This month, in the brutality of Alabama summer heat, I am going to start training for a marathon, and it’s all Artney Walker’s fault. Walker is a Birmingham-based fitness blogger and last year, she ran four marathons.

This accomplishment has not only inspired me to start pounding the pavement again, but also got the attention of Weight Watchers magazine. Walker was profiled in the May/June issue as part of the magazine’s “I Love What My Body Can Do” feature. Walker has been a fan of the Weight Watchers diet plan for eight years, but she never thought she’d one day be on the pages of its magazine. “In the beginning, I was in shock,” Walker says of the day in January when the magazine first contacted her. “The day of my photo shoot, my dream became a reality. Being a Weight Watchers member, I knew my story would resonate with so many readers.”

Read my entire article on Artney in the here or in the June issue of B-Metro magazine. 

Yesterday I completed my second half marathon. Barely. 

Though I was in great spirits when I crossed the finish line, my body was not in the same good mood. Around mile 11 I hit a wall. My muscles were aching like never before. I started to wonder if I'd even be able to complete the race. But I did. 

And my sweet husband was waiting for me at the finish line (in the cold) with flowers!

I wouldn't say I had a bad race yesterday. Just as I say that when it comes to traveling any plane landing you walk away from is a good one, I also believe that if you cross the finish line and you're not in the back of an ambulance, you've had a good race. Still my race could have been better. 

I wish I could have enjoyed my race more. I wish I would have felt stronger. And I think I would have if I had stuck to the plan. 

When I started training for this half marathon three months ago my plan was to walk this race for two reasons: 1) I was planning to do the race with my cousin/BFF who isn't a fan of running and 2) I was worried my joints wouldn't be able to handle the impact of running. 

Then my cousin broke her ankle. I thought about not doing the race at all after I lost my road dawg, especially after my connective tissue disease started to flare up like a brat begging for attention. 

But then I decided not only would I do the race but I'd also run parts of it too!

Bad idea.

During the bulk of my training I was only walking. Sure, it was very fast paced race walking. In fact, I had reached the point to where I could almost walk as fast as I run. But still, my training focused on walking. Thus my body was not prepared for long stretches of running.  I honestly believe that if I had just stuck to that fast paced walking for the entire race I would have finished in the same amount of time and felt great at the end. 

But I didn't stick to the plan. 

I didn't stick to the plan because I got distracted. I got distracted by a silly need to call myself a runner.  I got distracted by my fear of being the last person to finish the race (even though I had already told myself I didn't care when I finished). I got distracted and forgot the importance of moving at my own pace. 

And I've realized I make similar mistakes in my writing career too. I will set a goal and develop a plan for achieving it but I often fail to stay the course because I'm so worried about what the people around me are doing. 

This race has taught me a valuable lesson. The end of the year is approaching, which means I've already started drafting my list of aspirations for 2014. For each major goal I'm also going to draft a plan for bringing these dreams to fruition. And I'm going to stick with this plan even if the people around me seem to have discovered some quick and easy path to success. 

I will stick to the plan and remember that slow and steady wins the race. 

I did it!

I did the Magic City Half Marathon today and I survived.

I'll be back tomorrow with my post-race reflections.

xo,
javacia

Today I ended my brief hiatus from running.

Using one of the Hal Higdon programs, I am now training to run my second half marathon. 

I will be honest with you: I don't want to run another half marathon. I'm tired of running. Within the past several months it somehow stopped being fun. Furthermore, I gained weight the last time I was training for the Mercedes Half and since I currently weigh more than I ever have in my entire life, I can't really afford to pack on any additional pounds. 

But I'm training for this race nonetheless. Why? 

Well, I've mentioned before that I'm a quitter. When I get bored with something I have absolutely no problem just walking away. Sometimes this is a good thing. I don't waste time on television shows after the story lines get ridiculous. And, with one exception, I've dropped no-good boyfriends pretty quickly. 

But this can also be bad. I believe one of the reasons I haven't achieved the success I dream of in my writing career is because I don't follow through. I very easily get bored with blogs and book ideas and abandon them for a shiny new project. If I could just stick to something I think I could really have a breakthrough. 

So I'm training for this half marathon as a way of proving to myself that I can follow through. I keep thinking that if I stick to running perhaps through this I can condition myself to stick to other endeavors too and this quitter will finally be reformed. 

Photo by Kristin Nador
Image via Flickr/Creative Commons

Are you sleepy? Yeah, me too. Is it because you've been staying up all night watching the Olympics? Yeah, me too. 

Believe it not, however, between my cheers for the USA women's gymnastics and men's swim teams, I've realized that writers could learn a lot from Olympians. They can teach us a lot about dedication and the value of practice. 

Last week I showed up to my weekly meeting with my writing partner with no desire to write.  I'd spent the morning vacuuming the carpets and cleaning the bathrooms of my apartment. Before that I went to the gym to lift weights and to a spinning class in which I'm certain the instructor was trying to kill us all. (Love you, Cherie!)

My body was tired and now I was supposed to sit in a coffee shop, in a hard chair and write something brilliant. But that was the problem -- the idea that I needed to write something amazing, to complete an essay that would be my big break in publishing or finish a blog post that would win me some sort of award. No. That moment, that time to write, should have been about practice. As writers we sometimes lose sight of the importance of writing as a practice.

I'm a runner so I, of all people, should know how important practice is. I remember the day I decided to start running. I'd always been an active person. Back in college I taught group fitness classes at the university's recreation center. But I never ran. Then one day last year while walking my favorite neighborhood trail I just decided to give it a try.

I was out of breath in 30 seconds. But then I kept trying and one day I ran for 4 minutes without stopping, then 9 minutes, then 20 minutes, and the next thing I knew I'd signed up for a half marathon. And now I'm one of those people driving around with a 13.1 bumper sticker on the back of their car.

But to get the Mercedes Half-Marathon Finisher the medal hanging in my bedroom I had to practice. I had to go out and run in the heat, in the cold, and sometimes even in the rain. I had to run when I didn't feel like it.

And every run is not a race. You have to practice. You have to train. You have to run for the sake of running.

Likewise, sometimes I need to write for the sake of writing. I need to write when I don't feel like it. I need to write even when I don't feel inspired to do so. It's not necessary to always sit down to write with a specific goal in mind. No need to say, "Today I'm going to write an award-winning essay on my definition of feminism." Sometimes I need to just sit and write for the sake of filling the page.

Natalie Goldberg, whom I quote a lot on this blog because she's a genius, recommends filling one notebook each month with this practice-style writing. If you're looking for a project for #WRITELIKECRAZY month, I think that would be a great one.

Goldberg also sees the similarities between writers and athletes. In her book Writing Down the Bones she says:

"This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some days you don't want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway. You practice whether you want to or not. You don't wait around for inspiration and deep desire to run. It'll never happen, especially if you're out of shape or have been avoiding it. But if you run regularly, you train your mind to cut through or ignore your resistance. You just do it. And in the middle of the run, you love it. When you come to the end, you never want to stop. And you stop, hungry for the next time." 

Hey, babes! Check out my latest article for Magic City Post. 


***

Runner Olivia Affuso has completed a 50K North Face Endurance race, she’s an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and she has a Ph.D. from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  Yet, even with all those accomplishments, she says one of her proudest moments is actually starting a local running club called Black Girls RUN!

According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 45 percent of African-American adults are obese. Black Girls RUN! is a grassroots effort to tackle the growing obesity epidemic in the African-American community by providing encouragement and resources to both new and veteran runners.

“My goal as a researcher has been to find ways to help individuals become more physically active and reduce their risks of developing chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease,” Affuso said. “This has been a difficult proposition in the past, but there is something about the BGR social running movement that just motivates our women to get moving.  And I think it’s group identification - seeing someone that looks like you doing something active.”

The Birmingham group is a spinoff of a larger grassroots effort which began in New York City in 2009.  Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks, the founders of the NYC group, have seen the organization spread into 29 states and the District of Columbia.  Affuso contacted them last August about starting a Birmingham chapter. 

Jeralyn Powell, an active runner since 2008, joined Affuso and together they launched the Birmingham group that same month hosting its first run on August 20.

Currently, Black Girls RUN! Birmingham has over 800 women signed up for its Facebook group and has accomplished a lot in its short lifetime. The group had eight teams participate in the Mercedes-Benz Marathon Relay and at least another five members who completed the Mercedes Half Marathon.

You can read the complete article at Magic City Post. 

Last week this time I was lying on the sofa trying to recover from running 13.1 miles. Yes, that's right: I have checked off "Complete a half marathon" from my 31 before 32 list. 

Below is a little essay titled Why I Run that I wrote about the experience for GeorgiaMae.com.   Enjoy!

xo,

javacia a.k.a. writeous babe

***

Sunday I completed the Mercedes Half-Marathon here in Birmingham. And I survived!

There was good reason not to run 13.1 miles yesterday. I even had a doctor’s excuse. You see, I have a connective tissue disease that’s trying its best to destroy my joints and muscles. So my doctor is constantly discouraging me from high impact exercises and suggesting that I stick to water aerobics and cycling instead.

To top things off, after an unseasonably warm winter filled with 65-degree days, this weekend Birmingham experienced its coldest days of the season. The temperature didn’t rise above freezing during the race. (And my connective tissue ailment is aggravated by cold weather.)

As the day of the race drew closer and closer, I began to doubt myself. I began to wonder if I'd made a mistake signing up for this. "Why did you think you could actually do this?" I started to ask myself. 

But my husband and closest friends kept encouraging me and reminding me of all the training I'd been doing for months. They reminded me that during that training I had run 11 miles, twice, so two more would be a piece of cake. 

And they were right. Sort of. Not a single mile of the race was a cake walk. Thanks to the cold I couldn't feel my hands for the second half of the run even though I was wearing thick gloves. (Have you ever tried to tie your shoes with numb fingers? Doesn't go so well.) And thanks to that pesky connective tissue disease I spent most of the run battling an achy ankle, a throbbing knee or a stinging shin (though I'm thankful my body was kind enough to not allow all three to hurt at once). But I kept going. I kept reminding myself why I run in the first place and how those reasons outweigh all the factors that tell me I should stay home on the couch.

I run because I have a disease that tells me I can’t.

I run for all the women suffering from illnesses that prevent them from living their best lives.

I run because the women of my running group Black Girls Run Birmingham convinced me that I could.

I run so that women and girls of color can see someone who looks like them crossing the finish line.

I run to defy the stereotype that we Southerners are all sedentary.

I run to hear my husband say, “Javacia, I am so proud of you.”

And I run because my God told me, in Proverbs 4:12, that “When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.” 

Reverb Prompt #28: What new strengths did you discover about yourself this year? 


One of the greatest strengths I discovered about myself this year was realizing that my body, despite its connective tissue disease and other chronic pain disorders, is strong enough to run. Here are a few things things that keep me going when I'm tempted to throw in the towel on my new sport: 

Happy Thanksgiving, Babes!


I'm one of those people who make gratitude lists on a fairly regular basis, but I felt it was essential to write and post one today. So here goes...

super cute photo found here

The big beautiful blogosphere. Blogging has become one of my favorite things in life. Seriously. And I love reading other women's blogs just as much as (if not more than) I enjoy creating my own. Sites like A Beautiful Mess, Nik Star Was Here, Sometimes Sweet, and Pink of Perfection must be visited daily and they always give me the inspiration I need. 

Hubs. I'll be honest, I've been having a very rough time the past few months. It's sad that whenever I mention this to a close friend or when an acquaintance makes a comment about all the white hairs I have sprouting from my head there's an assumption that my man is stressing me out, that there's trouble on the home front. That couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, some days I feel like my marriage is the only thing I'm getting right. My husband has been the rock that is getting me through these tough times. I am so thankful to be married to my very best friend and I feel blessed to share my life with someone who always has my back. 


My small group. Despite the fact that I've been a mess this fall, I have still managed to lead a small group for my church. Each Monday night a group of 8 young women and I get together at my apartment for a bible study that's meant to help us get more out of our relationships with God, our friends and family, and even ourselves. I've watched these girls grow closer to God and form genuine friendships and I'm amazed. God really can use us to create something beautiful even when we're broken. 

Here are a few girls from Black Girls Run-Birmingham and I 
volunteering at the Ruben Studdard Half-Marathon

My running group. There was a time when I couldn't run for 60 seconds. Now I'm training for a half-marathon. And it's all thanks to my running group, Black Girls Run - Birmingham. Those women have been such an inspiration and running has become something I love as much as blogging. Can you believe that?!


The bad times. One of the greatest lessons I've learned during my 30 years on this third rock from the sun is that we should be grateful for the bad times. Not only do they make the good times even sweeter, but they teach us things about ourselves and oftentimes in retrospect we realize that something wonderful came from that trial or ordeal. In fact, I just wrote a little tongue-in-cheek piece about this for the latest issue of Weld. (To check it out click here and scroll down to the entry titled For the real-life demolition derby.) 


The little things: Pinterest, cupcakes, my haute chocalate nail polish, my favorite blazer, fresh flowers, The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl...


My family. I have two parents who shower me with love, a little brother (who's now a grown man and bigger than I) who makes me laugh and encourages me to chase my dreams, and a cousin who's like the sister I never had and gets all my little quirks. And I am so grateful that I'm going to get to spend this day with all of them, while stuffing myself with delicious food.


What are you thankful for today? 


*Crossposted at GeorgiaMae.com. 

For years I thought I couldn't be a runner. I had plenty of reasons: 1) I live in a society with stereotypes like "Black women don't run 2) I live with the memory of never being able to pass the 12-minute mile portion of the physical fitness test given in grade school and 3) I live with chronic pain thanks to a serious connective tissue disease that even has doctors convinced that I can't run.

But I run anyway. 

Saturday I participated in the Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure. With thoughts of those failed physical fitness tests looming I set a goal for myself to complete the run in 37 minutes or less (since 3.1 - the number of miles in a 5K - times 12 would equal 37.2 minutes). I finished in 34 minutes and 58 seconds. 

Because I'm a writer to my core, I couldn't help but consider if this fitness accomplishment had any application to my artistic pursuits and I realized of course it does. 


As writers how often do we tell ourselves we can't do things: I can't be a full-time freelancer because I'm not brave enough to handle such a risky endeavor. I can't publish a book because I'm not talented or connected enough. I can't start an independent magazine or alternative weekly because the economy is too bad. 


After Saturday I decided that I am running away from can't. I'm not accepting it anymore in my fitness life nor in my writing life. Who's with me?


What goal would you pursue if you were to rid yourself of the "I can't" attitude?


Read more about my Race for the Cure at GeorgiaMae.com. 

Photo by Jessica Latten via Weld for Birmingham

As many of you know, I'm a proud member of the Birmingham chapter of Black Girls Run. Thanks to Weld for Birmingham, I was able to share my love for my running group with the entire city with my article 'Black girls run' fast and far toward better health.

Next Saturday I'll be joining several of the ladies from BGR-B'ham in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. If you'd like to support my fundraising efforts, please click here to make a donation.

 

Shades Creek Greenway a.k.a Lakeshore Running Trail

"Bend your knees more and stay light on your feet," she says. "Relax your arms a bit." 

I whisper her instructions to myself in an attempt to etch them into my muscles and my mind. 

It's a Saturday morning and I've been up since 6:15 a.m., sacrificing sleep for the chance to get a step closer to finally feeling like a real runner. 

Thanks to the Birmingham chapter of Black Girls RUN, I can finally say the words, "I'm meeting my running group," which I did for the first time this past weekend. One of the group organizers, Olivia, was kind enough to work one-on-one with me Saturday, helping me improve my stride and giving me tips on how to run up and down hills, and teaching me that slow and steady really does win the race. 

I spent many mornings this summer, before the Alabama heat became unbearable, pounding the pavement of the Lakeshore Running Trail, one of my favorite places in town the world and surprisingly I've learned lessons about life and about writing along the way. 

I can do this. I've never been much of a runner. Sure, I can out dance you in a hip-hop aerobics class, but I've never had a gazelle-like run and I'm as slow as Christmas. I even have a doctor’s excuse for not running thanks to a connective tissue disease I was diagnosed with in 2008. But one day while walking beneath the beautiful canopy of trees that covers much of the path at my favorite trail, I simply decided to run. And just as I can run despite achy joints (and bad shoes) I can make my writing dreams come true despite the dismal stats on the success of blogs and the sad state of journalism. I can do this. 

Stay in your lane. Most folks know the basic and most important rule of a running trail: stay to the right and pass on the left. But the phrase “stay in your lane” means much more to me. It reminds me to stop comparing myself to others, to not worry about the cute blonde in the cute sports bra with the perfect abs and perfect stride. Likewise, I need to stop eyeing another blogging babe's number of page views, followers, and unique visitors; stop envying another woman writer's book deal. As I run the path I’m on, one that I hope is leading me to the life I want to one day live, I must be careful not to get off track by coveting someone else’s pace.

Believe in the buddy system. Thanks to Olivia and my new running group, on Saturday I pushed myself as I never had before at the trail. My running partner is usually my pink iPod Nano and with it I typically walk for one song, run for one song, repeat. But on Saturday we ran for three minutes and only walked for one. I worried I wouldn’t be able to keep going with such a brief recovery time. But I was wrong. I did it! Or I should say, we did it, because I never would have tried had it not been for my new running buddies. Writing, even blogging, can be a solitary endeavor, but it's important to build community. That's why I started See Jane Write and that's why I hope to create an online community for fellow writers here on this new blog. 

Breathe and keep going. When I started running I was convinced I needed walk breaks every 60 seconds. Then one day Madonna’s hit “4 Minutes” came on my hopelessly girly music device and I decided I’d try to run for the entire track (which is, cleverly, four minutes long). I did it. And one day I ran for seven minutes without a walk break, and then nine. When I’m running there’s usually a moment when I want to stop and walk, but then I tell myself to just breathe and keep going. Sometimes I get fed up with writing because Georgia Mae's readership isn't growing fast enough, my freelance gigs aren't paying enough, and I can't seem to write a book to save my life. Then I remember to just breathe and keep going.