Hello, Striders!

Today is day 7 of the Primal Stride Week 2 Challenge. You’ve been crunching on fruits and vegetables and your abs all week.

Are you glad you did it? Have you learned anything about yourself in the past week? Will you keep eating vegetables and doing crunches now that the weeks is over?

My update: Green beans and crunches go well together. =)

And now for the bad news: I won’t have time to coordinate challenges over the next two weeks. What I can do is check in you every so often to make sure you’re doing well. I’ll also continue to update with letters for the 100lbs project. I’ve lost some weight in 2010 and I want to get those break-up letters written! =) So, beyond your normal check-in for the challenge, make sure to let me know if you’re doing anything in the next two weeks you’d like me to check in on you for.

Thank you all for your loving kindness and enthusiastic support! I have a feeling that come February 1st some of you newly-minted early risers will need a check-up challenge. =)

I’m glad for your thoughts.

beans

Hello Striders!

How often do you take naps?

I grew up taking naps each afternoon but “grew out of them” by the time I was 8. I have since reimplemented them as part of a (I hate the word “diet” … what to call it?) concerted weight-loss effort. Resting for 30 minutes, even if I can’t fall asleep, has changed the way I view the middle of my day.

I good nap can make the day seem like I got two chances at making it great. =)

My challenge update:

• Crunches: 250 is turning out to be easier than I thought it would be. Magnificent!
• Vegetable: Broccoli, of course!

How’s your week going?

broccoli

Good Morning, Striders!

Where do you get your power from?

Are you able to survive, to thrive, and to flourish through the strength of your friendships with others? Do you have a deep religious fervor that keeps you going? Perhaps you just know, deep within yourself, that you are able to do whatever you wish?

I’d like to know.

My update:

• Crunches – My stomach aches. The major muscle groups are worn out so the smaller ones have been working overtime. That’s good. I’m glad of it. I’ll keep going. 250 seems like a lot until I get to 220-30 and realize I could probably keep going. I didn’t feel that way last Thursday. Improvement? Possibly. =)
• Vegetables – Cabbage. Raw. With a bit of salt. It was good. =)

P.s. I’m open to ideas for next week’s challenge. Is there something you’d like to try?

cabbage

Good Morning, Striders!

I’m sure I’m not the only one with a busy Monday so I’ll keep this short. I’ll give a quick update on my progress and ask you a question that you can answer with your update.

My Update:

• Crunches – 250 each day didn’t seem like a lot at first because I split them up. The area-specific workout caught up to me yesterday evening and I had a solid abdominal ache burning strong. It was gone when I woke at 5am today and 150 into today’s 250 I’m still feeling good. I continue to be thrilled at how quickly my body responds and adjusts to new things. Unfortunately, it also responds quickly to unhealthy food and a sedentary lifestyle. That’s what got me here in the first place!
• Green Vegetables – Today I tossed some celery into my green smoothie. I’m not sure that celery has much nutritive value beyond fiber. That’s okay though. This week is all about variety!

The Question:

What do you look forward to most when you imagine yourself living a truly healthy lifestyle?

Check in, Striders!

Ps. If you haven’t already seen it, make sure you take a look at Carla’s awesome video on how to do a perfect crunch!

celery

Good morning, Striders!

I tossed a leaf of kale into my green smoothie this morning (I have it growing on my patio) to mix things up from the collards yesterday. (I’m doing something separate with green smoothies I’ll tell you about soon. In the meantime, eat your veggies!)

50 more crunches to go and I’m done for the day. Doing crunches inside would have been a nice respite from jogging in the cold… had I stopped jogging in the cold. But I didn’t! Here’s a video I made for you all on the frosty (yet sunny) Mississippi beach:

It’s check-in time, Striders! Don’t forget to visit and encourage those blogging about their challenge experiences. If you’re blogging about your experience, make sure you leave a link in a comment so I can come visit you, too!

Image: kale

Good morning, Striders!

It’s a beautifully crisp January day here in Mississippi. By crisp, I mean 19F under a bright sun that belies the windy barbs swaying trees outside my window. My stomach feels tight from yesterday’s crunches but there’s no pain. Just a sensation that serves to remind me that I am indeed making progress. I am making a difference.

The plant in the photo is chard. I ate chard today. I have window box of chard sitting on my kitchen counter because it’s too cold to be on the patio. In spite of its red stem, I think it still qualifies as a green vegetable, no?

I’m off for a run. Will update later with a video and some more substantial thoughts.

Check in!

Chard

Day 1 of the Double Crunch Primal Stride Challenge has me sitting straight up in my chair with spinach in my stomach. I’ve developed a nice little routine: Every time I get up for a glass of water or tea I do 50 crunches. It’s 10am, I’ve been up for 5.5hrs, and I’ve met my challenge goal of 250crunches/day already. Yes!

Now, about you. Yes, YOU! Have you signed up for this hot and bothered week of joy otherwise known as the Double Crunch Challenge?

If you’ve not yet joined but you’d like to, let me know in the comments and I’ll add your blessed name

Strider Classic

1. Barbara Cambell – blog – twitter
2. Patricia
3. Deb – blog – twitter
4. Tra - blog
5. LoneWolf – blog – twitter
6. Sarah Merion – blog – twitter
7. Ati – blog
8. Lucinda – blog – twitter
9. Girlxoxo – blog
10. Irene – blog
11. Cammi99
12. MarinaL
13. Michelle S.
14. Sarah Mitchell – blog
15. Kellie – blog
16. JaimeH – twitter
17. Sheli Belly – blog
18. Matt Graham – blog
19. Sarah Joy Albrecht – blog – twitter
20. April Riggs – twitter
21. Mish Gay – blog – twitter

Strider Modified

1. Sherry Kerr – blog – twitter
2. Mike Brown – blog
3. Lauren – blog – twitter
4. Chris Pugh – blog
5. Laurie Ashton Farook – blog - twitter
6. Goody Scrivener – twitter
7. Simo
8. Dre – blog
9. Amy Shropshire – blog
10. Gina – blog
11. Shelda
12. Nina Howard – twitter – facebook
13. Becka – twitter
14. Nikie Neeley – twitter - facebook

Alright, Striders! Time to check in and let us know how your first day of the challenge went. Please make a point to encourage at least one other participant with a kind word or bit of advice. A welcoming environment encourages honesty. Honesty brings trust and that trust is what allows us to feel truly connected and gather the strength to make real changes in our lives.

Shall we?

Note: If you’d like to subscribe to the RSS feed for daily challenge updates, do so here.

Spinach: ranjit

Click below to visit the Double Crunch sign-up page!

Here’s a shortened link to share with your friends: http://bit.ly/doublecrunch

The Finish Line

How’d your 7-day challenge experience turn out? What surprised you, energized you, or gave you reason to stop and think? If you could go back and re-do the challenge, what would you do differently? Has the way you perceive yourself changed in some way over the past week?

My Check-In: It wasn’t as cold as I stepped into the morning darkness. That this is day 7 didn’t seem to matter at all. I’d like to see myself continue with the early rising and, most importantly, sustain the trend of daily exercise. I’m not entirely looking forward to the crunches next week. I hope you’ll join me in making them happen though!

Check-in Time, Striders!

Morning Reservoir by Ati Tafao-Braganza

Good Morning, Striders!

How do you deal with failure?

I’ve experienced two general types of failure:

1. Shock Failure – This is the failure that you never saw coming. Your boss comes back from vacation and pulls the plug on an important project. You wake up and realize you ate everything in your fridge during a lucid dream. Your car gets a flat tire on the way to the gym. Shock failures are the one’s that sneak up on you from behind. We often take more of the blame for shock failures than we should.
2. Crawling Failure – This is the failure that results from distraction, ignored warning signs, lack of organization, or sheer laziness. Your house is no longer navigable due to massive piles of junk strewn everywhere. You get fired for always showing up late to work. You weigh 425 pounds. Crawling failures tend to be preventable things that spiral out of control because we fail to give them proper attention.

I was faced with a crawling failure this morning.

Last night, I stayed up too late. Instead of going to bed around 10pm, I wrote for awhile, replied to some emails, and chatted a bit online. By midnight I was terribly drowsy. I shut down my computer, got ready for bed, crawled under my down comforter, and fell asleep. Notice that I didn’t mention setting my alarm. Had I gone to bed while I was still fully aware of my surroundings I’d have remembered to set my alarm to wake me for my morning run. It didn’t.

Had I set my alarm and it somehow failed to function, I could have reminded myself that it was just a shock failure and to give myself a break. This wasn’t a shock though. This failure resulted from distraction, lack of organization, and a bit of laziness.

So I woke up on my own at 5:30, looked at the clock, and began to play the blame game. You know the one where you look for unproductive ways to express frustration? That one. At first I was furious with myself for being so stupid and staying up late when I knew better. I was tempted to tell myself that I had failed again because failure is what I’m best at. I was tempted to give up. I was tempted to drop back into a pattern of letting things slide until they blow up.

But I didn’t.

I thought about you and how I’d made a promise to share this journey with you even when I screw up. I laughed at myself for ever thinking that I was somehow immune to failure because I wrote the initial challenge. I pushed thoughts of the failure away and reminded myself of how good it feels to succeed. I quietly asked myself if I really wanted this. Just me.

And I did. I do. I will.

It is with a sheepish look that I use the pass I thought I wouldn’t need. I’m doubling-up on the distance I go today. Not because I feel like it will make up for the failure. But because I missed out on a chance to start my morning with a win and I want to have that feeling twice today.

That’s how I dealt with a failure. How do you deal with failures?

Check in, Striders!

I grabbed today’s challenge image from Ati’s blog. She has a great post today about eating and happiness.

Good Morning, Striders!

How do you typically respond to a stressful situation?

Do you scream? Are you the silent type?

I was once proud of my ability to “keep my cool” no matter what. I could internalize any stress thrown at me and honestly thought I’d be okay.

I wasn’t okay.

I ended up wound so tight that every time I thought about “me” I saw nothing but stress. Because I had no outlet for my stress it boiled inside me and the steam clouded my view of the world. I stopped taking care of myself, ate more than I should, and got supah porky.

Now I’m here, changing, striding along with you in this challenge to start the new year off the right way.

When something stressful comes along, I do my best to share my emotions and move immediately toward a positive solution instead of bottling everything up and growing frustrated with others. I still don’t yell because doing so rarely helps move things forward. However, if you happen to be stressed out and can’t disappear for a quick run (my favorite outlet), screaming in an empty bathroom has proved cathartic for some. =)

How do you respond to stress?

My Report: It’s cold here. Darkness hides breaths frosty billows. No need to perspire for more than a mile. Unwrapping the new day like an enormous gift to myself. Thinking of how fast I’ll be 90lbs lighter if I keep pushing like this. Basking in the warmth of my potential, I circle back to grin with my friends.