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Happy Thursday!! It’s a beautiful morning here with frost covering everything, and I’m listening to Christmas music as I type this 😀 Here’s what I’m thankful for today:
I’m thankful for the start of a slower season. My job comes with seasons, and as I’ve alluded to here a few times, these past few months have been unbelievably busy for me. I’m thankful that I have a few weeks of a slower season before it picks back up to another busy season. It gives me time to get caught up on some of the things I tend to put to the side when I’m busy, like reading through magazines that have stocked up or getting rid of clothes I didn’t wear in the previous season.
I’m thankful for fun Christmas activities at work! We had two Christmas parties this week, plus a few of us went out for an extra lunch this week as well. The extra fun and conversations with those outside of my department are so nice, especially because when things get busy, we don’t have the chance to mingle and catch up as much.
I’m thankful that the weather is a reasonable temperature. This week the temperature has been in the 30s and low 40s, which I feel is totally reasonable! I’m thankful that it’s warmed up just a little- and my shoulders and back are thankful for it too (I hate the instant stiffening that occurs when I walk out into the cold).
I’m thankful for my tennis ball. I get bad knots in my back, shoulders, and neck, and that little tennis ball is hugely helpful in keeping the pain and knots at bay… and helping to decrease the intensity of the headaches that I get some days.
I’m thankful for deliciously fantastic scented candles. As I type this I have a “pine branch” scented candle burning, and the scent combined by the glow of the candle is absolutely ideal. It just feels so cozy and comfortable!
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
You see, I’m dealing with the frustrating experience that is navigating health care insurance. To make a long story short, the health insurance I did have, which was great, is switching to an Affordable Care plan, which gives me significantly less and doesn’t allow me to see my doctors for POTS. So, that’s not so helpful. What that’s led to is hours every day talking to various companies about copays, coinsurance, network coverage, etc… I’m not here to talk about insurance, but to help you understand how frustrating it is, after working more than 40 hour weeks, to deal with trying to navigate this situation and make sure that I can see the doctors that have actually heard of the chronic illness I have.
(as a side note, I got white lights on a white strand this year to go around my porch doors. It looks much better 😀 )
On Monday I knew I had to make another few hours of calls after work, and I decided to hop on my bike trainer while I talked. Because I was on the phone, it allowed for a good interval workout, as I had to slow down at times to jot down notes, and sped up when I was talking to various customer care people. When I get stressed on the phone, I get very antsy, and feel trapped, but when I’m on my bike, it’s like the stress that I feel is immediately sent back out of my body through my pedaling.
I was reminded, once again, of the connection between our mental and physical health. When you’re dealing with something stressful, walking, stretching/doing pilates/yoga, or biking while on the phone, or even after a crisis situation, can be so very helpful in letting the stress leave your body instead of taking root. Physical movement is important, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
When we get stressed, so often our natural reaction is to eat or shut down, but sometimes tuning into something physical can be the best, most efficient way of handling it.
Now it’s your turn to share! Is there something you regularly do in life that creates stress that could be diminished through movement?
1. Best Race Experience. Since this is MY recap, I’m going to choose two races. My first “best race experience” was the Carmel Half Marathon in April. Not only did I come really close to setting a new PR (I missed it by less than 30 seconds which was a bummer, but I was thrilled because I ran faster than my half marathons in 2013), but in a happy turn of events, I met Melissa, who became a HUGE part of my year in running.
We had no idea here that this would be the start of a great running friendship.
My second best race experience was, as I’ve listed the past two years, the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon. Not only did I get to run with Melissa (for the first 4 miles) and Caitlin (who was there to pace me), but I raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society in memory of my grandma AND I set a new PR! After two years of fighting, everything seemed to fall into place in ways I couldn’t have expected on race day, and that race is truly one of the greatest in my life.
2. Best Run. Over the last few years, I’ve realized that I tend to choose 7 milers as my best run of the year, and this year will be no different. Apparently 7 milers are my ideal distance, because they frequently turn out to be an absolutely beautiful run. One of my favorite runs this year was the 7.5 miler Melissa and I did this past September. It was an oddly chilly day, which I think helped our pace, and it flew by. Our pace was fantastic, setting me up for what I hoped to be a PR in November. We negative split the run as well, which I was happy about. Of course our run ended in a trip to Einstein’s Bagel.
My “runner up” for best run is Rock n’ Roll Chicago, because it was totally an unplanned run/race (I don’t even know what to call it!). I accidentally ran a half marathon that day in downtown Chicago, and the story is pretty funny.
3. Best new piece of gear. My Busy Bee headband! Melissa got it for me right before Indy Women’s in June, and I’ve worn it to several races since then (I’m wearing it in the Monumental picture above). It adds some fun and sparkle to runs! My Brooks Adrenalines were also new in January, so I can technically count those too 🙂
4. Best piece of running advice receive: Stay focused on the mile that you’re running. It’s helpful for me to stay in the moment and focus on what I can actually do. Sometimes if I’m aching or stiff and I think about the distance I have to go, I get a little frantic in my head, and that’s just a waste of energy.
5. Most Inspirational Runners. I’m going to have to say Shalane Flanagan! I got to meet her this past summer at Rock n’Roll Chicago, and I totally fan girl-ed. I love her attitude and her drive in improving herself and getting the community involved in running. I’m also truly inspired by the runners I’ve met online, whether that’s through blogging, or chats like #runchat and #bibchat. I’m really inspired by each of you!
6. If you could sum up your running year in a couple of words, what would they be? Thrilling, persistent, focused on a PR.
7. Favorite song(s) to run to: I actually listen to podcasts quite a bit while running, and if I run with someone, I typically don’t listen to music at all. “Shake it Off”, “Hall of Fame”, and “Cyclone” were popular ones for me to listen to this past training cycle.
8. Favorite running quote from the year: I posted the following quote on my blog the day before Monumental, and I think it speaks such truth: “We cannot control the competition. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the struggles that will undoubtedly arise during the run. All we can control is ourselves. Standing at the starting line, I make the simple commitment to myself that today I will try my hardest. No matter what happens during the race, I will give it everything I’ve got and won’t give up without my strongest fight.” (Dean Karnazes)
9. Most exciting running moment of 2014? Setting a new half marathon PR at Indy Monumental. I wasn’t expecting to PR at all since I had taken the last month off due to injury, but I ran a really smart race, and with Caitlin by my side pushing me, I set a solid new PR, and was totally overwhelmed. Honestly, it’s been about 6 weeks since the race, and I still smile and get a little giddy when I think about it! I also loved having all these ladies with me at Monumental!
This year in running was beautiful and exciting and growing in more ways than I ever thought when I started off the year. This has been my highest mileage year yet, and I’ve loved every minute of it! I’ve loved being able to raise money for a great cause while doing something that I love, and I’ve really loved getting to make running friends and racing with them throughout the last 6 months. Running in 2014 has been so deeply special to me, and I’ll treasure so many of the running moments I’ve had these past 12 months.
Now it’s your turn to share! What was your favorite running moment from 2014? Was there a specific lesson you learned from running?
We got to Carmel and ended up parking in a free lot by the Carmel Police Department, which was also close to the race start. There were just over 200 people running, so it wasn’t a big race by any means. We ran over to get our race packets, and didn’t have to wait in line. Race registration came with a hoodie which is definitely comfortable! To go with the theme, it has a snowman running across the front. They had some light up palm trees around registration, but it didn’t do much in helping it feel any bit “Caribbean”. We went back and sat in the car until about 20 minutes before the race start.
Before the race, they gave out a few little prizes for things, although I’m not sure how they decided who got something. We then headed over to the race start, and they ended up starting the race a few minutes early because it was cold. While that was certainly nice for all of us standing out there, I would’ve been annoyed if I got there right at the race start time and people were already gone. Philip and Melissa’s father in law lined up before us, and they were off! Melissa and I were running for fun, and decided to line up behind them.
It was fun to run through Carmel, especially along some of the spots that we ran passed during the Carmel Half when we met in April. Again, it was good to see us powering up hills that we had to walk up in April- progress!
About a mile and a half in I started to warm up a bit (I had worn the race sweatshirt during the race, which kept me nice and warm. I’ve never really worn a race shirt for the actual race, as it’s a big pet peeve of mine, but fun runs are different than races to me!), and the sun came out. We had a great time running, as it was totally a no pressure race for both of us. Neither of us had phones or garmins on us, so we had no idea how long we’d been running or what our pace was throughout the run.
They had a Santa in a cart drive by us twice in the first mile, but that was the only Christmas-y thing about this race. When we crossed the finish line, they had a race photographer there (we get the pictures for free, which is nice!), and a santa giving out race medals. They also had these really cheap looking lei things (sort of the dollar store variety), but we didn’t even bother grabbing them. We got a water bottle and chapstick, and headed off to our brunch, and then on to a full day of birthday plans (lasting until about 3 am)! They had a table full of fruit, donuts, granola bars, and other snacks over to the side, but people weren’t directing you there, and we missed it (I didn’t realize it was there until looking at the race pictures).
Finish Line- striking a kitten pose for Meg
The race itself felt pretty “meh”. It wasn’t organized well- they didn’t have runners start first and walkers follow behind, and there were no instructions for walkers to stay to the right side of the road. This felt frustrating. There was one water stop a little over part way through, with dixie cups filled with water. At least it was cold and refreshing! I’m not sure I would do another race with the organization, as I didn’t feel I remotely got my money’s worth from the experience. It was fun, however, to kick off Melissa’s birthday was a run, and get to have Meg there with us too!
I use a Sally Hanson base right now (I’m not sure why. I started using it in college and never stopped), and my top coat this week is also OPI (I rotate top coats). Both of these colors are basic, go-to colors for me throughout the year. I miss seeing my tattoo out every day, but you get a little peek of it here!
Here are a few random facts from my week!
1. For Thanksgiving, I helped make these little turkey name holders! They were so cute and easy to make, but I seemed to struggle. It took a number of times to get the top oreo to stand up straight. Oops.
2. I’ve now had my bike trainer for a year (I brought it back with me after Thanksgiving break in 2013), and I’m so thankful for it! I really did wonder if I would ever really use it, but I’ve biked maybe 400-500 miles on it over the course of the last year (obviously there were about 6 months in there that I was on the road and never used the trainer). I can’t imagine training without my bike trainer, and think it’s well worth it!
3. This year I bought a few little boxes of ornaments (glass balls… except they’re plastic but meant to look like glass) and have filled two glass jars with them, and have placed them on my TV stand. They’re such a simple decoration, but I’m loving it! I haven’t gotten any new Christmas decorations in the past few years, so I’m enjoying the variation as well.
4. Do yourself a favor and listen to Serial, and then find a group of people to obsess over it with! I’m finding it absolutely fascinating, especially because there’s something from the case (from the 1990’s) that’s coming up recently (I don’t want to give anything away). Seriously- just go listen to it.
5. I actually really enjoy hand washing my own clothes. Yes, it takes more time, but there’s something really enjoyable to me about actually washing them myself. Anyone else out there feel the same way?
Now it’s your turn to share! What’s one of your “go to” nail polish colors? Share a fun Friday fact from your week!
Happy first Thursday of December. I really, truly can’t believe that we’ve started the final month of 2014… seriously- how?! As I’m typing this, I’m really craving a brownie with peppermint marshmallow on top (but I don’t have any brownie’s made, so I can’t really do anything about that craving). Here’s what I’m thankful for right now:
I’m thankful for beautiful white lights. Colder weather and the Christmas season mean that it’s finally appropriate for me to live with white lights on around me at all times. I’ve even hung white lights up in my office, so from the time I wake up until the time I go to bed, 80-90% of my life has little white lights. They’re so peaceful and calming, right?
I’m thankful for safety over Thanksgiving. While I know that anything could happen at any point while I’m on the road, every time I head out on a road trip, I’m extra aware of all the potentially dangerous situations around me. I’m so thankful that I had a safe trip over Thanksgiving, and every mile I spent on the road was good.
I’m thankful for time with my brother. I spent Thanksgiving visiting my brother (the soccer player brother), and I had a great time. He’s the one who has lived near me for the last 4 years, and I’ve only seen him for about 15 hours since May. Being together for a few days was SO much fun, and it was great to see him again.
I’m thankful I found podcasts. Seriously- I listen to podcasts most day of the week, and I really enjoy them. A few weekends ago I started listening to “serial”, and am obsessed. Are any of you listening to it right now?
I’m thankful for the chance to visit with a friend from high school. I have this friend who I used to ice skate with back in first and second grade, and we were good friends all through high school (she even tracked me on race day to cheer me on!!), and she had the chance to visit the past few days. We haven’t actually seen one another in about 8 years, so it was great to talk face to face! I live far away from where I grew up, so I haven’t gotten to share my town with many friends outside of the ones who live here of course!
Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today?
We can only do the best we can do with what we know and where we’re at in the moment. That’s all we’re capable of doing. As we learn and grow and change, we develop the capability to do better in life. It’s our responsibility, when we learn and know better, to do better in our life (what good is self-awareness and learning if we don’t start implementing changes in our life?), but it’s hard to do better with the things we don’t know. It reminds me to inhale grace, and exhale gratitude in my life as I strive to better myself. Know better, do better.
Now it’s your turn to share! Is there something in your life that you now “know better”, but need to implement into your life (the doing better part)? Any thoughts on this quote?
You see, there’s this connection between our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Our thoughts influence our feelings, and our feelings influence our behavior. Our thoughts, the words that we choose to use, are absolutely critical to our health in every day (mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, relational, etc…), yet we often pay very little attention to them. We’ve learned to speak by listening to those around us, and we generally don’t think too much about the words that we chose to use.
This is a big mistake. Over the course of my time in grad school, I learned that the words we choose to use are absolutely critical, and it’s something that takes daily intention and focus in improving. I was up for the task, and dove head first into examining how I use unhealthy words, learning to challenge them and create new patterns of communication. It was hard work, but it’s been well worth it.
I’ve talked about this before on this blog as I talked about embracing shades of gray thinking and avoiding catastrophizing language (go check out those links if you have time!). Here are some examples of words I try to avoid most of the time: always, never, everyone, no one, horrible, terrible, miserable, intolerable, unsurvivable, should, have to, need to, and “nightmare-ish” are examples of a few of the phrases that I’m trying to avoid. These words, used inappropriately, are under the category of “cognitive distortion”.
WHY? Because they are very rarely true, and only serve to heighten a situation, increasing stress, anxiety, anger, frustration, or _____ (fill in the blank with other intense emotion). If we use extreme words for not extreme situations, then what words do we have to use in actual extreme situations? Furthermore, this process of identifying unhealthy words and thought patterns, and adjusting them to healthier patterns, is a processed used to help decrease depression and anxiety (it’s one of the cornerstones of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy).
WORDS MEAN THINGS, but we so often use words that don’t line up with the situation at hand, and we create more struggle, uncomfortableness, or pain for ourselves as a result.
Here are a few ideas of starting to change the words that you use:
1. Start by recognizing the words that you choose to you in various situations. Are you saying “always” when you’re frustrated by someone else’s behavior? Are you saying something is “horrible” when it’s merely uncomfortable or frustrating? Start by surveying how you use words.
2. For each of the words like you would like to decrease, come up with a more appropriate and realistic words to use. For example, in place of “horrible” I tend to use “not ideal” or “frustrating” because, honestly, most of the situations I used the word “horrible” in were really just “not ideal”, and nothing more. Instead of “always” I try to use “sometimes” or “frequently” or “often” (when is anything ALWAYS, anyways?).
3. Get others on board! Having others help point out when you use words you’re trying to decrease is incredibly beneficial (so often we don’t even recognize the words that we use), plus they are likely to develop a pattern of using more realistic words as well.
Changing language is a LONG process, and definitely takes work. However, I will say that the effort I’ve put forth for myself (and I am no where close to perfect in the words I choose to use) has been well worth it. My challenge to you is to start thing about words meaning certain things, and walk through the steps I’ve outlined above for challenging and changing your thoughts!
Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever recognized that you’re using words that aren’t totally accurate or true to the situation? In the process of challenging and changing words, which word would you like to start with for yourself?
One individual mapped out a 3.1 mile route around neighborhoods, and we decided that 8:30 would be the start time. The map was reviewed, but I didn’t pay attention, figuring I’d stay with someone the entire time. Foreshadowing: this was a mistake. We warmed up and headed outside, took a group picture, and headed off.
The first 0.6 miles I stayed with a group of people, but then realized that they were going too fast for me, so I dropped back a bit, enjoying my music. I kept them in sight for about 2 miles, so I wasn’t concerned…. until I realized that I was lost. I couldn’t see them down any roads, and because the course wasn’t marked, I didn’t know what to do. I ended up turning around, and happened to run into my parents, who were also lost.
We pulled out my runkeeper, which I had been using, to see where we were at (the app has a map on it, so we could see where we started and the route we had taken), and at that second my phone, which still had 40% battery, died. Great. We took off running again, and wound our way through the neighborhoods until I saw a few road names that I recognized. We ended up getting back to the house we started at in about 45 minutes, clocking in about 4.2 miles: a full extra mile more than we were planning to run.
In 2013 my new race experience was actually coming in last at a race (during my jingle bell jog), and apparently 2014’s new experience was getting lost in the middle of a race.
Then I proceeded to eat the rest of the day! We had a breakfast of eggs, muffins, pumpkin scones, fresh fruit, and coffee, followed by this beautiful meal a few hours later:
I forgot to take a picture of the pie, but I had a piece of apple and a piece of pecan, which we were both delicious! We snacked the rest of the day, and I got in a little reading time in front of the fire!
“Run early, eat all day” is one of my favorite phrases on Thanksgiving, and I try to live it out well 🙂
Now it’s your turn to share! Have you ever gotten lost in a race before? What’s your favorite Thanksgiving day food?
It’s a very dark purple, but like many colors, it changes just a bit in different lights. In indoor lighting, the sand almost twinkles like stars, especially since the nail color itself doesn’t look nearly as purple indoors. I love it!
Now on to some random Friday Facts!
1. I haven’t ever really done the whole black Friday shopping thing. If we do go out on Friday, it tends to be late morning or early afternoon, so everything I know about the whole black Friday crazies are only through stories. I feel sort of lame admitting that.
2. Melissa and I started listening to the “Serial” podcast on the way to Columbus for the Hot Chocolate Race, and I’ve been obsessed since! On Saturday morning I biked for an hour and forty minutes, and listened to two of the podcasts during that time. I’m not quite caught up, but I’m definitely going to hate having to wait for a new episode each week.
3. I saw Mockingjay on Sunday, and I’m obsessed. If I hadn’t had things to do, I would’ve turned right around and watched it again. It was actually better than I thought it was going to be. I can’t put my finger exactly on what it is about the series that makes me obsessed with it, but I am, and I accept that. I’m already itching to listen to the books on tape again!
4. I decorated for Christmas this past weekend. I have white lights hanging up around my living room, on my little tree, and in my bedroom. I have glasses full of little ornaments sitting on my TV stand, I have some little snowmen figurines out, and my little nativity scene from when I was really little is now out. I LOVE it, and love mixing old and new decorations.
5. I’ve finally updated my mac to yosemite! I hadn’t updated my mac in at least two years (in terms of operating systems), so I had missed snow leopard and mountain lion and I’m sure something else in there too. I was a ball of nerves updating, because I wasn’t sure if my computer would be able to handle everything. It took almost 48 hours to complete everything, but I’m glad it’s updated!
6. Check out this awesome discount from Bioskin!
Happy Friday!
Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have today off from work due to the Thanksgiving holiday, or are you back at work today? Tell me one random fact about your week!
