Some things never change

I used to hate flying. I was terrified of planes, didn't like the stress that came with airport security checkpoints, and really didn't like spending $4 for a bottle of water.

In fact, on my first flight to Alabama as a CDC, I nearly had a breakdown because we only arrived 50 minutes before our flight took off (the horror!). We made that plane, and throughout the rest of the year, I navigated canceled flights, long security lines, and getting to the airport with under an hour until my flight.

Somewhere along the tens of thousands of miles I traveled, airports became my "me" place. They were where I treated myself to Starbucks, caught up on blogs, watched Hulu, worked on reports. And planes, the things I used to be the most afraid of, became my place to enjoy a good book or write thank you notes.

The airports and planes were my routine. In a year where I felt like nothing was constant, the traveling was something that never changed.

So here I am now, sitting in the Jacksonville Airport, with my first flight delayed and a pretty good chance that I'll miss both my booked connection and the back-up connection that my new Delta agent friend Kareem just helped me get on, and I'm at peace. I don't know if I'm going to be sleeping in my bed or on an airport bench tonight, but I feel pretty okay.

Nearly two years later, I am sitting here, catching up on blogs, drinking an Iced Passion Tea, and smiling because even though so much is different about my life and who I am, some things never change.

Because I was never a runner, until I was.

I run because every mile, even when it is actually kind of miserable, is filled with pure joy.

Joy.

Because there is nothing like doing what you never thought you could do.

Post Springfield 15k: Race #7 in seven weeks.

Because it gives me much needed time with my own thoughts.

Because I was never a runner, until I was.

Because I am not defined by the speed I run or how good I look doing it, but instead by accomplishing what I set out to do.



Not looking good doing it, but still accomplishing marathon #2 in less than five months.

Because it is a passion that has blessed me with the opportunity to be a role model.

My Girls on the Run post Spring 5k.

Because it makes me feel alive.

And, because I really, really, REALLY like carbs.

Happy National Running Day! Why do you run?

Bikram reflections: Days four and five of my 30 day challenge

Well,  so far I am five-for-five in my 30 day challenge, and as I'm writing this post, I'm preparing for class number six.

The last two classes have been pretty awesome. In a way I've never really experienced before, both classes felt like they went pretty quickly, and I actually kind of enjoyed every series of both of them. Bow (the pinnacle posture of the spine strengthening series) felt really strong both days, and I was kind of proud of how much better it looked and felt. Bow, just so you know what I'm talking about, eventually looks like this:

I am also finding that my practice is starting to feel like the "moving meditation" that it claims to be. I definitely am starting to fall into the rhythm of the practice, and I think that's probably what has been most helpful in making the 90 minutes enjoyable each day.

Scheduling myself time for my practice each day has been great. I love how Bikram makes me feel, how it makes me look, and that it gives me time daily to focus on myself. I'm sure I've blogged about this before, but I think that we sometimes forget how important it is to set aside time for ourselves each day. I don't just mean time to workout, I mean time to let all of our other responsibilities take a breather for a hot second (literally hot, in this case) and just let our mind have a break. We're all so busy all the time, and we sometimes forget that taking a breather is necessary too.

Here's to class number six.. after today, I'll be a fifth of the way there!!

Reclaiming personal time

It’s almost surreal to be back at Executive Offices, preparing to head out on my second semester of travels. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’ve updated my right sidebar with my spring semester schedule. It’s pretty exciting that I’ll get to visit so many new states I’ve never been to before, including Washington, Oregon, Montana, New Mexico, Colorado, and Illinois. This job is really giving me an incredible opportunity to see the country, and I am extremely grateful to be able to go so many places with incredible mountain views this spring!

Over the break, I took a lot of time to evaluate my last semester and what worked for me, and what I wanted to change for this semester.

I’m sure all of you who work in different fields can relate, but last semester I found myself eating, sleeping, and breathing my job. While it meant that I was able to give a lot to the chapters, I also found that in the process, I was beginning to lose myself. I don’t mean that to be incredibly deep or sad or anything, just that when I stopped setting aside time to do the things I loved beyond DG, I started to forget about my passions outside of my job.

(via Pinterest)

Luckily, break was a great time to step back and spend time on me – I got to spend time with my family, get back in the gym, and visit Athens. I even got to catch up with friends from home, which was a treat! I set new fitness goals (see: my last post), got a Kindle, and even began exploring job opportunities. I found new TV shows I love (hello Biggest Loser, The Bachelor, and Once Upon a Time), downloaded new tunes to my iPod, and volunteered with the Salvation Army.

I rediscovered my passions. And I’ve started bringing them back into my life.

I love to write. I’ve always loved to write. In elementary school, I entered writing contests, in middle school, I worked on yearbook, and then in high school, I wrote for the school paper. Even in college, I put my love to use writing letters to the editor and opinion columns for the Red and Black. This semester, there’s going to be more content on this blog as I give myself more time to write. I’ll try to stay away from politics, I promise!

While growing up, I used to get books mailed to me monthly. Four Baby Sitters Club books a month, to be exact. And I used to be the kid who sneakily read under the covers, by flashlight, after I was supposed to be asleep. Somewhere, between all the mandatory books I had to read for classes, I stopped reading for pleasure. I’m not sure why, because reading was something that I used to get so much joy out of, but somewhere along the way, the reading for fun disappeared. This year, with the recent gift of a Kindle, I am planning on reading at least one book a month. This month, I’m working on Moneyball, and I’ve also got Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Happiness Project just waiting to be read. I plan on doing lots of reading on my cross country flights!

As you read in my last post, I’m training for a half marathon. Yesterday I completed my first training run, 3 miles on the treadmill. I am feeling it a little in my legs today, but it’s that slight soreness that reassures you that you’re easing your body back into fitness. I’m excited to run another three miles today. I’ve even added a mileage counter to my blog – it’s on the right sidebar on the bottom.

And, just for fun, I’ve made it a goal to get through the first five seasons of Friends. Season one is cued up on iTunes as we speak!

I tell you all of this because, you, the reader of my blog, may be exposed to a wide variety of posts. I’ll be talking about chapter visits, cool things and places I experience, how my running is going, books I am reading, maybe even sports (one of my biggest passions of all!). I spent the last few days trying to decide which direction I wanted to take with my blog – would I be a fitness blog or a travel blog or just a life blog? The answer is that I’m going to be a smorgasbord. I love and care about so many different things, and I want to reserve the right to blog about anything and everything! Perhaps the blog will evolve over time, but until then, I’m just going to write about whatever I feel like.

My guess is that the quality will be better when it is not forced :)