be strictly focused on just running. My goals should be time-focused. Running for thirty or forty-five minutes at least three times a week. I need to incorporate cross training days as well. I basically just need to move and do work outs that I enjoy. I love yoga, cycling, and strength workouts. Doing any one of those a day will be a step in the right direction.

Let Things Go

I cannot do it all. Despite my amazing efforts trying to be everything to everyone in my life. It’s just impossible. Some things are going to have to take a backseat and that’s OK. Laundry will have to pile up. Household chores will have to be outsourced to my two teenagers. (I am sure they are going to love that.) I will miss coffee dates with friends. I won’t make it to every event that I am invited to. I am not a super social person so those last two things won’t really be a problem. 🙂

Set Small Achievable Goals

Reaching a goal feels so rewarding. When I reach my goals I feel successful and it drives me to continue to work for the next goal. If I set unrealistic goals like running a 3:30 marathon, I will feel defeated. I will give up quickly when I realize that goal is unachievable. (At this MOMENT!) If I set smaller more realistic goals I will keep returning to feed that desire I have to achieve. Right now my goal is just to start running more. It’s a simple goal. I haven’t run for 9+ months. Running one to two times a week is goal completed. Another of my goals is to run a race. I signed up for a 5k last month with no goal time in my mind. I wanted to just run a race. It felt fantastic.

Don’t Be So Hard on Myself

I started writing this post a week ago. I forgot my charger for my laptop at work and didn’t write during my entire week off from work. It’s been almost a month since I signed up for the marathon and my routine is still in shambles. I have only ran once since I ran that 5k in October. What can I say? I am a mom! My life stays busy. I have constant interruptions that cause me to rearrange my plans. This is why I am blogging this journey. I want to show anyone who has a life, a career, or a family that even though it is hard to train for a marathon, it’s doable. I will have setbacks, but I am going to keep showing up week to week. Not every training week will be perfect, and that’s okay. There will be some weeks that will be amazing, and that will be great. I just need to keep running. It will all be worth it in the end.

Running for Hope: Breast Cancer Awareness Race Experience

Running for Hope: Breast Cancer Awareness Race Experience

by Aimee Settlemires ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I hate running 5k’s. I loath the distance. It’s too short to fall into a good running groove. I basically feel like I am sprinting the entire time. By the time I do feel warmed, and I can start holding my paces the race is over. Go figure. Every time I sign up for a 5k I forget I dislike running them. Then I reach the starting line and remember I hate them. I only love them when they are over. I would rather run a 10k or even a half marathon. I love the feeling running a race gives me. The surge of achievement as I across the finish line. In between large races I like to do smaller races because it helps me keep focus on the larger goal. The 5k is the most common, frequent race available to the average runner like myself. So, I continue to sign up for ones in my area whenever possible.

I have not ran a race since the local Rooster Run 5k in June 2023. It was unbearable. At the height of summer in Mississippi. In heat you can’t breathe in and your clothes immediately stick to your skin when you step outside. Basically, it was like I begging to have a heat stroke to run this race. As you could have of guess I didn’t do very well and was happy to have finished. Next race on the schedule St. Jude half marathon in Memphis. In September 2023 in the middle of training, I found out I was pregnant.

We had just started trying for our 4th child. We were beyond excited with the news that we had conceived so quickly. I continued to run during the early months of my pregnancy. I fully expected to manage to run the half come December. However, I developed a severe hip/pelvic pain known as Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction. It felt like my pelvis would fall apart with the slightest of movement. It was a struggle to even turn over in bed. I didn’t want to stop running, but I decided at that point to listen to my body. I dropped from the half marathon, and focused on my pregnancy. It was a hard decision for me to make at the time. Running had brought me so much joy, and I was finally good at it! I promised myself I would not lose my fitness. I would cycle and continue to strength train. (I was seriously delusional.) Between morning sickness, trying to build a house, work, and taking care of three kids already, I was exhausted all the time. I allowed myself to put staying strong on the back burner, and let myself truly enjoy my last pregnancy.

Here I am almost a year later with a beautiful four-month-old, blue-eyed baby boy. I am wondering when my first race will be. I can sign up for a 10k in May that is held every year (Several months away.) This will give me time to regain my strength and my endurance. (Most likely what I should have done.) Instead I signed up for Hope Continues 5k to support breast cancer awareness that was scheduled two weeks away. Perfect. The night shift Aimee who signs up for these races is different. She is not the same Aimee who has to run them on race day. I knew when I signed up for this race, I would be working the night before it. I also knew I would be working again the night of the race, though I have done this many times before and knew it was manageable. Not smart in any sort of the sense, but manageable.

The morning of the race I was exhausted from work. I had worked all night, the day before I didn’t sleep well due to the fact my son is still frequenting breastfeeding. He does not go to daycare and is with me on the days I work. During my work week consistent sleep is not a thing. This set up works for our family, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s just a challenge that I work with, and have come to know. I arrive to the race. I watch the tents get set up. The racers in their pink gear gathering in the park near the starting line. You can tell who takes their running hobby seriously by the type of shoes and gear worn. Who is doing warm up exercises, several of them taking laps around the block. Runners don’t come to play even in a local charity 5k. My head is begging me to lay back and close my eyes, but I knew that would be a mistake. So, I sit in silencing and eat my pre-run graham cracker. Helpful tidbit; don’t run fasted. You will struggle, feel heavy, and sluggish. Give yourself some energy-EAT something! I am a firm believer you should never run on an empty stomach.

The race begins and we are off. I start out strong with a 9:50 pace. I hadn’t made it to the first mile when I found myself repeating “I can do hard things.” and “Just don’t stop moving.” I knew running these 3.1 miles this morning wasn’t going to be easy, because I hadn’t consistency run in over a year. This was my first race back. Did I really think that I would PR? With my delusional brain, maybe. I joked with my husband and coworkers about winning in my age group. Secretly thinking “It’s a local race. Small. It’s possible.” Running that first mile quickly humbled me. My expectations of this race, and my goals quickly shifted. Runners of all types began to pass me as I struggled to hold my 10:45 pace. I didn’t quit though I just kept looking ahead and putting one foot in front of the other.

At the last curve a young girl sprints of head of me, joy on her face as she turns around smiles back at her mother. I remember in this moment that running is such a joy. Anyone who is a runner will tell you that. Others may find us strange, but the ones who get it, get it. It’s so much more than a just a hobby. I push myself to pick up my knees to finish strong. I see the finish time clock 33:00. I will finish in this minute.

Overall, the energy of the race was unmatched. Breast cancer survivors lined the streets, ran or walked alongside of me. Mothers, daughters, sisters ran in support of the women affected by breast cancer. Lost loved ones were remembered. Survivors were celebrated. It was an amazing race to run. I stepped back into the running world to find myself again as a runner.

Everyday women are being diagnosis with breast cancer and starting their fight. Early prevention and detection is key to survival. To learn more about breast cancer or if you want to donate to support breast cancer research visit: https://www.komen.org/

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To donate to support me running the Chicago Marathon for St. Jude. Click the link below!

http://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/Aimee_Runs

Why I Choose Charity Running for St. Jude

Why I Choose Charity Running for St. Jude

by Aimee Settlemires ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

It’s the morning of my first half marathon. I dress quietly in a dark hotel room. Lacing up my sneakers, I eat a cold pop tart. I should have packed my toaster. My husband holds my hands in the back of the Uber as we ride silently to downtown Memphis. I’m nervous. I stare aimless out the window at the passing buildings. My only focus is making it to the starting line. Missing the start of the race has been one of the many fears I’ve had during marathon training. It’s still dark out. Only street lights and buildings light our way. The sun hasn’t risen yet, but downtown Memphis is buzzing with race day festivities. People of all ages dressed in brightly colored attire. You can distinguish a support person from a runner by looking at the types of shoes they are wearing. After weeks of training, St. Jude Marathon weekend is finally here.

Thousands of runners gather to run a marathon, half marathon, 10k, or 5k, all in support of St. Jude Children’s hospital. The course takes me through downtown Memphis, past historic landmarks, right through the campus of St. Jude Hospital. Spectators waiting along the way have so much energy I can’t help but smile from the start. I try to read every sign, high-five as many people as I can, and just soak in the race. It’s obvious that this weekend is a much-loved event in Memphis. The city shows up and shows out.

When I reach the St. Jude Hospital campus my breath hitches in my chest. Patients and families are lined up. Children of all ages are wrapped in blankets. They stand, sit in wheelchairs, or are held in their parents’ arms. They smile wide at me. This race is for them. I am running for them. They are out here to see me. My heart just wants to explode. I slow my pace and give high five and hugs. I shed tears behind my sunglasses. This isn’t just any other run. It means so much more.

There is some criticism with entering the World Major Marathons with a charity bib. Why? Some feel that charity runners have not earned their spot because they didn’t meet the qualifying cut-off times. They feel these runners are not “real” runners, at least not “marathon quality” runners. I like to believe that it’s a small group of people who feel like this. I have found the running community as a whole to be welcoming and supportive. They welcome everyone no matter what their distance or pace is. Besides, 26.2 miles is still 26.2 miles no matter if you run it in 3 hours or in 6 hours. It’s still a long way to run.

I knew I would never meet the qualifying times for a World Major Marathon. My average pace is around 11:00-11:30 minutes per mile. The fastest pace I can sustain for about 6 miles is around 9:30/mile. It took me 5:30:13 to run my first marathon. I knew the only way I could enter a major marathon was by raising money for charity. The alternative was relying on the lottery.

The first time I ran for St. Jude Children’s Hospital was in December 2022. I chose to raise money for the half marathon in Memphis. It holds a special place in my heart. I don’t reside far from Memphis, and St. Jude has a pretty phenomenal reputation. I was in nursing school when I first toured their facility. I was blown away by their approach in caring for children. I walked away a changed person that day and decided I would like to work there. After I graduated nursing school and started working, I realized quickly that my passion was in critical care nursing. It takes a special person to be able to work with children, and I knew my limits. My heart just couldn’t handle it. Still, my love for St. Jude didn’t change. It only shifted. If I couldn’t work there I would support them through donations.

St. Jude is dedicated to treating children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. They are leading the way in childhood cancer research. Families never receive a bill for treatment, travel, food, or housing. Since opening in 1962, St. Jude has pushed the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% within the U.S. Donations help aid in cutting-edge treatment not covered by medical insurances. It’s a special place that is changing lives everyday. While I might not have a personal story of how St. Jude changed my life, I am a mom. A mom that knows when your child is sick nothing in this world matters until they are better. Every child deserves to be healthy, every child deserves a fighting chance. I choose to run for St. Jude to raise donations and to spread awareness. So I might be able to give just one child that chance.

In the words of St. Jude’s founder Danny Thomas, “No child should die in the dawn of life.”

First half marathon 2022

To donate on my behalf for St. Jude click the link below:

http://fundraising.stjude.org/goto/Aimee_Runs

To learn more about St. Jude and their mission to save children visit:

https://www.stjude.org