The Little Things
September 1, 2013

I’m officially starting my next training cycle for the Monumental Half Marathon. These next two weeks are going to be a big different schedule-wise compared to the other weeks of the training cycle, but I’ll talk more about that when we get there. Here’s how the week looked:

And that’s all I’m going to write about that this week- short and sweet! Happy September! I hope you’re all enjoying your labor day weekend! I spent this weekend at a soccer tournament, as well as going to an alumni event for the college I attended. The first day at the soccer game it was 107 degrees- hot and sunny!

Now it’s your turn to share: How did you spend your labor day? 

August 30, 2013

That’s right! I’m so excited to training and a more set workout schedule! As of this week I officially started training for my 4th half marathon: The Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon! I ran the race last year, and it’s still my favorite race I’ve run (and the course holds my current PR!). I’m so excited to to hit this course again, and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to set another PR on this course!

However, I don’t enter training feeling as healthy as I could. I was diagnosed with posterior tibial tendinitis about a month ago, and I have a feeling that it will be nagging to me throughout the entire training cycle. I also know my lovely IT bands will be a constant struggle as they have been for the last 20 months. I planned this training cycle with my sports medicine doctor, and I hope that it’ll work out. He’s confident I can keep running as long as I keep my mileage really really low and do lots of cross training each week. I plan on doing that, along with compressing my ankle most nights and ice massaging a few times a day.

I ran 4.8 miles earlier this week with no pain, so that’s a good sign, but this half marathon is a lot more miles than 4.8! I also really don’t want to have a painful race like the Indy Mini was back in May. So, that’s where I’m at as I move forward to start another training cycle. I’m hoping that my various body parts will cooperate appropriately as I go through a very very conservative training plan!

August 29, 2013

It’s Thursday today which means that it’s time to start getting thankful! Earlier this week I wrote an entire post on hunting for provisions and blessings in life, and I really do believe that it can make a big difference in our mental health! Here are some of the little and big provisions from my week:

Happy happy news! I can’t share right now on the blog, but I so wish I could. After months and months of waiting on information on a grant proposal, I got some very good news. It’ll be an exciting 3 years… 🙂

Warmth and sunshine. Is anyone else out there experiencing a crazy heat wave right now? I’m loving all the sunshine, and had the opportunity to be out in it a lot at the beginning of the week. I also am going to be outside a lot of Labor day weekend! I’m hoping this means we’ll have a nice fall…

Air conditioning! With 90 degree weather and intense sun glaring into my windows, I am acutely aware of how much of a blessing it is to have all the air conditioning I could ever want (I keep it at a reasonable 78 degrees though!). I’m so thankful I can just flip a switch and get cool air.

Getting back to work! I’m so happy that my contract was renewed for another year and a few days ago I started my 5th year at my current job. I really do love my job, and I feel very grateful for the clients and opportunities that I get.

Thank yous: What an awesome little provision this has been this current week. I’ve received many thank yous for various things, and those two words are so incredibly meaningful. I think we’d also do a lot of good if we said thank you to others more often.

A pain free run! Despite struggling with tendinitis, I’ve been icing, compressing, and decreasing mileage, and I am hopeful that it is helpful. On monday I had an awesome 4.8 mile run that was almost completely pain free. It was fantastic!

Big and little provisions are everywhere- we just have to look for them!

What little provisions are in your life right now? Who could you say thank you to this week? 

 

August 28, 2013

It’s that time of year again, the time when college students pack up their belongings and head back to campus for the year! It’s my favorite time of year, and I am lucky that I get to experience it year after year even though it’s been years since being a college student myself. For those of you heading to college (or have kids heading to college), I thought I’d pass along a bit of wisdom from someone who has witnessed many classes of students go through their years at college:

  1. Learn to use your “yes” and “no” wisely. Say no to the bad without fear of being mocked by your peers. Say yes to the healthy friendships and healthy decisions presented to you. Get involved, but use your “yes” and “no” wisely so you don’t get overwhelmed, too overcommitted, and miss out on all the good “yes” times you could be having! Own your reactions!
  2. Let go of the need for perfect. Way too many people I see lose out on so much that college has to offer because they are in the ever-losing pursuit of perfect. Don’t let the great things in life be ruined by the need for perfection. Learn to challenge those perfectionistic thoughts.
  3. Don’t be afraid to seek out the counseling center. These people see college students all day long, and will have seen and heard pretty much anything that you could throw their way at some point in the past. Even if you don’t have a “bad problem”, it’s a great place to sort through life questions and have someone to process things with.
  4. Don’t go on such an intense hunt for a relationship that you miss out on good friendships. Far too often I see people worry so much about trying to find that guy or girl that they don’t invest their energy in building strong friendships from the start. Invest in friendships from the start!
  5. Develop good strategies for dealing with stress. Put these into practice because college gets STRESSFUL.
  6. Don’t pull all nighters. Just don’t do it. It’s almost never a necessary thing. I can confidently say that every single time I saw someone pulling an all nighter in college, it was only because they had poor time management. Use your time well and get some sleep. A lack of sleep causes lots of negative things in our life (increased feelings of depression, decreased immunity, problems in relationships, etc…), so place a priority on that!
  7. Connect with great professors in your major. These professors are not only a great source of encouragement, but will be there to help connect you with people in the outside world or write those great references for grad school or jobs! I had two professors in particular that I talked to a good deal, and I still connect with them on a regular basis.
  8. Don’t place too high expectations on your friendships. This is one I see far too often, unfortunately. We have this idea that our friendships in college will last forever, so we want to make sure we make good ones. Sometimes this causes us to dismiss some of the great friendships we might have because they don’t seem like life-long friends! Please don’t do this! Connect with lots of people and build up lots of friendships to see which ones really take off. Sometimes it’s the friendships that you least expect that will carry through the years.
  9. Travel. Study Abroad. Go on work trips. Traveling and being in other countries helps us to process our own lives and the world really differently. College is a fantastic platform for traveling, so just do it!
  10. Don’t be afraid to try and fail. Our fear of failure can hold us back from trying all sorts of things in life, things that might change the course of our life in some way! It’s ok to fall down and stumble a bit; it’s how we learn and grow and become the people we’re meant to be!
  11. Be considerate of your roommates and treat people the way you want to be treated. Don’t give people a dose of their own medicine, and don’t try to get even. Treat your room and your space the way you would want your roommate to treat it. Be in good communication with your roommate, and don’t be passive aggressive. Good communication can save a lot of rooming headaches.
  12. Stay on top of your work. Procrastination is SO easy, but if you work little by little then nothing seems quite as overwhelming as if you’re pulling an all nighter (see #6).

Maybe I’ll write a “part 2” to this. When you spend most of your hours with college students you tend to learn quite a bit…

For now I want to hear from you! What are your best tips for college students? What’s one lesson you had to learn the hard way in college?

August 27, 2013

Today I start back to work after a little more than 100 days of “summer break”. While I did many hours of work, did research, wrote, and lectured throughout the summer, I hard large amounts of free time to fill. Most of the summer was a surprise to me. When I walked out of my office on the last day of work in may, I had no idea how difficult and painful so much of the summer would be. I also had no idea of certain fun aspects and surprises as well. I love summer and I’m sad to see it go, but I’m hoping this burst of 90 degree weather (where was that weather when it was only 70 and I wanted to go to the pool?!) means a nice, long, and warmer fall! Summer was difficult, but I found ways to cope and stay healthy. Summer was lots of fun, too though. Here were some of the highlights and surprises:

Despite the difficulties I’ll miss the summer. I love getting to ease into the day a little more slowly, have a more relaxed schedule, get to do way more outdoor activities, eat meals outside, etc…

But now it’s time to start back into a routine, and with that comes more planning for meals, workouts, etc… I’m excited to get back into more structure but I’m sure going to miss all the sunshine (especially since my office is in a basement and has no windows!). I guess it’s a good thing I have a job that I really do love!

What was something exciting or surprising that happened this summer?

 

August 26, 2013

I’m a big believer in our thoughts influencing our feelings and emotions. That’s why I tend to counsel using the ideas of cognitive behavioral therapy. Because I truly believe that our mindset and where are thoughts are really do influence our life, I diligently try to watch my own mindset to make sure I’m staying healthy. I’ve mentioned a few times that this summer has been a bit difficult, and back at the beginning of June I noticed that I had a pretty negative mindset. Now mind you, I wasn’t being irrational- things really were pretty bad at times. However, even if I was justified in thinking the way that I was, it certainly wasn’t beneficial or healthy for me.

I was talking about this one evening with a friend who is going through a particularly rough patch with her family. We both recognized that our mindsets were dragging us down, and something needed to change. So we decided to start hunting for the provisions and blessings that God has given to us even throughout these difficult and painful moments in our life. So the hunt began.

After a really tough month of seeing mostly negative in my life, I suddenly felt like the world had exploded with these provisions and blessings that I’ve been given. They aren’t always big things at all, but they’re things that are tiny moments of joy, love, support, or benefit in life. These are things that, with a negative mindset, we can easily dismiss, but when we’re hunting for the good, we can easily recognize.

Does it fix all the negative going on in life? OF COURSE NOT. This isn’t a fix-all, but it does certainly allow us to have a more balanced mindset. We don’t benefit from ignoring the positives even when we’re in pain or in the midst of difficulties.

So here’s my challenge to you. Hunt for the provisions and blessings in your life. Hunt for the little things in life that bring happiness, joy, remind you of life, etc… Hunt for the good and choose to keep that in balance with the negative in life.

These next months, I’m going to continue to hunt for the provisions. Will you join me in hunting for the little blessings in life? 

August 22, 2013

The weeks of summer really are just flying by, and I officially start back to work next week (although I’ve been in the office and at meetings this week). I’m so sad to see summer go, and I’m clinging to the last few weeks of it and trying to enjoy it for what it is. Life is difficult at times, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things to be thankful for either:

I’m thankful for the heat and sunshine. It’s been HOT, HUMID, and SUNNY this week, and I can’t get enough of it. The sunshine is so happy, and it’s hard not to smile when I walk out onto my porch in the morning and feel the sun hitting me already. Pure happiness.

I’m thankful for reading & happy memories associated with it. I wrote an entire post on my “reading mentality” for the summer, and how connecting to past happy memories has helped to keep me healthy in the present.

I’m thankful for the “life giving-ness” of being surrounded by flowers. To me there’s something so therapeutic about gardening and caring for flowers as they grow and thrive. I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to care for so many flowers this summer!

I’m thankful for sales at the grocery store! I walked in without any coupons this week, but still managed to walk away with $33 in savings due to great sales throughout the store! I was able to stock up on a few essentials that I use on a regular basis. It’s the little things, right?

I’m thankful for the love and laughter given by my sweet friends and family members. Life would be so, so sad without them.

Now it’s your turn to share! What are you feeling thankful for today? What final “summer moments” are you having? 

August 21, 2013

Every summer that has passed I’ve realized more and more how much I REALLY like flowers and gardening. This summer I had a great time planting 22 different pots, along with a planter and bushes and plants that were put directly into the ground. It’s certainly a lot of work to keep them all fertilized, watered, and dead headed, but I found it truly therapeutic to work with them this summer. I thought I’d share a few of them with you all!

Flowers 2013 Collage 1Geraniums, petunias, and impatients! I think the bottom left is a variety of rose bush but I can’t remember since it’s been a few years since it was planted. It’s pretty though!

Flowers 2013 Collage 2

Lillies, Ferns, grass, and more beautiful petunias. The top right picture is a variety of grass, which I lovingly refer to as “the hair grass”. I was obsessed with these purple petunias this summer.

Flowers 2013 Collage 3

Flowers 2013 4I was really into the mix of geraniums, petunias, and spikes in the center. So pretty!

Flowers 2013 5

I had two of these pots and they were my favorites. These pots included petunias (“normal” purple ones, and two special varieties called “Lemon Zest” and “Rhythm and Blues”), spike, squash plant, pink geraniums, and those pretty cascading snow-something plants.

Flowers 2013 7

Like yesterday’s discussion on reading being healthy, being outdoors with flowers can be incredibly healthy for us as well. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to care for all these beautiful plants all summer, and they certainly provided a lot of fun and self-care for me! It also helped me to live out one of my 13 challenges for the year: to be present in the moment.

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you plant at all in the summer? If so, what’s your favorite flower? 

August 20, 2013

This post has both absolutely nothing and everything to do with health and wellness.

I mentioned in a previous post that this summer was fairly challenging with a few things, but these were all things that I had no direct control over in my life. Because of this, I knew that I needed to be extra proactive about engaging in healthy behaviors so that my mental and physical health stayed high. One of the things I decided to do back in May was to choose a book series I read when I was little to enjoy once again. I figured that reading for fun along with having something that brought back lots of fun memories would be the perfect thing. Yes- I read other books as well, but I wanted something that would be fun and peaceful to escape into from time to time, and the Little House On The Prairie series fit perfectly!

Little House On the Prairie

I read these books over and over while growing up, but it had been at least 15 years since I had last opened a book from this series. For those of you who haven’t read the books, this series follows the Ingalls family through their adventures traveling around the midwest in their covered wagon. In each new location, the Ingalls family had to connect with new neighbors, build a new cabin or house, figure out how to get goods from town, and deal with prairie fires, pests consuming the food they planted, snow storms, and illness in the 1800’s. While these books are certainly written for younger children, they’re definitely interesting to read as it gives a glimpse into life back in the pioneer days.

The stories are interesting and mostly light-hearted, and they provide a great little escape from real life. If you haven’t ever read this series, run to your library and check them out ASAP 🙂 Regardless, I think that reading for fun (as well as educational purposes), is very helpful in striving after living a healthy and balanced life. In the busyness and stress of the day it’s something that is easy to look over, but can be a great benefit. And so, regardless of which book you choose to pick up, consider adding reading for fun to your regular health regimen. It’s good for the mind and the heart!

Now it’s your turn to share! Did you ever read the Little House on the Prairie series? What are you favorite “for fun” books to read? 

August 19, 2013

Last week I wrote a post about my 33 mile bike ride on the Root River Trail. On August 10th, while still in Minnesota, I decided I needed one more bike ride on my new favorite trail. I also had a goal to pass the 33 mile mark. The day was perfect and in the mid-70’s. I learned from my mistake last week regarding not taking in much salt which I need for my POTS, so this week I was prepared. I brought a water bottle with me as well as a 20 ounce bottle of Gatorade. In the bottle of Gatorade I put just under a teaspoon of salt, making it pretty salty. It worked and I didn’t get dizzy at all!

This trail is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever been on in my life! There are forests, prairie land, farms, rivers, quaint towns, and huge tunnels of rock. The rocks are really cool to bike through:

photo

Even though all but 7 miles of the route were the same, I had even more fun than I did the previous week! Of course we had to stop for pie once again, and it was equally as delicious as last week. Every bike ride should be powered by pie 🙂 When we stopped for pie (at mile 25), I was definitely feeling a bit tight, and took a few minutes to stretch and do some down dogs.

We also stopped at a cute little shop in Lanesboro called “Essence of Lanesboro“, which sells natural body care products. I bought a few chapsticks. The shop owner makes all the products himself, and even uses really Dove dark chocolate in his chapsticks! The shop was really cute, and it was fun to browse and take a minute to hydrate.

I enjoyed every mile of this bike ride, and I was happy when my runkeeper app hit this:

photo

A perfect note on which to end my summer biking season! This ride was about as close to perfect as you can get, and I’m so glad that I got over my ridiculous fear of biking because it would be a shame to miss out on such a fantastic experience! So now I have a shiny new PDR to enter the fall with!

Now it’s your turn to share! What makes a perfect ride or workout for you?