ANNETTE'S ASYLUM

ATTACHMENT

2012-01-15T16:04:00.000-06:00

These last 2-3 weeks I have been sick. I am much better now, but still not totally up to optimum, but I am getting there. Being sick, I have been through a gamut of emotions from pity party to down right mad to finally acceptance. I am not one that does sickness well. So when my husband suggested that we downgrade our marathon status to a half marathon, I pouted. 'I had worked too hard', I whined, 'and I wasn't letting a stupid cold stop me from completing this'. As I sat back and contemplated the 'what if's' of downgrading from marathon to half marathon I realized that I was very attached to the outcome. Bottom line, I wanted that 26.2 mile bling. I wanted it bad. Simple as that. I was attached to a stupid medal. I was also attached to the sentimental value this race had for me. 5 years ago it was my first marathon, this year it was going to be my husband's first marathon and I wanted to complete it together. By the way, Mike is not nearly as attached to this goal as I am. So back to the 'what if's'...so what if my medal isn't inscribed with 26.2 but 13.1 instead? What if we cross the half marathon finish line instead of the full?

According to Deepak Chopra there are Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga. The 6th law is The Law of Detachment. This law reveals a paradox of life. In order to acquire something in the world, you have to relinquish your attachment to it. This doesn't mean to give up the intention to fulfill your desire, you simply give up your attachment to the outcome.
Attachment is based on fear and insecurity - believing that you need something outside yourself in order to be happy. In my case, holding that 26.2 medal gave me visions of happiness. By practicing detachment and embracing uncertainty, you relinquish your need to hold on to the past, which is the only thing that is known. Being open to what is happening rather than trying to control how things unfold, you experience the excitement, adventure, exhilaration, and mystery of life. Have your intentions clearly in your awareness while you maintain an attitude of Thy will be done. The coexistence of these apparently contradictory forces -intention and detachment- cultivates the flexibility that enables you to fulfill all your goals in life. Attachment breeds rigidity. I was certainly rigid in my ideas and how things should unfold. So after studying this concept I realized that if I let go of my attachment I no longer had the pressure of not being fully prepared to complete this marathon. Most importantly, we had wanted to make a small family vacation in Miami and down grading to a half marathon would certainly give us more time and the time we had would be more enjoyable with my kids. So I got on the ING Miami marathon website and I sat in front of the button that you push to change your marathon status. I asked my husband several times, "are you sure?" He was dead sure. I pushed the button to change our status and unexpectedly a flood of relief came over me. I felt great about my decision. I now look forward to this trip and know we will have a more enjoyable time with the family. From now on, I will make a more conscious effort to identify my attachments to outcome for I now know that it spoils the journey, and the journey is what it is all about my friends.
May you be blessed.
Namaste'

I'M SICK :P SO HERE IS WHAT I DID ABOUT IT

2012-01-04T17:47:00.000-06:00

I am one who rarely gets sick. I boast and brag about never getting sick to my friends and co-workers. So this week, after 3 days of denial and shear torture for my spouse, I find myself....sick. There. I said it. I'm sick. And to make matters worse, I'm training for the ING Marathon that is 25 days away. This is the most crucial time in my training and I haven't gotten my scheduled runs in. I have spent the last two nights sleepless. My husband has spent the last two nights sleepless as well for I have coughed nonstop like a 90 year old 2 pack a day smoker with COPD . My muscles and joints hurt so bad that I have accused my husband of beating me with a two by four in the middle of the night while I am temporarily unconscious from too much cold medication. Mike vehemently denies this accusation, but he has a suspiciously sneaky look in his eyes so I will not rule that possibility out. Being this sore without running a marathon is...well...simply wrong, so very wrong.
So being the holistic nurse junkie that I am, I set out to cure myself. I thought I would share with you, the reader, some of the things that have helped me during this time of illness/ denial.

#1. Make good old fashion chicken soup. Here is a simple recipe that I made that is nourishing and good for the soul.

2 organic free range chicken breast

2 boxes Wolfe Gang Puck's organic free range chicken broth (I think they are 32 oz each)

1 cup Yogi brand organic brown long grain rice

2 diced organic carrots

2 stalks organic celery-dice

1 T Braggs liquid aminos (add more to taste)

Olive oil

Basil

Salt and Pepper

Thyme

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Drizzle olive oil over chicken and season with Salt and Pepper. Bake until done and cut into small pieces. While chicken is cooking cook rice using 2 cups of the organic chicken broth (instead of water) according to package instructions (usually 50 minutes over low heat). Combine all ingredients in large soup pot and let simmer on stove. The smell is wonderful and healing. Enjoy with organic crackers.

#2 For a persistent cough that makes your spouse want to beat you about the head and neck with a bat or a two by four - here is my helpful cough syrup remedy :

It soothes an irritated throat and relieves chest congestion and phlegm.The bad news: it tastes terrible -- it really does -- but if you have apersistant cough, it's worth a try.

•   1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•   1/4 teaspoon ground ginger ( I used fresh ginger root)
•   1 Tablespoon honey-(make sure it is local raw honey)
•   1 Tablespoon Braggs apple cider vinegar
•   2 Tablespoons water
 Mix and take by the teaspoon.
I took 3 teaspoons thefirst time because I had a bad dry cough and I wasdesparate for some relief. It worked and I got a good night's sleep.
Consider the beneficial effects of the individual ingredients:
•   Ginger (zingiber officinale) has long been used and recommended for arthritisand bursitis, because it is a natural anti-inflammatory. According to HomeHerbal, by Penelope Ody, D.K. Publishing, June 1995, ginger is a naturalantihistamine. It has also been used for for motion sickness and nausea, and inaddition, it's known for relieving chest congestion, according to Dr. AndrewWeil, Herbal Medicine Chesthttp://cgi.pathfinder.com/drweil/herbal/medchest
•   Cayenne (capsaicin) reduces pain, according to Herbs for Health and Healing, byKathi Keville, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, 1996. The same substance that makescayenne peppers hot relieves the pain by suppressing a chemical that carriesthe pain message from nerves in the affected area to the brain. According to HomeHerbal, by P. Ody, cayenne is warming and stimulating, it is a good coldremedy and eases chills and will even ease the lingering pain from shingles.
•   Vinegar has so many healthful uses.
•   Honey, according to Home Herbal by P. Ody, will draw pus and poisonsout of wounds and it is useful for relief from colds.
•   Water is probably added to make it less strong tasting but it is stillstrong!

#3 Here is a tea to make cough 'more productive' and sooth a sore throat:
Make some peppermint tea.

About 6-8 ounces of peppermint tea
Add about 3 tablespoons of honey,
2 tablespoons of lemon juice,
and JUST A PINCH of cayenne pepper.
(optional) a shot of liquor-- personally I like amaretto.
Stir all ingredients into the peppermint tea while it's still boiling hot.
Wait for mixture to cool enough for you personally to drink. Mixture tastes pretty good - kind of spicy sweet.
**I recommend making your tea, running a hot bath with epsom salts and a few drops of eucalyptus oil and lighting some candles. Relax and enjoy.

#4 Coat your feet with Vicks Vapor Rub and put on socks. I would like to recommend something that does not use a petroleum base, I know that the health food store carries something similar to Vicks, but unfortunately this was the only thing I had on hand. It works.

#5 For immune boosting support and all natural antibiotic effect (prescription antibiotics do not work on viruses) I use sublingual (under the tongue) colloidal silver - the brand I use is Sovereign Silver. Take as instructed on bottle.

#6 Do restorative yoga. This one is my favorite remedy. Your sore and achy body will thank you for this one. I subscribe to Gaiam TV and have access to a full range of yoga videos. If you do not subscribe to Gaiam TV I recommend Rodney Yee's restorative yoga DVD to keep on hand in times of stress and illness. It is blissful.

# 7 Last, but not least, remove all hard and sharp objects from your spouse so that in his/her sleep deprived state he does not harm you any further. Remember, your immune system is depleted enough without having to try and heal bone and soft tissue injures too!

Sickness is a part of life. We all get sick. It is a natural way for the body to detox and force you to slow down from the chaos of the world. Take advantage of this downtime and turn off the TV, read a good book, relax, burn candles and know that if you care for your body properly, it will be stronger in the end.
As for the marathon, well, we will see what happens...that will be for another day/another blog.

Here is to your good health my friends.

Namaste'

P.S. Don't forget to drink lots of orange juice and fluids too!

2011 - A YEAR OF HOLDING HANDS

2011-12-31T20:07:00.000-06:00

2011 has been an amazing year for and me and my family. Here is a brief recap;
March : Mike and I ran our first half marathon together. We have ran half marathon's before, just never together. So we decided to stick with each other no matter what and we crossed the Sarasota Half Marathon finish line holding hands.
April: I crossed the finish line of the Iron Girl Half Marathon in St. Petersburg Florida holding hands with my best friend Denise Williams.

July 23 : Mike completes his first Sprint Triathlon on his 50th birthday on Siesta Key. I did this triathlon as a relay team with my boys Hayden and Noah. I swam, Noah biked and Hayden ran. We held hands as we were awarded 2nd place in our relay division and I have memories with my boys that I will cherish forever.

This is also the month that we acquired a new family member...SURF!

August : Our 1st year anniversary at Siesta Key/Sarasota and I revel everyday in the beauty that surrounds me here and the wonderful people that God has brought into our lives. This month my family and I had the most surreal experience. After a Siesta Key beach 5K, Me, Noah, Hayden and Mike swam in the azure waters of the Gulf and two manatee's joined us. They let us pet and swim with them for about a half hour during the beautiful sunset. I am now a bonafide Manatee lover. Save the Manatees!!

September : Mike and I celebrated 9 married years together. It seems that we have had all the odds stacked against us and I have to say that this 9th year has been the best and favor is now on our side. I can truly feel the blessings coming our way.

October : This was the month to make a decision to not conform and compromise my beliefs and morals. I took a drastic shift to realign my career with my priorities and step totally out in faith. Mike and I also completed Siesta Key Sharks Triathlon. A freak cold spell had us shivering at the swim start. Mike caught up with me on the run and smacked me on the rear. I finished just behind him and we both had the time of our lives.

November : Me and the boys traveled back to Missouri to visit my dad and while there I ran the Bass Pro 5K with my sister, brother-in-law and beautiful niece Roxy. Great time with my family. On Thanksgiving weekend Mike and I ran the PAL Half Marathon in Sarasota. We decided since we had ran the Sarasota Half together that we would run this race on our own and simply try and do our best. Half way through the race Mike and I managed to meet up and ended up running the race together and crossed the finish line holding hands. We both had a personal best time of 2:13:10.

November also held a special time for us. We got to meet our beautiful new soon to be daughter -in-law Annie and our beautiful soon to be granddaughter Ava. Me, Mike, Hayden, Noah, Jonathon, Annie, Ava, Chelsea and Jordan all went to Disney World together.

December : I finish this year sitting on the #1 beach in America (Siesta Key) writing this blog and reflecting on how blessed I've been. My boys are healthy and happy. Noah is doing great in school. He told me today that his New Year's Resolution was to make running a more regular part of his life. This makes mom really happy. Hayden works at Chili's and is starting school in January. I know that this is the beginning of great things in store for Hayden and pray that he will follow his heart and find fulfillment in his career choice.
2012 holds much promise for Mike to fulfill his calling as well. God has lined up connections which propelled him back into his calling, Pastoring. He is starting a church on Siesta Key. I haven't seen him this passionate about his life in a long time. God will bless him for heeding His call.
Mike is also starting sailing lessons. We have always dreamed of owning a sail boat and experiencing the freedom that the open sea beckons to us. Someday, he will sail me away!
As for me, I have decided to complete two of the things on my bucket list this new year. I have signed up for Yoga Teacher Training Certification. I start my classes in January. I also want to complete a 70.3 Half Iron Man triathlon. Rumor has it that Sarasota will be holding one in the fall this new year by a company called Rev3! Mike and I will be the first to sign up!
I am also trying to listen to God's calling in holistic medicine and letting Him open the doors for me.
I don't know all that God has in store for me and my family this coming year, but I do know this... as I look around me I am so very grateful for the blessings that have been bestowed upon me and my family. I will continue forward with a grateful heart and remember to always hold hands with those that I love with each finish line that I cross.
Thank you God.
May you and your family have a blessed and happy New Year!
Namaste'

P.S. Never stop dreaming!

MY DRUG OF CHOICE

2011-06-05T19:00:00.000-05:00

Mike and I had planned our 13 mile run for this past Saturday morning. We have not had a healthy last 3 weeks, so we have to build our stamina and our mileage up slowly. We started our run out a little later than we should have. Translation: we didn't get our lazy butts out of bed early enough. We started around 7:30 am knowing that it was already 75 degrees outside and a hot and humid day was in the forecast. Fortunately, we had a nice sea breeze. We jogged around Siesta Key village and proceeded onto the other side of the island. Along the way we saw a fellow artist and we stopped and admired his work. It was at that point that we had plotted out a plan to make it through the rest of our grueling run. There is a pavilion with a rest area at our usual turn around (mile 10). There, we could fill up our water bottles with cool water and sit in the nice shade of the pavilion, fuel up with GU and stretch before running the last 3 miles back home. It was just the motivation we needed to get us to mile 10. So off we headed towards our destination. We arrived at the rest stop first and filled up our bottles, then turned and headed towards the pavilion for our break. To my dismay it was filled with people. "Crap!" I said to Mike, "What the heck are all these people doing at 'our' pavilion"? He informed me that it looked like a family reunion or a church meeting. I didn't care. I had made a plan and I was sticking to it. Those people were going to have to move over cause we were coming in! As we got closer to the area I thought to myself, 'It can't be a church meeting it has to be a family reunion because everyone was smoking and there was an ashtray on every table. Strange though, that everyone in that family smoked. We found us a table on the outer edge and faced outward so as not to intrude upon what was going on. It was then that I realized that not only did they smoke a lot, but they sure cussed a lot too. This definitely ruled out the church meeting. As we sat there drinking and getting out our GU, I couldn't help notice that the guy who was speaking was talking about God and how he is still learning to hand it all over and how hard it was not to try and take control. He was fighting the old ego constantly. He wanted to give up at times and just do things the way he wanted to, but then he thought back on his life and realized that doing things his way has gotten him where he is at today, which is no where.
This peaked my attention. Hmmm, what kind of meeting are we at? I turned around to face the people who were gathered there. They certainly weren't related. Black, white, Hispanic. All walks of economic status. One could have been a dentist, another a lawyer and yet another a homeless person. All ages too; ranging from their early 20's to their late 60's. Some were tatoo'd from head to toe, some dressed neatly, others not so.
When the person speaking finished talking everyone applauded. Then the next guy spoke. He said 'Hi, my name is (blank) and I am an addict'. To which everyone else said 'Hi (blank)'. He then went on to tell his story. By then, Mike had turned around and we were both immensely absorbed in what was being said and the insight being shared. It was like church, but with a lot of 'F' bombs. The personal demons that each of them were fighting was real. But the thing that was so inspirational about it was the fact that they had the courage to want to face their demon. By facing their demon, I really mean facing the darkness in their own soul. These people were not afraid to expose their weakness with this group of people who share their addiction, or with two strange sweaty people who happened to crash their party.
I couldn't help but admire their courage and strength. We ended up staying for the whole meeting. We watched one participant get his key chain for his first narcotic free week. We witnessed another get his key chain for being narcotic free for 5 years. Bravo! Wohoo! Everyone clapped and congratulated. We slipped away quietly after they formed their circle to pray. Mike and I jogged in silence for about a mile, then we walked and chatted the rest of the way back about our new experience. We left with a different mindset than the one we had arrived with.
Interesting, we all have our demons (our weakness's). Some have the courage to admit it, to face it, and take the next step, which is to try and change. We all fall down, the strength comes in getting back up and trying again. We all have something that is like a drug to us. Something that makes us feel better. Something that allows us to cope with stress and temporarily escape this thing we call life. There are the most commonly recognized such as alcohol and drugs. Yet, there are so many more things we use that are legal and unrecognized as an addiction like video games, music, food, sex, shopping and even spiritual seekers constantly looking for that certain word to make them feel better and goose bumpy all over. Please keep in mind that I am talking about an unhealthy balance in these areas. Other coping mechanisms seem healthy but can still end up being abused and becoming an addiction. This can be exercise like running or any sport that becomes an obsession to an extent that you have to have it at all costs and it interrupts your life and affects those around you in an unhealthy way. It is also easy to exchange one addiction for another; like trading the addiction to drugs for the addiction to gambling etc.
My point is this. I know that my addiction is endorphins. If I don't have it, I get a bit grouchy. If I go too long without running, I have withdrawals and might even drop a few "F" bombs myself. I always need to keep in mind that balance is the key. Running is good for me. I don't think I have to worry about it getting out of control for I am too lazy for that. But I must always keep in mind that things can get out of control and that being 'aware' is key to balance. We all need the courage to face ourself and our own weaknesses. Any decision to change is like the beginning of a marathon. When I started running, I joined a group of like minded people. We had a common goal; to finish a marathon. In all areas of life, being part of a group gives us a source of encouragement when we feel like quiting. It helps us maintain accountability with someone who is headed for the same destination, and gives us a source for strength. Achieving that long sought after goal, aka, Crossing the finish line, (as long as you don't snort it), is like no high that a drug could ever give you!!

Never give up!!
Namaste'

MEMORIAL DAY-WE ARE FREE TO RUN!!

2011-05-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

I chose this song in honor of all the men and women who bravely lost their lives so that we may experience freedom. Before you play this video, please be sure to turn off the music player on the right hand side. Enjoy!

Memorial Day is celebrated today. A remembrance of all the people who have lost their lives for our freedom. It also is a time for pause and contemplation about ones own mortality. I believe that there is no better way to pay respect to those who have lost their lives for us than by living our own life to it's fullest.
So, my husband and I sat down and looked at the rest of the year and things we would like to accomplish. We have decided upon his first triathlon and his first marathon. Originally, we had wanted his first marathon to be the ING Miami Marathon in January 2012. ING Miami was my first marathon in 2007. We have registered for it and are training. But after contemplation we decided that life was too short to wait. Why not run one in the fall. So we have decided upon Space Coast Marathon Thanksgiving weekend. On Mike's 50th birthday on July 23 we are registered for the Siesta Key Beach Triathlon. It will be Mike's first triathlon. I am registering as a relay team with my two sons. I am so excited! So here is what the rest of our year's racing schedule looks like:
1. Siesta Key Beach Sprint Triathlon - July 23
2. Siesta Key Sharks Sprint Triathlon - October 2
3. Bills 5 mile Beer Run - October 30
3. Space Coast Marathon - November 27
4. Ringling 4 Mile Bridge Run - Jan
5. ING Miami Marathon - January 29
For 2012 we have set our goals on more marathons and triathlons and a 50 mile ultra and the Half Iron Man (one of my bucket list goals)!!
Thank you to all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives so that we may live our dreams. We are so deeply grateful! Because of you we are free to run!!
Namaste'

RESISTANCE VS SURRENDER

2011-03-06T17:26:00.000-06:00

I spent this last week in Los Angeles CA. It was a business trip that consisted of nonstop meetings. My week started at 4:30am Monday and lasted until 6:00 PM on Friday. I am not a traveler. As a matter of fact, I could be classified as a bone-fide homebody. Don't get me wrong, I love vacations, but when it comes to business travel with no time for sight seeing or family involvement, I'm a down right stick in the mud.
From the moment I found out about this trip I've dreaded it. I resisted it by procrastinating buying my airline tickets (even though this came out of my companies expense account). I procrastinated packing. I resented the fact that this trip was going to interrupt my precious time with my family, my running schedule and let alone the fine groove we have gotten into of watching Season 3 of Dexter (an event that I have come to cherish with my boys, aka. Mike, Hayden and Noah). We settle in and eat popcorn and contemplate how Dexter is going to solve his latest dilemma.
So I embarked on my trip with much resistance. It was during my second day of my busy schedule that I realized that I was resisting. I was resisting the ebb and flow and thus missing the lessons, opportunities, new relationships and experiences that this new adventure held for me. So I decided to surrender. The resistance vs surrender lesson is just one of the many lessons that running has taught me. When I find myself struggling during a run I realize that it is usually because I am resisting the process. When doing anything worthwhile, pain is inevitable. But each time, I have a choice. Can I endure this pain? How much more pain am I willing to take? Is this much pain normal for doing what I am doing? And most importantly, is this pain good for me? Will it make me stronger and a better person for enduring? In most cases, yes. If you chose to run, pain is inevitable; expected. It all boils down to this : Am I going to let this pain cause me suffering or am I going to surrender to it? Embrace it? Know that this pain, if I can quit resisting it and let it unfold, it will reveal to me what it holds and will make me stronger, healthier and a better person.
So I surrendered to my trip, the long hours, the tedious flights, the time changes and embraced the fact that I now know more about the wonderfully unique company that I work for, my peers and how they solve management dilemmas. I savored the fine dining and drinks that they bought me and the posh Hilton Hotel. I discovered that the chauffeur that picked me up at the airport had just spent the night chauffeuring the producer of 'Black Swan' who was out celebrating the oscar that he had won the night before my arrival. I learned to relax on the long flights and absorb the rare opportunity of forced stillness, read a book or in this case, write a blog. I people watched and imagined the stories of each persons life and wondered what hurts and triumphs that they have endured.
Pain in childbirth brings forth the ultimate gift, new life. Symbolic, I believe, for if we endure and surrender to the pain or discomfort in every day things it will bring us new life in one form or another.
When I resist, I miss life. So from now on, when I find myself procrastinating, resenting, resisting a work schedule, project, a particularly difficult run, I will make a conscious effort to surrender to it and let the lesson reveal itself in whatever form it choses.
Namaste'

WHY I RUN

2011-02-18T09:03:00.001-06:00

I was recently asked by my company's fitness trainer to write a paragraph on what motivates me to run. This paragraph was to be published in the company fitness newsletter. This was supposed to be a simple task, but alas, it is not that simple. When people used to ask me why I run, my usual response was, 'If I have to explain it to you, then you wouldn't understand it anyway.' But it is now a new year. Time to re-think and evaluate life and why I do the things I do. Time to face my doubts of 'am I really a runner?'
This year marks my fith year as a 'runner'. I can't believe that I have been running for five years. I realized that now, I truly feel like a runner. It is in my blood. It is what I have to do. When I first started running five years ago and I told people that I was a 'runner', I felt like a fraud. A 'runner' was tall, lean and most importantly, fast. They ran effortlesslly with the wind in their hair and a smile on their face. Their sweat glistening in the sun off their tanned, sinewy muscles. I could not possibly be a 'runner'. A runner did not struggle at a turtle's pace gasping for air like a guppy out of water. Runner's did not have short legs and cellulite and an extra 10 pounds that refuses to come off. Runner's did not lose all their toenails and have mother nature visit with a monthly gift that depleted them to nothing. With all these issues, how could I possibly be a runner? Then, I showed up at my first 5K. I looked around me as people of all shapes and sizes, and as young as 9 to as old as Methuselah, toed the start line with me. Everyone of them ran in their own style and pace. I experienced the same startling revelation at my first marathon. It amazes and most importantly inspires me, when someone flys past me carrying an extra 100 pounds or hunched over from kyphosis and old enough to be my grandma or great grandpa! These people are awesome! They do not let these thoughts or physical limitations slow them down or hold them back from doing the things that they love. So I have come to realize these past five years that a runner is a runner. It does not matter how fast they run, what they look like or how old they are. It is as simple as that.
Now, back to my project of writting a paragraph on what motivates me to run. I had to think hard on this because running to me is a much deeper experience than just running. There are so many reasons why I run that to narrow this down to a paragraph was very difficult. So I decided upon three reasons; here they are :
1. I am not a good runner. But because I run, I am a better person. Starting my day with a morning run clears my head, makes me feel that I have already accomplished something, and because of the endorphins, I feel good and I am happier. This has a two fold effect as this makes the people who have to work with me and live with me, happier.
2. When I run, it gives me a chance to problem solve. I’ve had some of my best idea’s and solutions occur when I run.
3. But the main reason I run is this : sometimes, when I run by myself, I have one of these amazing moments when I focus only on my breathe and the rhythmic beat of my footsteps. It takes me to that still quiet place – it is there, that I can truly feel God’s presence. It is pure bliss.

Namaste'

THE SECRET WORLD OF RUNNER'S

2010-08-21T19:06:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. Truth is, I've been very, very busy. My life has changed drastically over the last year. I went to work for a hospital in Springfield last September. There's another whole different story that I won't go into about how and why I started work when and where I did. Seven months later I transferred with that hospital to an associated branch in Orlando. A move from small town Missouri to Orlando was a drastic one and need I say a culture shock. Orlando, it turns out, is a city of extremes. But the thing I could not get used to was the traffic. The hustle and bustle was dizzying. I spent a lot of time searching the windows of the thousands of cars I saw on a daily basis for 26.2 stickers - anything that would tell the world that there were other runners out there. I saw ONE, the whole time I was there. Orlando was not a bad place, but it just was not the place for me. So I began scouting the area for a more laid back way of life and alas, my hunting came to an end when I was offered a great job in Sarasota. We visited the area and loved it! Without hesitancy, I quickly accepted my new job offer.
I have lived in Sarasota a week and a half now. It already feels like home to my family. This is what we have searched for for years! We have spent our time blissfully running on the beautiful white sand beaches and deliriously biking the quaint little island of Siesta Key. The beaches are one of Noah's favorite places, and I have concerns that he may grow fins! After feeling so left out of my passion of running and biking in Orlando, I am now in a triathlete's paradise. There are 26.2, 13.1, 70.3 stickers plastered in the windows of lots of cars here all whom honk, wave, or give a thumbs up to others who have the same stickers. Acknowledgement to the connection and appreciation to all things physical.
This morning, my husband and I joined a running group. We showed up at 5:30am this morning at Fleet Feet downtown Sarasota expecting to get in a pleasant run and get to know some fellow runners. What I did not expect to find on this run was a secret world of runners. We began our run downtown Sarasota and headed towards Ringling Bridge (pictured above). As we got closer to Ringling Bridge I was surprised when I began to see hundreds of other runners and running groups running in the dark. There was hardly any traffic and the few cars that were on the road slowed down and respected the runners. Where have I been??? This was a runner's heaven! I felt as if I had discovered a whole new world. There were all shapes and sizes of people running all different paces. It was awesome! We ran the most beautiful route onto Bird Key and around Lido Key. We ran 10 miles in sweet paradise.
This afternoon, while I was writing this blog, my husband was outside and met our new neighbor. He brought her in to meet me. Low and behold, she is a triathlete. She had just completed a triathlon this morning. She has also done 4 or 5 half ironman's. Her wealth of information and accomplishments were astounding and motiviating. I can't wait to get to know my new neighbor more!
I'm looking forward to learning more about Sarasota and all that it holds. I hope to start blogging again about my training and all the ups and downs. Life is good!
Lunch with my family after a long run at Pei Wei's - $20.00 . Pedicure for my aching feet - $25.00. Finding the place that is home sweet home - PRICELESS!
I will keep you posted!
Namaste'

**Just a side note : If I could move the rest of my family and friends here from Missouri it would be PERFECT!!! I do miss them so.

VIEW POINT

2010-03-07T12:29:00.006-06:00

At this point in my life I have some huge decisions to make. I have been offered two opportunities to relocate with the hospital that I am currently working for. One is in Tallahassee Florida and the other in Orlando. This week, my husband and I flew to Orlando to check out both cities as well as meet my potential new employers. Dreaming of warm weather and sunshine, the first thing I packed was my running shoes. Visions of running down a trail framed in ancient, crooked oak trees dripping with Spanish moss made me giddy. So off we went on our new adventure. We arrived at St. Petersburg-Clearwater airport at around midnight Tuesday. We stepped out of the airport into a shocking, wind nipping 30 something degree cold that burst my happy, sunshiney bubble. We ended up at Denny's at 1:00am due to an unusual hankering for pancakes. Our first impression of the people of St. Petersburg was an attractive blonde lady of 44 (she announced her age to everyone in the restaurant) who was extremely intoxicated. She sat at her table with an equally attractive male companion singing an excruciatingly horrible rendition of Landslide and in between lyrics announcing how badly the world had treated her. Meanwhile, as we ate our pancakes, which were sinfully delicious, in walks an attractive younger brunette in her 20's with her male companion. She too was extremely intoxicated. She sat down in her booth and proceeded to talk her most vulgar profanity as loud as she could without quite yelling it. My hubby and I felt it was time to leave quickly and quietly for the makings of a big, attention seeking, drunken cat fight was in the works.
The next day (Wednesday) we woke to discover from the morning news that an unusual cold front had moved into Florida, low of 30's with the high only in the 50's. Bummer. So off we went to Orlando to meet my first potential new employer. She was a lovely, small lady with the most beautiful Spanish accent. I believe we would work very well together. After the interview we drove around. We were quite confused with Orlando. Orlando was so large that we never figured out where we were at or got a bearing on where we would like to live before we had to leave. Our 'views' of Orlando were not good.
Mike had made plans to meet his daughter, her boyfriend and his little girl for dinner in Lakeland. We had a nice dinner at Harry's and a wonderful time with Chelsea, Justin and Hannah. We asked if they would come and visit. Chelsea states "Why? There is nothing there." To which we inform, "Yes there is. There are hills...and um...curves, lots and lots of curves." Chelsea's 'view' of Missouri was not good. But alas, we had to leave for we had a four hour drive to Tallahassee. We ended up driving Hwy 98. Words for the traveling wise. Don't do that. We passed through towns that had city limit signs but no cross roads, no gas stations, no house, nothing. Don't know why they had a city limit sign. One of these cities was named Otter Creek. A city of otters perhaps? Along the way we saw lots of truck driving, mullet donning men (some possibly women) with bumper stickers that read 'bubba army' and pictures of confederate flags flying on the capital and 'to hell with the manatee's, save the redneck'. I believe that Hwy 98 is the Florida twilight zone. We spent that night in Chiefland. Our 'view' of that part of Florida was also not good.
The next day we arrived in Tallahassee. The town was beautiful. It was quaint and charming. The potential employer there was an attractive brunette with a southern accent. I believe that we would get along fine as well. I was educated by the Director of Business development (another beauty) about the town's local lingo. For instance, if a lady smiles at you, bats her eyes and says, "Bless your heart", what she really means is, 'You're dumber than a box of rocks'. Which made me very self conscious from that moment on, for all I could think about was my grandmother. As a kid, she used to say those words to me all the time. Our 'view' of Tallahassee was great.
We drove the interstate back to St. Petersburg, where my hubby, worried about finding a computer, ended up getting a room with one in it so he could take an online college class test before midnight. He barely made the cut off time. Then back to the airport on Friday at 5am. With the news that a warm up was on the way and going to be in the 70's. Bummer again.
With my discouragement at not getting to see and do all that I wanted to do in Florida, I arrived in Springfield trying to see it with 'fresh' eyes. I wanted to see it as if I had never been there before and was contemplating moving there. I have always lived in Missouri and I am so used to seeing my surroundings, that I don't really 'see' it anymore. Hubby dropped me off at the car so he could get to class and off I drove, 'seeing' my new surroundings. Five minutes after hubby dropped me off I had just pulled out from a stop sign when I came upon a police officer who immediately put on his lights and pulled me over. I asked "why?", and he stated that I was speeding. "I had just pulled out from that stop sign," I argued. "There is no way I was speeding." He gave me a ticket for speeding 42 in a 30 zone. Which was impossible. So I politely said to the ticket welding officer, "Bless your heart," and drove off. My 'new' view of Missouri was not panning out so well either.
We had spent so much time in the car and on the plane that I felt a 100 yrs old. We never once found the time or a trail to run on. So yesterday, we got out to do a run. I was so stoved up that it was torturous. We ran only 4 1/2 miles. I only started to feel better after mile 3. Then we got our new bikes out and rode them for only 6 miles. I felt much better afterwards. Sitting for that long of periods is very bad for the body. I felt as if I had totally decompensated.
I have some life changing decisions to make. All based on a not so broad of a view of all that is to be considered. As of yet, I am leaning toward Orlando due to the location and all that it has to offer, even though my 'views' on Orlando was not so good, I do not want to base my opinion on a very limited knowledge base.
I am feeling edgy. I need to find some quiet time to contemplate and meditate. I am feeling a very strong need to paint and write. This huge decision not only affects me, but my family. I need to get still so that I may 'see' my situation clearly and make the right decisions. These jobs may be more lucrative, but things that are material in nature are not the things that appeal to me. However, these jobs offer a promise of adventure, new opportunities, and who knows where the path may take us. I shall keep you posted. I do not want to make any decisions based on a very limited 'view' point.
Until then, may you 'see' your surroundings as if you had never 'seen' them before. And may your 'view' point never be limited!
Namaste'

A SPLIT SECOND

2010-02-28T12:33:00.006-06:00

Thursday I skipped my 6 am boot camp workout. I had been tired all week and felt like I needed a break. So I got up at my usual 5am time and went to the living room. In the dark quietness of the house I sat and meditated on the beauty of the rare stillness of the moment. It is interesting how a house makes it's own unique sounds. The dogs snored softly in the hallway, the hiss of the water heater kicking on and the creak of the house as it adjusts to a slight temperature change. It's in these quiet moments that I 'feel' life all around me. It's always there, it is just that I don't take enough time to be consciously aware of it. Something that I must work on. For this 'presence' is life.
Before I knew it 6 am was here and the usual hustle and bustle of the morning begins. Mike gets up to fix Noah breakfast while I head to the shower. On rare mornings like this, I also like to take Noah, my 12 year old son to school while I head into work. On this day, we ended up sitting in an unusually long line of traffic. I happened to glance in my rear view mirror and noticed a young man sitting in the car behind us. He appeared to be asleep. I thought to myself how strange that was and then quickly turned my attention to my son who chatted away about where the front of the traffic line was located. I drank my coffee while admiring his cuteness and thinking how quickly my children have grown up. Suddenly there was a loud crunching sound as we were hit hard from behind and thrust forward. My coffee splashed everywhere as my son and I gasped in alarm. The young man behind us had apparently 'woke up' and suddenly hit his gas pedal. Nothing to be alarmed at with this incident. My son and I were fine and there was very minor damage to both cars. My point in bringing it up was this. Life can change in a second.
I'm an RN and in the line of work that I do I see similar situations like what occurred with my son and me, only they are magnified 100 times. I deal with the results of these accidents on a daily basis. One minute a young lady is talking to her son in traffic, and the next she is rear ended so hard that they both end up in ICU on a ventilator. Their family left to deal with the consequences and decisions of the results of an accident that occurred in a split second due to someone not paying attention or being 'asleep' to their surroundings.
One of my responsibilities in the role that I have at the hospital, is to help families make decisions with death and dying. Quality of life versus quantity of life. Each one is personal and everyone has different thoughts on this. Some will press forward with life no matter what state the body is in. Others accept letting go and would not want their loved ones to live in that state. My husband and I have discussed this situation thoroughly and know each others wishes. We chose quality of life, not quantity. Each person must arrive at their own thoughts on this matter in their own way and be respected with the decisions they make and the place they are at. I have witnessed a 90 year old, five pack a day smokers cling to life at all costs and want all life preserving measures done, even if it meant living on a vent, in a bed and in a coma for the rest of their life. Yet, I have also witnessed younger people who chose to let go when life meant not living it as they were used to.
Yesterday, my husband and I went for a ten mile run. It was a great run. The temperature was 40 degrees and the sun was shining. The birds sang to us the whole time and I noticed the trees had the beginning sprouts of Spring buds. It felt wonderful to get out and feel the pavement beneath my feet and the cool wind on my face. At points in the run when I started to struggle, I focused on the stillness. Yes, even though I was running, there is stillness to be found. Be a silent observer. Listen to your breath, feel the sensations and there, that's where you will find the stillness. This stillness is being totally awake.
Life is precious. In a moment, it can be taken away. I want to strive to not 'sleep' through life, but to be 'awake' and observe life. To be aware of it around me at every moment.
I encourage you, my reader, to do something you love every day, try something new. Try practicing being 'awake' at all times when you do these things. Oh, and most importantly, be sure and hug your loved ones and kiss them every chance you get, for life can change in a split second!
Namaste'

HIT BY A BIG RED TRUCK

2010-02-21T17:58:00.002-06:00

Today, I wanted to go bike riding, but alas, this Ozark's weather has determined for me once again, that I shall stay inside. I sat in the house on this rainy, dreary gray day writing a monthly health article with my twin sister. Our articles are published in several local newspapers (you can read our published articles on our blog @ http://www.adoubledose.blogspot.com ). I drank hot tea while nursing my sore legs. We wrote about the benefits of sunshine, as we longingly looked out the double glass doors, yearning to see if there might be any breaks in the rain so we could dash outside and ride. But no sunshine was to be had. The sun must have taken another day off. Being lazy, I suppose, behind dark, heavy clouds and the rhythmic pitter patter of rain on the deck. So Audrey, Mike and I settled in and made the best of it by making warm comfort foods of homemade chicken soup and oatmeal scotchy cookies.
Yesterday, I ran 20 miles. Mike, my hubby, ran the first 13 miles with me. We ran the Bass Pro half Marathon route in Springfield MO. We kept a nice 10 to 10:30 pace going all the way to his stopping destination. My legs were a bit sore at that point and I could tell that I had an unusual amount of lactic acid build up too early in my run. But the day was a rare, sparkling sunny 55 degree day and I had to take advantage of this perfect weather. So I tried to make the best of it. I said good bye to hubby and off I went to complete the run.
Without my hubby to talk to I started to notice the sounds of nature. The birdsong was amazing. They sang to me the entire run. It was beautiful. However, there lovely song started to dim and then eventually went unheard as my pain increased and my brain could not focus on anything else. My legs started to feel like lead between miles 16 and 17. What went wrong? I hobbled and walked the last 3 miles of my run.
The problem, I believe, lies in the fact that I was not fueled properly. For one thing, I take a powdered magnesium supplement. I realized that I had not taken this supplement in several days and that I always took it before a long run. I also try to fuel up on coconut water and water the day before a long run along with carb loading. I failed to do any of those things. I certainly paid for it. Last week, my run went totally different. I had fueled properly and felt strong on my 16 mile run. I did not get sore at all from that run. Now, at 16 miles, I was hurting. It was a terrible reminder of how important fueling up before a long run is. Lessoned learned. I know that I will have runs where my body is tired and I just don't have it in me. But a lot of discomfort can be prevented if I had properly prepared my body.
Last night I kept poor hubby up as I rolled around in bed and moaned with my stiff, aching body. Ibuprophen just didn't cut it. Lactic acid hurts.
A dear man man I once knew named Bob (who has been released from this world) used to have a favorite saying to people when they did something stupid, "Duh, big red truck!" he would say with his unusual, beautiful, melodic voice. Well, not only was not fueling properly a 'big red truck', but I felt as if it had ran over me and then backed up and ran over me again. Thanks Bob!
There will be better runs. I will focus on the positive, and that is at least I got the run in. Next time, I will try and avoid that stupid big red truck at all costs!
Namaste'

A BAD DAY...OR IS IT?

2010-02-14T12:15:00.001-06:00

Yesterday my hubby, Mike stated that he wanted to run 16 miles with me. I need to up my miles because I am training for the Go St. Louis Marathon in April. I have been a bit worried about this marathon because our weather here has been a atrocious for long runs so I have been slacking on them. I was a little concerned about Mike because he had never ran that far before. He has always chosen to stick to the half marathon's and 'work on his time' and he has said that he has no desire to run a marathon (unless I run Disney and then he would reconsider). Our last weekend 11 miler went well, so what was another 5 miles? So I gladly accepted his offer of running 16 miles with me. Our problems first began at home. I had purchased a pair of bright pink Newton running shoes and have loved them, but was undecided as to whether I should wear them or my new Asics Gel Kayano's. So I put a Newton on the left foot and an Asics on the right and wandered around the house in them to try and decide. The last thing I wanted was to come up lame on this run with no way of getting back to the car. After much to do about the shoes, I chose the Newton's, which ended up being a good choice for two reasons. #1 They help me to run with better fore foot running form and most importantly (chuckle) #2 Just about every female runner that I meet on the trail says "Love your shoes". Which heck, I hate to admit it, I may be slow, but with my Newtons and CR-W pants I am dressed like a speeding Kenyan! Haha!

We headed out the door and was about a mile from the house when I realized that I had spent so much time trying to decide on what shoes to wear, that I had forgotten my garmin. OH NO!! My hubby patiently turned around the car. He does not understand the importance of that piece of equipment to me. Once we finally arrived at Sequiota Park I packed my cell phone in my fuel belt in case I saw something 'interesting' on my run. The weather was unstable. Some weather reports said that it would snow or rain and others informed that it would be a sunny 40 degree day. The sky was a looming, heavy gray and the air a crisp 30 degrees. Dressed in layers we headed down the trail with our fuel belts packed down with coconut water and Kashi oatmeal cookies. The first two and a half miles were torture, as they always are with me. My body resists the pain of movement and the cold exacerbates the pain, but once I get past that point I'm fine. My body gives and I can focus on the moment. Hubby ran just in front of me, making sure from time to time that the pace was OK for me. I snapped the picture at the top at South Creek Trail. I thought it was interesting how some ducks stood on top of the ice and others swam about. I wondered if their feet got cold. When we reached the half way point at mile eight to turn around, Mike was struggling. I stood admiring the beauty of the woods and eating an oatmeal cookie when I turned around and found Mike on the ground. He was

moaning and stated that he

was just 'stretching his hips'. He struggled all the way back. We also discovered that we had been running with a tail wind and now we were running against a face chilling, mean resistance. This time, I ran in front and had to keep asking him if the pace was OK. Occasionally I would look back to find him in the same position on the ground. I, being the sick humored person that I am, found this interesting. and since I had brought my phone along in case I found something interesting to photograph I snapped this picture. He did not think it funny, nor interesting. He was having a bad run. I just happen to be having a good run. I felt strong and ready to run. He felt exhausted and just wanted it to be over with. I ended up running ahead and meeting him back at the car as he hobbled in. "Next time you decide to do a long run," he said sarcastically, "You can run with your women friends". I laughed, for I knew that he was discouraged and a new day will bring better thoughts and a better run.

When we have a bad run, just as when we have a bad day, we need to keep in mind that it is normal and most importantly, temporary. It is just what it is. We need to try to not get discouraged and always keep in mind that 'this too shall pass'. A bad day is only a day and good days will return. Besides, Bad days serve to make us stronger and certainly makes us appreciate the good ones even that much more.

Most importantly, just stay true to your run and let it be what it is.

Namaste'

Just a side note : Hubby is feeling much better today and is in better spirits about his 'bad run'. He is wanting to do more long runs....20 miler, here we come! :)

MY RUNNING VALENTINE

2010-02-07T11:43:00.000-06:00

One week from today is Valentine's day. It is a day to reflect upon and show appreciation towards one's love. So in honor of this day, my husband thought we should celebrate it with a Valentine run. I was very happy to oblige, since I love running with my valentine. We drove to our favorite place to run, Sequiota Park in Sringfield MO. It was 32 degrees and with the wind chill factored in it was a bone chilling 24 degrees. To add to it, the gloomy gray sky looked as if it was going to drop an intimidating load of snow and/or ice. I snapped this picture just before our run (my teeth were chattering).

After we started out, I would have darted back to the car in a second had my husband just gave the word. But he didn't. So inside my head I had a pity party. The first mile was excruciating. I was very cold and my body was sore from the week of boot camp and group strength I had done every morning and add to that the stress of my work week. I was just flat out pooped. But I followed my husband anyway hoping that it would get better. While I labored to keep up with him my mind wondered, as it usually does. I was being negative. Because my body was sore and tired my mind was thinking negative thoughts and thus keeping the perpetual cycle of misery going. I then started to wonder about conditions. Conditions on love. Conditions on running. We all do it. We place certain conditions on love. 'I will only love you if...', and so on and so forth. You have even known and experienced people whom have placed conditions on their love towards you that have retracted their love from you because you did not meet, in someway or another, their expectations. Some people refuse to love you because of 'trust', when in fact, they don't trust themselves and project that issue onto you, never recognizing that it is a sign to look within.

Then I realized that this issue of 'conditions' certainly pertains to running as well. I realized that I had placed 'conditions' on this run with my husband. I was willing to throw in the towel and run back to the warm car had he just shown one little sign that this was a possibility. I then agonized over how my body felt and in turn started retracting my love of running with thoughts of 'why am I doing this', 'uggh, this is awful', 'I'm cold' and most importantly 'this hurts'. When running, just as love, begins to hurt, we often, all too easily throw in the towel. But, isn't something that's worth striving for worth some pain? Focusing your thoughts on the positive outcomes that will come and the sense of satisfaction and accomplishment that you will feel if you hang in there and endure past the pain is what will get you through. Love, just as in running, isn't easy. But hanging in there and knowing that experiencing pain is normal will make you stronger and will all be well worth it in the end. You will end up with a strong body and a strong relationship with your partner.

Eckart Tolle states in his book 'The Power of Now' that 'the greater part of human pain is unnecessary. It is self created as long as the unobserved mind runs our lives. The pain that we create now is always some form of nonacceptance, some form of unconscious resistance to what is. On the level of thought, the resistance is some form of judgement. On the emotional level, it is some form of negativity'. I was resisting my run, and in turn, I was judging it negatively as a bad run. Instead of focusing on my pain, I should have focused on the act itself. So I started looking around me and realized the incredible beauty that I was surrounded by. This had all gone unnoticed when I was in my negative state. I snapped this picture of Mike running over a bridge -metaphoric, I thought of crossing over from negative to positive. I no longer noticed how cold it was, but enjoyed the crispness of the air. My run then became a utopian experience in textures, the crunch of the snow beneath my feet, the sound of birds singing a happy song and the tree branches creaking as they gave to the wind. I even noticed a robin hoping around in the snow - the first sign of Spring. We ran 11.07 miles and enjoyed just being together. I am blessed. I have a husband that runs with me. We enjoy the same activities, we train for the same events. Life is good. I had absoultely no reason to feel or think negatively in my life. I am blessed with too much.
After our run, we headed to the gym and sat in the hot tub, showered and went to Red Lobster for our Valentine treat. He then took me to the mall and bought me a wonderful new fragrance called, of all things, 'unconditional love'. Then he took me to my favorite place - the book store, where we spent the rest of the evening drinking coffee and browsing through books.

I hope that this Valentine's day leaves you with a feeling of blessing and unconditional love. If you don't have a significant other, maybe you are blessed with a best friend or a pet as a Valentine. There is certainly no better example of unconditional love than a pet. Whatever it may be, may you recognize the blessings that surround you each and every day and may you love unconditionally.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Namaste'

MY FAVORITE GEAR

2010-01-31T18:37:00.001-06:00

My week in a little overview went something like this. It starts at 6:00 am Monday morn tri-swim class, Tuesday morn boot camp, Wednesday morn group strength and on Thursday and Friday work and weather got in the way. I had to go in to work early on Thursday and missed group strength. Then on Friday, we had a weather system come in(snow and sleet) that closed down the gym so there went that class. Yesterday (Saturday), my hubby and I were finally able to make it to the gym and I ran around on the inside track for 10 miles...that's 90 laps on a little oval. Afterwards I swam 20 laps in the pool (1000 yards). So all was not lost in 'work out world'. Instead of using this blog to express the thoughts in my head that randomly occur, I thought I would use this moment to share my favorite gear. So here they are :

My favorite shoes are Asics Gel Kayano - I have tried many, many different shoes, but I always come back to these. They have gotten me through the toughest of times and have never let me down yet. I love the new side lacing on these shoes. Several years ago they came out with a leopard print - wish they would come out with more crazy colors like that- this year, it is just boring blue, but I bought them anyway :

My favorite socks are the feetures bamboo socks - love em in the winter and in the summer!

My favorite way of carrying fluids & snacks on long runs are my fuel belt - can't live with out it! I also bought an extra pouch so I can carry my cell phone. They come in different colors - my favorite is pink, but I ended up getting the red - it was the only one in my size with four water containers. Buy it snug so it doesn't jostle around during your run. You will also need some 'tightening' room. If you are like me you tend to shrink a bit around the middle on those long runs. So you'll need to be able to snug it up some as you put in those miles.

My favorite fuel to fill my fuel belt with is coconut water. Ever since I have switched to coconut water I haven't hit the wall. For me, not hitting the wall meant trying to keep my blood sugar from plumeting, and this seems to be the key. Unlike gatorade and those other sports drinks it is not sugary, so you don't get 'sweeted' out if you have been drinking it for four to five hours on end. Also, If you have trouble with cramping, then this is a drink you should try.

My favorite running bottoms are CR-W tights. It compresses your lower body and almost feels like you are getting a nice massage while you run. It also helps control the 'jiggle'(Not that anyone here has that problem..LOL ;)- The only draw back about these pants is trying to use the bathroom after you have ran for a while - hard to get off and back on a sweaty bum.

My last, but certainly not least, is my most favorite gear of all. My Garmin! I love the fact that I can go anywhere and get my miles in and know exactly how far I went and how fast I'm going, or rather, more like, how slow I'm going. As long as I have my garmin, then I no longer have to get in the car to drive my miles to see how far I went. After a run, I walk in the house and it instantly uploads my route to my computer giving me a complete overview of how my run went. I opted for the cool green one!

I have many, many more favorites, but for the sake of time, and not boring you to death, this will do for now. Hope you enjoyed my favorite gear. Please feel free to leave me a comment with your favorite gear. Would love to hear about it!

Namaste'

INSIDE YOUR HEAD

2010-01-24T10:10:00.003-06:00

It has been another busy week. It began with triathlon swim class @ 6:00am on Monday. I alternated my morning workouts with group strength and boot camp and after class I head off to work. I made one exception to this routine . After much debate, my friend Denise and my co-worker Dayle opted to do The Starting Block's Resolution Run 5K in Springfield MO on Saturday morning. So I broke my workout pattern on Friday where Denise and I arrived at the gym @ 6am to sit in the hot tub. I know, I know, why would anyone get up early and go in just to sit in the hot tub? The thought behind it was to give our bodies a break and a little pampering before the next day's 5K. Besides, as busy as we are, we rarely get to take advantage of the hot tub, steam room and sauna that our gym offers, so why not? It paid off. We arrived at our 5K Saturday morning at 8:00am fully refreshed. The weather was calling for rain and thunder showers all day. It was 43 degrees and the dark gray sky looked as if it could burst forth a hard, runner torturing rain. There were 330 other brave (or some call us foolish) souls to run as well. When the gun went off I ran away from my two friends Denise and Dayle. I had decided to give it my best to see if I was getting stronger. So far to date, my fastest 5K PR is (don't laugh) 28:31. As I was running the last mile and struggling every step I began to focus on what I was thinking. I found that I was saying to myself 'No, I can do this.' and 'No, I won't give up.' Every time that I thought these thoughts I realized that I instantly wanted to stop and walk the moment that 'No' came into mind. So I consciously started thinking 'YES, I CAN do this.' and 'YES, I am going to PR'. About a half mile from the finish line, a young lady, whom had kept the same pace as I, breathlessly said , "I've been pacing with you, you are carrying me through, please get me to the finish line." She was struggling just as hard as I was and using me as her gauge. I wondered what the dialog was inside her head. I turned to her and said, "Hang on tight, I'll get you there." And with that, we picked up our pace and crossed the finish line together. I was thrilled to see that I had PR'd with a time of 27:10!! While we stood at the finish line waiting to get our chips cut off our shoes my fellow runner gave me a hug, thanked me and introduced herself as Cassie. She said that when I took off in the beginning, she had made it a goal to keep up with me. Had it not been for me, she said, she would have never made it to the finish line in that time. I was thrilled. If your a runner, then you can relate to the bonding that takes place at these events.
After it was all over with, I pondered the importance of the dialog that each and everyone of us has inside our head on a constant basis. This dialog, if not consciously thought about, can be very detrimental to us. It can keep us from doing our best. Had I not realized that the word 'no' was triggering a negative response from my body, I probably would have given in. By consciously thinking about what we are thinking, we can change our destiny. We can even change little things, such as a PR in a 5K. I had no idea that another person was counting on me to get them to the finish line. Had she not said anything, I would have never known. So I ask, you the reader, to take a moment in your day to day activities and think about what you are thinking. Think about how your body is responding to your thinking and then you have the power to think differently! You may never know who is counting on you to get them to the finish line!
Namaste'
P.S. After the race they had drawings and gave away random prizes. My number was drawn and I won a massage and acupuncture! I gave my appointment away to my hubby, who opted to stay at home because of the forecast. He loves massages. He later showed me how grateful he was- It's all Karma my friends, all karma ;)

THE CLOCK OF LIFE

2010-01-16T17:37:00.004-06:00

I sit at the computer this unusually lovely Saturday late afternoon drinking a warm cup of Starbucks French press coffee and reflecting on the active week that I have had. I am constantly trying to find a balance with my hectic life schedule. Somehow, I must fit in workouts, runs, full time job, family etc. I have certainly realized how precious time is in many ways. Time is such an important, yet overlooked virtue that we often take for granted. But first, before I talk about time I'll give a summary of my weekly workouts.
It started out perfectly. I attended my first triathlon swim class this Monday at 6 am and I loved it. I'm learning to find my 'balance' in the water. I'm also learning not to fight the water but glide through the water to preserve energy and be more 'stroke' efficient. I'm going to learn a lot and am very glad that I signed up for this swim class. My other 6 am classes were Tuesday and Thursday boot camp and Wednesday and Friday group strength. Great classes and glad I'm doing them. I can only hope that they will help make me a stronger runner. After my workouts I shower and head straight to work, which happens to be a very convenient 3 minute drive from the gym.
I had started the week with the goal of watching my diet. I need to 'lean' up for the Ironman so my intentions were to focus on eating frequent, small amounts of healthy foods. Unfortunately, in the job that I do as an RN Case Manager at a Specialty Hospital I am 'marketed' a lot by vendors seeking my referrals. So it started out on Monday morning with fresh, warm, home made sugar cookies from a home health agency. Then a catered lunch of smoked barbecued brisket with mashed potatoes & gravy and yet more cookies from a medical equipment company. Then the most wonderful Bavarian cream pastry that I have ever tasted from a TPN company, followed by a whole package of Butterfinger candy bars from a skilled nursing facility. You get the jest of it, lots and lots of unhealthy crap! Unfortunately it all jumped right into my mouth! I couldn't help it. I was a victim! It came at me every day, from all directions, screaming "EAT ME". When I wasn't even near it and it innocently sat on my desk and I was clear down at the nurses station, I could hear it call my name. It was horrible! A junk food fest-frenzy fit only for the biggest of the bariatric! Yes, I succumbed. Normally, when I get this food, I politely say thank you to the gift bearer and quickly take it to the nurses station for all the employee's to eat. But this week, I was selfish! I ate it all, yes I did!! And it was good! Oh, so very good! O.K. enough about my feeding frenzy, and back to the diary of my quest to the Ironman.
Today, I squeezed my now bigger butt into my CR-W tights and stiffly headed out the door praying that I would not have a 'blow out' and cause permanent emotional damage to everyone who happened to witness it (Please God, let the seams be stitched with steel). My hubby, my dear friend Denise and I met my running group at Sequiota Park this morning at 8am. I had not run with these wonderful women since the Bass Pro Marathon. We had all disassembled and normally resume our runs back up again in May to train for the Bass Pro again. But this time I had received an email from our group leader Zoe who stated that they were getting together to run this Saturday. So we joined them. I can honestly say that I was thrilled to see everyone! It was so good to run with them and I felt like I was 'home'. If you have never been a part of a running group, I strongly encourage it. There is a bond like no other when you train, sweat and endure with a group of people for months on end and then complete a marathon with them. It made me realize how precious these ladies are to me. For 14.3 miles we chatted like old times as if we had never missed a run. The time that we spend together is precious. Which takes me back to the beginning of this blog...time. To reflect very seriously on how you spend your time is of the utmost importance. At the end of your life are you going to remember the couch and TV shows that you watched, or are you going to remember the times where you challenged yourself? I can assure you this, the one thing you will look back on are your accomplishments, whatever that may be i.e. going back to school at a late age, trying a new class, running a marathon, or trying a triathlon. Have you ever inspired anyone? Made a difference in a person's life, the community, etc.? I believe it is important in one's life fulfillment to ask yourself these questions. Life is too short to make sitting on the couch a priority. Even if you fail, doesn't that beat sitting on the couch? At least you had the guts to try it.
This morning as we pulled up to the park, it was a cold, dreary 40 degrees. It was also raining, which made it feel that much more cold (The weather ended up clearing up during the run and you could not have asked for a more perfect day for a run). There were about 20 vehicles parked in the parking lot. I laughed and pointed out to my husband. "Look, every vehicle here has a 26.2 sticker on their back windshields." He laughed and stated, "Because we are the only ones foolish enough to be out here in this." But in fact, it was guts. Guts that got us all out on this dreary day, and guts that will carry us through to the end. These men and women have completed a great accomplishment and proudly display their accomplishment on their windshields. What are you displaying on your windshield? Will you look back in the end and 'wished' you had done something? Why not now? When is there a better time...there may never be. Appreciate this moment, for it will never be again. So I end this blog with this little poem that I found. I hope that you are as inspired and blessed by it as I was.

The Clock of Life is wound but once

And no man has the power

To tell just when the hands will stop

At late or early hour.

Now is the only time we own

Love, live, toil with will,

Do not wait until tomorrow,

For the Clock may then be still.

Namaste'

Just Enough

2010-01-09T17:53:00.002-06:00

Well, the week started out with a big bummer! All across the country there has been record breaking cold, snow and ice. Here in Missouri we've had snow and extreme cold. It is 12 degrees F as I write. To help me accomplish my New Year goals I had signed up for a triathlon swim class to be held at the gym on Monday mornings at 6am. I missed my first class :(. The roads were slick and I was unable to make it in that early. The plows had not yet been through our area, so I opted to play it safe and drive in later to get to work at 8am. I was able to make it to boot camp on Tuesday at 6am. The temps were -2 degrees F. We had a great class and it was well worth getting out for. On Wednesday I did group strength at 6am. There weren't very many people in class. I suppose they opted for a warm bed instead (whose to blame them). Wednesday afternoon we had another weather system come in. It happened to be around 5pm when it came in. I had to stay late at work to get my BLS certification renewed so I was driving home in the midst of it. Blustering winds, more snow and record cold. Thursday morning bootcamp was canceled along with all the area schools. So there went that class :(. Dayle, a wonderful nurse practitioner that I work with, asked me to join her in a Hot Yoga class. I was thrilled! I love yoga and have been trying to figure out a way to incorporate it back into my hectic lifestyle. With all my running my ligaments have gotten so tight that yoga would be perfect for me. Dayle is a runner as well and she loves Hot Yoga. So we planned on Friday after work to go. Then we had record breaking lows come in along with advisories to stay home. The temps were to get -10 to -20 degrees below. So our Friday Hot Yoga class was canceled :(. This weather has certainly put a damper on my goals. So now this brings me to today, Saturday January 9. Mike and I got up this morn, drank our coffee, watched a bit of the news and headed off to the gym for a run. We decided to do 8 miles on the indoor track. I followed my hubby around an oval and watched his hiney for 72 laps. The only good things about running on an indoor track is the surface, no wind resistance and certainly no hills, so our pace was a nice 8:50 min per mile. Which is not to shabby for me since I tend to be a very slow runner. Otherwise I don't like running on a track. It makes me feel like a hamster in a wheel, much the same way a treadmill makes me feel. You also have to dodge all the newbies who can't read the signs that are posted everywhere that say 'walkers on inside lane and runners on outside lanes'. It can be quite an obstacle course at times with the old people in there SAS shoes and jeans and the New Years Resolutioners in their cotton shirts and sweat pants. I can only hope that some of them will stick to a more active lifestyle this time. In a couple more weeks the gym will clear out and it will be back to business as usual. After we ran, I swam 20 laps (1000 yards) and it was a perfect way to end our workout. The water felt so refreshing after a run.
I have a bad case of Spring fever. It does not help that Mike and I have our new bikes in our bedroom that we look at daily and say "Oh I wish I could ride my bike". It is killing us! But it also gives us hope, something to look forward to. I know that this weather will not last forever and that this season makes us appreciate the Spring and Summer. It is the blessing of 'just enough'. Just enough winter to make you appreciate the Summer, just enough of not working out to make you appreciate working out. Just enough of not running to make you appreciate the fact that you have a body that can move. Yes, this may be a blog that has a lot of gripes in it, but in all actuality it is a blog about blessings. There is a reason for all this bad weather just as there are reasons for every season in our lives. It forces me to sit down and reflect about how lucky and blessed that I am and that I have just enough. :). Now that I am done blogging, instead of yearning for the sounds of birds singing, I'm going to enjoy the beauty of the prismatic colors and the crackling, soothing sounds of a nice warm and cozy fire.
May you, my friend, be blessed with 'just enough'.
Namaste'

MY 2010 GOALS

2010-01-03T17:07:00.005-06:00

Now that 2010 has suddenly arrived I find myself wondering where did 2009 go? Last year was a good one. I ran several 5K's, two marathons (Nashville Country Music and Bass Pro), tried my first sprint triathlon (Republic Tiger Tri) and went on my first official 47 mile bike ride (Tour de Bass). This year is going to be an even better one. We are off to an excellent start. Yesterday, Mike and I picked up our new road bikes, mine is a lavender fit woman Felt and his is a beautiful black,white & red Bianchi . We could have bought ourselves a REALLY nice flat screen HD TV with a surround sound system, but both of us agreed we would much rather have the bikes. Besides, they are much better for us than a TV and we would certainly get more enjoyment out of them. Neither one of us watch much TV. I believe that the world would be better off with less TV's anyway! We brought our shiny new bikes inside and parked them in our bedroom and was so happy this morning to wake up and see them first thing. The only problem is that it is 12 degrees out, snowed four inches overnight and is still snowing as I write :( As for furniture, give me a garmin (which I have & love) and for clothes or jewelry, give me a new pair of running shoes or CR-W pants and some tech shirts and I am as delirious as a cat with catnip. Our vehicles are old and proudly plastered with bike and 26.2 stickers. I can't wait to put an ironman sticker on them (after we earn it)! We don't hesitate to jump in our vehicles with our sweaty bodies, dirty kids and dogs, or hitch our bikes on them. We would gladly give up material things to pursue that which brings us joy and helps us live life more fully. So that brings me to my goals for 2010. This is going to be the year for trying new things and attempting new challenges.

GOAL #1 : BRANSON IRON MAN 70.3

Mike and I are going to attempt our first 70.3 Iron Man! We have decided to do Branson Missouri's first official 70.3 Iron Man in September. People are saying that we are nuts because the bike course is going to be "challenging". But we have home court advantage. We live only 20 - 25 miles away and can easily go to Branson on the weekends and practice swimming, riding and running the course. And for those of you who do not know what the Iron Man 70.3 entails it is this. The swim is 1.2 miles long, the bike is 56 miles and the run is 13.1 miles.
My weakest point is the swim, so to help me overcome this, I have enrolled in a beginner triathlon swim class that starts tomorrow at 6am.

GOAL #2 : LOSE WEIGHT

I am only 5'1" and I am not overweight. However, my big booty seems to be perpetually stuck between 114-116 lbs. I would like to get my weight between 105-110 lbs. I know that I will never be a competitive athlete, but I would like to know that I have done everything that I can do in order to achieve MY best time. I am competing against myself and in order to do my absolute best I need to be at a good, athletic weight.

My husband is 6'2" and weighs 225 lbs. His goal is to get down under 215 lbs. This seems like a lot of weight to carry, but he has long, thin legs that carry his big frame pretty darn fast. So lots of fish, chicken, salad and sensible eating for us if we are going to get serious about achieving this goal.

GOAL #3 : RUN AT LEAST 2 MARATHONS

This is certainly a do'able goal for me. It will be my 5th and 6th marathons. Mike has not run a marathon yet, he would rather work on increasing his times in the half marathon. So this one is my goal. I have been sponsored by the Missouri Beef Council and have been entered in the Go St. Louis Marathon to be ran on April 11, 2010. I am already training and feel certain that this will be a great one. I also have plans of joining my running group for the 3rd year to train and run the Bass Pro Marathon in Springfield MO in November 7, 2010. If I can work in another marathon somewhere I certainly will! So here is my time goal...don't laugh... I would like to run a marathon under 5 hours. My best time so far was Bass Pro this last November in which I came in at 5:22:46. So if I lean up a bit and do some speed work along with my cross training for the triathlon I believe this is certainly a very do'able goal.

GOAL #4 : JOIN A BIKE CLUB AND RIDE!

Now that we have our new bikes we want to do the MS 150, the Tour de Cox and the Tour de Bass. We will probably join Springbike Bike club and ride with other local riders. My twin Audrey and my best friend Denise bought new bikes too, so we plan on being a cycling team. We have appropriately named our team 'Slow Riders'. It is going to be a fun and exciting year with our new bikes.

GOAL #5 : HAVE FUN!!

The most important thing in ALL of these goals is to have fun. We are doing them for the adventure and to enjoy life. Life is too darn stressful as it is. We work hard so by golly, we plan on living it up! The most important thing is not the time in any of these events, but the sense of accomplishment. I enjoy the strengthening of relationships that all these events have provided for me. It has strengthened an already strong marriage. My husband and I love and cherish our time together on the bike or watching each others butts jiggle as we run the roads together. I have never had so much fun and laughed so hard as when me, my sister and my best friend ride or run together. I have also met new friends on this fitness journey who have enriched my life beyond words and is, as the commercial says....priceless! And absolutely nothing can describe the way it feels to cross a marathon or triathlon finish line!!

So that is pretty much it. I will blog my journey and progress along the way. So stay tuned! In the meantime, get out, get moving and challenge yourself to try something new!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Namaste'

FALLING FROM GRACE

2009-12-12T18:19:00.010-06:00

I am spending this cold, rainy, dreary afternoon in front of a wonderful, warm and crackling fire. I am refusing to turn on the television, for I know if I do, there will inevitably be something about the 'falling from grace' of Tiger Woods. I don't watch much TV, but this morning, after fixing a nice steaming cup of coffee I turned on the news to catch up on what was going on in the world. Evidently nothing, for once again, it was all about Tiger's sins. I get on the internet, and low and behold, Tiger is on my home page. On the radio, nothing but Tiger.
This afternoon, my husband and I went shopping. We stopped in a restaurant to get a bite to eat - there were TV's everywhere (which I hate in eating establishments) and on every single one of them was the 'Falling From Grace' Tiger woods story. ESPN was even doing a one hour 'special' on this 'exciting and scandalous breaking news'. This deeply saddens me. It serves as a reference point in society as to where we are at and what we have become. We are a society of having 'no life'. The most watched shows on TV are reality shows, which are nothing but voyeurism. In watching others make an ass out of themselves, it somehow makes us feel better about ourselves. I can't help but wonder how different things would be if, instead of passing judgment on one another and trying to make sure that each one of us 'pays' for our sins, we just simply extended grace?
Tiger Woods is known as the greatest golfer in the world and is a huge public icon. But plain and simple, he is still just a man. A human being. That means...imperfect, will make mistakes....he hurts....he bleeds...just like everyone else. I am in no way condoning what Tiger has done. But we as humans want to step in and make people 'pay' for what they have done. I have never been known for being the 'greatest' at anything, but I have certainly had my fair share of judgment from others . Nothing hurts more than to be judged by the ones whom you thought loved you. It is even more crushing to find out that the people who should love you unconditionally have placed 'conditions' on their love. Interestingly enough, what I have found is, that those who judged me the loudest and harshest are the ones who have 'sinned' far greater than I.
I know that when I, or someone I love has been unfairly judged, I have tended to lash back and remind the judger's of their sin's and thus their own hypocrisy. This tactic has not worked well for me. It simply keeps the hurt continuously cycling back to me. God set into place the law of "sowing and reaping", some call it Karma. I believe that as humans, we are meant to extend love and grace just as the bible states (new testament) and let God's laws work its natural ways. When we extend judgement and hate we interrupt that law and start a vicious, never ending cycle upon ourselves.
One of my favorite perfumes is called 'Amazing Grace'. It is sweet, delicate and soft. It makes me feel good when I wear it - That is much the way grace is, sweet, delicate and most importantly, it is precious. The same words can apply to the way it feels to the extending of grace to one of our fellow humans. Nothing warms and softens the heart more then receiving grace from the one who could have judged you. We should all just draw a line in the sand and allow no more judgement to our fellow humans. Leave the stone throwing to those who have no sin. (Haven't met anyone like that yet!) The law of reaping and sowing (Karma) can be changed as the heart of the trespasser changes. Will there still be consequences for wrong actions? Unfortunately, yes! I just wish the media and society would get a life, and quit throwing the self righteous stones at someone because of their humanity. I heard a wise man once say, "the church (and in this case, the world also) thinks it is its responsibility to make everyone right". God simply wants us to help make others whole.
Blessings and healing to the Woods' Family!
Namaste'

WHY I RUN

2009-11-15T17:15:00.005-06:00

Quite often, when someone finds out that I run, I am asked 'Why? Why would anyone want to do that?'. To which my response has always been, 'If I have to explain it to you then you still would not get it.' Truth is, there are many, many reasons I run. I discover more reasons just about every time I run. So for those who want to know the answer to that question, here are just a few of those reasons.

I run because :

It is a challenge and I love to conquer a challenge.
With each rhythmic foot step, I relieve stress and solve problems.
I feel so ALIVE when I have accomplished a run.
It has provided me a special time to spend with my friends and has enriched a particularly special and dear friendship.
When I run alone, I have awesome prayer time.
I have always hoped that somehow, through my running, I could inspire others to reach for their dreams. After all, if I could do it, anyone could.

These are just a few of the many reasons I run. The last one, #6 hit a very special note with me several months ago. While eating at a local restaurant with my family, I saw some women that I went to High School with. I had not seen some of these women for over 30 years and they were there at the restaurant having a small High School reunion. I took my two sons, Hayden who is 17 and Noah who was 11, over to meet them. As we were walking back to our table, I told my children how proud I was to introduce them to my friends. My youngest son Noah surprised me by stating "I'm proud of YOU mom". "Why?" I asked. To which he responded matter of factly, "Seriously mom, what other kid can say that their mom runs marathons? No one that I know can say that!" While I stood with my heart in my throat, my oldest son chimed in to say "Yeah mom, even my friends think it's cool."
I can't even begin to describe how those words from my children touched me - so I won't even try.
And that, my friends, are some of the reasons why I run.
Namaste

BREAKING MOLDS

2009-11-08T10:07:00.014-06:00

Recently my husband came to me and said that he was considering getting back into pastoring. He currently serves as worship leader at a local church. I will support anything that my husband wishes to do, however, I felt he must know my true feelings and thoughts on being a "pastors wife". I told him that I simply could not "fit" that mold. I would only end up disappointing people who have absurd expectations of what a pastor's wife should be and do. Then I proceeded to remind him of my qualities that could be offensive to 'church' people. I have many, many more but for the sake of time I am only listing a few. Here they are :
1. I drink a beer occasionally. And I like it. (I don't get drunk - all in moderation)
2. I go out with my girlfriends and I drink a margarita and laugh very loudly.
3. At times I will wear "suggestive" clothing deemed inappropriate by some (all of which my husband bought me).
4. I let cuss words slip out.
5. I paint nude women and take live nude drawing classes. I think nudity is beautiful.
6. I will sometimes speak my mind and the truth as I know it. I am not graceful in my delivery of these words. This leads to 'hurt feelings'.
7. I really and truly don't care what other people think of me.
8. I will sacrifice church to go to a 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon or Triathlon or if I simply need a rest day from my very hectic week.
I reassured my husband that he would have my blessings if he decides to pursue this path, but these wifely traits must be kept in mind for you cannot be a pastor if your wife is (and I quote someone else's opinion of me) a "crazy ass".
It took me 46 years to accept who I was and the fact that I cannot be fit into any kind of mold, nor do I even want to try. In other words, I'm finally liking my crazy ass self!
These statements sparked an interesting conversation between my husband and I (which I love). He realized that in his past experiences he too had tried to fit a mold and failed. He also realized that he tried to make everyone around him, mostly his ex-wife and children fit into a mold. They also failed. I have placed unrealistic expectations upon people in my life too, including my husband, but I have consciously tried not to place those expectations on my children (which has lead me to great criticism by others as well). For instance, last year my oldest son came in the door sporting a Mohawk. He was shocked when my response was "I'm proud of you". He has been very conservative his whole life and for him, this Mohawk was stepping severely out of his conservative box. I asked him if I could dye it red (his school color)- he said no. Later that year, on a dare from his friends, he streaked in a neighborhood while stealing Obama and McCain signs from the yards and in another dare wore pink hot pants to our local public pool. When I picked him up from the police after his streaking incident I told him that if he must do these things, then he needs to be a little wiser, like covering up his RED Mohawk before he streaks through a neighborhood. He has since calmed down after testing the 'breaking out of the mold' waters and is settling more comfortably into his own beautiful and unique skin.
Rarely can anyone 'fit' into a mold. We are all different and unique personalities. We can all love and honor God without fitting into an impossibly perfect mold. God made each of us perfect just the way we are. If we would love Him, try to do what is right and good by our fellow mankind and stay true to who we truly are, then isn't that the greatest worship to God? I know that I have oversimplified a very complex subject but it does make you wonder, could it be that simple? I believe it could be.
My husband has apologized to his ex-wife and children years ago and most recently to me for trying to make us fit a mold that we could not fit ( I also apologized to him as well). Mike and I are certainly more aware of our thoughts and judgments of others now. Placing expectations on others is an innocent mistake on our part. We had learned it from our parents, and they theirs and so on and so forth. But enlightenment is key.
A point for self reflection : If you feel uneasy in your skin, could it be that you are simply trying to fit a mold that you cannot fit? Are you placing other people in molds that they cannot fit?
Imagine how wonderful of a world it would be if we all danced to our unique drum beat that God choreographed just for us. Imagine how wonderful it would be to appreciate and accept the beauty of others uniqueness. I know that this all sounds a bit Utopian, but I believe that we would all be happier, healthier and a more peaceful people.
My hopes for anyone who reads this blog is this: May you embrace your own uniqueness and break out of any unrealistic mold that you may be trying to fit in. May you know and truly love your own crazy ass.
Namaste

Note : I am not targeting just churchly molds. I am targeting ANY unrealistic molds placed on people. I do love the church. Church is good, it's just sometimes the people (as in anything else, lose focus on why we are there). In this blog church was just used as an example.

THE BASS PRO MARATHON NOVEMBER 1, 2009

2009-11-07T20:21:00.004-06:00

SECRET ENERGY DRINK #2: BLUEBERRY & STRAWBERRY GREEN TEA

2009-10-18T15:03:00.006-05:00

This is a great recipe to make at the beginning of the week and enjoy all week long. I usually put this drink in my BPA free camelback water container and carry it with me where ever I go. It is chock full of wonderful, healthy antioxidants.

   1 Gallon container
   12-15 organic green tea bags regular size
   1 Cup fresh or frozen organic blueberries

1 Cup fresh or frozen organic strawberries

1 organic lemon

Bring approx 1/2 pint of water in a sauce pan to a rolling boil. Remove from stove and add tea bags. Let steep for 7 to 12 minutes. While tea is steeping, add blueberries and strawberries to blender. Add just enough water and liquefy. Pour liquefied berries into a gallon container. Strain tea bags and add tea to gallon container and fill with water. Stir. Cut 1 lemon in half squeeze into tea and add whole lemon to container. Let set overnight to enhance the berry flavor.Drink all day and enjoy!

SETBACKS

2009-10-11T13:10:00.004-05:00

It's a cool, gloomy, Sunday October morning. The house is quiet. My husband is off to church and my boy's are at their dad's this weekend. I'm taking advantage of this rare and wonderful quiet time to write, rest, heal and fight discouragement.
Last Friday I had a minor surgery. This surgery required IV sedation and a round of prophylactic antibiotics. I hate antibiotics - they absolutely deplete me. I had to take one week off of marathon training (I can be quite anal about my running schedule and the marathon is only 3 weeks away). The surgery, antibiotics and coupled with the fact that I have been putting in 10 to 12 hour workdays 5 days a week have worn me out. So yesterday morning at 6:00am I eagerly joined my running group for our last long run before the marathon. We were to run 26 miles. I was anxious to get back into the groove and on with life.
The morning started off a cold 32 degrees. It took forever for my legs to warm up. I knew I was in trouble when my fingers started swelling up like vienna sausages around mile 8. My legs felt tight and never loosened up. We had had flooding rains the last several days and the trails were flooded. We were constantly having to go around the flooded areas only to find ourselves ankle deep in mud. We finally gave up trying to avoid the water and just splashed right through the puddles and our soggy feet quickly started blistering. I mentally and physically fought the entire run.
I finally threw in the towel between mile 22 and mile 23. Something in me said I was starting to push my body too far. So I did something that I had always told myself that I would never do...I called my husband. He met me at the Kansas Expressway crossover bridge. I sadly waved goodbye to my running partners and climbed into the car. My husband, sensing my disapointment smiled and said, "I'm surprised you made it that far. You did the right thing." Then, trying to cheer me up he drove me to the book store and bought me a new book, and took me out to eat. He is so good to me.
That run made me feel like a failure. I absolutely hate not finishing something that I've started. My options were : #1. Push it now, possibly past my limit and take a chance on not being able to recover for my ultimate goal (Bass Pro Marathon) or #2. Stop now, let myself heal, rest and rejuvenate with the hopes of being strong for my marathon. I opted for #2.
Today, I am tired. My knees hurt. I am discouraged. I wanted my last long run before the marathon to be a strong one. It's more psychological than physical. That run would have given me the confidence of knowing that when I stand at 7:00am on November 1st in the midst of thousands of people, that I had just completed the run - no big deal, I could easily do it again.
Right now, I sit on the couch, nursing my wounded ego and sore knees. I know that because I am tired, discouragement can descend upon me and blanket my mind, distorting my thoughts. I have to keep in mind that setbacks are normal. More importantly, I have to keep in mind that setbacks are temporary. I've come to understand that the mental part of running, (as well as the thought process in life itself,) has more power than the physical part. To obtain my goals, in running or life, I must change my thoughts and predominant mindset. I cannot dwell on the negative things... I will focus on my goal in a positive way. I will allow myself to go through this process with the hopes of emerging on the other side stronger and ready for the marathon physically and mentally. I have done three marathons before. With proper preparation my next one will be the best one yet!

Namaste

A FEW TIPS FOR AVOIDING COLD'S & FLU THIS WINTER

2009-10-04T17:28:00.002-05:00

As an RN, I'm not an advocate of the 'flu shot'. In my profession, we, as health care professionals are strongly encouraged to get the flu shot so as not to infect our patients. I KNOW that I personally do not need it, but I do it out of obligation to my company and the health of my patients. But if you follow these simple suggestions you might be able to avoid any kind of nasty little mutating virus this winter. I have not had the flu in many, many years and my children have always remained healthy, rarely missing a day of school. So here are my tips to remain virus free this winter :

Drink 8- 8ounce glasses of water every single day. I know that this is a no brainer, but it works...really! To help you get your 8 glasses in, start with 2 glasses first thing upon rising, 2 at lunch, 2 at dinner and 2 in the evening (try not to drink before bed, as this will keep you up at night going to the bathroom and defeat tip #4).
With a Q-tip, swab your ears out w/ peroxide every morning. The peroxide travels down the eustachian tubes and kills any harboring germs plus you get the added benefit of clearing out ear wax (which also can harbor germs).
With a Q-tip, swab your nasal passages with warm water, then follow w/oil - olive or safflower every morning. The dry air causes small fissures in your nasal canal. To a virus particle, these membrane fissures are like the Grand Canyon and causes an excellent entry into the blood stream.
Make sure you are getting enough (unmedicated) sleep. This is your body's only defense to renew itself. (I know, another no brainer)- melatonin is a good natural relaxer to take before bedtime.
Last but not least. EXERCISE. Cannot stress enough on this one. I personally like exercise that exerts you physically - like running, then I like to compliment this the next day with one that stretches your mind and your body, like yoga. I find this to be a 'balance' for the body. For one extreme of exercise if not followed by another extreme of the opposite tends to lead to imbalance (like everything else in life).

Remember : VIRUSES CANNOT REPLICATE IF THEY DO NOT FIRST MAKE ENTRY INTO THE BLOODSTREAM, INVADE OUR INDIVIDUAL CELLS, SET UP THE CELLULAR MANUFACTURING APPARATUS WITH THE VIRAL BLUEPRINT AND TURN THE PLACE INTO A VIRAL FACTORY.

In short, the whole point of these tips is to not let the little devils in your body in the first place. So follow these tips and this will help you and your family have a healthy and happy winter season.

Happy and Healthy Fall to Everyone,

Namaste

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER

2009-09-27T14:58:00.007-05:00

In writing this blog, please understand that I have no intention of forcing my own political views upon the reader. The following are facts. This blog was inspired by the book I am currently reading by Andy Andrews called "Island of Saints". My only intention in writting this is to reveal truth with the hopes that it would stimulate thought and personal reflection.

So please...DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER!

In 1787 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh noticed a continuing pattern in the advance and decline of the world's democracies. He stated then that a democracy would continue to exist until such a time that the voters discover that they can literally vote themsevles gifts from the public treasury. From the moment the revelation is made, the majority proceeds to vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury. The final result is that every democracy finally collapses due to loose fiscal policy. That collapse is always followed by a dictatorship.
Tyler charted the ages of the world's greates civilizations from the beginning of history...an average existence of about two hundred years. (FYI: the U.S. has been in existence 233 years). Every single time, these nations progressed through the following sequence :

From bondage to spiritual faith
From spiritual faith to great courage
From courage to liberty
From liberty to abundance
From abundance to complacency
From complacency to apathy
From apathy to dependence
And finally from dependence back into bondage.

I believe that I know where we are as a nation in this sequence. I also believe that our own individual lives cycle in this sequence as well. So I ask you as the reader to ponder on this :

Where do you think we, as a nation, fall into this squence; and what part or role do you play in where we are at today, individually and as a nation?

While it is true that history repeats itself. Knowing this cycle and having the courage to live and act responsibly as individuals and a nation can also begin a new cycle. Knowledge =Enlightenment=Power.

Namaste.

RUNNING WITH WOMEN

2009-09-20T11:20:00.005-05:00

Yesterday morning I ran 23 miles with my running group. I sat that afternoon, nursing my sore muscles and basking in the glow of accomplishing this feat. Outside our open windows the grey skies let go a sweet melancholy rain which caused me to reflect upon how this all began...
I signed up for the Bass Pro Marathon training group last year with one single goal in mind : To train for a marathon and to do it in a way to keep me from getting injured. What I didn't expect was that the benefits of this group would be beyond just running and finishing a marathon. They were, to put it mildly,much greater, richer and deeper than I ever imagined.

I joined the Springfield MO Galloway training goup last may in 2008. I nervously showed up to run on a warm and humid morning at 6:00am with a lot of apprehension. Besides running with my husband, I had always ran alone and was somewhat of a 'lone runner' and enjoyed my quiet time. So needless to say I thought that I would give it a try and if I didn't like it then I gave myself permission to drop out and continue to run on my own.

So I started my run with the group, and after running with these women for several weeks I found that I was developing relationships. I quickly discovered that I was running with witty, interesting, well-read, creative, compassionate, professional, beautiful and authentic women. While we ran we chatted about the latest books we had read and soon started sharing books, we talked about our children, husbands, work, dogs and lended ears to personal problems. As each one of our feet hit the pavement and sweat dripped from our brows we rhythmically pounded out ideas, solutions, projects and new goals.

My husband has come to understand and appreciate the wholeness that I feel after I have sweated with these women for hours on end on Saturday mornings. He knows it makes me a better wife,mother, employee,nurse and artist. In short,he gladly gives up our precious time together so I can be a better person.

This is the second year that I have ran with this group. We have had new women join and as a result our group becomes even more interesting and rich as these new ladies bring a different and fresh perspective to enrich our lives.

As a group, our ultimate goal is to cross the finish line to obtain the coveted 'Bass Pro Fish Medal' and to proudly display the 26.2 sticker on our Vehicles. But ultimately each one of us will leave the group with an unexpected cohesiveness. One that can only come with striving together for months, sweating and encouraging each other as our runs became longer and more difficult. When we cross that finish line in November there will be a bittersweet sensation. One: of knowing that each one of us has accomplished a life goal and two: it marks the end of our regular group runs at 6:00am until next Spring.

The Bass Pro Marathon will be ran on November 1st at 7:00am. But we will walk away that day, with our medals around our necks,changed forever. For I know that our running group has made each one of us realize and appreciate that some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay awhile, make footprints on our hearts and we are never,ever the same.

Nov. 2008 Right Before the Bass Pro Marathon

Nov. 2008 -During The Marathon

After the Marathon w/the Coveted 'Fish Medal'

MY SECRET ENERGY DRINK ;)

2009-09-14T20:00:00.007-05:00

Here is a great tasting recipe that I make and drink in the mornings before work and especially before long runs. I believe it helps me with endurance and keeps me from cramping up during long runs.
Try it, let me know what you think.

11 Oz pure coconut water
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 T Maca (herb from health food store)
1 T Bee Pollen
1 T freshly ground flax seed
1 banana

Blend with blender and enjoy.

Just a little note - sometimes when I run out of coconut water I use soy milk for my morning protein shakes. But if I'm doing a long run, I always use coconut water! Also, fill your fuel belt with just pure coconut water instead of sports drinks - It works great and taste much better!!

TUCK AND ROLL

2009-09-13T09:51:00.004-05:00

Newton’s third law of motion states that for every action there is equal and opposite reaction. This law applies to every situation in life. As long as you are alive on this earth you will experience multiple ups and an downs or highs and lows. THIS IS NORMAL. I was disappointed to discover that the older I got, life did not get any easier and that I was not immune to this law. This Universal law applies to everyone and will occur perpetually until the day we die – DANG IT!! Cause I was really looking forward to kicking back and enjoying a free ride.

2009 has been a particularly peculiar year for Mike and me. Our year started off very strangely. Here are just a few examples of events that have occurred. It started on Jan 1 with the death of a family member and has been on roller coaster ever since. The last two months have been particularly hellacious, to put it mildly. The string of peculiar events started in June with an unfortunate and sad episode with my close family.

The next week, while just completing a very enjoyable bike ride with my dear friend Denise, I walked into the house to find the phone ringing. On the other end my 17 year old son, Hayden states, “Mom, I’m in the ambulance, meet me at the hospital.” Needless to say, electrical currents shot out every pore of my body. Just a note to parents reading this, if your child is in the ambulance and is the one telling you to ‘CALM DOWN’, then chances are pretty good that it’s not a life and death situation. But still, on the mom stress scale, a phone call like this rates an 11. My precious son had slipped in the creek and was unfortunate enough to have caught his fall with his right hand which was smartly impaled into a very large and jagged piece of glass. This sounds like a minor incident, but this incident entailed 4 ½ hours of surgery at 1:00 am with a plastic surgeon to repair 6 severed ligaments and nerves. Hayden currently has no use of his right hand or feeling of his ring finger and will have to go to physical therapy two times a week for a whole year, not to mention that he may have to endure surgeries throughout his life to remove scar tissue to keep the function of his hand.

The very next week I had a freak “health” occurrence happen that is going to require surgery. (no insurance on me).

The next week my husband unexpectedly and suddenly lost his job (nothing to do with him or his job performance). This was not only financially devastating but emotionally devastating for me for I was pursuing my dream of becoming a full time artist but was not bringing in enough money on a regular basis to sustain us.

We have also had other “incidences” that have happened but they would be hurtful to other people if I mentioned them so I will not include them in this blog. Just a little funny at this point. My husband just happens to walk by and asks, “Whacha doin?” “Writing a blog,” I say. To which he replied, “Uh Oh…DO NOT make any more of my family members mad!” I got a good chuckle, for that has never been my intention, but…you know how that goes.

Needless to say, all these events had put tremendous financial stress on us. Mike and I knew that as bleak as things looked at the moment, that this too shall pass. I also knew, however, that while we were waiting on this season to pass, that it was a time to “tuck and roll”. Tuck and roll is a term I learned from horseback riding when I was 9 or 10 years of age. I was taught that if you fall off of a horse, you simply tuck and roll. Tucking helps protect your core, but most importantly the key is to keep your head from sounding like a coconut when it hits the ground= not good. The goal is to also help keep your appendages from snapping like a toothpick = also not good. Rolling helps combat Newton’s second law which states The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors (as indicated by their symbols being displayed in slant bold font); in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector. In other words, you want to roll as opposed to an abrupt SPLAT. You get the jest of it.

So in these times, when you find yourself unexpectedly and suddenly falling…tuck and roll. Oh, and just a note, it also helps to have a good friend or friends who know you, and despite that, still love you, with whom you can vent your woes too. This can be very therapeutic. Thank you to my priceless friends, (you know who you are).

Another little side note that I want to throw in. Listen for answers and pay attention to words or phrases that will catch your attention. For instance, the other day, I was in another room while my husband was flipping through channels on the TV. An old man was telling a younger man, “find fulfillment in everything that you do.” I knew that was a phrase that I needed to grab a hold of. So pay attention. I believe words of encouragement can come at just the right time even through haphazardly flipping TV channels.

An update on our current situation: Mike is now working in my studio in Branson. He is doing quite well. He also has done a few abstract paintings, which is a whole new area for him. He is growing and discovering new things about life and himself. Mike losing his job forced me to get out and get a job. As an RN we felt this would be the most feasible. This lead me into an opportunity of working at a specialty hospital as a Case Manager. The pay and benefits are excellent, I’m working with wonderful and talented people, but most importantly it has put me in a position of truly making a difference in peoples lives. I have found fulfillment in everything that I do.

My sad and unfortunate family situation will get resolved and we will be stronger as a family because of it.

As for my health occurrence, surgery is scheduled for next month and as it turns out, it is quite affordable and things will turn out just fine.

Where my 17 year old son is concerned, he graduates high school next year. He has dreams of becoming a doctor. He says that this experience not only afforded him the opportunity for a cool profile pic of him in the ambulance, but it has helped him with compassion towards other people, and as a result he believes that he will be a better doctor because of it. God has certainly blessed me with two awesome sons and two awesome step children.

So our season has passed for now. We are on the up swing. But I do know this for sure…as long as we are alive and kicking we will have more tuck and roll seasons. Our valleys will serve to make us wiser and more interesting, for everyone who is interesting has a past.

Many blessings to you.