A Running Mom

Photo Credit: http://iTwixie.com

This year has brought many incredible people into my life! This girl is a great example these kinds of people, and what they mean to me, my business and what the greater message should be to us all.

I met this girl at the Pittsburgh Kids Marathon One Mile Fun Run this year. iTwixie.com was a sponsor, so a team of us attended the event and offered all kids the chance to make friendship bracelets, compete for iTwixie t-shirts and Maddie Georgi cds (Maddie Georgi is the singer/songwriter of iTwixie’s theme song, “Go!”). After the kids finished the race, many stopped by to see what was going on at our booth.

This girl stopped by, hoola-hooped to win an iTwixie t-shirt, smiled for a few pictures and asked about iTwixie. I told her how iTwixie.com was the only site on the web that really is all about real tween girls like her, who are smart, savvy, athletic and curious about all kinds of stuff.

She and I had a great chat, because it turns out, she just started running last year and quickly learned that she was pretty fast. In fact, she kept running and now is one of the top ten fastest runners in her age group in the USA.

Pretty incredible, yes?

Isn’t she beautiful?

We’re celebrating our 1st birthday right now on iTwixie. We’ve met girls like this incredible runner all year long, who continue to amaze us with their incredible strength, positive attitude and real interest in reaching out to other girls like them. Companies around the globe are trying to teach these beautiful girls that they need make-up, sexy clothing and boys to know that they are beautiful.

At  iTwixie.com, we recognize the true beauty in each and every tween girl right now!  Whether she climbs trees, plays a sport, loves science, technology, engineering, math (STEM), literature, fashion, design, singing, acting, dressing up or dressing down, she is beautiful! Won’t you applaud your tween girl for being the real girl that she is today? Tell her she is smart, savvy, funny, cool, kooky, crazy, fun or courageous! And tell her all of those things make her beautiful!

Let’s stop pushing our girls away from embracing these incredible tween years! Let’s STOP encouraging them to wear make-up, pluck their eyebrows, wear skimpy clothing, worry about boys or what they look like! Let’s stop criticizing their “shape” at a time when their bodies are changing more rapidly than any other time in their lives! Let’s embrace them as the morphing beings they are! Won’t you simply embrace her as she is?

Let’s celebrate our tween girls and spark a revolution in this world to join us and cheer them on! Won’t you and your family join the iTwixie.com revolution?

One of the families that stopped by to talk to us at the Pittsburgh Kids Marathon One Mile Fun Run, shared their fun routine of running 1 mile, 3 times a week, together as a family. How fun! The kids were 5, 7 and 9. These kids, 2 girls and a little boy, looked at me, proud, steadfast as true champions, with medals hanging from their necks, a goody bag full of fun stuff, and an iTwixie t-shirt in their hands from winning one of the iTwixie challenges. Priceless, right? Better than taking them to a movie perhaps? Certainly better than hanging out at the mall all day or hitting a fast food joint, wouldn’t you agree?

It was a wonderful day!

The Pittsburgh Kids Marathon One Mile Fun Run is like many races throughout the world that bring families and kids together to celebrate family, fun and fitness. Won’t you find a race like it and run with your family soon? We’d love to hear about it!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: Umschauen

Have you had enough of the ground hog, too?  Then join the prairie dog craze!  Celebrate prairie dog day and help the world understand how important and special this little creature is… cheers!

Too Cute! Happy Prairie Dog Day! http://bit.ly/cBMKDD

Now, off to run 5 miles.  How many miles are you running today?

May your next run be a good one.  Rebecca

Photo Credit: Brian Gudas Photography

Tip 10: Challenge Yourself
Duh, right?
Wrong.

This is the most important, and yet illusive, tip of all! Just like this picture, our challenges are hidden; like ghosts; blurry; undefined. That’s because, depending where you are in your training, your recovery, your bad habits, your good habits, each of us face a very different challenge week to week. And yet, that one challenging thing can become the very thing that trips you up! You may have stopped challenging yourself!

Think about it! Consider me: I was training for the Chicago Marathon. I was in terrific shape — planning my runs, making them fun, getting up in the morning — and then BAM! My knee kept swelling and I couldn’t dedicate myself to physical therapy and I had to bail. Is this where I was tripped up? Well, no, not really, because I had to rest and come to terms with my injury.

Here’s the part that tripped me up: so I’m good to go now. Maybe I ought to take it easy for a while before I begin training for a big run again, but I am healthy to start running again. I have been for a while. Why haven’t I been running? Well, let me see, well, I did run one day. So I guess I was kinda running. Kind of. Sorta. You know, a run here and there and then, well, I was tired so I didn’t run one day and then… TRIP! Here’s where I was tripped up! I wasn’t challenging myself.

You may be doing the same thing right now, but it’s because you’ve accomplished a goal and so now you’re thinking, so what now? Right?

Take this last tip to heart. Challenge yourself. How do you do this?

Figure out the one thing that makes you a bit butterfly-in-the-tummy right now about running. Is it a specific run? The post-run ache? The need to cross-train? Are you putting off pilates, which could help you balance your muscle tone, and therefore are about to stop running, too? Are you just out of shape and get nervous about running a mile? 2 miles? Or are you comfortable at 4 miles and are simply bored out of your mind?

What is it for you? Once you figure that out, the answer will be easy. Do that one thing!

Me? It was my fave 5-mile run. Since I had stopped running and stopped my routine, I then got into that funny place where I knew that run would be a challenge for me. That psyched me out, because this is my fave run! My no-brainer run! And I felt a bit nervous about running it. See?

So, this weekend I took it on. I ran it. I enjoyed it. I felt a bit nervous at the beginning, and I had to push myself a bit. But I did it! Boy have I been sore this week! I even added a huge hill at the end to really crank up the soreness I’d feel. Ha-hah!

I feel incredible. I know I won’t be this sore next time I run. I challenged myself and now I’m off to plan a few more challenging runs to get me back into my routine. I’m back!

Won’t you join me?

I hope these tips have been helpful. I wish you fitness, fun and fabulous runs. Get out there and get running! On your terms! On your behalf! And know I’m cheering you on! Will you cheer for me?

May your next run be a great one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: Now I’m Always Smiling

Tip 3: Unclench The Claw!

This sounds freaky, but it’s really true. I bet you are just like me in this way, too. Having a run hanging over your head can stress you out, can’t it? It can for me. Just knowing that I want to run 4 times this week, and really get in nice, meaningful runs, can cause a bit of a pang in my stomach, and a clench in my hands. I somehow develop the, you guessed it, CLAW!  (Now, this isn’t to be confused with the Mommy Monster Claw that I use to chase my kids around the house, just like I always stop them from doing on their own, with my hands in the air poised to tickle them into fits of giggles.) This tension-filled, OMG I-have-to-run-and-get-this-over-with-Claw is more of a symptom of the wrong attitude I sometimes fall into regarding my running altogether.  Stressing about getting the run “in” is in direct conflict with the peace and tranquility one is meant to find from the run itself. Is this true for you, too?

In many ways, getting into a better running routine for me comes down to a few basic things. It’s not really all about being goal-oriented or serious about running or needing to train or get into shape. For me, sometimes, it’s simply about chilling out and remembering that at the end of any given day, I am a happier me if I go for a run. I’m a better me once I’ve finished a run. I listen better. I laugh easier. I’m more patient. I have better ideas. I can stay awake later. I can even wake up in the morning quicker! And all I have to do is run to have all these benefits! So what’s with The Claw?

Unclench The Claw. Chill. Take a deep breath. Enjoy the idea that you are going to be a better you after you run. And then, tada! You will go and put on those shoes and hit the road. Done deal.

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Tip Two: Finish strong. When you finish a run, do you sometimes feel so exhausted that by the end you’re just happy to be done running? Does your pace become an afterthought because you feel so exhausted? Then this tip is definately for you. Try visualizing a finish line, like this one, and quicken your stride. It doesn’t matter if you finish at any certain pace. What matters more is that you feel like you’re giving an extra effort for that last quarter of a mile to the finish. Why? This is where you can build your endurance, gain greater speed and psychologically overcome the feeling of exhaustion. By finishing strong, you actually push through the toughest part of the run with intensity, thereby allowing yourself to bring more intensity to your next run. Best part of this trick is that once you’ve finished the run, you can feel certain that the next time you run you won’t feel that tired. You’ll have made yourself just a little stronger, confident and fit.

Yesterday, my friend and I ran together and as we approached our finish we picked up the pace to finish strong, like we always do. Today I can feel a little soreness from that stride in. And I love it. The strength I gained from just that stride, that extra effort, is something I’ll actually bring to that same run when I go back to it this week, and I’ll finish even stronger and with more speed. It’s not just a perceived benefit. It’s a tangible benefit. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. I bet you’ll love it, too.

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

It’s clear to me.
I need to run every morning or it’s just not going to happen.

Done.

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: rightee

My new friend, Jill, reminded me that running is not about beating people, achieving a certain time or even about winning a given race. Running is really all about besting that terrible inner voice that tells you to quit.

Here’s to besting that voice every day. Here’s to “keep going.”

Happy 4th of July.

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca

I’m often reminded that we live in a tiny world. With the launch of iTwixie.com, I’m getting the rare opportunity to hear from girls all over the globe. It’s amazing to me that regardless of culture, many of these girls struggle with many similar themes. And yet, doesn’t it make sense? If you’re a girl 8-14, aren’t you just bursting with enthusisam, curiosity and the wish to be who you feel you really are deep down inside? And as you find yourself experiencing all kinds of new things, aren’t you realizing yourself that there is even more to you than you thought?

Do you remember what it was like to be a tween?

I started to run when I was a tween. I thought running would help me look a certain way. But over time running became my escape. A pressure release. My challenge. Time alone. A moment of clarity. And at the end of every run I felt that everything was really a lot better than before I had gone on that run.

Thing is, today, our global society puts more pressure on our tween girls than ever. But we don’t have to. We can join forces and foster the development of tween girls no matter where they live. We can help tween girls identify tools for identifying their moments of clarity. Escape. Release. Challenge. We can help them see the world around them in a better light.

iTwixie.com. Join the revolution. Because it is a small world and together we can change it!

May your next run be a good one!
Rebecca

Photo Credit: OldOnliner

Most people hate running hills. I love it. Know why? Because a friend of mine took a running class with the NYRRC (New York Road Runners Club) and she shared with me this excellent tip: it’s the one thing you must do when you’re running hills that will make all the difference for you every time!

Best part? It’s so easy!
As you start up your next hill, pretend you’re holding potato chips between your thumb and middle fingers which you cannot break. These potato chips aren’t the crunchy, kettle chips either. These potato chips are the flimsy, fragile Lay’s Brand potato chips that will crack the minute you hold your fingers together too tightly.

Try it. You will never hate hills again. Ok. Well at least you’ll never approach a hill the same again.

Here’s why: when you’re pretending to hold that chip, you’re also forcing yourself to keep a light touch about your fingers; your hands; your arm; your shoulders. The tenseness that often comes during a part of a run that runners hate — which often results in a tensing of the shoulders, especially in women runners — just won’t happen to you while you’re running up that hill. Sure the challenge will remain the same. But your experience of this challenge will change dramatically. Promise.

Just don’t break those chips!

May your next run be a good one.

Rebecca

Photo Credit: Cole24

Look at that.
Read this.
Then go for your interval run!

Confidence
You don’t always have to be in the lead…
If you have the heart to come from behind.
Don’t give up hope, don’t doubt yourself,
And a new strength is what you’ll find.
The spirit of competition, the desire to succeed
will always be important for life.
So give your all, everything you’ve got,
No matter the occasion, through pain and strife.
So step up to the plate, enter the race,
Never be afraid to take your turn.
Because winners are people who just never quit,
And this is a life lesson we all will learn.
©Melissa Underwood

May your next run be a good one.
Rebecca