Happy Thanksgiving...a few days late =)

I had a very nice Thanksgiving this year, and of course it was a busy day which is why I am not writing my blog until now. The day started out with an interval run followed by a swim. I had planned on taking a yoga class but my body required a little more sleep that I had hoped for =( After my workouts Jim and I put up our Christmas tree, yelled at the curious puppy more than a few times, then went over to my parent's house for dinner with my family.

I am finally now allowing myself to slow down and appreciate holidays and spending time with my family. I was talking about this with Jim the other day, for so long I was always thinking during every holiday or really anything I do that does not include training, getting ready for work, getting my food ready for the next day, etc. about how I need to get home asap so I can get my things ready for the next day which usually includes work and training. This has been going on for years, way before I was as busy as I am now. I made a promise to myself that I will not allow myself to continue on this path. Those things will always be there for me no matter if I get home an hour early or an hour late, but my family and friends will not. I see my entire family only a few times a year, so I better start appreciating those times now because as morbid as it sounds you never know when the last time is that you will see someone. I want to enjoy every moment that I get to spend with the important people in my life, I owe it to them and myself. I am so lucky to have such an amazing family, they are my foundation and support system. I feel so fortunate to say that because so many people are not close or do not get along with their families. My mom and sister are two of my best friends, my dad still tries to take care of me like I am a little girl, my grandfather shows up at my races, my 14 year old cousins ask me about what an Ironman is, my aunt and uncle offer me their vacation home whenever I need it so I can train on the Steelhead course for my race next year (how awesome is it that their home is 20 minutes away from Benton Harbor and even better my grandfather literally built it over 40 years ago) and yes I STILL have a great grandmother who is still as feisty as ever and makes me laugh every time I see her. You get the point, my family is the best and I am so glad that I am smart enough to realize it now.

I call this allowing myself to be present. Yoga teaches us to be fully present both on and off our mats. This might be one of the greatest gifts that yoga has given me. I am often moving a thousand miles a minute, and don't take the time to "smell the roses." Someone in my life will be very proud of me for beginning to understand this, it has only taken me a little over 2 years to get. When we allow ourselves to be present it can be scary, we have to feel which means we have to deal with emotions, both good and bad. Facing our emotions can be great if things are going well, but can also be really hard when life is trying to teach us a lesson. I have always tried to make things happen in my life exactly the way I wanted, I realized last year that I'm not God and I don't have that power, nor do I want it. Through my practice of yoga, specifically Anusara Yoga, I have learned that life is going to take me on the path that I am meant to be on, both the good and the bad. All I need to do is show up everyday, present and open to the flow and grace of life, sounds simple but it isn't always especially for me. We have to trust that both the good and bad have a place in our lives. The good is meant to savor and relish in, and the bad is there to teach us something and also allow us to appreciate all of the good that happens. Using the work "bad" is probably not the best way to describe what I mean, the words tough or challenging would be better =)

So this blog went a little off what I have envisioned, but that's where the flow of life took me =) I am so thankful for everything in my life, both the easy and the hard. I am incredibly thankful for all of my loved ones and I thank them all so much for their support and helping make me who I am today. I am also very thankful for the new challenge I have in my life to try to be present as much as I can, no matter how scary it is for me.

Above is a picture of my family on Thanksgiving. You have no idea how big of a deal it is that my mom actually allowed a picture to be taken of her!

Our Many Journeys

I went shopping today with my sister Jamie, and some family and friends, for her wedding dress. I cannot believe my little sister is getting married next year, I also cannot believe her daughter is over a year old! As I was watching her try on some dresses I thought back to our lives just a few years ago, I would have never thought she would be getting married and have the cutest baby girl ever. I would have also probably told you a few years ago that I would most likely be the first out of the two of us to be married. I am happy to say that she found a dress and she looks absolutely beautiful in it. I could see how happy she is, and I am so incredibly happy for her. The journey she has been on the past 2 years has been so good for her. I remember the phone call like it was yesterday when she found out she was pregnant, what a shock. But Cara has been such a blessing for Jamie and Tony as well as our family. It has been a journey she would have never thought she would be on, but life has a way of making those decisions for us. The picture is me and Cara at her first birthday party =)

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, and I mean absolutely everything. I believe that every person we come across every day, who we call our friends and family, where we work, what we eat, what we do for hobbies, you get the point, all has a purpose. Everything and anything we do can open up new paths and create new journeys for us in our lifetime, we are just not always aware of it. Some people are more intuitive than others which is a gift I believe we all have, but we are just not always open to it. I believe that gift is not only something I am open to, but I am very aware of and I rely heavily on.

I discovered yoga back in high school. It started out as a class to get in a good stretch and maybe burn a few calories while doing so. After attending a few classes it became so much more. Yoga became my emotional balance, my centering, and my saving grace. I always felt so much better not just physically, but emotionally after class. Even though I was so young, I really felt a connection to myself that nothing else could ever bring me. I continued to practice here and there in college to DVDs since I was in a small town. I remember when one of the new pledge classes had a little voting game, and one of the questions was who was most likely to become a yoga teacher after college. I remember my head telling me it was me. Then about 5 years ago I walked into a yoga class at Lifetime in Burr Ridge. I never spoke with the teacher Sarah before or after class, but I felt connected to her and I knew that she was going to be a big part of my life in some way. I kept going to her class when I could, but eventually I moved out of the area and didn't see her for quite some time. Last year I finally made the decision to go to school to become a yoga teacher. I found out that Sarah was holding a teacher training this year and I immediately signed up. We are just about done with our training, and what a blessing it has been for me. I have been on this great journey with yoga for a long time now, and my new journey with teaching is just beginning. I can't even explain how rewarding it is for me to share it with all of my students. Oddly enough I knew this was going to happen, I knew eventually I would be teaching yoga and I knew who my teacher would be. I just had to wait for the right time for it to happen.

My journey to Ironman is still going, but I am loving every minute that I am on it. I remember when I first heard about triathlon and immediately decided that I wanted to do one. I was at Lifetime in Orland Park (funny how many epiphanies I have had at Lifetime, and funny how my first yoga teaching job was at Lifetime) and one of the women I was in class with told me she was doing a triathlon. She is about twice my age and my ultra competitive side turned on and I thought if she could do one so could I. I signed up to do a triathlon shortly after that day. It was a local sprint triathlon and I never felt so much pain going through that race, and I never fell in love with something so fast. I realized though that I really needed to learn how to swim! This past January I started Master Swim at Lifetime in Romeoville (yet another reference) with Steve who is the most amazing swim coach ever. He also held a triathlon class about the same time that I signed up for. I was meeting a lot of people at Master Swim who where either training for or already completed an Ironman and I kept thinking I never want to do one. That all changed one night at triathlon class with Steve when he was telling me about his Ironman. I totally caught the bug and started telling everyone I know so I wouldn't get scared and back out. Steve set me up with the most amazing triathlon coach ever and I am registered and on my way to doing my first Ironman 70.3 which is July 31, 2010. I will be doing my first full Ironman in 2011 in Madison.

My journeys to yoga and IM have both been a long time coming, but came when I was ready for it. I am so happy where I am and I'm looking forward to where they take me. I know I'm going in the right direction and that is such a great feeling.

A Little Bit About Me...

Every time I talk to my Triathlon Coach Valerie and I ask her how she is doing her response is "It's great to be me." The first time I heard that I was speechless, I have never heard anyone respond that way to me before. I always hear "I'm doing good" or "I'm ok" never "It's great to be me." I immediately thought to myself, I want to be able to say that and truly mean it one day. Fast forward a few months....

This past week has been a particularly good week for me. Work is finally getting back into normalcy, and whatever I had going on in my body last week is gone. I had one of those great moments during my training when I realized that I can do an 8 mile tempo/interval run at a fast pace (for me) and feel really good. And to top that off I taught a semi-private class and a workshop which both went so well. I was driving home after both of the classes and I realized that I was on such a high. It feels so good to know that I am helping people feel better in all aspects of their lives and I truly love the connection that I make with people through yoga.

This was also one of those weeks that I had about zero downtime, but in reality that is how most of my weeks are. I work about 50 hours a week, I am training for a Half Ironman so I put in a lot of time training, I teach at least 1 yoga class a week, plus my 4 hour trainings on Saturdays, oh yeah and I have a boyfriend, a family, a puppy and 2 cats that I try to spend time with as well. Most people look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them what my days consist of, getting up at 4am to train, working 10 hour days, 4 hour yoga training on Saturdays, sprint workouts, nutrition coaching, Half Ironman, etc...but I love it. I wouldn't change any of it, and I am happier now than I have ever been. The combination of yoga and triathlon has brought so much to my life, I feel so lucky to be living the life I have and now I have the ability to share it with others. I can now honestly say, "It's great to be me."