Is that a cliff? Hey. How do I stop on these things!

Just for fun let's talk fitness..

So I was cross country skiing the other day and really got to thinking about what I was doing in the bigger sense of the fitness world, why i got started and what has brought me to the point I am at now. It was either that or I would be focused far too much on my lungs which seem to be attempting to come out my nose while climbing a hill in very icy tracks with two long skinny pieces of wood attached to my feet! Even the ipod wasn't distracting me enough!

Here's the skinny.. hehe

I had been a "big" girl for awhile, how I got to that point is a story for another time. I began to slowly make changes, I was more active, road my bike to work, walked etc.. it really wasn't helping other than proving to myself that even at that weight I could move. I did try to alter the eating habits.. but it's really hard to figure out who is really just out to make a buck and who has some solid advice. I hate to say it but even your family doctor isn't a pile of help. I truly believe that a diet centre needs to be created that figures out what diet is right for you and than you go on it.. because the right diet will work for you.. and it might not be the same one as the person standing next to you in the Dairy Queen line up! The only thing I really learned is (for me) weight loss is about food intake - maintenance is about exercise & diet. My major weight loss happened after my divorce - nothing like a serious lack of appetite to get the ball rolling!

But no matter how it started, here I am now. I am a triathlete, I cross country ski, I wake surf and water ski, I ride a motorcycle, I lead an active life. Am I currently at my fitness goals? No. I need to drop 30 pounds and want to finish a triathlon before the 75 year old women ahead of me. I also want to run 10K consistently in under an hour, and do a 360 while wake surfing. But storming up that icy hill got me thinking.. why? Why do I really want this? Over the years I have had a variety of different answer, part of every answer is vanity - who doesn't want to turn heads while walking down the street. Another part is "ease of life." When you are in a plus size world.. and 5 feet tall shopping is NEVER easy. But the big motivator for me is simple, I like to do stuff. At the weight and fitness level I am at now, I can. Maybe not well.. or fast, but I can try. If you are thinking to yourself, it doesn't matter what weight you are at you can always try.. think again. I had to have a small enough butt to fit it in the kayak for my kayak trip, you have to be able to hold the basic positions for my Ashtanga Yoga class, you have to be able to bike up the mountain in order to learn how to ride down it. Yes there are ways around and we can all make it pretty.. but facts are facts - you need to be able to get to the starting line.

Ladies and Gentlemen: I have made it to the starting line!

I might be bigger than I thought I would be and no I can't keep up with most of my friends, but I am in the race. I love the fact that God gifted me with the ability to be brave and strike out on my own because right now that is where I am. Don't get me wrong I have an AMAZING support system, but at this stage of the game I am stronger than my friends that haven't reached the starting line and can barely make out my other friends who can sprint for the word "go". But I am here. Finally I am in the race.

So as my lungs past threw my nostrils and I gracefully slammed into a snow bank on those cross country skis I knew why. Because I just want to do stuff, I want body, mind and soul to be in running order at a level that will allow me to work, play and inspire with and in the world. The joy from that knowledge gave me the strength to climb out of the snowbank with a smile and continue down the icy tracks - it has taken me almost 40 years to get to the start line, but the "adventure race" that is my life is overall so much fun, right to the finish line. Thanks for cheering me on, it would be a whole lot harder to do without you!

BTW: If you have been waiting for the Great "Farting" New Years Eve blog. I promise it's coming! Also news on the 100 push up challenge and the 200 sit up challenge.