So much to do!!

Did you know that there so many opportunities out there? So many things to do with people, things to see, ways to get your body moving!! When I was 274 pounds I had no idea! The only things that were important to me then, were my Family, home, TV, couch, books (where I could read about other people living their lives), and FOOD!! That's all I needed to live!?!?!

Now that this body can move, I have experienced so much more in my life.

Everyday I get a flurry of emails about a new 5k, half marathon or mini tri event that's coming to my area. I also get biking events, zoo events, and community events. I could never be alone with nothing to do around here. There's always something to do, something to get me out of this house and something that will keep me active.

Really thinking about doing an event like this. How fun would that be?

Or what about this one?

It's a Pineapple Classic 5k Obstacle Course Race!!

So many fun things to do!!

Are you still stuck in your house? Are you ready to do some living? Sign up for an event today...they have them for all activity levels!! Whatever you do.....just get out of the house and get your body moving!!

Stay focused!!!

Not the last one in!!!

Just got back from a week of fun....camping, boating and hiking!! We had a blast and now...I'm so thankful to be home....Lots and lots of highlights to share ~ We had a blast with our family (Daughter, Son-in-Law and two grand-baby girls) and friends. I wake surfed and swam a lot. Did pretty well with my food, I weighed in tonight and I was up two pounds....Bonus ~ it's evening time (I usually weigh in the morning) and it's hot ~ I know I'm retaining water. So I should not be too bad!!

The other bonus and the one I'm most proud of is we went on a hike and I was not the last one in. I came in first!!! This is where we were going....Now mind you, I'm at our base camp looking up!

We started off with one mile just getting to the base of the mountain. Then it was one mile up to the ridge.. Straight up with tiny little trails...You know the ones where you step on them and the little rocks roll down the hill. SCARY!! Once we got to the top, we had to walk another mile until we could see our camp. Here it is:

The pictures don't really show how high we were. I think we climbed 600 feet!

Then once we got up on the ridge, we had to take some pictures!

I was a happy girl to be there!! After a little rest we ran/walked another 3 miles and then it was back down the skinny trail.

Here's were I get excited! I ran the whole way down. Except for a couple of rocky places I made it the whole way. Oh, ahem....except for the time when I fell flat on my face. I was not running then. Thankfully I made it out without any pain or problems, except for two tiny boo boo scrapes on my elbow. The best part was I made it back to the bottom before everyone else. I was not last!!! Then we hiked back another mile and got ready to go on the boat.

All in all....it was just 8 miles, but I did it without any problems making the distance and climbing those hills. It was a blast!!

While we were walking this woman came running by us ~ Super fit, sweaty and running fast and I told the group....That's what I want to be! And for a tiny moment....I was that woman!!

How was your week? Are you making stuff happen?

Stay focused!

Making a Decision

I'm still a little perplexed about my attitude... Perplexed that I'm stuck...Perplexed about all this fear that is holding me back from achieving my goals.

So the past couple of days I've really been thinking about this. Especially about this fear thing. I've brought this up many times....I keep saying that I'm too afraid, that I have too much fear about moving on with my journey. Finally the other day, I just stopped myself and really asked myself if I was really fearful and truly afraid.

Fear Definition: 
1  : an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger and accompanied by increased autonomic activity



Afraid Definition:
1  : filled with fear or apprehension (afraid of machines) (afraid for his job)

2

: filled with concern or regret over an unwanted situation (I'm afraid I won't be able to go)

3

: having a dislike for something (afraid of hard work)

Well losing the weight and getting fit and healthy does not put me in danger. In fact, achieving these things will get me out of danger of dying an early death, saves me from diseases and other things related to being obese. I can't see any unwanted situations coming from reaching my goals. Pretty sure that I won't dislike being healthy and fit. I might be a little afraid of doing the hard work - but I've done it for over 2 years now, so this should not be a problem.

So fear and being afraid are not my problem. Anyway at my age, why should I be afraid of success?

After much thought I realized that I'm not reaching for my goals because of fear and being afraid....It all has to do with my unwillingness to move forward.

What I'm learning during this process is willingness is key to reaching my goals. I can't have my heels dug into the ground and move forward at the same time.

I have to make the decision that I'm going for my goals. 

I'm not hiding behind the excuse of fear and being afraid any more. I'm making the decision today that I'm picking my feet up and I'm moving forward to my goals. One step at a time!

How about you...Do you have your heels dug in?

Keep focused!

There does come a time, in the journey, where decisions needs to be made. Right now, I'm at a crossroad. I have a decision to make.



One - I could abandon my journey and go right back to the way I was before.

Two - I could stay right where I am.

Three - I could quit messing around and get to my goal.

Well the number one option is out. So there's no big decisions to make there....it's the number two option that has me stuck!

You see if I did not do anything different and stayed right where I am today, it would probably be OK. I mean, I'm in a place where without going any further in my journey, I could really just live my life, do what I want to do. I have all of the mobility I need to do the activities I want to do. I can walk, run, cycle, water ski, swim, row, and so much more. My blood pressure & cholesterol  is normal, I feel great, my clothes look good on me, I can buy them in regular stores, I don't look bad,  just a little chubby yet, but for the most part....I feel normal.

So the motivation to move toward my goal of 150 pounds is lacking a little. 


I have to ask myself......

Self to me: "What is your motivation to stay right where you are?" And, "What are you getting, what is your reward, out of not moving forward?"

There is a REASON why I CHOOSE to stay in this place!!

SO what is it?

Well...my motivation to stay in this place is.....Because it's easy! I would not have to change one thing and I would be able to maintain the weight I'm at, I could do all the things I want and I would look normal.

I'm asking myself. Why would I want to settle for this, when I could have so much more. What is my REWARD for staying in this place?

I feel like if there wasn't a reward or some benefit for my being here...I would be somewhere else...right?

So what is it?

Can you tell that I'm working this out as I write?

I am thinking the reason why I stay here, is because I can make all of the motions of appearing to move forward, because that's what I should do, but secretly, I'm holding off because I'm too afraid of what lies ahead...Of what this will really mean, to me, to reach my goals.

I mean, if my life is this hard, this busy and this crazy now....When I've reached my goal....what will it look like then? What will I be expected to do?

I'm am actually weighing out if I want to take that chance!

I guess I sort of do want to see it. I feel like I'm daily sticking my toe in the water, I kind of like what I feel, but then I get scared and pull it right back out.

So I guess, for me, it's decision time.

Am I happy.....right where I am?

Or.....

Am I READY to go to the next level and reach my goals?

More to follow.....

Are you at your crossroads?

Keep focused!!

Just because you can...Should you?

We had the best Staycation ever!! I was off last Wednesday - Friday. And we filled our time with fun stuff. Wednesday we did the 5k with our family and friends, then the rest of the day was food, friendship and fireworks! So much fun! Thursday, we got up and got things rolling and went for a 23 mile bike ride and ended the evening hitting golf balls at the driving range. Friday morning we were off bright and early and went water skiing, then we came home and got ready for the Blues Festival. We stayed there until 10pm. Then Saturday we got up early again and met our friends at the farmer's market. Love summer when you can buy your fruits and veggies outside!! After that I spent 3 1/2 hours in my yard, pruning, fussing and laying 4 yards of bark dust. Sunday....Well Sunday, I did not do a thing!! I needed a rest!

Anyway we had a great time!!

While at the Blues Festival I did a lot of people watching. Seemed the average age was 50 to 60 years old. A lot of old hippie types hanging around and along with that I saw some pretty interesting clothes. One lady stood out to me. She was probably 65 or a little older. She had long salt and pepper hair and wore a bunch of necklaces. She was thin. She wore a tube top and a long skirt. My thought was.....Just because you can wear stuff like that....should you? In her case, it was not a great idea. She looked awful. It was just not fitting for her age or body. But to her, she felt she looked great so she went with it. Good for her!

This got me to thinking about things we think we can or cannot do. Oh we say, "Because I'm so fat, I will not wear shorts" or "With this body, I'm not wearing a swim suit ~ no way!" or "I can't do that because I'm out of shape", or "I can't go there because I don't know anyone and no one will like me." or "I won't try that new thing because I afraid." 

Have you said any of these things?

Oh....I've said them all and many other things that have kept me from doing things I want and should do. 

Something has happened to me recently that I have decided that I'm putting all of those old thoughts out of my mind and I'm doing some stuff. Things I thought I had put behind me because I've been too fat, too out of shape and too old to do.

I'm not holding back ~ Not anymore....I'm doing some stuff!!

This is me!

The last time I was on water skis that long was over 20 years ago! Woo hoo!!! Next up ~ Slalom Ski!

So no matter where you are in your journey. Set aside your old thoughts about what you cannot do or should not do, but put your thoughts and determination on what you can and SHOULD DO!!

Are you stretching yourself?

Keep focused!

Smashed It!

Smashed my record!! Oh my goodness! Yesterday was a great day. It was so beautiful here in Oregon ~ Could not have been a better day for a race. My daughter and grand babies stayed the night and we were up bright and early for our race. When we got there, we got the girls settled into their decked out, 4th of July stroller, decorated with balloons and garland and they were wearing red white and blue necklaces and headbands with streamers on them and covered with a red white and blue blanket. They were adorable!! My hubby was running with them. Right before the race started, I was surprised by my trainer, she decided to run it with me!! She let me know though, that she could only run 1/2 of the race because she needed to get back to the gym for a class at 9:00am. The race started at 8.

So we set out, of course we lost my daughter as she was flying to the finish line...in 31 minutes...Oh to be in that kind of shape!!  My poor Hubby got stuck in the crowd with the stroller. And our friends who were with us were walking so we did not see them until the finish line. So it was just me and my trainer ~ we were focused and ready to go. This is the first race that I completed without a bit of pain. I got a knee brace that worked perfectly and I did not have any issues at all. So exciting! There were moments when I would get a burst of energy and we would take of running at a faster pace. I could not believe it when we hit the 1/2 way mark, I felt great...felt like I was just getting started! Then at 2 1/2 miles I looked at my watch and I realized that I was under my 15 minutes mile time frame. I told my trainer...that I think we're going to make it in time. I think we can finish together. And that's what we did.

We came in at 40.07 minutes ~ Smashing last years record at 45.2 minutes!! My pace time was 12:55 minutes. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!

I was so excited!! Just goes to show you what consistency and training will do for you. Now I'm working toward a pace where I can at least keep up with my daughter. That would be awesome!!

That's it for me. I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July!!

Stay focused!!

Pre-Race Prep

My next 5k race is tomorrow. Can't believe it's here already! Time is flying!!!

I've trained the best I could. Not perfect, just OK. It's been interesting & frustrating, waiting for my body to recover from my last half marathon. I guess, for me, I may have over done it a smidgen with doing so many in such a short time. My last one was June 9th and it took a good two weeks before I was back to my regular training level.  So I've had about 10 days to get ready for this race. Does not seem like enough time.

Oh I have no doubt I can do it....it's just that I want to beat my time from last year ~ I came in at 45.2 minutes. After my last race, I was hoping to train to beat that number!! Really hope that I can do it!

The difference this year....My daughter is running it with me. She's focused! She has a great pace. I can't keep up with her, but at least I have something to focus on. The other thing I've got in my pocket, is experience. I have a number of races under my belt and I know this course. Super flat! Other things I have now, that I did not have last year is...I have a watch. Can't believe how important this is to me. I know how long it takes me to run a mile and if I can watch the time click toward my finish, it helps so much. Other things that help is knowing what to wear, how to prepare my feet and legs to be ready, I know about nutrition, water and rest and I also know about the mental part of getting this done. The best thing that I have is music. I have a great selection and it really revs me up and keeps me focused!!

So with that I'll say. I'm ready!!

Can't wait. I will let you know if I am successful in beating my time!!

How about you....Are you racing towards your goal?

Keep focused!