No Opportunity Wasted

Life has moved to an even more frantic pace and if I am honest with myself, I have to admit I bring a good majority of it on myself. You see, I have this problem; I read about an opportunity or hear of something that interests me and I simply can’t say no. I have so totally bought into the no opportunity wasted, no time like the present, challenge yourself way of living that I have created my own chaos! I take those motivational speakers that encourage their listeners to get out and do something seriously and I sign up for EVERYTHING and I have to do it NOW. I need a motivational speaker that tells me “ you have to let some opportunities go! You can’t do them all – or at least you can’t do them all at once.” So, I am signed up for 3 triathlons this summer and the Bike MS, and I am totally having to hold back on registering for that meditation class. And wouldn’t it be cool to become a certified yoga instructor? And what about joining another running group? And I could do that bike ride because that ONE weekend this summer isn’t already filled. Gotta go: I have to go update my website, create a new FaceBook page for TriForMS, teach Connor to drive, help Dylan get a job….

More Indoor Training

Another snowy weekend in Colorado, which means another weekend indoor bound for training. Yesterday’s run was at the Y on the treadmill. I thought by watching TV on the handy little TV attached to the treadmill I could pass the time quickly, but the insanity of TV frustrated me so badly, I switched to music after 10 minutes. We don’t have TV at home, so we never watch it. When presented with a TV watching opportunity, I get my hopes up that I’ll be entertained by tuning in only to be disappointed every time I turn a TV on. I must have clicked through 40 channels only to find 80% of them trying to entice me to buy some product or another. The benefits of music while training get me energized and I get through my 90 minutes of running followed by some yoga. There is nothing like yoga to finish a workout!

Today’s training was another spin workout. Netflix delivery on Friday brought us Stomp the Yard, which was great to spin to. I was stomping on my bike until a loud “pop” sent me off my bike saddle with a scream. I was working so hard my back tire exploded. Perhaps I should have changed the tire when I noticed the bubble in the tire when I started my ride? I hate changing tires, and Steve was working so I opted to ignore it and take the chance. I won’t tell Steve I knew there was a bubble though. “I don’t know what happened! I was just riding along and it popped. Can you PLEASE change it for me? “

And Other Days...

And then there are days when I have my training workout to do and it’s all I can do to get through it, let alone perform well. Today was long bike day. The weather is still too cold to ride outside, so it’s another indoor spin workout. Riding on the trainer, in the living room, for anything more than about an hour bores the heck out of me. Today’s boredom distraction included watching part of a movie, using a small glass for water so I could get off the bike and refill it 5 times, reading my Toastmaster’s magazine, putting in a load of laundry, oops – forgot my sweat towel and had to get off and fetch that…, and finally crank up the ipod and blast the music into my head to get me pumped up to finish the ride. By combining actual riding with distraction techniques, I was able to actually ride 90 minutes.

Beautiful Run

There are days when I am outside doing my run, or hiking or walking and things just seem right with the universe. These are the days when I have beat down the negative thoughts and I have stopped listening to the self doubt. My thoughts tune in to what’s possible and all the reasons it can happen. Tracker and I went on one of my favorite runs today – Sante Fe Trail north through the Air Force Academy with a stop to enjoy the beauty of ice lake. It was a bit chilly running North (40 degrees with a breeze) but the sun was shining with just a few clouds to add some color to the beautiful blue sky. I had my itunes blasting in my ears as I sang out loud and ran. Singing out loud only presents a problem when someone faster than me (that includes about everyone else on the trail…) overtakes me and I’m singing so loud I can’t hear them approach. I’m saved from embarrassment only when they are wearing their headphones too and I hope their music is loud enough to drown out my singing.

After my 8 mile run, I went to Sunflower Market to pick up a few things and there was a woman doing foot reflexology. Not one to pass up any kind of massage, I got situated in her lounge chair and she proceeded to do what reflexologists do and I immediately started calculating in head how I could fit a weekly foot reflexology treatment into our current budget. My feet were sore from running and she made them feel like I hadn’t done my run. She also pointed out all the things that are out of balance in my body, and she nailed each one! She was explaining to me that there are reflexes in the feet that correspond to every part and organ of the body. Applying pressure to particular areas can point out imbalances in those areas and relieve tension and bring them back into balance. Sound all woo-woo? Well, she pointed out that my hormones are out of balance (and she hasn’t witnessed my wild swings!), my kidneys are depleted (yep, I always need to drink more water), and other things. If nothing else, the relaxation and taking care of my feet was a great way to recover from my run!