Be Where Your Feet Are...2011!

Happy New Year!! How in the world has another year come and gone??? I can't believe it is 2011! I think I freak out every year about how the previous year flew by. A new year usually means New Year's Resolutions and goals that will be forgotten by next week. This year I've decided that rather than have a bunch of goals that I will break I am going to have a theme. Doesn't a theme sound so much more fun than a resolution??

I recently came across a painting by Cassandra Barney called "Be Where Your Feet Are". I immediately fell in love with this painting. Here is what the artist wrote about the painting:

"I remind myself to be where my feet are often. My mind tends to drift toward the future, sometimes planning or worrying about what lies ahead, missing the present. Being present is where life is the most rich and colorful. I've even found myself consciously feeling the soles of my feet on the ground to get myself there. I really like the way the images on the vintage wallpaper enriched the idea. The hunters in the background could be a distraction but the figure stands with her feet on the ground, amongst the most beautiful flowers."

I am very guilty of always looking past the present to the future. I even did this during Christmas. Instead of enjoying the holidays I found myself planning and thinking about what I had coming up in January. I don't think looking toward the future is necessarily a bad thing but I think I often miss out on enjoying the present because I focus too much on the future.

I am really excited to focus on "being where my feet are" in 2011. This year my blog will be dedicated to documenting how I am enjoying the present.

So how am I enjoying the present on this very cold Sunday evening you ask? By sitting on my couch eating chocolate covered pretzels wrapped up in a blanket...it's going to be a great year!

A Very Rainy Triathlon...

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was very excited to do the Women of Steel Triathlon last May. I really wanted to do well in this triathlon. It was my second year doing this triathlon so I set goals for each leg of the race. I really wanted to do well in the swim since it is my strength. To help me train, I joined a swim team in March. Practice started at 5:30AM which meant I had to get up at 4:50AM!!!!! It was SO hard to get up that early but the work outs were awesome! I loved being in the pool again being pushed to swim harder and faster than I would if I was training myself. I was looking forward to seeing how much I could improve my swim time from last years race. I also put a lot of focus on the run. The run portion of a triathlon is my WEAKNESS!! I did hill intervals, speed intervals and distance runs to prepare. I didn't worry too much about the bike portion of the race because I knew I would do well without much training. For the first time, I felt very prepared to do this triathlon.

The morning of the triathlon I woke up to POURING rain. I was so sad! I was really worried they would cancel the race. I was also worried about the cold. Being wet and on a bike is not fun. Right before the race they cancelled the swim and altered the race to be a run-bike-run...DOUBLE RUN!!! I was not very happy. Remember how the run is my weakness and least favorite part of the triathlon??? All that hard work on my swim for nothing. It also didn't help that it was freezing cold, very wet and rainy.

Even though I was disappointed, I actually had a good race. I improved my run time and my overall time was actually faster than the last year. The double run was hard but I did it! I proved to myself that I really can do hard things and that is why I do triathlons. I am going to try again next year to hit my swim goal. Women of Steel registration will open in a few weeks. Anyone want to join me next May?

Time to Play Catch Up...

I have a lot of catching up to do so here I go! I need to catch up by the end of the year because I have some fun ideas for 2011 but I won't start them until I finish this project. Let the posting begin!!!

Last night I was bored out of my mind (girls camp is over!). I got a text from my cute friend Jamie inviting me to go to the driving range with her. I realized that I had not completed my "learn to golf" goal and I needed out of the house so I quickly responded YES!

It was so fun to get out of the house on a nice summer night. Jamie gave me a quick lesson and then we shared a bucket of balls. I had many horrible shots including some that took off some chunks of grass but I think I had a few good shots too. I'm hoping some day to take a few lessons because I think I could be decent at golf.

Memorial Day 10K

When I decided I wanted to put a 10K on my list, my goal was to train really well for it so it would be a very comfortable 6.2 miles. The training I wanted to do didn't really happen. We had a very rainy Spring and I learned I really hate the treadmill. I decided to do the 10k anyway since my birthday was quickly approaching. I signed up for the Orem City Memorial Day 10k. I really didn't want to do this race by myself but most of my friends were going to be out of town because of the holiday. The day before the race, my roommate Camille agreed to run the race with me. I was so excited!!! Having Camille to run with made doing this race so much easier. The days leading up to the 10k were very rainy and cold. I was a little bit worried about having to run in the cold. The morning turned out to be perfect!!!! There was a little chill in the air but that was all. No rain, no wind, it was wonderful!!

The first 2 miles were actually really hard for me. My legs were really tired from the triathlon I did the week before (I will blog about my tri soon!). It was a mental battle to convince myself to keep going. After 2 miles, I think my muscles warmed up so miles 2-5 were comfortable. I know it was a tender mercy because I was praying a lot during the first two miles. At mile 5 I started to feel tired but figured I couldn't walk with only 1 mile to go. By mile 5.5 though, I was ready to give up. My legs were officially dead at that point. Every step was HARD!!! I could see the finish line but it seemed so very far away. I kept setting mini goals in my head. Every part of my being wanted to stop and walk and give up. I knew that I would be very disappointed though if I stopped that close to the end. Can you imagine finishing just a few blocks away from the finish line?? Finishing was such an accomplishment for me. It gave me confidence to know that I can keep going when things are hard.

It took me a little over an hour to finish (1 hour 9 minutes I think?). Considering how little I trained for this event, I am happy with how I did. When I got home from the race, I bought myself a chocolate milk and took a hot bath. It was a great way to start my Memorial Day weekend!

Don't Give Up On Me...

I have been extremely busy for the past few months. I have so many goals to blog about especially since I just celebrated my birthday. I was recently called to go to girls camp so that is taking over all my free time. Stay tuned for some updates!!!

Making My Bed...31 Days Later!!!

I have the most amazing Mom ever! Growing up she made me breakfast every day, packed me a lunch for school every day, did my laundry and of course she made my bed. Don't start thinking that I had a pampered life. I definitely did my fair share of chores. My Mom loves a clean home. She is awesome!

The only time I was ever required to make my bed was on Christmas morning. We weren't allowed to open presents until all the beds were made. I definitely have developed the habit of making my bed on Christmas morning but the rest of the year is usually hit or miss with my bed getting made.

So somehow 31 days has come and gone. I did it. I made my bed every day. I LOVED it! I loved feeling like I accomplished something first thing each morning. I can now understand why my Mom needs to have all the beds in the house made everyday. It makes the house feel complete and organized even if there are other areas of the house that are messy. I love this new habit!