Reach Out

Every year, as close to New Year's Day as possible, I sit down and spend some time reflecting on the year past and what intentions I want to set for my upcoming year. I love New Year's. I love that the possibilities are endless for what is available. Dream big!

Having worked with a life coach in a group setting for many years, I follow a set of journaling questions to review the past year and determine what worked and what didn't in a variety of areas of my life. Then I look towards what I would like out of the upcoming year. Generally a theme starts to emerge.

At this point, I give my coming year a name, an intention and I also base my New Years Resolutions off of that intention. The results have been life changing for me.

For some reason I haven't been able to remember my resolutions of 2008, but I do remember the name of that year. It was The Year of Slimming Down. I had a lot going on in my life in 2007. Lots of "stuff", lots of drama and lots I really needed to remove from my life. New Years of 2008 gave me that opportunity.

In 2008, many unhealthy relationships in my life ended. I did get rid of "stuff" that wasn't working. And not only stuff but also thoughts, ideas and stories I created for myself on who I was and how I was living my life. By the end of the year, although not per the scale :) I had slimmed down all other areas of my life. The unhealthy relationships were gone. The drama was gone. Stuff was gone. The excuses I had allowed myself to live by were gone.

Then came New Years going into 2009. Since I had gotten so much out of my life, it was time to build it back up. I named this year, The Year of New Experiences. WOW, what a successful idea that was! And I do remember this resolution, because this truly did change my life and point me into a completely different direction.

My resolution in 2009 was to do two things every month outside of my comfort zone. The rule of thumb I used.. if I got that nervous feeling in my belly, then I needed to go for it! I spoke up in situations where I would have remained silent. I had extremely difficult conversations at work. I went to a meetup group (Meetup.com) and met a group of people I did not know for a movie! I went rock climbing, I went on a ropes course, I asked someone on a date, I went to the movies all by myself for the first time in my life. I became an assistant organizer of a fitness meetup group and several months later when the original organizer no longer wanted to run the group, I stepped up to her role.

One thing I didn't expect with this resolution was as I tried different things, pushed myself outside of my comfort zone, then my comfort zone began to expand. It became harder to figure out new things to do that were still outside of my comfort zone by the end of the year!

By the end of 2009 I was a new person. I was so much more confident. I could speak up when I thought it was necessary. I could organize a 5K training session for a group of 25 people. I realized I could do absolutely anything I put my mind to. It was an incredible experience.

When that year ended and I started to review what I wanted out of 2010, I knew I enjoyed the fitness group I was organizing. I loved that exercise had become a much more important part of my life and I wanted to continue with that. I named 2010 The Year of Fitness. Although I didn't keep my resolution to try 2 new things every month with one fitness related, I did push myself to so many new experiences.

In 2010 I started back with yoga, tried Zumba, worked out an MMA fight gym, took golf lessons, ran in about a dozen 5K, started working out at the gym regularly, started swimming laps 2-3 times a week, ran 3 times a week, went kayaking about 4 times during the summer, went on hikes in Blue Hills just south of Boston. 2010 more than lived up to the intention I set.

November of 2010, I signed up for my first 10K road race for New Years Day and also decided I would run in a 1/2 marathon in mid February. Around Thanksgiving I started my training for that 1/2 marathon.

Then, with less than 2 weeks left in the year, I heard of an opportunity to join Mass Eye and Ear, recognized as one of the top speciality hospitals in the WORLD, as part of their fund raising team to run in the 2011 Boston Marathon. The week of Christmas I was accepted to join their team. I was going to do it! WOW!

Talk about putting a big fat juicy cherry on the top of an amazing fitness themed year! What a way to end 2010! :)

So then comes New Year's weekend. Again, I review the year and realized what worked, what could been a little different. I knew I loved how healthy I had become but there were other ways I could continue to improve on that. That was when I finally decided on my name and intention for 2011. 2011 is The Year of Positive Health.

My resolution for this year is for each month to practice 2 positive and healthy habits every day for the entire month. At the end of each month, I can decide if the habits are ones I want to keep in my life or if it is one that isn't working for me. Then, the next month I will start with 2 new positive and healthy habits.

January I started with what I thought was 2 easier ones. I wanted to do something for my financial health, so I have been keeping a spending journal. I write down every penny I have been spending this month. This has been a little easier than I originally thought, only because I haven't been doing too much spending in general! I used my Christmas gift certificates before New Years (and before the idea!) and just haven't been shopping at all, other than the food store.

My second pick for January was to do the plank pose every day for at least 1 minute and continue to add to it. That hasn't gone so well. I'm not much of a morning person, so remembering to do it before my shower with limited time and limited coffee hasn't been working so well. And for some reason, even the nights I do an ab workout at the gym, I just haven't been remembering it! I'm not happy with that. So I may need to keep this one for February as well.

Around New Years, I was searching for ideas on line of what I could do for other positive healthy habits for months during 2011. What would I want to try? What could I do every single day for a month? I'm horrible with flossing, so that's one. (who really is good at flossing?) Other ideas I had:
mediate for 5 minutes every day
drink at least 64 ounces of water a day
take my vitamins every day
write 3 things daily that I am grateful for
eat 6 servings of fruits and veggies daily
eat breakfast within 2 hours of waking up
spend time in nature every day
stretch or do yoga daily for at least 15 minutes
free write every morning for 5 pages
keep a food journal
compliment someone every day

While I was trying to find more ideas, I stumbled on a great website.
http://healthyhabitsetc.com
I LOVED this website and the positive uplifting ideas I found. It helped me with some ideas and I knew it would be a resource I could use throughout the year to maintain my intention.

I reached out to Lynn on her webpage. I think it is important to reach out and let others know when you appreciate what they do. Everyone is quick to share the bad, to complain and to pass along the negative. I think it is even more important to share the good, to say thank you and to pass along the positive. (write your local coffee shop and let the manager know how much you love their happy and positive counter help! A little positive feedback can go so far!)

I shared with Lynn my story; my naming my year, my resolutions, how I will use her webpage for 2011 and that I am running in the 2011 Boston Marathon. I wasn't expecting anything in return. I just wanted her to know that I appreciated her website and how it was helping me in my journey. But Lynn sent me a great response. She also asked if she could share my email in one of her upcoming newsletters. I responded with a resounding YES and passed along the link to this blog as well.

Lynn did share our emails in her newsletter, including the link to this! WOW! I was not expecting that she would pass along and encourage others to follow my story, my journey. I am so touched by that.

I know this is long, I know this isn't about my running training, but I think it is important for me to share how I got here. My journey from December of 2007 to now shows so much of who I am as a person, where I came from and where I want to go. I have changed so much in the past 3 years. I was a depressed couch potato, overweight, unmotivated with very unhealthy relationships in my life. I had a bad attitude and was just down.

Each year I pushed myself. Each year I grew. Each year I expanded the opportunities that were available to me. I deepened the positive relationships in my life and terminated many that were not working so well. I have become a person I am proud to be.

This has all led to new opportunities coming into my life. I had to clear out the old, the unhealthy and what wasn't working. Just like your closet. When it is full, you have no where to put anything new. You need to clear out the old, outdated, ill fitting items you don't wear or enjoy to make room for the new and exciting. With removing all of what wasn't working, I made room for the new.

I have new experiences, new passions, new friendships. I have met some wonderful people along the way in my journey and I'm sure I will continue to meet even more as I continue. I have an excitement for life I never had.

My fitness group has been such a wonderful experience as well. I love doing the Couch to 5K with that group. I love seeing the excitement and pride when new runners experience new accomplishments. I get so much joy out of seeing them all succeed! I am touched and moved when people tell me that I what I am doing is inspiring. I feel like I get so much more out of it than I could ever give.

So this is my story. This is my journey. This is how I ended up where I am, training for the 2011 Boston Marathon. 2 years ago I was 160 pounds, wearing a size 12 jeans. My BMI put me in the "overweight" group and I agreed! I never exercised.

Now I take Fridays as a rest day for exercise and training, sometimes Sundays too. Every other day I have my running, swimming or yoga (or anything else!) posted on my calendar as a schedule event that I can't miss. I am fighting to maintain 125 pounds, but today was down to 123.8. I am wearing a size 6 petite pants and my new shirts that fit are all X-Small (the small tops I bought are all too big). I am in the best shape of my life and the healthiest I have ever been. I can't remember when I was this size! Even when I graduated HS, ahem, almost 19 years ago, I was wearing a size 9 pants and medium tops. I think I was maybe 14 or 15 when I was this small.

And I had an injury tossed in there too! In 2009 after months of PT, an MRI finally showed a bulging disc in my neck in September that year. I did 3 rounds of cortisone injections into my spine and after PT did 8 months weekly massage therapy to my shoulders, upper back and neck. And I'm still here!

If I can make it this far within 3 years, than anyone can. Anyone can succeed and reach their goals if they focus, set their intentions and do the work necessary to have success. Find your determination. Put in the work. You are worth it.

And reach out to others. You never know where you will find that one magic gem. Open yourself up to the possibilities that life has. You have to take that one first step. See the little picture. Work on the small goals. Then stop and pause to look back, seeing the progress and success you have had. Then hop back on going forward!

Wow, I had a lot to say today! :) And all of this is before I head out for my scheduled 8 mile run today. 8 miles and it is 22 degrees in Boston right now. JOY! Time to bundle up I guess.

Please click on the link to my donation page to learn more about Mass Eye and Ear and the amazing research and treatment that provide to patients who come from around the world. Please consider making a donation of any amount to help me reach my goal while I continue to train for the marathon... even on days where is it 22 degrees outside! :) No amount is too small and even $5 would be so greatly appreciated. If you are not comfortable donating on line, please leave a comment on this page with your contact information. I will contact you with other ways to donate off line.

Happy weekend and thanks for reading.