This is a classic quote about breaking something down into manageable chunks, I mean eating an elephant is a tall order, but if you break it down to “one bite at a time” it would be easy right?
Obviously, I’m not going to advocate eating an Elephant, can you imagine the number of Weight Watcher points in that?
What I want to talk about is mindset again, the more and more I think about the fitness, weight loss, wellbeing journey, the more I think it is all about the mindset and the way you look at it.
I want to change up the quote a little to fit, “How do you run a marathon? Answer, one 5k at a time!”
In my blog “It’s a running joke” I spoke about my Couch to 5K (C25K) journey and running my first Park Run. This weekend was the Race for Life, and running that was my target for starting to run. Being able to run the whole 5k, something I would never have been able to do last year was a challenge, if I wanted people to donate hard earned cash, I had to do something over and above, and nothing more out of character for me than running.
Well I did it, I ran all the whole way in 36 minutes and 59 seconds, which was 4 minutes 29 seconds quicker than that first Park Run in Southampton back in March.
“BUT THATS NOT A MARATHON” I hear you cry, well this is true, but this is where you have to look at your mindset.
The Race for Life was my 8th 5K since starting to run. simple multiplication means that is 40K of running, which give or take a bit is the 42.2km distance of a marathon. So having a positive mindset, I can say I have ran a marathon, okay not all in one go, I did it one bite (5K) at a time.
Being positive keeps me motivated, my first C25K run had me running for 8 minutes as a part of 30 minute workout on a flat treadmill. I was almost dead at the end of it. whereas this weekend I ran for the whole 37 minutes, on flat bits, up hills, down hills, on paths, trails and grass and even sprinted (well ran a bit quicker) to the finish line.
I felt like Mo Farah crossing that finishing line, but I suspect I looked more like, Mo Mowlam doing the Paso!
But I don’t care, I’m super positive about where my running journey is going, and while my next target will not be to run the London Marathon, I’m planning on something bigger next year, not sure what, but maybe a 10K.
How do I stay positive? Well you need to surround yourself with the right people, not the wrong people. The ones that can lift you up and not put you down. Let me give you an example.
Race for Life was to raise $$$ for Cancer Research in memory of my late brother in law, the whole family are doing events this year, our cousin Simon Taylor is in the middle of his training to run an Ultra Marathon of 100 miles 😱. Well on Sunday evening, when my feet were sore and I was sat wearing my medal (yes I wore it all day) I got a message from him, this is just a small extract:
You have been on some journey with your fitness and weight loss. Truly inspiring stuff. It would be a shame to take your foot off the gas now that you have achieved your goal. Today was not the end result. Today was the beginning. Tomorrow your running/fitness journey continues.
That right there is what keeps me positive, a man that is taking on a 72 hour challenge to run 100 miles, telling me that losing a few lbs and running a 5k is inspiring. I have had other people tell me the same thing from reading my blogs, so I guess it makes a difference.
The more I lose, the more I feel I can do it. The more I do it, the more I lose, the more motivation I have. It is the opposite of a vicious cycle which is called a Virtuous Circle, where a vicious circle has a detrimental effect on you, the virtuous circle has a positive effect on you.
So, surround yourself with positive vibes, get into a virtuous circle with yourself and get that mindset in top gear.
Recipe
This is a simple quick one for you, but one I love and is great on Weight Watchers, I call it Spanish Chicken.
Ingredients
600g Diced Chicken
1 Onion
1 tsp Garlic
2 Peppers
250g Carrots battons
1 can Chopped Tomatoes
250 ml Passata
2 Oxo Cubes
Mixed Herbs
Worcestershire sauce
Method
Fry the onion, garlic and peppers until soft, then add the diced chicken and brown.
While this is cooking, boil your carrots, stopping just before they are fully cooked and drain.
Once the chicken is browned, add the tomatoes, passata herbs and Worcestershire sauce and mix.
Crumble in the oxo cubes and mix them on.
Add the carrots, and any other veg you might want (peas and sweetcorn) and then let the dinner simmer uncovered until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce has reduced and thickened.
You can serve with Rice, pasta, jacket, whatever floats your boat.
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Cooking by Matt 