Skip to main content

Focusing on the Present and Songs on Repeat

This week I've been channeling this passage from Eat and Run by Scott Jurek:

"I'm convinced that a lot of people run ultramarathons for the same reason they take mood-altering drugs. I don't mean to minimize the gifts of friendship, achievement,  and closeness to nature that I've received from my running career. But the longer and farther I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind - a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus."

Focusing on the present moment has been something I've been working on for years and that running and yoga continue to bring me closer to every day. Maybe it's something that can be mastered for some, but for me it is a daily practice and reminder. It's made me a happier, a more fulfilled, and less stressed person. We all walk/drive/sit/run around every day absorbed in tiny, unimportant problems that consume our time and thoughts. We waste time fretting, stressed, worried, over thinking the past or future. Each moment spent like that for me is a total waste. I only have so many moments on this earth I intend to take each in and be there for it. A couple days ago I was walking home from work. Honestly, I was sad. It happens. A song came on through my ear buds that you couldn't just ignore and NOT dance to. Instead of skipping the song and wallowing in sadness (which I wanted to do, Adele on repeat), I danced down the street to it. I'm sure it seemed strange (but ask anyone, this certainly is not the first time I've danced in public alone haha). But every person I made eye contact with, smiled. Maybe they were laughing at me... or maybe they remembered not to take life too seriously. Life is weird. We live in these bubbles, we don't connect enough, but despite how different we all are as people, we have so much in common. 

Try to connect with someone new. Smile at a stranger. Recognize that in that moment in time, you and someone are sharing something. In that exact moment, you two are the same - people. I smile at everyone I make eye contact with. It's not on purpose, it's just part of who I am. I like to think it brings a little ray of sunshine into people's day, which for them might be a very dark day. We all have those, and we all need someone to bring some light.

On a separate note, my current favorite songs on repeat this week, I couldn't pick one. Mostly pop (never thought I'd love a Bieber song so much...), then two old favorites at the bottom that take me back to 17 year old, black haired, punk me :-) If you know who Tsunami Bomb is, then we have a lot to talk about...





HAPPY FRIDAY! I hope everyone has a fantastic Halloween weekend. Be safe. GO HAWKS!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2021/2022 - Pregnancy, baby, return to racing

WOW. So much has changed since I last posted in here. About two months after that last post I found out I was pregnant!  I spent 2021 in various phases of life: First trimester I was super sick and actually unable to even get much movement in! I don't think I've ever worked out that little in my life! Every day just felt like a struggle to survive. Second and third trimesters I was able to swim, bike, run and lift. I was able to run up until a couple days before I gave birth! I mostly ran and lifted - I hated biking pregnant and wanted to limit my covid exposure so I didn't go to the pool super consistently until the very end of my pregnancy. I spent the rest of 2021 fumbling my way through learning how to be a mom and take care of a baby! It was months of living in a haze of no sleep, hormones and tears BUT with all of that in the rear view, it was an amazing time of growth and learning so much. I had 4 IM branded deferred races from 2020 that rolled to 2021, then to 2022....
Post a Comment
Read more

Week 5: Build

Another build week. Hit all my workouts AND added an extra bike on Wednesday morning. I've been pretty busy this week, lots of nights where I'm not done working out until 8pm or getting home around that time. I have only been getting about 6 hours or so of sleep during the week so my energy wasn't super high. One good thing that starts to happen the better shape I get into as we build in this training plan - no matter how low I think my energy is, as soon as I start working out my body shifts into gear and seems to have limitless potential. I love that. It's just the mental battle to get started despite my muscle fatigue, mental fatigue, soreness... which luckily this week wasn't hard at all. I've hit that point where I don't think about wanting to workout or not - it's not an option, it's just what I do, "sometimes you just do things"... Feels good to be getting back into that mindset instead of dreading going to the pool or getting o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weeks 9, 10, and 11

accidental picture in the woods Officially at that midpoint of training. Three months behind me, a little less than three to go. Actually, the race was three months from last Saturday! Feels good to be getting closer to race day. Gives me more optimism towards training -  light at the end of the tunnel. I haven't missed any workouts, I'm feeling strong in all three sports - still the least strong on the bike but at least I have enjoyed training more with my gorgeous,comfortable and sleek Quintana Roo.  My confidence is high this time around about training and the race which is surprising - this time last year I was so scared. I feel like now I know what I'm doing. I know what I need in terms of nutrition, hydration, and that the training I'm doing will get me where I need to go. I still have a lot of building to do for a run distance - the most I've run in the last 3 months was 2 1/2 hours, we'll hit at least 3 hours by...
Post a Comment
Read more