I would call myself an optimist/realist; I would call my husband a pessimist. He tends to think of all the things that can go wrong and assume that they will. I acknowledge that things can go wrong and I don’t stick my head in the ground, but I assume that things will go right more often than not.
Helen Keller is so very right in the quote above. Our thoughts are powerful. Yes, things can and do go wrong even when we have positive thoughts, but with being positive, optimistic, and confident, we are just stacking the odds in our favor, and we can, indeed, achieve great things.
There’s lots of research that says we slow down as we get older. They do say that an adult onset runner, such as myself, can expect to see improvement for some amount of years before the inevitable slowdown.
This will be my fifth year of running half marathons — seriously, how did that happen? And I remain convinced that I have faster halfs ahead of me.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
–Martin Luther King, Jr.
There’s a little bit of synchronicity going on in my world right now, too, because this week’s Weight Watchers subject is all about turning our negative thoughts into positive ones.
I continue to struggle with losing those last 5 pounds. I had a friend tell me maybe I should just forget about them (they’re known as vanity pounds for a reason). Except I am confident I will do it. Some day. Some year. And I believe that it’s still a worthwhile, healthy goal for me.
I won’t starve myself or cleanse myself, but I will continue to tinker with my healthy eating plan (which I like to call the Judy plan, which allows for chocolate and nut butter on a regular basis) until I find the right way of eating that lets me stay at a healthy weight.
I chose not to do the VA Beach half this year, despite the mild winter we’re having. It’s still the half I want to run in VA, especially as I have a runner friend who lives there. This year, even though I would have loved to get away during the winter, I realized that I had been through too much stress the second half of 2015 and training through the winter — even a mild one — was one stressor I just didn’t need.
I hope that when I choose to do VA Beach, the weather cooperates. I have faith that a flatter half will help me achieve a faster half. I am confident that I will enjoy finding out if flatter = faster, too!
What do you feel optimism for right now?
I love that Helen Keller quote!
I think I am an optimistic/ realist too. I am a planner so I usually think my planning will equates to things working out as they should (or how I planned-lol)
Which VA beach half-Shamrock? I think I want to add that as my half for next year…we will see.
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Yes, Shamrock. Right now it’s on my list for next year. Too bad, actually, as conditions would have been good to train for it this year and who knows what we’ll get hit with next year!
Part of the decision was that I could sign up much earlier & save some money, since it’s not exactly a cheap one.
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Saving money- good plan!
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I didn’t realize it was so expensive!
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Well, right now it’s $105 I think; if I’d signed up months ago it would’ve been $85 I think.
Still not the most expensive half I’ve done, but most of the ones I’ve been doing lately have been small and more like $40-60.
Then there’s travel, hotel, etc.
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I’m an optimist and I’ve been running faster, but I do believe that I’m at my peak…hot flashes are kicking in. Stay tuned, because I’m heading into uncharted waters here…
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Maybe if you were as slow as me you could continue to have faith that you could continue to improve? 😉
I do get hot flashes, on & off, but they tend to be extremely mild. I just get warm and occasionally break a light sweat.
I can go weeks without any, too.
Who knows? I also haven’t had a period since July, although there was some spotting in like November I think it was. I’ll be 54 in just a couple of weeks, so yes, I’m still going to be at least 55 when I’m postmenopausal (and my mom was 56).
If this is your peak, Wendy, I’d be happy to have your times (which is never going to happen, but hey, they’d make me ecstatic).
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What a positive post Judy! I loved this, I do whole-heartedly believe positivity is contagious and while we may not be able to change the outcome of something we can change how it affects us. I also believe for example those who think they are going to get sick, usually end up sick from something. I use sickness because yesterday all of a sudden I felt a sore throat coming on, body aches, chills… I thought Oh no I’m not getting sick am I? I took some cold remedy, extra hydration, and a nice bath then I got home and I feel much much better today. I just didn’t want to believe I’d get sick. Chalk it up to what you wish but even if it had turned out the same, had I gave up and did nothing I’d feel bad just from that! Have a great day Judy!
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Glad that the cold didn’t take hold!
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I like the Judy plan….nut butter and chocolate are essentials.
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What’s not to like, right?
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I think I am basically an optimist. I go out there and run…no matter how cold it is. I know it won’t kill me.
I run half marathons and as many a year as I can safely stay uninjured and run.
As far as improving my speed…there I’m not so optimistic. I think I am a realist here. I doubt I will get faster – I too am in my 5th year of running 13.1. Flat or hilly doesn’t seem to matter. I’ve been faster on my hilliest. (my last and slow one was the flattest). I think it depends on the day…the weather…who knows what.
But even if I never get faster, I am ok with it. At least I am able to run. And I will always try to get better no matter even if the odds are against it.
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Of course there’s a lot that goes into whether or not you have a good race.
What can I say, until proven otherwise, there I remain an eternal optimist, believing I can get faster.
It’s not like I’m aiming to be fast, anyway. I’d just like to be average!
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They say if “You think you can, then you will.” So you will.
And you are getting faster in the halfs. You just PRed, right?
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I still believe I have a faster half time in me. But I’m not expecting it for the next one, actually. I was just thinking about that on my run today!
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Oh I love the Judy plan! I am not running the VA Beach half either! Here’s to a stress free winter!
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I do hope to run VA Beach next year, but that’s a long way away!
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You will totally improve on your half marathons…not only faster, and also stronger with each one you run. Myself, I have kind of plateaued…but I also have done 26 (?) half marathons, and some other longer races in there, so my training has been all over the place. My “plateaued” speed, though, is faster then it was when I started, and I can now run 13.1 miles without much training, so I have no complaints 😉
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Yeah, for me, 13.1 always requires training! I’ve only done 11 half a so far.
Maybe I’ll get faster, maybe I won’t, but it won’t be for lack of trying.
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I love the positivity of this post. Keep up the great work, and I think you’ll achieve your goals! My year has started out slightly rocky, but I am optimistic I will get through 2016, somehow! 🙂
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My running has been good, but the year didn’t start well. Or more like 2015 didn’t end well.
Onwards & upwards!
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Amen, Judy!!
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I like that, about adult-onset runners seeing improvement for years before they slow down! That gives me a lot of hope! I’m the eternal optimist in my family as well… I just refuse to be negative. There’s no point in it! (Makes me think of the Monty Python song, always look on the bright side of life, lol)
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Speaking of nut butter, have you tried the Nature Valley nut butter sandwiches? Yummy. My husbands always thinks something will go wrong. In some ways, I think it’s a coping mechanism for disappointment. If you think the worst, and it happens — no letdown. He’d hate I’m psychoanalyzing him! HA HA. I DO think you have faster times ahead. Me too! Let’s be optimistic!
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No, I haven’t seen nature valley. Don’t tempt me!
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with thinking something could go wrong (preparedness), but expecting it will?
Not for me! It’s a self fulfilling prophecy!
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I’m optimistic that I will figure out a place to run outside this weekend! So, is it the Shamrock Half you’re not doing? I think there’s another Va Beach Half Labor Day weekend, but that can be too hot for me.
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Yes, Shamrock.
No, Labor Day in VA would probably kill me. Definitely too hot. I don’t like hot races!
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Great post, Judy! I think runners are usually optimistic and positive people, which leads to the question, does running make you optimistic or are optimistic people more likely to pick up running?
Thanks for linking up!
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P.S. I’m definitely on the slowing down slop. Last year I chased my 2014 5K times and couldn’t come near…
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Make that “slope.” 😀
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That doesn’t mean your PR years are over, though — we do have off years, for sure, for whatever reason.
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Interesting question, Debbie! Maybe a combination of both?
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I think when we are positive about things we handle things better when they do go wrong. My husband also tends to be more of a pessimist, and he is much quicker to anger or get frustrated when something goes amiss than I am. We are a good balance, though. He has the ability to fix things (like when something goes wrong with the camper while we are on a trip) and I keep him grounded and remind him of that 🙂
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I think most men, in general, are more impatient, more pessimistic, and quicker to anger.
Or is that just married men? 😉
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