Lightening Giveaway!!!

Apparently I won Tough Chik's awesome new I Run Because tee.    I truly feel like I've won the lotto lately, with the whole Tough Chik ambassador thing and the camaraderie from Team Tough Chik.  I was planning on getting this T when it came out (I am to the point I want to sport my sport even when I'm NOT working out), so since I won one, one of YOU gets to win one. 

So here is how it works:

Win this wonderful shirt from Tough Chik by:

1. Follow Life Beyond The Chaos on Facebook

2. Follow Tough Chik on Facebook

3. Follow TooTallFritz.com on Facebook and posting a comment wishing her GOOD LUCK this weekend on her 70.3!!  Because Amanda got me in to Tough Chik and held my hand every time I freaked out when I first started running.

4. Posting a comment here or on facebook post letting us know you have done all 3.  (Please don't enter on both the blog AND facebook!

Drawing closes Thursday morning at 9am.

Winner will be chosen via random number generator.

   GOOD LUCK!!

Sisterhood

As I mentioned on Monday, I never really felt like I fit in the "crowd" in high school.  I had one truly good friend, Sandra, who was the closest thing to a sister I had as an almost-only-child (I have a half brother, but he is over a decade younger than me).  But my childhood was a fairly lonely one.  I had many cousins who were older than me.  Lonely.

Motherhood brought a common threads and some great friends, but I didn't really find my inner self until I joined Team Tough Chik in the middle of last year.  Suddenly, I found a sisterhood of people as crazy as I am.  I realized many of the insecurities that I thought were mine alone were shared with women of all shapes and sizes.  Women who had reached incredible physical goals.  It was because of that team that I really began to find myself.  And as I posted on Monday, it is a place where I always feel empowered, and never feel judged.  No one will laugh at me if I have a bad workout day, and everyone there understands the obsession.  I don't have to explain to these women that I'd rather go to bed early than go out and have a good time. 

This summer Tough Chik announced they would have an ambassador program.  I'm totally stoked that I was among one of the ten awesome Team Tough Chik members chosen. 

Because Tough Chik is so much more than a brand.  Its a mantra, a way of life . . . its remembering that what we are, AS we are, is enough.  THIS IS WHAT TOUGH LOOKS LIKE.  Its not "This is what tough looks like with ten extra pounds," or "This is what tough looks like, except I didn't have time to put makeup on."  Its an absolute.  You, as you are now, is exactly what tough looks like.  You may not be perfect, but you are you, and that is exactly what you should be.  THIS IS WHAT TOUGH LOOKS LIKE.  So, yeah, BEYOND excited to have a hand in spreading that kind of movement into the world. Because you can't beat sisterhood.

The Road You Take

Source

Have you ever started something new and been SO overwhelmed by people telling you what you are doing wrong that you tend to lose the joy (or never even FIND the joy) in what you are doing?

Sometimes we feel so passionately about things that in our over-eagerness to help others, we end up cramming our opinions down their throat and turning them off to something exciting.  Sometimes we can make others feel judged because they do not choose the same road that we do.  Don't let someone take away the joy in something that is working for you, or that you love, because they don't agree with it or they feel the need to push their opinion on you.

If you want to be a vegetarian, DO IT.
If you want to go paleo, DO IT.
If you want to train for an ironman, or a marathon, or an ultra, DO IT.

Make informed decisions about your life, and don't let fear of anyone's opinions shape your own road. 

And as you do it, be sure you surround yourself with people who will lift you up instead of putting you down.  Because the reality is that when you make big changes in your life, there will be haters.  People who are jealous because you are doing what they can't (or won't).  People who feel threatened by your new-found confidence and knowledge.  If your friends don't support you, its possible they aren't that good of friends. 

Source

When I was growing up, I was a conformist . . . I was always SO worried about fitting in that I would do what others did just so I (the short, overweight girl with the divorced parents) would not stick out more than I already did.  I literally did not find my own road until a few years ago.  In the past couple of years, I have been surprised to have a few people I considered good friends turn spiteful and negative toward me.  It was unexpected and a bit shocking.  Because of the way I train.  Because of what I chose to eat.


So be careful before you judge someone on a different road.  Unless you've walked in their shoes, you don't know their journey.  Don't judge them, and maybe, just MAYBE they won't judge you.   Because there is no better friend than the one you can tell anything to, without the fear of being judged.

Rock on, friends, and happy Monday.

Try a Tri

In my running "career," I've tried a few different types of runs.  To me, doing the same thing over and over, either a training run through the same neighborhood or the same race, gets to be boring.  When it gets boring, running becomes more of a job than a fun hobby and, at least for me, I'm less likely to stick with it.  To "spice it up" I like doing different types of runs.  So far, I have participated in 5k runs, 10k runs, obstacle runs, and the Florida Keys Ragnar Relay.  Each has been a blast in their own way and they keep it fun.

In my quest to find new and exciting running events, I discovered this:

(Any guesses as to what that is or what it has to do with running?)




If you're wondering, that's Alcatraz and the running event is the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.  It's a 1.5 mile swim, an 18 mile bike ride, and an 8 mile run.  Sounds like fun, right?  Well, then there's the 51 degree water and air temperature last year.  Not exactly what us Florida boys are accustomed to.

It seemed like maybe instead of traveling all the way across the country and making that my first triathlon, I should start with something a little closer to home and a little shorter duration.  It seemed like the logical choice was the Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy.  A "short" sprint distance 400m swim, 10 mile bike and 5k seemed like a good way to ease into it and try something new in the running world.  So that is up next.  We'll see how it goes and see how it works for preparing for the "big" Escape from Alcatraz, but mostly it's about trying new, fun, adventurous activities to keep the running fun and build up to the next big thing.

Balancing the Balls

It seems to be feast or famine when it comes to blog posting in my little world.  I always have ideas but hardly ever have time to get them down "on paper" so to speak (or rather, in cyber space).  It seems I have weeks where I have things written for days ahead of time, and I don't want to spread them out over several weeks because I want to post them all RIGHT this very second.   Its no surprise, I've never been good at balancing things. 

It's back-to-school time for most people, which means either 1. The return of crazy schedules, early mornings and running around  OR 2.  A welcome break if your children are driving you batty OR 3.  Very little has changed, if your kids had a pretty regular summer routine.   We fall into the first category.   Last year we decided to keep my oldest home for virtual school this year.  I have been dreading return to school because I was SCARED TO DEATH of losing our carefree schedule.  I was also a tad nervous about LOSING MY SANITY.  Okay, you got me.  More than a tad nervous.  A whole hill of beans nervous.  I love my son but I already was barely holding on to my sanity between work, my kids, my house, and the other chaos in my life.

But, finding the life BEYOND the chaos is what this blog (and life, really) is all about.  So I couldn't tell my son no when he begged me to keep him home this year.  And while I'm exceedingly worn out after our first week back, I also feel an overwhelming sense of RIGHTNESS about this decision.  Keeping him home has kept me from wallowing in the fact that my "baby" is turning 5 next month, and just started preschool.

Anyway, I digress (again, surprising I know).  Managing my time has become a major undertaking--school work takes 4-5 hours a day, I usually have 5-7 hours of work to complete, and I tend to lose my marbles without a good hour long workout every day.  Add in housework, cooking, cleaning, etc. Well, I've done enough remedial math to know there isn't much sleeping going on there.   Or blog writing, this past week. 

Because things are crazy and it is a challenge to find the time to fit workouts in, I find more joy in them this week.  What before I considered a given and a necessity (gym time, pool time and running) has once again become my escape and my time to recenter my thoughts. It has been a while since running has been my escape to find my sanity . . . its nice to have that, among all the chaos that is life. 

Source: I <3 to Run

So, my honest to goodness insight on balance, a week in to homeschooling while still holding a full time job:  As long as there is running and yoga, there is hope :-) 

Musings over.   Have an amazing weekend!

Race Report - Triathlon Trilogy #3

Sunday morning dawned windy . . . never a good thing at the Mack Cycle Triathlon Trilogy.  As I learned last month, the swim for this course is incredibly challenging . . . The first time I did it, they had us reverse direction for safety because the current was so bad.  The second time  I did it, it took me 17(!!!) minutes.  I'm not a fast swimmer, but usually 400m takes me 10-12 minutes.

I expected the current this time, and was thankful that the waves were breaking on my left side because I habitually breath on my right.   Watching the waves before my wave paid off--everyone was ending up being washed in shore by the wave action, so I knew to sight often and make sure to swim out.   Luckily there were lots of familiar faces to chat with to keep me from freaking out too much about the waves!!

My mantra for this race was "Mind Over Matter" (Thanks Lourdes!), and remembered that as I entered the water and got stung by who knows what . . . ~~probably ctenophores, but all the non-science folks are going to be asking what a ctenophore is  Anyway, I digress.~~  The swim took forever, but it was what it was.  Aside from being stung several times, the swim went as well as could be expected.  I had been debating doing an international distance for this event's bonus round next month, so after I exited I was all totally like "Yeah, I could have gone further!!"

Bike was awesome and pretty speedy (for me).  If the bike was Ragnar I would have had lots of "kills" (passed people), but alas, it wasn't and I don't think anyone counts "kills" on bikes.  But it was nice to pass people, it doesn't really ever happen on the run.  By the end of my two loops, I was all like "Yeah, I GUESS I could have done two more.  If I had gone slower.  A lot slower."

The run was . . . sandy.  I don't remember it being as sandy the past 2 times--I think the put sand on wet parts of the trail to dry them out.  Not fun.   But I ended up behind this 16 year old girl and promised myself I would keep her in my sites.  That worked out well, I ended up with my fastest 5K run time ever in a triathlon.  Granted, the wind probably played a part in that.  But by the end of THAT I was all like "Uh, yeah, SURE I could do another loop of THIS but why would I want to??"  :-)  Repetition really messes with my head, and I think I'll wait till Miami Man, when I don't have to mess with loops, to log my first international triathlon.  I rather enjoy being a sprinter.  I ended up 4th of 12 Athenas, which wasn't too shabby.  I was stoked with how strong I felt and energized by seeing some familiar faces and some new ones (including an athlete with a prosthetic leg--now THAT is what tough looks like folks!).   The line at the massage table was short, which made it a WIN for the day!

The best part of the race was that I managed to drag hubs along.  After years of him thinking I'm off my rocker about triathlons, he finally is thinking about doing one.  I love that I'm slowly dragging him over to the dark side, year by year.  He used to laugh at me when I went on a long run, now he mentioned doing an ultra for Ragnar 2015 and DIDN'T say NO WAY when I asked him if he would consider a marathon.  I'll take it!  Of course, who knows what we'll do with the kids if we both decide to race all summer long next year.  As it is, I'm not entirely sure how we're going to balance TRAINING for all we have on our calendars this fall/spring.  More on that soon.

How do YOU balance all the craziness in your life, especially with all the back to school mayhem?

Less is more

As we get ready to start the 2013-2014 school year, I'm subscribing to the idea that LESS in life is a good thing.  We've spent the better part of this week going through the too-much-stuff we own and weeding it out.  Organizing.  Cleaning.

We live in a society of excess--we like to have too much stuff.  I've been intrigued by the idea of minimalist living (Simple Mom, anyone?), but we hardly live a minimalist life.  It was a cathartic process this week to weed out the things that our household does not need, organize what we have, and get the house ready for what is sure to be a crazy end of year.  Because balancing 2 work schedules, two crazy training schedules, a child in preschool and a child doing virtual school from home is going to require a home that is easy to pick up at the end of a crazy day.

I've been stuck on philosophies lately.  There are so many simple phrases that can help keep your life full and enjoyable.  Remembering to find the joy is one of those philosophies.  The idea of LESS IS MORE is certainly another. Its a philosophy that we can improve our lives with--not just our every day grind, but also our training. 

Of course, less is more when it comes to our things.  If we have too many things, we become overwhelmed by how much there is.  We tend to use what we have less, and therefore enjoy it less.  Who HASN'T been overwhelmed by the huge stacks of stuff in their house that needs to be organized/cleaned/put away/etc. etc. etc.  

When it comes to running, we always want to be the fastest, but we need to remember that sometimes slowing down and simply enjoying the run is important.  Remember its not ALWAYS about how far you go, or how fast.  

• Occasionally, its okay to leave the GPS at home and just go for the joy of it.   LESS IS MORE.
• Sometimes, its okay to miss your distance goal, if it means you are listening to your body.  Yes, running is mind over matter, but you have to listen to what your body is telling you.  Listening can mean the difference between an injury with a long recovery period and just having a mediocre run.  LESS IS MORE.
• The long run is about building the slow twitch muscles fibers that allow your body to go the distance.  If you try to run fast while doing it, it sort of defeats the purpose.  LESS IS MORE.

Less can sometimes be more.  In toys.  In runnning.  In life.

Runner 101 - Recovery

This running thing is hard.  Obviously.

I truly believe the challenge of running is letting go of the "I can't" in your mind.  But like all exercise, running breaks your body down.  You must allow for recovery in order to stay healthy and get stronger.  Here are some tips to help aid in recovery.

Honor the rest day
Run streaks are all the fad these days.  I don't know what to think of them.  Whether you are starting out with Couch 2 5K or are training for a marathon, honor your rest day.  Don't skip over it.  Your body needs a real day off to fully recovery.  Don't consider cross training a rest day.  REST DAY MEANS REST!!

Legs up the wall

This move is so darn basic its almost ridiculous.  But placing your legs up a wall helps stretch your hammies and glutes while simultaneously allowing lactic acid to drain from your muscles. Win win!

If something hurts, address it
Injury occurs when you are in pain and you ignore it.  There is a fine line between pressing outside your comfort zone and listening to your body.  Your muscles will ache--that is normal.  But if something HURTS, address it.  If the soles of your feet hurt, put a tennis ball on the floor and roll it over the places that are achy.  Its like a foot massage while you are eating dinner with your family--win win!    And gentle stretching is always an excellent idea when you are done running.  Just remember not to bounce around--be gentle and kind to your body after doing all the work.  Simply standing in mountain pose and engaging your muscles can also be therapeutic, especially the morning after a taxing workout.

Compression
I wish someone would have told me how awesome compression is when I was first starting out.  I became a true believe after Aspaeris sponsored our Ragnar team last year. (That's what I'm wearing in the picture above.)  I have several pairs of them--sometimes I run in them, but I ALWAYS wear them after a hard workout for recovery.  Magic pants.  Really.   And while they look dorky (or at least according to my hubby)  compression socks or sleeves also help with calf soreness, if that is something that plagues you. 

Ice Baths
Not worth it unless you are training for a longer distance event, but ice baths really do work.  Its exactly what it sounds like--ice in the water, and your lower extremities need to be covered.  Bribe someone to make you coffee.  Another recovery tidbit I would never have believed if I hadn't experienced it for myself. 

The quicker your body recovers, the sooner you will be ready to get out there again.  Happy running!

Finding the Joy

Part of the reason I **really** enjoy going to yoga is because I like the life lessons that yoga teaches you.  One of the things that yoga teaches is to be present in the moment.  As a society, we spend so much time looking forward and looking back, but we don't spend enough just being where we are. Things are always messy and chaotic in our house, with the kids and their schedules, the dogs, and my work.  But I know all too well that these moments are fleeting, and that it won't be long until my babies are no longer babies.  They will be grown, and I won't get this moment right now back.  So I try to be present in the moment, and enjoy it, even when my seven year old is trying to tape his sister's mouth shut with electrical tape. :-)

We've been discussing the lines of the Anusara Invocation in our Tuesday night class.  Last week we discussed Ananda, which is a part of the Anusara invocation . . . sat-chit-ananda or, in Sanskrit:

 (You know, just in case you read sanskrit!)

Ananda means JOY.  BLISS.  Yoga is not about being bendy or being able to contort your body in "bendy" ways.  Yoga is about reminding us to find the joy.  Even when sometimes you aren't feeling joyful.  Its hard to feel joyful when you are running late, there is food caked on the floor, and your children are fighting with each other.  But there are reasons to be joyful.  You have somewhere to go where people will miss you if you aren't there.  There's food to eat.  And while they fight, you still know your children love you and each other.

So, in the craziness of life, take a moment.  Pause.  And find the joy in the moment.  Its easy to love your life when everything is going perfectly.  But life is hardly ever REALLY like that.  Its finding the joy and humor in the imperfections and chaos that truly makes life worth living.

I enjoy yoga because otherwise, I would never have realized that all those funny squiggles could teach me so much about about life.