Wise Words For 2014

Jan1

The thoughts here are some that I am really going to try to accomplish in 2014. Some I’ve already started on and others, I really want to find a way to make them happen. Happy New Year and I hope 2014 is beyond spectacular for you.

Christine Coleman

Some great thoughts for this morning of Jan. 1, 2014.

(Thanks, Linda, for posting a version of this on Facebook!)

Another thought: the year ahead is largely what you make it.

I didn’t necessarily like 2013, but also realize that was due to what I did — or didn’t do — throughout those 365 days that just ended. The only way 2014 will be better is from my own efforts, and from working to make it a better year.

Happy New Year!

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November 16, 2013

Dec30

For most, 11/16/2013 is not a special date. However, for me, I’m going to remember it as the day that I made the first step in changing my life. That was the day that I got certified to be a SPIN instructor. How all of this came about was months in the making, but certification day seems the right time to say it all changed.

How did it all begin? Well, I work out a lot as you probably know if you’ve read any past posts on here. And as part of that, I am always trying to find new ways to challenge myself. One of the things I do to cross-train is take Spinning® classes as my primary thing other than running. They both rank pretty high on my list of things to do.

Anyway, 2013 was the year that I was going to finish the marathon and as preparation for that, I decided I needed to start training to run 26.2 early so I decided to train for a spring half marathon. That meant running in the terrible winter months of February and March. Continue reading →

Exhilaration

Dec29

Lately, I can honestly say that things are good for me. As I’ll explain in another post, I changed and that change has made me immensely happy. The past couple of weeks, I have had the opportunity to do some subbing of Spinning® classes at my gym. So far I have done two of them and each time I teach, it is just more and more awesome.

The first time I taught a Spinning® class, it was pretty frightening at first, but then it turned out quite well. To say I enjoy throwing myself to the wolves is probably an understatement. That first class was a very last-minute subbing thing and it was at the club that I’ve heard from many people has a “special” personality when it comes to the Spinning® classes.

My first hiccup in that class began when I couldn’t figure out how to get the fans on full speed. This annoyed one of the members quite dearly, but he managed to get them turned up. That was good since this particular studio tends to get hot really fast. Continue reading →

I Quit

Dec18

I quit. I’m done. I can’t try anymore. I am finished.

That is how I have started to feel of late. I try and try to stay in contact with people. I try and try to be a good person to others. And in return, I get nothing. I don’t expect anything, but after a while it really does get tiring and exhausting trying to maintain relationships with people who don’t feel the same way. Or at least take it for granted that I am always going to get in touch and maintain a relationship that clearly is one-sided. Continue reading →

The Next Morning

Dec17

When I woke up the following morning, I momentarily forgot where I was. I couldn’t figure out why I was in the guest bedroom and why I was on the chaise lounge instead of in a bed. I also still had my clothes from yesterday on. I had also realized that I had slept in some makeup, not brushed my teeth and despite how comfy the chaise looks, really isn’t for extended periods of time while sleeping. Not that I had slept much. I had a fairly restless sleep. Once I did get up (I even still had shoes on?), it all came rushing back to me. Getting slapped in the face by the man you had chosen to spend your life with wasn’t exactly pretty. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 5:45 in the morning. Fortunately, it was Saturday morning. I was going to have to get moving soon since the kids would be up. They don’t really believe in actually sleeping in ever. Especially Ryan. He is definitely a morning person. It is actually kind of cute that he wants to get the day started as soon as possible. He reminds me a lot of my twin brother, Will, who is also a super happy person and always ready to get his day going. While Ryan does this, he doesn’t actually go wake up his sister, which is nice since it means she will occasionally sleep in. Continue reading →

Appreciating the Treadmill

Dec10

what I occasionally feel like when running on the treadmill

No one likes the treadmill. It goes nowhere and there is no pretty scenery (unless you happen to have it positioned in view of beautiful eye candy.) And let’s be real: running on it feels like pure torture.

But on a day like today where the high in many places is barely five degrees, it can be useful. Especially when there are wind advisories and frostbite can occur within 30 minutes. Admittedly, I am not the biggest fan of the treadmill. Give me the road ANY day. But slowly, I have come to appreciate what I like to call the gerbilmill.

Running on the gerbilmill is a bit of a way to get away from other runners. I’m not sure what it is about me, but when I am outside running, too many times I have other runners coming up and touching me. It’s just. . . weird when it happens. Usually it is a “good job” type of pat or something, but why someone feels compelled to touch a stranger is beyond me. It isn’t the type of touch to alert me that another person is running close by and needs to pass me. That I can deal with. It’s the “feel a need to reassure yourself so you reach out and touch a stranger” stuff that creeps me out. Suffice it to say, if you’re a stranger, it is best to not disturb other runners. Continue reading →

Game. On.

Dec6

Now that I have officially gotten back on the workout band wagon, I’ve been mixing it ever so slightly. I’m still taking my usual classes, but lately, I’ve been trying to get to more TRX classes. Aside from it being a different workout, I do have another reason for taking it, which I will explain another day.

Anyway, one of the first times I took this class, I was working so hard that I actually got to a puke-worthy status. Yes, puke-worthy. As in, as we were getting closer to being finished, I wanted to throw up. The instructor for the class is pretty tough. So tough that you don’t realize it until maybe afterward when you realize you’re sore from a workout that seemed easy but really wasn’t. Continue reading →

Music Snob

Dec5

That would be me. Shows like American Idol are worthless to me. Sure, it can be entertaining to laugh at the bad singers who think they are good enough to get a recording contract and probably even sadder when some of them actually do get one.

Many times, I keep my snobbery to myself, but during baseball season, it rears its ugly head with plenty of snarky comments. It always happens with the national anthem.

I don’t think people realize just how hard that song is to sing. On a good day, I can count on at least three key changes in the singing of the song. I might chalk those up to creative license, but usually it is because the person who is singing it truly thinks he is staying on key and thus what was done is proper. Continue reading →

I Believe Her Now

Dec2

she believes in me, so now i will start to believe

Several months ago, I talked about how my trainer says I am an athlete and I did not think that was the case. At the time, I had only recently come to the realization that I am a runner. But an athlete? No way. I don’t think I look like one. At least not someone who I would consider as an athlete.

However, after these past few weeks, I believe her now. I officially had the realization Sunday after a tough spinning workout. That ride was probably the hardest I have ever done in my years of taking such classes. I managed to keep up in it and while leaving it all on the bike, feel like I could do more. Continue reading →

A Good Break

Nov30

This morning I ran four miles. I haven’t really run much since the marathon. In fact, before yesterday, I had probably run four times total and that was well over a month ago since the Chicago Marathon.

I thought the miles might have been awful, but they were really good. I was actually even faster than what I normally was running pre-break. This got me to thinking that perhaps I should take a break more often.

I do take rest days, but not actually a break and “walk away” from doing things I enjoy. I had also been on a bit of a lifting break since before the marathon. I wish my strength gains hadn’t disappeared, but I fear they did once I got back to regularly lifting. Or I should say while I still can mostly lift what I had been lifting, I actually get sore now. Continue reading →

In My Head

Thoughts and Observations on lots of stuff