I DID IT!

I will sit down later this week to write a blog about my awesome Goofy experience.  I feel like I am on top of the world.  It is hard to leave a place where dreams come true and possibilities seem endless.  Don't worry I did bring some pixie dust and a little bit of Mickey magic home with me.  What I realized this weekend is that I can do anything!!! As long as I have cheerleaders (all of you) and have faith in myself! Running 39.3 is extremely Goofy and exhausting but it is now my favorite memory of all times. 

So what does one do after a HUGE race like this? Recover and Rest.  I am taking a solid 3 weeks of running and all weight lifting.  I am allowing myself to walk 40 minutes a day and planning on taking some Yoga classes.  I will also be challenging my taste buds with the Beachbody Ultimate Reset diet.  What is the Ultimate Reset? Follow my blog for the next three weeks to find out!

Be on the look out for my Goofy Blog!

Until then...
Thanks for every single one of you that cheered me on and encouraged me.  I know so many people say I am an inspiration but all of you inspire me to keep chasing my dreams!

Before the big day

As I sit in the Columbus airport I realize that my dream is coming a reality. I look around and see some familiar faces....runners! We all look alike in a way! Wearing our favorite race gear, tennis shoes on and all drinking bottles of water. We smile at each other with delight as we realize all our hard work, sweat and tears are for this very moment..race weekend. 

You will never understand this moment if you never raced... Well maybe that isn't totally the truth.  I am sure this moment happens for brides on their wedding day or for an event that you put your heart and soul in....I would have to think that is feels close to the same way runners feel. 

The jitters are kicking in and you look back on all those months in panic....did You do everything right? Did You put in the correct time and work in all the training/planning?  One will only  know if the plan worked when they cross that finish line, leave the wedding and have that award they hoped would come from the event. 

This moment is really why I love racing so much. It all comes together like the final chapter in a story  book. Still unsure about the ending but so close that you feel you might know the final line in the chapter....that she finished with a smile and lived happily ever after with sore muscles but a heart full of complete joy. 

I been told by several friends that I should really slow down and let my body rest.  That if I keep this pace up I will either get injured or that I will burn myself out. A friend told me that he feels that I will fall out of love for this passion that has literally become who I am. Maybe he is right, maybe they are all right?

Maybe I do need to slow down and work on other areas of my life I keep pushing aside. I just don't know how to hang up the one thing in my life I feel I have complete control over.  The past two years I been living for these race weekend moments....it's the one thing that brings me complete joy and happiness in my life. 

So this weekend is not just going to be the best moment of my life but it will be a time for me to discover what am I really running from in my life. Why do I always need to look for the next race, when I haven't even reached the finish line in this race? I hope to figured this out and can come to peace with whatever I am running from or even if I am running from something at all?

As I sit on the plane and wait to land. I eye the other runners wondering if they too are running from something in their lives or are they like me endurance junkies who need moments like this to feel complete? 

What I do know is that the runners surrounding me all want the same ending in their book. They all want to have a picture of a happy healthy finisher, they all want those medals and they all want their own happily ever after ending. 

I am positive that this will not be the end of my series of race books.  I have  so much more I want to do, so much more I want to discover and mostly I just want more moments like this....when I feel that I can do anything and that every mission I set out to do is possible!  These moments make me believe that I have complete control of who I want to be....and that simply is to be amazing! 

Wordless Wednesday #3

 

Source: flickr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Scoopable Chinese Chicken Salad

Source: valsfavoriterecipes.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

Can you say YUMMY!!!! I am not a big fan of chinese food but I love Broccoli Slaw mix!!!!! So I figured that I might like this.  Let me tell you it is SOOOOO Good!!! It healthy, delicious and super easy to make! I got the recipe from Hunger Girls 200 under 200!

Scoopable Chinese Chicken Salad
1 16 oz. pkg. dry broccoli slaw mix
12 oz. cooked skinless lean chicken breast, chopped
1 c. canned water chestnuts, drained and sliced into thin strips
1 can canned mandarin orange segments packed in water, drained and chopped
1 c. chopped scallions
3/4 c. low fat Sesame Ginger Dressing (Newman's Own)
In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together until well mixed. 

 Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Stir well before serving. Makes 5 servings. 

Makes 5 Servings

Per Serving: (1 1/2 cups) 195 calories, 2.75g fat, 21g carbs, 4.5g fiber, 22.5g protein

I plan on having more veggies with this to complete the meal! 

ENJOY 

Building a Healthy Relationship with Food...

Do you have a healthy relationship with food or a relationship that makes you feel quality?  I been trying for years to have a healthier relationship with food but IT IS SO HARD! I can control my choices in my own home but when I step one foot out of my house my healthy relationship with food turns into an ugly one.

Food addict? Maybe.  I think having an addiction to food is probably the hardest thing to admit and definitely the hardest addiction to beat.  Think about it! If you are addicted to alcohol, gambling, drugs...etc you can remove yourself from the addiction by not partaking in it or participating in that activity.  You can't do that with food.  You have the addiction in front of you every single day....tempting you to over indulge once again. 

So how does one overcome this addiction? You HAVE to start to build a healthier relationship with food.  Our relationship with food is very important. We either ‘live to eat’ or ‘eat to live’ and within those two statements there are infinite ways to make music that will either heal us or send us to an early grave losing limbs along the way.

Why on earth would we eat something that gives us joy for one split second and then makes us feel miserable because we ate it hours later. This regardless of who enticed us to eat it. It sounds like a form of addiction and deservedly so.

I have decided to take my control of my food addiction! I eat to live now...of course there are moments when I fall hard into a mountain of french fries or a giant bowl of ice cream.  I don't have regret after those moments anymore because I have complete control to move forward.

I am excited to start a new food journey.  I will be taking part of the Ultimate Reset when I return back from my Goofy race.  I will be testing my taste buds sort of speak.  In these three weeks I will be eating foods that I normally shove away.  I don't even know what a beet, pine nutes or tempeh taste like....I haven't heard of or even seen some of the items that I have to buy at the grocery....BUT I know this reset will be good for someone who is continuing to build a stronger relationship with food. 

I will be blogging my journey along the way!

Are you a food addict or need to build a better relationship with food? Maybe the Ultimate Reset is just for you!

Wordless Wednesday #2

Source: Uploaded by user via Amy on Pinterest

Risk

Source: tracystotalwellness.com via Tracy on Pinterest

Among my friends, I am known as the risk taker.  Some might explain my approach on life as an adventure, someone that lives life on the edge and has a life full of excitement. My days start with hard workouts and end with evenings dreaming about my next move in life.  I live my life to the fullest because I know life goes by way to quickly.

I know that to live life to the fullest, also means taking some major risks.  Buying a home, training for big races, changing jobs, asking someone on a date, sharing feelings....etc.  They are all risk and do not come with guarantees :(  It would be safest to live a life where you don't take risk, but what kind of life is that?

So many people just wait for life to happen.  My question to these people is why wait? Take the step towards a life you want and have been dreaming of.  Sure taking risk means that you might fail but failing is better than never trying.  Plus, failing means you are one step closer to making that dream come a reality.  

2013 is the year to take more risk.  Make a list of things that you failed to do in 2012 and make those things a priority in 2013! Do something that will scare you, excite you and will make you a strong person because of doing it.  Don't focus on the unknown, focus on the journey! Be someone that is ready to change the impossible....into mission possible!!

Things that I plan on doing in 2013....

1. Be a tourist! I am so stuck on going to the same places because everything is familiar and safe.  This year I plan on traveling to New York City, Canada and even be a tourist here in Columbus.

2. Do 3 laps during Tough Mudder Michigan with my Tough Mudder Brother Justin.  This isn't something I am scared of but I am completely worried about getting shocked 6 different times during the race.  34 miles in two days in mud :)

3. RELAX.  I am taking a solid month off after I get back from the Goofy.  This will be the hardest thing for me.  NO lifting and No running.  30 days.

4. Personal Record.  I really want to get my half marathon time under 2:05! My goal would be under 2 hours.  This means I need to really work on speed this year.
 
5. Run another Marathon in Washington D.C. I have to get in the race first but I couldn't be more excited about this goal.  Washington D.C. is beautiful!

6. Wake up my artistic part of my life again.  I am sad to say that I haven't done a painting or many art projects that I love in years.  This part of my life has been silent for a very long time.  It is time to awaken it again!

7. Let go of the past.


What do you plan on doing during 2013? Remember it is worth the risk!!!!