12in12 update May/June

I can’t say my 12in12challenge is going very successfully anymore.

Last month was to unplug by 9. Very unrealistic goal. I made 10 most nights, but did allow myself a couple of freebies when I stayed connected later.

Here we are halfway through June and my 12in12 challenge hasn’t even been declared here! Obviously it is not to update my blog daily!

Meditation was my pick for this month, similar to mindfulness but not the same. It worked well for the first few days, now I need to reboot. Let’s see how the rest of June goes!

If you don’t know what the 12in12 challenge is all about, you can start with my blog entry here: 12in12challenge

Support my girlies and I at Team Diabetes Bluenose 2012

http://picasaweb.google.ca/McCourt.Muise/TeamDiabetes?feat=directlink

Thanks to everyone who helped us reach our minimum goal! We are still fundraising and would appreciate your support!

 

Once again I have joined Team Diabetes, a team of people from across Canada who will be crossing the finish line together and who have raised funds to support the more than 9 million Canadians living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. I will be on the course of the 2012 Blue Nose Marathon (Local). This is not a travel event, so administrative costs are very low, allowing more of the fundraising dollars to go to research and support.

This year, not only did my oldest daughter (who will be eleven on the race course this year) decide to run again, but her 8 year old sister has decided to join in as well! They are both dedicated to supporting the cause of diabetes research and support because of their Auntie Dana who was diagnosed Type 1 five years ago at the age of 30. Please help us to support people like my sister who suffer numerous health complications due to Diabetes. You can read my sister’s story here: Why I Run for Team Diabetes.

You can read about my 2010 Bluenose 10K here; and mine & Breanna’s 2011 5K here.

It takes dedication to be part of Team Diabetes, but we are committed to making a big difference in our lives, and in the fight against type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

One of the greatest contributions of the Canadian Diabetes Association is toward outstanding Canadian research. But that is not all the Association does – it runs camps for young people with diabetes and provides education and special services to people affected by diabetes in communities across Canada.

As we participate in this event, you will be with us in spirit and your support will help us be strong all the way to the finish line. A donation for each kilometre is suggested, but whatever you can contribute matters – it all adds up!

Our goal is to raise a minimum of $350 each ($1050 total) by mid-March and continue to raise additional funds until race day!

If you want to support our mission, please click the following link(s):

Pledge Trish

Pledge Breanna

Pledge Payten

Thank you so much for your generosity!

Trish, Breanna & Payten

12 in 12 Month 5 Unplug by 9

I practised mindfulness for April, somewhat unsuccessfully.  It seems I didn’t even manage to make a blog post indicating that was my challenge for the month.

This month my challenge will be to unplug by 9pm everyday.

My hubby will be very happy to hear this one.

Hopefully it will help me get my sleep cycle back on track too.

The hardest part about that will be that girlies’ bedtimes on week nights are 8pm & 8:30pm respectively. That doesn’t leave a lot of time for last minute checkins, etc. The second hardest part will be reading – I have three books on the go that are all ebooks. Not that I don’t have plenty of hard copy books to pick up after unplugging. 😉
*The only exception will be for a couple of work meetings that I have no choice but to do after 10pm because all of my counterparts live in earlier timezones than I.

I drove all the way to Florida to start running again! ;)

Sometimes it truly takes the right time and place, nothing more.

I have been trying to get motivated to start running again for two months. Over the couple of years, after a lot of challenging circumstances I’d begun to feel as if every time I started on my plan it would be interrupted. I was hesitating big time, with this nagging at the back of my brain. However, I also realized that running has been my saving grace, a therapy so-to-speak, and do I need a saviour right now!

My pain is beginning to improve marginally, but I know that I need to become active again to feel my best, it’s a difficult situation to find yourself in when chronic pain prevents you from doing what makes you feel best.

I often find that embarking on new routines in life are the best time to implement new activities that I want to become routine. This is a time of big change for me, as I move into working-from-home-business-owner, from part-time employee.

While on a semi (mostly) vacation in the sunshine state, I decided to try to bringing running back into my life. I love to run and I hoped that the relaxed (non-existent) schedule and the weather would help to alleviate the stress and the chronic pain. And with this in mind I would cautiously re-introduce an activity I love!

I have also reintroduced some other activities but they contribute to the relaxed state more than anything: a daily swim in the park’s bathwater warm pool, and a soak in the hot-tub.

On my first full day in Florida, after a very long and eventful (read: frustrated with car problems and 2.5 days in delays) road-trip from Nova Scotia, I was stiff and sore, but determined to get out for a run anyway. I set a very relaxed goal of 20-30 minutes at whatever pace felt comfortable, with the caveat that increased pain would shorten the run without guilt.

I managed a very respectable 25 minutes before a sharp pain in my neck/shoulder (my biggest problem area) indicated it was time to stop.

From Feb 27, 2012


I know I need to be very conservative with my goals so I decided I would run every second day IF I felt like I was up to it. Day 2 in Florida, I woke up thinking how incredibly easy it was to run for the first time after 6 months, and how incredibly sore I could feel as a result! I went for a long walk with dad and his dog.

Today was day 3. I managed to get out the door a fair bit earlier (I did have this ambitious idea before arriving at our destination that I’d roll out of bed as soon as I awoke and head straight out the door – that so far has not come to fruition). I ran for 30 mins (which was my goal) without pain! This is huge. I know it doesn’t sound huge, but This Is HUGE!

I’m not sure exactly what needs to happen to keep this up, so I’m going to be cautious. A run every other day for 30 mins, or until pain increases. With an extra rest day once/week (whenever my body tells me that needs to be)… UNTIL I feel confident I am ready to bump things up. Then? We’ll see what comes next – when the time comes.

What works for you when trying to get back into an activity that you love but has been presenting you with challenges?

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Drop me a note in the comments below, or connect with me on Twitter @ceilidhontherun, email me at ceilidho at ceilidhontherun dot com, or use my contact form!

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Wishing to be a former self?

Do you have those days when you wish you were your former self in some way? 5 years ago, and 20 lbs lighter a guy once commented on how lean I was. Ya, that kind of wish.

People don’t always believe me when I say it, but it’s true. I am about 20 lbs/9 kg over my optimal weight. Of course once I give the actual weight a number, then it seems plausible. I weigh 80kg/176lbs. I am 5’10” and my weight seems pretty evenly dispersed which is likely why I don’t appear to have any weight to lose.

At the time that I met this guy, I was physically fit, better than I had been in a decade, but I was also coming off of a very negative split with my ex-husband during which time I threw myself into training for a half-marathon for the first time ever … as a way of coping with my stress. The stress effects my appetite and I likely also lost some of the extra weight I’d been carrying around simply because I wasn’t eating well, and because that’s what my body seems to do when I’m stressed.

Since my pain has gotten worse and my stresses have increased again I haven’t been very active. While I’d like to be that 20-lb-lighter-self, what I really want is to be that trained-for-a-half-marathon-self.

This goal is part of my one year plan. Feeling vibrant and healthy again! Training for events that motivate me. And let’s face it, having an attractive man I don’t really know tell me how lean I am wouldn’t be the worst thing either. 😉

Do you have a plan? I’d love to hear about your goals!

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Drop me a note in the comments below, or connect with me on Twitter @ceilidhontherun, email me at ceilidho at ceilidhontherun dot com, or use my contact form!

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Raising funds & donating hair in loving memory of Nanny – my 8 yr old

*Please visit her Giving Page to make a donation

At eight and ten years my children are extraordinarily compassionate for their ages.

Our household has supported a lot of campaigns at their wish. When the fundraising info is distributed at school they take the issues at heart very seriously. We have and continue to participate in raising funds for Terry Fox Foundation, UNICEF, and the food banks. They have completely jumped on my bandwagon with Team Diabetes in their Auntie’s honor. And now, my youngest has another campaign that she is very passionate about.

For more than two years she has been growing her hair to donate for a wig for someone who has cancer. When her Nanny passed away two months ago she became all the more determined that she do so. Her hair is long enough for the donation and so she has decided to use this opportunity to raise funds for an organization that helps women with cancer.

Her Nanny did not live long enough after her diagnosis to benefit from such a great organization, but Payten believes they do wonderful things for those going through such difficult times. She has arranged with the Look Good Feel Better campaign (CCTFA Foundation) to fundraise on their behalf in my mom Dawn McCourt‘s memory. You can learn more about them at their webpage.

Payten’s hair will be donated to Tamara Wig, another campaign of the CCTFA Foundation, after she meets her minimum goal of $500.

I think she is capable of raising much more, and I hope you’ll help me show her!


Please visit her Giving Page to make a donation, and please share this message with as many people as you can. Help my 8-year-old fulfill her dream in her Nanny’s memory!


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Drop me a note in the comments below, or connect with me on Twitter @ceilidhontherun, email me at ceilidho at ceilidhontherun dot com, or use my contact form!

I invite you to subscribe to my blog using one of the options available on my page (email, rss, Google Connect, like my page on Facebook, etc.)

If you enjoyed this post, please do like/share it. You can do so using the easy share button below!

2012: 4 weeks gone by! #12er (12in12 challenge) – Day 28

I want to provide a little update on some personal items.

From 2012-01-27

My core values for my life [Joy Equation]

For those who don’t know me outside of this little blogosphere, and for some who do, you may not realize that I have been off work, since before my mother’s passing, on sickness leave. I have a chronic pain condition called fibromyalgia. I blogged about it here before, but the general idea is that it’s a disease effecting soft tissue that causes moderate to debilitating pain, depending on many factors. Stress is a huge trigger for pain flare-ups, and things only got worse before they started to get better. It’s been a real battle for me over the past year.

I’ve been working hard at a number of things that I hope will help me get back to a healthy state of being. Most of these activities are things anyone could and likely should do to simply live a better life without regret. Mom taught me that this really is the most important thing to keep in mind in life. Will I regret this one day?

So, the main projects I have been working on towards change in my life are getting back into a regular routine of physical activity, trying to find a healthy way of grieving, bringing more joy into my life, appreciating all of the great things that I have in my life, learning new and better ways of being, and making small accomplishments towards bigger achievements. I’m trying to live each day like it’s my last.

We just never do know.

I signed up for a few challenges this year that I hoped would provide me with some motivation. So far it has worked.

The two big things I am accomplishing right now:

I am nearing the end of a successful first month of the 12in12 challenge, for which my goal in January was to walk 30 mins./day.

I have also been taking a class offered by Molly Mahar about bring more joy into your life. I am completing all of the exercises and really loving the introspection involved. I am going to confidently move forward in my life this year making big happy changes!

The biggest change will likely be one I just made official today. I am starting my own business, which will launch in March. As soon as I have a website to share, I’ll pass it along and fill everyone in! 🙂

So that’s my 4 week update. I’d love to hear yours!

Drop me a note in the comments below, or connect with me on Twitter @ceilidhontherun, email me at ceilidho at ceilidhontherun dot com, or use my contact form!

I invite you to subscribe to my blog using one of the options available on my page (email, rss, Google Connect, like my page on Facebook, etc.)

If you enjoyed this post, please do like/share it. You can do so using the easy share button below!

Team Diabetes Bluenose: me & my girlies

Once again I have joined Team Diabetes, a team of people from across Canada who will be crossing the finish line together and who have raised funds to support the more than 9 million Canadians living with diabetes or pre-diabetes. I will be on the course of the 2012 Blue Nose Marathon (Local). This is not a travel event, so administrative costs are very low, hopefully allowing more of the fundraising dollars to go to research and support.

This year, not only did my oldest daughter (who will be eleven on the race course this year) decide to run again, but her 8 year old sister has decided to join in as well! They are both dedicated to supporting the cause of diabetes research and support because of their Auntie Dana who was diagnosed Type 1 five years ago at the age of 30. Please help us to support people like my sister who and suffer numerous health complications due to Diabetes. You can read my sister’s story here: Why I Run for Team Diabetes.

You can read about my 2010 Bluenose 10K here; and mine & Breanna’s 2011 5K here.

It takes dedication to be part of Team Diabetes, but we are committed to making a big difference in our lives, and in the fight against type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

One of the greatest contributions of the Canadian Diabetes Association is toward outstanding Canadian research. But that is not all the Association does – it runs camps for young people with diabetes and provides education and special services to people affected by diabetes in communities across Canada.

As we participate in this event, you will be with us in spirit and your support will help us be strong all the way to the finish line. A donation for each kilometre is suggested, but whatever you can contribute matters – it all adds up!

Our goal is to raise a minimum of $350 each ($1050 total) by mid-March and continue to raise additional funds until race day!

If you want to support our mission, please click the following link(s):

Pledge Trish

Pledge Breanna

Pledge Payten

Thank you so much for your generosity!

Trish, Breanna & Payten

12in12, Day 8. OR It hurts so … good?

This weekend was a real mixed bag, so to speak. Much like with the Nova Scotia weather and its frequent changes there were just so many different emotions flying around that I think my system has gone into overdrive or perhaps is actually beginning to force some sort of a shut down.

It went from a very positive explorative interview regarding a business opportunity, to highly emotionally charged confrontation, to worrying about loved ones, to successfully meeting challenge without prodding, to a sense of foreboding, to helplessness and loss, to feelings of unconditional love and support, to relaxation, to productivity, to progress, to physical pain and exhaustion, to … on and on, it seemed.

The highlights, the positive events that I wish to focus and report on, begin here.

Today begins week 2 of the 12in12 challenge. I have successfully met the daily challenge so far. On days 5 and 6 I had to get a little creative and fit my walks in around momstaxi services.

Day 7 I got a much needed break, after arriving at dad’s emotionally spent, and took his dog for a walk in the dark. We grabbed a flashlight and headed down to the wharf first where the water was calling me as it softly washed onto the beach. I was reluctant to move on after seeing that the Christmas tree always erected by Santa’s helpers at the end of the wharf had gone up again this year (after a couple of winters that mom and dad had spent away at Christmastime). I could feel mom’s presence right there with me telling me how fortunate they were to have such loving neighbors who remembered and continued the tradition again, for dad. And so a few tears flowed as I walked back up the path and continued along the road past my parents’ home until I could hear the ocean calmly lapping on the shore again as I was once again following the water’s edge. The fog wrapped a blanket around me, secure and cocooning as I needed, and I felt the serenity of the place my parents have made home for the last decade.

After returning to the house we had a nice spaghetti dinner with dad and my girlies, relaxed by the fire, tucked the girlies into bed, had a long chat, and then I had a soak in the hot tub. There is nothing like a tranquil soak on the deck overlooking the silent cove. The fog was so heavy I couldn’t see much of the water, but I knew it was there, absorbing all of my troubles for those moments.

I pictured mom sitting with me as she would have done chatting away filling every silent void with thoughts and expressions of her love of life and all it once offered her. Dad and I both retired to bed after watching the last end of a semi-final curling game. And I slept like I haven’t slept in many, many weeks.

Today, Day 8, youngest girly asked if we could go for a walk. I suggested she invite Grampy, and that maybe we all could go. After lunch we did just that. We carried out some long-held traditions the girlies had with their Nanny and Grampy. It gave them peace to know these things did not have to stop happening even though Nanny was no longer with us to share them. In fact, she was very much with us as her granddaughters chose treasures from their beachcombing that remind them of Nanny and will be used in creations to aid in that for much time to come.

After returning home I felt agitated and couldn’t shake the hurting. As a distraction while the girls were still up and I needed to hold it together, I worked on some new challenges to assist with my 12in12 reading commitment for later in the year. I took the #50bookpledge and signed up for the To Be Read 2012 Challenge.

Once the girlies were tucked into bed, the sadness just rolled over me and I let myself just be – however I needed to be – for a few minutes. I sought out a little comforting and then sat down to write this post.

Tomorrow is another day. Day 9 of the first month of #12in12, just 21 more to go!

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Drop me a note in the comments below, or connect with me on Twitter @ceilidhontherun, email me at ceilidho at ceilidhontherun dot com, or use my contact form!

I invite you to subscribe to my blog using one of the options available on my page (email, rss, Google Connect, Facebook fanpage, etc.)

If you enjoyed this post, please do share it. You can do so using the easy share button below!

12 in 12, Month 1 Day 4, OR “2×15 = 30”

Sometimes you just do what it takes to make things happen. If your commitments are important enough to you, you realize that it is all about choices, taking control of you life in whatever small way necessary and making it work.

Yesterday I had two medical appointments and obligations to fill as Moms Taxi, in addition to new furniture arriving and belongings needing to be re-organized back up off of the floor. So the likelihood of my fitting in a 30 minute walk were slim. However, 15 + 15 = 30, so how about two short walks? I set the rules here, and this is what works for me. So I park 15+ minutes walk from one appointment and walk to and from the car to the office. Walking… done!

What do you do to fit in those important, but all to often pushed to the back-burner activities?

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Drop me a note in the comments below, or connect with me on Twitter @ceilidhontherun, email me at ceilidho at ceilidhontherun dot com, or use my contact form!

I invite you to subscribe to my blog using one of the options available on my page (email, rss, Google Connect, Facebook fanpage, etc.)

If you enjoyed this post, please do share it. You can do so using the easy share button below!