Una Simple Sonrisa
Posted: April 12, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, Boston Marathon, exercise, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, jogging, kindness, life, love, lululemon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, paleo, passion, perspective, running, simplicity, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 10 CommentsWell-behaved women seldom make history-
We can grow through inspiration, please say hello to Anne this morning (she is the young lady on the left in the photo below).
I’ve known Anne for quite some time now, always greeting me with a smile first thing in the morning. That’s how our friendship started after all, a simple smile.
Anne was kind enough to sit down for a quick chat to discuss her upcoming Boston Marathon run. Without further ado …
How long have you been a runner and how did you get started?
Anne – I started walking around this lake area with neighbors when the kids were in school and the bus picked them up on the corner. I started running when I was 39 yrs old and I am 69 yrs old now. I needed to get around the lake faster for family obligations, so I tried running. I still love running.
How many years have you been racing Boston? Favorite and least favorite moment?
Anne– I qualified for Boston when I was 49 and ran my first Boston when 50. I have run marathons in Nebraska and many other states. When my son moved to Boston 5 years ago, I decided to go back and this is my 4th Boston in a row. Favorite moment would be when I see my family and/or friends waiting for me at finish line. Least favorite moment is “many moments waiting for marathon to start”. In Boston you get up at 4am, walk to buses to be transported to Hopkington. There are 30,000 runners doing the same thing so it is a big process that takes a lot of time. Then you wait for race to start. Boring and a little nervous. You can think too much about the distance although I have met and visited with a lot of interesting people.
What are some of your favorite places to run locally and around the world?
Anne– I love running the county roads here in Sarpy County, Nebraska and around the world: I like running in Acapulco, Mexico. In Mexico I run in a large park and go around and around and around where I have met other runners who only speak Spanish, so we do a lot of smiling at each other. And smiling seems to be enough to have in common along with the running.
What is it that you enjoy the most about being active?
Anne– I appreciate being able to participate in lots of sports and have gotten used to younger people asking if they can ask my age.
How do you know when you’ve had the perfect run?
Anne– It is an inner peace feeling. Like “I did it”, my day is not complete without running. I feel at a loss, but it quickly that goes away when I next get out and run.
**You can cheer Anne on this Monday during her inspiring marathon run. Keep an eye peeled for a touch of Husker Red, a Bright Smile and Anne’s Bib #21960. You can also track real-time race results via the Boston Marathon website.**
Therese de Lisieux once wrote: “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
I believe building enduring personal connections, real, face to face connections is critical for our health and well-being. We are born to connect and we thrive and excel when we connect with other people. Whether you choose to run a 5k this weekend, a marathon on Monday, go for a relaxing walk early tomorrow morning, practice yoga, The Gran Fondo Bike Ride or whatever else you choose … Be inspired this weekend and please take care.
The Magnificent Dance
Posted: April 1, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: April Fool's Day, Bikram Yoga, blogging, Breaking Bad, crossfit, elite yoga, exercise, fitness, free range, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, intensity, jogging, kettlebell, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, natural, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, simplicity, trail running, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 2 CommentsIf they substituted the word ‘Lust’ for ‘Love’ in the popular songs it would come nearer the truth-
:::BEEP BEEP BOOP:::
You are now connected to the CultFit Extreme Fitness conference call. Please state your name and title for those of us in attendance.
“Chaz, reporting from Omaha”
“Molly here! The best bodega/spa manager this side of the Hudson”
“Caleb, Cage Free/Paleo animal relations director from Red Hook”
“:::heavy frantic breathing::: Zoey …”
“OK, well thanks for calling in everyone. I wanted to start by saying all of you are doing such …”
“:::heavy breathing::: ahhhh – yeahhhh”
“Zoey … is that you? Are you OK?”
“Yeah, Chaz. :::heavy breathing::: I’m calling during my lunch hour. Just getting in my scheduled afternoon bikram yoga session in. AHHHHHH.”
“Zoey, you really didn’t need to call us from the yoga studio!?!”
“Oh I’m not at the yoga studio. :::heavy breathing::: I’m actually just … ahhhhhh the burn! Feel it! Damn! … I’m just sitting in my office with a space heater on full blast! Between the sweet pouring off my body and the humidifier …”
“Hey, I don’t mean to be difficult, but I gotta go do things and see people in an hour, so can we just get on with this meeting already?”
“Yes, sorry Molly. Anyway, like I was saying. I just want to go over the Q4 projections of our Elite – Sustainable – Renewable Energy – Health Spa to make sure we’re all on the same …”
“Ahhh, yeah that’s it. Yeah right there, deeper, feel the stretch :::heavy breathing::: AHHHHHHHH!”
“Zoey … are you sure you’re OK?”
“Yeah, I just took off my clothes and upped the intensity a touch. I’m almost done lovelies. Keep going.”
“Caleb, did you want to go over your thoughts for the planned sustainable – rooftop – farmers market … ”
“:::heavy breathing::: 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … FIRE BREATHING!!! Bring it on home, Zoey! You got this you bad ass …! AHHHHHHHH!”
“This is really distracting. Maybe we can just brief Zoey later over a babyccino?!?”
“It’s OK Molly. I’m done now.”
“Finally.”
“Just need to switch the space heater off and … there. I’m listening. Go on folks.”
“I really think it might be better if we just reschedule for …”
“:::heavy breathing::: heeee heeee hoooo hoooo heeeeeeeeeee huuurts soooo gooooood.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m signing off now.”
:::BEEP BEEP BOOP:::
“Yeah, me too.”
:::BEEP BEEP BOOP:::
“Just one … more … second. Annnnd done. Ahhhh. Alright, good work everybody. Hello? Anyone still here, hello?!?”
Notes:
Red Light
Posted: March 26, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: blogging, exercise, fitness, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, Kiss, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, minimalist, motivation, musings, natural, passion, perspective, philosophy, purpose, simplicity, trail running, whole foods, WOD, yoga 8 CommentsA kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous-
The little things in life. The sound of your cleats clicking purposely into your pedals, the wash of riding through a freshly formed puddle, the sound of tree branches playing briskly in the wind, are music to my ears.
The little things in life. The sound of silence during an early morning run, the gentle flight of seeing the first blue jay of spring, an optimistic robin persuades me to perform an aria with her during the final miles.
The little things in life. The sound of your wife blow drying her hair early on a Saturday morning, the snap of an eyeliner case, the sound of shaking an empty bottle of hand lotion, truly music to my ears. The continuo: the little one’s bedroom door opening sneakily and shutting with a giggle, a gust of wind across the siding, the last drop of coffee pouring into a porcelain cup. The little things are what we remember of this Life.
The large events in our personal lives have their place as well. Finishing and running a personal best 10k, belonging in the lead group before the start of a marathon, finishing your first century ride of the year. However, even the large events are assembled craftily from many little “things“. The rush to the local emergency room and the stillness of the air in such a sterile environment, the brave face you try to present to the caring staff, the small choked cry and the sound of tears dropping with purpose on a medical tray, the snap of a joint being dutifully put back into place, the sound of thread being pulled through the wound, the way your loved one holds your hand tight. The little things.
Notes:
These little things we neglect, are Everything.
Such Great Heights
Posted: March 4, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Buddist Boot Camp, exercise, fitness, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, life, love, lululemon, meditation, motivation, natural, Omaha, paleo, perspective, running, Simple Life, simplicity, Spirituality, Surrender, The Bookworm, The Village Grind, Timber Hawkeye, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 8 CommentsReason lost the battle, and all I could do was surrender and accept I was in love-
The very essences of our being lies in the ability to surrender. How often do we have to push ourselves to the limit, only to be left depleted, sore and broken? Our inane culture rewards those who go faster (amrap), hotter (vanity soaked yoga) and longer (trivial distance events). None of these are healthy to our inner selves. It’s a lie we pay forward, the way that we live.
We all have limits – Surrender to them.
Surrender to the “What If” in your life: Become fuller, more robust, richer, hardier and more open to possibility. When we surrender to the “What If“, we open up spiritually and bring limitless possibilities into our lives.
Imagine your life without all the pushing, striving, soreness, sense of loss and pictures of your feet in a magenta saturated Insta-look-at-me photo. Consider a world in which you plant a seed, nurture it slowly and patiently watch it grow …
Surrender is a beautiful word (yup, a dude just said beautiful). It implies a total release to the tensions of our days. Surrender indicates acceptance, letting go no matter what is happening in this present moment.
There is no “What If” today, nothing to see and nowhere to go. Surrender.
** It’s not often I ask for frivolous favors from you. Today, I ask of you to reflect on the message above and in the very near future, re-write this post in your very own words. Not at the last-minute like myself but rather in a very personal and open way.
Notes:
There are quite literally only .001% of the readers, reading this morning who know the murky behind the scenes details of CultFit. Here’s your chance to get a peek behind the curtain. This Friday the 8th of March at 6pm a few members of CultFit will attend the Buddhist Boot Camp book signing and Q&A session at The Bookworm in ‘Muricas home town: Omaha, NE. Timber Hawkeye is a brilliant speaker, writer and a breath of fresh air in today’s world.
If you would like to meet beforehand for a coffee, tea, glass of wine (<-Hint) by all means drop me an email at: cultfit@gmail.com
Starry Eyed
Posted: January 16, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: balance, blogging, Breathing, crossfit, exercise, fitness, gluten free, happiness, harmony, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, Lance Armstrong is a douchebag, life, love, lululemon, marathon, motivation, natural, paleo, passion, pilates, running, simplicity, Walk, walking, whole foods, WOD, yoga 17 CommentsSometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple-
Smiling: Evidence
“There must be a secret, hidden cleverly in today’s message?”
Maybe, the secret is accepting that our very own humane behavior towards others … Are their own reward(s), rather than an investment for an expected future return. We implore you to practice today, replacing the following thought:
“I’ll be nice to you so you’ll do something for me“ with:
“I’ll be nice to you because I feel passionately, that it’s the right thing to do and will make it more likely that you will be nice to someone else, who then may be nice to another person today.“
That’s it folks, pithy enough for you!?!
The Workout-
Did you know that Adho Mukha Svanasana is a pose of rest, harmony and balance?!?
A pose of rest, not struggle …
5-6-7–8-9-10-11-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5
Hinge Walk Out Perfect Push Ups – Resting in Adho Mukha Svanasana between sets.
*This little program is something we practice weekly here, away from the inter-webz*
Notes:
We are starting to hone and redefine what it means in essence, to live fully, everyday. To forgive, love and do no harm. Remember, CultFit is a heuristic process and not something that IS. A tad deep today, on purpose. Be well.
CultFit 