They Call Me Seashell

I am returning from a long hiatus in the sport and I sit here thinking... wow. This is so much more difficult that I remember it being. And I do not mean it in a sarcastic funny way.. I mean that the struggle for me is real. This is going to be a hard fought return. However, I have the opportunity to see this as a re-do. When I left the sport to focus on my personal development I was at an all time high for me. Happy Ironman finisher, 2015 TeamUSA Long Course World Championship Qualifier (declined my spot due to school), and overall having the time of my life feeling fit and fabulous setting PRs all over the place. I felt and operated like some form of well oiled machine. I was in the zone and figured that I could keep doing something while in school, only that never happened. I decided to reach for the stars instead of digging myself a hole. My healthy lifestyle came to a screeching halt. Now here I sit, tired, out of shape and overweight looking at how far I have slipp

Today I hit 'send' on my race season form with my coaching team.  I decided to do a 2-part season, one in focusing on my return to racing, the other on focus on prepping for the work ahead of me in 2018.  We will see what coach says about my part 2, however for now I have a solid race schedule for my grand re-entrance into triathlon! Triceratops Tri - June 21st Motor City Sprint - June 25th Pterodactyl Tri - July 19th Ironman70.3 Ohio (Relay) - July 30th The Bavarian Inn Experience - August 5th Swim to the Moon 5k  (Open Water Swim) - August 20th T-Rex Tri - August 23rd Detroit Marathon - October 15th It feels good to have something on the radar now, some goal to work for. The hardest part of coming back from a long time off is taking that first step knowing that it is going to hurt, that it is not going to feel the same as it once did, that it will be something I have to work at and that it is not going to be easy.  Nothing worth working for ever is though. :-

Thanks to Groupon I was able to grab a 10 session membership to a new Yoga studio that has been catching my eye ever since they started reno on the old Mother Fletcher's location in Ferndale. What really caught my eye on this studio from the outward appearance was the name and logo itself.  I was surprised to see the idea of plugging in when I have always heard to unplug, however I really dug on the idea of tuning in to yourself rather than tuning out the world.    I went for my first class - the Soulful class - and I was beyond impressed.  From the moment I walked into the space I felt at home and like I found a practice that resonated within myself.  The studio space, the overall vibe of Caren Paskel -  the instructor for the class and owner of EnSoul -  as well as the message conveyed and the delivery of the message all made for a very deep and meaningful experience.  I am looking forward to trying out the many different classes that EnSoul Yoga provide

Do you remember being a child and having your parent tell you to clean your room?  Were you the child jumping up, so excited to get it clean or were you like me and would go up to your room only to sit there and play with toys or look through every single thing that you find in an effort to protest, to push back against parental control?  Some days I feel like that stubborn child but know that I cannot really get away with throwing a tantrum over the inevitable.  In order to be healthy one must adopt healthy habits and work each day on their health.  In order to be fit one must adopt the habits that lead to a state of fitness and work each day on fitness.  In order to have a clean room one must clean the room.  I also know that if I were to just jump right back into hard core training I would quit in a heartbeat.  I have been gone for so long that who I was no longer exists... I need to re-start as who I am. I need to embrace TODAY and not be resentful over the loss of YESTERDAY

It feels so good to shake off the dust, stretch out the arms, inhale a fresh breath exhaling in the final yawn of coming out of a deep sleep, rubbing eyes clear of slumber and seeing clearly what is in front of you.  I needed the break to finish my degree and to find a fresh perspective on my fitness.  A lot has come to light in the last few years than I had ever imagined.  With that a refocus on fitness and health has commenced.  In 2017 I am very excited to be working with people I know and love, as well as to represent a new team that I have been wowed by over the past year in how they support the community at large, and how they stand up for the right thing, not the easy thing.  Their products are pretty amazing to boot, and without them I would not have been able to survive the death-march that Ironman70.3 Ohio turned out to be for me.  Here is the dream team, MY dream team - the teams that I am proud to be racing and training with and representing on my journey.  They h