I needed a push

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With TRI training in full force (my race is now less than a month away -- EEK!) I was in the pool this week for a couple of work out sessions.  I'm swimming along and as I approach the wall I tucked, and got a really good push off.  I realized that in life I sometimes just need a good push.  I realized that to take a job in a state where I knew, literally, one person I got a push from Dad.  For my most recent job change Dan provided the gentle nudge. Let's be honest, those boys know what they are talking about!

On the activity front I've gotten those friendly pushes from Coach B and my sister, Brenda.  The push to pursue a triathlon came from my dear friend, Naomi.  Again, I don't know where I'd be without these people who not only inspire, encourage and support me but are just wonderful people to have in my life.

As I recalled (thanks to Facebook's On this Day function to be honest with you) what's been happening in my life over the last few years I realized how, sometimes, we just need the little push outside of our comfort zone.  To pursue the thing you didn't know you wanted but now desire.

What or who pushes you?  Who do you push?

It's happening... again

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Remember this?
Las Vegas 2012

For those of you who have been hanging in there with me for any length of time you know that the last few years have included quite a lot of training; there were 7 half marathons since December 2012 and after all that I was tired.  For the most part I absolutely loved training and loved racing but at some point it just got to be too much.  After running Napa to Sonoma last summer and ending with what I thought was a stress fracture and being forced to take time off I realized that there are other things that I love to do to stay active and maintain my weight.

I honestly thought that I'd be taking a year off training for any distance races focusing on 5K's, 10K's and this triathlon coming up in FIVE WEEKS!  Since I started my new job I've obviously spent quite a lot of time around people who run regularly.  Without really realizing I started checking the Tyranena Beer Run half marathon website; but registration hadn't opened yet.  For five days I kept checking; still closed.  Until Tuesday when I logged onto Facebook and saw an update from the race.  Registration was open.  So, I registered.

Tyranena Beer Run - 2013

But that's it.  I'm not registering for any other half marathons this year.  I think.  But for now I've got a new goal to work towards and isn't that what we really need to stay focused?

How have your plans changed without you realizing they were changing?  What new goal have you set recently?

Baby Steps

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Hey -- remember me?  I took a hiatus from blogging when I was leading a lot of Weight Watchers meetings and was struggling to figure out what to say here.  I mean, I spent the majority of every day talking about weight loss and when I'd get home blogging about weight loss or maintenance was sort of the last thing on my mind.  I'm not entirely sure that I'm fully back to blogging but I'm going to try because I feel like it's a great outlet.  For those who know me personally you know that I have now taken a hiatus from leading Weight Watchers meetings; though I still work as a Personal Coach and 24/7 Chat coach.  It's been a challenging transition but it feels like an amazing opportunity for me and it's really gotten me excited about running again.

To be honest my training last year was not as much fun as I know that it should have been and then finishing the Napa to Sonoma half marathon with a bum foot left me feeling like I didn't want to run.  Ever.  As part of my recovery my doc said that I could run in the pool.  I started that and met Ann who looks angelic while swimming.  It turns out she's also a swim coach and she told me that she could teach me to swim.  I signed up for lessons and started swimming.  I knew I needed to learn to swim if I ever wanted to even think about doing a triathlon.  Then, registration opened for the race that I really wanted to do -- it's small and close to my house.  I couldn't remember being this excited about working out and working towards something in a long time.

I found a training plan and started loosely following it.  The reason I didn't want to follow it to the letter was because I didn't really want to run.  Then I started spending a lot of time around people who run and I started getting excited about running again.  So, on a sunny, beautiful day I pulled out my Asics Kayano's and laced them up.  I started running without my watch because I knew if I saw my pace I'd be upset knowing I'd lost my speed.  I didn't care how fast I ran but I wore my Vivofit so I'd know how far I'd gone.  It wasn't far - only a couple of miles but it felt amazing to run again.

My point goes back to something I posted about YEARS ago.  Make the small changes because they'll end up making huge results for you if you just stick with it.