Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Notice What Happens

Thank you all so much for all the support and encouragement on my last post. I’ve given the blog a new title and a pretty new look which will help make the transition to a less running-focused blog. I’m excited to still keep up the blog and keep sharing my adventures with you all.

I don’t know exactly how this is going to work- I still have so much to report and talk about but I don’t want to feel obligated to keep a detailed record of all my activities. So I’ll be leaving out a bunch of stuff… it’s weird! But that is the point. It’s kind of an experiment.

The goal is to allow myself to remove myself from the pressure of big goals and the competition I impose on myself. I want to experience things without stressing about the stats, the rankings, the feedback. In addition to not blogging about all my training, I’m not even “training.” I’m not running any big races this summer or fall. I’m just going with the flow and doing what I want.

So far, it is great! Here’s a quick list of cool stuff I’ve done lately:
- Big ol’ bike event called the Petal Pedal with Alisa a couple weeks ago. It was super hard but so fun!
- Yoga! Lots. Love! I am participating in a “Yogathon” fundraiser which I will post more about in the future (I don’t quite have my donation page set up yet).
- Running- I’ve been running pretty regularly, I’ve gone with Zach a few times and that is great. We went for a crazy trail run last night from Washington Park all the way up to Council Crest. It was amazing!
- Mountain biking up in Forest Park last week and we’re going again this week.
- Hiked up near Mt St Helens a couple weeks ago. We’re planning more hikes and backpacking and camping.

I’ve been busy with social stuff too- we had a big birthday party at our house for Deana’s 30th last weekend and it was amazing. It was great to have a big celebration for such a wonderful girl. This coming weekend my parents and brother and sister-in-law are coming into town and we’re all heading out to the coast for a few days. It will be wonderful to spend some quality time together as a family! We all really need this. I’m hoping to make it an annual tradition.

So I’m not sticking to a schedule, but it’s more than that. I’m giving myself a chance to maybe find an identity beyond just “runner.” Don’t get me wrong, I love being a runner and I’m very very proud of that. But I know I’m more than that, I’m just not exactly sure what. I am trying to figure that out. Is there room in my life for more? And when it comes to running, I’m interested to discover what the activity means to me if I don’t get the constant gratification of nailing tough workouts or finishing big races. How important has that been to me? Can I just let it go? We’ll see.

One last thing. In yoga tonight, the instructor said something that really stuck with me. Something that is very helpful to life outside of the studio. Of course, this happens a lot. Today, she told us to “notice what happens” when we made a small adjustment in some pose. Make a change, and then just observe the effect. That is what I’m doing now.

Notice what happens when you stop caring what people think.

Notice what happens when you accept yourself exactly as you are.

Notice what happens when you let your path unfold before you.

Notice what happens when you let go.

Breathe, open your heart, and notice what happens.

15 comments:

Ewen said...

I like the new look Jen - very soothing. I almost fell asleep while reading your post ;)

Sounds like you're busy having fun, but not too busy to notice what happens. The night trail run would have been amazing. A friend of mine broke her ankle while running at night with a headlamp, so take care!

Anonymous said...

Love the new look, the new feel and the new writing!

Sean in NY said...

AHHH, so many flowers!! Am I in the right place? Whose blog is this?!

Oh, phew... workout data!

I like to see you branching out like this - everyone should be so aspirational - but maybe there's something to be said about holding onto at least part of your running roots. If for no other reason, it will give you a perspective to weigh your new experiences against. If you lose that perspective, then you're losing such a big part of your life and that may lead you back down the same road toward an identity crisis.

I don't know if any of that makes sense and I could be talking out of my butt, but I guess I'm saying to maybe keep the running lifestyle/memories/mind-set tucked away somewhere b/c you never know when it'll be positive/useful again.

Kim said...

jen, i love the new look and feel and title of your blog. so calming and refreshing :)

i really love the last part of your post - what your yoga instructor said. something to really think about.

Amy said...

I clicked through on a bunch of blogs I wanted to read this morning from my google reader, and then when I got to your open page, I was like...wait? who is this? :)

I like the new layout. I think it's funny that there's so much need for change & refocus in so many of us right now! (Last night @ yin, we talked a lot about creating space and living in the present - it was awesome.)

The trail run you did makes me so jealous! I used to do that run every week. :P

Marathon Maritza said...

I love the template!

This post made me feel :-D

I try to remember to notice what happens, but it's hard with all the rush rush rush of life sometimes. Thank you for the reminder. ♥

SavvyFitChica said...

Very cool! Love the new layout, pictures, content, etc.

Maybe you should turn your comments off once in a while. It might help with not looking for feedback or caring what people think. You can turn them on for some posts, take them off for others. Just an idea.

Aron said...

love the new look and feel of the blog :) can't wait to see where it goes!

Cindy said...

i like your new blog look and your attitude. it's great to just relax and enjoy life. good for you!

Marya said...

Wow. What a great blog entry!

It is so important to spend time in your present, since it so quickly becomes your past! Enjoy your running while you're having a training break; there are so many things you can do with running that don't have to include training or racing. (Trail running is a great example!) And with the weather finally shaping up (kind of...) I'm sure you'll keep busy with all your non-running activities as well!

(P.S. I felt so refreshed after reading this entry, just like after yoga. Thanks! :)

Alisa said...

Love the new blog layout, did Z take those flower pictures? They are gorgeous.

I'm totally excited to hear about all your adventures and hopefully join you on some of them!

Yay for a great party for Deana, so sad I missed it.

Anonymous said...

Love the new blog look and looking forward to read about your future adventures :)

Susan said...

I love the new look! Also, it's amazing what life looks like when you just stop and look around for a little bit.

Amy said...

I feel totally calm while reading your blog with it's new layout. I just love it and think it's perfect (not that you want or need my approval.) Love the "notice what happens" question too.

KK said...

Great new look and title. Loved this post. I think we all could learn a lot from learning to let go.

I saw the pix on FB from your family vacay-it looked like a gorgeous trip packed with fun and relaxation. Relaxation is highly underrated. But it's also good to balance it with doing healthful things for your body, like you are. You already sound very balanced, positive and self aware-can't wait to see how your journey evolves from here.