Quote of the Day

I get an email from The Columbian newspaper every day. Its their business update and at the bottom there is always a quote of the day. Some days its stupid, some days its meaningful. Here is the one from today...

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
- Sparrowrose Howard Thurman, American theologian and activist, (1900 - 1981).

This rings particularly true for me these days. There are so many people who are being laid off or losing their jobs. It can be a very scary time. I know so many people (myself and Trevor included) who were prisoners of their jobs, of their own success. After several years of moving up the ladder, we found ourselves in a position where we were making great money, but hated what we did every day. We built a life that depended on making that great money. It became a trap.

I believe this is the case for many people. They are not satisfied with their place in life, the career they built, but they are a slave to the money. If people take the opportunity that this tough economy is presenting, they could find themselves in a much different place. When you lose the job you thought you could never afford to do without, what do you do? I say, you figure out what it is you really want to do and go do it. Let go of all the things you had and build a new life that allows you to do and be the things you want.

Trevor and I have a lot of stuff. We used to have a lot more stuff. Over the last two years, we have learned to live with less. A lot less. And we are more happy than we have ever been. Without that stuff, we have all kinds of time and space to enjoy our lives. It has been very freeing. For so long we felt trapped. And now....we feel alive.

The dog days of Fall

As you may or may not know - Friday, October 30th was my last day of work at the paper. Lots to say about this, nothing that I feel like I can post here on the WORLD WIDE web.

Over the last week I've been able to spend some more time with the pets. Specifically, Maggie. We've made trips to the dog park and the pet store. We've gone on a few runs. All of this, really, is an effort to tire her out and hopefully make her a little more well-behaved (aka - less of a chewer). It has worked some days, not so much others.

Here she is in her wide open space.

Right now, Opal and Maggie are wrestling. Wookie is hiding in the front room, so he doesn't have to be involved. Sometimes, when I let Maggie out in the backyard, I"ll see her running circles at full speed, while Opal stands on the deck and watches.

We got her a toy that she really loves.

Instead of squeezing it with her mouth, she chewed it with her teeth. The bear needs a kevlar jacket.

When she gets tired and turns into a noodle, she is very cute. Opal likes that too.

On Sunday we took all three dogs for a long walk. We went and had coffee and left them all in the car. When we got back, Opal and Wookie were laying next to each other and Opal had her paws on Wookie's paws. I think she was telling him it would all be okay. Wookie is afraid of the beep the camera makes before it takes a shot, so he got up, but you can see her holding his paw. I love that.



Whenever I hear silence, I know something is being destroyed. I'll call Maggie and she'll come to me...this is usually what I see.

"I didn't do it"

Owie.

Its always something around our house. One of us is always feeling some pain, discomfort, soreness, tiredness....

Trevor has his broken foot and is making progress towards a full recovery. He started running a week ago and is up to 2.5 miles. Pain Free. Good News!

I have been slogging along, feeling just fine...finally over my post marathon binge. I got some new running shoes last week. I wasn't planning to wear them for my long run on Sunday, but my old shoes were soaking wet from my Thursday run in the rain. I figured, what could it hurt? I've been running in the same brand of shoes forever. So, like a dumbass, I put on the new shoes, hooked up my shoe pod (that measures my distance, pace, etc) and off I went. 10 miles. A few miles in, I started having some pain on the inside of my ankle, but didn't worry too much about it.

Sunday afternoon, my foot really started to hurt. I again, didn't think too much about it. Monday, still hurting. Tuesday morning, ran again and now it REALLY hurt. Went to see Dr. Jake, my awesome miracle working and he did some work on it, but I don't think I was clear about where it hurt. Wed morning it hurt worse. Thursday - owie. By the end of the day Thursday it was swollen. I put some ice on it and made an appt to see Jake on Friday.

I was able to pinpoint the pain to Jake and after he spent some time poking and proding he said it was probably a sprained ligament. That ligament is really hard to injury. Figures. So he worked some magic and sent me on my way. No running for a few days, but I can ride the bike and do my other workouts. I have a cycling class on Monday night, I'll go see him again on Tuesday and we'll see where we are at.

Its kind of nice to have an injury during a time of year when it doesn't really matter. No stress about how I NEED to be ready by a certain date to run, ride or swim a certain distance. So I'll rest a few days. Then back to it. I swear, its like we are 100 years old!! At least with my new job situtation I don't have to be in bed at 9 and up at 4:30. I can go to bed when I like and sleep until I am ready to get up. A good plan for recovery.

The old and the young

Until recently, our house has been full of older animals. Wookie is 13, Opal and Daisy are 12, Gus is 11. We had our routine and we liked our routine. Lots of sleeping on the couch and early to bed. Everyone moved kind of slow. Everyone got along. We try not to think about the aging of our pets. They are all getting up in age and every once in a while we realize how old they are getting. It makes us sad, because we can't imagine our lives without a single one of them.

Enter the next generation. Roxie was the first on the scene. We call her "the baby". She is in love with Gus. She follows him everywhere. I think she has made him a little younger, they run and play together. Daisy is not interested in playing. Roxie is just a kitten, she's a little more than a year old now, and she really likes to play. It makes me smile to see her and Gus run from room to room chasing each other. But when it is time for bed, Gus wants to go to bed and he gets upset with Roxie if she tries to play with him when it is bedtime. Roxie has now started to sleep on the bed during the day with Daisy. I love that.

Next came Norwyn. He is about 3 and he likes to play too. When we first brought him into the house he hissed at the other cats. Gus has forgotten that and will play with him. Roxie has not forgotten and every time Norwyn tries to play with her, she hisses and runs under the bed. When we are downstairs, its like a herd of elephants upstairs - Gus and Norwyn running and playing. We didn't hear much of that before the younger cats came into our home.

Wookie is just a grumpy old man and no puppy or new dog will change that. Maggie tries to be his friend, but he is not interested. When Wookie goes up to bed, Maggie wants to be right up against him as they climb the stairs. This has been tough for Wookie and it has made him slip and fall a few times. That makes me sad, because he really is old. Maggie doesn't understand and just wants to be near him. She tries to play with him, he growls. Maggie tries to apologize and Wookie growls louder.

Maggie LOVES to play with Opal. They'll run around the living room. Well, Maggie will run around, Opal stands and barks and watches her run by. They will wrestle and roll around on the floor together. This has been exhausting for Opal. It is hard to wake her up in the morning, she is sleeping so hard from all this new activity. Some times Opal doesn't want to play and she'll get up on the couch next to me or Trevor and lay down. Maggie will jump up on the couch and sit on her, so she has no choice but to engage and off they go!

Maggie goes with us during the day. This is for a few reasons, first we want her to get used to being in public places, being in the car, meeting new people. We also need to give Opal and Wookie a break and a bit of their normal life back. When we get home at the end of the day, Maggie runs to see Wookie and Opal. She really does love them. They are her family. I think they love her too. They just aren't sure why we have a baby in the house.

It makes me happy to see them all interact - the old and young. It also makes me incredibly sad to think that the young will eventually have to go on without the old. I know that is how life works, but I don't like it. I love all these animals. There are seven of them now and that'a lot to love! I love when all three dogs are sleeping on the floor - like they are right now. I like when all four cats sleep on the bed with us. I really love how the old (with the exception of Wookie) have taken in the young. There has been no real fighting or aggression. They just roll with it and welcome the new ones into the house as if they have always been here.

This is our family. I want to enjoy them all together while I can. Its a strange mix, the seniors and the babies, but we love it and we love them. Every. single. one.

Focus like a laser beam

I've written before about the daily emails I received from Jeff Young (www.friendsofjeff.com). Jeff lives in Lake Oswego, OR and has ALS. He sends out a motivational email and he somehow reads my mind. Whatever I have going on in my life, whatever the struggle, his email will pop up on my screen and the topic will be exactly what I need to hear. This was his email today....

Title: A Burning Focus

Life is full of so many good things we could be spending our time doing that one of our chief responsibilities is to make distinctions not only between good and great uses of our time, but to decide what is the absolute best use of our time. We need to keep our focus concentrated on the job in front of us. To do that, we need to have confidence that what we are doing is the best use of our time. We need to create large “chunks” of time in order to gain precious momentum on projects needed in order to fully engage the brain and all its faculties. Take it as a challenge and a test of your character to focus single-minded on your most important task, and to persevere until its completion. Focus your mind’s “rays” in this manner and see what kind of “magic” begins to appear in your life.

Good advice. Thanks again Jeff.

Stop the madness!

I need Susan Powter to come to my house and yell at me "STOP THE MADNESS" Ever since the marathon, three weeks ago, I have been eating like a ferocious jackass and it is now officially out of hand. The first week, I was like "well, I ran 26.2 miles on Sunday, so I need to refuel". I was refueling with a lot of junk. We usually have treats on the weekends. Cupcakes with lunch on Saturday from the awesome bakery next to our store and then ice cream for dessert on Sat and Sun nights. It has stretched from that normalness to an every day quest for something sweet.

I feel like total crap. My clothes are starting to fit tight from all the bloating I am having due to the unusual amount of salt, sugar and preservatives I have been inhaling. Here's just an example of what just about every day this week has been like:

-My usual pre and post workout shake
-Americano and oatmeal from Starbucks (usually I have a hard boiled egg and english muffin, but this week that oatmeal just seemed so much better, plus, I ran out of eggs)
-Lunch - burrito and chips, philly steak pita or a quesidilla. I usually bring lunch from home, but a friend has decided we need to eat out every day and instead of making my usual good choices, 've gone for what looks best on the menu. Not such a bad idea when you eat out once in a while, but four days in a row....not so much
-Afternoon snack - this is where is goes down hill and fast. Instead of my normal trail mix, I've been adding m&ms. Or taking a trip to Starbucks and getting a latte (no so bad) and a muffin.
-Dinner is usually pretty on track, just because by that time I am starting to feel like crap. Usually because of the Halloween candy I get when I stop at the grocery store for cat litter or some other item that I really don't need, but use as an excuse to go the place where I can get Halloween candy. Or cake. Or cookies.
8 o'clock rolls around and I have come down off my sugar high and tell myself that tomorrow will be different. Then tomorrow comes and I do okay until my morning snack. Then I climb up the ladder to the biggest slide around and its all downhill from there.

Thank goodness that I have been sticking to my workout routine. I haven't weighed myself, mostly because I figure - what's the point? Like I don't know that what has been happening the last few weeks isn't a good thing. I figure when I eventually feel crappy enough, I'll go back to normal. I am pretty sure I've hit that point.

There's nothing wrong with the occassional splurge. That can, in fact, be healthy by keeping you on track. There is a lot wrong with what's been happening around here lately!! Time to get back to normal. As my boss says, "enough of this hilarity, get back to work". Time to get back to work.

Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon Race Report

This has been a FULL race season. We've done lots of events, lots of training. Sunday was really the culmination. I knew that I just needed to make it through this event and then things could ease up and perhaps the pressure could be off a bit. Running a half marathon two weeks after a full marathon wasn't something I would have ever considered before. Both are pretty major undertakings. I am very proud of myself for making it through both of these major events in such a short time and living to talk about it!!!

This event is one of my favorites. It is put on by a local gym owner, Sherri from NW Personal Training. Her events are always awesome. We've been a part of many of them and always enjoy it. This year we have gotten into the habit of participating in the events, not just sponsoring. This event is a women only half marathon to raise money for breast cancer research. The participant field is limited to 1500 and it sold out about 5 months ago.

The race started at 9, we got there around 7:30 to set up the booth. When we got there, things were already in full swing! Lots going on. We unloaded the cars and realized that I had grabbed some chairs instead of the tent, so I drove back home to get the tent (This is the second time I've made this mistake...note to self...remember to check and be sure you have the tent!). Luckily, we live about 5 miles away, so it was no big deal. By the time I got back, Trevor and Ryan (one of our employees) had the booth all set up and were already talking to many women. What a surprise!!

We saw so many familiar faces. All of our favorite people had a part in this event. Its so interesting how people from different parts of our lives all converge on this event. There were many Vancouver/Portland Fit women participating in the event and many of the men were volunteering. Our Doug was on the bike, as the course marshal.

Here's Rob - one of the trainers at NW Personal Training. He is AWESOME!!


Finally, 9 am rolled around and it was time to start. Off we went. The weather was perfect, it had rained all night long, but had stopped in the early morning. It was cool, but not cold. I was glad that I was running in shorts and tshirt. Very comfortable.

The course was a great tour of downtown Vancouver. We ran through the Farmer's Market and all the vendors stopped to watch us. Everyone was wearing pink, so all I could see ahead of me was a sea of pink. About a mile in, I saw Pete - a VFit coach - cheering us on! Yay Pete!! We made our way down by the river and out to Wintler Park. Our Sunday group has run this route many, many times - it was so familiar.

On the way out to the park, I saw one of our VFit members, Nick, out for his own Sunday run. Nick lost over 70 pounds during the marathon training and is a true inspiration. To see him out there, still going, really gave me strength. I yelled to him and he blew me a kiss.

Around this time, Trish and Jo passed me. Not a surprise. A bit later I saw the other Trish and she was hobbling. She hurt herself a while back and has been pushing through the injury. She wasn't sure how she'd do today, she decided to call it quits before she REALLY hurt herself. We waddled along together for a bit, then she saw a friend and hitched a ride with him.

We headed back towards town, then over the new land bridge. I love that land bridge - so pretty. I met up with a gal named Missy. We ran together for a while and talked. We made our way down towards the airport and back around through Fort Vancouver. 13.1 miles really didn't seem so far today. I was feeling really good - just taking it nice and slow.

I met up with another friend, Michelle and ran the last two miles with her. As we came into town, I saw Trevor, waiting to take some pictures. Then we got to the second to last turn and all our VFit guys were there cheering us on. They saw me and started yelling my name and cheering. Michelle said, "you've got a great cheering section, I should run with you more often". As I made the final turn I saw a stranger wearing a Phillies coat - so I yelled to him! What a great day.



We crossed the line in 2 hours and 20 mins. Not bad. We were greeted by girl scouts handing us our finisher's medals, which were these awesome necklaces. There were also firemen handing out water bottles. I wandered around for a while - went back to the booth and had a recovery drink. Then I changed into dry clothes and got some soup.

Sherri always has us help with the awards, which I love. I made my way up the podium and handed out awards to the top finishers. These people always amaze and inspire me and its an honor to be part of the awards ceremony.

After that was over, I wandered around some more and enjoyed more of the awesomeness of the event. I had some fudge, a coffee and a sugar cookie. You could not ask for more yummy stuff than that!!

It was a great day. Maggie even enjoyed herself. This was her first official Max Muscle event - there will be many more to come!!