A Year, A Gift

Saturday I turned 41. I spent time with family and friends celebrating the gift of another year. Some people get really depressed around their birthday and even refuse to celebrate. I can't say I understand that mentality. Having come scary close to lose each of my parents earlier in my life, I realized early on that our time here is limited. As the media is filled with stories of mass shootings and other tragedies and daily we are hearing of loved ones and friends who are being diagnosed with horrid diseases, one doesn't have to think too much about how short life is. We are reminded of it all the time. I believe that each of us is here for a short time with a purpose. It is up to each of us to figure out that purpose and fulfill it and strive to do our best. :) It is this belief that makes me celebrate my birthday each year with vigor. I'm 12 miles away from my monthly goal of 125. I met with a new trainer last week for a free consultation. He put me through a workout and talked to me a lot about the importance of including strength training in my workouts. I have been neglecting this since starting my monthly cardio challenges. Since our meeting last Wednesday, I have done strength training three times. Tonight I went through a circuit. It feels quite good to be lifting again. I like it. Brandon encouraged me to try to do it three times a week. This past weekend I did NOT eat clean. Mini cookies and cream cheesecakes Friday, Mexican food and sopapillas Friday night, a cookout Saturday night with cookies and cream ice cream cake, and a lot of fried fish last night. I spent a chunk of time yesterday preparing food for this week. I baked chicken breasts that had been marinated in Italian dressing. I'm not sure why I didn't grill them, but that will be next week's project. The best part of my lunch was the green beans. I bought fresh green beans and cleaned them. I put them on a cookie sheet and drizzled olive oil over them. The beans baked on 350 for 10 minutes. They were still crunchy when I ate them. YUMMO! you should try it. I want to share a brief story with you. Last year a soldier was killed in Afghanistan. He was from a city very close to my hometown. This summer there was a 5k in his honor and the slogan was "Make it Count". Apparently, each morning as the soldier was growing up, his dad would look at he and his siblings as they were leaving for school and say "Make it Count". This soldier carried that with him while serving our country. Since my mom shared this story with me, I've been saying this to myself each morning as I get up. If we live each day with the intention of making it count, I wonder what we can accomplish? Hmmmm.... Thoughts?

Steps

I have had more than a few pebbles on my journey. Some have felt like boulders. You just have to keep on moving on. Climbing the mountain, one step at a time. Tomorrow my work schedule starts again. I have to be intentional about getting my miles in as well as my strength training. I have enjoyed these last few weeks of being able to go to the gym in the morning and spend as much time as I want. The gym has truly turned into a refuge for me. A place where I feel confident and really good about myself. As I set new challenges for myself, I have a great time trying to accomplish them. I've been really successful this summer. I also realize that those of you who are not educators and don't have the luxury of a few weeks off in the summer, deal with this challenge year round. I am grateful for the luxury I have had. As I look at my schedule this first week back and realize I already have three nights when I am not home, it makes me cognizant of the fact that I have to be extremely intentional to stay on track. I can't allow myself to slip. I've come too far. I have had to lay the goal of a one minute plank aside for a while. Two words: shoulder pain. Even after pain pills and muscle relaxers last night, I didn't sleep. Today it is better. I have been seeing my chiropractor who now has a rehabilitation specialist in her office. The rehabilitation specialist has given me stretches to do and has also been doing some trigger point stuff. I've had MRI's, physical therapy, shots and it all works for a bit and then I'm back to the horrible pain. Yesterday, I couldn't turn my head to the left. I don't let the shoulder and neck pain stop me. When the rehabilitation specialist told me to stop planking for a while, he says I gave him a look. I'm sure I did. I don't like being told not to do something that I am working very hard to succeed at. EEERRRR!!! Anyway, I'm not stupid enough to continue when a specialist tells me that I'm aggravating an existing problem. It's a plank pause. I am over 50 miles to my goal of 125 for this month. WOOT HOOT!!! Clean eating is going better than expected. My cheat meal this week was an Oreo Earthquake from Dari Queen. YUMMO!!! I also had 2 chocolate chip cookies. This is a huge success for me. Tomorrow I'm going to add a water challenge. I'm hoping to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day. Remember Friends: NO EXCUSES! You are responsible for the choices you make each day. If you have a set back, get up and go at it again. Think of watching a toddler learn to walk. They walk, they toddle, they fall, they get back up and repeat it all over again..Baby steps...

Olympic Inspiration

I'm on my way to achieving August goals. I have increased my mileage to 125. I'm doing a 14 day ab challenge which is 225 crunches a day. I'm also working toward a one minute plank. Right now I'm at 30 seconds and it's a challenge. While on the treadmill, I'm pushing to shave time off of my miles. The final goal for this month is clean eating. As Stephanie says "You can't outrun a bad diet." I haven't been eating bad, but I haven't been eating clean. I've been a bit sloppy. After one week of clean eating I feel better and the scales are down four pounds. I need to make sure I am getting in a gallon of water each day. I've slacked on this too. I've been drinking much more tea and lemonade. I only have a lemonade a day, but that's still a lot of sugar. I'm certainly on the right track now. This is the last week I am off before I go back to work. I have really enjoyed having the gym to myself during my morning workouts or during the case of summer school I had it to myself in the early afternoon. I like to be able to do what I need to do when I need to do it. Going in the evenings that is not always possible. The gym is much busier. However, it will all work out just fine. I think what I really enjoy is the ability to go to the gym and spend an unlimited amount of time there because I have nowhere else I have to be. I can focus on my goals. It's a mind shift. I will make it. We have hired two new trainers at the gym and this Thursday I get to take part in a body sculpting class. Very exciting. We should have another class added before long too. GREAT. I like mixing things up. I like feeling challenged in a workout. This past week I spent a week taking classes or teaching classes for our district's professional development academy. Each day at least one person and sometimes more than one would compliment me on how I look or they have been reading my blogs and seeing my Facebook posts and are complimenting me on the challenges I have been a part of this summer. I'm not gonna lie. People dish compliments like that out and it feels GOOD!!! Today I went into my school for a couple of hours and the same thing happened. I tell people these compliments keep me going. What I don't mean and I don't want you to think that it gives me a big ego because that is not the case at all. It validates that the hard work I am doing is paying off. I see myself every day. I can't see the big changes that other people see. Of course, when my clothes are too big I get excited because that's a huge validation. Its the encouraging words that keep me going. Sometimes I'll be on the treadmill and think of a compliment someone has said to me and it will cause me to run that much faster. Those words are pure inspiration to me in the journey where I still don't have everything figured out and still get frustrated at times. Being part of these virtual challenges with people from around the world has also been a great source of inspiration. I enjoy cheering them on and I get so many ideas from them. While we are on the topic of sources of inspiration...let's discuss the London Olympics! I am an Olympic addict. I remember watching them at home growing up and I still do today. First, I feel it ignites within us a deepened sense of patriotism. We are Team USA. I don't have a preference over summer or winter Olympics. My favorite events in the summer Olympics are the swimming, diving, running, and gymnastics. There has been so much hate this year. So and so shouldn't have worn her hair that way. So and so might have tested clean for drugs, but I don't believe it because there is no way they could perform that well. Did you see her thighs? What were they thinking when they picked out those uniforms? Can we just let it go? These people are conditioned and perform at a level that 99% of the world can't. You do not just run onto a track or jump in a pool and break world records. The hours and hours and hours away from family to devote to training, the passion, the sacrifice...They are Olympians. If this kind of criticism continues we are teaching our kids that they will never ever be good enough. I've had it with this kind of thinking. I will be the first to admit that I am absolutely into the Olympic games. It's all I watch right now. I will have withdrawals next week. Olympians from not just the US, but other countries as well have inspired me and motivated me to do more with my health and workouts. Go TEAM USA and to the rest of you...Make it count. Every morning when you wake up say to yourself "I'm going to make today count."