This year and next week

I'm one week and one day away from running my second ultra marathon.  Here's me taking a swig of water/gatorade/cola on my first ultra:

There are other pictures of me a little later, looking a little more pained, but why show it?  The first race went very well, and the only discomfort I had was VERY sore knees for about two days.  Other than that, I had such a great time.  I am absolutely in love with running, but my motivation has been stretched thin lately.  So I'm wondering how I will do on this winter Ultra.  It should be fun.  My mom and dad (and hopefully) chris will be there, so I should have some sweet pics to post up then.

also, I would like to brag on myself and reflect on my accomplishments (and life changes) over the past year:

1) I participated in three triathlons.  A sprint, an Olympic and a half iron man distance.
2) I got engaged (super happy about this one!!)
3) I lost 50 pounds, through calorie counting and exercise.
4) I ran an ultra marathon  (50K)  WOO HOO!!
5) I picked up yoga.
6) I came to peace with my job ( I think...)

Now, I have a few goals or Ideas of what I want to accomplish and do in the New Year.  These are clearly subject to change, especially if I get pregnant (as Chris and I are no longer using and birth control).

1) Run more ultra marathons, specifically a 50 miler and a 100k.  I will do research on which ones in the coming weeks.
2)  Run approximately 3500 miles over 2011.
3) Practice Yoga more regularly (3x/wk on average)
4) Log about 2000 road miles on my bike. 
5) Maintain my weight loss
6) Kayak and Rock Climb more frequently
7) Get my A-license for Skydiving.

These are a lot of personal goals, and most of them take some serious time to achieve, but I believe I can achieve most of them.  I'm willing to compromise on exact mileage, as my focus is life is more about experience and living the best life I possibly can.  My most important focuses are living to make myself happy, and also being the best wife, friend and daughter to those that surround me.

One of my experiences from 2 years ago (kayaking over the 20 foot Ohiopyle Falls):

So I hope everyone has a happy and healthy new years, and can find joy in their every day life!!

Yay for Other's blogs!!

So as we all know, I'm a super confused type person about what I want to do with myself.  Running takes quite a bit of commitment.  You can't just pick it up once and a while when you have time (like with bread baking).  The same is true for rock climbing and really yoga.  For me it is super important to have yoga as a regular part of my life.

ANYWAY!!! I was reading through a few blogs and I have found quite a few folks who have my shotgun approach to activities.  And they all seem well balanced and happy.  I think I need to focus on what I have done AND am currently doing, instead of what I NEED to fit in.  That continual laundry list in my head is what's causing my (in yoga terms) "suffering".  I need to just enjoy each activity as I do it.

On another note, I went for two long-ish runs this weekend (as a long run's definition is totally relative).  I wore my vibrams for both run.  My calves are ALWAYS so torn up after I run in them.  Using different muscles, I suppose.  So, I"m going to go for a run today in my sneakers and probably on Thursday, go for a run in my Vibrams.

So anyway, I'm so grateful to everyone who posts there life on their blogs.  You may not know it, but you are an inspiration to those who read it! Thank you!

Personal Power

Recently, over the past year, I have lost approximately 50 pounds.  I'm very proud of my self but over the past two weeks I have been struggling with my diet.  I have gained about 5 pounds, and haven't had the joy and positive anticipation of my long runs.  It could easily blamed on the holidays, but one day of bad eating does not equate to 2 weeks on continual weight gain.  So clearly this is a problem that needs to be addressed before this 5 pounds inflates me back to the 50+ pounds I was at.

I have been freaking out, but Chris put things into perspective for me, as he usually does.  I have also been doing a lot of thinking about my skydiving.  I fell upon some of Brian Germain's videos on YouTube.  He basically sums things up to say that what you focus on is what will happen.  He taught skydiving, where the landing zone had one tree.  He, of course, cautioned his students to avoid the tree.  But since that's what they were thinking about NOT hitting the tree, a lot of times they hit it, because that's what their focus was.  Essentially fear overtaking you.  And then he presented some very yogic ideas.  About living in the moment and not fearing the future and occurrences and situations we cannot control.  This gave me a great deal of comfort. 

As soon as I worry about gaining weight, I'm giving my power away to a boogey man.  I am the one who controls whether I gain weight or not.  I feel empowered.  To be redundant, I got my power back.  This is of great comfort, but also calls for a stretch of responsibility.  They kind of go hand and hand, don't they?

So while I embrace the idea of being in control of my own destiny, I also think this will take a lot of work and time.  (that I am willing to do)

My Family

So i thought it would be nice to show some pictures of my family (so far, hopefully we'll be adding a baby in here soon...)

I have three dogs.  Petunia: an Airedale.  She was mine originally.  I got her from Peacable Kingdom.  A great place to adopt critters from:

And then there's Mya.  Chris had her before we met.  And she is 35 pounds of Super-Mutt:

Last but not least, we have Tuxy.  He is a Border Collie mix, but the most relaxed dog we have.  You can see he's happy to stay in the background of the pictures:

And Finally a video of my Hubby-to-Be jumping his bike over a bus:

and a picture of me and Chris (we're out whitewater kayaking):

First Blog Post

I decided to start a blog in order to help me figure myself out.  And let me people read about it while I'm attempting it. 

Here's a quick bio on me:
I'm an only child who was raised for the first 12 years of my life on a hobby farm that had sheep, chickens, a turkey, and some peacocks.  I moved to a richer suburban area and started on the swim team, which consumed my life.  In college I studied Math and Economics, and then moved out to Iowa (from Pennyslvania) to get my doctorate in Economics.  I got homesick after one semester and moved back home. 
I got a job in the financial world (which I'm doing now (4yrs later)), typing away in front of a computer.  I'm using my education, but not loving it.  So I'm back in school part time to become a Massage Therapist.  I should be done with that by mid september 2011. 

On a more personal note, I have a fiance, Chris, and we are getting married in Mexico on May 15, 2011.  I find myself to be the luckiest person alive to have found my true soul mate (enough syrupy stuff...)  We are actually trying (not so much trying, but we're not NOT trying) to get pregnant.  So I get pregnant shortly, finishing school will be post-poned.   Chris and I both enjoy whitewater kayaking, skydiving, and rock climbing.  He enjoys jumping his bike of crazy things, while I enjoy riding my bike on the road.  I also love to run.  So much so, that I have completed on Ultra marathon (50 km), and will be attmepting another one on January 8.  (can you say BRRRRRRRR!!).  I also find peace and spirituality through my yoga practice. 

Right now my main focuses are Running and Yoga. 

This I'm hoping to use as an instrument of clarity, and perhaps entertainment for anyone who may stumble upon this.