“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.”

Hello Friends!

I really do need to sit down and blog more frequently because now that I waited, I have so much to share that I don’t know where to start!  I may just have to knock out a couple posts to keep my thoughts from sounding garbled. 😉

For starters, our trip to San Diego was PHENOMENAL!  It was warm and sunny basically everyday there.  That meant I got to test out my fancy new GPS watch while running along the beach.  Pretty awesome!  I logged almost 20 miles of running with the sun on my face and wind in my hair. That brings my running mileage up to almost 100 miles for the year!

I was pretty tempted the try some open water swimming out there, because let’s be honest, when else was I going to have an opportunity to try swimming with friendly sea lions (in shark infested water)?  As it turned out, that didn’t quite work out for me.  The days when we had time were pretty chilly with the breeze factor, so I had to resort to just jealously watching the other swimmers with better fortitude.  That’s not to say I didn’t test out the water.  I spent a couple of my runs in the surf, which is exactly how I knew the water was freezing!

Regardless of my lack of open water swim experience, I did at least get a lot of running mileage in with some great scenery as a back drop.  I also sort of got the hang out the GPS watch, although I still haven’t figured out how to sync the data with Runkeeper (where I am tracking my mileage goals for the year) other than to enter it manually.  One nice thing about it is that is buzzes at each mile interval with the time.  While I could live without knowing each mile interval time, it’s nice to know how many miles in I am without looking down.  I also could see where it could be useful to use the heart rate display to track what zone you are training in… not that I’m ready to give up my zen running style. 😉

While I didn’t get to swim on our trip, I did at least get to read about swimming.  I made it through most of Triathlon For Every Woman just on the flight out and finished the rest before we made it home.  If you are naturally un-athletic, out of shape, over weight, ever considered triathlon, or never considered triathlon this book is a MUST READ!  I found Meredith from Swim Bike Mom totally relatable and hilarious to boot.  While I may not have ever had to contend with a Fat Stranger, I have had to overcome a Hollow, Emotionally Unstable Stranger following an abusive relationship.  As she points out, her book is not exclusive.  Everyone hits a point in his or her life when they don’t like or can’t relate with the person looking back in the mirror.  Her story is one of reconciling who she was and who she wanted to be.  That is something anyone can relate to.  While I’m sure Meredith would love for everyone to try triathlon as a means to changing their lives, what she is really doing is encouraging the masses to go out and chase there dreams.  She does this by breaking the process down into short term and long term goals.  Start with what seems doable and build to the impossible.  I couldn’t agree with her more.  She is truly a woman after my own heart.  Add to that that she has a team of experts (including her husband The Expert) to break everything down and make it accessible.  Meredith is open about the fact that she had barely finished a couple  5Ks before making the decision (or should I say Decision) to become a triathlete.  The journey changed her life forever.

Now she has built a Swim Bike Mom Empire (I mean the girl even has her own triathlete apparel! Who is up for some Running Thriver swag? jk Maybe someday) , and as I wrote to tell her, I only hope that someday I can expand The Running Thriver to be able to inspire and help the masses to the degree that she has.  There was I time when I used to think that I needed to accomplish all my craziest goals in life before my story would be worth sharing.  I believed that I should wait until after completing an Ironman to write a book. However, Swim Bike Mom has changed my perspective on that.  When she wrote her book, she had set a goal for herself to complete an Ironman, but hadn’t actually done it yet.  Instead, she choose to write her story after her second half Ironman.

When I started sharing my story on this blog, my goal was to use my adventures in fitness to inspire others to go chase their dreams (not so different from Swim Bike Mom).  At this point, I would say that I have accomplished quite a few fitness goals. Since starting this blog, I have finished several half marathons (more than I can keep track of actually), a marathon, ran the Ultra Beast (until they shut down the course and pulled me off it), finished my first Ultra, and learned to bike and swim at the age of thirty.  At no point did I ever stop and say this is too scary or too hard.  Nor did I give up when I was kicked out of my first swim class (by the pool troll). Instead, I have forged forward in the direction of my dreams even when I was the only person who believed I could accomplish them.

The thing I love about Meredith is that she didn’t need the support of the masses to go chase her dreams.  She didn’t care that people thought she was crazy or didn’t think she fit the perfect athlete prototype.  In fact, the fact that she was not a super fit, athletic, Glamazon at the start of her journey is exactly why I relate to her and find her so inspiring.  She decided to become a triathlete at a point when she was working full time, had two kids under the age of three, and was unhappy with her body.  She then turned her dream into a successful brand.  This woman gets kudos ALL DAY LONG in my book.  I am all for anyone who is willing to chase down their dreams, however I am in AWE of ladies like Meredith who are able to build an empire while being a mom, wife, and successful career woman.  GO SWIM BIKE MOM! You are officially my hero. 🙂

Someday I believe I will do an Ironman. It may not be within the next year or even soon, but someday I know I’ll get it done.  I know because it’s one of those ideas that’s always nagging in the back of my mind.  It’s what got me to the pool this morning, in spite of the snow, to knock out another mile and a quarter swim.  It’s what kept me going when I was exhausted after the first mile.  Someday I will get it done.  In the meantime, I am going to chase my other dreams- like writing a book and expanding The Running Thriver… and maybe starting a family. 😉