Thrill Seeking

"Sometimes we are so stuck in a past that we cannot change, or so afraid of a future over which we have limited control, that we don't really appreciate the present - the very moment before us.  We worry about what happened or what will happen, and we forget about what is happening.  We squander the one thing we have for certain - now."  - Sandy Eisenberg Sasso - God's Echo

For all of us, I'm pretty certain that I can safely say we are guilty of not always living in the present but worrying about what's to come next or what has happened before.  We get caught up in these thoughts and lose sight of how precious the moment we are in is.  Today's adventure was about forgetting everything that has happened or what lies ahead of us in the coming weeks, but instead living in the moment and laughing all the while.

Today we found ourselves down in Idaho Springs, CO with the Arkansas Valley Adventures company (http://www.coloradorafting.net/) for a full day of white water rafting.  After arriving at AVA we found ourselves gearing up...fully covered with wet suits, bootie socks, PFD's, splash jackets and helmets.  The woman in the store let us know that the water was a balmy 38 degrees!!  In fact, the runoff from the mountains literally had ice coming into the river!!  After we were all geared up and listened to our safety training, we were in the van on the way to our drop off point.  We went over a few paddle commands and from there we were in the water and on our way down the river!

Our guide Kevin was truly amazing!  Not only did he answer EVERY single question that we had but he kept us laughing (and safe) the entire trip!  Now the first half of the trip I was fortunate enough to sit in the middle section behind my friend Brett.  To say he helped break the impact of those waves on me is probably an understatement.  After going over some pretty crazy class III and class IV rapids, we found ourselves "eddying" off and grabbing a terrific BBQ lunch.

After lunch we geared back up and headed back down the river for the remainder of our trip.  Now, the second half of this experience I was not so lucky and ended up sitting right up front.  I got CRUSHED by the waves...CRUSHED!  And although those wet suits are great, they are definitely not waterproof. Teeth chattering and all, fully soaked from head to toe in 38 degree water, we continued to paddle our way over some amazing white water.  Ducking under bridges (because the water is at record highs and moving UNBELIEVABLY fast) we found ourselves going over not one, but 2- 10 foot drops!!  

The trip was incredible!  From Kevin, our guide, to our driver, to our safety kayaker the team at AVA were amazing!  Nobody fell out of the boat, we laughed all day, and walked away with another Colorado experience checked off of the bucket list!  For those 5 hours, I can safely say that none of us thought about the past or worried about the future...we just truly enjoyed the moment and held on for dear life! 

All Checked Off

It's AMAZING how good you can feel when you accomplish something!  How reaching a goal or completing a task can just bring a smile to your face.  Well I'm for sure a competitive person, even if it's just with myself and now with running on the back burner I have had to find other ways to experience that feeling of accomplishment and achievement.  As I said in my last post, I was creating a goal list daily to try and organize myself and get more done in those 24 hours.  Yesterday was day one and man did I accomplish quite a bit!

I woke up yesterday morning and decided to take a 30 minute walk outside just to get myself into the mode of work for the day.  Nothing really beats the sunshine and the fresh air first thing in the morning.  Throughout the day I was able to fit in a 30 minute bike ride, a bicep/tricep strength training session, two sets of the exercises the PT gave me (along with a little core work) and complete over 15,000 steps (my daily goal) on the FitBit.  I kicked butt at work, truly following up on everything I needed to do.  I was able to get some housework done, a small tan at the pool, grocery shopping, and even remembered to take my vitamins!  By 6pm I couldn't believe how much I had done and how great it felt!

After all of that I was able to join a friend for a walk at Wash Park with his three furry friends.  Now walking around Wash Park is fun all in of itself as there are SO many people to people watch.  It's a breeding ground for the "outside of the box" kind of people.  From rollerbladers, to volleyball players, to a string quartet and runners it is filled with so many different people from so many different walks of life.

But in true Heather fashion nothing is ever quite simple or as relaxing as it should be.  So these "three furry friends" are labrador retrievers...all of which are pretty strong and fast moving and fully grown.  Now imagine me, holding these three dogs by myself with a gigantic mastiff walking down the path towards us.  Now if you don't know how big a mastiff is, I suggest you google it.  This dog was AT LEAST 150lbs and would stand taller than me on his back legs.  As my friend had walked away momentarily and left me with the 3 labs, I'm now seeing this mastiff get closer and closer.  I don't know if I was more afraid the mastiff was going to snap at us, if the three labs were going to take off after him and leave me on my back with my feet in the air or if it was going to be an all out brawl.  But in that moment, I had all 3 labs sitting, their leashes clenched tightly in my hands and a sheer look of panic in my eyes.  The whole event ended up being very anti-climatic as the mastiff was super sweet, the owner completely friendly and the 3 labs so UNBELIEVABLY well behaved!  But for everyone else that could see my face, I'm sure it was quite the hysterical moment.  :)

So my point in all of this, because I become so easily distracted is that I found such happiness and accomplishment in creating that list yesterday.  I was able to get so much done that come the end of the day I was able to truly enjoy myself and not worry about what else I needed to get done.  So much so in fact that I was able to take in this fantastic sunset just as we were leaving the park!

Time Or Lack Thereof

It's amazing how fast 24 hours can go by.  How fast a week, a month, or even a year can slip past us.  Lately I find myself wondering where the hell the time has gone?!  How is it that I wake up at 4:30 in the mornings and yet still can't find enough time in the day to get done the things that I need and want to?!  It's crazy, simply crazy!

The past few weeks seem to be a whirlwind for me.  Professionally, I'm in the process of winding down one job and starting another.  I couldn't be more excited as it's a great step for me in my career and I'm eager for a new beginning and a company that I feel I can dive right into.  Physically, it's been a tough few weeks as I'm still actively seeing the Physical Therapist and working on this issue with my back and legs...all which seems to be stemming from a sciatic nerve issue.  But when you take two big milestones and mix them with social obligations, personal workout schedules, and just everyday life, you realize that you find yourself wondering when you get to eat or sleep.  So begins the OCD style of me again...

I have decided that every morning when I wake up, I'm making a goal list.  These are things that I hope to get done that day.  I have two pages to this list.  One is professional and the other is personal.  It doesn't matter when or in what I order I accomplish these tasks/goals, but that I complete them by the end of the day.  Hopefully this will help me to keep everything in order professionally, kick my friends butts on the FitBit steps :), increase my strength and endurance for upcoming adventures, and be able to maintain a good work/life balance with everyone.  So tomorrow it is...tomorrow is the day that starts this new OCD process of organization...maybe then I will get back on track with posting workouts/recipes and overall fun stuff on this blog!  :)

A Small Step Backwards

I'm holding onto the saying, "two steps forward, one step back."  After meeting with the Physical Therapist today and hearing how running is out of the question for a little while I was ultimately discouraged.  Running is not something that I just do to stay in shape, I use it as a stress reliever, a chance to enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful trails of Colorado and just to be able zone out and have some "me" time.  Running is part of my daily regimen...so now without it, I have to get creative.

After my PT appointment today, I was thankful to have a few things lined up in order to enjoy the sunshine and get a little workout in.  In addition to the exercises I have been told to do by the PT, I was able to spend a little time at the playground with an adorable little two year old!  While we played on the jungle gym and ran around the park, I was also able to get a little upper body workout in climbing around on the monkey bars!  What's better than a lunchtime hour spent outside in the beautiful sunshine, on a playground with a little munchkin?!

After the work day was over, I met a friend for a little vinyasa yoga at the Prana store in Cherry Creek. Throughout the hour class we worked on several inversions and had a hardcore ab workout.  Knocking out my headstand was definitely the highlight of my practice tonight!  But it was during our meditation at the end of class that I had a chance to really free myself of a few things and set forth my intentions for the next few weeks.

On my walk home from class I decided that I was not going to let this "no running" thing discourage me.  So while this might be a step back in my fitness regimen, I now have the opportunity to focus on a few different things.  I can step up my yoga practice (something I've been meaning to do for months).  I can work on my upper body strength (something I've always been horrible about doing) and I can focus on working more on my core strength.  So even though I'm discouraged about the no running, I'm definitely excited to take my fitness in a few different directions.

Sometimes it takes a step back and a few weeks of "rest" for us to be able to fully gain acceptance for who and what we are so that we may leap forward and take those next two really big steps!  In all walks of life, that's what it's about.  Two steps forward and one step back...  This time it's the opposite...one step back and two steps forward...I'm looking forward to those leaps!

Roller Coaster Rides

It's crazy how many ups and downs life is filled with.  How in the course of one 24 hour period you can experience so many highs and yet still feel the lows.  But then again, that's what makes life life...and without those lows we would never fully enjoy the highs.  Just like today's weather...without the rain and storms how would we ever truly appreciate the sunshine?

The past two weeks have been nothing short of a ride on the world's tallest roller coaster.  Just like the Kingda Ka located at the Six Flags in New Jersey which is the world's tallest roller coaster (at 456 feet high) and the world's second fastest (as it launches to speeds of 128mph) my life has been full of slow creeking climbs and then some thrill seeking drops.

After running Bolder Boulder's 10k on Memorial Day and realizing that my leg injury had not yet healed, I've been attempting the slow road to recovery.  It's definitely not an easy task to give up something you enjoy (running) to try and allow your body to heal.  It's frustrating and outright annoying to not be able to just throw on sneakers and go outside for a 5+ mile run whenever I want.  I've tried everything to find the "quick fix" but just like fitness, there is no quick fix.  So I gave in and have my first PT appointment on Tuesday...hopefully then I will find some answers.

And even with all of those feelings of struggle based on frustration, there have been oh so many highs! Between amazing new opportunities in my own life, to weddings and babies in the lives of my friends...these two weeks have been fantastic and full of smiles.  So while I might be on a bit of a hold in regards to my fitness regimen, my life itself has been on fast forward.

Life can catch you by surprise...it can be hard and yet so rewarding...all you need to do is sit down, strap yourself in, look straight ahead and enjoy the ride!  Guaranteed that the view from the top will be worth any plummeting drop or winding corner!