I am thrilled to have Vieve from EagerViever taking over RunWiki today. I’ve known Vieve since I first started blogging in 2008. She was one of those readers who’s comments always stayed with me. You know those people that you instantly connect with? Yep, that was her. She is one of the most down to earth, kind and intelligent women I know. I had the pleasure of running with her and 4 other women in my first relay, and we ran Mountain 2 Beach together last year. Vieve has been my good friend for many years and it is such an honor to have her on the blog today.
I couldn’t be more excited to guest post for Runwiki.org. I have been following her blog for probably 7 years now and it has inspired me over and over again. In 2013, we raced together at Wastach Back, and enjoyed it so much that I flew out and ran the Mountains2Beach Marathon with her in 2014. She is an amazing person and friend.
Just a little about me. My name is Vieve (aka – EagerViever). I consider myself an enthusiastic and driven athlete. I always say that I live on the edge of giving up and seeing how much more I can take. Then I try to convince others to live the insanity, too, on my blog and through social networks.
I am a marathon runner, two-time ultra relay champion (alongside Runwiki and our relay running team #highnuun ), and a triathlete. I am an ambassador for Women’s Health Magazine as an Action Hero for 2 years running, where I’ve had the chance to lead in the fight for local hunger relief via the Run10Feed10 races. I also race for Team Nuun, Oiselle Flock, #Fitfluential, and Got Chocolate Milk. And, that all takes place outside of my full-time job as an accounting manager and keeping care of my evil cat Oggy.
2015 started out, for me, on a journey to Boston Qualifying and getting my body fat percentage down to 16% — goals hand in hand. Now, a third of the way done with the year, my journey is finding my own happiness in health.
I don’t consider myself a quitter. But, quitting, is what I had to do this year. After 12 years of running, I had become obsessed with statistics and comparison. I was consumed by tracking calories and getting in workouts. I started to believe my only worth was what I looked like or if I did or did not accomplish getting down to certain body fat percentage. I knew that the healthy thing I was doing was not actually so healthy anymore.
And it got me thinking…
- When did fitness and nutrition become this platform for always needing more from ourselves?
- When did it take away from enjoying life, company, food?
- When did it start causing us to hate on ourselves for “slipping up”?
- Did I have a healthy relationship with food? Or had it become disordered?
- Why did I find myself scrolling through Instagram comparing myself to post after post?
- What would accomplishing my speed goals do for me, really?
- Were my goals getting in the way of having healthy relationships?
- Why do we put so much emphasis on aesthetics or the time it takes to finish a race?
The day I found myself pondering these questions was the day I stopped my goals cold turkey. I decided to not worry about Boston Qualifying. To not think about body fat percentage. To start enjoying time with friends at restaurants, cooking with my boyfriend, and having more time to work on my other relationships. I still run. I still exercise on a daily basis, but I don’t track how many miles I am putting in on the treadmill or log each thing that goes into my mouth.
To be honest, it’s been a struggle. Changing habits is hard and there are days I freak out that I am just going to balloon up and lose all the progress in speed I had made over the years. But, then I remind myself, that’s not what life is made of. Yes, it is important to be healthy. But, not so much to have 100 marathons, a BQ, aesthetic appeal — but, to extend and improve the quality of life. How have we all gotten so far from this simple thought?
I don’t feel like I’ve quit on my goals. I think I’ve just changed my focus. I still want to qualify for Boston one day. I think I’ll get there, but it’s just important to remember that we don’t have to do everything today. That there are many roads to a destination and that sometimes taking the more scenic route is the right way, even if it takes more time — it’s good for the soul. And sometimes we don’t end up where we thought we would, anyway.
So, don’t beat yourself up. If you decide a goal or lifestyle isn’t right for you, then find something that is. You know what you need and trying to compare yourself to other’s accomplishments will only frustrate you and set you back. This time try listening and being honest with yourself about what you and only you really, really need to find health and happiness. You might find your “how”, “what”, or “why” is much different than what you’ve been living. And that is where you find your growth-promoting changes.
Love Yourself As You Are-Guest Post by @EagerViever #fitfluential #runchat Click To Tweet
You can read more from Vieve by following her at: her Blog, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.
