In Search Of Excellence

Don’t you dare quit, surrender, or walk away from your fitness quest.

Safeguard your health, train with purpose and eat for power.

You are of great value, treat yourself with love and respect and never forget to share that love and respect, it makes the world a better place.

Be blessed all and celebrate this crazy thing called life.

The music of Van Zant was massaging my eardrums, the freezing temperatures made my face feel as if it would shatter as I managed to avoid icy patches that clung to the roadway. A cold front has gripped the desert southwest and it will not let go.

 Fortunately I am an adaptable person, and I adjust to whatever life hands me and I make the best of it. At my age each breath of air becomes really precious and so you have to make the best of each moment.  I was able to run and extra mile today, I managed to squeeze in 9 miles. The last three miles were tough and painful but man beating the old girl in the mirror sure was great.

I did have fun playing with the iron today. It wasn’t exactly and iron luvfest, but close. We aren’t increasing  the weights until my body adapts. It is under a lot of stress right now so we will recharge for the next few days and the training will continue Monday, G-d willing. How will my bodybuilding inclinations and Marathon aspirations meld? Hmm, I for one cannot wait to find out.

Encourage yourself people, just know you are good enough and you are worthy. Face the fact that you are an exquisite original, unique and beautiful in your own awesome way. Hone those skills, don’t give up when the going gets tough, stand strong and become everything you were created to become.  Fall head over heels in love with yourself and then share that love with everyone you meet.

Peace, hope and love everyone…..and remember it is all about the love!

Why do I want to toss my tired old carcass out of my nice and  cozy bed to embrace the frigid blast streaming from old man winter? It was freezing outside and I really had to question my sanity. My body was screaming don’t do this to me?  The light bulb over my head didn’t come on because it is fueled by a couple of cups of warm tea.

 I knew if I drank tea on a morning like this it would be twice as hard to push my bones out the door.  I couldn’t afford to place myself in a compromising position.  Nice and warm was extremely seductive compared to cold and frigid.(My secret to failure is to do what I feel like in abundance) I manage to resist temptation and I literally fled the scene.  The question of why am I doing this to myself, wasn’t erased from the blackboard of my mind as my morning run continued.

Why am I out running in this freakin’ weather ?

A.      Because I am bad like that ?  ( nope the only thing bad about me at oh dark thirty is my breath..so that is not it)

B.      I was born to run …( run my mouth..maybe)

C.      I have a couple of screws loose…( bingo, right on the button, and there is no screwdriver that can tighten them back again.)

There is nothing worse than a screwy old chick, stumbling down the running trail early in the morning. The running trails make me appreciate the training studio.   The training studio makes me appreciate the running trails. Each is sacrificial yet beautiful in its own way. Life is like this wild procession of self discovery.  You never know what potential you really have until you unleash it and let it run wild.

Stay unleashed people and expand the beauty of your potential.

Another training cycle has officially come to a close. It has been a long hard ride but I was able to purge some fairly solid results out of the process. My upper body strength has improved but I am not at that sweet spot where I can effortlessly churn out pull ups.

 I guess I should not complain because I am a heck of a lot better than before, but there is clearly room for improvement. I have three days off before my next training cycle starts.The plan is to devote quality time to endurance training.Don’t get me wrong I am not going to sacrifice my time under the bar.

 By the grace of G-d I will eventually improve in running, cycling and swimming but weight training is my first lovey. Throw me in the free weight section and I feel power, I feel strong, I release tension. Playing with the iron is a beautiful addiction.

Train with purpose, eat for fuel and love with all of your heart.Celebrate the beauty of you and enjoy those amazing blessings that have been bestowed upon you.

Being seduced by a cup of hot tea in the wee hours of the morning brings me great satisfaction. Great satisfaction can only be overshadowed with ultimate satisfaction.  Ultimate satisfaction, for me is always derived when I have a training session that totally devours me.

 I have grown accustomed to that pleasantly painful sensation that accompanies an iron pumping session.  A rendezvous with the weights,  leads to an massive attack on my muscles. Controlled pressure, focused persistence, unrelenting determination all converging to make this training session better than the last.

The true beauty in the process is I get to do this over and over again. Little by little, I create a new version of myself. The physical transformation is visible, but the mental and spiritual changes are what I cherish the most. I am always being stretched outside of my soft and lax comfort zone, into a zone of personal victory and satisfaction. Combating the fear and making it my friend. It is all about being willing to fail and fall and fall and fail, until eventually I take flight and soar.  

Each level of growth pushes me further as I discard the useless and learn to embrace what will guide me toward success.

Dang I have a lot to be thankful for,  a cup of hot relaxing tea, pumping a little iron, and share life with the man that I love, yes I am one thankful, satisfied, blessed woman.

Be thankful and enjoy the wild ride on the journey of life.  

2009, is swiftly coming to a close.  It has been one wild training year. I have had awesome victories, and sombering defeats. Good fortunes have smile upon me and bitter heartache has slapped me upside my big head. I have embraced the good and scratched my head and tried to learn something from the bad. I refuse to feel sorry for myself or wallow in a murky see of self pity.

 I also refused to become puffed up with pride and gloat in the frailty of human accomplishment.  After all no person controls their breath and undeniably we will all be but faded memories to generations that come.

Each life spent will eventually be locked away in the annals of time. Every moment I live brings be closer to the end of what is now. I don’t have time to play around with my destiny, the mission I am commissioned to accomplish has to be done, and I have to give it all my heart and all my soul. The most beautiful thing in life is accomplishing what “cannot be done”.  This has been the beauty that has marked my entire life. 

 Adversity is my friend, it keeps pushing me down and telling me what I cannot do, so that makes me train harder, eat cleaner, learn more and become better.  It is all about being tougher than the stuff that life throws your way.

So as this training cycle comes to a close  and a new one gets ready to open, I have only aspiration but to run straight to the mark as a new improved, better than before, me is ready to be born.  I don’t mind growing older as long as I can grow better.This has indeed been a wild training year, but each blessed day has been worthwhile.

Stand strong J

The impossibility of your dream only seems possible as you walk closer to it. Fall in love with your dream, romance it, move closer to it day by day. Think about it continuously, don’t allow the fear of failure or the fear of rejection, stand in the way.

 The vision that was lives in your heart was meant to be born. The pains of labor may be enormous; the stretch marks of being pulled out of the comfortable and familiar might run deep and wide. The refusal to submit to group think and forge your own destiny  requires courage and strength of character, Ah but to become all you were meant to be now that is exquisite living.

You were never designed to be second rate,  come on precious people unleash that potential  and become the very best version of yourself.

We live in a fast pace world and the emotional needs of fellow humans often go overlooked. I think every person needs to be validated, appreciated, and celebrated. One of my greatest pleasures is being able to celebrate the value of each and every person I am blessed to fellowship with.  I want to take the time to applaud all the people who have overcome the odds to make their dreams a reality. (Congratulations,)

 I want to cheer for all the people who are in the race and are moving undaunted toward their vision.(Stay focused, make it happen)