Knowing vs. Believing

Believe: to accept something as true
Know: be aware of something

Each one of us knows that we can be good at something. Each one of us knows that we will get through rough times. Each one of us knows that we can be better than we currently are...but do we really believe it?

To believe, means to accept something is true. When we know that something is true- there is nothing to fear because there is no ambiguity or complexity- it is just FACT. My first couple of weeks at my real job were hard and still are! My learning curve is really steep and I am trying to balance church, family, exercise, and fun. This is a tough balance and I have had to sacrifice quiet a bit. At first this really bothered me- I kept thinking to myself, " Oh shoot, now I am going to get out of shape," or " I don't have time for church anymore."

My parents kept reassuring me that it was okay and that things will balance out. They repeatedly told me that I can do anything I put my mind to and if accomplishing all these things were something I wanted, that I would get it. I simply shrugged it off with, "I know, I know." But I didn't believe it. Until today.

I have not run in over 2 weeks because I just have not had the time- and sometimes I did have the time but my body was just too tired. However, when I got on the trail I ran the best I ever have and I think it was because I didn't force my body to do something when it couldn't. Also, after my run, I had time to go to my church group even though I thought I wouldn't have time. It felt amazing and so refreshing. After this feeling I thought to myself- "You know what, you CAN do anything you put your mind to. It's must a matter of keeping your mind on that goal and doing what you can when you can."

Do you keep telling people around you that you "know" you can reach your goal someday, or that you "know" you will recover from your injury or that you "know" things will get better? Well, don't just know it, BELIEVE IT. Knowing things keeps you complacent- you are just aware of the fact that you could be great...but BELIEVING that you can be great is the first force of momentum that will get you to that goal.

DONT...STOP...BELIEVIN

And shout out to Vandy this Weekend!!! Kick Butt girls! BELIEVE!!

Devil Dash!!!! First Race Back

The Devil Dash- a race that required a waiver to be signed because of the many possibilities of getting hurt. It is a 5k race but its not just running- there are several obstacles in your way of the finish line such as; tires, swimming across Colorado rivers, climbing across roped nets, scaling vertical walls, army climbing through yards of mud and running up a mountain.

I got banged up quite a bit- but it was the most fun I have had in a really long time. My whole family and I entered this race and had a blast doing it. I was scared because I haven't raced in such a long time due to my injuries but it was amazing to feel my competitive juices come back and pull me through the race.

I realized through this race that I could still race! Sometimes I make the mistake of thinking that I have to get a certain amount of training in to accomplish something but most times what it really comes down to is- who wants it more? The prize does not necessarily go to the person who worked in the most miles in her training schedule or to the girl that was the most strict about her lifestyle but rather to the girl who gets on the starting line and tenaciously fights her way to the front.

My vision is to keep racing and competing my whole life- and one of these days I plan to win the whole thing but I know that this plan will not happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely the time will approach when my vision will be fulfilled but I will have to go through a lot more hardship first. By this I mean I will probably get derailed in training because of work- but thats okay because work is essential and it needs to get done. I will probably get injured along the way- but thats okay because I will take care of it. Sometimes life is slow in bringing us to our goals but these little derailments WILL PASS.

Don't give up on your vision just because a little derailment has come up- If you are not up where you want to be, please be patient. Great things take time. Remember how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be but neither are you where you used to be. Life isn't finished with you yet- so keep pressing forward. Don't try to get of of this phase prematurely, let life do its woks so that you become mature and well developed to accomplish your vision when the time comes.

We Rise...

The Phoniex resembles re-birth- to put in a better way, it is defined as an animal that rises from its own ashes, meaning that it can always pick itself up after falling down. We fall down because that is just what happens in life but good things always come out of downfalls...especially when we rise from them. When we rise, we gain wisdom.

Wisdom is valuable because it is gained through life's experiences- it is something that can only be learned if we go through something. Wisdom is timeless so once you gain it you can never lose it and are better able to navigate through life's obstacles. If you are anything like me, you learn once you have fallen a couple of times, that patience and time are the two most pertinent elements to gaining wisdom. Nothing good has ever come quickly or easily in my life and I am guessing if you look back on the best things/experiences in your life that they weren't quick or easy either.

Shortcuts are dangerous because they are an imposter to the genuine experience you gain from waiting and being patient. By this I mean, if you cheat, do something unhealthy, or step in front of someone else- your experience in whatever you are trying to achieve will be satisfying... but only for a short while. You WILL pay the consequences for doing the wrong thing but you will always reap benefits if you are patient.

Giving up on yourself is just as bad as taking a shortcut- usually people give up on themselves because it is taking so long for them to get what they want. The sad thing about this? Most people give up RIGHT before the light; thus, they royally screw themselves because what they want was right around the corner. You and I both know that we have the capability to withstand waiting- whether it be in agony or not, we all have the capability to rise above like the phoniex...Its just a matter of toughening up and committing yourself to WAIT. Your time will come....it will come.

Oh Mother Where Art Thou?

 -      

Once a month we females all know whats coming...Mother Nature seems to throw a little curve ball our way at her own time and convenience...yes, you guessed it- our period. The menstrual cycle is vital not only for reproduction but also for proper hormonal balance and bone health. But sometimes being an athlete, we lose our cycles. This is a topic that I have been asked to address several times so here it goes....

According to research done by Mount Sinai School of Medicine, loss of cycle is the body's way of telling an individual that the body's intake of  nutrition is inadequate. The term is also known as,

Amenorrhea, which is defined as an energy imbalance when caloric expenditure of activity exceeds how much an athlete is consuming.

People need to understand that usually, this energy imbalance is unintentional and not always a case of a disorder. Sometimes, individuals get so caught up in trying to balance all that they have to do in life like: train, work, school, family, etc. and just use more energy than they put in their bodies. Or, it is especially common when an athlete increases the intensity of her training and is not educated or does not know that she needs to consume more calories to meet her new training demands.

It may feel like you are eating enough or that your weight is fine but if you are missing your cycles for more than 3 consecutive months or if your cycles are sporatic, this is your body telling you that somewhere in your diet there is an imbalance and there needs to be a correction. It is simple to change and only you can determine what you can do to help yourself. No one has to tell you that you are underweight or that you are not consuming enough- your body is its best doctor and it knows when to alert you when something is TRULY off.

Many girls are forewarned about the "health consequences" of missing their periods but rarely are these warnings explained, and as a result, a girl focuses on the present (which is running) and is not motivated to change. Well, let me quickly show you some present and future health consequences:

1. Your estrogen levels decrease which means that your bone density will decrease which increases your chances for stress fractures/reactions and premature osteoporosis. (This is because bone resorption exceeds bone production)
2.  Hormones in your body become disrupted- one in particular is cortisol, This is a  stress hormone which rises when you are malnourished- you do not want this because it takes protein away from the muscles for energy which can cause higher blood pressure and weaken the immune system.
3.  You increase your profile for maternal risk. If you plan to be a mother in the future, it is CRUCIAL that you strike a nutritional balance that maintains normal cycles and body weight. Women who have an caloric imbalance, have trouble with cycles, and who are underweight are at risk for delivering a low birth weight baby. This is because her own body is in competition with the fetus for available nutrients in the body and both will suffer. Or worse, women may become infertile because there were not enough calories (especially fat calories) to support the reproductive system.

Some girls are on birth control and thus their bodies are forced to have periods- This is where it gets confusing because the body's alarm system of ceasing the cycle is silenced. So, girls might think that they are fine because they are getting their periods. However, if you are on birth control, know what is a HEALTHY weight for you and if you significantly drop below that, than again, your body is trying to tell you something.

This is something that is so important- do not ignore what your body is trying to tell you. I understand that if you are running well and not getting your period that it is hard to make yourself believe that you need to change what you are doing- however, if you make slight adjustments to your diet whether that be adding more healthy fats, consuming more snacks, etc than I think you will be really surprised at how it will IMPROVE your running even more.
 
Please read this article for further information- its good: http://www.canyons.edu/offices/health/nutritioncoach/concerns/reseat.asp

Since this is a hard topic and can be talked about forever, contact me if you have any further questions or if you need help.

alexadanielle7@gmail.com

Also refer to the GIRL TALK link on the right for more information!

Tri to a Bi

Today I found out that I will have to change my aspirations...Even though being a triathlete was something I really wanted to accomplish I have to step down from that goal for right now. Swimming- as much as I have grown to love it, has caused me some lower back problems... sometimes the pain is so great that I can barely sit without experiencing a headache.

I spoke with a doctor and he said that this can happen- swimming pulling on the back to cause a bulging disc which causes nerve problems. This was kind of dis-heartening because I am so tired of getting injured but I realized that at a high level of training injuries/pain is inevitable. The best thing to do is take active measures to prevent them as much as possible and or take extremely good care of myself to heal to get back out there. And yes that means either taking time off or stopping the activity all together. I have learned to choose health over exercise.

Sometimes it is hard to take a break from things that you love- its easy to be prideful or ignorant and continue to push through the pain just because we don't want to stop doing what we love but if we do this, the pain can become unbearable... sometimes to the point where you cannot do the activity that you love anymore because you pushed it to the extreme. 

I had a plan and it was to train for a March Triathlon- For those of you who know me, you know that I am a strict planner and always have every step mapped out. However, I have realized in the real world that plans CONSTANTLY change. Daily, I get derailed from my plan for the day. My back pain has derailed me from accomplishing this plan. It sucks because I have put a lot of effort into this plan but at least I can still do other things- I am blessed to still be able to run and bike. So... Tentative Plan B? I will become a duelathlete.But this time I will not be so planned- I will have a "map" drawn in pencil and I will carry an eraser for this map because many things can and will change.

Warriors are always prepared to handle derailments- they have the ability to bounce back even when it hurts to change the course of action. Weak people wallow in self pity and refuse to take the new course set before them. They never accomplish anything great because they are holding onto a plan that no longer is in action.

So what are you today? A warrior? Or a weak individual? Take your pick and run with it.

MISTAKES

Yup...This poster was made for Alexa Rogers! I literally screw up every single day. It can be something silly like tripping over nothing, running into a twirling door with a cute guy when I was supposed to wait my turn, farting in public, hugging the wrong person, etc. The list can and will go on forever. I am cursed.

Today at my job I made a pretty bad mistake- one of my bosses asked me to coordinate a meeting for her and one of the big Vice Presidents of our company. For some reason, I thought she meant that she wanted me to meet with him...Ya I know, i'm an idiot. So I set this meeting up with him- just him and I. Then, she found out about it and was like, "Why would you do that? Are you a recruiter?" I replied "No" she replied "And what exactly would you have talked to him about in that meeting?" My face turned red and I shook my head- not knowing what to say. She replied, "Ya, let's save each other from looking stupid." Gosh! I almost died! I made a bone head move- she did save me though because seriously I don't even know the guy and would have walked into his office and been like, "so what's going on here?"  Anyway- I learned to ask for verification when I don't understand.

Then, if things couldn't get any worse- I was in a conference call with some of my other team members in another state and we were waiting for a person named Jeri to attend our team meeting. And I, on the other end of the line, asked, so what does Jeri do? does she work in hr? Then a man's voice on the other end said, "Ya this is Jeri, I'm a guy and I don't work HR but I work for the union!"

Ha- its funny though. I have actually come to enjoy making little blurps because sometimes they provide for a good story and because I learn something from them. Some bigger mistakes I have made are not so funny- they are things that hurt me and hurt others in the past but I am still glad that I made them because I learned from them and am a better person today and hope that others can learn from me and avoid the mistakes that I have made. One thing that I have learned is to make a change after your mistake- bounce back and show the world that you will get back up. AND forgive yourself- you can't be perfect, can't win them all, can't exceed every test, workout, race, or job duty but you can always overcome.

Run Washed

BRAIN WASH DEFINED: A form of indoctrination that forces people to abandon their beliefs in favor of another set of beliefs by conditioning through various forms of pressure or torture

Synonyms for Brainwash: Mind control,coercive persuasion, mind abuse, thought control

We have all heard of this term before- we all know the implications that being brainwashed has. If you notice the key words "torture" "pressure" "abandon beliefs" and "abuse" you can see how harmful being brainwashed can be on an individual.

The sad thing is- is that most people brainwash themselves. It does not necessarily come from others, rather it comes from within. Many athletes, especially female athletes, experience what I can Run Wash. This term basically has the same meaning as brain wash but it applies to how a female can create a place of torture in her own mind because of her desire to be the best in her sport.

There are times when we "abandon" or own standards and values as a person to become something we want or desire. For example, we may think that in order to be the best that we have to change our diet- While it is true that an athlete must strike a healthier diet than regular people, sometimes female athletes take it to the extreme and totally imprison themselves. They "Run Wash" themselves to the point where they may feel guilty for eating a cookie or guilty for eating more than their friends at dinner.

It does not just pertain to food- sometimes females run wash themselves into thinking that they HAVE to train for hours- and if they miss a workout or don't squeeze in a double- all of a sudden their whole day is ruined. Or one may feel guilty if they don't get exactly eight hours of sleep in or if they go out with their friends.

We have all been through this at one point- where we let something we love become an idol and something that we live for. You see, when we run wash ourselves, we end up spending so much guilty or corrosive time in our heads that we miss what is going on outside of ourselves. Run Washing is selfish and harmful to the self. Shoot for the stars, dream big, and work hard but make sure that you do not live for running or that it becomes an idol in which you chase and revolve your every activity around.

Run because it is a part of your life- not because it is your life.