RUN(derful) & RIDE(rful) Wednesday

HAPPY WEDNESDAY GUYS! Ahhhh! We made it! It's all downhill from here (and that's GREAT news when it comes to running and biking). 😄

No matter what goes on in our lives, it's important to live in the moment and to focus on what's important to us, weather that something is a lifelong passion, a new hobby, or something you decided to pick back up after a long pause. We all have different trajectories in life, and that includes starting over or picking up where we left off. 

This week's thoughts include:

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Falling down can include a variety of things. At times it's very literal, as in "Susie was riding her bike, rode over a rock and fell, skinning both knees.", or it could be something less tangible, such as, "John lost his mojo for racing. It was just gone one day...but today, he woke up with a newfound love for it an decided to get back in shape." Weather it's a physical fall or a mental wall to work through, it's OK- everyone has those moments, but when you get up and fight for what you want, do it with your own version of passion and fire. Don't be afraid to just go for it and never be afraid to fail. Sometimes getting up is the part that requires the fire. It's okay not to pop right back up after something damaging happens. When I took my time off from sports this holiday break, it stretched into almost two months and included a bad head cold, homesickness and the winter blues. I subsequently put on weight, and now I need to lose the weight, along with getting my strength and cardio endurance back. It's frustrating. It was something I couldn't just "pop" right back up from; I need to work through not only physical challenges holding me back, but I had to get through what was mentally blocking me from getting up and getting out there. I'm getting back up slowly; each day is a new challenge but I'm getting there. We're all works in progress, and it's a beautiful journey, so never forget that. Remember- when you get up, don't forget to bring that fire! 💥

One Small Step...Winter Blahs and Getting Back Up

Winter so far has been a challenge. Not being able to do anything outside makes me sad. Sure, it's all new and fun before the holidays, but now we're slogging towards the end of January with no respite in view. I find myself on the couch more often than not these days, since the mere thought of setting foot outside in weather hovering in the teens makes me want to curl into a ball until March. In Houston, the super cold weather (I'm talking about the good ol' 30's) lasts about 2 weeks max. In my whole life I've never had to deal with running, especially training for a marathon, in weather that can cause hypothermia, grow icicles on your eyelashes after a mile, or slam you down on the pavement thanks to black ice. Regardless, it's time to get moving, even when I don't want to.

Newton's first law of motion says it best; "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force."

Along the line somewhere I got derailed from my training. Sometimes these forces are external, such as catching a bug, getting hurt, the holidays, weather, etc. Sometimes these forces are internal, such as a changed mentality. I would say that besides getting hurt, all of the above worked in tandem, leaving me a sad, pathetic lump on the couch. Newton was a smart man, at least in the realm of physics, and I've decided to take a page from his book, get up, and start moving again (especially when I don't want to).

Starting to move again is hard, and I don't look forward to the frustrating feelings of being winded after a two mile run, or losing the mile time I worked so hard in the Summer to attain, but Big Sur is coming up in April, I have to finish it, and I refuse to sit around moping any longer.

Along with the idea of working out, a home treadmill would be AWESOME! Having my own treadmill is a long term goal, something I plan on doing as soon as I can finish paying off my student loans. I have friends who have no loans weighing on them, and I imagine feeling that free one day. I also have friends who continue to defer their loans while making purchases on expensive and/or designer items they don't need. Personally, that's not for me. I don't feel that ignoring loans in favor of keeping up with the Jonses is a smart approach to life, but to each their own. I will continue to visit the gym for a good run in the cold (and any bad) weather, and when that time comes to FINALLY get my own treadmill (cue sound of the heavens opening up here), it will feel all that much sweeter. Thank you, Y, for talking some sense into me.

As for tonight, I am taking my first small step (two miles worth in fact), toward marathon training. And it's going to be ROUGH, but it's time to get my body back into motion. I may not be able to handle cold weather like a true mid-westerner, and it's not ideal, but I'm a tough girl nonetheless. Hold my coat while I treadmill it up like no one's business! 😀👋

RUN(derful) & RIDE(rful) Wednesday

HAPPY WEDNESDAY GUYS! Ahhhh! We made it! It's all downhill from here (and that's GREAT news when it comes to running and biking). 😄

No matter what goes on in our lives, it's important to live in the moment and to focus on what's important to us. It's important to appreciate the time we spend doing what we do, whether that's work (or an aspect of work), learning new skills at the track with friends, picking up a new hobby or attending a class. Lately, I've been thinking about keeping positive when overcoming obstacles, things we can control and things we can't, and pushing through it all.  

This week's thoughts include:

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I don't think anyone anywhere who regularly competes in a sport can say with all earnestness that they have never had an obstacle in their way. It would be awesome, but no one has ever had it that easy. With that all on the table, I propose that the best way to push on and remain consistent with your hobby, weather it's running, riding a bike, or really anything, is to "Do what you can with what you have where you are". Thanks, Mr. Roosevelt. ✌😎 This is a wonderful quote. However, the problem with most inspirational quotes is that they are much easier read than done. Think about a time when you had something against you going into a run or race. How did you adjust? DID you adjust? What can you actively practice now to ensure more of this mindset is around when you need it most?

There have been a few times in the past, like now, that I am getting ready to enter a race after having been sick for the last 2 ish weeks. I haven't been able to train, and instead have been focusing on taking medicine and getting better. I would have PREFERRED to not have been sick at all, but as you all know, we don't choose when we get sick, and NO time is a convenient time to catch a virus.
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Going into this weekend I am preferring to focus on what I do have versus what I don't. I'm choosing to mark this occasion as my first workout of the year and do the best I can with it, with all my past training and knowledge to guide me. Just because you're not at your best each time, don't let it scare you away from competing. I think if I entered races only when everything was "perfect", the moon was in retrograde, blah blah blah blah, I would hardly be out there! One thing I DO have control over in this situation is my bed time, and because of a 6:30 a.m. flight tomorrow morning, that bed time will be at 8 p.m. 😴 Rest heals so much, and I plan to stock up!

Training and Sickies

There's nothing like sidelining your training than being sick. Somewhere during our Christmas break, my entire family has managed to catch a cold, we think from my niece, and we've been recovering ever since. It's been about a week so far, and while it gets slightly better everyday, even the slightest exertion makes me want to take a nap for at least 4 hours. I tried training through it this time, since I've heard of people who do, but even with the toughest of intentions and inner Rocky-style pep talks, this cold has sidelined any working out. I get it; my body is trying to put every last ounce of energy into getting better, which makes sense. The only thing it doesn't make sense to, are my feelings of full on FOMO.

Even with the FOMO, I feel like resting up is ultimately the best thing for fighting the winter sickies. I have a bike race coming up this weekend and I intend to spend my last few days here resting and recovering between work. Hopefully my choice to save every ounce of energy for this race will pay off. No one wants to be sick and have that much downtime before a competition, but hey, it is what it is, so I'd rather keep that positive attitude and just do the best I can. Being sick does have its advantages though. For one, I wasn't feeling well enough to go to work yesterday so I used the time between sleeps to pack up everything and finish the last of the laundry. Boring, but helpful. T-minus 3 days to go 'till the big race, so until then I'll be stocking up on cold meds and vitamin C. The vitamin not the singer. Ha. Ha.

Happy New Year 2020!

Well, that all happened fast. How is it that we're not in 2019 anymore?!? I feel like just yesterday I was packing up my car to move to Kansas. It's been officially 6 months since I've lived here and while it's been challenging at times with family and friends far away and cold winter weather, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. Stepping out of  one's comfort zone is never easy, but sometimes so much good can come from it. I've learned that facing my fears can pay off, and it doesn't necessarily mean that something bad will happen.

Lots of little things came out of it, too. For example, I got to ride on a BMX track consistently again. With all the rain in Houston, I barely got to set foot on a track for the last year and a half, so it's been nice having tracks to race on and a BMX community to be around. My team went under late last year with a bad case of ghosting bigger than the state of Texas. It gave me no time to search for a new team, and for awhile I felt lost. During my time racing I have almost never NOT had a team to belong to, and during my move and the distance, that threat of not having a perceived connection to something made me feel extremely sad and lonely. It was only recently that I was able to look logically at the matter and realize that regardless of being on a team or not, BMX is and always will be my happy place. One day I hope to find the right fit with an awesome team that races nationals. Until then, I will be having lots of fun this year training, hanging out, upgrading some parts and racing all over for myself! 😀 Vegas, baby!

I also got to make lots of headway with running, especially those darn hills. They're everywhere here, and lately when I see a hill I smile. Bring. It. On! I love the running community here and have been lucky enough to meet some really awesome people along the way. I've already run a couple of races in the area in 2019 and look forward to a few more in 2020, as well as running the Big Sur Marathon again with my boyfriend in April. After that, I think I will go back to half marathons for a while. I love to run, but I also want time to do other things as well, and learning to find that balance last year was a big accomplishment that I plan to bring with me into 2020.

Currently I am getting over a nasty head cold, and haven't been able to work out much this last week or so. I'm itching to get better and get back out there this weekend! I've been loving my job, and learning as much as I can about digital strategy and marketing. I'm full of optimism and exuberance for the year ahead, and I can't wait to experience it with those I love, both near and far. Wishing you all a great start to 2020!