Run a 5k/Jawbone UP 24/get fit

7 - Run a 5k/Jawbone UP 24/get fit

Talking with my best friend always means ideas will grow and plans will escalate. Last year as I began to tell her of my hopes for a "23 goals for my 23rd year" it went from a passive idea to a challenge.
What does this project look like?

If I start - Will I finish?

Will I make good on promises?

Can I actually commit to something this big?

What sort of time commitment will be required?

There were many questions brought up and honestly, at the time, I didn't know if I could do it. But I believed I should try.

Don't give up on your dreams because they are hard or take a long time...

...the time will pass anyway.

So onwards!

My original plan for this one was: Run 1 Mile

That was the goal for the whole year because it was something I thought I could never surpass. I have cross country friends who do 4-6 miles a day...I thought they were insane!

Until I broke a mile...

I ran my first full mile in February, and continued to improve my time throughout the month.

April 2 I ran with my coach and set my record time at 12:07.

Then I realized I needed to make a better goal, something that would be a REAL challenge.

My challenge no longer is limited to running, but rather a more encompassing full body fitness.

I decided to add other things to my running routine.

April - 30 day Burpees Challenge (8 days in...my opinion: burpees are a cruel and awful torture)

If I survive either I'll do it again or find another work out to add. My overarching goal is not a number on a scale, or jean size, or a specific shape, but rather my goal is to be physically fit. To be a good steward of the body that God gave me and to be able to fully enjoy life.

So now I am faced with upping my own goals, it's a satisfying problem to have. So now my new goal: Run a 5k in under 30 minutes (possibly running an "Adventure Race" like a Spartan Race or the like...maybe next year...)

Hebrews 12:1-2

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Comment with YOUR fitness goals and how you plan to accomplish them!

Kickstarter: The 5 Day Adoption by Pro-Family Films

A friend mentioned this to me on G+ and it was too good not to share here and hopefully find it's way to more people.

The 5 Day Adoption is a story of a family who literally adopts their daughter in 5 days! The director was interviewing the family the day after they brought their daughter home.

I love adoption, so many of my friends are adopted. I can't imagine what my life would look like apart from the interaction of all those who are adopted.

My cousin.
Many friends.
Some of my teachers.

There are dozens of people in my life who are adopted. I am so grateful that the parents had courageous faith to adopt.

After reviewing the information of this film, I do support it. I hope you will consider visiting the Kickstarter page, watch the video, and support this film by pledging any amount.

Disconnected or Plugged In?

3 - No Facebook, no Twitter

In a desire to be controlled by nothing other than the Lord, I have used this year as a chance to start new habits. Near the end of 2014 there was a short lived fad (I guess it's because it was a convicting one!) of an algorithm that calculated the amount of time you spend on Facebook. Like many, I went ahead and plugged in my info for it, then watched as it computed the results. I don't remember the exact number, but I do remember how shocked I was at the amount of time each day, week, and year that was spent online doing pretty much nothing to impact the world for the gospel. I decided that needed a change. There were a few days I would try to just not look at it as much, but I found that I was quite addicted to it. Because I had so many things I was planning for 2015 I thought that maybe I would set some up to happen in stages, and while for some this is still the plan, it was not going to work for my social media habit.

I have a Mac, her name is Victoria, you'll hear more about her in a later post this year. With the help of a friend, I went into the terminal on Victoria and blocked the sites (Facebook and Twitter) from my computer completely. Now it doesn't matter who tries to get onto those links, my computer can no longer access them. After this I deleted the Facebook app from my phone and the Facebook Messenger app as well.

I have retained my accounts, you can still find my FB and Twitter accounts, but I'm not there. Nor will I be there for a while. At least till the first of 2016, probably not till my 24th birthday. I may *gasp* never come back...because...I feel so much freedom! YAY!

As I have chosen to disconnect from most of my social media and plug into other things, I've found new blocks of time to use. Time for things such as family time. In the first week of the New Year, I began remodeling my bedroom. New Year's Eve I built a furniture fort with my brother. I've spent time out on my farm, enjoying the hiking, and having meals with grandparents and relatives. Time I didn't seem to have before now.

What eats your time? Is it really what you should be spending your time on?