Embracing the Challenge

August 2012  --  CRIM Festival of Races

Have you ever done something so far out of your comfort zone that when you were done,  it was still a little crazy to believe you did it?  Well, that was me last summer when I signed up to run in the CRIM.  It is a 10 mile race in Flint,Michigan and is by far, the farthest I had/have ever run.

I have only been running for 2 years.  After I started my fitness journey and had gotten a little more healthy, I thought it would be something fun to try.  It was really hard for me at first, and still is at time, but I have kept up with it.  Last spring I ran my 1st 10K, then with the help of a friend, decided to try the 10 mile race.  It was probably one of the most challenging and at the same time, rewarding things I have ever done.

There have been so many times in my life that I have been too scared to push myself to do something that was so hard that there was a real chance that I might fail.  I thought that I was 'playing it safe', but what I was really doing was cheating myself out of the opportunity of facing a fear...embracing a challenge...moving forward to a new and exciting place.

It's never easy to do or try new things.  It's challenging.  It can be scary.  It takes commitment.  It takes believing in yourself...but it's in those moments that the magic happens.  It's in those times that we grow, and experience, and feel, and see things through a whole new light.

So, I have committed to challenging myself once again.  I have signed up to run my 1st 1/2 marathon at the end of May.  Am I nervous?  Absolutely!!!!  But I'm also really looking forward to seeing what amazing adventures come from this new experience.  I promise to keep you all updated as I begin training in the beginning of April.

Is there something that you have always wanted to do?  Something in your life that is currently challenging you?  Are you just 'playing it safe' or are you embracing the challenge?

Slow and Steady

  When I had made it to Christmas and hadn't gotten any respiratory illnesses for the year so far, I thought that I might finally make it through my first winter in years without a set back.  Unfortunately, my body had a different idea.  I have had to spend some time at the doctors, and pretty much go to work and come straight home and get the rest my body needs...but it's been in these 2 weeks of rest that I've really had a lot of time to sit back and reflect a little, when I haven't been napping :)

Even though at times I feel that things in my life might be moving forward at a 'snail's pace', they are still moving forward in a direction of my choosing; a direction that I have chosen with purpose and with intention; a direction that I have worked hard to continue on with the support of some incredible people in my life.  I have done and am doing things that I never imagined that I would or could do.  I am setting goals for myself that I would have never have dreamed of setting.  

A snail may not be fast, but it is strong and it has everything it needs...and I am learning that the more I am willing to look inside myself, lean on others for support when I need it, and faithfully continue to take the steps forward each day, I also have everything I need to be successful in my life.

Sometimes it just takes slowing down a little (or in my case getting sick) to remind me how thankful I am to be able to do all the fun things that I do on a daily basis.  Health and fitness plays such a big part in my daily life now, and I'm so thankful that my body allows me to do all the things that it does.

What is something you can be thankful for today?

I Beleive

It has been several months since my last blog post.  There are so many things that have happened since July and I can't wait to share them with you, but I have decided that this post isn't going to be the one for that.  I have spent the last couple of weeks really thinking about what I have accomplished in my life in the last 2 years and what I want out of the next year. 

FITNESS IS A LIFESTYLE AND A LIFE LONG JOURNEY

I hear it so many times in the circle of friends that I have and in the gym that I go to, and it is so true.  I have found successes in changing my mindset just to find those new thought patterns challenged.  I have lost weight and gained muscle and then gotten sick, or stressed, or overwhelmed and taken a couple steps backward.

I have found myself getting frustrated and even a little annoyed with myself when I have these 'back step moments', but this year I have promised myself better.  I am a firm believer that when we know better, we do better....and I know better than to beat myself up over the little things.  I have realized that it's in those times that I take a few steps backward that I turn around and see how far I've come.  If I was always moving forward and I wouldn't be able to appreciate (in the same way) where I was coming from.  I know, for me, I need times where I stop and look around for a few minutes, or even days, and regroup and recharge.  It's what allows me to continue to move forward and to be proud of each step I take along the way.

The journey is not always straight.  It's is definitely full of sprints and times I have to slow down and catch my  breath, but I wouldn't change one day of it.

Where is your journey taking you?  Don't be too busy sprinting to the end that you don't have time to turn around and see where you've come from.  You may just see something beautiful!!!!!

                            A Weekend Full of Firsts!


"Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. " ~ Greg Anderson 

Last Sunday was a beautiful day, so after running a 5K the day before (Saturday) and placing 1st in my age division, I was feeling pretty invincible and decided to brave putting my kayak on the top of the new rack I had bought and installed on my SUV for the 1st time all by myself and spend the afternoon kayaking.  It was a great way to spend the afternoon and the perfect choice for me.  My laundry could wait to be folded and put away when I got home. The dishes in the sink could be washed once I got back.  All of my chores will still need to be done, but it was worth taking a little time for myself.  I've found how much I need to do that for myself sometimes

I have worked hard to remain committed to going to the gym regularly this summer because I want to make sure that I continue making forward progress on the fitness journey that I'm on, but with that said I have also been enjoying a lot of the outdoor activities that I can't enjoy during the other times of the year.  For me, two of those include running outside and kayaking.

So as I was kayaking today I was mainly going through well traveled areas.  Toward the end I was starting to get tired and was trying to get tired and and was trying to get back so I chose the most direct path.  This path was much straighter and required less ground (water) to be covered but had a lot of lily pads and seaweed that slowed me down.  It never completely stopped me...it just slowed me down at times.  I would paddle a little harder to get through it and then things would go great until the next patch came up.  I could have chosen to go the longer and more traveled route and probably ended up getting back at about the same time, but I didn't.  This is the way I had chosen to go today.

It made me stop and think about my fitness journey.  Is there really a 'right' way to be doing this?  As long as I'm going it in a healthy way, I don't think so.  I think there are a lot of roads that can lead to a destination.  Some people workout in the privacy of their own home using their own equipment and/or DVD's.  Others join health clubs and utilize the equipment there and/or group exercise classes.  Still others would rather hike, bike, run, ski or skate.  I think the most important thing is to put on a pair of shoes and chose the one the directions that feels right for you...and if you don't like it once you are on it for a while then get off and try a different one.

Girls on the Run

http://www.girlsontherun.org/

I spent the last 10 weeks of the school year volunteering with a program called 'Girls on the Run' that promotes self-esteem, self-confidence, health, fitness, and fun.  I was lucky enough to work with ten 3rd-5th grade girls two times a week.  We played silly games, learned a lot about about running and how to make healthy choices in the foods we eat and in the way we choose to exercise.  We also practiced running each day.  It was amazing to watch the girls grow and develop.  I loved watching their confidence levels increase and new friendships develop.  As fun as it was to watch them improve with their running, it was even more rewarding to watch them become more empowered as individuals; to see their value and worth and uniqueness for who they are as something to be proud of!  That was what meant the most for me.  The program ended with a 5K run to celebrate all of the girls' hard work.  I was so proud of all of them for all that they had accomplished.

It was during the 5K run that I was ale to allow myself to think back to where I was a year ago...and then 2 years ago.  Two years ago I was just beginning to get started on my fitness journey and I didn't even know it at the time, and a year ago I was trying to talk myself into running my 1st 5K.  It's crazy to think about all the things that can be accomplished in a year.  There have been times within the last year that I have gotten frustrated and other times that I have felt that I was completely 'stuck', but when I allowed myself to take a step back a really look at my life...I was able to realize that I really wasn't stuck as much as I have turned and headed in a slightly different direction.  It was still leading me to where I wanted to go, just in a different way...and along that way I have found that I enjoy running and a few other things I never would have known I liked.

I'm so thankful that the path my life seems to follow is never the straight, flat, paved one, but instead the one filled with all the twists and turns and hills.  It makes it so much more exciting!

"Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal."  ~ E. Joseph Cossman

This quote is one that I continually find myself coming back to when I have something in my life...whether it is a goal or an obstacle...that is causing me to feel out of balance.  I know that in life I have new goals that I'm setting all the time.  I also have obstacles that tend to creep in on me.  The thing that I've discovered over the last few years is that if I focus on the obstacles, then I lose sight of the progress that I'm making toward achieving the goals that I have set for myself.


Last weekend I ran my first 10K and it was AMAZING.  A year ago I was doubting my ability to complete a 5K and now, sitting on the other side of completing a 10K, I have learn so much about myself.  I now know that I can do whatever it is that I set my mind to.  That might seem a little simplistic, but it has taken me over 30 years to truly be able to say that I fully know and believe that statement...and how empowering it can be.


There have been times over the last year that I have found myself unmotivated and frustrated about the lack of progress I felt I was making in my fitness journey, but as I run my 10K all I could think about was all of the other people that I was running with and how each and every one of them had their own story.  Some of them were young.  Some of them were older.  Some of them were battling illnesses and choosing to celebrate by focusing on what their bodies could do for them.  Other were instilling the love for running in their children, or helping a friend or family member reach a goal of their own.  Over 2500 unique and individual stories...and I was a part of it all.  


It was an absolutely indescribable feeling that left me feeling more whole and thankful that I could have ever imagined.


Is there something in your life that feels bigger than you?    Choose today to refocus your eyes.  Instead of looking at the obstacles, begin to focus on the end goal...with commitment and a belief in your own ability, you just might be amazed at what you can accomplish!

GET OUT OF THE BOAT !!!

This is one of the 'walk away' messages that I left church with this morning.

WOW!

This can apply to SOOO many different things in SOOO many different situations.

As I have been thinking about this over the last several hours, I've come to relieve that a boat is nothing more that a glorified box (yes, maybe it is a box that can take you somewhere, but a box non-the-less).  

So many of us choose to live much of our lives in a box of some sort...

• a job that pays the bills, but that we are not passionate about
• the role we have become so good at playing, but that we feel wrongly defines us
• a negative body image/self esteem because we are not quite sure how to take the steps needed to change it
• the comfort of the known. instead of the fear of what could be (even if that might include something AMAZING)

Being in a boat 'sounds' better than saying that you are choosing to confine yourself to a box...but it's the same thing.  

During this crazy journey that I am on, I have found that the only times that I have grown, are the times that I have consciously chosen to step outside of my box and go for it.  Is that something that is easy for me?  NO! But am I glad I do it...EVERY TIME!  

The first 5K that I ran, I was scared...but so happy i did it.

The first boot camp I participated in, I was extremely self-conscious...but met so many new people.

The first time I met 1-on-1 with a trainer, I was incredibly anxious...but I wouldn't trade the day for anything.

Where ever you are in life, you didn't get there by always doing what is comfortable.  There are times that require putting the fear of the unknown (or failure) aside and taking a large and deliberate step out of the boat/box.

As the day has gone on I have done a lot of thinking about what 'boxes/boats' I have gotten out of and left  behind and what ones I have chosen to not only remain in but decorate and fully furnish.

What is that for you?  What is one area in your life that if you could just take a chance and leap that you might really surprise yourself?  What is holding you back from doing that?  Think about it, process it, and then remind yourself that you deserve so much more than to live your life in any boxes/boats....and then take a deep breath and JUMP!