Yoga-A-Day.

You can think of it as the 30 Runs in 30 Days.  But for yogis.  And I love it.  There's a specific pose for each day, and just like the creative challenge of capturing your daily run in a photo, this is fun because you take the poses off the mat and into the real world.

Creativity within some semblance of structure.  My kind of challenge!

Here's what I have so far...I started this challenge at Day 19 with Camel Pose.

Day 20: Mountain Pose (Parvatasana)

Day 21: Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Day 22: Intense Side Stretch (Parsvottanasana)

Day 23: Revolved Head-to-Knee (Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana)

Day 24: Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II)

I've realized that I have the most awesome photographers who are such good sports.  I appreciate all the people in my life who support my craziness and creativity...  

What Do I Desire?

This morning I watched this...

It's a heavy and deep question.  But after 3 days of working when the rest of the world was off, I knew that today I desired to be outside in the sunshine and do some artwork.  Simple joys.

I'm halfway through Eckert Tolle's The Power of Now and it has really made me aware of how much our minds dictate our emotions and create problems because we are constantly evaluating the past or focusing on the future.

The key is to be merely present in the "now." 

He refers to gap in consciousness as similar to the one that you achieve in meditation, or during a drug high, where you are merely experiencing 'being,' or for an athlete, when you are completely immersed in that present moment.  You are focused only on the 10 feet of road in front of you while riding your bike, on your foot-strike, or the motion of your arms in the pool.  We in fact learn to crave that time of being unattached, or fully conscious; where there are no problems or fear about the future because you are solely aware of the present moment.  And in the present moment, there are no problems.  There is only 'being.'

Today I did a solo ride up and back down Palomares.  Riding alone is so therapeutic, and I could relate to what Tolle was describing.  Descending at 45 mph, I had razor-sharp focus on the road, but was only aware of the feeling of euphoria, the wind blowing past my body, and the lightness I felt on my bike.

Throwing caution to the wind and descending with absolute joy.

I know that one of my deepest desires is to express myself creatively, so I tapped into that today and pulled out oil pastels and chalk.  I used to love doing oil pastels as a kid; creating a rainbow of colors with pastels and using the black pastel to color over all the colors.  You then take a sharp object and draw or write on the black background, uncovering an array of rainbow colors underneath.

Homemade bday card for my dad; replicating the sunrise over
Lake Amador when we went flyfishing.

It's like an oil pastel analogy of us as individuals.  Sometimes you need to scratch the surface a little bit to reveal a rich array of colors and brilliance underneath.

What do you desire?  It's a good question to ask yourself.

Openness.

Open the window in the center of your chest, and let the spirits fly in and out.  

-Rumi

Trusting the Wheel in Front of You

Mid-ride stretch break overlooking Skyline. Clearly I am over my cold.

Today was my second ride with M, and I was able to sit behind his wheel for a bit and learn his riding style.  One of the basic skills of cycling is learning how to ride in a pace line and how to draft.  Stay close.  Don't overlap wheels.  When a hill is coming, allow extra room when the rider in front stands. Point out potholes.  Don't slam on your brakes.  Steady, Freddy.

Yellow Jacket and his bike...it stings when he drops me on the hills.

Early on as I started road cycling, I was lucky to be mentored by a competitive cyclist.  I trusted his wheel; I could relax an inch behind his wheel, tucked in, knowing he would keep a steady pace and not do anything abrupt.  His understanding of the road was similar to mine; I never found myself looking beyond his shoulder to anticipate changes in the road up ahead.  We rode hundreds of miles together, each taking our separate pulls, but feeling like a single unit. 

Moving up north allowed me to ride with different cycling groups, and it is always a challenge to figure out which wheels I can trust and which wheels to avoid. I've almost crashed riding behind riders who slammed on their brakes, and there are those who nonsensically  pointed out every little piece of debris in the road.  Their wheels are ones who I give myself a lot of space between, and honestly it is exhausting and stressful to follow behind them because I'm in a constant state of hyperawareness and anticipation.

Life has its parallels.

Drafting off someone's wheel requires an immense amount of trust from you.  You will learn who you can work with and who you can't.  It takes time to build trust and rapport; to develop compatibility.  Unfortunately, sometimes a wheel you trusted will do something out of the ordinary, resultantly causing you to crash.

Is it better to ride into the headwind alone?  Or take the chance and develop a sense of trust with the rider in front of you?

Solo base-building winter miles.  a.k.a. Riding into the headwind alone.

The choice is always yours.  But choose your wheels carefully.

Sunshine.

Today I stayed at home in bed, fighting off this cold and sleeping as much as possible.  Today was a reminder to me that there are amazing people in this world who genuinely care.  I think when you are physically weak, it is even more touching to have people offer to bring over soup, tea, or help in any possible way.

Captured from the 3 Bears ride.
A visual reminder of my life...there is always sunshine that makes its way through the clouds.

Thank you to all the people who are rays of sunshine in my life.  It means the world to me.

Art.

Recently I've been inspired by individuals and their art.  Although their tangible art forms are impressive, I am more moved by their ability to be fully present in the creative process and connect with their heart.  So often in life we are stifled by society's notion that we must all follow the safe 'life track' of getting a higher education, getting a stable job, getting married, and starting a family that we lose our True Selves and our ability to express our unique creativity.

Spending so much time and energy to blend in with society's norms and culture has left many of us tired and uninspired.

Oftentimes, I hear people tell me that they are not 'artistic.'  They misunderstand the beauty of art, because in reality, there are no rules.  It is not restrictive, it is freeing.  You merely create and connect with your heart.  There are no right ways or wrong ways to create.  Art is spontaneously inspired, like play... easy, nonjudgemental, and flowing.

I had the pleasure of meeting a right-brained artist in a left-brained work environment.
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In the artist's own words, this was "inspired by the Golden Gate Bridge and architecture. The idea of tension appeals to me; specifically holding something together versus pulling it apart."

I'm not just talking about painting or sculpting.  Art is really the external manifestations of whatever things you are passionate about in life, and it can take many mediums- through object form, music, cooking, and even sport.

Food as art.
Maki-sushi and ozoni created and prepared by my family for Japanese New Years.

Fellow cyclist Walter participated in the artistic process by creating his own
 homemade energy bar with GU gel, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and brown rice.

This year I decided not to make the typical New Year's Resolutions, as those are often driven by the mind.  I did, however, resolve to create more and connect more.  For some reason, these resonate more deeply in my heart and give me the creative space for play. 

My mani-reminder: Embrace your uniqueness.  Don't be afraid to stand out.

We are all artists, and our art is the expression of our own beautiful spirits.   I can't wait to see what we all will create in 2013.

Pay It Forward (#13: Be a Volunteer for Once at a Running/Tri Event. Pass Out Water Cups. Cheer Loudly.)

"Thank you for being here."

These five words make such a difference.  It's funny, because these are the exact same words I would tell the volunteers as I would run by the aid stations, grabbing water or pretzels and then continuing on my merry way.

I'll be completely honest, I had no idea what PIC and I were in for.  I was thinking, sure, arrive at 5:30am, head to the designated aid station area, set up and cheer!  

It was freezing cold this morning, drizzling, muddy, and dark.  The Brazen Running race directors were so incredibly organized with all the details, even down to the amounts of water gallons going to each aid station.  We had to load everything into the cars- trunkfuls of water, cardboard garbage cans, signs, tables, plastic bins of snacks, then drive to the area, unload everything and set up before the runners arrived.

Did I mention it was cold?

I was manning the snack station.  There's something awesome about being a registered dietitian and organizing rows of Mike and Ike's, M&Ms, potato chips, and cutting up PayDay candy bars.  This year, the bibs had the runner's first name printed, so I could cheer by name.  I remember at Florida Ironman as I was struggling during the marathon.  Hearing random bystanders scream, "Looking strong, Julianne!" was such a motivator.  I mean, I was clearly not 'looking strong,' but hearing my name really perked me up.  So I had fun staring at bibs and cheering personally for the runners.

PIC and me, working our 'corner'

We later realized the dixie cups were meant for the snacks, not water. Didn't get that memo.

It was definitely an eye-opening experience to be on the other side of the race.  There is so much work that occurs behind-the-scenes in order to create a smooth-running event.  Oftentimes the participants are never aware of it, myself included.  I now have a deeper respect and appreciation for all race directors out there...thank you for all your work to keep us athletes safe, well-hydrated, well-fueled, and on the right race course!

After a good lunch and a solid nap, I had an urge to swim, and swim long.  A common epic workout is the New Year's Day 100x100 swim set.  It's awesome if you have 3 hours to burn on New Year's Day, but I had 3 hours to burn today.  I was really inspired.  You have to be incredibly inspired to pull this off, so I just went with it and packed some extra treats to keep me going that long.  

Since I couldn't run a 10K today, I decided I would swim a 10K.

I had just completed 4,000 yards when this guy in the next lane started profusely apologizing to me.  Apparently, he almost dove on top of me because he didn't see me (it was around dusk.)  I had no idea; I was just doing my set.  I finagled him into joining me for my next 10x100s.  Company is always better.  After that set, he threatened me, saying I'd put him in the ER if he kept swimming at that pace, and he was getting out. 

I continued the rest on my own.  It was so hard to focus at the end.  The fatigue from the early morning was starting to set in.  But I finished, and the beautiful full moon was shimmering in the night sky over the pool.  Sights like these are forever etched in my mind.  Epic swims are rewarded with epic sights.  It's only fair, I suppose.

Solid swims= solid recovery nutrition.

They always say, "Thank the volunteers."  Now I can say that yes, it makes a difference to hear those 5 words...they are so appreciated by everyone, and it makes the numb fingers/toes, early wake-up call and manual labor totally worth it.   To all my blog readers, I will say this to you, "Thank you for being here."