DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW!

The world is changing at such a rapid rat that waiting to implement changes will leave you two steps behind. DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW!

~ Lululemon

Friday the thirteenth is recognized by many people as a day to be wary of every situation. Strange things are said to happen on that such day. Things that are not so cheery and can change a person’s luck in a heartbeat. It’s why many buildings have been built with the thirteenth floor conveniently missing. It’s a dark day. A day of black. A day of mourning. A day when all bad things come to be.

But not this past Friday the thirteenth. This past Friday (May 13, 2011) a remarkable thing happened. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter lined up in a row causing astrologers and star-gazers around the world to stare up in the sky in awe. This rare occurrance, happening once every 100 years, signifying a major change in the world today. Some say that it represents the world coming to an end. Some say it's an event to celebrate - all the positive changes that will be. Regardless, change on a whole is in the air.

So this got me thinking. What is it that is my big change? What in my life – my world – is changing right now? Or better yet – what is it that I want to change right now? The more I thought about it, the more blank my mind became. Sure, there are things that I know I can improve upon in my life, but they are all things that are not going to happen overnight. I would love to cut the crap food out of my life for good. I would love to just simply not crave that food. Not want it. Not “need” it. Not desperately cling to the idea of what I could get for my next “treat” (I type this as I pop another jelly bean into my mouth). I would love that. But that will come with time.

I would love to be at my optimal fitness level – where I was at while trekking Te Araroa Trail. I would love to be able to maintain that level of fitness in my everyday life. I know that I could be better than what I am right now, but again – that will come with time. Time to sort out my schedule. Time to sort out the weather. Time to sort out my options. Time to get to where I want to be. Time.

Above this, I also want to develop my art further. I would love to be in a position of which I feel confident of how I am able to present myself as an artist. Confident of my skill base. Confident of selling myself for certain projects to boost my experience in the art industry. Again – time comes into play. I will get there. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But I will get there. Step by step.

There are many more things above and beyond that I would love to do with my life. Things I want to learn. Places I want to see. People I want to build better relationships with. There are so many things – changes – I want to do with my life that it is ridiculous to ever think that I might have enough time to fit it all in.

So when I look at my life as how I have it right now. I figure I have it pretty good. I get to live with some wonderful people in a brilliant location in New Zealand. I get to learn of a business that I dream of one day developing into my own. I get to work with an awesome team that allows me to leave work each day stress-free. I get to try something new while getting to meet some locals as I learn my bit for the local production of Robin Hood. Not only that, but I get to work at developing my art portfolio as I work at showcasing my photography and producing photos for local businesses in the area. Dare I say it – I’m not looking at the other side of the fence and wishing I was where the grass was greener. The grass is pretty green right here where I am. Right here. Right now.

The biggest change I want to make in my life right now is to just be. To just enjoy where I am at. Not looking forward and not looking back. Just enjoying the moment for what it is. Where I am. What I am doing. I think the moment of right now is the most precious one to experience and all too often I personally get caught up in the doing of things for the future. Of the goal-setting. The future-planning. The dreaming of tomorrow all the while flying through today. I hope to stop flapping my wings so furiously enough that I can find a nice branch to perch on and just be. Feel the wind on my face. The snow under my foot. The smell of the leaves as they fall from the trees. The taste of my homemade soup. The sight of the mountains in front of me. Everything. Bit by bit. Just being. Living. Loving.

Sometimes the most important thing of taking the bull by the horns is the act of taking the bull by the horns. And that’s what I intend to do and I intend to do it right now. Just be.

Sweat Once a Day

Sweat once a day to regenerate your skin.

~ Lululemon

Sometimes the simplest things in life can become the most complicated overall. When I first read this quote from Lululemon’s manifesto, it caught my eye because it was so simple. There’s no pressure as to exactly how much sweating needs to be done. Nothing to day what a person has to do to get their sweat on. It just is as simple as “sweat once a day.” Easy.


01.05.2011

“Sweat once a day.” Seems simple enough a concept and yet I find myself struggling with it. Maybe it’s the busy schedule that I find I am full of excuses (the most common being that I’m “too tired”). Maybe it’s the increasingly cool weather that causes me to hesitate in getting out of bed in the morning 0 much less leave my cabin. Maybe it’s that I’m just plain lazy. It’s not like anyone is pushing me to work out – plus I’m due to put on a little winter weight – right?

Truth be told – I think the real reason I am struggling is because of the half marathon looming ahead. I’m scared of what it will be like. I’m scared of failing. But the thing is – it’s easier to accept failure when I have control over it (ie: choosing not to train) than it is to give it my all and end up falling short. The reality is – when I really think about it – I want to succeed more than I fear failure. I spose it’s best to get my butt in gear and let a few drops of sweat fall.

*****

Well – the day’s now done and I look ahead to tomorrow knowing I can do better than today. Sure, I did my bit – went to work, drank water, did yoga and sweat on the bike, but I know I can step it up. Take it up a notch. Tomorrow will be the day I stop the “I think I can” and change it to “I will” – I know what I have to do. I just need to do it.

I started off my journey with this portion of the manifesto full of gusto. I was ready to go. I knew I needed to train for the half marathon and having the little voice in the back of my head telling me that my absolute baseline for each day would be to just break a sweat at some point. That was all, and yet that simple baseline I knew was not near enough for what I wanted to be doing for training for the half marathon. It wasn’t just the fact that I was setting out to complete a half marathon (which I have never done before), but it was that I had also just finished walking the length of the country. I didn’t want to be a disappointment – to myself – in completing the half marathon. I knew what I would be capable of doing given what I was doing while completing Te Araroa Trail and I knew that as time has passed, my fitness levels have been slowly dropping due to my lifestyle balancing out and becoming more “normal.”


05.05.2011

Some days I find it really funny how my brain works. As time has gone on, I am finding it more and more difficult to stay motivated to maintain my “sweat once a day” mantra. I’m still doing it – but the motivation is greatly decreasing. Instead of just kicking my butt in gear, I find the excuses building a stockpile in my head. It’s getting colder. The sun is rising later and I don’t like running in the dark. I’m tired – too tired. I’m becoming busier with everything going on. I’m bored. I honestly don’t feel like it.

As all these thoughts go through my head – my exercise has deteriorated to next to nill. As a result, my energy levels continue to drop, my body feeling like that of a slug. I’ve started noticing slight changes in my skin and muscle definition that isn’t so appealing. Not to mention my stress levels are increasing and my outlook on life is struggling to stay upbeat. Like I said – funny how the brain works. Or at least my brain.

Now, I know that my fitness level is still quite high in comparison to the average person and that it’s not as if I’ve completely fallen off the wagon food-wise, but I also know that I am lying to myself if I were to say I’m happy with where I am at. The truth is – I know what I need to do to be on track and the only reason I’m having a tough time is because no one’s telling me what to do. I don’t “have” to push myself nor do I “have” to keep reaching for my goals. It’s all on my shoulders. It’s up to me. So if I know all this –I suppose it’s time for me to just do it and quit stalling as I continuously try to explain myself.




Half marathon to the left; 10km to the right

 As the days continued to fly by me and the day of the half marathon loomed closer, I became increasingly more excited and more terrified of that big day. I knew I could still do better in training, but I also knew that what was done was done and I couldn’t turn back time. I could only make the best of what time I did have left. I switched my treasured morning runs to the afternoons so I could get rid of the excuse that I was “too tired” or it was “too early” or “too cold.” Instead, I did my work-for-accommodation in the morning before heading off to St. James to do housekeeping. Then there were no excuses. By the time I got back to the camp in the afternoon, the day would have warmed up and it was still light enough outside to go running. And so run I did, cramming my last few days with pushing myself a little bit harder in hopes of breaking past the mental block of questioning my ability to do the half marathon.


07.05.2011

Today’s the day. The day of the half marathon. All things considered, I feel pretty chill about the entire thing. I’ve decided to compare the half marathon to some experience I’ve had with Te Araroa Trail and the truth is – there is no comparison. The distance I’ll do today on foot would have taken about 4 hrs with my pack on – today it will take about half that time. There’s no mountains to climb – only 2 small hills. No rivers to cross or trails to find. Plus, at the end of it all it will be the end. A shower and meal is what awaits me.

Not to say that today won’t be difficult. It’s drizzling rain outside and the temperature is cool. But I’m determined to do this. I WILL do it.

Yesterday I concentrated my efforts on sweating my way up the first hill of the route – 2km of up and I was at the top before I knew it. Going into this today knowing that I can do that hill, regardless of the fact that it’s pretty much the beginning of the run, helps tremendously. So yup. 21km. Half a marathon. I’m stoked, but so terrified. My goal in this? Finish it without stopping. Just keep going. And going. And going. Period.

Still all smiles after 2hrs and 20min
running in the rain

And so it is done. Finished. Over. Complete. I find it amazing how I can spend so much time and energy in the buildup of one event only to have it over in the blink of an eye. Okay, maybe it wasn’t over THAT quickly, but still. I did do it. I did what I set out to do. Yesterday I completed the half marathon and did it without stopping. Not only that, but in doing so, I was not the last to finish (not by a long shot) and I managed to finish under my ultimate goal of less than 2.5hrs. I did it in 2hrs and 20min.

I woke up yesterday to find the skies grey and it drizzling rain. I tried to look on the positive side that at least the sun wouldn’t be blinding in my eyes and at least there was no snow on the ground. All I had to run in was my Five Fingers shoes, which aren’t exactly the warmest pair of footwear when the ground is cold. The weather was only a minor part of my thought process. I was stoked that it was the day to do the half marathon. It was time.

Alex and I arrived at the sports complex to get ready to go (she did the 10km run) and by the time the half marathon group set off, the rain was starting to get a little heavier. I was just glad I had previously done the first hill of the route as it allowed me to focus on my pace and forget about all the people stampeding too fast up the hill in the mud that was quickly forming on the track. Making it to the top of that 2km stretch of hill was exhilarating and even more so when I knew that the next few KM would be downhill.

By the time I made it to the first water station around the 5km mark, I was feeling good. The next few KM went just as smoothly until the 2nd hill loomed ahead. Given that this was near the halfway point, it shattered my mental focus – my body wasn’t ready for it. So I made it halfway and then power walked up the rest to the second water station. Then it was downhill again. From then on it was a mission of simply following the people in front of me as we wove our way in and out of the forest, across cold-water streams and around increasingly large muddy patches. By the time I reached the third water station at about 16km my feet were starting to get cold and my muscles tensing up. The air had cooled and the rain had increased, making it a potential recipe for disaster if I didn’t keep going. I didn’t want my muscles to cramp up and I refused to give up. I wanted to finish. I needed to finish.

Eventually I approached the sign to say that there was only 1km left to go. I was stoked. I had made it to the final stretch and I couldn’t be happier. Rounding the corner to the school field, I barely noticed the people cheering everyone over the finish line. I was too busy taking into account the big timer that told me I was finishing under 2.5hrs. I was ecstatic. I had pushed myself further than I ever thought I could go while running and I had done it in miserable weather in Five Finger shoes.



21km in Five Fingers - love it

 That won’t be the end of me either. Getting back to the camp to have a hot shower and put on dry clothes, I knew that I was hooked. I know I am not quite ready to jump into doing full marathons or anything, but the half marathon is definitely something I would love to do again. Sweating once a day in preparation for the half marathon was only the beginning. I want that to become part of my entire lifestyle. The high I get from completing something like that half marathon far exceeds the difficult bits of being tired, cold or otherwise unmotivated. Doing it to regenerate my skin is just a bonus.