This pass month I learned that the mind gives out before the body does. It is the mind that tells the body it is too tired to go on. The first thing that you need to learn to do is control your thoughts of quitting. If you think that you are tired then you become tired,  if you believe that you can sprint the last half mile then you can sprint the last mile. Its all in the head. This concept can be compared to every day life. If I learn to think that nothing is to hard, but just a challenge and I keep my mind focused on what needs to be done then I know That I can do anything.

Finding time to run was not always easy. Things would always come up and it was hard to keep my commitment. However I did learn that if I just make room for it, or just not let anything take its place in my busy schedule  then it would get done. I find that after this rather long month that I am somewhat more organized. I had to plan every night when I would run and where I would run. Well its not like I had that many choices to run.

My Biggest goal was to become fit and also to carry on the skills that I had acquired. Before November I had little or no physical activities in my life. I would swear that tomorrow would be different and I would run. As it turns out this never happened. All I really needed was a push, or something to motivate me. The life lab project was just what I needed to start my dream of living by a healthier life style.

I have to say that the first week was the hardest because my body was just not use to running every day. Time went by and soon I did not mind as much because it had become a habit. As the weeks went by I found that running was becoming something that I liked doing rather then that of  a school project. The only thing that did bother me were my shins but that was the only negative effect from this month.

The best part about my life lab is it is  over but I am still finding the urge to run every day and now even further then I ran for the lab. I love that running is now a part of my life.

aww the beach

Today was my last day of running….. And I could not be more proud of myself. I made it through a whole month running two miles every single day. In the beginning I had doubts about this life lab but now I can not believe i did it. I Ran a total of 60 miles. I think that is fantastic, but if I were to do another life lab I think that I would increase the distance to three miles and try to improve my time every single week.

I am very proud to say that I always completed my two-mile run under 16 minuets.  I think that is better than most could do, and not once did i give up. There was a day or two when I did not run because I was sick, However I made up the four miles the next couple of day. Instead of running two miles I would run four! Thats somewhat of a burden, I get tired after running two miles, but four seemed almost impossible. I stayed focused and was able to finish.

Today I decided to run my last mile at the beach. I felt like my last day should be special so I thought that I should run at my favorite place. I brought with me a stepmoniter so that I could track how far I had run. This way I would not run to far or not far enough.

I started running and as my first step hit the sand I knew this would be alot more chalenging than running on the street. The sand was twice as hard to run in becasue my feet were sinking into the soft sand. The good thing about the soft sand was it was less of a impact on my damagened shins. Today I ran 10,160 feet, which is just above two miles. My time for m;y last mile was 14:34

Pic of my journey home from Frogs

Day 29…………. I am almost done with my life lab. I have run 58 miles…. thats kinda far. I Think i can do better, I have been thinking about running four miles each day for the last three days of my life lab. I think that I have worked myself up to a point where I can achieve physically now then i could have in the past. This is why I must test my endurance. I need to know what I can and can’t do

On a lighter note, I only have two more days left. Which means  Only four miles left… unless i decide to run more than I previously agreed on. It does not matte if I do run extra all that really matters is that I ran every single day. I ran when it was dark, I ran when it was windy, i even ran when it was rainy. Ya i know people have it worse but i am proud that i upheld my agreement and did not quite.

It is really nice to finally be back home. Las Vegas was nice but i am glad that i can get back into my daily routine of running out side and at night. In the future I now know how to adapt to a situation. Being in Las Vegas which was  unfamiliar to me taught me that every day will be different and that some times I will be forced to change my daily routine.

Todays run was the two miles from frogs to my casa. I felt really good as I started running, and knew that today was going to be a good day. I ran right to the bottom of the first hill and instead of stopping like i normally do, I powered through it and only stooped once. My time was 15:54 I know its slow but ya there is hills.

Yargg…. another picture of my time

Day 28 in my life quest. What have I learned so far?? Well I think that the number one thing that I have learned this past month is to stay focused and motivated. I can not tell you how hard it was to run every single day. It was not the running it self that was hard but more on just finding time to do it. In the past I would always make planes or set goals but not do them. Now i wake up every morning know what I must do.

I find it a lot easer accomplish goals if you write them down and read them every single day. By doing this I reminded myself what my goals were and how I was going to achieve them. I also have learned how to conquer my body and mind. I have discovered that the mind fails a lot sooner than the body. It is your mind that tells your body that it is tired and needs to rest. I learned to ignore this and to keep running.

I awoke today feeling the eight miles that i had ran/walked the previous day. Eight miles… now that is a lot of cardio activity in one day. I decided that because I would not be returning home until late in the night that I would once again run in the morning on a tread mill. Arr. I do not like running in one place if I have not already said so. I did manage to finish my two mile run with a time of 15:53. Great time for running on a Holiday break.

I have noticed that us young teens are not wanted at gyms at hotels? Adults constantly stare at me. I think that they are just jealous that it only took me 15 minutes to run two miles when it took them one hour.

Me Plus the family during the hike

Yesterday was thanksgiving day. I was clever enough to know that i would not run after I ate that thanksgiving meal. So I ran before In the morning, I am writing this now because I feel like it shows that I have somewhat learned from my mistakes. I knew that a challenge was ahead of me. I could have ether done nothing and paid for it later, but instead I thought ahead and ran in the morning. I think that I was more motivated knowing that I would probably vomit before i reached my goal of two miles.

Well today was the 27th day of my epic journey of running two miles a day. So 27×2=53 miles Ya I already know that I am awesome. Only four more days left, I can already see the finish line. Is it weird that because I have ran so much I  am comparing my life to that of a race? Naw it cant be that weird because after all life is a race?

I awoke this morning with only a slight pain in my legs but nothing that i could not handle. I stretched and started to run. After eating all of that food from the day before i felt somewhat bloated. Because of this I ran slower than I would normally. My over all time was 15:21 kinda slow but not a horrible time.

Later on in the day I hiked 6 miles!!! It was a very unexpected surprise and i did not really want to do it. However I noticed it was not as hard of a hike as it would have been months earlier. I think that because I have been running so much lately I can endure a lot more than i could in the past. Its great to finally see some benefits from running every day.

My time for today

I love waking up in the morning to sore shins. It is always the highlight of my day : )…. If you do not already know i am joking….. But I am very proud of myself that I ran last night. I ran when I was exhausted, and had no shin tape. I think that is pretty damn impressive. I do not know if I could do it again.. well not without tape. That tape is a life saver by the way.

Today is my 26th day of running two miles a day, and i feel great. This means that I have run a total of 52 miles! I am very proud of this because I believe that many people would have cheated or just plain up quite. It’s good to know that I can follow something to the very end and not give into my bodies physical pain. It does take the body to run, but it is also the mind that keeps me going. I had to over come the constant thought to give up, or even slow down. This ran through my head almost every day. I however managed to keep myself motivated. I learned that a very helpful trick in running distances outside is to set a goal point before you allow yourself to slow down.

After running last night without tape I desperately searched all morning to find any tape. I found so masking tape? and used that. It helped but the  pain was always there. I ignored it and ran the two miles. My time was somewhat slower than normal. 15:21 but it was due to the fact that I had to run without the proper tape. It is my fault that i did not pack the tape so shame on me.. I now know that an athlete must always be prepared.

My run without tape…. Time

Day 25 already? seems like just yesterday i started my life lab. Yes i remember that first mile. I remember how excited I was to run that first mile. I also remember how sore I was the next day. Ya those were the good times…. Now Running seems like a part of my every day life… and also the pain of my shins…. I am excited to see what happens after this month ends. I want to see if i will still run every day, or if I go back to my old ways of being a fat pile.

After my life lab I will not be disappointed if I do not run every single day. The only thing I do wish for is that I run at least three times a week. I do not think that this is to much to ask for. I think i am perfectly capable of doing it. I DO not want to stop running. I like it, it helps me think things through and it is also a great knowing that i am getting physical exercise every day.

Today me and the family left San Diego and traveled to Las Vegas. When we arrived it was near 9:00 p.m. Luckily the hotel that we were staying at had a gym. Which means I still had to run my two miles. I really did not want to run. I had been in the car for six hours and running was the last thing on my mind. I knew i had to run. If i didn’t then I would go down a letter grade and i did not want that.

As I started getting ready to run I realized that I had left all of my tape at home…… This made my run five times harder and was very painful.

My time

To day is a tuesday and the second day of my Thanksgiving break. This means I have six more days of freedom, but also only six more days of my life lab. I can’t wait until I am finally finished. It has been somewhat fun……. well not really but at least i know what it means to dig deep within myself and to make goals and to accomplish them. Well anyways the shin splints are still here. Just thought that I should say that, just in case someone thought they had somehow magically disappeared. They still are a burden in my every day life, but by now i am really used to them and they only bother me when I start to run.

I forgot to mention that tomorrow I will be leaving san Diego and heading to Las Vegas. This will be somewhat of a problem because I still have to run regardless if I leave the state. I now must find a place to run and force myself to break my daily routine. I think this will not be to big of a problem i just need to stay focused and get it done!!!

Todays run took place at frogs gym. I lifted then taped my shins and started running. I ran at my normal pace but felt somewhat energetic and after the first mile sprinted the rest of the way. I was surprised at this because normally I would have to slow down my pace after the first mile. Today was different I ran like the wind. I think the reason why I ran so fast was because of all the extra sleep i have been getting. Ha-ha you have to love breaks from school. My time for todays run was 14:45 which is a great time. Ya 300 words

Today is the first day of thanksgiving break. This means i do not have to go to school for the next week. This is good news because I am in desperate need for a long break. This does not however include not running. I still must run the agreed distance of two miles a day. I am not sure if all this free time is going to be good. Back when i Had school I was on  a schedule. I would always go to the gym at 5 or 6 but now i have no idea when to go. I could try to go at the same time. However i cant help but to think what if something comes up. Or what if i forget about it, what if i choose to go out instead of running at the right time?

I Decided that the best time for me to run is in the morning between 9 and 10 am. In the past i have tried to run in the morning and have discovered that i am still somewhat asleep. Because of this it makes me very unmotivated. The key to running is motivation, you must always be willing to run, or even just to exercise. I have found that i work a lot harder in anything that demands physical work if i have the right attitude and stay focussed.

Todays run went somewhat smoothly. I decided to run outside but not from frogs gym. Instead I drove to LCC and ran on the track. Eight laps on LCC track is the equivalent of two miles.I started running at a steady pace and noticed that the track was much easier to run on than that of the street. I ran the whole 8 laps without stopping and my over all time was 15:32 which i think is great.

These next few days will no doubt be just as challenging as the last. I thought that over time  my running would get easier.But all that i have found is that as time has passed I began to hurt more and more. I think that if i would have started slow and then worked my way up on how far i would run then i would not be in pain today. I think i went to fast. I was not ready for the miles that i started.

I have disovered that running in the morning is alot harder than running at night. I find that i am often unmotivated to run in the morning. All that i want to do is sleep. I always set my alarm clock for around 5am and usually sit in bed for 10 to 20 minutes. Its like pressing a cheese grater on my face haha thats how much i dislike running in the morning. The only reason why i run in the morning is because it is more time efficent. I am usually really busy at night. With homework and sports its hard to find time to fit in the two mile run.

Anysays I am almost done and all i have to do now is not fail?