Limitless

I can run a 5k, because it exists and I know people who have done them.  I can run a 22k, because once I got lost and ended up running 13.1 miles.  So, I know I am capable of that.  My friend Kevin bailed on a triathlon and talked me in to doing it.  I showed up and won.  I am capable of that.  I am training for an Ironman and I know that I am capable of this because, well, I decided that I am.
Our lives are limitless, if we choose to view it that way.  If you can imagine it, is is possible.  The word impossible is really just a way of saying, "I am not strong enough."  I would like to think that I live a life with out limits.  Once I have conquered one thing, and the limit has been pushed, I change the limit.  Because what is life if it's stagnant?  What would happen if everything was mediocre?  What if you raced that same race, with the same effort and same result as the many before?  Would you settle for that?
As we go through our lives and we challenge ourselves, we test our limits.  We discover that it wasn't impossible.  Rather, it was just another one of life's little tests.  We overcome and we redefine "limit."  We find that we never really had a limit, because our lives are limitless.

What's yours?

Last Sunday, I headed off to Mission Trails for a run with one of my Hi-Tech Bikes teammates.  Of course, he is an awesome runner and I am well, less awesome(injury involved).  The first time we headed off on a run, I let him know that I might not be able to push it because of my strained tendon in my foot.  He was understanding and I ended up doing pretty well considering.  So, last Sunday I showed up and I let him know that I was still congested from a cold I had a week ago.  And he looks at me and asks in all honesty, "Is that your excuse today?"  A fire built up inside me and I had a great run, knowing that my excuse didn't matter.  At all. 
We all head to our runs, rides, swims, gym work outs with an excuse in mind.  Don't lie.  You have one.  Mine tend to vary.  I like to mix it up, I guess.  Right now I go from a hurt foot, to being fatigued, working too much, that time of the month, no energy, no time, I'll give more tomorrow.  My training suffers because of my excuses.  I am so glad that my teammate asked me this question.  "Is that your excuse today?"  Since he asked me that, I have shown up with no excuses.  Not one. 
So, I challenge you to admit your excuse.  Conquer it and kick it out of your life.  The more time and effort you spend allowing your excuse to win, the less time you will spend training.  What is your excuse today?  And to that I say, "What excuse?  I have no excuse!"

One of "those" people...

I am one of THOSE people.  One of the people who would love to be a professional student.  Most people think this is a strange thing, unless you are one of "those" people as well.  For me, school was so much fun.  Fun, as in, I loved to learn and then learn even more.  Once you learned one thing, you had so many other things to learn.  It's never-ending!  And you would learn whatever was being taught and then you would be tested.  And I loved to be tested.  Because I loved to get a perfect score.  And a perfect score was totally in reach!  You could put in the hours and effort studying to show up on test day and pass with flying colors.  When you received your test back with a big, fat "A+" the pride inside you would just fill you up to the brim.  You couldn't wait to get home to show your family so they could share in your pride.  But, maybe that's just because I am one of "those" people.
Fast forward to today, where I am forced to work for money and not a grade.  Not ideal, but it's the real world.  So, instead of challenging my mind, I challenge my body.  I now work for a win, a personal record, or some other type of physical challenge.  I am still one of "those" people, but now in the physical sense.  Works for me.  People tend to question me on a regular basis or express concern in what I do.  Some people don't understand why I would go to the lengths that I go to.  Well, just as I worked so hard for that high grade, I now work for that physical best.  And just like I ran home with my best grade in hand, I now run home with my medal in hand full of pride and joy, just waiting to share it with my family and friends.
For me, it's about hard work and the results that hard work gets you.  It's about pushing your boundaries and proving that the world is truly limitless if you choose to view it that way.  So, whether you are working out your body or your mind, do it the max.  Go for the glory.  Go for the A+, the win, the personal best.  And just like when you were in school, the result is up to you.  You get out of your life what you put in.  And, to that I say...I'll work for an A+ any day!! 

When opportunity knocks...

They say when one door closes, another one opens.  But sometimes we look so long at that closed door, that we fail to see the other door.  And that door happens to be an opportunity.  When I hurt my foot I was so bummed out.  For a week I just wondered what I could possibly do to replace my running.  Running has always been my release, my positive outlet for anxiety and stress.  Basically, running was my happiness.  And then it was gone.  Just like that. 
So for a week I looked back and I mourned.  I stared at the closed door.  Maybe I was hoping it might somehow open if I stared long enough.  Or maybe I was just so shocked that it could be gone just like that.  But at the end of that week I knew I had to start looking elsewhere.  If a door is closed, that just means somewhere there is a door just waiting to be opened.  I showed up at the gym today at noon to begin boxing again.  Boxing is my new door.  It's not a replacement, it's an opportunity to excel at something else.  And...it felt so good to box again! 

I hope that in your life you choose to let a shut door be just that, shut.  Let it be seen as an opportunity.  Let it be the beginning of a new chapter, not the end of one.  Don't stare so long at that shut door that you miss out on the beginning of something wonderful. 

It's not about the bike...

When I decided to do my first triathlon, I finally took my bike out of the garage and set out to learn to ride it...with out falling off, mind you.  It was a Dave Scott Centurion, circa 1989, with an aluminum frame and downtube shifters.  It was red, white and blue, with a small amount of yellow.  In it's time, it was one of the best bikes you could own.  But fast forward to the 2000s and it was way out dated.  But, it's what I had so I learned to ride it.  Since I was very uncomfortable reaching down to my frame to switch gears, I learned to ride on a hard gear, and that made me a very strong rider.  I never switched to a small gear...I just made it work.  The only other option was to reach down and chance a crash.  No thanks.  I won my first triathlon on that bike.  Yes, that 1989 outdated bike.  While everyone else had these fancy carbon bikes worth more than my life, I had this 1989 Centurion.  And I won.  And I continued to win.
Showing up to a transition area with the oldest bike was embarrassing.  The bikes I was racked next to were so light they literally blew in the wind.  They looked mean and fast...and expensive.  And I would get comments on my "vintage" bike or my "classic" Centurion.  No one took me seriously.  I was the girl with the old bike.  But soon I was the girl with the old bike...who would blow you away on the bike leg.  Eventually, I was good enough to be sponsored by a bike team and I am now the girl with the fast, mean, carbon, expensive bike.  But deep down I know my roots and I know that it's not about what you have.  It's what you DO with what you have.
In athletics, it is easy to look around and be intimidated by those around you with the fancy work out clothes, a $10,000 bike, a million pairs of shoes, gadgets and gizmos.  Keep in mind that at the end of the day, it's not what you ride, or what you wear on your feet or your body that will matter.  It is what you hold in your heart that will get you through.  Sure, compression helps, heart rate is helpful, a nice bike is nice, and a great pair of running shoes can power you up.  But, the one who wins the race will still always be the one who worked the hardest, and had the most heart.  It's what is in your heart.

The tragedy of life...

My grandma(Gammy) had a saying posted on a mirror in her house that read, "The tragedy of life is not in the fact of death, but in what dies inside of you while you are still living."  It came from one of those "Quote-A-Day" calendars and was faded and taped carelessly to the mirror, but even so, I read it every time I visited her.  I really didn't understand it much when I was young.  As a young child, tragedy is not generally something that you can wrap your little mind around properly.  When I was six, a tragedy would be not getting to go outside and play with my best friend.  But I managed to file the quote away and ponder it's true meaning as I grew up.
My Gammy died and I felt broken.  We all went to gather the rest of her remains from her house and I spotted that quote, still in the same place it had been for 20 years.  I took it down carefully and brought it home to finally figure out what this little quote that had been so important to my Gammy, truly meant.  Here's what it means to me, and what has been with me for so long...
Dying isn't a tragedy in itself.  People die, for all sorts of reasons, and it's sad but it's a fact of life.  The fact is, we will all die someday.  Dying is not the sad part, but to die and never truly lived, is a tragedy.  So, live every day to it's fullest.  Do things that make you feel happy.  Live a little.  Don't spend time focusing on the negatives.  Instead, choose to let those things go quickly so you might move on to something positive.  If you hate running, don't run because you think you should to stay fit.  If you hate eating certain fruits, don't eat them because you think you should.  Find something you love and welcome it in to your life with a passion a dedication.  Find a fruit that you enjoy and eat it!  You get my drift?  Don't save your best bottle of wine for a special occasion.  TODAY is a special occasion!  Wear your favorite perfume, not because it's a certain day that is supposedly better than another, wear it today...because TODAY is a better day if you want it to be!  And that nice jewelry?  Wear it with your jeans.  Why not?
My life will not end in tragedy, because I have chosen to live every day to it's fullest.  And if I did happen to die this very day, I would be so glad that I pursued my fitness goals to their fullest, I raced my little butt off and won, I spent time with my loved ones, wore my favorite perfume just because, opened wine for no "special" reason, and wore my diamonds with my scrubs.  Hey...you are only promised today.  What will YOU do with it? 
 

You wouldn't listen, would you?

When I was a teenager, I knew everything. There was no use in telling me anything, or giving me advice.  So what if you had lived decades before me and had valuable life lessons.  I had it all figured out. It was a really bad attitude to have and I could have learned a lot from others had I only listened.
Fast forward to today. No longer a teenager, no longer believing that I know everything. Now, a competitive triathlete and pouring my heart and soul in to getting better with every training session. As an athlete, you get used to pains. You get used to icing, heating, elevating, compressing, medicating. Your body tells you things by showing pain. STOP. You should not go on. Do not pass go or collect $200. STOP. Again, stop. Please....stop. But do we listen? I don't. I push through it and tell myself that it's minor and will be better tomorrow. It's worked in the past, but now I am nursing an injury that has been going on for weeks and isn't promising to get better. My body warned me, but I didn't listen. This injury could potentially take me out for the season if it doesn't get better soon.
Hind sight is 20/20 and I know I should have listened at the first warning sign, but I took advantage and thought I knew better than my body did. Boy, was I wrong!
We expect our bodies to be super heroes, but then we don't listen when they tell us they need a break. Hey, even Superman took some time off here and there. To be an athlete means to encompass every part of it, and a valuable and very important part of it is recovering properly and resting when your body needs it. Listen to your body. It is wise beyond your own years and has a thing or two it can teach you...if you could just stop being a teenager and listen!