The Perfect Gift!
Please check out the smilepacing store for tee shirts, hoodies, tanks, etc for the triathlete, runner, triathlete's BFF or other No. 1 fans! They will definitely elicit a giggle from the recipient and lots of conversation everywhere s/he wears the item! Does your wife "run like a mother"? Does your boyfriend "dig sweaty chicks"? Is your toddler's mother a "trimama"? Come check it out!
On Facebook!
I have two groups on Facebook, open to anyone. "smilepacers worldwide," whose members include triathletes, runners, hikers, yogis, and anyone who wishes to be any of the above. I send out daily or almost daily messages to inspire members to stay conscious of their attitude in training, racing, working & living. "Inspired and inspiring mommies" is a group for inspired moms or those seeking inspiration. Our society is obsessed with quick fixes and the purpose of this group is to inspire its members to live an inspired life through a positive, compassionate and passionate approach to life.
Are you sufficiently challenged?
Bless those who challenge us to grow, to stretch, to move beyond the knowable, to come back home to our elemental and essential nature. Bless those who challenge us for they remind us of doors we have closed and doors we have yet to open. They are Big Medicine Teachers for us.
- Navajo saying
Women's Triathlon - Farmington, CT - Sept 14 2008
Today was the 2nd Women's Triathlon in Farmington, CT. It was muggy. Wet. Muddy. A few minutes before the swim start I remembered I had loaned my goggles to my 8 year old niece over the summer and I never readjusted them. Bill (my husband) helped me out, while joking about Michael Phelps and how he'd had leakage problems in Beijing. Well it turns out that my swim was just like Phelps' - in terms of leakage. But I figured it was only .5 miles in the water so it didn't warrant stopping to fix them. The bike was in pouring rain. I don't bike in the rain. In fact I don't bike outside. My dungeon, a.k.a. my basement, is where I bike. On my trainer, away from the elements, potholes, distracted drivers and critters, with my mp3 player. I have never biked in the rain. But you know what? It wasn't so bad. I took the turns carefully, I sometimes had to blink in order to see in the driving rain, but it wasn't bad, especially as it was warm out. The run. According to the website, it would be a flat run. Well, when I say I have a flat chest I am not engaging in false advertising. The race website was. Not only was it far from an A cup, it was MUDDY. One downhill in particular was a hairy one, as I slid right down to the bottom - somehow upright the whole way. A woman in front of me lost her shoe in a bog. That being said, it was a BLAST. There is nothing like getting wet and filthy by 9:25am on a Sunday, with a bunch of women of all ages, shapes, walks of life, with the men standing on the sidelines cheering us on. I know, let the women do the work, what else is new, but the fact is, this was joyful work. Hell, the men were watching the children right? There is truly nothing like an all-women's race in my book. It's not that we are less competitive, it's that we have so much going on that we are simply happy to be out there, celebrating our strength and motivation and freedom to do something just for US.
After the race I dragged Bill and Jacqueline (my 7 year old daughter) into a Halloween store. I bought myself a Viking costume. Must be the adrenaline...
Your motto on a tee!
smilepacing LLC is the way I plan to make the world a better place, one smile at a time. But I need your help! Tell me what gets you through the day. Do you have a mantra, a phrase, a recurring thought that gets you through the rough spots? Post it here, and vote for your favorite while you're at it. The most popular one, as voted by smilepacers everywhere, will be my next tee shirt, available to all!
Lighten up!
I have never taken myself very seriously. In fact, I have often been accused of lacking maturity because I have often chosen to live in the moment and perhaps act a tad unconventionally when given the chance to do something that will illicit smiles or laughter, from me and those around me. Being a mom, and a triathlete, has often tested that side of me that shuns the serious side of life. After all, motherhood comes with a boatload of commitments, responsibilities, and annoyances (yeah, I think all those parenting books I read while trying to get pregnant forgot to mention that part). Triathlon is the same, in that I make commitments by registering for races, announcing my upcoming races, buying equipment, paying a coach... And sometimes it all can become overwhelming, especially with all the other self-imposed demands on my time. Wait, did you catch that? SELF-IMPOSED! And that is what I think people need to remember. My husband, Bill, asked me the other day, if I'm not stressed? I thought about it and truthfully replied, not at all. I had deadlines looming over me, every moment of my day is choreographed, I am lucky to get 7 hours of sleep. But the truth is, I am not stressed, because to me stress is self-created, as is my hectic schedule. Sure, there are plenty of things in the day, in life, that we do not choose to undergo. But the majority of stressors are optional.
When I was at Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island last week, at my smilepacing booth, I spoke to many athletes who were worried about their performance in the upcoming race. In my outspoken manner I reminded them that they had elected to undergo this grueling race; in fact, they'd paid a lot of money to subject their body and mind to this. So basically, I urged them to get a grip, to realize that this is not chemotherapy, this is FUN. I explained what smilepacing is about, it's a way to lighten up, not take yourself so seriously, be grateful! The entire time I raced I was grateful, often to the point of tears, to be strong and healthy enough to participate in this race, along with 1,200 other motivated, health-conscious, energetic people, many of whom had endured and overcome enormous obstacles to be there. That is what it's all about! So quit taking things so seriously, leave the ego home, and slap that smile on your face!
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