Perspective

Perspective....
It's such an interesting word....
It can take you so many directions...
so many interesting places....
And at different stages...
It can bring different things....
And if your open to it...
you can actualy let it change your life....
Impact you in some way that brings about a whole new perspective....

I am going through one of those "changes" right now....
A softening....
An awareness....
An appreciation....

Perspective....

b. A mental view or outlook: "It is useful occasionally to look at the past to gain a perspective on the present" (Fabian Linden).

1. a way of regarding situations, facts, etc., and judging their relative importance

2. the proper or accurate point of view or the ability to see it; objectivity try to get some perspective on your troubles

The shift of my mental view... 

being brought down  a few notches to be reminded of just how hard some people work...

Just to get by...

To make ends meet...

And the pride that is associated with that job that I deemed "beneath me"....

I recently can quote myself as saying"how the mighty have fallen"....

Perspecitve...

Mighty? In who's eyes?....

I am more mighty now that I have been in years....

As I am learning the value of a physical day's work...

I'm learning that life isn't all fluff and gloss...

That the people who matter most are not the ones sitting in the big office with the million dollar view...

Rather the simple man...

Working 12 hours a day....

Hard...

Physical Labour....

With a smile...

The man who takes more pride in filling and order correctly....

Than I ever could have imagined....

Perspective...

Respect....

Yes.... 

Maybe this path is physically a little too much for me....

And maybe I will have to toss in the towel sooner than I would have imagined....

But through it all...

I've learned...

And I've softened....

This path...

This learning experience I am on....

Is slowly showing me how to break down these walls...

And to be warm....

Perspective...

Life Changing...

If you can be open enough to embrace it....

The unplanned

It's one of those moments where I have come to realize that sometimes nothing is so much better than anything...
After 3 weeks of countless resumes....
Long Work outs....
Clean eating....
Followed by even more long work outs....
And the very slight...
Very short attempt at one "dating" web-site....
I hit the blues....
Maybe it was the realization that when I was working full time and beyond, and single...
It didn't matter... because I was single with a career, and that was "acceptable".
In fact...
I was single and carrying the extra few pounds (ok totally chubby... but who's counting)....
but it didn't matter...
Because I was perceived to be at the top of my game...
To have it all...
A great career...
A fun life....
And a gaggle of friends....
And I was the one who was selling the show....
Never able to admit that I was desperately alone....
Miserably out of shape and totally unable to find the time to get back to training...
And why??
Because I was too scared I'd miss a deal...
Let a client down...
Make a mistake and crush someones dream's....
Long nights in bed with my laptop....
Neither of us getting much sleep....
And the realization that I was not getting any younger got me off the roller-coaster....
But to what result....
Lost friendship's...
20 extra pounds....
The frustration of "being in the job market"....
And the most recent discovery.....
Single with out a dynamic career is not as "acceptable" as single with a career...
But from whom do I need acceptance???
If I were really honest about this the correct response would be no one...
The friends lost in the transition maybe were the friends addicted to the flash...
The ones I lost prior to transition were the damage of a girl who was breaking apart....
but there are so many who have held on....
Stepped up...
And encouraged...
From them I need to be nothing but me...
Going through a transition....
The lack of a relationship....
The reality is...
I'm not a girl who is willing to settle....
I never have been...
So I can remain single... un-employed and be ok with that...
Society will just have to catch up with this new way of living....
The weight....
Why do I push myself so hard???
Because I love it...
After spending a morning analyzing this path...
I've realized... I'm not pushing... or punishing....
I'm growing....
Not only in endurance and strength of body...
But also strength of character....
I am adjusting to a new life...
And some day's that will give me the blues....
Not because I'm fighting depression...
But because as with any adjustment you have moments...
Where you just want it to be over...
You long to see the clear cut direction...
To know where your going....
In a very unstable... adventurous life...
I long for that one thing that is consistent...
But....
If you can learn to live a life with out that consistency...
That security blanket....
Imagine the possibilities....
The endless options that will remain available...
If you could learn to live life without anticipating the next step...
Trying to control the out come...
Just letting it happen....
Where would that trail lead you?
And how would you fair?
Maybe there is a lesson in all of this....
For me it is to sit back...
And let it happen....
I cannot control the outcome of my life...
My training...
Relationships...
My Career....
But I can learn to adapt...
And to continue on with pride....
That no matter the end result...
If I finish the race in record time or if I DNF 10 K from the finish....
I will survive...
And tomorrow there will be a new path....
And I will embrace it with the same tenacious... all in approach as the day before...
The path before...
And I will prevail...
Because the only one I really need to obtain acceptance from is myself

4 Amazing Abs Exercises

4 Amazing Abs Exercises Muscle and Fitness Hers

In my quest to continue in strength for the 2013 Season...
I am learning to incorporate core strength into my routine...
Here is a great video of 4 moves that really get some results...
I am adding these to my core circuit which includes planks, push ups, pull ups, dips
Leg raises on the roman chair, Back extensions and regular crunches with the ball.

This is an intense core work out, that I am starting on light day's. (A light day is a core work out, with light cardio.)

With a successful 3 week measurement session this morning I am encouraged with my diet and my progress. I have come to learn that it doesn't matter what you weigh... if you gain or lose, the real results are in the measurements, and in the new found strength and energy.

I have noticed my HIIT sessions are getting easier and my endurance is increasing. The speed increase on my last HIIT session was more than I could have ever dreamed in the past 3 years of training. Even at my fittest 3 years ago I never reached this speed and sustained it for 10+ reps.
I'm also finding my body craves the food's that it has been trained to eat in the past 2 months. Gone are the cravings for junk.
For those of you needing some diet inspiration this is what my day is starting to look like:

Breakfast: Protein Pancake
1/3 cup (uncooked 100% whole grain quick oats)
 4 large egg whites
Almond extract
cinnamon
splenda

The rest of the day I pack the following
2 Wraps made with mountain bread ( a flat organic wrap gluten and yeast free only 70 calories)
3-3.5 oz of chicken breast with 1.5 cups of greens and mustard and hot sauce. and sometimes a little bolthouse farms yogurt dressing
These are easy to eat on the run.
Salad: As many veggies as I can fit into the bowl. Usually 3 cups of greens and 2 cups of broccoli
Topped with 3-3.5 oz lean protein (Maybe even a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese instead)
1/2 Cup brown whole grain rice (not instant) and bolthouse farms yogurt dressing.

I will mix in white fish for wraps
and shrimp for a protein substitute
I treat myself to baked sweet potato slices 1-2 times a week.  These satisfy the craving for anything naughty like fries.

For treats I allow myself rice cakes and peanut butter.

I'm maxing out at approx 1650 calories per day.
My cheat calories of 600 per week (Included in the 1650 per day)
Are little things like fat free sugar free puddings, a small glass of red wine.
I have learned not to beat myself up if I fall off the wagon... This is a lifestyle not a prison sentence...
and the last time I checked life was meant to be fun!!!

I may not be your poster child for chiseled ab's... or the faster runner at the event...
But I am making progress with my own body and my own endurance...
And that is all a girl can ask for!

Because all athletes have fat calves....

I am an athlete.....
I can say it...
And I can believe it.... at least I can now....
How I came to this point of understanding its an interesting journey....
Before I go much further...
I want to explain...
I am blessed with an amazing family....
Supportive, fun loving parents....
Who are my friends as well as my mentors....
I've got 2 great sisters....
And two fantastic brother-in laws....
I also have 3 of the most athletic.....
amazing....
nieces and nephews.....
The talent and natural ability they have for sports is a true gift...
They are focused...determined... and dedicated.....
And none of my family understand my obsession for running....

My sisters and I were never the athletic type...
Heck I was the choir president....
can you hear that fat lady singing yet?
As children we moved...
often...
The curse of being a bankers daughter....
I never was involved in organized sport's as most of our moves took place over the summer....
I never learned to rules of basketball...
Developed the coordination needed for baseball...
Skinned my knee's playing soccer....
I never felt the thrill of scoring the game winning goal...
I was an un-athlete....
The type of person who was soft around the edges....(and the middle)
Who was picked close to last for gym teams....
And who never got passed the ball....
Unless by accident.....
The proverbial bench warmer....
And I was totally accepting of that...
until now....
You see.... It was almost exactly 4 years ago that I found myself facing yet another divorce...
Failure....
Again....
And it was almost 4 years ago that once again I found my passion for running...
The freedom of the trail...
The healing power the mountains provided....
To a broken shell of a woman...
A woman who had been repeatedly told... and shown by the man she loved that she was useless...
Nothing....
Worthless....
It was on those trails....
That I found myself...
My strength and my sense of value again....
And that healing turned into a new life....
Countless trail races....
A passion for cycling....
A re-newed passion for weight training....
And plans for some of the biggest Ultras I could attempt this early in my running career....
Yet somehow I never thought of myself as an athlete....
Until a recently....
When two of my favorite people said 2 very different thing's...
It was Friday night date night with my parents...
Talking about the grand kids and the sports that are doing...
And just how amazing they are...
The talk of scholarships already for my little niece....
My oldest nephew rocking out the wrestling...
And the littlest one... who came out of the womb with a hockey stick in his hand....
He may be the littlest on the team... but he's the fastest... and he is awesome!
and in that conversation the words were uttered by my dad... "We have no idea where they get their athleticism from, because we are certainly lacking that gene...."
Shortly there after my mom started mourning the loss of my slender leg's to my running....
How they used to be so nice and thin....I've lost that ever since I started running....
As I drove home after dinner I started thinking to myself....
You know,
I've been so focused on getting lean... losing weight...
Being the perfect size...
That I didn't realize in all my training...
Just how wonderful my body had become....
I Love my leg's....
I love how in the past 5 week's my quads are once again developing this amazing ridge running up the outside of my leg....without flexing.....
I love the fact that my calves are bigger than most men's... stronger... and solid....
I love the roundness and firmness of my butt.... the kind that can only come from countless squats and lunges....
I love the small amount of definition I'm starting to see in my arm's after just a few short weeks of weight training..
The way my pecs have brought lift back to my ample bosom....
And the fact that I can rock out 2 hours on a spin bike, and still go back for more...
I love knowing that these leg's are going to carry me 100 miles to that finish line....
I love the feeling of waking up and having every muscle in my body scream at me....
And then the fluid lax feeling those same angry muscles have after an intense session of  interval training....
The way my quads quiver like jack hammers after a session at the stairs...

Yes....
I may not have the athletes body....
But I have something even more valuable...
I have the athletes heart...
The mind set...
The focus and determination....
And that little mix of crazy that puts me in an ultra class of my own.....
And as I visualize myself crossing that finish line I have finally come to realize....
I AM an athlete

So the next time I see a girl in a pair of skinny jeans and I long for her flat stomach....
I'll take a moment to consider that my quads and calves wouldn't even fit in both of those skinny leg's combined.... and I will feel strong... confident and sexy....
And then I will giggle as I watch those twigs walk away.....
Because athletes understand that true beauty comes from large calves... quivering thighs....
And the ability to dig deep and finish the race....
And i will tell myself....
I AM an athlete......