Days 334-337: Sweat as a Religion

Day 334:  On Saturday I rode my bike to and from work and tagged on a few extra miles for good measure.  It was all that my schedule could fit in, but it was still enough to become a hot sweaty mess by the time I locked my bike up outside our apartment.

Day 335:    Growing up, religion was a big part of my life until something happened that made me question what I had been taught.  I stopped going to church and let myself not feel guilty with the simple thought, “you’ll come back to it when you’re ready.”  Well life changed and so did my beliefs on almost everything that matters.  My religion now is to love everyone and to do so without hesitation.  It’s a constant practice and dedication.  My Sunday mornings that used to be filled with church services are now filled with runs, asanas and peaceful questions.

With that being said, I miss the organizational religion and am wanting to get back to it- if it feels right.   Mike and I have dedicated our future Sunday morning’s to finding a church home that suits our beliefs.  I will work in a run before to make sure I feel grounded in myself before checking out local services.  For the next two weeks, I’ll continue to build my own spiritual side up with 40 minute runs in the park.  After that, the church dating begins.

PS That was a rant.  I ran 40 minutes on Sunday a.m.

Day 336:  Yesterday I went to my first yoga class in a week and my body felt rusty and downright, tighhhhhht.  Every bend, twist, breath and stretch felt like the first time.  Although my body felt stretched beyond it’s limits, as I walked out of the CPY studio, I realized that I had been completely in the moment the entire class.  I was present for 60 minutes- which is better than being super bendy, it’s the best thing that’s happened in a long time.

When was the last time you were able to quiet your thoughts and stay present?  It’s so hard for me to do.  I suppose when you least expect it to happen, it happens.

Day 337:  Today I went for an hour-long walk and am searching for a yoga class tonight to honor all of the lives touched by 9/11.  I want to breathe with the community and send love and light to everyone around.    I suppose I could do that with my own flow in our living room as well.   However, if you know of any good ones in the city, please shoot me an email!

Days 278 & 279: Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Day 278:  When I woke up on Saturday morning every single cell in my body was telling me to take a break from working out.  I could actually hear my thighs saying, “come on Betsy, it’s been 277 days without a proper day of rest.  You can skip today.”  It’s a good thing my mind was somewhere else, otherwise this blog would have been a thing of the past.

Instead of partaking in a heart pounding, sweat blinding cardio class I coaxed myself into a nice easy bike ride on my hybrid (despite years of trying, I unabashedly, admit that I still cannot change a tire on my road bike- hence why I take my hybrid when riding alone).  I actually believed myself at first.  I hopped on my bike, went nice and easy down to the Cherry Creek Trail and then turned on Pandora and tore away for 35 minutes out.  I found groups of road bikers and tried to stay at their pace, raced to mile markers and drenched my shirt in sweat.  Then I turned around and rode back in for 40 more minutes.  I think I used most of my energy on my way out because I was exhausted on my way home.

When I got home, I showered and fell asleep on the couch for 20 minutes before hopping back on my bike and heading into work.  It really amazed me how a little bit of a mind games really turned my workout from a “slacker day” to one of my favorite solo rides.

Day 279:  Today I was feeling a little uninspired in life.  Do you ever have those days?  I have no idea why, I just was.  I decided to go to church and follow it up with a Core Power Sculpt class; hoping that the combination of the two would make me feel better.  The pastor’s message was about drawing strength from your faith and those around you.  He shared this video from the 1976 Olympics that filled me up with inspiration and strength.  I left church feeling renewed and I headed to class.  The instructor opened up class with a song that my Mom used to play for me every morning on my Fisher Price record player, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”  At first the song made me laugh and then it brought tears to my eyes during a minute long plank (at least I think it was the song and not the plank!).

My day started off feeling blah and by noon I was filled with motivation and reminiscent love.  It catapulted the rest of my day into helping me add new elements to my bride diet/healthy life.  Disclaimer:  I’m not on a real diet, I am trying to make my life healthier and the wedding has helped me make these changes.  I went to the store and (finally) bought Chia Seeds, Probiotics and a food journal.  Here are two links that describe what I am working on and what the heck Chia Seeds are:

Chia Seeds

10 Tips to Get a Bitchin’ Bod (not really the title, but I like it better)

What motivates you when you’re feeling a little blah?  How do you get unstuck when you’re convinced you can’t move?   Besides the obvious 80s songs by Bobby McFerrin, of course.

Days 178-180: Colorado Family

Today is the Colorado Rockies opening day and I have been waiting for this day for five years!   Umm hmm, five years.  I worked in the HR department the year that they made it to the World Series and then took a break from baseball life and went back to work at Fenway for the 2009 season.  Unfortunately if you work at a stadium, then you work all the games.  This is my first year back in Colorado since I left the HR world and my best friend/former boss, Amber (from Coors Field and Fenway) is also in town to help celebrate the big day.  So why the heck is this event so important to the blog?   Two reasons:  1.  I need to blog about my last few days workouts and I cannot focus on writing because I’m so excited about today and 2.  Because it’s Rockie’s Opening Day, who in Denver is not excited about this!? *

Day 178: 10 mile bike ride.  5 of the miles felt like I was riding towards a tornado headed my way.

Day 179: I walked for an hour while catching up with my childhood best friend, Jill.  We chatted about anything and everything.  It made me remember why I love walking as a form of commuting.  Sometimes it’s hard to find time in the day for keeping up with long-distance friends, but when I blend my workout/commuting/phone time, it is the best use of time I could really think of.

Day 180:  Happy Hippity Hoppity! Like most of my friends in Denver, my family is located elsewhere in the US.  My friends have become my family here.  I spent the morning with some of my favorite people in the world and the afternoon with my newest friend, Jenny.  We walked in Washington Park for almost 90 minutes and reminisced on past family holidays and what it means to be away from our loved ones.   It was the perfect non-family holiday and it made me so happy to know how quickly Denver has become our home.

*This paragraph literally might be the most pointless paragraph I have written in 180 days.  My excited nerves apologize.  They wrote that, not Betsy.*