Guest Posts
Today Elena is sharing her secret weapons for getting back on track after a break from fitness. After an injury and a pregnancy, I can more than relate to what Elena’s talking about today and I will definitely be using her advice in the coming weeks and months.
Two marathons, a dozen half marathons, sprint triathlons, Zumba, Pilates, and spinning. Albeit inconsistently at times, this has been my life for the last fifteen years.
But now? Three weeks away from what was supposed to be my very first international distance triathlon? I find myself winded during a 17 minute walk around my neighborhood.
Granted, my body is recovering from a surgery. But still. Winded. After 17 minutes of walking. Slowly. This is not where I imagined I would be right now.
I could spend FOREVER reflecting on how I got to this place, and how frustrating it is to feel weak. I could go on and on about the emotional repercussions of not working out regularly. But the truth is none of that will help. It will only make me more frustrated and more disillusioned.
The truth of the matter is that it is all up to me now. It is up to me to make the changes. To accept my new reality and create a plan that is realistic and attainable to get back on track. I cannot just pretend to jump back into where I was a few months ago, or worse, last year at this time. The first step has to be acknowledging my current level of fitness, or lack there of, and then putting one foot in front of the other, day after day, to eventually, in time, be strong once again.
There is no room for “last year, I was able to {fill in the blank}.” The only room that exists is one of concrete actions. Actions that will take time to become habit. Actions like getting up early to work out, or arranging for my family to take care of dinner so that I can get a workout in after work in the early evening. Actions that will not just happen on their own.
Which if I am being honest, is just plain scary. I cannot remember the last time that I literally was starting from scratch like I am now. In the past, I have been able to rely on my old standbys to get me back into the routine. A few tough days on the treadmill, (ok maybe weeks) before feeling like myself again out on the running trail. This time though, it is going to take time to build up a a base, a foundation of both cardiovascular and strength.
My Secret Weapons
The good news is that I have a lot of resources at my disposal. I have a treadmill and my road bike set up on a trainer in a workout room in our basement. I have some fantastic DVD’s and fitness games for the Wii and the Xbox. But more importantly, I have two secret weapons.
The first…is… a calendar. A calendar where I will write down every thing I do. A calendar that will keep me accountable, visually, for building that base. A calendar that will tell me, within a moment whether I have done my best or have fallen prey to the abyss of possible excuses that are waiting to pounce on my discouraged psyche.
The second is a goal event. An event to aim for. One that is just enough of a stretch that I will feel like it is an accomplishment, but one that is realistic and attainable. A little bit like writing a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time bound) goal in my professional life, picking a goal event means being honest with where I am now, what I think I can accomplish, and how much time it will really take for me to get there. Because picking a goal event and then not being ready? Talk about discouraging.
I am debating on what this goal event might be. I am still scheduled for an international distance triathlon in September, but I am a bit worried that it might be too much of a stretch. There are a number of Disney endurance events that sound appealing to me, and several other local non local events that appeal to me…but I know that I need to think this through. Just like I would in my professional life, this goal needs to be mapped out. Thought about. It needs to MEAN something to me.
In the end, it is all up to me. It is up to me to be honest. It is up to me to make my goal a reality. It is up to me to fill that calendar with finished workouts. It is up to me to push past the excuses or potential road blocks. Only me.
Because feeling anything less than strong and healthy? Is simply not an option.
Elena is a blogger, free lance writer, transitioning from the life of a teacher to one of a WAHMaven. Being a cancer survivor has taught her to believe in one thing: life is about living. One moment at a time. Elena shares her perspective on life, travel, fitness, and more at Ciao Mom and works to inspire and empower others at Just.Be.Enough.
Holidays
Celebrating the New Year was a little different this year. I traded the bubbly for a mocktail and happily crashed minutes after the ball dropped. The moment the minute hand on the clock passed midnight marked not only the year, but {maybe} the month of our little one’s arrival.
It became a night full of meaning beyond the start of just another year. It’s the start of a year that will be more different, and more special, than any other.
I’m not much of a resolutions person. The arbitrary start date of January 1st doesn’t do a lot for me. I much prefer goal setting with a particular motivation in mind. That being said, I have a sneaking suspicion that 2012 is going to bring about the biggest life changes of any other year I’ve experienced. Perhaps the resolution thing is a good idea.
I just have one real resolution. To take all things baby and being a mom in stride.
To do the best job possible, without letting it becoming overwhelming. To give myself permission to not do things perfectly. To not feel guilt. To not let life become nothing but baby-centric. To not worry about the little things that don’t matter. To not try to control everything and instead just let it what happens happen.
It may just be one resolution, but I say it’s a pretty big one.
Instead of a list of many resolutions I’ll never think about again or never be inspired to follow, I decided I’d rather give myself some simple words of advice to keep in mind for the year.
Words to Live By: 2012
Never underestimate the power of a morning walk.
An idea not pursued is a dream failed.
Sometimes you just need to get out of the house to change the direction of your day.
You can’t fail at something you don’t try; Not trying is utterly boring.
A clean house is a happy house.
There is always something more important.
What are your 2012 words to live by?
New Years’ Mocktails
With a good drink in hand, I barely noticed everyone else was drinking beer and bubbly. Plus I woke up feeling stellar. My drink of choice for the evening was a pomegranate blueberry sparkling soda mocktail, inspired by a coupon I’d received to try the new Trop50 juice beverage.
The Trop50 orange juice beverage is delicious- light, refreshing, and citrus-y like orange juice should be, but with half the calories and sugar. The pomegranate blueberry flavor is just plain fun. I love juice, but not the idea of drinking sugar {I prefer to get my sugar from cookies & fudge 
}, so this low sugar version is a great solution. You can actually taste the blueberry in the pomegranate blueberry flavor, which is rare among juice blends.
Trop50 is celebrating it’s low sugar goodness and the new year with a real resolutions giveaway:
Tropicana® Trop50® delivers the goodness of fruit juice with 50 percent less sugar and calories, and no artificial sweeteners.
Trop50 True Resolutions celebrates the real reasons behind New Year’s resolutions. Share your secret motivation and you’ll earn a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and 50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends. You can even submit incognito with a fierce disguise. Bonus: Whether you submit a resolution or not, you can also enter a sweepstakes to win a $1000 gift card.
Enter Now
Don’t forget to visit Trop50 True Resolutions to share your secret motivation and earn a coupon for $1 off Trop50 for yourself and 50¢ off coupons for up to 50 of your friends. You can also enter to win a $1000 gift card. I was selected for this Tropicana Trop50 sponsorship by Glam Media. I received compensation to use and facilitate my post.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Tropicana® Trop50® via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Tropicana® Trop50®.
Goals
“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.”
– Mother Teresa
The other night I went to a presentation on organization. I have to say I was slightly crushed to learn there’s no magic secret to keeping coats off the banister and shoes out of the hallway –you actually have to put them away. Bummer.
{disclaimer: not my mess}
The strategies we talked about were nothing new: put things away as soon as you get home, throw away mail you don’t know, make a list before going to the grocery store, blah, blah, blah.
But at the end of the talk there were a couple drawings for rewarding you for not leaving halfway through. Thank goodness I made it through, because I won! I never win. I ended up with a copy of the book the speaker was reading, The Compound Effect.
Now, I’m not gonna lie- I haven’t even opened the cover yet. But the concept is clear from the title: tiny little things add up.
Tiny little things add up. It’s always been my philosophy for health: make small changes and eventually you’ll make a big impact on your health. I hadn’t realized that can basically be applied to anything.
- Cleaning your house? Do a little bit every day. Eventually you’ll be spic and span.
- Running a marathon? Start with a mile. And then another. And then another. Before you know it, you’ll be well past 26.
- Ditching cigarettes? Smoke one less each day, until you’re down to zero. {Ok, ok that’s subtracting. Same difference.}
- Writing a thesis? Write a couple pages every day. Maybe you’ll finally get a paper done before the day it’s due.
“All great things are only a number of small things that have carefully been collected together.”
What small things have you done to make a big impact? What big goals do you have that can be tackled little by little instead of all at once?
Other
I didn’t make any resolutions in 2009. I tend to shy away from things like New Year’s Resolutions because I don’t like setting myself up for failure, and I don’t really like doing things just because that’s what people do.
I’ve been thinking this year that maybe I haven’t made resolutions because I never took the time to really think about it. So now I’ve been thinking about it.
I started by reflecting on some things I’ve accomplished this year:
– I started running again.
– I completed a triathlon. I swam. I biked. I ran.
– I’ve overcome an injury (well, work in progress..but progress is progress)
– I finally threw that charity Christmas party I’ve always thought about but never did
– Got into grad school!
My list isn’t long. (Although I’m proud of what’s on it). But I didn’t set any goals, and I didn’t set my sights high. I think I will this year. And if I fail, my list for 2011 will be that much easier to make 🙂
I’ll think of these more as “suggestions” rather than resolutions per se.
Stay injury free
– Listen to my body. Don’t go crazy. Run smart.
Run regularly
– Ideally 3 times per week. Less only if related to above goal.
Finish a half marathon
– In March! In March I’d like to finish. After that I’d like to work on sub 2 hours if I’m still in one piece. (This may not seem to go with the goal above, but I hope to utilize cross-training to the fullest)
Compete in another triathlon- not just finish by the skin of my teeth
– August, if not sooner.
Find freelance writing
– I love writing and want to build my experience to enhance future endeavors. I love nothing more than to sit at my desk in my office, basking in the afternoon sunshine, writing.
Start my own nutrition business
– My dream is to start an online nutrition counseling practice. Who says dreams need to wait? I want to have my business up and running by May.
Get into grad school (I’ve applied…I’m still waiting with fingers crossed) I start January 11th!
Cook more often
– Much to my chagrin, I’ve discovered the world of frozen pizzas- dinner for two for $4 in 11-13 minutes? Yup that’s nice. I enjoy cooking- I don’t know why I’ve let it get away from me. With a little planning I can make a meal just as cheap and easily, but full of health instead. Heck, I even make a pretty good pizza from scratch 🙂 I plan to make at least one new recipe a week this year. Even if it means drawing a random number out of a hat to pick a page in a cookbook 😉
Stop my love affair with Target.
– I’m usually financially savvy–until it comes to my endless obsession with “just stopping by” Target. I never come out empty handed.
Keep my house clean
– I’m a pretty organized person. I’ve been described as Type A and OCD on more than one occasion, but I think my husband’s exact opposite characteristics have been rubbing off on me this year. I’d like to keep the clutter-accumulation under control (not setting things down to put away later, using downtime waiting for something to clean up a little, etc.)
Stop procrastinating!!
– If there were awards for procrastinating, I would undoubtedly clinch first place. In other areas I’m a perfectionist, so this doesn’t really jive with that. Imagine all the things I could accomplish if I just did them!
As a reread this post, I realized I have 10 resolutions…seems appropriate, right? It’s my 10 for ‘10 🙂
Although I do have a bonus resolution:
Appreciate the little things in life; don’t get irritated so easily.
– This has little need for explanation. Irritation is just leads to negativity. Appreciation is nothing but positive.
Do you make resolutions? If you could only pick one resolution to make, what would it be?
