The grace, speed, flexibility, and skill of the athletes at this year's London Olympics were insanely inspirational! Some of these athletes have muscles bulging out of places I always thought impossible to sculpt! Even more impressive was the time they put into preparing and the sheer will and look of determination emanating from their whole beings, from facial expressions to flexed muscles right before competing--extraordinary!
Now, a layman can do one of two things while watching these incredible athletes: 1) cry at the thought of never being able to achieve such superhuman abilities, or 2) jump up off the sofa and spring into action towards becoming a better version of herself! Of course, there may be that third options of complete indifference, but my scenario works better with the two ideas presented...
On the final day of the Olympics, my husband and I were scheduled to run a 5 km race through Toronto's beautiful Distillery District. Well, not so much through as on the roads surrounding it, but the fact remains, a 5 km race was to be run! I got a bit busy (lazy? distracted? insert appropriate adjective here depending on the day!) after our last race in April. I still ran, but no where near as much as I should have to continue improving. So, come race day I didn't have grandiose ideas of chiselling tons of time off my previous race time. It'd be great if I could at least be on par with it, actually.
I've always loved running, and I've always done it recreationally. I was on the cross country team in high school, and while I was no where near the top of the pack, I always enjoyed it. I never ran to beat anyone else, I just loved how strong I felt. Over the years, I haven't been as consistent with it. I've been more of a cyclist than a runner, but even then, the cycling was more of a mode of transportation to and from work and farmers' markets rather than through beautiful trails and parks. The truth of it is, I've always been somewhat afraid of competition. By nature, the stars peg me as super competitive (Scorpios are supposed to be tough and want to win win WIN!). But I was always more comfortable just getting lost in the rest of the crowds, being an average runner, swimmer, basketball player, softball player, etc. I was never really comfortable with the attention it all garnered. I'm not going to psycho-analyze here, I'm just saying that it is what it is. In fact, the fear of competing actually led me to faking an ankle injury one dumb and youthful year in grade nine at a cross country meet. I actually panicked at how many people showed up to watch people run! What was that about? The facial expressions of runners are not the most attractive! Sweat and smells aside, there are wrinkled foreheads, squinted eyes, massive whale-like exhalations, and so much more! It just freaked me out! I'm embarrassed by it, but I was 14 and have no excuse except that I WAS 14!
As ashamed as I am to even admit that I did that, I think it's more important to own the fear as an adult. I think so much of what we shy away from as adults are from patterns we became comfortable with as kids, and the only way to break out of those bad patterns is to own them as choices from a former, younger, inexperienced self and to just move on. Listening to so many of the stories from Olympic athletes and knowing that some of them (a lot of them!) had such crazy obstacles and fear but still pushed on made them so much more human (although I believe that many of them have some superhero qualities!), and it made me want to be so much better at the things I love doing.
So, on race day, when the gun sounded, I took off and just felt immense gratitude for each part of my body and mind that allowed me to be fully present and able to run. During one run with my husband while we were training, I found myself unable to control the urge and yelled out, "Come on lungs!" And then we found ourselves laughing. Steve followed that with "Come on legs!" and the laughter continued (he had some running injuries that he was trying to work through). On race day, I silently thanked my body and remembered to have fun with it, and I reminded myself that no one was there to watch me specifically, so the pressure was off to impress anyone but ME.
A few days prior to this race, one of the Olympic athletes had run a 5 km in 13 minutes. Thirteen minutes!!! I laughed as this thought crossed my mind while I ran, and when my time came in at 36 (37? I can't remember exactly) minutes, I was just grateful that my legs carried me through.
Now that the fear is (almost) gone, I find that I'm suddenly training every day. The only person I'm competing against is myself. I'm aiming for 35 minutes or less for the next race, and then 30 minutes, and so on, but in the interim, I'm just having a great time feeling present and at peace after forgiving my younger self's inadequacies. Eventually, I'll run 10 km, and then a half marathon. A friend of mine just did the Tough Mudder competition and rocked it! As hard as it was, she went in knowing her strengths and weaknesses and played to those, and came through it feeling it was an experience to be treasured. I'm not sure I'm there, but my options are definitely expanding with every run I do.
So, thank you Olympic athletes and athletes everywhere for helping me release the fear! Whether it's a 5 km, a marathon, the Warrior Dash or Tough Mudder, I realize now that some fear is normal. To quote the amazing gramma from PARANORMAN:
"It's alright to be scared, as long as it doesn't change who you are."
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
A little help from my friends...
As much as I love to stay active and eat well, sometimes my motivation wanes. I'm sure it happens to the best of us, but being a nutritionist somehow makes me feel even worse because I know what bad decisions can do on a cellular level--toxins building up and causing illness, mood swings, and digestive problems, just to name a few. PLUS I end up feeling guilty because, well, I'M A NUTRITIONIST! Aren't we immune to temptation and comfort foods? Don't we possess some super-human enzyme that makes it so!?!
Alas, no, we don't. It helps that I have a passion for good, healthy food. It also helps that I've always been active, but I do have habits from my youth that creep back into my psyche now and then. So, what do I do? What strategies do I have in place when these moments of weakness occur? Well, I find tapping into a community of other healthy-habit-driven people helps. Friends to work out with or discuss new recipes or environmental issues with, and with the innovation of new media (not-so-new anymore, but I catch on a bit slowly!), I also find tools such as twitter to be motivating. And it's not just about healthy foods and activities, it's about finding inspiration through other peoples' accomplishments. In their stories, I'm reminded of my own, and the energy allows us to fuel each other in a positive, momentum-building way.
When I climbed Fuji-san 10 years ago, the feeling after I reached the top was pure elation. Not just at the beauty of this great mountain, nor was it just the gorgeous sun rising overhead. It was the feeling that my body, exactly as it was (regardless of my perception of its imperfections), had enabled me to do this amazing thing. I didn't hear a chatter or faults or criticisms in my head; there was just silent gratitude. When I hear other peoples' tales of having achieved great things, whether they surpassed physical or emotional barriers, it takes me back to Fuji-san and reminds me of how awesome the human body is and how it wants, above all else, to survive. It fights for us, and so I'm reminded of how worthy of respect it really is.
People can improve their well-being and habits at any point in time that they choose to do so. Once upon a time, getting together with one of my dearest friends involved gorging on junk while hanging out. Of course, we've been friends for more than 25 years, so one might think it would be a habit impossible to break, but we now have a variety of activities that we do when we get together, one of our favourites being working out! To this day we laugh about how I thought, at the naive age of 10, that she was only friends with me because I always had ridiculous amounts of chocolate in my house (those who've read my previous blogs know that between my grandfather working at a chocolate factory and my father being a mechanic for Beckers', chocolate was in my home in abundance at all times), and here we are now, sharing endorphins on a whole other level and loving it! Her triumphs, as well as everyone else's I hear, lift me up and make me want to do and be better.
So, my motivation in times of weakness? Reminders from everyone else around me about how amazing people are in their own rights, and how with the right combination of laughter, a positive attitude, and an open mind, we really are boundless creatures with the ability to surpass what we once thought were our wildest dreams. I want to feel amazing travelling this road with my loved ones, and remembering how amazing this road can be makes me want to be as healthy as possible so I can enjoy the ride.
Alas, no, we don't. It helps that I have a passion for good, healthy food. It also helps that I've always been active, but I do have habits from my youth that creep back into my psyche now and then. So, what do I do? What strategies do I have in place when these moments of weakness occur? Well, I find tapping into a community of other healthy-habit-driven people helps. Friends to work out with or discuss new recipes or environmental issues with, and with the innovation of new media (not-so-new anymore, but I catch on a bit slowly!), I also find tools such as twitter to be motivating. And it's not just about healthy foods and activities, it's about finding inspiration through other peoples' accomplishments. In their stories, I'm reminded of my own, and the energy allows us to fuel each other in a positive, momentum-building way.
When I climbed Fuji-san 10 years ago, the feeling after I reached the top was pure elation. Not just at the beauty of this great mountain, nor was it just the gorgeous sun rising overhead. It was the feeling that my body, exactly as it was (regardless of my perception of its imperfections), had enabled me to do this amazing thing. I didn't hear a chatter or faults or criticisms in my head; there was just silent gratitude. When I hear other peoples' tales of having achieved great things, whether they surpassed physical or emotional barriers, it takes me back to Fuji-san and reminds me of how awesome the human body is and how it wants, above all else, to survive. It fights for us, and so I'm reminded of how worthy of respect it really is.
People can improve their well-being and habits at any point in time that they choose to do so. Once upon a time, getting together with one of my dearest friends involved gorging on junk while hanging out. Of course, we've been friends for more than 25 years, so one might think it would be a habit impossible to break, but we now have a variety of activities that we do when we get together, one of our favourites being working out! To this day we laugh about how I thought, at the naive age of 10, that she was only friends with me because I always had ridiculous amounts of chocolate in my house (those who've read my previous blogs know that between my grandfather working at a chocolate factory and my father being a mechanic for Beckers', chocolate was in my home in abundance at all times), and here we are now, sharing endorphins on a whole other level and loving it! Her triumphs, as well as everyone else's I hear, lift me up and make me want to do and be better.
So, my motivation in times of weakness? Reminders from everyone else around me about how amazing people are in their own rights, and how with the right combination of laughter, a positive attitude, and an open mind, we really are boundless creatures with the ability to surpass what we once thought were our wildest dreams. I want to feel amazing travelling this road with my loved ones, and remembering how amazing this road can be makes me want to be as healthy as possible so I can enjoy the ride.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Smells like Summer!
I love Farmers' Markets! There's something about the atmosphere of them, not to mention the aroma of fresh fruits and vegetables, that feels like home. Truly wonderful. This is the week that the local ones start up again in my neighbourhood, and this is really exciting for me.
There's also a real sense of pride in helping local farmers out. These are hard-working individuals who put everything they have into the produce and other items they're selling. There's a genuine feeling of community and very often the individuals selling the goods are friendly and kind.
Last year, I was able to find homemade dog biscuits made without of the common allergens found in commercially made ones, and while this is becoming more common even in chain pet stores, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling at the thought of a fellow animal lover baking for other animals.
So, here's the link to find the markets in Toronto closest to you!
http://tfmn.ca/?page_id=2
There's also a real sense of pride in helping local farmers out. These are hard-working individuals who put everything they have into the produce and other items they're selling. There's a genuine feeling of community and very often the individuals selling the goods are friendly and kind.
Last year, I was able to find homemade dog biscuits made without of the common allergens found in commercially made ones, and while this is becoming more common even in chain pet stores, I get a warm, fuzzy feeling at the thought of a fellow animal lover baking for other animals.
So, here's the link to find the markets in Toronto closest to you!
http://tfmn.ca/?page_id=2
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