end of the year insights

it's almost the end of the year, so i've been taking some time to reflect on all the things that happened this past year. work, sports, home, and family have all had changes...some changes were good and some not as good...but all in all, it's been a wonderful year of new experiences, new friends, and new challenges

here are a few of the wisdoms i've learned this year & would love to share with you

• first and foremost, swimming and manicures don't mix. 
• i know, i know...i love getting dolled up just as much as any gal and dresses are my total go to outfit, and for as low maintenance as i am this gal has found manicures to be just one of those little splurges i really enjoy.  but alas, the chlorine must react with the polish and the paint instantly cracks off.  so until this ironman is done, no more manicures
• dresses as go to outfits, you say??? here's the secret, since i'm feeling especially nice and like sharing some of my best kept secrets.  gals, dresses are the best options ever,hands down. you know why?  they take so little effort and you look like you really did put time into putting yourself together.  seriously, have you ever seen a gal in a good looking dress look like a slob?  nah, most likely not.  all you got to do is put on a dress, some decent shoes, brush your hair and go. 
• pedicures on the other hand...they are the perfect way to avoid mucking up your toe nails on long runs.  the one and only long run i did without a pedicure, my big toe nails got all scratched up and looked just sad.  pedicures = happier runs.
• when you are feeling burnt out, don't ever stop working out.  when you find life is getting too crazy because your work has a major shake-up & your project requires about 5x more focus than you thought it would and your plate was already too full to begin with, and then you decide to move because your upstairs neighbors have 3x more people living there than is allowed by law...or whatever is going on for you...don't ever think the answer is to take time away from working out to make time for everything else.  exercise really does have a huge powerful impact on your overall well being and outlook
• having to find time to schedule workouts helps, in some funny way, to give more order & prioritization to all the zillion things on your to-do list. 
• have a goal.  the carrot of knowing you have to be trained and ready to go for a certain event is a powerful motivator...or maybe it's the fear of my own failure that is probably the single most inspiration to never give up. but either way, having an obtainable goal is important
• when you think you can't, you can.  really. just keep going.  whatever mantra you need...be it "hey fatties, there is cake at the finish line" (seriously, i saw that poster at the philly marathon) or the lady you don't know yelling at you from the sidelines of the san jose rock n roll half marathon that "you can push through this kind of pain if you can get that many tattoos" or my personal favorite "you can do anything for [fill in the distance or time]."
• take some time to relax, don't do it. don't run, don't ride, don't stress.

 

• one of the gals i work with asked me if i ever just sit around at home and watch tv and the answer is absolutely, 100%.  even though the days seem crazy structured with work, training, and my crazy entertaining dating life (yeah, that needs to be a comedy blog all unto itself...) you need to take time to do nothing.  here is my favorite treat from this past year - the moor mud spa treatment at watercourse way in palo alto CA. it's amazing.

thank you for reading my blog this past year and coming along for the running adventures and the ironman training adventures.  i've hope you enjoyed reading it and found it as funny as my mom does (thanks mom, i love you!) and i hope you'll keep reading along next year as i try to take my own advice.

happy new year!

xoxo

beth lubov