Even with the new things going on in my life, there are things that always make me happy that never get old... ...like finish lines. I love finish lines, and crossing them while holding hands with someone is even more awesome.
Unlike my last holding-hands-across-the-finish-line adventure, Ellen made it clear to me that she was married.
I am so proud of Ellen- not only for the amount of weight she has lost, but for how much of her confidence she has gained. I had the privilege of pacing a confident, fearless woman who was not afraid to go after her first 10K finish, only one month after finishing her first 5K. I high-fived her at each mile marker. It was a reminder to celebrate every milestone that makes up your journey. I couldn't even imagine running a mile pain-free back in August when I was hobbling around in my cam-walker boot. So for both of us, it was an accomplishment and celebration.
Muddy miles. #moreHokalove
I feel like I'm making up for the 3 months of running I missed out on during the summer and cashing them in now. I'm loving the trails now more than ever- the awesome weather we've been having lately, combined with the hokas- always makes for an incredible run. The trail time also allows me to catch up on my podcasts- because we all know that learning new things (metabolic efficiency, engineering resilience, biohacking your pH) never gets old either.
9 around the lake.
And on my plate, here is a meal that I haven't been afraid to repeat multiple times during the week. It's filling, balanced, delicious, and Whole30. Boom.
Omelet with spinach, sweet potato hash and avo. #itstartswithfood
You know what else never gets old? Snail mail and phone calls. In this day and age, it's easier to text. But perhaps I'm old-fashioned, in that sense- I love going to my mailbox and receiving a handwritten letter, or hearing an excited voice on the other end of the phone. I was lucky enough to receive both this week...
"You can't see the world from somebody else's point of view and not be changed."
-Lena Coakley
Hanging upside down not only brings good bloodflow to your brain, but your perspective of the world changes. Naturally.
Change of perspective. #inversiontime
I saw this video over the weekend and it completely transformed how I view my workplace. I always considered myself to be pretty good at being able to read/intuit other's feelings, but this opened my eyes up to the many emotional facets that occur in a single place. Hopefully this will inspire you to hold more hands, to look more people in their eyes, to smile genuinely, and to listen to the true emotions and the feelings that exist when people speak. And mostly, to really care. I know it did that for me. Enjoy.
After last weekend's amazing conference, I've been much more 'in-tune' with how my mental/spiritual health affects my physical/emotional health. Believe me, I'm usually skeptical about these woo-woo alternative medicine practices, but after reading and hearing testimonials from actual doctors (including Dr. Lissa Rankin), I'm now fascinated with EFT. I just need to nail down exactly what to say while tapping on the meridians. Couple that with my recent obsession with biohacking (especially HRV), and a pretty busy week, I've become much more aware of my stress. The awareness is a good thing. Before, I would be stressed. Note there is a huge difference between the two. Yesterday's swim offers a beautiful analogy. Because you know me, I understand things better through visual analogies, so hopefully this will help my readers. It was pouring rain. I like to swim in the rain...(remember my very first blog post when I was a baby blogger?). Sometimes worry, negative thoughts and irrational fears are like those thousands of raindrops. They are everywhere and they surround us. We can choose to get caught up in them and start down the downward spiral of 'what ifs'... or, we can detach ourselves and just be observers. I gracefully did an underwater dolphin kick, streamlined with my arms above my head and kicked onto my back, still 2 feet underneath the water's surface. I could see the tiny droplets of raindrops, breaking the water's smooth surface in a beautiful array of harmony and disharmony. I observed the cacophony (like my individual thoughts) falling on top of the water. But below, I remained in the serene calm, womblike and silent nature of the water, at peace. These are the lessons that I am slowly learning. As time passes, they make more and more sense to me. Eckhart Tolle sums it up best when he says: "The mind helps us in the practical aspects of life. However, we can observe the mind. Just observe it as it thinks about the past or the future. Whenever you observe your mind, you are no longer trapped in its past or future. Through self-observation you can move into the present. You are Now. Observe the mind without judging it." Speaking of judging...I have received some criticism about my new favorite running shoes. Granted they are not the most aesthetically-appealing and easy on the eyes, but they sure make my feet happy. They look heavy, but they are surprisingly light. (looks can be deceiving!) Ran 9 miles in these last week, pain-free. The run felt like I was prancing on a cloud, which made me feel like I was on Cloud 9. Not too shabby.
It's pronounced Hoka O-nay O-nay, not "Hoka One" #newbie
Let's just say that happy feet + happy mind + happy heart = happy girl.
I'd love to say that I'm a whiz in the kitchen, fluttering around in my apron, mixing a "pinch of this" and a "hint of that," eyeballing ingredients and seamlessly making substitutions in recipes as I use what's in my kitchen cupboards. Truthfully, I am anything but that. I am a slave to the measuring cups and spoons, pouring the exact amount of vanilla extract and measuring that 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. And substituting? Forget about it. If I don't have all of the ingredients, that recipe can wait until I go to the store. I am even a tad jealous of how most Asian people can wash rice and use their index finger to gauge how much water to add. What if your index finger is really short and you don't add enough? Then it'll be too dry. Too much? Then it'll be too soggy. I'd gladly measure out the water, thankyouverymuch. So, what's behind all of this? My type-A nature could be to blame. I could say that I'm a perfectionist and I like following directions. But really, the truth is that I'm afraid to fail. Aren't we all? I had the pleasure of hearing the amazing Kris Carr speak live this weekend in San Jose, where she talked about her own journey in the kitchen that began with her learning how to boil water. She told a funny story where she was asking herself, "But what if I mess up the kale salad? Then everyone will judge me!" She spoke about how we are all afraid to mess up in the kitchen, but as we continue to experiment with creativity, we build skill sets and confidence. As a result, the initial overwhelming fear of failing diminishes.
Lemon coconut flour cookies with chia seeds ('cause, hey...why not?)
A few weeks ago I had some extra lemons and decided to throw all caution to the wind and modify a recipe. I love lemons- lemon bars, lemon muffins, lemon meringue, so clearly, lemon coconut flour cookies should also be in that fabulous mix, right? I definitely thought so. Miraculously, it turned out well (read: turned out on the cooling racks and not in the trashcan) and I had happy taste-testers! My experiment with a basic coconut flour cookie recipe started a new trend in my life- use what you love to be your inspiration, stick to a good basic recipe model that works, and don't allow the fear of failure to stunt your creativity. And so I have applied this lesson also to my career. Although I enjoy clinical nutrition in the hospital setting, in a sense, I am now modifying the basic 'recipe' and expanding it to the community sector. I am so excited to join the staff at Crufit to help individuals become healthier with better nutrition. If you know me, you know how passionate I am about sports, nutrition, and assisting people on their health journey. I am thrilled for this opportunity to stretch those muscles more, to take a basic recipe model of sound nutrition, and creatively adapt it to help active adults get healthier. Crufit is a brand new studio in Montclair with top-notch instructors who specialize in rowing, cycling and TRX.
Crufit's brand new cycling theater- complete with wireless power meters that connect to the main screen!
In the theme of modifications, all you cyclists are familiar with the term RPM- revolutions per minute. I just attended a 2-day conference this weekend and heard some of the most inspiring and thought-provoking speakers like Dr. Wayne Dyer, Caroline Myss, Kris Carr, Gregg Braden, and Davidji.
No, that's not Moses. It's Davidji.
My favorite speaker was Davidji, who spoke about transitioning from being a crisis meditator to establishing a daily meditation practice. Meditation is about accessing the space between- the space between our action, our thoughts and our words. When we can access that space, we connect to our deepest, most authentic self. How do we do that? By ritualizing our practice. By making it a habit, just like brushing our teeth. So this my friends, is now our new acronym for RPM- Rise. Pee. Meditate. Like Lance once said, it's not all about the bike. Go deeper. Modify your recipes in life. Get creative.
