I was born with a propensity to push. To push boundaries, to push limits, patience, rules, and to push back on being trying to control what I think or do. I don’t really know why I’m like this or where it comes from but my parents tell me that I’ve had a ‘fire in the belly’ for as long as they can remember. It’s my best friend and my worst enemy. My psychologist husband has a field day with my ‘fire’ and independent spirit but it’s just how I’m built. I have trouble sitting still. It’s not just an urge to push myself physically, it also manifests as a strong need to understand why I feel a certain way. When it comes to my injuries and illnesses, I call it my investigative health hustle – the urge to get to the bottom of why I feel...[bloated, Lymey, brain foggy, hip achy], or whatever my symptom du jour is. This health hustle mentality led me to Dr. Minkoff and LifeWorks Wellness Center and is also the reason why I refused to accept advice from my regular GP that I needed a year of very strong antibiotics and to stop training. I’ll try most alternative therapies if there’s some biological plausibility behind them and they’re grounded in medical science. For example, I recently learned that a fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) had shown promising results for people with disrupted gut microbiota or have had historically hard to treat digestive problems. After doing my own research, I flew to the UK and underwent a 12-day intensive treatment at the Taymount Clinic and feel noticeably better because of it. It’s less about whether this will be the ‘answer’ and more about my unrelenting drive to try things that might help. I will not give up. It’s not just my athletic career that’s at stake, it’s my emotional wellbeing. How I use my symptoms and the emotional roller coaster they send me on is a huge part of my coping.
"And though the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me, shine until tomorrow, let it be." ~ Paul McCartney/John Lennon
But -- and this is a huge but – there comes a time when I just need to calm the f*** down. This is the part I struggle with the most. I’m a horizon seeker. Always looking ahead to see what’s next or to think about what I plan to do in the future. But this means I often neglect the present. I don’t take enough time to just be in the moment. Even if my symptoms are flaring up, there comes a time when the ‘inner peace’ is reached by just living more in the moment. Some call it mindfulness, some call it gratefulness, some call it ‘letting shit go.’ I’m getting more and more signs in my life that this a great way to start living. Heck, even my fab new bike sponsor is called Liv. Get a clue, Paterson! I’ll never stop racing about and using my hustle muscle but I am training myself to just let stuff go. To breathe. To look around for things to be happy and grateful for. To recognize that my experience of life doesn’t need to be defined by a head full of overwhelming thoughts and feelings. I’ve started to learn meditation. I’ve started to be aware of what I’m thinking without acting on it. The science of learning to let stuff go is certainly compelling. It lowers stress, boosts immune function, lowers blood pressure, and it does wonders for those around you who have become so accustomed to dealing with my whirlwind. If only I had listened to the Beatles, “Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
Lesley P.
In the nearly 8 years that my wife and I have lived in Colorado Springs, never have we seen the amount of road construction currently taking place. Whether it’s a main road or side street, there’s no part of town missing out on the “fun”. And it’s not just re-paving or patching potholes. Whole lanes are being ripped up with miles of digging in order to replace underground pipes of all varieties.
At first, I thought all the “weed” sales (pot is legal in Colorado) might be producing the influx of tax funds for all this construction. But a running buddy of mine made me aware of a bill that had passed in the last couple years which freed up an enormous amount of funds for these projects.
Turns out the city has a certain amount of time to spend the money. Based on the number of orange cones and “ROAD WORK AHEAD” signs, it looks as though no penny is being spared.
Millions of people are about to be disappointed –– they don’t even realize it.
Maybe you’re one of them.
Right now, around the world, people are setting new ambitious health goals and resolutions.
And yet, according to Inc Magazine, approximately 80% of New Year's resolutions fail. Most of them buried in an unmarked early grave by February.
Why is that?
How is it that despite all our best intentions and genuine desire to live healthier and be fitter, the most we can hope for is a depressing 20% success rate?
So to help you kickstart your New Year with a healthy lifestyle we are going to breakdown why most goals and resolutions fail and what to do instead.
Collagen is just about everywhere.
Not just in your body, where collagen makes up roughly 25% of your total protein content, its also around you.
It’s in health food stores, grocery stores, in big plastic tubs at discount markets.
