New Years again???

So, you have started the year off with the usual ‘New Years Resolutions’.  You had the best intentions in mind, set some big goals and really wanted to make 2013 different to previous years.  If you are one of the ones who are staying true to their resolutions, super, ripper work and keep it up!  However…we are now on the 21^st day of the month and you might be thinking…’where did it all go wrong?’ You’re not the only one! 

 

Not to try and make excuses, because that’s all they are, but I have had a stressful start to the year.  I have found myself with my first real injury since taking up running.  I have been waiting anxiously to find out about the big change in careers (yeah!) and we have a baby coming soon!  A combination of all these things and just being slack has seen my diet/training goals go to the dogs.

 

Well I am here to tell you that that is in the past!  The awesome thing about life, friends, is that once a moment has past, if it didn’t go as you planned, you have a brand new opportunity to change your ways going forward.  This is where I am right now.  There is 52weeks in the year and we have only got through a couple, so I plan on getting back on track with my goals and dreams for 2013 starting today. 

 

In a recent Podcast I listened to by Rich Roll (if you haven’t heard of him or listened to his Podcast, do yourself a favour and check it out!  Inspiring stuff!) he was talking about resolutions and how setting yourself life changing habits rather than ‘resolutions’ that can fall apart at the drop of a hat might be more productive.  If you have found your New Years resolutions have gone to the dogs, forget that, and set your self some life, habit, and future changing goals that you can stick to, one moment at a time!  The best thing is that no one can tell you now that your plans are destined to fail!  New Years is done with! 

 

What am I talking about?!  Well, while it is awesome to set a plan to aim to lose 10kg or run your first half marathon etc, once these goals area achieved, it is a bit ‘where to from here’.  Now I do understand these ambitions as I am also motivated by numbers (km run, kg’s lost etc).  I think though that something that may be more beneficial and future altering is setting life goals rather than focusing on short term accomplishments.  By this I mean something like eating two vegetarian meals a week, run at least 15min every day, go vegan for the first week of every month, read to your child at least every second night.  Goals like this are sustainable and don’t have an end date.  You still need to be specific and have a plan in place or they get lost in the wind, but maybe goals like this help us to become better, healthier humans in this life.  And remember, if you slip up, jump back on track the next moment, don’t let things linger on and on.

 

To clarify with my own example, I have set a weight goal that I want to achieve, over time, but my overall life plan going forward is to eat a healthy, plant based diet (vegan).  I also want to focus on the quantity of food I am eating as at times it is far too much.  So there is still a short term numbers ‘resolution’ if you will, but the greater focus and desire is to live healthier, longer, leaner, fitter and stronger by staying plant strong long term.  This is an on-going, no ‘end date’ goal that I can focus on moment by moment and see my life transform over a week, month, year and life.

 

As far as training goes at the moment, it is a day by day, week by week thing to assess how my Achilles goes.  I am swimming, biking and doing core/stretching work as always.  At this point I am hoping to start running again next week and then start a eight week program the following week for Wild Horse 70k…we’ll see how things go!  Really though, the main focus is to get injury free and get back to running consistently.  Please Jesus make that SOON!!

 

So, my friends, the overall message in this is DON’T GIVE UP!  There are 365days in the year and only 20 have gone!  If you focus on making the rest of the 345days amazingly awesome you have only lost like 5.5% of the year to your not so good choices!  Keep your head up, write your new goals down, keep a journal, smile and RIP IN!  Much love to you all, and here’s to achieving, day by day our new goals!

You only live once! PLEASE READ!

This life is special.  We are only given one and need to make the most of it.  Too often I have heard stories of people that have strolled through their existence, got to the end of their life and had a lengthy list of 'I wish I had done's'.  I do not want to be one of these people...

Life is all about risks too.  Some of us only take calculated ones, within our safety zones and are content with this.  Not that there is anything wrong with that but I am not one of these people...I want to be someone who lives on the edge, a soppy old cliche but a good one.  I want to strangle life for all it is worth, live with a healthy fear, chase my dreams, inspire people to do what they really want to do.  I don't want to live a life where I am 'ho-hum' happy.  I want to do what I am passionate about, learn, expand my knowledge beyond my brains current existence, seek out the unknown....knowledge is power.

A number of athletes have created a spark in me over the years, leaving their 'amazing careers' and chasing their dreams.  Rich Roll, Dean Karnezes etc.  He probably doesn't realise it but I have also been greatly inspired by my friend Dave who was a School Teacher and had a dream to quit and go have better, more fulfilling life managing a skate shop.  Quality of life...Thanks Dave for being a leader, you are an amazing man and you inspire me to be a better person!    

This also all ties in with my running and my sense of adventure and exploring my limits and unknowns.  Toady's blog however is not about running.  It is about a significant day in my, and my beautiful little families lives. 

For those reading this that don't know all about me, I am currently a Police Officer and have been in this stable, steady career, a good career, for the last four and a half years.  While I do like policing, it has not for sometime been where my passion is.  For the last year to two years I have wanted to change careers but have felt really stuck and felt like there was no way out.  This has really got me down at times and the sense of my responsibility as a father and husband (money earning, job etc) sometimes felt overbearing.  It is a big commitment having a family, mortgage and becoming used to a certain way of living.  But I wanted more.  I wanted to chase my dreams and get out of the comfortable.  Mundane was killing me...

My wife, friends and family are the most amazing people ever.  Some special friends have been incredible and for their support and encouragement I can not thank them enough.  Lori, Jodie, Tanya, Nix, Andrew, Tylana and an array of others, I love you all and thank you!  My family have also encouraged me to go after what I have wanted and we would make it work.  The love and support that Tegan (my wife) has shown over the last year has been above words.  Her support, pushing, care and 'go with the flow' attitude has boggled my mind!  She has sent me beautiful bible verses, encouraging texts and been so cruisy with it all...incredible.  Without her by my side I would never have been able to follow through on my ideas and wouldn't be able to embark on the massive journey that is ahead.  She is my rock and my best friend....thank you Tegan for letting me chase my dreams and live a wild free existence.

So, with this said, today, the 17th of January, 2013, I quit my stable, steady, good job.  I have been accepted into CQU Uni as a full time student in Physiotherapy!  I have a dream of completing my degree, majoring in Sports Rehab and in the future starting my own practise in Sports Rehab with alternative therapy (ie. barefoot practises and combining nutrition programs with rehab). 

This decision and acceptance petrifies the life out of me!  Will I be able to handle the study?  Who knows.  But you know what?  I would rather take the risk and fail spectacularly than not take the risk and wonder 'what if?!  I feel alive!  Á bit of healthy fear is what makes life blip off the constant hum that is mediocrity.  I feel like my swagger is back and I am ready to run forward with my beautiful family on this amazing new journey!  I know there will be haters and people that think I am stupid for doing this, but you know what, I don't care!  Keep your negativity to yourself!  My life's goal is to surround myself with positive inspiring people and I have no time for the haters!  Forks to them!  HA! 

So that is it peeps!  What a day it has been.  I feel a lightness, a smile without a frown of stress and concern.  Life feels free again and I am ready to embark on this incredible freaky adventure!  So, I end with this....if you want to pursue something or chase a dream...DO IT!  Life is too short and full of too many gap fillers to not live the way you want to and chase a vision!  Take a risk, scare yourself and live free!  Life is beautiful, run free!  Love to you all and CAN'T WAIT!!!  

Down and not so out

What up homies?! Well, I apologise for my AWOLness the last couple of weeks. I am however now back and will fill ya’ll in on the going-ons lately.

Well, I was cruising along very nicely for my ‘500km in three weeks challenge’. Now, I should also state that leading up to the three weeks and during it is probably the fittest I have felt in my whole life. An awesome quote from the great Anton on his DVD Indulgence is ‘When you are at your fittest you are probably your most vulnerable.’ Well it sucks to say but that was me (and him at one point). I started to get a bit of a niggle in my left Achilles mid last week and just thought it was a niggle, these things happen. Last Friday I wanted to do a long run and set off. I got about four to five k in and my Achilles was quite sore. I thought I would have to turn around but it didn’t really get any worse so I kept on going. I managed to finish 40k and although I was sore it wasn’t too bad….but then it just kept getting worse. Things kept going down hill and I unfortunately had to resign myself to the fact that my 500k was not going to get completed. Although I was disappointed, I still managed to cover 460km in three weeks. That’s an average of just over 153km per week. Pretty happy overall with that, even though I fell short.

The main concern then was running at all. I tried 3k on Monday and it was horrible. Very sore and hurt for the whole day. I rested, iced, TEN’s and eventually had to have a MRI on Friday to make sure no permanent damage was done (thanks Elane!). This revealed inflammation between the Achilles and tibia/fibula (from my understanding) and I have been ordered by the doctor and my physio hook ups (bless your hearts Nix and Tylana) to rest, ice and ibuprofen (much to my disgust). I have had this week completely off training and intend to start again tomorrow with some swimming with a pool boy as I have been told not to kick (aggravation of the Achilles is likely if I do). I will do this for a week, then re-assess. I may need to have another light week of training with maybe some bike riding but its pretty much a ‘play it as it comes’ situation.

Anyone who knows me, knows that this is devastating news. Not being able to run is like not being able to eat to me! If anyone has spoken to me for two seconds or been reading my blog knows how passionate I am about running so to not do it is so difficult. I have had a tough week with my diet and generally being down and ‘lost’ without my daily habit of waking early and pumping out some k’s. I just don’t feel myself. I know I must be showing my stress and worry when Tegan says something. A couple of times this week she has shown real concern for how I am. Bless her heart, she knows me well!

Me being me though, I have been processing this info and now looking to things I can do and enjoy until I am back running. I am hoping to do some swimming, as mentioned, maybe some kayaking and maybe some biking. I am also planning on pouring a whole heap of energy and focus into getting my eating and diet back on track so the healing process will be sped up and I will be primed and ready to go when I am fit again.

This speed bump may affect some of my New Years goals (km’s in this year etc) and it has had an impact mentally and physically on my diet, however the beauty of goals, be they New Years ones or just general ones, is that they can be re-assessed and re-
focused. I have put quite a bit of thought into what I am now wanting to achieve over the next couple of months, so be prepared for some big results and challenges ahead.

So, that’s pretty much been my last two weeks. It has been a little rocky (not in the good way necessarily) but I am here, I am alive and I can make ripper good decisions about how I move forward from here. Life is all about adapting and moving with what cards we are dealt so that is what I am planning on doing from here on in. I am not sure when I will be back running (I pray it will be VERY soon) but if not, I will be pouring my heart into what I CAN do! Thanks to everyone for the lovely messages and support I have got over this time. I know it probably seems insignificant to a lot of you, but it means the world to me and getting your well wishes is such a blessing!

As a side point, I am hoping and praying for some big news this Thursday so stay tuned for a potentially life changing blog forthcoming! Love to you all my friends. Live free, run free for me and Ill catch ya soon!