Octoberfest Costumed Prediction Run

Well, Halloween is officially over at our house now.  Pumpkins are extinguished, costumes put away, candy consumed and kids in bed.  Bring on Christmas Thanksgiving! I find it troubling that I saw a Glade ad for Christmas on TV this afternoon.  Halloween wasn't even over yet.  Sheesh.

This year the most exciting part of the Halloween festivities for me (other than Thing 1 & Thing 2 looking adorable as usual) was that Peak Sport Solutions was fortunate to be picked to time the 1st Annual Octoberfest Costumed Prediction Run that was put on by the United Helpers.

For those not from Northern NY, the United Helpers are an organization that's been in existence for 110 years  and provides services from independent living to long-term care for senior citizens, developmentally disabled and mentally ill patients.  They have beautiful facilities and are a wonderful group of people.

So Sunday morning we headed to Canton, NY.  Since it was a prediction run, we didn't know what the distance was until we got there and it ended up being about 4 miles.  Registration was so much fun, people were in great moods and just wanted to have fun plus the costumes were hilarious!

View from the Registration Table

We ended up with 57 registered folks.  For a first year event up in our neck of the woods, that's more than respectable.  The good news is that the race directors were so pleased that they're going to make this an annual event so it can only get better.  I was really excited to see a few of the local gals that I run with show up, it's fun to know some of the finishers when you're timing so you can really cheer them on.

Beautiful course but it did have a "Halloween-y" feel with leaves off the trees!

View of the Finish

I was hard at work, can you tell? :)

My incredible team (aka my hubby & mom-in-law)

A few pics of the great group of finishers!

All in all, a really great event!  I love competition, I love to race, but sometimes it's nice to go to a race were everyone is truly there to have fun.  The vibe is incredible.

If you live nearby, put this one on your race calendar for next year!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! :)

Everyone thinks I'm crazy...

Well, maybe not everyone.  But I'm pretty sure most of the people in my life that I interact with on a daily basis think I've gone crazy.

I'm revamping my lifestyle.

I've thought for a long time about what I want to achieve but haven't gone out in the world and done the work that I needed to in order to achieve my goals.  Honestly, I never even told most people about some of my goals, mostly because I was afraid that I'd fail.  But I'm sick of being scared of failure.  I've decided that it's time to go after exactly what I want.

I want to run faster.  I want to compete at races.  I want to lose some weight.  I want to be fitter.  I want to be able to see my muscle tone in places other than my legs.  I want a sick set of abs.  I want to help people become fitter too.  I want to become a personal trainer.  I want to coach runners and teach people to learn to love running.  I want to plan and execute incredible racing events.  I want to be self employed and self sufficient.

Not asking for much, right?

But wanting and doing are two completely different things.  So I've stopped wanting and starting doing.

And that is what's making all the people in my life think I've gone nuts.

I'm increasing my weekly mileage.  I'm building back up my base.  This really doesn't strike people as odd since they're used to me running.  Plus it helps to have a husband, mother-in-law and lots of good friends who are runners too.

What's really causing people to be concerned or, in some cases, feel sorry for me, is my diet changes.  I've decided that the reason that I've never been as successful as I want to be is because I never truly changed my diet.  I lied to myself and pretended I did but never really committed.  And we all know that you can exercise forever but if you eat junk no progress will be made.

The thing that I've found hardest about changing my diet to eat natural, clean foods is that it goes against what so many people consider "normal".  I'm not becoming a vegetarian but I've cut out a lot of meat.  I've cut out highly processed foods and anything where I can't pronounce an ingredient on the label.  I've cut out foods that I don't feel give me enough nutritional value.  I've added more natural foods, quinoa being one of my new favorites.

Another thing I've found is that everyone wants to give me advice about the food I eat.  I realize they mean well but I assure everyone, I've done my homework, I eat plenty of calories, protein, carbs, whatever.  If you know nothing about nutrition, please don't offer unsolicited advice.  I don't go around lecturing people about eating McDonald's or drinking gallons of soda. (Exception to this my mom, she's a nutritionist therefore her opinion counts...plus she's my mom, so duh, her opinion always counts!)

I guess the reason everyone thinks I'm crazy to eat like this is because it's far from the "normal" way our society eats.  That's kind of sad to me.  Why do people think it's so insane to eat healthy?  To eat food that hasn't been over processed?

I know since I've made a true effort to eat cleanly I feel so much better.  I have a ton more energy.  I just plain feel good.  I know I'm doing the right thing for me.

I feel like I can accomplish anything right now and that I can reach all the goals I've set for myself.

So that's exactly what I'm going to do! :)

Determined to Make Positive Choices

I love this picture.  My aunt sent it to me in an email and I love the message it conveys.

We're a culture of instant gratification...we want whatever we want RIGHT NOW!

This need for instant gratification is what often shapes the choices that we make in life.  People say all the time that they would love to start running, lose weight or attain some kind of fitness goal.  The problem is that so many times we aren't willing to do whatever we need to do to reach where we want to be in life.  We get bored and distracted and go off the course that we had originally planned to follow.  And then we just can't understand what we did wrong and why we didn't succeed.

I read a post from a blog (Amanda @ Run To The Finish) I recently started following that really struck a chord with me this morning.  I really, really, really like this blog...plus it doesn't hurt that she lives in Miami, which always gets sentimental points in my book!  So follow it, Amanda writes really great things!!

Anyway, she writes about choices that she has made in advance of a trip she is taking next week.  What I love most about it is that she has taken the time in advance to plan and made these choices before temptation has been put in front of her.  Awesome idea!  It's much harder to turn down the donut when it's under your nose but if you make your choice in advance, it doesn't seem so hard.

So I'm going to follow her lead and write out the choices that I'm making in advance for the next week:

• I choose to focus on building my business or getting nothing accomplished
• I choose to follow through with my entire exercise plan for the week or not see any improvement to my running
• I choose to keep eating the healthy, clean diet I've been enjoying or eat high fat, processed foods and feel sick

I love this!  Self affirmation is awesome and I already feel mentally stronger to take on the week.  Try it for yourself, you'll be amazed what positive thinking can do! 

Yes, this is as happy as I felt when I heard I could run again! :)

In other news, I'm cleared to run!!!  Yippee!!  My lovely surgeon has decided that I heal extraordinarily well and has given me the green light to run.  I enjoyed a super duper 2.5 mile treadmill run this morning, it was heavenly. 

And it looks like I'm going to be able to run the Hobble Gobble!  This is my most favorite local race of the year and it was killing me to think that I might not be able to run with all of my friends.  Not sure if I'm running the 5k or the 10k yet, I'm going to take the next few weeks to decide what my body thinks of the idea.

Run happy!  I know I will! :)

See, I can cook!

In my quest to eat healthier and cleaner, I'm trying to expand my horizons when it comes to trying something new.  So I had to share the awesome dinner that I made tonight!

I got the original recipe from the Wannabe Athlete blog who got it from the Daily Garnish blog.  It looked so good that I had to try it.

After searching all over my little town for millet, I concluded that I needed to be a little creative if I wanted to eat since millet is not something easy to find.  Honestly I didn't even really know what millet looked like until today.

Uncooked Millet

I keep hearing how fabulous quinoa is for health and all sorts of other reasons.  It is a complete protein source, has all essential amino acids, gluten free and easy to digest.  Best of all it is delicious with a slightly nutty flavor.

Uncooked quinoa - see where I might get confused??

The other issue I had is that I obviously need to brush up on my winter squash types.  The recipe called for a butternut squash and I apparently purchased an acorn squash.

Well duh, now I see the difference! 

So here it is...the PeakFit take on Quinoa with Maple Acorn Squash & Cranberries:
Serves about 4 people

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 acorn squash, peeled & cubed
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the acorn squash with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Roast in oven for about 20 -30 minutes, flipping the squash a few times.  Keep an eye on it so it doesn't get too brown.


While the squash is cooking, cook the quinoa.  Put water and quinoa in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 10 -15 minutes until the water is absorbed. (Or use directions on package if you want to use microwave or rice cooker)


Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk until combined.


Once everything is cooked, combine squash, quinoa and cranberries in a large bowl.  Add dressing and stir well to combine all ingredients.

Enjoy!  I know that I did and that quinoa will be a new staple in my cupboard since the web is full of awesome recipes to try! 

Friday Favorites: An Obsession with Coffee Creamer

I try to eat healthy but it doesn't always work out exactly how I plan.  Between my husband and I working different hours and shifts, somewhat picky kids, tons of sports and other types of commitments and our training schedules easy sometimes trumps healthy.

Since I was diagnosed with a low functioning gallbladder, I pretty much had to cut all the fat and processed foods out of my diet until the surgery to avoid pain.  It was hard at first but when french fries = bent over painful agony, you'll condition yourself to choose an apple every time!

Why do you taunt me, sweet pink cupcake??

Now that I'm recovered from my surgery, I've started adding healthy fats back into my diet but I've decided that since I'm over the craving stages, the processed foods can stay gone.  Especially since the "experimental" pink frosted birthday cupcake I ate last night made me feel sick, it's just not worth it to me right now.

The one thing that I refused to compromise on though was my morning coffee creamer.  I only drink one cup of coffee per day, made with my Keurig.  And it must be light and sweet.  Up until this week, International Delights Caramel Macchiato non-dairy creamer was the go-to for my sweet fix.  But even though it tastes delicious, I know chemically modified non-dairy creamer isn't going to help in my clean(er) eating quest.

I was discussing my dilemma last weekend with my mom-in-law and she asked if I'd seen the Natural Bliss Creamers that Coffee Mate is making now.  And that they had Caramel flavor!  Score!!

So I tracked it down at my local Price Chopper grocery store (I saw they have it at Walmart too) and took it home to try.  And promptly fell in love!

Mmmm....caramel!

Now if you avoid dairy, stay away because this definitely has all sorts of real dairy goodness in it!  It's creamy and fabulous and I can pronounce all the words on the label so feel no guilt about enjoying it every morning!  Yippee!

Things I actually recognize as food!

They have vanilla and sweet cream flavors too, for those of you who don't love caramel. (But really, who doesn't love caramel??)

In other news - I get my stitches out this afternoon and will get the verdict on when I'm allowed to run and strength train again.  Keep your fingers crossed for me and my sanity that it is soon!

Also, check out the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge 2011 that my fellow blogger Amanda at RunToTheFinish is hosting!  It starts November 19 and runs through January 6, just enough time to make sure your festivities don't derail your fitness goals!  She also has some incredible prizes and it's open to all levels of fitness...make sure you take a look!!  Of course, I intend to kick butt and win so enter at your own competitive risk!! :)

Hope your Friday is a fabulous one! :)

Treadmill walking is a start!

This has been a long week already and it's only Wednesday.  Yesterday morning I woke up and felt like myself again.  And it felt really good.  Except my body is not used to sitting around the house, it's used to going constantly, working, chasing kids and running on a daily basis.

You get to see all kinds of pretty things when you're forced to relax!

So once the haze of the anesthesia wore off and I was able to get a couple good nights of sleep, I suddenly had more energy than I've had in months.  I felt like I wanted to crawl out of my skin.  It actually felt a lot like tapering so I'm calling it "post surgery tapering".

Since I can't run and I can't sit still, I decided to compromise.  I walked.  I went down to my trusty treadmill in the basement and walked for an hour while I watched the Biggest Loser.  And I only covered 3 miles in an hour.  20 minutes per mile.  But I did it!  Less than a week post surgery, I walked 3 miles.  Pretty psyched about that!

I also started using Daily Mile last night.  I know, I must live under a rock since I hadn't heard of Daily Mile until I started using Twitter.  I love using MapMyRun but I really like the social media aspect of Daily Mile. I figured it was a good time to start since I'm truly back at the beginning of my training.  I'm very excited to see the progress I'm going to make over the winter while I'm base building so I can race stronger than ever next year.

And fittingly enough, I just found out that today, October 19th, is National Love Your Body Day!  I absolutely love this!  Although I believe EVERYDAY should be a love your body day!  Love it, respect it, feed it, work on it and don't forget it's the only one you've got!  You and your body have to work together for a very long time.  Make it the healthiest body you can!

No Tummy Tuck for Me!

I have mad respect for my body.  It is far from perfect but it's given me 2 beautiful children and allowed me to run hundreds of miles.  It's always been strong and consistent.  Until the last few days.

Thursday morning I had my gallbladder removed.

See how loved I am?

Sidebar: I thought that this would be common knowledge, but if someone tells you they need to have surgery, this is not the cue for you to tell them every horrible surgical story you've ever heard.  It's kind of like when you're pregnant and every woman comes up to you to tell you how awful their labor was.  Why do people do that???

Really, really loved! 

For the record, gallbladder surgery is not fun.  It's not as horrible as half the people I talked to wanted me to think it was but definitely not something I ever want to go through again. Thankfully I'm a healthy and fit girl so I only spent one night at the hospital and got off the pain meds the day after surgery.  Tylenol is the only thing that doesn't make my world spin in circles.

But really, nothing says "Get Well Soon" quite like brand new Under Amour! :)

The most humbling experience (and when I "really" knew that I'd had major surgery) came Thursday evening when the nurse made me walk to the end of the hall.  And I could barely do it.  All I could think was, I ran 5 miles a couple of days ago and now I can barely walk to the end of the hall.  Yikes.

So I've decided that my mission now is to avoid surgery, if possible, for the rest of my life.  The funny part is that I used to believe that "some day" when my body was close to "perfect" I'd have some "work" done to tuck my tummy and move my girls up a bit to their pre-baby location.  Nope, never gonna happen.

Why would I torture myself to try to make me into someone that I'm not?  Why would any healthy girl?  Why is our self esteem so low that we feel we need to be "perfect"?  And why can't we accept that we are perfect just the way we are?

I love my body.  I work hard everyday to get my body in the best shape I can.  I will never take for granted the strength that I possess because I'm a pretty tough cookie.  I wish more girls I know believed this.

This unplanned downtime in my life has helped me put a lot of things into perspective.  It's reminded me that I don't have to run, instead I WANT to run.   Like right now.  Seriously.  But I won't, I'm all about respecting my body, remember?

The next few weeks will not go fast enough...but it will give me enough time to plan my racing calendar for next year! :)  

I'm a proud wifey!

First of all, I survived my gallbladder removal.  It was actually not as bad as I thought it would be but I will share more on that lovely experience another time.

I'm more psyched to share the story of the incredible race that my husband ran today.  It was his first half marathon and he did awesome! So, so, so proud of him!

We signed up for the 1st Annual Octoberfest Half Marathon in Peru, NY about 2 months ago.  Yes, you heard that right...we.  I was supposed to run the race too but because my gallbladder rebelled I had to DNS the race.  Because running a half marathon 2 days after surgery isn't a wise idea.  And yes, I am also aware that riding in the car for 4 hours and chasing my husband around a half course for 2 hours is not a wise idea 2 days after surgery either.

We headed out of town at 5:45am in a nasty, windy rain storm.  The way Aaron's races have gone this year, the weather wasn't really a surprise, he did his last triathlon (turned duathlon as swimming was out of the question) in Hurricane Irene.  But by the time we got to the start at 8:00am the rain had cleared and the sun was shining.  We headed to packet pickup.  I had debated whether or not I was going to pick up my packet since I wasn't running.  I have an issue with wearing a shirt from a race I didn't finish.  In the end I decided to grab it because there were some awesome coupons and a beer glass in it.  It was actually pretty emotional for me to walk up to the table and explain that I wasn't running so I didn't need my chip or bib.  Shed a couple of tears.

Pre-race photo op!

Only 347 folks were racing today so the time across the line was only 1 minute so Aaron was over the mat fast.  A really great mix of people were there, all abilities, shapes and sizes!

He's the one in the red visor, Garmin ready for operation

We hurried up and got back to the car so we could head out on the course to cheer him on.  The spectators on this little course were incredible.  The course was beautiful but it was on all the back roads around the apple orchards so I was surprised to see so many people out cheering, cow bell-ing and holding up signs.  Really good vibe all around! 

Wide open spaces, the leaves were beautiful!

Mile 7 - Ain't no thing!

After we saw Aaron at mile 7 we headed back to the finish line so we wouldn't miss the big finish.  Because the spectators were all over and it wasn't a completely closed course, traffic was getting a little crazy.  We got back just in time to see the first place finisher come in at 1:14:51.  A 15 year old boy took 5th place overall, finishing in 1:25:26, which can fuel the fire of the debate over "how young is too young to run a half marathon?"  (great blog post from one of my fave bloggers, Shut Up & Run)

Big Finish!

And we didn't have to wait much longer for Aaron to come over the finish line looking incredibly great!  Official chip time was 1:54:42, he had said before the race that if he could do it in less than 2:05 he'd be thrilled.  Well, he killed it.  Big time.  

Did I mention I was so, so, so proud of him? :) 

At least it didn't fall in the toilet...

It could always be worse.
It could always be worse.
It could always be worse.

That's my mantra for the day and the only thing that is keeping me from having a full blown panic attack.

I had my pre-op interview for my gallbladder surgery today.  Who knew you had to pass a test in order to have a body part removed?  Well, you do.  And the questions are intense.  I can't remember what I ate yesterday for lunch, how am I supposed to remember when I last took an ibuprofen?  

Meeting with the anesthesiologist didn't exactly give me the warm and fuzzies either, she went through the laundry list of all the things that could possibly go wrong then asked me to sign the form that said I was okay with all of that.  Yikes.  

Thank God I have excellent insurance!

Last stop was being sent to the lab for blood tests and the lovely peeing in a cup.  While I took care of business I balanced my paperwork, wallet and IPhone on the edge of the sink.  Which is actually kind of funny since I preach to my children constantly to never, ever leave anything electronic next to sink, blah, blah, blah.  It was like slow motion as I watched my phone slowly slide off the edge of the sink into the bowl.  Now I don't know about anyone else but in order to get one of those sink "turn on" sensors to go usually I have to dance in front of it.  Apparently an IPhone is the perfect trigger though.  And it wasn't just a little trickle of water.  This was a full on, heavy duty hospital faucet pouring water on what I consider my link to the universe.  I'm not going to lie.  I cried.  Freaking perfect.

The good news is that several hours later, a bag of rice, and a big hug from my husband, the phone now works and I feel a little better.  The rest of the day was uneventful so apparently I didn't tick off karma as much as I could have.  Didn't get my run in but I'm not going to beat myself up over it.  I can't wait until all this surgery business is done so I can get back to my "normal" life with my "normal" plans.  

So I've come to the conclusion that all there is left to do is go to bed.  Everything looks better after a good night's sleep, right?

Couch to Ironman? Yes please!

Technology freaking rocks.  I've been fortunate over the last 2 days to witness 2 incredible endurance races.  From my living room.  This boggles my mind.

I spent literally 6 hours Saturday night watching the Ironman World Championship from Kona.  It is like crack.  Or a train wreck.  You can't look away.  You don't want to look away.  You cheer and cry for elite athletes and total strangers.  And you want to be there, to experience all those emotions in person.  But even if I actually was in Kona, I wouldn't have the views or the information that I had from my living room.  Being able to watch the entire race as it unfolds does amazing things for this sport.  The exposure that was once only available 3 months after the race on some sports network that condensed 18 hours of competition into a 1 hour program is now live and in person.  If you didn't watch Craig Alexander or Chrissie Wellington or Mirinda Carfrae cross the finish line last night, you missed an incredible show.  Google it...seriously.

Chrissie Wellington - you're my hero!!

If the pros don't do it for you, keep watching.  Hearing Mike Reilly announce "You are an Ironman" to the age groupers is even more emotional & inspiring.  Seeing the looks of triumph and pride as the "normal" people cross the line makes me tear up every time.

Watching the Ironman Championship makes me want to do triathlons.  Nope, I can't really swim and I don't own a bike but darn it, I can run so that's a start right?

And yesterday morning I watched the Chicago Marathon...yes, I was rooting for Ryan Hall of course, but I was rooting more for the 45,000 other people out there leaving it all on the road.  These people that set a goal for themselves and achieved it with blood, sweat and tears.  I love to watch people cross the finish line and if it wasn't for live streaming of these races, I'd never be able to see these incredible moments.

Liliya Shobukhova - Winning Chicago for the 3RD time in a row!  

I have to wonder how many people who never ran a day in their lives watched one of these live events and said, "Yeah, I can do that".  Or are like me and can't swim competitively or own a bike and thought, "I can be a triathlete".  And how many of these same people really will finish a marathon or triathlon someday? There is something about watching these events that brings out the competitor in every one of us.  It reminds us of what we can accomplish if we really honestly try to achieve greatness.

We hear stories all the time about formerly overweight people who complete great feats.  When asked "Why?", they respond with "Because I watched x, y or z race and it inspired me to get off the couch."  And it doesn't have to be the Ironman or the Boston Marathon, it can be a local 5k.  How powerful is that?  Who wouldn't want to inspire people?  I know after feeling that vicarious adrenaline rush, I went and ran the most happy 5 miles I've ran in ages.  On the treadmill.  In my basement.  Which to me is proof that your mental state is everything.

We all have the power to affect change in people, whether we realize it or not.  So remember that when you tell someone you went for a run or finished a race, you might be inspiring them to do great things too.  Running "only 2 miles" to you might not sound like much but to someone who has never ran in their life, it's pretty amazing.

What will you do to inspire someone today? :)

By the way, check out my Facebook page for some fun fitness tips, motivational moments & general silliness - PeakFit @ Peak Sport Solutions

Potential, Llamas & Apple Picking

Mother Nature is bipolar.  I just know it.  30 degree nights followed by 75 degree days prove this point.  However currently she is smiling down on my little piece of Northern NY so I'm not going to ask questions & simply enjoy what's left of the warm weather before we don't see the sunshine again until April-ish.

Friday I was lucky enough to scoot out of work a bit early for a run by the river.  I was really hoping that the run would help me get rid of some of the frustration I'm feeling about this gallbladder surgery.  I mean, who wouldn't want to run with this scenery in the background? 

5K Out & Back on the St Lawrence River

Seriously, who wouldn't want to run here?

But the problem with running when you're frustrated is that sometimes you completely forget to pay any attention to your time and end up killing yourself 1.6 miles in to a 5K "fun" run.  I didn't wear the family Garmin, only my trusty little Timex stopwatch so I didn't feel compelled to look down constantly.  I'm usually about a 12 - 11 minute miler when training, 10 minutes on race day.  I realize that this pace is one that many would not consider running and to those people I say %@#%$@^@ and several other things that are not considered family friendly.  Obviously I'd like to run faster, by the way, and I'm working on it.  So imagine my surprise when at the turn around point I was running a 9:30 mile! I wish I hadn't looked down at that point because I was feeling really good but as soon as I knew what the time was I hit the wall hard.  Which led to walking for a bit followed by finishing the run at my normal snail-like pace.  Overall it averaged out to finishing about normal.  But it wasn't "normal" because it showed me what was possible, that there was potential in there I hadn't tapped yet.

I don't think many of us realize exactly what we're capable of as human beings. We second guess ourselves and make the mistake of listening to people who tell us we can't do things.  Running faster than I though I could was the ultimate ego boost.  It silenced my biggest critic...me.  There's always that little voice in the back of your head telling you that you can't do it, you can't finish, you aren't good enough, fast enough, strong enough.  And I told it to SHUT UP last night.  And it felt so good!  


Saturday I was lucky enough to spend the day doing my favorite fall thing, hanging at the apple orchard.  If you're in Northern NY anywhere and want to check out an awesome orchard, Banker Orchard in Plattsburgh, NY is the place to be!  

There's an apple orchard, pumpkin picking, petting zoo, pony rides, bounce house, games for the kids & an adorable little store filled with homemade apple cider, donuts, baked goods, canned goodies, crafty stuff & apples of course. 

It's so nice to have a place where you can just let your kids run free.  Sometimes I complain about living in the middle of nowhere but places like this are the reason that we live where we do.  
          

I even made a new friend.  This guy REALLY liked carrots, I really like carrots, what's not to love?


The best part about this fabulous weekend is that there are still 2 days left of it!  Thank you, Christopher Columbus!  Or to my neighbors to the north, Happy Thanksgiving!  


So I'm going to go enjoy it! :)

By the way, check out my Facebook page for some fun fitness tips, motivational moments & general silliness - PeakFit @ Peak Sport Solutions

Suck it Up, Buttercup!

Suck it up.  Yup, I keep telling myself that today since I keep trying to throw myself a world class pity party, complete with black balloons and sad clowns.  I'm usually one of the most optimistic people that I know.  I know this because I can completely annoy roomfuls of people with my ability to find the silver lining in every situation.  

Last night I found out that I have to get my gallbladder removed.  I'm having a hard time focusing on the good stuff since said gallbladder removal means that I'm going to be missing my most favorite race of the year...the race I've been planning on shattering my previous 10K PR on...the race that all my really cool friends are going to be taking part in without me.     

So what I've decided to do instead of complaining for an entire blog is share with everyone 5 of my favorite things about today:

1.  Honeycrisp Apples - these little babies are THE BEST apples of all time! I compulsively eat at least one a day this time of year.  Not only are they the sweetest & crunchiest, they are incredibly filling for an afternoon snack!

 2.  Ice Arenas - in addition to all the other exciting things I'm involved in, I work at a municipal ice arena too.  This week the maintenance staff is putting in the ice for the year.  I've watched them put it in for several years but I find myself fascinated every time it happens.  Very cool stuff!  Plus hockey season starts in a week & you better believe I'm a proud hockey mom!

3.  Twitter - I don't know why it took me so long to get on board with this fabulous social media tool!  I'm a major Facebook addict but never had the urge to check out Twitter until last week.  But I'm so glad I did!  Where else in the world is Bart freaking Yasso and the NYC ING Marathon going to follow ME??  Plus Sarah from Run Like a Mother actually commented to me too! Yes I know I sound like a star struck geek but I am loving this stuff!

4.  PlanetGear.com - my new weekly shopping fix! This is an incredible shopping site that partners with major retailers to sell outdoor gear & travel at huge discounts.  You do have to sign up but it's free so why not?  Plus they give back money to all kinds of awesome causes, this week is $1 to the Susan G Komen Foundation for every like on Facebook & every new Planet Gear member.     

5.  My awesome family & friends - it's amazing how you take people for granted until you really need help.  Hopefully if you're lucky (like me) when crazy stupid stuff happens in your life (gallbladder, I'm talking to you!), you have a great support system of people who love you & who will help you out any way they can.  Appreciate these people!  I know I do! 

Whew, that actually made me feel much better.  :) 

Skewed Priorities

                                                               (courtesy of I <3 to Run)

I thrive on being busy.  I'm incredibly obsessive about calendars and schedules.  Yes, I admit it, I have huge compulsive organizational issues.  But this morning a certain someone that I love dearly reminded me that not everyone else feels the same way I do.  I look at my full October calendar and smile while others would feel incredibly overwhelmed by how busy my family is every. single. day. of our lives.

Of course when we get busy the main priorities shift to kids, work and other kinds of important things like food in the house and clean underwear.  Fitness (and sometimes showers) take a backseat to life.  While I fully support households full of clean underwear, wouldn't it make better sense sometimes to put off doing the laundry for an hour and go for a run or bike ride? And you can even start the laundry before you go if you really need to.  After all, once you put it in the machine these days, it takes care of itself for about 30-60 minutes, right?  

I really think that overwhelmed feeling that we get sometimes is more psychological than the reality of our lives.  For example, you're on here reading this blog right now (thank you, thank you!), you're on Facebook, Twitter, whatever your flavor is in the social media world.  What else could you be doing right now?  How much time per day do you honestly (key word: HONESTLY) spend per day in front of a glowing box?  It's so easy to get sucked in by saying I'll just check my Facebook really quickly and then suddenly, poof, one hour of your life is gone that you're never going to get back!  I think all of our time is worth more than that.  So when I hear people make excuses like "I'm so tired.  I don't have time to workout. There aren't enough hours in the day" I think to myself, have you even tried to prioritize yourself and your fitness today?

That's right, I said it!! YOURSELF, not your kids, your husband, your wife or whoever else you feel the need to take care of!  For me, that meant getting up at 5am today and hopping on the treadmill if I really wanted to fit my run in.  Anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.  If we don't take care of ourselves first, we cannot take care of anyone else.  It's just not possible.  And we hear that message all the time, the Biggest Loser makes millions per year on that concept, but so many people never take it to heart.  Yup, you're probably going to make someone upset along the journey of prioritizing you first, people do not like relationship changes. Remember though, anyone who can't see that you need to be healthy and happy and resents you because of positive life changes could actually be a toxic person that you don't need in your life.

We're all worth more than we give ourselves credit for and if we don't make time to become happier, healthier people it's our own fault...no one else's...no matter what.  Take responsibility for yourself and your fitness.  It's amazing the incredible things that you can accomplish when you do! :)

Girl Power?

So this morning was the Run Like a Diva half marathon in Long Island.  I had planned since January to be at that race but unfortunately life got in the way so I wasn't able to make it this year.  Registration is already open for next year's race at an incredible price ($60) so maybe I should just sign up for it now.  I have a friend who finished the race this morning (Congrats Amy!!) and I'm impatiently waiting for her to get home and give all the details on pink boas, champagne & tiaras.

But all of this "girl power" has got me thinking about about women's-only races.  I know that this is a hotbed topic right now in distance running due to the brilliant minds at the IAAF deciding that records in women's road running will only be counted in women's-only races. Sorry Paula Radcliffe, guess it really doesn't matter that you set a women's marathon world record, but we will count it as your best run.  Even the world's best run.  But not the record.  Talk about a slap in the face.  I've seen pictures of the finish line and not one of them had a man carrying her over it so why strip her of something she honestly earned?  A man, a greyhound or a cheetah could pace a race. It doesn't matter how fast the pacer runs, if the athlete physically can't keep up, they aren't going to keep pace.

The thing with women's-only races is that some women love them and some women hate them.  I personally ran my first half marathon in April at a women's-only event, the More Fitness Half Marathon in NYC, and loved every minute of it.  There were over 10,000 ladies of all shapes, sizes and abilities that crossed the finish line that morning and I was incredibly proud to be one of them.  I think that a lot of women, myself included, feel that the pressure for competition isn't as overwhelming with no men around.  Plus it's just silly fun to indulge in being a "girly girl" sometimes.  But I know some girls that think a women's-only event has WAY too much estrogen in one place for their taste and couldn't stand to be around that many females at one time.

My husband, who is also a runner and a triathlete, likes to point out that he feels women's-only events are unfair because of reverse sexism.  I see his point too, how often do you see a men's-only event that isn't a specific Olympic or World Class event?  Boston, New York, Ironman, they are all major co-ed events.  And can you imagine what would happen if they ever tried to say no girls allowed?  Yet as women we have IronGirl, Run Like a Diva, Nike Women's Marathon, Disney Princess Half Marathon.  Yes, I know men can participate in many of these events but are often not eligible for awards.  Besides, how many male athletes want to be a diva or a princess unless they're trying to prove a point?

What it all comes down to in the end is that we're ALL athletes.  Whether we are an elite or a beginner, a man or a woman, we all cross the same finish line, no matter how long it takes us.  We all worked our asses off to get there, literally in some cases.  We all keep trying to be better and faster.  We all love the feeling of finishing.  So what else do we really need to know?  

Maybe we need to stop over thinking it all and just go for a run. :)        

Well, you have to start somewhere...

Change & new beginnings scare me.  Knowing that about myself, it's hard to believe but I'm so incredibly excited about finally getting the chance to start this blog.  When I had the crazy idea to start Peak Sport Solutions last winter I really didn't think that I'd get anywhere with it.  I mean, we live in the middle of nowhere upstate NY so would the idea of sport event planning & race timing be something anyone would be interested in?  Well it turns out that yup, people do like us!  Peak Sport Solutions had an incredibly successful summer, we produced a youth triathlon, 3 5K races & timed 2 races for other race directors.  We have a busy fall planned & we're already starting to plan a 2012 race calendar with over 20 events.

I've met so many awesome people over the summer, some who've been running all their lives, some that just started running & some that want to start running but aren't sure how.  I've seen people PR this summer,  people complete their first 5K in happy tears & people run more than a mile for the first time in their lives.  The running community is such an incredibly supportive group of people and that is the most touching piece of humanity I've seen in a while.  Which leads me to why I'm so psyched about this blog & starting PeakFit @ Peak Sport Solutions...I finally have a way to give back to the community that's given me so much.  PeakFit is my way to help people learn to love running as much as I do & do it the right way, hopefully without injury.  Living a healthy life everyday is another big part of how I want to help others through fitness, nutrition & education.  I'm not an elite athlete by any means, my fitness journey is on going too.  I want to share with everyone things help with motivation & ideas to make daily health & fitness a little bit easier for me & you too!

So welcome to PeakFit...looking forward to a healthy journey together! :)