On Being Awesome

Pre-race with Coach & Jess

Having a great attitude will get you much further in life than talent, skills or potential.Talking about a great attitude, allow me to introduce you to Vicky Hopper. If you have been reading our newsletters, checking out our website, or reading our Facebook page, you will probably recognize Vicky. She has been training with us for over 3 years and we love featuring her smiling face. I first met Vicky in 2011 through a mutual friend who had recommended our half-marathon training program to her. The first things I noticed about Vicky were her sunny disposition and her outgoing personality. I quickly learned that Vicky has an awesome attitude and enjoys competing, no matter how fast or slow she finishes! Vicky is one of the most inspiring athletes I have had the pleasure to train with! Here is her story…..

Vicky was born and raised in the United Kingdom. In secondary school (high school), she was very athletic and loved sports. She played as many sports as she could. She was on the rounders (an English sport similar to softball) team throughout high school and enjoyed swimming! After leaving school and starting work, her participation in sports fizzled out. This is not unusual and many of you reading this are probably nodding your heads and thinking, “Yes, same here”. The stresses of work, the responsibilities of being an adult, and her new ‘non-student’ lifestyle meant she left behind those childhood activities that she had so enjoyed. Life went on. Vicky’s work life progressed. She became a Mum (Mom), and gradually the memories of the sports activities she once loved started to fade. A few years later, she met and fell in love with the man who was to become her husband (and he still is). After getting married, Vicky and her daughter, Emma, moved to the United States with her new hubby, Dave. After moving across the Atlantic and leaving behind all her friends and family, Vicky was kept busy raising Emma (who was still very young) and building a new life in this strange land. She settled into her new life well. She made friends, found a job, and the years passed.

It wasn’t until almost 20 years after leaving secondary school, when her daughter was in high school, that Vicky decided to trade her sedentary lifestyle for a more active one. She tried a few different classes and activities like Jazzercise, Insanity and PX90. Some were too easy; some were too hard; some were too boring and none of them inspired her. She woke up one morning and decided to try running. She laced up her shoes and off she went. She never looked back. Vicky had found what she was looking for. She was in love with running! 

1st Marathon Medal-Go Vicky!

Unfortunately, not long after starting to run, Vicky injured her knee. The injury made running too painful so she started to walk instead. This turned out to be a rather serendipitous injury as she discovered that she enjoyed athletic walking even more than running! It was around this time that Vicky was introduced to the WalkAthlete half marathon training group and began her journey to becoming a WalkAthlete. She joined the Saturday morning training group. She enjoyed the camaraderie of group training, the educational sessions, and the ongoing support of the coaching team. Most importantly, she became a huge fan of post-training breakfasts! 

Vicky continued training for races. She finished 2 triathlons, numerous 5k races and a few half-marathons before deciding to train for a full (26.2 miles) marathon. In January 2013 Vicky accomplished that goal by completing her very first full marathon: The Clearwater marathon! Vicky was a superstar at that race. She walked the entire distance, she finished last, and she kept smiling until the bitter end! 

Not long after this incredible achievement, Vicky started to experience problems with ankle pain. Her doctor discovered a couple of bone spurs on her ankle and recommended surgery. She had the surgery in the fall of 2013. For a few weeks prior to her foot surgery, Vicky had to wear a ‘boot’. Remember that great attitude I mentioned earlier? On the day before her surgery, she participated in the “Run for the Fallen” 5k while wearing the boot! She might not have been fast but she was awesome!

Second Marathon Medal!

It took Vicky a while to fully recover from the surgery and, unfortunately, she lost some of her fitness and gained some weight. Not to be beaten, she worked hard to bounce back, regain her fitness and lose weight. She started walking, swimming, and doing PiYo (a combination of Pilates and Yoga) to strengthen her ankle, increase her cardiovascular fitness, and get her muscles working again! After a few months of consistent workouts and completing a few 5K, 10K, and half marathon races, Vicky started training for her second marathon. 

She earned her second marathon medal in January 2015! She wasn’t done yet though. She went on to complete two more half marathons and a triathlon in the following few months. She is currently training for another triathlon and is registered for a few races in the fall.

I asked Vicky quite a lot of questions as input to this article. Most of her answers I wove into the body of the story. Some of her answers are better shared just as she wrote them. Here they are:

Q. Did any event, person or situation motivate or inspire you on your journey?
A. When I started I was my own motivator and my internal motivation got me a long way. Coach Leenie has become an important external motivator for me. She is an inspiration; she is out there everyday training others and putting in the miles herself. She has actually done all the things she tells you to do so you know that she knows what she is talking about.

Q. What is your proudest achievement so far?
A. Finishing a marathon was an incredible achievement. Once you have become a marathoner, no one can take that away from you. It is something I will always be proud of!

Q. What do your friends and family think about your achievements? How supportive are they?
A. My family and friends think I am a little nuts but then I always have been so they probably don’t expect anything different from me (haha). My family and friends are very supportive of my goals, often ask questions about how my training is going, and are a great cheer team at my events.

Q. What advice would you give to someone contemplating starting a new fitness or healthy lifestyle program?
A. Just DO IT! If you are already thinking about it then you are half way there. All you need to do is start. After that first day the rest will be much easier. The hardest part is making a commitment and getting out there on day one. Then you just have to keep going.  A coach will help you train smarter and a training group will make your workouts more fun!

With Dave, Emma & friends        Holiday Halfathon           RFTF 5k in a boot!

Vicky has most definitely mastered the art of 'Being Awesome'! She has not achieved it by being the fastest runner, walker or swimmer. She has achieved it with hard work, a positive can-do attitude, a sunny disposition, and her willingness to get out there and give it her best shot—even when she thinks she might come last. Vicky finishes what she started, no matter how tough the journey or how long it takes her to get there! We love you Vicky!!

Making the Commitment to a Healthy Lifestyle

Step One: Get Started!

Committing to a new fitness program & adopting a healthy lifestyle can be a difficult adjustment, especially in the first few weeks. Changing any habits or routines which require letting go of old, familiar ways of doing things is challenging for most people. Despite what you might think, it is not the fitness program itself that causes the angst; it is the adaptation to change. Whenever we change what is familiar to something unfamiliar it takes time to adjust and feel comfortable with what is new (both physically and mentally.) It doesn’t matter if the new situation or activity is a fitness program, healthy eating plan, job, residential location, or a change in relationship or family status—the unfamiliar can be disconcerting. Changing routines and priorities takes us outside our comfort zones which can be exciting, scary, exhilarating, terrifying and amazing all at the same time. Until the new routines become “normal”, they may feel like they don’t quite fit properly in your life yet. The good news is that after a few weeks of practicing and living with new routines, habits or priorities, they will start to feel normal. They will be inside your new comfort zone. For exercise to become a habit, all you have to do is get started and take it one step at a time.

If you are not convinced yet and you still believe that adopting a healthier lifestyle and committing to regular exercise is more challenging than making any other activity or habit change, you can test this change theory for yourself. All you have to do is choose one of the following 3 activity changes and stick to it for 3-4 weeks:

1.      Change your computer mouse to the other side (use it with your non-dominant hand)

2.      Switch eating utensils to the opposite hands

3.      Use a pen to write with the opposite hand

When you first start, the activity will feel uncomfortable and more time consuming than usual. For example, if you chose option 1, it may take you ages to get the mouse pointer to the correct place on the screen before you can click. If you chose option 2, you may have to eat much slower because you feel uncoordinated using your fork, knife and/or spoon in the wrong hand. If you chose option 3, you may find that trying to write with your non-dominant hand is more challenging than expected. You may not even be able to write anything legibly when you first start. With any of these options, you may become frustrated because of the extra time it takes to complete the activity in a way that is unfamiliar and uncomfortable for you. It is challenging having to think about and carefully control each action. It feels uncomfortable because you have no physical muscle memory or mental auto-pilot where your body and mind know what to do without you having to consciously think about it. If you stick to the new way of doing your chosen activity for a few weeks it will start to feel just as comfortable as the old way. If you keep switching back and forth between the old and the new, the new way will never start to feel “normal” because you are continually reinforcing the old way as being the normal, comfortable way of doing things.  Changing to a new healthy lifestyle and fitness program is exactly the same. You have to give it time so that you can become adept at the new way of doing things.

Step Two: Have Fun!

Once your newly adopted lifestyle starts to feel normal, familiar, and comfortable, it becomes an integral part of your life. It helps define who you are. It is no longer something you have to “make time for” in your busy schedule; it is already a part of your everyday schedule. It is a fun and rewarding part of your life. The most common excuse given for not exercising is “lack of time”. In reality, we can always find time to do the things that are part of our everyday routines because those are our top priorities. For example, you will find time to shower, eat, sleep, go the bathroom, take care of your kids, go to work, make dinner, and participate in specific hobbies or social events. Whatever is on your “priorities” list, you will get done no matter what. Free time is the time that you have left over after taking care of priorities. You have a lot more free time than you think and you have control over what you do with it. If you don’t think that is true, start to keep track of what you do each day. Keep track of how many hours you spend watching TV, playing video games, messing about on the computer, chatting with friends, or other activities and hobbies. You may think that you need all these activities to relax but, with practice, you can switch one or more of the less healthy activities for new ones that will also be relaxing—like swapping some TV time for exercise time or exercising while you watch TV. 

The hardest part of starting a new health and fitness program is mentally making the commitment to start. Once you have completed week one, each week will become easier than the last. The day will come when you realize that you cannot imagine NOT doing this because it has become such an important and integral part of your life. Your health and fitness will have moved from your free time (nice to have) list to your priority (must have) list.
Positive change takes commitment and courage. Once you get past day one, you just have to keep going. Take it one day at a time. Forgive yourself when you falter, let it go and get right back on track.