Impossible List

I know I said this year would be the Year of CRAPTASTIC.. or whatever I said..... BUT! You know I couldn't put that negative bullshit out there and just leaving it hanging in the air to grow into something that is indeed craptastic.

I've been reading some truly amazing things (that I try not to let paralyze me from writing) lately that have got me in a great head space. A head space that is FAR FROM CRAPTASTIC. Combine this w/ the amazingness that is happening with Rev3. The true partnership with Ulman Cancer Fund has me nearly jumping out of my skin. Did you hear? Rev3 and Ulman are partnering on the 1/2 Full Tri in Maryland in October. That's THREE Rev3 races in the month of October. WOW! Or BOOM as our Wattie Ink challengers like to say! Yea we have a competition going on! They've also been challenged to do the VIRTUAL RUN ACROSS AMERICA (details to come) and to raise more money than us... because that's what this is about. And on that note.. hit that donate now button to the right! =>>>>>

The chats going on amongst my team mates this year is so meaningful so impactful and inspiring. Much deeper than just triathlon... while, of course, we talk about this a lot!

Okay. Back to my task at hand w/ this post. See I'm so damn excited about all of this stuff that I can't even get through one - not really related, but totally related - post without going on and on about it!

Perhaps you noticed the new tab called Impossible List that appeared on the top of the blog? What IS that all about?

Well I stumbled upon Joel Runyon's site ImpossibleHQ and became immediately inspired. I want to open this life up like a big ol' can of worms. Why the heck not? What else am I here for.

I've been reading so much stuff (ya know in my spare time when I'm not running, contacting local papers, talking to my team, coordinating runners, contacting people to volunteer for Rev3 Quassy in June, oh and caring for two little people and talking to my husband) that my head feels like it might explode with the potential that we all posses to not only live a super fantastic high quality life of OUR dreams, but the potential to do good.... just by living this high quality life!

So you can click on that tab and see the first rough draft of my Impossible List. It's like a bucket list, but it changes and grows as I change and grow. It's not a list of things I want to do leading up to my death... it's a list of things I want to do to honor my LIFE!

And with out further ado allow me to share other mind blowing resources for your exploding brain pleasure! Let's kick it up a notch people. Look at your life. Is this what it's all about? Is this all there is!? I promise you it is not! You CAN live your dream. I'm slowly starting to figure out what MY DREAM even LOOKS like!

These people are doing things that are worthy of talking about!

Scott Dinsmore of Live Your Legend
Joel Runyon of Impossible HQ
Gary Vaynerchuck
Amber Zuckswert of Epic Self

There are others, but these are the four I've really been diving into!

So... dare I say Impossible 2012? I hate to label... well, obviously I don't.. I'm gun shy about labeling. I've figured out that it's me and my attitude toward the year (or anything really) that decides whether it was successful... not the actual events of the year themselves.

Onward and upward folks. This year is underway. Hold onto your hats and make it whatever it is YOU want it to be!

What are your big plans for 2012? Where are you putting yourself out there ... outside of your comfort zone.. making it an IMPOSSIBLE smashing year! Crush that barrier!! And then smile and pat yourself on the back. You owe it to you.. to me.. to your children and their children.

Impossible things!

I stumbled up on Joel Runyon's Website Impossible HQ and was immediately intrigued!

Then my friend Christine (check her out. She organized a 5k last year and earned $20k for Haiti) sent a Facebook message to a bunch of us listing the 10 impossible things she did in 2011 and the 10 impossible things she wanted to do in 2012... all based on Joel's Impossible HQ site.

I decided to play along.

10 Things in 2011

1. Completed a half distance triathlon. 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, 13.1mile run
2. Became a sponsored triathlete
3. Worked at two Rev3 events and had two of the most epic weekends of my life
4. Moved my Great Uncle into a home and organized his entire portfolio of
art - including 150 canvases and nearly 1000 pieces of original art on paper.
5. Simplified our belongings and donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff we did NOT need.
6. Completed my 4th marathon despite fighting an injury
7. Rode the MS150 with my family from Houston to Austin
8. Tried my hand at Personal Training & eliminated another thing that does not quite express my passion
9. Kept pushing through physical obstacles to keep on running.
10. Discovered that I am physically and mentally stronger than I thought I was.

on Tap for 2012

1. Run Across America with Rev3
2. Raise $100k for Ulman Cancer Fund w/ Rev3
3. Race my 2nd 70.3 at Rev3 ME
4. Start ECH Fine Art and Designs and sell my Great Uncle's Art
5. Send 1 hand written card every day for 365 days
6. Do 52 Random Acts of Kindness with my kids
7. Compost {Again}
8. Downsize our house
9. Return to my {mostly} vegetarian diet for my health and the environment
10. Go 1 month, 2 months, 3 month w/o purchasing anything BRAND new. (except running shoes)

As the year goes on I will be constructing a "life long" list of IMPOSSIBLE things. Like a bucket list, but, like, way cooler! :) I encourage you to reach for the stars. To put that thing out there that rolls around in the back of you mind.... that you never speak. SPEAK it... to the world... and watch impossible things happen! Make IMpossible POSSIBLE!

Speaking of impossible things. Here are something to inspire you to think of IMPOSSIBLE things and walls YOU can shatter!

Jim Wilkes a Team RWB triathlete. His doctor USED the word IMPOSSIBLE when he asked if he could ever do a triathlon. Look at him now! Like him on Facebook!!!

WANT TO BE MORE!

I want to be better. I want to provide more to you, my readers, to my family and to my friends. I want to go beyond the drivel I put up here in blogger land... and upon reading some old posts ... the belly aching. OH MY GOD!!! I tell my kids not to whine. I think they learned it from me... Holy HELL batman. Strike me dead with lightning I am the CAUSE of the problem. Crap, I digress.... (and start w/ my blathering and whining again.)

I feel like time has gone by and while I'm sure things have changed... they are much the same.

I want to write epic shit, I want to do epic shit, I want to be 100% satisfied with where I am and who I am, but frankly I'm scared. How can I be scared of being the best I can be? Of putting myself out there. Of providing value!?

How? I'll tell you how. I worry that I CAN'T do it. That I can't write epic shit or even do epic shit. That I can't provide value. That I can't break out of the mundane that has become my existence. While I realize the ridiculousness of these statements... surely I provide value... to someone.

What if I put it out there that I want to do these things... I get through a few epic things/thoughts/ideas that I'm actually able to successfully share. That actually motivate and inspire people... and then .....

Crickets!

What if after that the well runs dry..... the blog dies? I die? 

Surely not.

My heart will still beat...

Your heart will still beat...

And I guess I could just go back to writing like I do now.... 

Right? 

So I said it. I put it out there. Next year I hope to BE more... to PROVIDE more...

It's almost 2012 people. ALMOST!

I'm Not Sitting Down Till it's Over!

so you may or may not know, but me and Jesus share a birthday. I'm cresting the hill and riding the slope down starting on December 25th.

I turned 35 last year and it was the first birthday to give me pause. Every other year I truly felt AT LEAST 10 years younger... well in the last 5 years I guess. Last year was different. I was facing 40 as my next milestone. How in the HELL did that happen? Well, I'm mostly over it. Though I'm quite aware that it is a slippery slope. Why do I care about being 40? Who the hell knows. I don't give it a lot of thought really, but I'm really not to excited about it truth be told.

I can really identify with this song lately. It's in more than one of my spin play lists and it always gets me fired up during class!!



"I'm not sittin' down till I'm older and I'm not shuttin' up till it's over!"

What's my point? God, I'm sure there is one!!! I've got things rolling around in my mind (when don't I).... no, not just the normal mundane BS that is usually rolling around in there, but stuff that is SO MUCH cooler.

In the last couple of years I've not been 100% satisfied with how the year closed. (even though I've had perfectly fine years.) Well, who do you think is to blame for that feeling? Um, sheepishly raising hand, ME!!!

In 2012 I'm going to try some new things... LOT'S of new things. Some big ideas and some small ideas. I've given some hints on Facebook and will provide just a few more below. I'll detail each of them as the weeks pass on and I will invite you to join me on many of them.

Impossible HQ

I'll be modifying this. Since XMas is soon to be over.

With EMPHASIS on the NO WHINING. And I'm not just talking about my kids.

I'm looking forward to sharing with you and to hearing all about what you've got planned for 2012!!!!

Let's LIVE LIFE LOUD!!! I'm not sitting down.

Dragging A$$ lately - THE REAL DEAL!

So let's get real shall we? I just and I mean JUST posted my last blog titled "Dragging A$$ Lately" and as soon as I posted it I felt like... well that seemed CANNED. I don't like Canned. EVERYONE tells you what I just told you to do to stay balanced.

Balance can mean a lot of different things. When I think of being balanced in terms of my life I think "not feeling INSANE."

What makes me feel 'not insane' might be different from what makes YOU feel 'not insane'.

For me: exercise and a plan = sanity! And exercise as I like to do it would likely be defined as INSANE by a large majority of the population. Or so it seems when I talk to people about what I'm doing. I do have to scale back my desired amount of exercise to fit in, well, life sometimes. This is why the whole endurance thing works for me. I like to be WORKED over! I like to run for more than an hour - hell it takes me an hour just to warm up - I like to do multiple workouts in a day.

This gets me in trouble sometimes... I tend to NOT take a break and burn myself out. So there is where I need to discover my BALANCE!

So the truth in HOW I stay balanced through the holidays is to HAVE A PLAN. Not a plan on how to execute parties, or gifts, or decorations... a PLAN for my WORKOUTS!

A training Plan!

The past two years I have trained for a marathon over the winter and I've got to say that they were likely my MOST SANE winters yet. I told myself I was not going to train for a marathon this year because, frankly, I'm a little burnt come spring/summer season when I'm supposed to be training hard for triathlon, but when push came to shove.. I was NOT SANE (aka BALANCED) not running.

An EPIC (to be announced soon) opportunity was pretty much dropped in my lap ... it involves copious amounts of running... and I JUMPED at it. Guess what... I now feel sane. Despite all the BS I've been dealing w/ lately (yea, that non-holiday people dying, back surgeries, tooth aches.. etc etc stuff)

I feel SANE and BALANCED.

Does that make my last, somewhat canned, post total BS!? No... I do those things too, but my workouts are a bit more, um, extreme and mandatory. Did you SEE that word? MANDATORY! Because I am TRAINING for something. I'm not just going to the gym to work off the gingerbread man cookies I gorged on  last night. I'm running, lifting, stretching for a PURPOSE that means something bigger than gingerbread men to me. (Side note: this training thing tends to keep me out of the gingerbread man binge.... but allows for me to endulge in one w/o my pants button flying across the room.)

So here we come back to something I've discussed before. Your WHY! Perhaps you don't TRAIN for EVENTS, but you are a certifiable gym rat. What's your WHY... beyond the gingerbread man. And make a PLAN... to progress to lifting heavier weights (or lifting at all), doing more reps, doing a big girl push up, doing a pull up. Have a GOAL! This is what will get you to the gym and keep you FOCUSED and BALANCED over the holidays! (and during any high stress time in your life)

Okay. I feel better now. Having given you the 'standard' speel and my REAL speel. Find your WHY... Holiday or not and the balance will come.

And while that other stuff is important - for me - the workout is the MOST important in keeping me BALANCED/SANE!

Okay... off to RUN!

7 things to do to get your fitness life jump started!

I generally love this time of year. A time to reflect on the past year and a time to think about what's to come for the next and what I hope to accomplish! I love me a good plan!

We all know that many people set fitness/nutrition/health/weight loss goals for a coming year... let's get real most people are setting weight loss goals. I challenge you to see beyond the weight loss this year!  

Step away from the scale and the obsession with a number. 

Make it about something else and I guarantee you the weight loss will be a nice side effect!

I started this lifestyle of mine many years ago and it has changed and evolved over the years and I'm always open to (looking for) ways to evolve it! It all started way back when. I was probably around 10 years old. My dad was a runner. I road my bike with him. That's pretty much the long and short of it. I don't remember being particularly inspired by it all back then, but I did enjoy this quiet time with my dad.

If you asked my dad it started much earlier than that now that I think about it. I was probably 5 or 6 and I decided one day I wanted to go run with him. I dawned my sweet tube socks, shorts and a sweat band (man I wish I had that photo) and I think I lasted a block before I declared that I had a 'fever' (aka I was getting hot and sweaty) and had to return home. This would be his memory not mine... as aside from the photo I have zero recollection of this ever happening. Without photographic evidence I'm not sure I would believe him that it ever happened.

I spent some time playing sports as a kid... I was never particularly good (or inspired) by it all, but I'm a social animal and liked the time with my friends. I'd love to say it kept me out of trouble, but it didn't really.

Fast forward many years.... college. I went away for an internship, took up running because I was bored and got in fairly good shape for the first time in a long time. I'm not going to lie I enjoyed the physical benefits of being able to proudly wear a bikini, but I also felt better mentally. We'll call it more balanced. I'm sure the lack of alcohol and late nights helped as well.

I ran on and off in college, got a jobby job after college in a new city and saw an advertisement for marathon training with Team in Training. I had thought that running a marathon would be interesting a few years prior, but knew it wouldn't happen while I was partying working so hard at school.

I decided that I would run a marathon with Team in Training. I loved it. I loved Team in Training and the camaraderie and support I got from a great group of people. I met tons of people in my age group that were all interested in something I was interested in. (Side note: I married the brother of a friend I met in TNT... many years later, but still.)

I would go back and forth ... run a marathon or half marathon... do nothing... for a few years.

What really got it to stick for me? Would you believe having kids? Not because I needed to get my body back (that was a perk), but because I needed to get ME back and my sanity. (perhaps this sounds familiar?) I had twins in 2006. They are, um, wonderful, but they suck the life out of me. (Come on if you have kids you know what I'm talking about.) The fitness goals gave me an identity that was my own - outside of mommy - and much needed alone time. Honey you need to watch the kids because I need to go swim/bike/run. I found that when I wasn't exercising I wouldn't make the time for MYSELF to go and do something else.  

This was MY THING! 

When the kids were only 8 months old I turned again to Team in Training - this time to train for a triathlon. Something I had always wanted to do. I figured my life really wasn't going to get any simpler than it was at the time.

I completed my first olympic triathlon at Chicago Accenture tri in August of 2007 when my kids were one year old. (I did the race the next year as well and remember seeing a woman kiss her about 1 year old good bye before she got in line to race and thought, "wow she's got a one year old and she's racing. That's amazing.... Wait I did that. I'm amazing!" That was a pretty cool moment. A moment that I realized how much is possible when you just set your mind to it!

Just for the sake of circling back to WHY I opened this post the way I did. Now when I'm out training I do think back to the seed that my dad planted in me by taking me out on those runs. While I don't remember thinking I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE MY DAD AND RUN when I get older or anything like that .... a seed was planted!

What seeds are YOU planting in your kids minds?

So as you are contemplating the coming year I would suggest the following to GET STARTED with your fitness goals!

1. Identify your WHY: Things tend to stick when you have a good reason to do them. What is your why? What is your reason? To be more active with your kids. To finish a race in a particular time. To lose weight (this is a viable reason even if I asked you not to focus on it). To have more energy. To climb a flight of stairs without being winded. To reduce your cholesterol. To be a good role model for your children. To have more tone to those not so toned arms. To fit into THAT dress for your reunion/wedding/friend's wedding/honeymoon/anniversary. To raise money for a great cause (ie Team in Training). Whatever your reason you NEED to find it. And when the days come that you just don't WANT TO you pull your WHY out of your back pocket. You put it in your face and you REMIND yourself why you started this whole mess in the first place. Identify with it and kick that lazy part of yourself in the ass and say .... GET IT DONE!

2. Just start: You don't need to wait until you find that thing that sounds perfect to you... your "This is my thing".... you don't really know what your thing might be until you try it! I jumped into running and triathlon having no idea if it would be 'my thing' and lucky for me it was. Along the way I have tried many many THINGS! Racquetball, yoga, weight lifting, aerobics, spinning, rollerblading, skiing, snow boarding... you get the idea. You can start out walking around the block with the family dog... as you go along in your journey be open minded and try new things. But for the LOVE just START moving!


3. Set goals: This can be quite  range of things. I like to choose races. They get me going. I NEED that carrot. Your goal could be to complete a 5k (half marathon, marathon), a triathlon, learn how to lift weights, get your nutrition under control, lose weight, get your cholesterol down, control your diabetes, etc. Give yourself an end date... 6 months, a year. 
 
4. Set micro goals: Now give yourself smaller / shorter term goals so you can see progress along the way and stay motivated. If your goal is a half marathon how about a 5k, or shoot run around the block without stopping to walk, to get through an entire cardio style class at the gym, to loose 1 lb a week for a month, to decrease your soda consumption to one a day, to eliminate sugar/caffeine, or to stop eating after your dinner (bc we know you AREN'T hungry - that one might have been for me).

5. Make a plan: I come up with a plan for the year - races I will be doing. Then I have a schedule that progresses me through those races. Every Sat or Sun I sit down with my calendar and plan out my week... because we all know things happen that might cause me to have to deviate from my overall plan. This is where I SCHEDULE my daily workouts. Now you might not be into the race thing. Perhaps you are more of a gym rat. Get out your gym's schedule and make sure you WRITE the classes that you are taking IN YOUR CALENDAR! You don't need to plan a year like I do, but you do need a plan. WHAT DAYS are you going to workout... WHAT TIME... what type. PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR... make it a priority.. by doing this you make YOU a priority!

6. Prepare: Lay your clothes out or pack your bag the night before your workout. IF you are a mom and have lunches to make or bags to pack for your kids (and maybe yourself) do it the night before. Essentially you want to ELIMINATE any EXCUSES you might think of in the morning.

7. Enlist friends: This can take many shapes and forms. You can enlist workout buddies. You can make your plans public and talk to specific (read supportive) friends and check in with them regularly. You can post your plans on your blog, facebook and twitter .. those folks will keep you in line. Find those people that you KNOW you can count on when you are feeling weak. Who can you call for a good ol' kick in the rump when you are slumping?

So pull out a sheet of paper and your calendar. Identify WHY you want to do this, set a GOAL, START moving, set GOALS, set MICRO goals, make a PLAN, Prepare to execute the plan, enlist your FRIENDS to help you succeed!

Do it NOW! Don't wait..... it will take time, but I PROMISE you you will create a habit. You WILL get to the point where you WANT to ... no, HAVE to... exercise. You will get to the point where you don't feel 'normal' when you don't. Seriously! I promise. You can come hobble me if you don't get there... but only if you DO IT REGULARLY for at least three MONTHS!

I believe in you! Now YOU believe in you!

Was 2011 AwEsOmE!?

I set 2011 up to be a BIG year! Let's review all the AWESOMENESS I had set out to accomplish:

1. Um, 140.6 at Rev3 Cedar Point.
2. TRAKKERS
3. Recertifying for Spinning with Madd Dogg
4. Actually using said Spinning cert
5. Hiring a tri coach
6. Qualifying for Boston
7. Entering the NYC lottery
8. Some other mystery thing that I can't even remember the details of - I never revealed it. I don't think.

So let's just review each of these a little.

1. Nope. No full for me. And I'm good with that. I put it out there, but the time wasn't right. I completed the half at Cedar Point instead and am SUPER happy with my time and effort! WIN!- ish
2. Yes yes yes.. I finished my first (hope it was just my first) year with TEAM TRAKKERS and it was BEYOND awesome. Blew my mind and exceeded my expectations a million times over. WIN!
3. Recertified ... and it was EASY! WIN! 
4. Got a job. Taught spin 3x a week through the entire season. Enjoyed it.. though I KILLED myself and shot a lot of my running to hell killing myself on the spin bike, but I LOVED it so it's all good! WIN!
5. Hired a rockin' tri coach that worked with me as my schedule changed and helped me work around the crazy spinning... and helped me process the choice to drop the full.... this year. WIN!
6. FAIL! It was a fail before I hit the start line because I had an injury. I didn't even try... just ran it. Huge bummer, but it is what it is. I said FAIL, but don't think of it that way really... I RAN the race.. which I wasn't sure I was going to be able to do and I had an AMAZING weekend in Austin (love love love that town) with my bestie from Madison, WI. WIN!
7. Entered the NYC lottery. Didn't get in.. probably a good thing w/ my injuries and the fact that the marathon was just two days ago and I was really thankful to NOT be running a marathon. Not a win.. not a fail.
8. Fail.. on my memories part anyway. No idea what that was!

So while I did spend a bit of time dwelling on the fact that I didn't - REALLY - accomplish my BIG goals (140.6 and BQ) and have said more than once - in a mocking tone - "2011 was really more the year of MEDIOCRE than it was the year of AWESOME." as it comes to a close 2011 was TOTALLY AWESOME! It was just awesome in surprising - and unplanned - ways.

I could go on and on and on and on about my experience with Rev3 this year and that alone makes this year one for the record books! I am beyond proud of myself, my team and the Rev3 crew for everything that has gone into the racing season! This opportunity has been nothing short of amazing! I thank EVERYONE that had a part in my getting accepted. Thank you to all the 2010 team members that put in a word for me! I am touched and honored! I'm so thankful to Carole for telling me that Rev3 was looking for a local volunteer coordinator for the Quassy race and for LJ for hiring me. The Rev3 family for accepting me for open arms. MOST EPIC weekend I have had in a long time. And I got to do it again at SC. SERIOUSLY. Who has the most fantastic life ever... THIS girl!

I am working just enough to satiate my need to 'do something' ... and to provide me w/ fun money to buy things for my chosen addiction!!!

In just the last couple of months I have met some amazing people right in my own backyard... that means SO much to me!!! Tara of Mommy's a Runner is one such lady that I have only scratched the surface on.... she's gonna make me run trails I know it... and I love it! Crossfit is going well.. after a rough start... my mind is clearing and I see 2012 taking shape before my eyes.

My kids and husband are amazing and supportive of all of this craziness. My parents are always there to help. I ONLY lost power for a total of 2 weeks this year.. I mean come on .... lots of people live their whole lives w/o power and running potable water. Right? Okay ... I jest. That part was less than awesome... it was even less than mediocre.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while 2011 wasn't AWESOME in the way I had defined it sure was even awesomer than it would have been had I ONLY accomplished the goals I set out to do. 2011 have much more depth than that.

Thank you to all who helped make it happen to include my great sponsors!!! Rev3/Team Trakkers, First Endurance (Kept the fire burning on all the long stuff!), TYR (that Cat5 Wetsuit made a HUGE difference in my OWS!), All3Sports (Your one stop tri shop! and the people there are awesomesauce!), Avia (Love my bolts!), SBR Sports Inc (OMG, Can't say enough about how much I love this product. I hate the chlorine.. hate it, but I didn't have to smell like a pool with this stuff!), Recovery Pump (kept the back to back workouts coming), Canari (my kit was alarmingly small at first, but surprisingly comfy to race in!)
The other highlight is that I feel like I have my mojo back!!! Let's do this thing 2012! What you got!?

201Ironman

No turning back now folks.... the cat's officially out of the bag. Maybe you already knew this, but I think I've been denying it to myself or just ignoring it until I get through the Austin Marathon. I'm doing the full at Cedar Point. (shhh, I still don't like to talk about it too much because it makes me sick to my stomach. I'm scared out of my mind, but really excited at the same time.)

Being that this is my FIRST full (crap stop staying that it's making me sick) I am looking for all the support I can get. I, of course, have my wonderful Trakkers team mates many of which have done not only the full, but the Cedar Point full, and I just joined a great group of bloggers that are all doing a full in 2011. You can check all of us out at 201Ironman. I just added my profile so if you get over there quick the link will take you straight to my details! :) There are seasoned Ironman athletes and newbies there that are all posting to the site. You can also link to all of our blogs if you need some instant inspiration!

This is one of the things I just love about triathlon... we're like family. We're all in this together helping each other out along the way whether it be motivation on a day you just don't 'feel it' or tips on training/racing/nutrition. Blogging has just made this family ridiculously huge! If you think you can't do a triathlon just look out there at all these blogs. If you still think you can't... email one of us. Open the door. We all want to help you all succeed in your tri dreams. I'm amazed every day at the support and communication I get from complete and total strangers as a result of both my blog and reaching out to other bloggers!

You all have numerous ways to check up on me now.... so do so and make sure I'm staying on target with my #1 goal to HAVE FUN! If it sounds like I'm not having fun.... remind me!

What do I want to accomplish with this sport!?

What's my purpose? Ok.. not in life, but here on this blog. Why? Why do I write? Why do I train? Why do I race. I alluded to my questioning my definition of AWESOMENESS for this great year of 2011 in my last post. Originally when I thought of AWESOMENESS I thought about crushing the Boston Goal and achieving my furthest distance at some arbitrarily fast pace. Well, as I've been striving toward the Boston goal I've found that I don't have the drive (my teammie Megan wrote a great post about this) to run FAST. I have the drive to run, but not fast. Not right now. I might come back to it, but right now I feel like my purpose is different than proving to (who?) the world that I'm a speedy runner.

So what exactly is that purpose? What makes me the most proud of my efforts? When others, mom's and otherwise, are inspired by the fact that I just get it done at all. I don't need to be super human... I want other people to see me as a 'regular' person.. a solid middle of the pack age grouper.. who is getting it done in my way. I want YOU to see me and realize that YOU too CAN set those goals (dreams) and find the DRIVE to do it. YOU CAN make the time in YOUR schedule to do it. YOU CAN push your body beyond the point that you once thought you could. Because really... if I can do it so can YOU!!! (Don't get me wrong I won't be slacking!! I'm eat up those hard workouts... I'm just not going to focus and worry about it so much. IT being finish time. )

And that we can ALL do it while having a GREAT TIME!

So have I found my WHY? I haven't drilled down to it all the way yet, but I think it's starting to show me glimpses of itself. I know a portion of that why is YOU! All of you... whether you be team mates, friends or family. I think of all of you during the long training sessions. I think of all of you when I race. And I hope to inspire you to dig deep within yourselves to find those dreams and the desire and to start putting one foot in front of the other to GO FOR IT! All the way. We get one life, one chance... let's do it!

What's your WHY?

One last thing.. I would be remiss if I didn't share the hilarity of THIS post with you. Read it.. you will LAUGH OUT LOUD!

2011 ... ?

2011 is really throwing me for a loop. I've designated it as the year of AWESOMENESS. Okay... what EXACTLY does that mean for me? Well today I figured that out during my run.

AWESOMENESS = FUN!

I recently saw a quote on a blog (that I've been trying desperately to find so I can link to it, but I can't find it... if you read this please comment below so I can link to you!!) that really resonated with me. Found HIM!

"If you aren't having fun, you aren't doing it right!"

I've also been digging deep to find my WHY? around ... well a lot of things, but we'll focus on my goal to qualify for Boston for now.

Today during my (non-stellar) run I was really thinking about this Boston Qualifying thing and the state of my life/running. Why do I want to try to qualify for Boston? Where did this goal come from? It carried me last year, but this year I'm not really feeling it. So where did this come from? I used to be perfectly happy just running - working on improving for sure, but mostly enjoying it. Well, I met some uber athletes... they had all qualified for Boston. So I guess I grabbed onto them and figured - if they could to it, I could do it. Not only could I, but I SHOULD!!! Why? Cause it gives me street cred w/ running friends? What's that all about!? So as I plodded along on my run trying to jack my heart rate up to 175bpm on hills (where my legs crashed way before I got anywhere near hitting 175) I realized I had my ladder up the wrong tree. At least this year! This year I'm not 'in the mood' to work hard in that manner.

So what does all this mean? It means I could give a rip if I qualify for Boston. I have no real desire to run Boston and I need to follow my own goals. So I'm still running Austin, but my approach has changed. What is it that I love about running... just the running. The mental break I get from it the feeling of having given a big physical effort. I can do this w/o a time goal.

When I trained for a half ironman I went into it w/ the goal of finishing and tackling this long distance I had never done. Then I had a conversation with my Brother in Law (who was also doing the race) about how long I thought it would take me. I literally had no idea. Then I started looking into it, then I got caught up in it, then I was all consumed by it and the process wasn't fun anymore. I almost dropped out of the race (which is ironic because I DNFd it due to bike issues). I don't want to walk down that road this year. I want to enjoy the process.

So what does AWESOMENESS mean?

1. FUN (first and foremost) w/ triathlon and all else in my life.
2. Completing the LONGEST distance I have ever done - twice!
3. Epic adventures and road trips with my Trakkers teammies and friends.

So there you have it folks. While this isn't my 'resolution' post.. it's the beginning of things coming together in my mind. I've been all over the map lately and have been thinking about this post quite a bit. I had something all written up... to only be trashed. There are things in my life beyond triathlon that I need to sort through. The FUN aspect definitely translates to those aspects of my life, but I need to nail down my thoughts and ideas around what I want to accomplish and/or focus on in the other areas.

So more to come. Any revelations for you this new year?

Balancing the lifestyle...

As I was trying to fall asleep last night I thought about Trimommy's post about Visualization and how she uses it before race day and it works so she should try using it in the realm of parenthood. (how's that working trimommy?)... as I lay there I was also thinking about what was on deck for my workouts for the next day. I always do this.

I'm not sure about all the other moms of young kids out there, but one of my main struggles in motherhood is REALLY connecting with my kids on a daily basis. YES, it's true. I spend almost EVERY waking moment with my kids and it's not uncommon for me to go to bed at night and not be able to think of one moment in the day where I really stopped the chaos and madness of motherhood/house caring to connect with my children as opposed to just responding to their needs and shuffling them around for school and errands. And this is not a new problem...

I've tried a number of times to figure out how to fix this problem. To be more scheduled about our day... but really it's not my style. So then I was thinking... okay every day I have at least one (sometimes two) workouts planned each day. I am non-negotiable about this and it gets done every day.. barring any unforeseen circumstances ... normally related to the aforementioned spawn. So why not do the same thing for the kids and I. I could plan an activity or something for every day that is 'non-negotiable'. It doesn't need to be elaborate because frankly they just don't care they just want my undivided attention. And really is that too much to ask of your mother!? It could be reading books or coloring.. and I mean coloring as in me coloring too not them coloring while I'm on the computer!

So today's activity is going to be a hike w/ Leo dog, then a trip to the library to return the Halloween books and movies (and pay for the movie that Jason broke before we even got to watch it.. ugh) in exchange for some Thanksgiving stuff. That's as far as I've gotten right now.

Another area that I'm struggling with is the 2011 goals and image board. I'm all set in the world of endurance sports, but struggle with adding things around the family goals. There's just ONE big one... other than that I'm stumped. What's wrong with me? Clearly the undivided attention goal is a good one, but other than that??? I guess this is one reason why I love triathlon... it gives me a schedule and goals. Mostly I feel like there is a schedule to get the training done and the rest just happens. I know I need to make it so that the rest has purpose and intention as well, but I get so overwhelmed with it.

How do you do this ladies/gents? How do you make sure to spend that quality time with your kids? I feel absolutely ridiculous asking this question, but I know I can't be alone in this. I never thought that as a stay at home mom this would be an issue, but it's easy to get distracted by all the mundane things that 'need' to get done to run a household.. and frankly playing trains bores me! :)

Goals and goal setting

Okay.. I'm going to start this post out on a tangent before I forget. I've escaped to the coffee shop (having non-caffeinated beverage as per my decrease in caffeine) to let my ears stop ringing from the constant motion and noise of two 4 yo. (DAMN THEY NEVER SHUT UP! ha) before I head to swim. Ah, my night off.

Anyway. I was checking out and saw some Justin's Natural Peanut Butter w/ Honey at the check out. I've seen this stuff on GoSonja's blog (she's getting ready for KONA people) and thought I'd give it a shot. So I bought one NON-HYDROGONATED packet opened it and ate it. YUMM YUMM YUMM. Anyway that's not the point. My reason for mentioning this is that I was reading the back of it and it says, "EVERY BATCH TESTED FOR AFLATOXIN-FREE!!!"I nearly jumped out of my seat to cheer. If you've read the China Study you are aware of this horrible little toxin that is found in most peanut butter. And as a mom that loves the convenience of peanut butter finding some guaranteed aflatoxin free is very cool. So anyway... I had to share this discovery w/ the bloggy world. Maybe some day I'll have Justin's give away.... stay tuned! It's THAT good.

Back to the task at hand.

I've mentioned AMs blog Goals for the Week before and love what she's doing over there. I've been meaning to implement her ideas into my own life and have started the process in my brain, but haven't been able to get it all done and truly implemented. First off I have a REALLY hard time thinking forward TEN years. I know that I won't be cementing anything by thinking about it now. I think part of my mental block is considering in my mind how old my kids will be and how old I will be at that time. UGH! How can I even begin to GUESS what my life will be like, but I guess that's what this process is all about... not just rolling through life to ARRIVE at the 10 year mark with just whatever life has thrown at you. If you have a goal and a dream you can reach it .. and if you don't, well you get whatever you get! Not that that is a bad thing... I guess.

I have been setting weekly goals based on my goals for the next two years. (which I said I would divulge. We'll see if we get to it today - because I know you are checking in every day to see if I have spilled the beans yet. I guess I kind of have already.)

So far I've managed to get my mind around the next 2 years. Everyone knows that that I (we) have the midterm goal of getting back to the PNW... say 3 years from now. And then Tom (therefore I) has a BIG long term goal, but that is not mine to share!

So I thought this would be a great thing for me to hash out here on the ol' bloggy blog. This is a work in progress so you will probably see this topic again in the next three months as we come to the close of 2010.

AM first breaks down the 10 year, 5 year, 1 year, 6 months 'what will my life look like' question. She then extrapolates her day to day goals from there. Making sure she's on track for the big kahuna (you can read about it on her blog in much better detail HERE.) She breaks everything down into categories. (I've chosen mine to be: Mom, Wife, Athlete, Personal Growth, Financial, Home, Environment.) It appears that you don't have to have goals in EACH CATEGORY every week.

Your goals should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time Related). Again check out her post for more detail and examples on that item.

So we'll start off talking about the next two years. Ten is just too much for tonight's mommy brain. Plus I have to go to swim tonight. :D

Athlete: In the next two years I want to hear the words, "Laura Mount YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!" I plan to tackle the HIM (again) next year then IM in 2012. I have sign off from my better half for this much and have buy in from the Grents to give extra support when the training blocks get HUGE!

Mom: Be more connected to my kids more. Really hear them. Sit down and ignore all the BS going on around in the house (read computer, laundry, dishes) and connect with them. It's not enough to just "be there" with them every day. I will come up with some SMART goals around this soon.

Personal Growth: I need SOMETHING! A job.. sure... volunteer gig.. sure. SOMETHING! I'm drowning in the mundane tasks of momdome.. and I'm not lovin' it. Can I get an AMEN!? There are some ideas rolling around in my head: trainer/coach Need to dial this down to what I REALLY WANT and then come up with my GOALS. I am working on some things that need to wait until some other people are more available, but hopefully I'll have something to report on this in the not too distant future. There are some opportunities out there.

Financial: We're pretty dialed here. Of course the purse strings could always be tightened, but that doesn't really hash out w/ my athletic goals now does it?

Home: SMALLER SMALLER SMALLER, Less cluttered and in the PNW. Oh wait. That's probably not going to happen in the next 2 years. I would say that goal is back burnered right now. I'll go for neater/less cluttered for now.

Environment: Once again consumption. Consume less. Less in general, but also less packaging. So I see LOT'S of weekly SMART goals I can tackle on this one!

And I'm not sure where this last one fits. Partly in athletic and partly in personal growth? BLOG REVAMP! I messed with the colors and what not a bit, but I mean more than that. I'm looking to turn this into more than just my 'family journal'.. there are so many great bloggers out there sharing their journeys in various different things, but this blog is about to become all about my athletic endeavors. Perhaps I will start a new one for that and keep this address for my family stuff. I feel bad that I rarely if ever update the grents and others about the fam damily anymore.

So I'm toying w/ some new names as I try to figure this out. Here are the two I've come up w/ so far. What do you think?

Wife Mother Athlete

Endurance Junky

Still working through it.

So the goals for the week that I extrapolated from all this stuff that's been not rolling, but FLYING at WARP speed through my mind.

Athlete: Hit my ab workout 2x a week. (a strong core is key)

MOM: spend at LEAST ONE hour EVERY day on the floor playing w/ the kids whatever they want. God an hour seems minuscule doesn't it?

WIFE: Quality time w/ the hubby at least once this week.

FINANCIAL: MAKE Tom call about getting rollover paperwork for his OLD 401k from FIVE years ago

PERSONAL GROWTH/HEALTH: only TWO cups of coffee a day.

And you ... what are your goals for this week? How do you go about figuring out your goals for the coming year? Do you have a process?

Oh.. and I've talked about the vision board before. I did a vision board when we were trying to get pregnant. Check IT out. I kid you not we got two babies... THOSE babies. My kids looked just like them when they were babies!!!! I am going to make one of those for 2011 once I get it all hashed out!!!!

What's up at Che Mount?

Lots of things rolling around in the ol' noggin'... Have that caged animal feeling again.. I come and go w/ this. A good work out should help. Hey, wait.. I had two good work outs over the last three days.

I'm feeling like I don't want to register for races for a while. I just want to do ... whatever. I know I need to run, but I don't really feel like it right now. I'd rather ride my bike... and that's all well and good, but I have another half marathon coming up in three weeks. I should run. Really. I also kinda want to focus more on weights, but as I said after the Danbury 1/2 lifting and running and riding 'some' doesn't prepare you well for an endurance event... So that's what I'm thinking today. We'll see how I feel after some time goes by. I will go to spin class tomorrow. I will lift tomorrow. I will ride my bike on Thursday w/ Tom. I will lift on Thursday. I'll run on Friday and Sunday (we'll see if I can cram something in on Saturday before we head out on our trip) and I'll run next week while we're in Seattle...

And I've made a decision about going back to school. I'm not. 1. it's not the right time for me and 2. I'm not even sure that's the direction I want my life to go. I've got nothing but time. :)

I'm starting to feel like some goals are surfacing in my mind. Will work on getting them on paper.

In the mean time I couldn't be more excited about spending some time in the PNW! I miss Seattle SO much.

What Race and 3 year brainstorming

So TOMORROW is the Danbury Half Marathon. I feel like it's not even on my radar. So unprepared fro this... just going to run it for fun. I haven't really 'trained' for it per se. I know I can complete it. I was going to go run for 4 miles today, but we had such fun as a family and I didn't want to step away from it knowing I would be gone for 3 hours in the middle of the day tomorrow. I did a little Core Synergistics from P90X and got a sweat on so I called it good.

I really want to focus on my core and get stronger in that department. Which means I must start doing the core work outs huh? :) This week was a good week. Did some P90X Ab Ripper, Core Synergistics and some stuff off YouTube just to mix it up. (the name suggested that I would get a 6 pack if I did it regularly... :D ) So this week I hit my goal of three times a week.

I'm VERY excited to find out that a new friend is into weight training and works out in the early morning. AND she just joined my gym!!!! I so could use some motivation and support from someone that's into weight training. I've seen so many women working the weights at this gym... way more than my last gym. And they look GOOD. Strong, lean women. I love it, but I haven't yet met any of them yet. They get in there and do their workouts before I'm even done slugging it out on the treadmill. AND they look way better than me. HMMM. Who knows what they might be doing outside of the time that I see them, but it's starting to look like I could work out WAY LESS in a DIFFERENT way and get BETTER results. Regardless of the fact that I'm a total endurance junky and need my fix... but it's looking like perhaps I wouldn't have to add THAT much time to my work out allotment for the day/week and I would get good results. So the weight training continues via P90X and hopefully will get kicked up a notch w/ my new buddy. I'm lifting as heavy as I can for now to see what kind of results I can get.. okay so maybe not as heavy as I can for I am limited by the weights I have at home, but heavier than I ever have (in my intermittent past weight training programs). Maybe I'll get crazy and take some photos of myself in a bikini to post LATER w/ my AFTER photos!

In my obsessive blog surfing I found Goals for the Week, and particularly THIS post. As most of you know I really love the new year... looking forward at a blank slate that I can mold to my (well mostly my) liking. Dreaming of all the things I want to do. I was excited to see her process and decided to give it a whirl myself. Fancy new sparkle pen (Lily's new obsession) to make it fun and a blank page. Now 3 year goals. SHIT! I couldn't really come up with anything that I felt was all that exciting or inspiring. HUH? What? Same old stuff getting written down. I decided to walk away from it for a bit. I reread her post and then noticed the word brainstorming and decided that might be a better approach for me than the list. Here is how far I got. "Jason and Lily will turn (GASP) seven and will be in first grade." Stumped. That's it. That's all I wrote.... comes to mind.. the same old same old... be organized, STOP being bloated, move back to the PNW, have a six pack, be able to do proper pull ups and more push ups (I'm up to 10 REAL push ups right now.. thank you very much. I suppose the P90X is starting show dividends.)... and there you have it (okay... Ironman may have been on that list)... that's all I could come up with. I feel like a goal setting loser and failure. I know that is not the point.

I won't give up. I will keep coming back to it until I have something more interesting for myself.....

We are now in the ONE WEEK count down to our trip to Seattle!!!! YEAH!

Goals and the New Year

My God I can't believe 2008 is SO close.. it's so close I can almost taste it. As usual I'm very excited about the new year. I'm not so excited about the big chill that is winter here.. puts a damper on my new year/new slate let's get going mentality, but I'm busy thinking and mulling over my goals for next year... as many of you can tell by the barrage of emails I've been sending out 'recruiting' others to join me in my adventures for 2008.

Andy has agreed to indulge me/join me in my big 2008 goal. (And my friend Gena is 90% there.) I'm hooked on triathlon and know I don't have the time to commit to training for an Ironman (will I ever?) so I'm going for the Half Ironman ... and I can't believe that Tom is so accommodating to my crazy need to comPLETE endurance races. Well, let's face it he deals w/ much crazier / off the grid things from me. :) Andy and I are going to do the Barclays 70.3 half ironman in Lake Stevens, Wa in July of 2008 - any other crazies that want to join us (uh, Karen P.) please do!!! And anyone else that thinks we are too crazy, but would love to watch are welcome as well! Or you can join us for a post race smörgåsbord ... I'm sure there will be alcohol and beer! And if you like to give massages Andy and I are available for practice.

I hope Todd, Julie, Cooper and Anna will make a 4th of July trip out to Seattle (if they aren't already living there again) to see us try to kill ourselves. We'll be racing each other.. okay, I'm joking. And Matt & Colleen and Brian & Jennie - you have been put on notice that we will be in town and you should make plans to be there as well. :)

There are many other things bouncing around in my head for 08... all will eventually be listed on the blog and I'm trying to make a collage (as you remember from THIS post these things seem to work for me) - but I only have about 4 magazines in my house... tried recruiting friends, but they have the same problem.. guess I'll be printing things off the web.

Okay.. now that I've got some of this out I might be able to get some sleep (What did you call it Karen P? Blogapy? Therablog?) ... LS 70.3 is out there now for all to see.. now I just need to register!!