Tag: family

adventure, fitness and nutrition

My Racecation Era

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Here we are midway through 2024…I’m solidly in my Racecation Era.

One of my goals this year is to run a race 10k or longer each month. These races have to be timed. Why? I have learned that I perform differently when I am wearing a timing chip. I push harder. I challenged myself to take on a chip-timed race every month for 2024 to see what I could accomplish. Six of these races need to be half marathons.

Now that I am not spending time chasing my kids around as much, I have time to run around (literally) chasing my own goals and dreams. With that in mind, I decided to make some of my monthly events Racecations. Yes, I am planning a number of trips centered around specific races. Unusual? Maybe. But why not?

I had a few criteria for choosing events. First, they have to be “back of the pack” friendly. Another way to say this is that they need to have generous time limits. Although I am running often, I am by no means fast, and what’s the point of traveling for a race if you get to the end and the finish line is closed…or if you get pulled from the course before you finish? So I have to read the fine print and see if I can be reasonably assured I will finish in time.

I also wanted races with great crowd support. Even if I travel with people, in most cases I spend a lot of time running by myself. With that in mind, I want some cool things to look at. Neat neighborhoods to pass through. Fans coming out to cheer. In many cases, this means bigger races.

Finally, I admit I want a medal for every race this year. The bigger, the better. Other swag is also great, but a big medal makes me irrationally happy.

I’ve been compiling possible races from facebook groups for slower runners, a great site called Race Raves, and other posts I’ve saved. Then I spend time cross referencing with my calendar. A peek at air fare is also part of the process.

I’ve written so far about the Little Rock Half Marathon, and more recaps are on the way. Am I on the way to joining the 50 States Half Marathon Club? Maybe. In the mean time, I hope you’ll enjoy racecationing with me! Which have you run that are worth the trip?

challenges, dare to be different

Life Over 50

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I never really thought much about life over 50. Well I did think it’s half way to 100 and I’m going to live well beyond 50. That is about the extent of my thoughts.

Now I am here and there are some great parts of life to celebrate and some parts that are down right shitty. I normally wouldn’t gravitate to the shitty side of life however I decided it’s worth writing about it. Mainly because others might benefit from this rant and I’ll have a placeholder to look back on.

Menopause. The word. Why does it even start with men! Why just why?

I’m 52 and change. I have my normal aches and pains. I also have my daily inconveniences. I need to use the bathroom more frequently. Sometimes even more urgently than others. Many times in the middle of the night. I know I’m not alone. This is probably high on the list of inconveniences since it impacts daily life.

The water cooler talks or should I say the womanly chats are not about what your favorite dinner spot is anymore! It’s more of what supplements are you taking? What are your symptoms? What’s working? What’s not working? Are your joints hurting? The list goes on and on. This stage of life I wasn’t ready for. I blinked and menopause was at my doorstep. Front and center.

Irregular cycles. The inconsistency can drive you crazy. Flat out crazy. Fatigue one day. Sleepless the next. As I write it’s 3am. I should be tired. I am tired. However I can’t sleep. I really can’t even get comfortable in bed. Nobody is awake to know I’m just sitting here idle. A new kind of alien time. How I used to sleep as in body positioning is now uncomfortable. My favorite pillow makes me hot now. My blankets are just right one minute. Then I’m hot, hot, hot. Zero consistency. Let me say that louder for those in the back. I have zero consistency in many areas of life in this phase.

Men. O. Pause. Men can pause. They can hit pause and run away. They can be supportive. They can think you are bat shit crazy. In the blink of an eye your normal is now a new normal and it’s hard enough to adjust to for you. What about others around you? Life is messy and I will say this is definitely a messy stage. Are you supported? Does your family think you have lost your grip on life?

The annual checkups get more complex. A mammogram. A colonoscopy. A full body skin check. A bone density scan. The list goes on and on. How does one even manage  without good insurance?

Somehow women push through the difficult stages of life. The teen years and all that goes along with it. Motherhood and the body changes, if that is your route. Raising kids and balancing life. Shifting to aging with grace. I’m in the aging with grace stage. The it’s time to have adult fun but balance with the blah of aging.

As I live through the muck of this stage of life I control what I can. My nutrition. My physical activity. My mental wellness. My circle of friends. My energy sucks. I choose wisely each day. It’s a requirement. If today I can sleep 9 hours, I choose sleep because another day this week I might not be so lucky. If I can get in an extra workout one day, I do it because the next two I might be sidelined. 

I’m adapting to change. I’m saying yes to the unknown. I’m saying a shift in my routine is okay. This is how I’m managing my chaos. Adaptability for me may be different than others. I’m 100% okay with that. If I don’t fit the box for someone around me, that’s okay too. I’m not a fit for everyone at every moment.

I have a plan for my day today to start at 7am. What happens at 10am, 2pm and 5pm may be different than I envisioned. Why? Well I may be tired from being up most of the night.  My body may say no thanks to what I originally planned. I may get moody and want to avoid people. This is a real fact of this stage and I am definitely a people person yet I like to avoid people sometimes. I’m adapting.

Adapting to change comes with other challenges. Impulsivity. The need to do something now. Immediately. My timeline not yours. Or maybe it’s stubbornness. No. No. No.  I’m not going x. I’m not doing what you want. It’s just a game of no, no, no. I could go on and on about this topic but I will hit pause.

I will pause here for women. I will say take a deep breath. Inhale that deep breath. Exhale that toxic air that seems to be hindering you today. It will probably come back again tomorrow and the next day. It’s life. It’s a phase. Just breathe through it. That’s what I’m doing. I’m taking the good with the bad. I’m breathing in the sunshine and exhaling the bullshit.

I’m celebrating me. Many may not understand this phase of life if they haven’t hit the wall. The men-o-pause wall. The wall men want you to pause at. Do you reflect and move on? Do you cower and seek refuge? As a strong and fiercely independent woman, I pause. I study. I reflect. I change. I pivot sometimes on what seems like just my big toe and I jump. I lunge forward to what’s next. What’s waiting for me, because that’s all I know.

I know to enjoy what life is left. Live life to the fullest. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed thus I will plunge forward. Look for my travel stories. Watch me adventure. My why will always be why not.  If you are reading this and feel stuck, get unstuck. Book a trip. Take a long walk. Find a new hobby. Find your joy. Do what makes you happy because you are living in this body of yours. Not the person next to you!

Stop comparing yourself to others. Don’t worry if you don’t fit the mold another wants. You focus on your survival of this stage in life. The people who stick around in this transitional phase are the true keepers in life. 

adventure, travel

Travel Time

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Took a quick trip this month in the RV solo.

Last minute decision to dust off the RV for its first season use. A bold decision. Spontaneous of course. Off I went throwing caution to the wind. A parking lot to some. An adventure to me. An opportunity to change things up a bit. Just a couple hours from home but a viable option for accommodations in a rural area with overpriced hotels with subpar conditions.

Day one with friends. Day two solo. Both provided different experiences but both provided memorable takeaways. I wasn’t nervous about sleeping alone in my RV yet my pals thought it was a bit scary. I got questions about what would I do if somebody knocked on the door at night? Well I wouldn’t answer it. What if somebody was lurking outside? I have cameras. I wasn’t paranoid. I slept great. I had hot coffee and a warm nutritious breakfast in the morning. I loved the peace and quiet of the solo adventure.

A night with friends’ giggles. One packed light and ready to camp like a pro. One packed the entire house not knowing what was needed. Oh the irony of both. Other friends were curious but not bold enough to try out the RV overnight. Too boujee I suppose. Curious minds wanted a tour of my RV setup by day.  In the security of daylight. Some wanted feedback for the pals who spent the night. Confirmation of scary or cool. Curiosity amidst the group of friends added to my cool adventure.

Setting up the site was easy. I felt confident and experienced. A little adjustment was needed for the but I worked it out. I dealt with rain but no wind so that was good. I packed plenty of food and had just what I needed for a few days away.

Sleep was good. Memories were made. Fun was had. A good reminder for me to just take off and enjoy because I can. Next adventure is soon to be loading.

perspective

Let it Go

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Recently I heard a comment about growth. I wasn’t thinking the growth was really my growth, rather the growth of another. Boy was I wrong.

I had to take some time to think about the growth opportunity. We were at a crossroads of sorts. Her learning to fly. Me letting her fly solo throwing caution to the wind. Whether near or far as a mom you always have a eerie sense of worry for your kid. It never really goes away. My mom is in her eighties and she still feels the worry of her kids.

Nonetheless,  adjusting my comfort zone to let another sink or swim on their own was as much about my growth as hers. As you have a child become an adult, you can only hope they remember every life lesson you gave them. Direct or indirect lessons of all kinds. The life experiences along the way. The life lessons that should influence solid decision making. That is just so easy to say. The reality is always much different.

Despite what you teach along the way, it is ultimately on them to find their moral compass. To make good choices. To surround themselves with a tribe that is good company. Sometimes this doesn’t happen on day one. Sometimes there are mistakes or bumps along the way as they spread their wings.

All you can do is guide, cheer and support from a distance. The passenger seat. You don’t get to choose their spouse. You don’t get to choose if they have kids. You don’t get to choose where they live. Your life and role in their life shifts. This is as much about your growth as theirs.

Girls may grow through this phase of life at different speeds than boys. No two kids are the same despite the same upbringing. I should know this myself just by looking at myself and my siblings as adults. So many differences yet same household growing up. Each of us took different paths. Each totally different lifestyles. None of which are wrong. Just different.

I’ve been at peace for a while on what I can control. What I can teach in the final days. What could be on the horizon. Once that peace is engrained in my mind, I am able to focus on what’s next for me.

This is my growth opportunity. New hobbies. Time to travel. Goals to achieve. Time to prep for my next adventure stage of life. Things will be different. There will quieter times. There may even be gaps in excitement. This is where I again need to refocus on what’s important for me now. How do I grow?

Cleansing my mind.

Letting go.

Closing my eyes to see what I desire.

The day dreaming.

The growth.

The opportunities.

My time has arrived. 

Her time of need is in the shadows.

Off to college she goes. Off to master life as an empty nester for me. Each flying solo in their way. Why did it take me to today to realize this? 

Off we go.

New chapters loading.

Out with the old.

In with the new.

balance

Yoga Sesh

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I took a yoga class on the ocean. My first yoga session by the water. It was amazing.

The sounds of the waves.

The chirps of the birds.

The cool breeze of the wind.

The smell of the sea.

The light beeeze.

A little bit of sand on your body.

The ambience of it all.

The yoga session was simple. Geared towards the intermediate yoga level. Letting your body move and flow with your breath. Letting your mind settle. Letting life set aside while you unwind. Such a blissful time as you allow yourself to get into that sacred shared space of mind, body and spirit. I definitely think the ocean setting helps me to reach that space quickly.

Focusing on the views. Allow my sit bones to sink into the earth. Rising with strength. Lengthening my body. Leveraging my breath. It was all peaceful and fun in such a weird way. The instructor’s voice even had a calming tone. I felt like I had reached such a meditative state.

The ending is always my favorite part of yoga class . The zen moment of reflection. Each instructor always has a different spin or take on it.  Today was a one word closing, gratitude. I always like what the instructor gives for thoughts regarding the closure. Almost like a prompt to write about in your mind. Today was all about gratitude. One word. Keep it simple. 

The reflection.

What does gratitude mean to you.

In this moment.

The quiet pause.

The simple breeze.

The feeling of freedom.

The moments of reflection.

Close your eyes.

Drift.

Breathe.

Enjoy.

That’s what I did. That’s what I will do again tomorrow. I am greatful for the opportunity to wake again and repeat. Yoga is great way to physically stretch your body but also your mind.

Find your zen moment today and enjoy.