A Journey to Fit & Fast

This week has been a heck-of-a-week. Many lessons that inspired personal growth, personal reflection. Most of all, it showed me the power of love, how loved and supported I am, and how even in the face of extreme loss, love conquers all. This week a very courageous, funny, talented man who lit up the earth with his smile and laughter lost his lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis. Jesse was 3 years post lung transplant, and 9 months into a marriage when this all happened. No one, and I mean no one, will forget meeting Jesse. His laugh was contagious, his humor fantastic. Even his facial expressions were one-in-a-million. Luckily, one of the sweetest people on earth, my friend Jessica, got to love him for 6 magical years. Their love is (yes is, not was) the kind of love that is palpable. You can see them in the same vicinity and know that they are together. Looks, smiles, feelings. You know that they are bonded by heart. They share goofy mannerisms, they share knowing looks, smiles: ...

I am proud to say that this week I am 'gearing up' for my first triathlon. It is a sprint tri, so it contains a 400 meter swim, a 10 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run. But excited and ready I am regardless. I get to be a REAL triathlete after this!!  Excited for a week of fueling my body and keeping it moving! It is amazing, looking back at where I've come and where I am currently. Last year I vowed to tackle a marathon. This year, I vow to tackle an olympic distance triathlon. It makes me so very hopeful for what is to come after this. I do not know what tomorrow holds, or what fun challenges I will tackle next, but I'm sure that it will be rewarding in ways I have not yet discovered. Self discovery continues to abound, and with it my heart is growing exponentially.  Last night, while watching a TED talk, I learned about the brain in love (and loss). A fun little fact: the area of your brain that is stimulated with extreme feelings of love is the same area that is s...

Good Monday Morning! I hope that all of your weeks are starting off well. Mine started off by my phone taunting me that I skipped spin class this morning (because today is a rest day for me). Well….about that…. :-) I wanted to let you all know, mostly for accountability purposes, that I am making a commitment to eliminate as much added sugar in my diet as possible (hoping for sugar free). I know how I and my body feel when I am eating sugar (revved up, inflamed), and I know how much I like the taste (A LOT!). Which means that it is certainly something that I need to work at eliminating. I am working  a lot on strength training, and being leaner in general. I see my body changing, but know that I can do it more justice by improving my diet. Did you know that our brains respond to sugar the same way that they respond to cocaine? Look at this image below. It's telling, as a CT scan of a brain on sugar and cocaine are side by side. It is not hard to see why there are so many people...

In fitness related news….I have run 4 miles twice, without pain. HALLELUJAH. I am lucky to have a therapist who practices postural restoration, and treats the cause of the pain, not simply the pain itself. Here's to continued progress. 4 is not 26.2, but it sure as heck isn't 1 or 2. The revelations continue, which really speaks to opening your heart and your mind to all that the world has to offer. This week's revelation included the building of one's network, or tribe as I affectionally call mine. I realized, while doing some introspection that the importance of building a tribe is two fold: to gain lots of perspective, and so as to not exhaust one person with your needs of attention and affirmation. It's why we don't only go to our significant other for advice, or friends for compliments. Multiple people help to vary your tribe and help you gain wisdom and insight. I'm not sure why that was such a revelation to me, but there you have it. Build a tribe, ...

I promise my posts will return to 'fitness and wellness' related posts (as soon as my huge bounds in self discovery take a backseat to my fitness).  It was recently discovered that sushi & thai food is a medium for revelations and self discovery. Who knew? Today was no exception on a 'new beginnings' trip to Iowa City (for awesome friendship & connection, and of course for new ink).  I find that a lot of revealing, personal, fantastic things come out of my mouth amidst word vomit. The first tidbit that my heart released was "If someone is not a part of your present (meaning if they are in your life without presence), then they don't deserve to be a part of your future." WHOA! It's ok to say goodbye if effort isn't equal. Secondly, I affirmed my self discovery.  I stated "a lot of what I've been through has been painful at the time, but rewarding in the end." Again-whoa! It's ok to embrace the suck, but learn fro...