Running-Positive thoughts yield positive results & NEVER think you can’t

I have a coworker who a few months ago (early July) mentioned they were going to enter a 10k. Next thing I knew my untrained, hadn’t run a mile in more than nine months self, agreed to do the same.

I guess it was some inner competitiveness and not wanting to accept the fact that a peer could accomplish a feat of physical fitness that I could not as well. But really, what was I thinking?!

For purposes of full disclosure I work out a good deal, I lift weights and may do 20 minutes on the bike at a time. However, neither of these provide you with the cardiovascular endurance needed for running. My self-proclaimed physically fit self soon realized this.

I quickly jumped in with two feet because I had 2 months to do a 10k!

I first signed up for every local race I could find. One, than another, than another….

The races were:

July 23rd Packanack Lake 5K

Aug 20th Born to Run 5k

Sept 5th Arboretum Run

Sept 11th Tunnels to Towers 5k Run

Sept 18th Brian’s Run

Oct 10th Spartan Run

And after becoming slightly addicted I think there may be more.  And it’s a great way to teach your kids about fitness.  Cael loves going to the races too!

When I got to the first race I was a little intimidated by the “real runners” in their running gear and running club and track team jerseys…but I was determined (although a little scared) to hold my own.

The first race definitely could use a lot of improvement

7/23 time- 28:36. I was determined to do better next time

8/20- 26:22 (goal was 27)

9/5 – 25:39 (goal was 25:30)

9/11(goal is 24:59)

9/18 (goal is 60:00)

10/10 (goal is 24)

Once one race ends I get so excited for the next one. There’s nothing like setting a goal and trying to accomplish it to make you feel on top of the world!

I am a Superstar, I am a Champion

The first thing that popped into my head this morning after I left the gym…because after a good workout is when my I really get pumped up about EVERYTHING…If you dream it you can be it, if you reach for it you can touch it, if you think it you can become it.  It’s so true, and my mantra for the day that I will tell anyone who wants to, or even doesn’t want to, listen.

Everyday I have my son repeat after me, “I am a superstar.  I am a campion,” then he gives me five.  It’s the little reminder/positive affirmation that he can do anything and that he can become anything. 

My son LOVES hockey. I do not know where the obsession (versus just like) came from. Sure he watched hockey with his dad but it went from all Dora all the time to all hockey all the time.  Once the playoffs came around last year I knew I would soon be in trouble.  That God for DVRs because suddenly we were watching the same games, over, and over, and over again, all summer long. 

We're Number 1!

I finally got start and started ordering DVDs, “NHL’s Greatest Goals,” “NHL Behind the Scenes” and every children’s hockey book ever written, “Z is for Zamboni,” isn’t that on everyone’s bookshelf?

We have hockey sticks (many), hockey pucks (many), hockey nets (many) hockey jerseys (many) and hockey cards, literally all over the house, car, and it goes on everywhere you look.  The boy loves hockey, and I’m not going to lie, mom likes it better than Dora. 

I often ask him, “Cael are you going to be the greatest hockey player ever?”  To which he undoubtedly responds, “Yes.” 

The purpose of this blog is not to talk about my kid (even if he is the cutest 3 year old ever) but to talk about passion and unbridled enthusiasm.

I am my son’s cheerleader, supporter, motivator, because I believe in him just like I believe in myself or anyone else for that matter.  We live in the United States of America, the land of opportunity.  Where you can come from nothing and have everything…as long as you want it enough. 

We eat, SLEEP, and breathe hockey

Positive thoughts yield positive results.  Decide what you want, be passionate about it, move towards it and achieve  it.  Most importantly, repeat after me, “I am a superstar.  I am a champion.”

Pineapple Mango Salsa-absolutely amazing!

So while I love all fruit, two of my top favorites are  mangos and pineapple (I’m a sucker for anything tropical).  I think it may have something to with the fact they take for ever to cut that I feel like I must be getting something good once it’s peeled and sliced and ready to eat.

Well, not only did I buy a pineapple this week but I bought six mangos.  I have always been one to buy ingredients first then find a recipe to fit them later, I know most people work the other way around.  Next, I bought some mint and cilantro plants while I was buying some  plants for outside and seeds to make a garden.  Hummm, what does one do with pineapple, mango, mint and cilantro….ahhh, salsa of course!

Next was scouring the internet for the perfect pineapple mango salsa.  As always, I gather no less than three recipes, I scan them and then use only the ingredients I like, in the ratio I like, to make the recipe MY own.  This is what I came up with.

(FYI this makes a large quantity-enough for a party, half the recipe if you don’t want to be eating salsa for a week.  I don’t mind because I will be eating it with fish, chicken, steak, chips and shrimp happily for a week!)

Pineapple Mango Salsa

1 pineapple

2 mangos

1/2 cup sweet red pepper

1/2 of a red onion

1 tomato

4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (some people hate cilantro, you can either limit it drastically or omit completely)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint (again, if you don’t like mint feel free to omit it)

Juice of 3 limes

Everyhing diced finely (Warning: It took me almost an hour to make this, it will be on my list of things to do once a year)

*I omitted jalapeno peppers, you could add one if you wish.  You could also substitute some of the lime juice for lemon juice.  If you don’t want to use red onion you can use green onion.  You can add some salt and pepper as well if you like.  I am the queen of substitutions and hardly ever follow a recipe exactly, always modifying it to what I like. 

The end result….

It’s not winning that counts, but the desire to win.

WINNING: It’s not winning that counts, but the DESIRE to win. 

Stubbornly persist and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits. ~ Robert Brault

Charlie Sheen has made me suddenly like the word “winning” a less. In fact, he’s a sad example of someone who currently IS NOT winning. His current situation is one where people are watching the train wreck that he is because of the fact he is not winning. I think to some degree people subconsciously enjoy seeing someone wealthy and successful fall from grace. It makes us feel like they are a little more like us, the “average” person, rather than bigger than life. To be perfectly honest, I have always hated the word “average” its such a C+ type word, who wants to be a C+ when you can be an A+. Which leads me to the topic of winning. It’s not winning that counts, but the desire to win. And by win, I mean do your best, be your best, and make the most of your God-given talents and abilities. Because seriously, what is the point of doing anything if you’re not going to give it your all?

In the long run, “winning” a single, event, a single title, competition, does not mean much in the grand scheme of life. It is a single moment, and while it may be a great moment in your life, you cannot live in a single moment forever. To do so reminds me of the TV show Married with Children where Al Bundy constantly recalls a single touchdown he scored in High School football, to sadly not do much more with his life after that.

The winning I am talking about is the drive, the ambition and the desire to win that stay with you through all your challenges, trials and climbing all the ladders that life has put before you. I also, love quotes. It’s not surprising that some of the best quotes come from sports coaches. Clearly these individuals are in the business of motivating people to win…their jobs usually depend on it. But all of us can use their words of wisdom and experience to apply to our own everyday lives when we are trying to be more successful at our jobs, with ourselves, for our loved ones and even when taking leaps of faith to follow our dreams. Everyday is a new ay to dream, to prepare, to do, to accomplish to climb…it’s never ending. You don’t meet your goal of winning the touchdown and then stop, there is always going to be another goal, another mountain to climb and another victory in your future as long as you are dedicated in your desire to be the best, your best, and win in the game called life.

Here are some of the great words of wisdom, by the greats, I was talking about.

Bruce Jenner, Olympic Gold Medalist, so correctly said, “I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you are a musician, a writer, and athlete, or a businessman, thee is no getting around it. If you do, you will win — if don’t, you won’t.” Clearly, Bruce knows how to work hard, and has a gold medal to prove what he’s talking about.

John Wooden, the great basketball coach who led UCLA to 10 NCAA championships in 12 years once said, “The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal, and launch, get started, take action and move.”

 You know what all these great achievers, ie “winners” have in common? They BELIEVE in themselves, they DON’T STOP, they DON’T GIVE UP, and they complete their mission of showing the world the GREATNESS that they’re made of.

 What most people don’t realize, or at least act on, is that we all have greatness inside of us. The key is to realize it, to use it and ultimately become it.