Don't bother me... I'm crabbing!

My cousin and her husband invited me out to Maryland to go crabbing! For you midwesterners, that means we take the boat into the bay to catch Maryland Blue Crabs. I love to eat crabs and have become quite the seafood snob. After having fresh steamed crabs from Maryland, nothing else really comes close.

I had to take a little vacation from my vacation in Denver, and headed to Maryland to hang out with my mom's side of the family! I stayed with my cousin Laurie and her husband Mike and their little munchkin Mikey! My Aunt Pam, Uncle George, and other cousin Scooter came to hang out too! We hung around by the pool for most of the day on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Thursday was the big day! Wake up call at 0500 and we were on the water at 0600. This was my first time crabbing and apparently one of the biggest tricks to catching lots of crabs is drinking beer while crabbing. I wasn't going to be the reason that we didn't catch a ton of crabs, so I happily cracked my first beer about 6am while we were looking for the perfect place to drop the line.


I had the best teachers!! Mike and his friend Chris helped me master my crabbing technique. We dropped a 1,000 foot trout line in the water with eel tied on every few feet as bait. The idea is that the crabs start enjoying a little breakfast on the trout line as we hook the line on the boat. The boat slowly drives along the line and the "crabber" stands near the front of the boat with a net to scoop up the crabs that attached themselves to the line. The crabber scoops the crab out of the water and into a basket on the boat.

Then, the crabber needs to sort the crabs. You aren't allowed to keep any of the small crabs (I can't remember the exact measurements) or any females. This was my least favorite part of the day because those little buggers are pretty pissed about being in a basket on a boat and have pretty sharp claws! You get to wear gloves, but they can definitely pinch through the gloves... and it does hurt;) This was probably the most entertaining part for everyone else on the boat because I was screaming and dancing around like an idiot!



It was sooo much fun! We were out there until about noon! Every time I missed a crab, or threw it over the front of the boat back into the water, everyone else on the boat insisted that crab was "the biggest crab they had ever seen" (every time I missed one!) Then we headed back to Laurie and Mikes house to steam the crabs and eath them!


This is the buschel of crabs we caught...



...and here is about half of them steamed and ready to eat.

This was an amazing experience that I can't wait to do again next year, but the time I got to spend with that side of my family was absolutely priceless!!!!

Trail Running

One of my friends, Randi, forwarded me info about a trail running group. Now I haven't done a ton of trail running, but when I think of "trail running" I think of the trails in Chicago that consist of dirt paths that go through the woods or even the prairie path.

Well imagine my surprise when I found out that the group meets in the foothills of the mountains. Do one thing a day that scares ya, right?!?! Well one of Randi's friends offered to pick me up since I didn't been there before. THANK GOD SHE DID! We drove up and down huge windy mountain roads! I was so glad she was driving because I was able to concentrate on how beautiful the views from this mountain were!

When we got to the group she told me that she would stay with me and walk if I needed to because I still wasn't acclimated to the altitude (which have I mentioned is pretty brutal when walking/running;) I told her that she really didn't need to, but I am so glad she did! It was an out-and-back course. The first half of the course was all uphill and for fun a thunderstorm decided to roll in and welcome me to my first trail run! I ran for the first few miles that were relatively flat... but then the hills started and I needed to walk most of it!!! I couldn't concetrate on anything but on the ground in front of my feet. There were so many rocks and sticks and branches I was afraid I would trip and break my face. I rolled my ankles about 6 times. Seriously! Definetly need to get some more sturdy trail running shoes for the next run. Once we got a little past halfway, we were able to run the rest (downhill of course;).

A bunch of us went out for dinner afterward. I thought I had met some crazy people through all of my marathons and triathlons. Well these trail runners I met were right up there with some of the craziest! They run marathons in the mountains. Yes, exactly! I don't mean in the foothills! At dinner we were talking about the altitude and one of the guys told me how hard it was for him the first time he was running at 12,000 feet. My. mouth. dropped. open. One of the other guys had a Pike's Peek marathon jacket. That is right folks... This guy ran a marathon at 14,000 feet!

I really don't think I love trail running! But I will defintly try it again before I leave, just in case:)

The adventure begins....

My friend Colleen was able to make the drive out with me which was my first adventure:) It was so much fun to road trip with her and spend the weekend together! We got in town and she helped me get all settled (after trying a few hotels)! The first day here, we definitely felt the altitude! We made sure to chug water and it got better! We headed up to Boulder the next day for some hiking! It was so beautiful!! Again, the air is much thinner up here! But so worth it!!! She had to fly home the next day!



I spent my first week exploring my new hood. I walked everywhere! I walked to work, yoga, the grocery store, etc.! I also did a little exploring on my bike! They have the most amazing bike paths around here that it actually easier to bike most places that drive and park your car! I spent most of my time just getting familiar with everything around here! Most of the time I would get lost and have to ask the friendly Denverians to help point me in the correct direction. I know that most of you reading this are completely shocked that I would get lost;) but I figured it out!

Pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to navigate throughout Denver... so far:)

"Life begins outside of your comfort zone"

A lot of thought went into relocating to Denver for the summer.

1. Training for Ironman last summer really drained me. Physically and mentally. Don't get me wrong, it was THE most amazing day of my life... so far! But I did feel like I had to say no to a lot of fun things because training got in the way. I missed... nights out with friends because I had a early workout, fun workouts because I had to get a long ride in, or traveling because I needed to make sure to get the workouts in. I think you get the idea. So after Ironman (on September 13th), I made a goal for this summer to do something ...

-scary

-far away

-fun

-where I can be active outside every day

-not have any obligations that I would have to say no to fun things:)

-challenge myself to step outside of my comfort zone


2. When I think about what I want my life to look like in 10 years the one thing I know for certain is that I am active outside with my family everyday! Chicago is too darn hot in the summer and way too cold in the winter!! So I started to think about place where that might be possible. I have heard that Denver's weather is much more mild and people are way more active than in Chicago!

3. All of my life, I have lived in a very safe life socially. I grew up and lived in Naperville until I went to the college my brother went to and joined his girlfriend's sorority. I met tons of new people along the way but always had the safety net of close friends or family. One of my favorite quotes is, "Life begins outside of your comfort zone." I knew I needed to take this step in my life to really challenge myself socially!

I decided that I needed to check out Denver for the summer, so I contacted the lululemon in Denver and they were kind enough to let me join their team a few days a week while I am here! I knew they would be great people and know all of the cool happs in Colorado!

My intention while I am here...
1. Be active outside everyday for at least two hours.
2. Meet new people everyday.
3. Do one thing a day that scares me.

This is one of the scariest things I have done in a while but I know that amazing things will come from it! I will definely keep y'all posted!

Less is More

So... one of my biggest insecurities is my body! From as far back as elementary school, I remember thinking that I was fat. I tried everything to loose the extra weight or at least try and hide it with the right clothes. I can not recall many times in my life that I remember being content with the way I look.

A few years ago, my brother's wedding was coming up in September and I knew that I needed to have a consistent workout routine to prepare for it! So I decided I needed to try something new. I had done the personal training thing, the group classes at the gym thing, I had done the cardio and weights on my own thing. I didn't really love any of those workouts, but I did them to lose weight. In February I decided I would run the marathon in October because I had never met a fat marathoner ( to be COMPLETELY honest... that IS why I signed up for my first marathon. I had never run a day in my life, but I figured that even if I didn't make it to the finish line it was better to try and fail than to not try at all!

So the marathon came and went and I didn't loose any weight (at least not enough to note). No one told me that you typically don't lose a lot of weight training for the marathon because of how much you eat to fuel your workouts. So... I was in the best shape of my life, but still not happy with my body! After running a few other marathons, I decided to give triathlons a whirl. I mean... while running, you really just use your legs. In triathlons, you use your arms so much in swimming and biking too! That would surely get me to shed some of the extra lbs! Nope... not for me! Finally, I decided to set my sights on the Ironman! If the Ironman didn't make me ripped, then it just wasn't in the cards for me! Well... guess what... finished the Ironman and STILL not happy with how I look.

Which got me thinking...


Could the problem maybe be in my head? Why am I so worried with how I look when I am able to accomplish some pretty bad-ass things? I can run bike and swim for 16 hours and I am still not happy with my body! Why am I concentrating on the things that I don't like about my body, instead of celebrating the bad-ass things I have trained it to do? Clearly, my ego has been working overdrive on this one! I keep looking to the future and comparing my body to what I want it to look like, instead of living in the moment and appreciating everything I am able to do!

Which leads me to the scary thing I did this weekend...

I started attending Bikram Yoga pretty regularly. In case you are not familiar, it is a 9o minute yoga class in a room that is heated to about 110 degrees. It is amazing! Most women wear a sports bra and booty shorts because, as you can imagine, in that kind of heat the less you wear the better! I could never even begin think about ever wearing just a sports bra in there no matter how hot it got! A tank top and crops were my uniform in that class! Well this weekend, in the spirit of this blog, I decided to do something that scared me and shed the t-shirt I was wearing. That's right... I rocked a sports bra (and crops of course) in Bikram. This was a huge moment for me! I had to get past my own ego issues about my body to get to a place where 1.) I didn't care what others thought about me and 2.) I stopped being so critical about myself!

I wish I could say that I instantly didn't care about anything and totally enjoyed the class but if you think one way for 29 years it is not going to change instantly. ... but I got the ball rolling...

Communication

Do you ever have a conversation with someone at work about something you are going to do and when they send a follow up email recapping the conversation it is not at all as you remembered?

Do you ever witness something happen (no matter how small) with someone else and then hear them recall the event to a third party and realize that you would have told the story very differently emphasizing different parts?


Do you ever have a point to make and in the middle of a discussion, you realize that maybe you're not exactly sure what your point was in the first place?

...So I think I recently realized that I kinda suck at communication!

One of my co-workers that I recently started working with, told me that we are not communicating well ! I started to think about a few instances in the past few weeks and came to the conclusion that I may, in fact, be the common denominator!

I feel as though I have a pretty good grasp on things. Last night, if you would have asked me I would have said I was a pretty effective communicator! But I think we often tell ourselves the things we would like to be true!

Then I started thinking about the lululemon manifesto once again...

"Listen, Listen, Listen, and then ask strategic questions." I feel as though I am so worried about getting my point heard, and communicating my opinions that I don't have any more energy to actually listen to what is being said to me! I do not create the possibility for open communication because most of the time, I don't think I am really interested in hearing what that person has to say! (Talk about the ego rearing it's ugly head!!!!) I definitely walk away with my "version" of the conversation, but what does that matter if the other person has a completely different version of the conversation and how it took place???

Also..."Communication is complicated. We are all raised in a different family with slightly different definitions of every word. An agreement is only an agreement if each party knows the conditions for satisfaction and a time is set for satisfaction to occur."

This is the tough part... coming up with an action plan.

Just acknowledging that I may "suck at communication" is not enough! Instead of admiring the problem (and owning it), I need to come up with a solution (even a temporary one that I may revise later!)

So... I will follow-up to conversations by recapping the main issue discussed, including the final outcomes and who is responsible for any actions. That way any miscommunication can be cleared up pronto!

That should get me started...

I'm Back!

So I took a little "break" from my blog! I was having a hard time coming up with things that I deemed "scary" enough!

I have run marathons! I have completed an Ironman! I want to climb Mt. Kilamanjaro! I want to move to Colorado for the summer. These things seemed scary to me at first but were always very manageable because I knew I had complete control over them. I know I have the discipline to complete the training or making the plans! I knew I could do it! These things don’t scare me anymore.

What scares me the most is letting myself be vulnerable to my friends and family. I would much rather listen to what is going on with you and help you with your problems than have you worry about mine. I get very uncomfortable telling people when something is wrong with me. I have acknowledged that I need to be more vulnerable to live my best life, and allow others to see me in a place of vulnerability to create the possibility of greater and stronger relationships in my life.

So what am I doing today that scares me???
The things that scare me are sharing my feelings and insecurities with the world.
My insecurities:
1. I am afraid of being alone, which is only encouraged by my tendency to push people away.
2. I tried so hard for so long to be SO independent, that I am scared that I don’t have any room left for relationships.
3. I worry that I am too controlling (because I know the best way for everyone else to live their lives;).
4. I worry that my life has gotten so focused on accomplishing the next goal, or checking the next thing off my list that I have lost sight of what truly makes me happy in life!
5. I’m still terrified of spiders;(

Sharing my insecurities with you in this way, terrifies me!!!!

All of that said, your heart and feelings can either come from a place of fear (resulting in more fear in your life) or from a place of love (resulting in more love in your life). I choose the latter.