Forever a Twelve-Year-Old Boy

Last night at 11PM, as I lay in bed trying to calm my body down after teaching Pure Awesomeness, I decided to watch an episode of Scrubs. It was season 5, episode 3: My Day at the Races. As the main character nears his thirtieth birthday, he looks back over a list of things he had wanted to accomplish by the time he hit the big 3-OHHHH. He realizes he has yet to check any of these things off of the list. Lucky for him, there is a triathlon in town the day before his birthday. Determined to successfully complete one thing, he signs up for the triathlon.

Boy, oh, boy is he in for a shock. For the swim, he shows up wearing only a tiny red speedo for 42-degree water. He side strokes his way out to the buoy and back then hops on the bike and keeps a very light gear for the entire ride. Lastly, he wears his cycle shoes for the run and hits the wall/ bonks before the finish line. Fortunately, he has a wonderful gal pal who comes along to check in on him. With only 8 minutes remaining until the man turns 30, his girl friend picks him up piggy-back style and runs him to the finish line with her strong hamstrings.

This television show made me think of a couple of things:

1. Have I been checking things off of my list?

2. Do I surround myself with people who encourage me to accomplish my goals and who would give me a piggy-back ride to the finish line if I needed it?

Answers:

1. Yes, I have a bucket list, but I can only say that I've done one-fifth of the goals I had set out to accomplish. There are things on there that require traveling (i.e. ride the perfect wave in Australia and perform a 360 snowboarding in the Swiss Alps), but I can honestly say I have done what I can so far (i.e. eat organically for one month and complete a half marathon). I need to refine my bucket list and add some more things, but I am glad I have succeeded on some of my goals.

2. For the most part, I would have to say I do have an extraordinary support system.

Let's start with the most recent thing: RENEE AND I ARE DOING THE NIKE WOMEN'S MARATHON IN SAN FRANCISCO TOGETHER FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!!! Yes, it's true! We both received our congratulatory e-mails this morning. We are the chosen ones! I cannot wait to run with my dear friend again! Just to see her will be a treasure, but to compete along side her and do something we both love together... oh, the joy that fills my heart!!! Renee has always been a huge support in my life. She constantly makes herself available to listen to my life stories and to share her life with me. Her bubbly personality always energizes me. I just adore this girl!!! I cannot wait until October!

After my trail run last Friday morning, I taught cycle. It was awesome because two girls from my college were there. One of these girls was Lauren. Little Miss Lauren used to be a student at the church where I was a high school youth leader. She was in my devotional group and we've always had a strong bond, even when we are far from each other. Lately, she has been taking some of my cycle classes at Fit Buddha. I love when she comes to my classes because she gets so excited to be there and I truly feel like an excellent instructor by the way she devours every word I say. It was cute, because at the end of one class, Lauren was stoked because her sweat marks made her look like she had a six-pack.

The rest of Friday was filled with coffee with friends, training and work. I remember being tired and not really wanting to go to work that day, but I thought about one of the members at my gym who I really wanted to see and that got me excited to go to work. It's amazing how much the members of the gyms that I work at motivate me. I love that they all believe in me and make me excited to teach. I am so grateful for people like Sharon, who tells me something she admires about me every time she sees me. Then there are people like Denise, who is a phenomenal athlete and actually invites me to go on bike rides with her. Does that mean she actually thinks I'm on the same level as she is? Wow! Honestly, I love the people I work around.

That evening after work, I swam. I'm getting much, much quicker at swimming. I swam 50m in 27 seconds, which may be slow for some, but for me, that was really quick. I worked on force, muscular endurance and aerobic endurance.
Saturday, I taught classes all morning. After work, I met up with Ben to go to the Earth Day Festival. It was actually really sad because I used to train Selma Rubin, one of the women who founded Earth Day. There was a memorial for her at the park this year and I was disappointed to know she had passed away and I did not get to say my goodbyes. She was a good woman and will be missed.

Ben and I could not find the Fit Buddha tent, so we walked to the running store to pick up my new shoes. After Ben took off, Sophia joined me and we walked around town all day, enjoying the sunshine. My new Pure Cadences are so pretty and white! I hope they stay clean... yeah right. It's been less than a week and they already have grass stains (told you, Ben!).

Maybe I have an addiction to running shoes.

Sophia has been a big motivator in my life as of late. She constantly encourages me and sends me links on upcoming races and health issues. I really enjoy having someone to talk about my training with who actually enjoys listening to me go on and on. I don't talk about much else, mostly because I don't know anything else and all of my memories are beginning to be centered on athletic things. She also is up for anything... 5AM trail run? Check. Pilates class? Check. Swim in the ocean... okay, maybe not EVERYTHING, but she's getting there.

Sophia and I after our first trail run in our new trail shoes

Saturday night, Sophia and I decided to go for a night hike. We invited Ben, Oliver and a couple of people from church. When I hike, my pride totally gets in the way of my kindness. I have to lead. If I'm not leading, I get antsy and irritated with the pace. I like to move quickly and, even if the person I'm with is moving quickly, the times when they slow down, I feel like stepping on their heels and making their shoes come off... it's the twelve-year-old boy in me coming alive.  Within the first two minutes, I had split the group. Oliver, Sophia and Ben held on for awhile longer, but Ben was challenging me. We came to the first stream and he went up onto the high rocks, leaving me in the dust. I didn't like the fact that he thought I was slow, so I pressed on as he allowed me to pass him, regaining my lead. I allowed myself to leave Sophia and Oliver behind and took a nice stroll to the top. Ben and I didn't speak much, we just hiked. It felt good to have someone go my pace.

On Sunday, I spent the day drinking coffee and walking the beach with Ben after work and before church. We found a baby sea lion chillaxing in a wrecked boat. He was adorable!

Gosh, this week has flown by. I can't believe it is already Thursday! What else happened? I've been training a lot, eating too much goodness and getting a cold. It's true. My muscles are super tense, my body is exhausted (I feel like I can barely stand), I'm tired and my throat is sore. I really can't afford to get sick right before Wildflower. If I must get sick, I pray it is right now instead of next week. Please, Ashlee, don't get sick. Maybe it will give me time to paint more though. Two of my latest paintings:

People know me now. It's awesome. Not just people people, but athletes. Famous cyclists know my name and coffee order. Trainers at other gyms contact me to ask if they can shadow my classes. Runners talk about me with their training buddies. I'm becoming a celebrity. Don't get me wrong, I'm trying not to let it go to my head, but seriously, this is so cool! I'm somewhat famous in these parts. I feel like them knowing me helps encourage me in my training as well. I have set the bar high and I have to keep it up there for the rest of my training days.

Lastly, I would like to give a shout out to my lovely friend Weston. Weston has been an inspiration to me since we travelled to Europe together in 2009 (is that right? Wow.... so long ago). The entire trip, I admired the way he stuck to his diet. He would always be very specific about how he wanted his food cooked and he only cheated a couple of times (who can say no to gelato?). The thing I respect most about Weston is when he is interested in something, he becomes zealous for that thing. I noticed it first with his studies. He was the only student in class who would constantly ask questions; it showed that he genuinely wanted to learn. I went to school to learn in order to pass the test. Weston went to school to expand his knowledge base. If I ever had a question related to health or exercise science, I would either ask my dad, Weston or Steven because these men (three of the men I respect the most on this planet) know their stuff. They won't give an uneducated answer and if they don't know something, they will take their time to learn. They amaze me. I wish I had the zeal they show.

Last November, I convinced Weston to run the Santa Barbara International Half-Marathon with me. It was such a great experience! Ever since, Weston has been totally committed to running. Last weekend, he competed in the Salt Creek 10K. This boy is an animal! He got fourth overall and first in his age group! Ahhhh! Weston, I am so proud of you! And the thing is, he looked like a winner while doing it? You know the photo of the most photogenic man running? That guy has nothing on Weston. I cannot put into words how much Weston has blessed my life even just in the past 6 months. I could not be more grateful to have a man like him as my friend.