A split second

My first "zentangle"

I know I owe you the end to my marathon story, but today I need to interrupt that slow moving story for a visit to the present. Since completing my first marathon last December and losing over 40lbs in the process of training, I've actually felt a little lost. After months of training and "dieting," I had reached my finish line. I had achieved some really big goals and faced some really big challenges and fears. So now what?

You'd think "set another goal" followed, but between slowing down my running to heal and the holidays and the unpredictability of life, I was hesitant to push myself into another goal right away. And that was alright at first. I had been working hard and a break was in order. So with mixed emotions, I stopped running for awhile and I enjoyed the holidays with my family. I even snuck in a family trip to Disneyland to ring in the New Year (what better way to celebrate a year filled with incredible accomplishments). But then life settled down, the holidays passed, and my leg started healing (I'm still not 100% but I'm getting there). So now what?

Well that's been the question facing me for the past several weeks. Without a clear answer, I have felt lost. I'll admit I've slipped into some old, emotional eating patterns and a far more sedentary lifestyle than I had been living. Nothing drastic. I'm still at my goal weight and still manage to workout semi regularly. But I recognize that if I don't find my way, I could easily gain my weight back and lose my good health. I seem to have lost a bit of my drive and my spark. 

So why am I telling you this? First, it's just a reminder that as amazing as my journey has been, I'm still human. Just because I share all the exciting stuff here, doesn't mean that I dont struggle sometimes. But really, the point to this blog post is to share the return of my spark. I have just come off of an inspiring week.

The week started with an REI workshop on trail running led by ultra runners, Julie Fingar and Don Freeman. I have not done any trail running myself (I'm a road runner, "meep, meep"). But I'm open to the possibility of trail running (and maybe even an ultra marathon someday, because your never know). No doubt, the scenery is amazing but I'll admit the call of the road is louder right now since it is just outside my front door. There's something to be said for ease of use. Nonetheless it was inspiring, and entertaining, to listen to these amazing athletes speak and to be surrounded by other endurance runners, including the inspiring Slenderella (BTW, she just ran another 50K yesterday. Amazing). 

Two nights later, I had the pleasure of attending an art class, zentangling, with my friend, Sylvia. Last year as I transformed from overweight to athlete, unintentionally I backed away from my artistic side (there's only so many hours in the day). Throughout the year, I stayed creative in the kitchen and by writing the occasional blog post, but I didn't make much art. So doodling in the zentangle class and taking a collage class with Sylvia several weeks ago has been a welcome artistic return. Like a restoration of balance.

And if that wasn't enough inspiration, yesterday I had the opportunity to hear Biggest Loser Season 11 winner Olivia Ward speak. I haven't watched many seasons of Biggest Loser, but I did watch Olivia's season and found it rather inspiring. So when I learned she was speaking at a Kaiser event in Roseville, I thought it was worth checking out. She was a great speaker, and even though I didn't get to hear her entire speech (I had to get to work), I was inspired by what I did hear. One big take away for me was this: She said "it may take hours, days, weeks, or even years to change your body, but it only takes a split second to change your mind." That was just the reminder I needed. It is time to recommit to myself.

And then to add even more inspiration to my week, during a very short lunch yesterday, I snuck out to see Clinton Kelly speaking at Macy's. From time to time, I've watched Clinton on TLC's What Not to Wear, but recently I have watched him regularly on ABC's cooking talk show, The Chew. And I love The Chew. It inspires me to try new things in the kitchen, which is a consistent place for me to express my creativity. In fact, I recently made a recipe of Clinton's from The Chew and it may arguably be the best thing I have ever made. So when I heard a radio spot advertising that Clinton Kelly would be in Roseville yesterday, I had to sneak a peek. My schedule only allowed me to stay for 10 minutes, but it was worth it. He's great with a crowd and really upbeat. I wish I could have stayed for much more, but I'm grateful for the time I had. In looking up the event info, I ran across his books and even though I don't have his books on fashion, the title of one added to my growing spark: Freakin' Fabulous: How to Dress, Speak, Behave, Eat, Drink, Entertain, Decorate, and Generally Be Better than Everyone Else. My take away: here's someone trying to help people be better versions of themselves. And that's the path I was blazing for myself last year (and even before that, but last year was extra special).

So it is time for me to get back on track for living my life to the fullest and being the best version of myself that I can be: happy and healthy!

Olivia Ward from Biggest Loser Season 11 & Clinton Kelly from The Chew