A vacation alone

Have you ever taken a vacation alone?

Over the years, my answer to this question has changed. As a kid - no way. As a teenager and college student - hell yes. As a wife and mother - why would I?

Last year, I took a vacation alone. I went surfing for a week in Costa Rica. When I decided to go, I didn't really think much about the fact that I would be traveling by myself. I craved the time alone but I was returning to a familiar place with familiar faces. I was returning to surf camp. En route to Costa Rica, it dawned on me that this was my first solo vacation. I assumed that I must have traveled alone in my college or post-college days but I never did.

I needed the time away from home and for myself. I have learned that I definitely have to carve out "me" time in order to recharge, and I fiercely protect this time. There are so many demands on my time and attention and so many people that I want to care for and support that it can become overwhelming. I am the first to admit that sometimes I need a break from parenthood, work and life. Having this time alone to take care of myself lets me regroup and reset so that I can (hopefully) be a better wife/mom/friend. 

So have you or would you take a vacation by yourself?

{Linking up with Pour Your Heart Out at Things I Can't Say}

Mercedes Maidana: Big Wave Surfer & City Girl

Growing up, I associated the company Patagonia primarily with their Snap-T pullover fleeces. All my friends had them and I desperately wanted one too. Little did I know that Patagonia was involved in more than just hiking, camping and climbing gear and supplies. It's also a great surf company.

Last week, I had the chance to hear one of Patagonia's Surf Ambassadors share her story at the Patagonia store in Soho. I love that Patagonia's Surf Ambassadors outnumber the number of Ambassadors in any one of the other sport categories.

Mercedes Maidana was a city girl from Buenos Aires who first tried surfing in her early 20s after a bad break-up. On a trip to Brazil with a friend, she borrowed a surf board and headed out into the line-up. As she lay on the board, she felt all the balled up anger and energy release from her body and she experienced pure joy - her first glimpse of happiness in 7 months. A one-week holiday turned into a three-month adventure. She fell in love with surfing and there was nothing else.

Since then, she hasn't stopped. She's traveled the world, chasing swells and catching waves. Ultimately, she settled on the North Shore of Oahu and her home overlooks one of the most storied breaks in the world - Sunset. She has been pursuing her dream of being a professional big wave surfer. She's been nominated for the Billabong XXL Girl's Performance Award - which honors to biggest ride on a wave - in 2009, 2010 and 2011 and won third place in the Women's Big Wave Exhibition at Nelscott Reef in 2010.

Mercedes is a super sweet, bubbly and gracious woman - not exactly what you would imagine as a big wave surfer. Surfing big waves has been a male-dominated pursuit - searching out the biggest and baddest waves out there. We're talking about 10-20 feet on the face of the wave. It takes a lot of a guts and nerves of steel as well as a hard exterior to take the beating by the waves. 

But really, I love the fact that Mercedes started surfing later in life (See??! It is possible!). She shared some great stories and humbling experiences, like being stuck underwater in a reef cave at Sunset, on the way to achieving her dreams. She trains hard - favoring high intensity interval training like Insanity and Asylum workouts, yoga, swimming - and generally tries to stay as active as possible. 

The biggest message that I took away from her story is the power of visioning and articulating your goals. Once you find your joy and it's something that's in your heart to do, there's no denying it. Eventually the right doors will open but it's on us to move towards those doors and to be prepared for that day but also provide the space to allow it to happen.

I had a chance to ask Mercedes a couple of questions about surfing and her outlook on life.

Are you seeing more women out there surfing big waves? Do you encounter much resistance as a woman? 

There are more women surfing big waves each year, at least that's what I witness in Hawaii! I encountered some resistance in my beginning years in the big wave lineups, but as the men who surfed there saw me over and over again, and they saw that I wasn't a weak surfer in the water, they totally embraced me and most of them helped me progress in the sport. When men see that you are so focused and you put so much effort in what you do, they appreciate that and they open up. I think that it's mostly the fear that they have that if you are not well prepared, you may become a hazard in the water or put someone in a risky situation. But if you can prove that you are just as strong as they are (or at least try), they know they don't have to worry about you and they don't have to take care of you in big waves.

How do you handle it when someone says to you "You can't or shouldn't be doing this" or, when you were starting out, "You're too old"? 

I kept myself focused and I tried not to give my power away to other people. There are many voices outside of us and inside of us that tell us that we are not good enough and not ready enough. And we may always have those voices speaking to us. What matters is how much attention we give to these voices and how we let them influence us in our day-to-day lives. If we have a desire coming from our heart, those voices might hurt for a little bit. But eventually, the desire is stronger and it is is on us to follow it and honor it, whatever our calling may be.

Who are your role models and/or mentors? 

So many people influence my life in positive ways: a lot of Waimea and Sunset Beach surfers that helped me grow as a surfer and set a high example of respect for the Ocean and others. I could mention Clark Abbey, Darrick Doerner, Greg Long, Jamie Sterling, and the amazing ladies that charge big waves such as Maya Gabeira, Keala Kennelly, and Savannah Shaughnnessy. There's also Yvon Chouinard who sets a great example of how to do business in the world while giving back and respecting nature and others (and go surfing in the meantime!).

Many of my readers are new surfers or those wanting to give it a try. What advice do you have for someone just starting out? 

I would tell them to persevere, as the beginning is always the hardest part! Once you figure out how to catch the waves and turn your board, it just gets easier and more fun all the time! I would also suggest that they take a few lessons at a surf school as they will learn the basics and get to practice in the right equipment for beginners.

What's one piece of advice that has stuck with you through the years? 

My meditation teacher once told me: "Live in the loving, live in the now, live one day at a time, one breath at a time." If we could do that we live in heaven on earth.

Where are you off to for your next adventure? 

I am growing my business in the self-development industry, working as an Abundance Coach, writer and motivational speaker. My bliss is to help people live their dreams and I share with them the tools and principles that I applied in my life to live my dreams. I want to spread a message of living an abundant, joyful, fulfilling life! I am now in Hawaii, working and keeping an eye on the storm models, because when some big perfect swell pops up somewhere in the world, I would love to go and keep improving myself in big waves! Thanks to Patagonia I am able to live my dream and grow as as surfer and as a person.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet Mercedes and hear her story. I loved hear her absolute enthusiasm and passion for surfing and the euphoria she describes from being out on the water. Thank you Mercedes! You can follow Mercedes on Facebook, Twitter or on her blog.

{P.S. This isn't a sponsored post or anything. I was invited to attend the event and ask Mercedes some questions. I just really loved Mercedes' story and love Patagonia.}

Conquering Fears in the Pool

My older son Jasper has always loved the water and swimming. While he would hesitate and show some apprehension when trying activities like soccer or tumbling, he would dive feet-first into the pool without a trace of fear. We signed him up for swim classes when he was about 18 months old. He's been taking classes ever since and is starting to swim on his own. The first time that he put his head in the water, pushed off the wall and swam to his teacher, my heart swelled.

Jasper at 2.5 years old

So, when he started protesting going to his swim class a few months ago, I wasn't sure what to do. When he started screaming and crying on the pool deck, I was at a loss. I expected this kind of reaction when we introduced him to skiing in February. But with swimming? No way.

He gave a number of reasons for why he didn't want to swim but I knew that something had spooked him and had started to erode his confidence. I knew that he didn't like using the kick board but the barbells were OK. He didn't like swimming to the deep-end but jumping off the diving platform into the deep-end was OK. He tried to coax and encourage him. We tried to bribe him. We tried everything that we could think of.

As a parent, it's hard to watch your child lose their confidence, especially when it's something that you know brings your child so much joy. As a parent, it's also hard to be that parent at the pool / birthday party / playground with the screaming, kicking, whining child. My husband and I were so ready to throw in the towel, to give up and to let Jasper win this battle. I was so frustrated. I could feel the frustration pouring out of my pores. In part, it was because I love swimming and want to share that with my children.

But, since we had already committed to lessons for the summer, we decided to switch him to private lessons with his favorite swim teacher - his first teacher who he loves and practically would do anything for. If this didn't work out, we'd give swimming a rest for a while. Since then, it's been a slow process of rebuilding his confidence as a swimmer and making it fun again. By the second lesson, he was laughing and smiling. By the third lesson, he was using the kick board and learning to do the backstroke. I started to breathe a sigh of relief. 

This experience reminded me of a few things:

• Don't push but don't give up. For me, I felt that it was important that Jasper keep trying. In life, he's going to encounter many situations that he doesn't like and that are hard but he needs to learn the skills to face those situations. Maybe that's the Tiger Mom in me coming out but I do feel that it's an important skill to learn. If he refused to swim and wasn't having fun, we would have stopped the lessons and taken a break from swimming.
• Don't underestimate the power of being silly. I swear that the reason that Jasper got back in the water and was willing to continue with his swim lessons was because his teacher is hilarious. He makes jokes and makes Jasper feel like he's the funniest kid ever. 
• It's a big deal to conquer your fears. Celebrate the small accomplishments along the way to help to build confidence. It's important to recognize the progress that our kids make. I know that it was a big deal that Jasper swam in the pool by himself without his teacher in the water with him and we celebrated that.

I am hopeful that this is a turning point for him. Our mantra through these last few swim lessons has been Brave and Calm. Yes, both Jasper and Mommy have to be brave and calm - the latter more so for Mommy.

How do you encourage your children when they are scared or lose their confidence? How do you build resiliency in yourself and in your kids?

{Linking up with Pour Your Heart Out at Things I Can't Say}

TGIF

Can I just say thank GOD it's Friday?? I had serious doubts that I would make it to the end of this week. Actually, I'm still doubtful as there are still a number of things that I need to wrap up before heading to the airport bright and early in the morning...and it's 12:36am.

This week was one of those weeks where frustration overflowed from every pore of my body and I just wanted to dump everything in the trash and start over. I admit, I didn't handle it well. There were just too many things that collided head-on that were out of my control. I also took on too much work and too many other projects all at the same time. Oh yeah, then there were all the end-of-school festivities and beginning of summer and camp craziness.

I haven't been mindful and I haven't been respecting my limits. I haven't been doing well with that little thing called balance. Coincidentally, I read this article today in the Atlantic by Anne-Marie Slaughter, the first women Director of Policy Planning at the State Department, about the elusive work-life balance and basically flat out admitting that it's impossible to achieve. I think that's something that has been lurking in the back of my mind but I've been loathe to admit.

It's definitely been one of those weeks where I feel like I need to step back, assess and regroup. I need that. Thankfully, I will be on a plane in the morning on my way to meet my best friend to celebrate a belated birthday for her and an early birthday for me.

How do you find balance? How do you regroup after a particularly frustrating experience? Have any fun plans for the weekend?

Preschool Graduate

 

I now am the mother of a Kindergartner. How in the world did that happen??

Jasper graduated from preschool last week. He and his classmates have been working very hard over the last month to prepare for their graduation ceremony. They made all the decorations - from body drawings for each student to tissue paper flowers that covered the railings to a quilt with their own personalized square. Jasper would come home from school and tell me about all the elaborate preparations. Then I was instructed to promptly forget what he told me because he wanted it to be a surprise.

He would wander around the house practicing the songs they were going to perform. He had the lyrics printed out on paper so that he could learn the words. While he might be a little pitchy, he poured his heart out as he practiced. In the end, they performed several songs including Lean on Me, That's What Friends are For, Three Little Birds, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, The Wise Old Man, and The Dinosaur Song. Quite a medley.

You could tell that he was really proud of himself and his friends. And rightly so. They've all come a long way and learned a lot. Plastered along the walls of the courtyard were posters proclaiming fun facts about each child and what they learned at school. 

When asked what was one thing he liked to do at school and one thing he liked to do at home, Jasper answered "Sleep" for both questions. That's my boy. When asked why he is special, he answered, "Because I love my family."

I'm not sure that the kids realize the significance of this day and their graduation. Next year, they will be off to new schools in different parts of the neighborhood. To them, it was a big party and a chance to have cake before lunch. But, it was bittersweet for me as I remembered my goodbyes and transitions to new schools and places. Plus, I'm not sure if I'm ready for my boys to grow up.

{Linking up with Alison and Galit for Memories Captured}

Summer Memories

How is it June already? I don't really know where the year has gone. I feel like I say this every year but every year, I seem to find myself thinking the same thing - it's summer already?!?!

I think that I feel most like a parent when it comes to summertime. It's funny to think back on my memories of summer and to see the shift from enjoying carefree summer days to being responsible for planning those carefree summer days for my little people.

Summer is definitely on my mind and I wanted to share some of my favorite memories.

1. Summers = pool. Growing up, we had a pool in the backyard and I pretty much spent every day swimming in the pool with my brother and sister. That Wonder Woman bathing suit? I LOVED it. That bowl cut? Not so much. The funny thing is that every summer I would "forget" how to swim and my Dad would have to teach me all over again.

2. Snake. One time, I remember running up from the pool to find my Mom because my swimmies/arm floats needed some air. As I got to the deck, she was coming out of the sliding door with a bowl of watermelon. As she stepped on the door mat, a snake slithered out from underneath. I turned right around and ran back to the pool.

3. Watermelon. Summer was all about watermelon. It still is. I've been known to hoard watermelon. Now, I have to share since my oldest son also loves it too.

4. Summer in Montana. I spent a month during the summer after Junior year in high school building a playground on the Northern Cheyenne reservation. It was also the first time I went backpacking, spending three days in the Bighorn National Forest. I formed some amazing friendships that summer.

5. Day trip to the Grand Canyon. Sometime during my freshman year in college, I became obsessed with the idea of visiting the Grand Canyon. That summer, I took a rode trip with two of my friends. We drove straight through from the Bay Area. We spent the night, hiked the next morning and then drove home.

6. Summer in Paraguay. I spent a summer in college working on a public health project in rural Paraguay. I credit that summer for changing my mind about going to Med School. However, the hardest part was that I was vegetarian at the time and in Paraguay, beef is a staple. There was meat at every meal, culminating in a huge asado dinner every Sunday.

7. Summer before graduate school. Ed and I traveled in Europe for three weeks and visited his family in Poland where I was forced to drink more vodka than I thought was humanly possible, all starting at 10am.

8. Running through Europe.  That same summer, Ed and I were training for our first marathon - the Chicago Marathon. We ran our way through Warsaw, Krakow, Vienna, Venice, and Florence. It was an incredible way to see the different cities, early in the morning and away from all the tourists.

9. Cousins. I have a lot of cousins. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with them. I feel badly that my kids don't get to spend as much time with their cousins since most of them live in California. However, last summer, for my Mom's 70th birthday, we all went on a cruise together. While it was mass chaos for a week, the kids had such a great time hanging out together and playing. I can't wait to watch their relationships continue to grow as they do.

10. Summer with the boys. Since the boys were born, our summers have focused on spending quality time together as a family. We try to spend a week or two outside of NYC so that the boys have a chance to run around in the woods and breath fresh air.

Tell me, what do you associate summer with? What are some of your favorite summer memories? Do you hoard watermelon like I do?

{Linking up with Stasha and Monday Listicles}

Why I should write for YOUR magazine

As you know, I've been recently named a Fitfluential Ambassador. Fitfluential is starting to partner with some healthy living and fitness publications and I have the opportunity to "audition" to write or do video posts for these digital publications. While I can't share any names yet, they'd like to see what I'm all about and if their readers would like to read what I have to say. 

I love writing and I love sharing my passion for healthy living and fitness. The opportunity to be a contributing writer for such a magazine would be a dream. Healthy living magazines have been my constant companion for well over 20 years and have played a huge role in nurturing my love for all things health and fitness and also in encouraging me to try new things.

While I've been active my whole life and grew up playing sports, I never have considered myself an athlete and I would have never imagined that health and fitness would play such a prominent role in my life. I was not the fastest runner or highest scorer but I was a dependable team player. Sports were something that I was required to do in high school but never something I was passionate about. 

Once I entered college, I started going to the gym by myself, mainly sticking with cardio machines like the stair master or treadmill because I wanted to stay active but more likely because I was dealing with a bout of disordered eating. That's when I first started subscribing to fitness magazines. I was drawn to the healthy eating and strength training tips as well as the stories about real women and how fitness transformed their lives. Through reading these magazines, I learned to appreciate and respect my body and arm myself with the tools I needed to take better care of myself physically, mentally and emotionally.

Looking at myself and my life today, I do consider myself an athlete. Health and fitness are a core part of who I am as a woman, wife and mother. I run, swim, ski, spin, and yoga. I've run 3 marathons and completed an olympic triathlon. I developed a love for TRX and am longing to try new activities such as CrossFit and Kettlebells. Being fit keeps me healthy and sane. Being fit not only helps me build physical strength but also mental strength to handle whatever challenges life throws at me.

While you may not see workout plans or recipes on this blog, you will witness my adventures through life. My readers come back to my blog for the stories that I share, my experiences as a mom of two young boys who is trying to balance working at home, fitness, family and healthy living, and the lessons that I've learned through these experiences. I share the challenges I encounter, my successes and setback as well as how I choose to handle these situations in a real and honest way. In this past year, I've taken several leaps of faith and have made a commitment to live more intentionally and gratefully.

More specifically, readers come to read about my quest to learn to surf. After learning to surf last year and falling head over heels in love with the sport, I couldn't find many surf-related resources online that I could relate to. Most of the information out there assumed a certain level of knowledge and/or experience and didn't address the basic questions or trials and tribulations of a beginner surfer. Surfing is growing in popularity and there are more and more beginners out there thirsty for information.

I've discovered that I have the ability to connect with, support and encourage others in their journey. Over the past three months alone, the number of visitors to my blog has tripled, my page views have nearly tripled and my Twitter followers have increased five-fold. That shows me that the stories I share resonate with a growing audience. I would love nothing more than to be able to empower others in their healthy living journey.

Tell me, why do you like reading my blog? What do you think I'd be good at? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!!

Change the Conversation - Kook

I wrote a post a couple of weeks ago about the lessons that I've learned from surfing. I received incredible support here on this blog and elsewhere. However, the post was also shared by a kind reader on a local surfing forum where it wasn't so well received by those who consider themselves "hard core" surfers. After all, I'm a kook - a new surfer.

But, kook is a pejorative term. It's is often used to describe new surfers who are clueless and have no regard or respect for surfing etiquette, thereby endangering themselves and/or others out in the water. In their eyes, I was an overexcited kook who didn't have the right to be out in the water.

Source: John Robison. Surfing Illustrated: A Visual Guide to Wave Riding

At first, as I read through their responses, I was hurt. I felt attacked. I didn't feel safe in my blogging space anymore. But as I read some more, I realized something. They were attacking the image of a kook that they held in their mind and everything that label encompasses - arrogant, privileged, inexperienced, disrespectful, dumb. But that wasn't me or my story. I'm more than that label.

I am a new surfer who is trying to learn to surf the right way by learning technique and water skills; understanding the ocean, waves and currents; and learning and respecting my own limitations.

I am a new surfer who is so well aware of the unique history and culture that surrounds the sport - a mostly male-dominated culture where women often aren't treated on an equal level.

I'm a new surfer who knows that you have to earn your place in the line-up as well as respect others out in the water.

I am a new surfer who has a long way to go but I am committed to putting in the time to improve and to learn both in and out of the water.

I am also a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend and athlete. I'm a runner, swimmer, yogi, spinner, writer, artist, and the tickle police for my kids.

When I was younger, I hated being a newbie whether it was a new school or sport or instrument. There is truth to the myth of the Tiger Mom and the notion that nothing's fun until you're good at it. I wanted to excel at everything that I did, often barreling my way through and pretending that I didn't need help.

Now, I've learned to embrace my newbie-ness whether in surfing or blogging or any other new experience that crosses my path. I'm not afraid of it anymore - not afraid to ask questions, admit that I'm wrong and just learn. To me, being new isn't about fear or failure. It's about excitement and opportunity. After all, we ALL started off new at some point. 

Labels are everywhere. They help our brains organize and sort information. For a type-A person like me, that's really helpful. We all have labels that we attach to ourselves and others. But labels are not what solely defines us. So let's change the conversation and stop judging based on labels. The conversation NEEDS to be changed.

What are your labels and who are you beyond that? How do you handle being a "newbie"? 

{Linking up with Just.Be.Enough to change the conversation}

A Case of the Swirly-Whirlys

I was planning on writing a different post today but I can't seem to quiet my mind enough to focus. I've been feeling very scattered lately. Busy with work and head deep in a project that frankly, I'm not that excited about. Don't get me wrong. I'm thankful for the work but I just can't seem to motivate myself to sit and actually do it. I spend most of the day with a genuine intention to work 4-5 solid hours before the boys come home from school but I am inevitably distracted by Twitter, Facebook, blogs, physical therapy exercises...you name it. I guess one of the downsides of working from home and for yourself is that you are ultimately accountable to yourself. Just. Can't. Do. It.

(By the way, I totally suffer from an involuntary Twitter twitch. Before I'm even conscious of doing it, I'm moving my hand to click and check my Twitter feed...every few minutes.)

Normally, I like having a lot on my plate. I like when my days are packed. It forces me to get organized, pull my shit together and just do it. However, my normal bag of tricks do not seem to be working for me. Part of me wonders if my lethargy and lack of motivation is tied to the fact that I can't workout. Exercise is a huge outlet for me and helps to set my mind straight.

I know that I promised that I was going to stop making excuses and to take things one step at a time. However, lately, my mind feels like it's racing a million miles a minute and I can't even slow down. I feel like my son in these pictures, drawn into the bright swirly lines and compelled to spin on and on until he finally falls down.


How do you manage the case of swirly whirlys?

{Linking up with Pour Your Heart Out at Things I Can't Say}

Bye Bye ACL. It's been nice knowing you.

Well ACL #2, we've had a good 15 year run together. You stepped in when ACL #1 gave way on the ski slopes in the Alps. You restored me to full mobility and activity within a few short months and I felt as good as new. We've completed an Olympic distance triathlon and run three marathons together, two half marathons and countless shorter races as well as chased after two little boys. You stuck by me as I learned to cross-country and telemark ski and to surf.

But, now it's come time to part ways. Today, you will be replaced by ACL #3. I can only hope that it will be as good to me as you have been. To be fair, I actually hope that it is better than you because I really don't want to have to go through this again. I'm not sure I could handle a 4th ACL in my life. So, if you get a chance in the OR, can you please just have a little chat with ACL #3? I'd appreciate it.

Also, to remember today and one of the main reasons why I am having surgery, I'm linking up one of my favorite posts of all time - riding my first wave on a surfboard - to celebrate Alison's and Ado's 1st Blogoversary Blog Bash! Come check it out and you can join in too!

Scenes From My Weekend - Friends

Detail from the Patti Cadby Birch Court, constructed by craftsmen from Fez and is based on Moroccan late medieval design.

Making zucchini muffins

Over the weekend, one of my best friends came to visit. Erin and I have known each other since we were 15 years old. We spent the better part of Saturday afternoon wandering around the Islamic Art Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which reopened in November 2011 after 8 years of renovation, and the Asian Art Wing. Sunday morning was spent in DUMBO playing with the kids, throwing rocks into the river and riding the carousel. Sunday night, Erin and I met some other friends for dinner in Manhattan to celebrate a birthday and to see The Head & The Heart, a pretty cool band from Seattle that's kind of Americana and kind of not, but a whole lot of great music. All in all, it was a weekend filled with much needed time with friends.

I've been thinking a lot about friendships lately and how those relationships are sustained and maintained even after you move away and/or apart and are not a constant in each other's lives. With some people, it's a struggle but with others it comes so naturally and easily. While Erin and I don't talk or see each other all the time, we have consistently been in each other's lives since the day we met. When we do see each other or talk, we are able to pick up where we left off. There is a level of comfort and ease that I've come to value so much. There's no need for explanations. Through all the personal and life changes that we each have experienced over the last 20 years, it hasn't changed our relationship. For that, I am forever thankful.

Vacations Reconsidered

Beachside on the Gold Coast.

If you had asked me a few years ago what my ideal vacation was, I would probably say something about hiking in South America or exploring cities in Europe or skiing. I would not have mentioned the beach. I don't like sitting on a beach and relaxing all day and getting sandy. OK, I could probably do it for one day but then I need to do something more. Plus, I get all hot and sweaty and my sensitive, eczema-prone skin starts to flair up. Not exactly a pretty sight. However, since I've started surfing, I've started to reconsider my vacations. Vacation decisions now largely hinge on one question, "Can we surf?"

This made me think back on some of the vacations that Ed and I have taken in the past. I realized something. We have traveled quite a bit over the last ten years and we have been to some of the world's premier surf destinations but didn't even know it - weren't even interested in surfing. If we saw someone surfing, it was just another sight to see and a fact duly noted -"Oh look, someone's surfing out there." Most of the time we didn't even mention it.

Surfers in the San Jose Bay of Los Cabos

For example, a few years back, we traveled to a friend's wedding in Cabo San Lucas. The wedding was held at the Cabo Surf Hotel! As my friends got married on the beach, there was a good number of surfers in the water. As we were enjoying cocktails and snacks, surfers were coming out of the water, rinsing off and talking about the amazing surf session they just had.

Matt Wilkinson at the Rip Curl Pro Search contest in Ocean Beach, SF

We've traveled along the Gold Coast in Australia, in Mexico and around Hawaii. Ed went with a couple of friends to Nicaragua and hung out in San Juan del Sur, a popular surf destination. And California and New York!! Rockaway Beach is a 40 minute drive from our house and there are numerous surf spots on Long Island from Montauk to Long Beach. We travel to California a couple times a year. Mavericks - one of the most famous big waves - is a half mile off the coast of Half Moon Bay which is less than an hour from where my family now lives (and much closer to where I grew up). Not to mention the surf at Ocean Beach in San Francisco where the Rip Curl Pro Search contest was held last fall.

Long Beach, New York - a 40 minute train ride from Penn Station in New York City

All of this time, surfing has been right under our noses and we didn't even realize it. Isn't it funny how your perspective can change? How it can change how your view, your decision calculus and your priorities? Now, every time I catch a glimpse of the ocean, I scan the water for the beautiful, organized lines of swell in the water making their steady roll towards the shore. Every time I see a wave, I begin to wonder if it's surfable whereas before, I would look for calm ocean water. Vacation planning has definitely taken a distinctive turn. It means that I get to go back to some of these places, right?

Your Turn!
What's your ideal vacation spot? Has this changed over the years? Has your perspective on something changed in a way that's surprised you?

11 Random Things

Recently, I was tagged by Michele in her 11 Random Things post. It's been fun to get to know different bloggers a little more through these "random things" posts.

So, here are the rules of the game:
1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions set for you in their pot.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Select 11 people and tag them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this.  You have to legitimately tag them on twitter, facebook or on their blog.


11 Random Things About Me
1. My family and family friends (along with the majority of my brother and sister's friends) call me Say. My sister gave me this nickname when I was a baby because it means "small" in Cantonese and I'm the youngest of three children.

2. I have an irrational fear of open water swimming and waves yet I have completed an Olympic distance triathlon (NYC in 2005) and have taken up surfing. Go figure.

3. I also dislocated my shoulder while swimming. Don't ask. I have no idea how. I thought swimming was a no/low impact sport?

4. I tore my ACL and medial meniscus in my right knee skiing in Switzerland while I was studying abroad in college. (Wow, I sound injury prone) The best part was trying to communicate with the German ski patrol in my broken Italian and his heavily-accented Italian. Finally, he gave up and shoved a brandy-soaked sugar cube in my mouth and strapped me in to the ski patrol sled. Guess they do things a little bit differently in Europe. But, it was after this injury that I really started running and completed 3 marathons and 1 triathlon after this injury.

Yup, that's me riding in the back of the ski patrol sled. I even got to ride down on a special ski patrol gondola. But aren't the Alps pretty?

5. I have a ridiculous and out of control magnet collection. It started out as a joke between me, my sister and our two cousins and now it's really gotten out of hand to the point where every magnetic surface in my house is covered.

6. I never would have thought that I would be living in New York City and raising a family here. I grew up in the suburbs in Connecticut and imagined that I would eventually settle down in a similar place. But I've fallen in love with the city and all that it has to offer, especially Brooklyn. 

7. At the same time, I would love to live in Sydney, Australia or Portland, Oregon. 

8. I have several food allergies since I was a kid - peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish. As I've grown older, I've developed additional allergies including lentils, chickpeas, lima beans, green peas, and fava beans. It makes me super sad because it pretty much means that I can't eat Indian, Middle Eastern or Ethiopian food anymore. The worst part is that my kids have food allergies too.

9. If I could do anything career-wise, I would like to be an architect. It's not just about the engineering or look of a building but it's about creating space - the connection between culture, community, aesthetics, utility into one form. P.S. I studied Art History in college.

10. We're trying to teach my sons three languages (English, Chinese and Polish). My husband is Polish. So far so good. Their English and Polish are strongest and they understand Chinese but don't really speak it. I think it's because my Chinese vocab and ability tops off at about the level of a 3 year old, which is how old my youngest son is right now. Oh well. Right now, I'm just happy that they aren't mute!

11. I'm a Bon Jovi fan.

Source: bonjovi.com via Christine on Pinterest

Michele's Questions

1. What was the first race signed up for?  When was it? Where was it?  How did you do?

I honestly can't remember the first race that I signed up for.  I think that it might have been a Race for the Cure 5K in Central Park - kind of ironic now after all the hullabaloo the past couple of days. I have no idea what my time was but I'm assuming it was somewhere around 30 minutes. The earliest official time that I have a record of was for the Salsa, Blues and Shamrocks 5K in March 2002 in Manhattan. My time was 27:12.

2. What is your favorite color? 

I'm partial to purple and blue.

3. Do you prefer to read stories and the training of elite runners or every day runners? Why?

Generally I prefer to read stories and the training of every day runners because that's me and it's something that I can relate to. I find that I can get tips and ideas from people that are at a similar place/experience level and I can relate to their challenges and successes. I do read stories about elite runners and how they train from time to time because I am AMAZED at how hard they train and what their bodies are capable of doing.

4. Treadmill or dreadmill?

DREADMILL but I use it when I have to i.e. weather conditions, not feeling 100%, etc.

5. Gear junkie or Run Naked?

I lean more towards the run naked side of things. I do like to run with my iPod and that's about it. I am debating getting a Garmin though...

6. Is there an era of music that you prefer? Oldies? Classic Rock? 90s?

I listen to all kinds of music but if I had to pick one, I would say 90s.

7. Coffee or Tea?

These days, it's all coffee.

8. What is a childhood secret you never told your mom?

Um...nothing of course. I told my mom everything :-)

9. Favorite Olympic Summer sport to watch?

Hands down swimming. I get really into it like screaming at the TV excited. It's embarrassing sometimes. Really. I used to swim and have always liked watching swim meets. 

10. Favorite movie of all time?

That's like picking a favorite child! If I had to pick one right now it would be Dirty Dancing.

11. Cake or Pie?

Pie please! But only fruit-based pies. I don't like custardy pies. 

OK, so here are My Questions:

1. What's your favorite ice cream flavor?

2. What was the last movie that you saw in the theater?

3. What music do you have on your iPod that you don't want anyone to know about?

4. Salty or sweet?

5. What's your favorite book?

6. What's your perfect Sunday morning?

7. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

8. What's your current obsession?

9. What's your favorite weather?

10. What would you like to learn to do?

11. If you could go anywhere in the world today, where would you go?

I'm tagging...I think that most people have been tagged already? But some bloggers that I'd love to get to know better:

Brigid at Live, Breathe, Huzzah 

Ali at Miles With Style

Martha from Running in Mommyland

Erika at This Spartan Will!
Meredith at Swim, Bike, Mom

Surfing Grandma of the OC  

Rad Surfing Mom at Moms Who Surf are Rad
Surf Mama at Eat, Surf, Love

#makeitcount

Source: wearehq.com via Christine on Pinterest

Have you seen Nike's #makeitcount campaign? It asks, "How will you make it count in 2012?" and it's all about bringing your best to everything you do. Apparently, the marketing geniuses at Nike have succeeded again because I can't seem to get that phrase out of my mind. I find myself muttering "make it count, make it count" under my breath more than a few times a day. And I'm not even an active Nike customer!

At first, I thought that this was just another clever ad campaign, but then it made me think. What was I going to make count this year? I wasn't training for anything in particular and didn't have any specific goals that I was working towards (or at least that I have fully articulated to myself). My goals were more like snippets that started with "It would be nice to..." That was when I realized what had been missing in my life - motivation, that fire under my ass that makes me want to strive for something and push myself.

Lately, I've been in a rut. I've been hiding under the covers of a daily routine, identity and a set of expectations that I have grown way too comfortable with but, at the same time, has grown somewhat out of step with me as an individual. It has been easier to maintain things as they are and to take care of everyone else rather than think about what I wanted or needed to be happy. Isn't that what mothers do? I was just doing what I needed to in order to get by, whether working with my clients or making dinner or exercising.

I've decided it's time that I take care of myself and nourish my own soul. It's something that I have started working on over the past several months but I've finally found the perfect mantra to remind me what's important - make it count.

make it count because I want to be true to myself and my intentions in everything I do.
make it count because every minute that I have to spend with my kids really does count and they deserve my full presence.
make it count because staying fit is a big part of who I am. It makes me stronger physically and mentally and makes me a better person.
make it count because I'm a busy working mother and all that I do needs to move me towards my goals

This morning, I went for a run. I really didn't want to. My body was feeling the lingering soreness from yesterday's workout and I wasn't sure how I felt about trying to power my legs up the initial uphill mile from my apartment to Prospect Park. But I got dressed and headed out the door because this was the time I had to run. While I knew that it might not be the prettiest run, I wanted to make it count. I knew that regardless, I would have a chance to clear my head, learn something from this run, and build mental endurance. Isn't that more than half the battle? Hearing those voices in your head and then consciously deciding what you are going to do about them? So I kept running. At the end of it, my average pace was just under 9 minutes per mile, the fastest I've run in a really long time. And I felt comfortable doing it.

Love, Life, Surf...Run?

Sunrise over the Hudson River - the start of the NYC Triathlon

Seven years ago, I swore to myself that I would not run another long-distance race. In four years, I had completed three marathons (Chicago, Marine Corps and NYC) and one Olympic distance triathlon (NYC). My body was worn out and run down. Shortly after I finished the triathlon, my knee started hurting more than usual and I came down with weird breathing/asthma symptoms. Literally, I could not breathe. It was so frustrating. I felt like I was in the best shape of my life. I trained hard for the triathlon and performed better than I expected. For that, I was rewarded with a forced hiatus of several months.

But shortly after the New Year this year, I found myself really wanting to run regularly again. While I could just incorporate running into my weekly workouts, I knew I needed a goal. That's how I ended up I registering for the More Magazine/Fitness Magazine Half Marathon. It's the largest women's half marathon in the country and it takes place in New York City in April.

I never really considered myself a runner or an athlete. Yes, I played a lot of different sports growing up - field hockey, soccer, lacrosse, swimming, water polo - but I took up running as a fluke. In my Senior year of high school, I could satisfy my PE requirement by participating in community service and running for half an hour. I thought it was an easy out but I ended up really enjoying it. I remember running from school and along the winding roads of our small New England town and down to Pomp's Pond. I kept running in college, heading out for 3-6 mile runs in Central Park or Riverside Park. It was a way for me to clear my head and relieve all the stress of school. When Ed and I started dating, we started running together and we got to explore different parts of the city on foot.

Happy to have finished the Chicago Marathon

Running a marathon was never something that I imagined I would do. I had never run more than 6 miles so how could I possibly run 26.2 miles...at once? At some point, Ed and I decided that we wanted to run a marathon together. I liked the idea of having something to train for and a structured plan to help me get there. I was also curious to see what my body was capable of doing. We began training for the 2001 Chicago Marathon over the summer and continued training as I started graduate school in Boston. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to run in Boston and Cambridge along the Charles River. It's one of my favorite places to run, especially in the fall. It's kind of perfect for marathon training as the various bridges along the way create natural loops that I could piece together for my runs. I loved feeling my body get stronger and my endurance grow. I could run 8 miles, then 10, then 12, and finally 20 miles. It was crazy and exhilarating and tiring all at the same time.

We arrived in Chicago a few days before the marathon. It was only about a month after the 9/11 attacks and on marathon day the War in Afganistan began. It was a little surreal. There was a tremendous patriotic feel in the air. I don't know quite how to describe it. It was somber as everyone made their way to the starting area, as if we all had something to prove or a duty to fulfill by running this race. I had lost a good friend on 9/11 who was also a runner. In my heart, I ran that race for her. But once the race got started, the mood lightened. There were several runners wearing "I want to beat Oprah!" shirts, listing her time of 4:29:15. Seeing that lit a bit of a fire under my ass - I wanted to beat Oprah. There was no way that I was going to be slower than Oprah and I wasn't.

Finished at the Marine Corps Marathon

The first marathon led to our second marathon with the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. and then our third and last marathon in New York City - our adopted city. We even trained for that race during our honeymoon! I know, what were we thinking??

New York Marathon finisher!

After taking a year off, I decided to train for a triathlon. I already had a strong running base and I was a strong swimmer. I just needed to work on my cycling. The triathlon also felt more manageable since it was broken into three discrete segments - 1.5K swim, 25K bike and 10K run. I was part of Team in Training and raced in support of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. It was an incredible experience to train with a group of such passionate and motivated people and with amazing coaches who knew how to coax the last ounce of effort you had out of you. 

Ready to start the race! I'm trying to ignore the fact that in a few minutes I will be swimming in the Hudson River.

So here I am today, coming full circle, building up my running base and strength and beginning to train for my first half marathon in many years. I have to admit, I'm excited. I have a goal time in mind that I'm hoping to make but really, I just want to train smart and run strong. Plus, by the time that the race is over, it should be almost time to get back in the water and surf, right??