Fairy Dust

It was an awesome weekend for Disney Geeks everywhere with all of the news coming out of the D23 expo. I really don't know what to be most excited about right now. The "news" about the name of the Star Wars themed lands wasn't that revealing, and I had already heard rumors about the immersive Star Wars hotel, so I may have to go with either Shanghai Disney's "Tron" ride coming to Disney World, or the addition of three more ships to Disney Cruise Line's fleet.

Damn it, Disney. Thanks for providing a few more reasons to give you my life's savings. Here's hoping you take care of me in retirement. 

That reminds me, I need to add "Attend D23" to my bucket list. If you missed any of the big D23 announcements from this weekend, you can get the recap here. 

The only thing I was disappointed about was that there was no news about the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland. 2018 was going to be my year to earn the pink Coast to Coast challenge medal from Disney, but I can't do that without running Tink... so here's hoping it's actually happening. 

Things have returned to normal-ish here, sort of. The patio crew cleaned up their mess, only... they didn't finish the project. They didn't do a portion of the project that was clearly outlined in the quote, and fixing their mistake is going to mean they have to destroy some of their previous work. So they are going to have to come back with their drills and saws and other noisy tools and make another dusty mess. You can see I'm clearly looking forward to this. 

In the meantime, though, I've been doing pretty well with food and exercise. I have not run in over a week, but am otherwise getting to the gym daily. I had two more check-in appointments with Dr. Livingston to keep up my progress with Never Binge Again. And as I mentioned last week, I had an appointment with a new doctor last Thursday to see if I could replace Dr. Paleo. 

That appointment didn't go so well. I'll save that update for another day, though. 

I am very much looking forward to a mini-vacay this week. One of my best friends is heading down here from Minnesota to celebrate her 40th birthday with me at Universal Studios. Because the best way to turn 40 is to chug Butterbeers, get fitted for robes, and ride the Hogwarts Express, obviously. 

Never Binge Again

I just want to thank everyone who participated in my EatSmart Precision Digital Kitchen Scale giveaway! Congratulations to Amber H for the win! 

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm overdue in providing an update regarding the program I'm currently using to end my binge eating problems. A reminder: binge eating problems have consumed a good portion of my adult life. Despite seeing multiple therapists, trying different diets, and reading every book out there on binging over the last ten years, I have never had any success in killing my eating disorder. Distance running kept my problem from being super noticeable to the general public, but burned me out over the last few years. I was exhausted, stressed out, and miserable.

Right around the time I started this blog in 2015, I somehow ended up on the mailing list for the Bright Line Eating program offered by Susan Peirce Thompson. In her introductory emails, Susan shared she had found the solution to ending binge eating, and provided a short video series sharing a very high-level overview about the program. Her marketing tactics worked, and I couldn't wait to find out about her "Boot Camp" that offered online support in implementing the Bright Line tactics. So I joined a live webinar to hear about the Boot Camp and received instant sticker shock.

Ending binge eating was apparently going to cost me $1,000+.

I was disappointed to learn that online group therapy could be so expensive. I remember thinking that Weight Watchers was only $45 per month and you actually get some face to face support, vs. the online forum-based support that came with the BLE Boot Camp. The program may have changed since I looked into it two years ago, but at the time, it seemed to me that Susan was taking advantage of people who desperately wanted to end binge eating.

Shortly after that, I changed the way I was training for the runDisney Star Wars Half Marathon and hoped that slower running combined with a higher fat/lower carb diet could help me kill the binge dragon. I was focused on that effort for a while, but saw no results.

However, in July 2016, I found a new "expert" to follow. I actively read the Mark's Daily Apple blog, and was interested to see a binge eating disorder expert being interviewed on his podcast. So I listened to what Dr. Glenn Livingston had to say... and then immediately consumed every bit of information I could find on the guy, including downloading and reading his FREE book on Amazon. I wrote this short post about the Never Binge Again program, and successfully implemented his suggestions for the rest of the summer.

But then, I let my guard down. Birthdays, holidays... you know how the second half of the year can be. I was fooled into thinking I knew exactly how to "put my inner pig back in its cage," and having a treat here and there turned into something much more sinister again. I found myself back to where I started, and didn't give "Never Binge Again" much more thought.

Until January. The new year arrived, and I started receiving emails from yet another binge eating expert, Isabel Foxen Duke. Isabel employed similar marketing tactics as Susan Peirce Thompson, and I was hooked. Her videos made me believe she had the real answer to binge eating disorder, and I couldn't wait to sign up for her coaching program.

The cost? $1,000+. Again, her program provided webinars and group support. No individual consultations for me and my particular problems. There's a lot of money to be made in the world of eating disorders. Someone has to be paying these prices, I guess, but it's not me. I've got other bills I have to pay, thankyouverymuch.

Meanwhile, I had continued receiving emails from Dr. Glenn Livingston and remembered how his program had sort of worked for me last year. It was so easy, based on rules I could make for myself... no menus to follow, no counting points or calories, and no weigh-ins necessary. I just needed some help in constructing a solid plan for myself and implementing a simple - yet effective - mind trick when faced with the possibility of deviating from that plan.

Enter Dr. Livingston's "Online Intensive" program. His program consists of four group webinars (held live so you can ask questions, but recorded in the event you can't attend one), followed by three months of unlimited one-on-one coaching sessions via phone or Skype.

So... based on the other two programs I looked into, which offer no personalized help, I expected Dr. Livingston's would be much more expensive. Right?

Nope. The NBA program costs just $400.

Seriously.

Dr. Livingston gives away his book, charges almost a third of what his competitors are charging, and sincerely cares about your success with the program -  so much so that if you are unsatisfied at the end of the webinar series, and after participating in three one-on-ones, you can receive a full refund of your fees.

But I won't need a refund. It's working.

My only criticism is that each one-on-one session is only fifteen minutes long. You have to do some pre-work before the session and some homework after it to fully benefit from it. I don't mind doing the legwork, but when I had my first session with Dr. Livingston a week ago, I did feel a little rushed through it. But I know I've got two more months to connect with him more frequently if I need to.

Honestly, though, this is working SO well that I don't know if I will need to. And his techniques also work in other areas of my life, too. Don't feel like writing today, Nicole? Or is it your inner pig? Is it really you, Nicole, that doesn't want to go to the gym today, or is it your inner pig acting lazy again? Making a daily connection with the "real" me that has hopes, dreams, and aspirations (using Dr. Livinston's techniques) has helped me achieve more on a daily basis compared to what I was accomplishing when I was solely focused on solving my food challenges.

So if you are one of my readers who has identified with anything I've ever written here about binge eating, sticking to a food plan, or trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle... but have failed time and time again... do yourself a favor, and download Dr. Livingston's free book. It's a quick, easy read, and may be just enough to jumpstart your success.

If you do it this week, I believe his next Online Intensive program would start Saturday (but don't quote me on that). You don't have to have read the book to join the program, but I think it will give you a good foundation going into it.

Have you read the book? Or have you also participated in an Online Intensive? Leave a comment to share your experience! 

Are you asking for a challenge?

If only I could run like Homestar Runner.

This week, I'm participating in the "Arms, Abs, and Clean Eating" Challenge, hosted by my friend Danielle of Sunshine and Situps fame. The timing works out perfectly for me, as this 5-day challenge falls right in between a Mother's Day super-not-clean brunch buffet and the Whole Life Challenge, which starts on Saturday.

Danielle first invited me to participate in a similar 5-day challenge last month, but it was a rough week for me since my in-laws were visiting. I ultimately decided that trying to adhere to the challenge rules while entertaining family would add more stress than I was comfortable taking on, and asked her if I could postpone participating until the May challenge.

The challenge rules are simple, though: eat foods from a prescribed grocery list, exercise at least 25 minutes a day, and drink half your body weight in ounces of water. Everyone participating needs to check in daily in our Facebook group to report on progress. Danielle gives you resources to succeed daily, including the day's menu (using items from the grocery list), an exercise plan, and coaching support. Part of the challenge includes taking measurements before and after to see what a difference 5 days can make, which could motivate participants to continue healthy behaviors well after the challenge is over.

So Monday went really well for me, with the exception of having some crazy sugar cravings around 2pm. I chalk this up to the nutritional off-roading I experienced over the weekend during Mother's Day. My diet has been gluten/soy/dairy/sugar-free for a few solid weeks, during which I never experienced cravings. So I'm sure I'm paying for my diet transgressions now, as my inner sugar dragon is roaring. Therefore, I have not been following the menu as prescribed because I think it's important for me to go back to G/S/D/S-free asap, and some of these items are included in the daily menu. But I'm all over drinking the water and doing the exercises.

But on Tuesday, I failed.

The call to Dunkin Donuts butter pecan coffee - with cream - was too strong. I need to be very careful not to let one day of unrestrained eating turn into a full week of poor decision making. I made a commitment, and I need to stick with it.

Part of the trends I'm noticing is that I have a much easier time staying on track when my husband is traveling for work. He doesn't eat anything that resembles a vegetable, and it's really hard to remain committed when you've gotta watch someone else eat potato chips and candy.

So I'm not sure what I'm going to do during the Whole Life Challenge coming up if I can't make it through even a five-day challenge with him being home. He doesn't have much business travel scheduled during those two months. Maybe I'll have to move in with my mother, who is doing the WLC with me, during that time.

Anybody have any suggestions? Leave a comment below! (Which, by the way, would count towards your entries towards winning my Kitchen Scale Giveaway! Don't forget to enter before 5/27!)

You live for the Fight when it's all that you've got

So the big news of the day: Eliud Kipchoge was SO close to running a sub 2-hour marathon.

Is it too much to ask for me to be able to run half that distance in just about the same amount of time? Come on, people.

I've accepted the fact that it may never happen, but it doesn't mean I can't keep trying. I just need to make sure I'm not doing the same stupid things over and over again. And I am fairly confident I'm not because life looks a little bit different for me right now compared to when I was training for the Dark Side:

• In one week's time, I signed up for two half marathons, neither of which will be done in two hours. The St. Pete Run Fest is just too soon. I've somehow convinced a posse of ten women to run the Princess Half with me, which is great but also kind of awkward. I've never run with that many of my friends before, and the ones I do run with know I hate being held back (and it's why I like running with them frequently!). For this race, I don't know if we're running together or competing. I'm trying to put myself in the right mindset to run with my friends, not ahead of them. I know, I'm a terrible person. Please don't judge me too harshly. I'm tranquil as a forest but on fire within.
• I "beat" my eating disorder by becoming a padawan of Dr. Livingston. I first learned about his book, Never Binge Again, and wrote about him last July. I had some success following his strategy, but relapsed frequently in the latter half of the year. I decided to enroll in his one-on-one coaching program and, well, I'm never going to binge again. I'll write more about this in detail another time, because I do think this is a really important resource for other people struggling with binge eating. 
• As part of being an NBA student, I've learned to weigh in daily and don't fear the scale anymore. It's just data, a set of numbers that inform the choices I make in any given day. Prior to this program, I hadn't been on a scale (other than the doctor's office) in years, because knowing my weight could really ruin my day. 
• I'm on the max dosage of my thyroid medication, but it's not working. I feel exactly the same as I did when I started taking it last June. So the only thing left to do is to eat super clean, because clearly some of my dietary choices may have been inhibiting the meds from working. But here's the thing... if I start feeling better because I'm never binging and eating a super clean diet, then... well, what's really making me feel better? At this point, I think I'm just going to ask Dr. Paleo if I can phase out the meds. 
• I got suckered into taking the Whole Life Challenge beginning on May 20th. It's an 8-week diet/exercise/lifestyle challenge. For someone like me who lives every day as if it's a Whole Life Challenge, it's kind of a waste of $39. But quite a few of my family members are doing it, and it does gamify everything I've been trying to routinize over the last few months, so maybe it will be fun. There's still time to join if it's the kind of thing you think you might need to kick start a healthy lifestyle. Let me know in the comments if you are participating and I'll add you to my team. 

So there you have it. I have no expectation of running a sub 2 half this year and am going to try enjoying a run with friends. I am way better at eating now. And I'm only making positive choices for my health from here on out. Maybe it'll pay off for me with faster race times at some point in my life. 

All Wings Report In

The last two weeks were even worse than I thought they might be. Gum surgery is the stuff nightmares are made of.

Disney Marathon weekend is wrapping up. A few of my college friends had registered for the half marathon, while a few others I know were doing every race to complete the Dopey Challenge. My husband and I fully intended on getting up at 3:30am yesterday to go hold up ridiculous posters and cheer them on, but threats of lightning storms Saturday morning forced Disney to cancel the half.

Disney offered a lot of very nice options for the poor runners who had to miss out, but my heart really goes out to the Dopey Challengers. While I am fairly certain they still get the Dopey Challenge medal for completing the other races this week, people who voluntarily sign up for that kind of grueling torture aren't looking for an easy way out. No, they want the bragging rights. The lost toenails. The hero story. At least, that's what I'll be looking for when I eventually knock it off my bucket list.

Except I was reminded today that Disney Marathon weekend is held during the two days of  actual winter Florida has each year. Might need to rethink this one.

Besides, I'm coming up on the two month-iversary since I quit running, with no plans to pick it up in the foreseeable future. I do have big plans to make a significant investment in my health in the coming weeks, though. I am meeting this week with a few different so-called experts (I'll be the judge, thankyouverymuch), and my only concrete goal right now is to not enter the world of debt while trying to get my act together.

I also have big plans for my professional life and need to focus my writing energy elsewhere. So I'll be putting this blog on hiatus until two things happen:

1. My new project launches.
2. I feel like I might be able to run a sub 2 half.  

Please stand by.

Running 101

This morning, I attended Running 101 at my local running store, St. Pete Running Company. My foot is feeling a little better since the Dark Side Half Marathon, and I do not want to ever deal with another stress fracture in my life again. So, time to work on form.

Non-runners probably raise eyebrows when I tell them I paid $10 for a running class. I've been running for 10+ years now, so what could I possibly learn from a "Running 101?" class. My husband said to me "What did they teach you? Put one foot in front of the other? Move forward?" I stuck my tongue out at him.

I probably never would have attended Running 101 had I not just been sidelined by an injury for 2+ months. I think there were about 30 people in the class, so I'm not the only crazy one that thinks she needs to learn how to run.

Our coach, Cody, was pretty awesome. He explained everything with appropriate visuals so that I won't forget next time I train. He helped us determine proper hip placement by first having us exaggerate our hips backward (a la Donald Duck - a problem for runners who otherwise sit on their butt at a computer all day like me), and then forward (think Steve Urkel, for those of you who are old enough to know who that is). Perfect hip placement is somewhere right in the middle - where you could hold a credit card in your butt crack and not lose it. His explanation, not mine... but it totally works though! We talked cadence, stride length, and foot strike, and had a chance to put it all into practice.

One thing he acknowledged was that it's easy to do these things when you are going slow, but it all kind of falls apart when you speed up. When I start going faster, I should try scraping my foot against the pavement (as if trying to get gum off my shoe) to activate the glutes more instead of my calves or hammies. And, I know I'm doing it right when I could run and read a magazine. (Not literally read a magazine, of course - he just means my head should be stable enough that I could read one if it was there).

He talked about breathing and ended with some stability exercises I can do while brushing my teeth every night. (Standing on one leg. Simple as that.) And we all got $10 gift certificates to use at the store, so it was almost like the class was free. I love free!

I can't wait to put what I learned into practice again, but it may have to wait a few days. Spin class with my mom tomorrow. Crossfit on Monday. Wednesday run I'm guessing?

It was my fourth anniversary this week, so my husband and I are celebrating how we know best - a trip to Disney, of course. Maybe I'll get to be the rebel spy today. If you eat, sleep, and breathe Disney, you know what I'm talking about:

Happy Global Running Day!

June 1st is Global Running Day, and I celebrated by... not running. Still trying to ease my way back into training for my next half marathon and recover from the injury I sustained at my last half marathon.

But I did go to CrossFit this morning! And had to run 400m carrying a 12lb wall ball for the warm-up, so I guess I did, in fact, observe Running Day for a few minutes.

Question for my CrossFit friends - does anybody else find your warmups just as exhausting as the actual workout? We did running, wall walks, wall balls, and 30 second hangs.. before the actual workout even began!

Anyway, today was my first day back at CF since I started up again two Saturdays ago.

I was kind of sore for a full week afterwards...

My CF coach told me she anticipates that we will have certain degrees of soreness, and plans the WODs (workout of the day) accordingly - so even though I expect to be sore tomorrow and will want to take the day off, I'd be doing myself a disservice by skipping out.

But... I messed up my right shoulder doing overhead squats during today's WOD.

Crap crap crap.

It's deja vu all over again. How come I'm the only one that can't figure out CrossFit without hurting myself?

So tomorrow's WOD is easier on the shoulders - some jump rope, front squats, and DB pushups/rows/squat clean thrusters. I'm committed to going just for the sake of seeing what happens. If anything aggravates my shoulder, I won't do it. But if it otherwise helps me avoid the dreaded DOMS, I'm all for it.

I'm also committed to going tomorrow because I'm heading back to New Jersey on Saturday. There's no CF WOD on Friday, so I won't be able to get my CF fix in for a good ten days or more.

But while I'm in NJ, I plan on taking advantage of less humid weather and start putting more miles on my running shoes (if my foot tolerates it, of course). I not only have another half marathon to train for, I just learned about the Hogwarts Running Club.

Accio medals!

Today's exercise:

Shoulder press - 5x3 ascending (my max was 45#)

20 min AMRAP ("as many rounds as possible" - I did 4)

5 jumping pull-ups
10 dips
15 overhead squats 35#

Girls on the Run

Today, I did something I've never done before - I volunteered for a race!

When my alarm went off at 5:30 this morning, I briefly considered bailing out. This past week month has been emotionally turbulent (cue exhaustion). I wasn't going to know a single person where I was going (cue anxiety). And I was going to have to watch everyone else run a 5k while I continue to be sidelined due to my injury (cue envy).

So, yeah, sleep sounded way more appealing in those first few moments. But I remembered that people - whether I knew them or not - were relying on me to be there. And this wasn't just any 5k, but one that I selected to volunteer for specifically because I really care about the cause.

Girls on the Run is a national non-profit organization that teaches girls from 8 to 10 years old how to find their inner strength. Over the period of 10 weeks, girls are coached to build confidence, learn teamwork, and set personal goals. Running is a major component of the program because it encourages them to build healthy habits at a critical point in their lives (research shows girls tend to start dropping out of sports beginning at age 11). The culminating event is a 5k race that is more celebratory than competitive. 

I learned about the organization two years ago when I did the Perfect 10 women's race in New Jersey, and thought it would be cool to get involved... just never made time to do it. Through some prompting from my coach, I was reminded this was a group I wanted to volunteer with and started looking up information about the local chapter here in Florida. I had to go through a background check (important when you are volunteering with children), and was invited to volunteer for the race since the spring 10-week coaching season had already begun.

I showed up for my volunteer shift today early enough to catch the sunrise behind Raymond James stadium:

Not a great photo, I'm aware, but the only one I took for the day. Wouldn't be appropriate to take photos of children I don't know without their parents' permission.

I was given a yellow volunteer t-shirt (yay swag!) and asked to direct parking for the morning. Two hours alone with my thoughts in a parking lot is just fine and dandy for an introvert like me. And I did particularly enjoy all of the smiles and waves I got from little runners sitting in back seats of minivans. Adorbs.

Before the race started, runners were able to visit the race village and get their hair spray painted and sparklefied (#madeupword), slap on some temporary tattoos, and take pictures in a photo booth. Umm.. why don't they do these things at adult races???! So fun!

When I wrapped up parking duties, the volunteer coordinator changed my role to course marshal. I'm so glad I actually got to see the race! These girls had so much support - some had parents running with them, some had their GOTR coaches by their side, and some even held hands with Team RWB. If you aren't familiar, Team RWB is a running group made up of badass military veterans. Usually, they can be spotted carrying American flags, and today they donned sparkley capes. Way to play, boys.

Oh, and don't forget the runners had support from people like me who clapped and cheered nonstop for 60ish minutes until the last runner crossed the finish line. My hands are kind of sore.

Can't wait to do it again in the fall.

On pride

"This is not how I thought this day was going to go."

Sorry Han. Here's hoping it doesn't get as bad for me as it got for you.

In less than one week, I will have completed the Star Wars Half Marathon. And it's not going to go how I thought it might when I started the blog back in September.

I will not be doing it in under 2 hours. In fact, it's likely I'll be recording my slowest race time ever.

Between preparing for my upcoming race and hearing that I have a lot of work to do if I wish to keep my front teeth, I'm taking a lot of blows to my ego this week... which was fragile enough to begin with.

But you know what? I have NO regrets. Bring it on, public failure.

You think failing privately would have made me feel any better?

Imma survive this. Every day, I actively make a choice to post. I choose to share this. I could have kept it all to myself. I could have never started the blog. And I could have stopped writing when I knew I wasn't going to achieve my goal.

The truth is that I've realized everyone is starring in their own movie, and I'm just an extra. Does anybody care if the extra runs a sub 2 half marathon? Hell no.

There was never a real risk to my pride, right? And look at everything I gained out of putting myself out there. A Jedi Master reached out to coach me off the run, eat, repeat cycle. I have six months worth of detailed notes that can help me figure things out for the next half marathon. And I started out thinking I'd have to quit running at some point if I ever wanted to get healthy, and learned that just isn't true.

Oh, and for those who have been with me for a while, remember this post? The one about New Year's Resolutions and having more fun? I think my real failure here is lack of keeping up with the fun.

So I'm going to do whatever it takes to have fun at my races (remember, there are actually two, even though I've been so focused on the half marathon only) next weekend.

And then I'm going to have to figure out what I want to do with this blog afterwards. I'll be taking at least a week off for vacation, but it's TBD what happens after that. I know I'll have to update my "Start Here" page. Not sure what else the future holds in terms of updates.

Today's exercise: Rest

The Cool Impossible

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this book* in any of my blog posts to date:

I read it at the insistence of my coach back in January, and it's been a pretty significant part of my training since I moved into my house in early February. (I would have started sooner, but some of the equipment I needed to do the strength exercises was stuck in storage. Just another way in which our homebuilder screwed us. I'm not still bitter about it, I promise.)

Anyway, the book was written by Eric Orton, the coach mentioned in Born to Run, also a good read for runners.

While I really enjoyed Born to Run, reading The Cool Impossible was like... eating spinach. Can't say I love it, definitely don't hate it, just find it necessary. When I run, I really hate thinking about things like form, cadence, stride length, etc... I just want to go out there and do it, ya know? Clear my head. Feel good.

But implementing the strength exercises in this book has probably kept me going strong and free from overuse injuries, important as I've added a lot more mileage over the past two months. (And I've fallen victim to runner's knee, IT band issues, and lower back pain while training for prior half marathons.)

The strength exercises are hard. I only do them on days that I run, and alternate between a set of leg strengthening movements and core movements. The leg stuff takes forever - but I'll usually throw on House of Cards or the latest The Walking Dead to make the time a little less torturous.

Whether or not this torture has made me any faster is questionable. But like I already said, I am happy to have remained injury-free, and I've definitely seen improvement in my ability to execute the movements without falling on my face.

My husband tends to give me the eyebrow raise every time I pull out the equipment needed to strength train: my ski poles, slant board, and stability ball. You know, one of these looks:

He finds my CI exercises to be weird and slightly amusing, but whatever. Glad I can keep him entertained.

*Amazon Affiliate Link. This means that if you click a link to Amazon through my site and buy something, I may earn a commission. Much obliged.

Today's exercise: Rest.

Empress Nicole the Passive-Aggressive

Greetings to those newcomers who have found me during my three minutes of reign at Sensible Castle. I shall reward you greatly for following the royal decrees of the kingdom...

...ah, too late. My reign is over. Maybe the next king will get you something nice. Don't hold your breath.

Sorry, friend, but you're like Chewbacca. Everyone gets a medal but you.

Let me summarize almost six months exactly of daily blogging here:

• I run. Not very well.
• I set a goal for myself for next month's Star Wars half marathon at Disney World. It's clear that I'm not going to achieve that goal.
• I have, however, started working with a coach and made significant strides forward in my mental and physical health.

So if you are someone who also struggles meeting your goals, battles mental health issues, or loves running/Star Wars/Disney/anything geeky, feel free to click one of those little "follow" buttons at right (if you aren't on a mobile device) to get some updates. And leave me a comment or shoot me an email, would love to hear what you are up to.

And for those loyal few that are already up to speed, thanks for stopping by. Here's a sort of description of what Sensible castle is, but really only Cards Against Humanity players *get* it. 

Nothing new to update today, but will be back to running tomorrow.

Today's exercise: Rest

The Yoda to my Luke

No, we don't know how it works out yet for them.

Maybe he's the Obi-Wan to my Anakin. I guess we just have to see how it works out for me.

No matter what the outcome, I know I wouldn't be where I am at this moment - that is, healthier, happier, and hopeful for the future - if it wasn't for the guidance I've received from my personal Jedi Master, Coach Garret.

Everybody needs a coach. I don't care if you're an athlete, artist, academic... whatever you are doing, if you are looking to achieve a certain goal, perfect your craft, or just you know... want to find health, happiness, and hope as I did... you need someone who can help you see yourself as you really are, free from the desires of others.

Your coach doesn't need to be an expert. A peer can help you see beyond the clutter of your daily life and gain a clear perspective of where you want to go, as long as he/she has no vested interest in what your outcomes are and has some knowledge and experience with what you are trying to achieve.

Here's what my coach has done for me:

1. Pushed me to leave my comfort zone - Garret first introduced me to the Maffetone Method. It was a drastic departure from the way I had been training - and, therefore, meant following it was taking a real risk that I wasn't going to achieve my sub 2:00 half marathon goal. But he reminded me that changing it up was a calculated risk - after all, my way (harder/faster/longer) hadn't been working.
2. Offered guidance and answers - I read everything I could get my hands on with this new approach, but it left me with so many questions. He answered when he could and helped me find my own answers when he couldn't.
3. Helped me set realistic goals - when it became apparent I wasn't going to achieve my goal, my coach helped me realize I had achieved so much more - finding the path back to health - and that even if a sub 2:00 half isn't in the cards for next month, I can get there for the next one.
4. Challenged things I believed to be solid truths - for example, when I was ready to throw in the towel because I believed I could not run at a lower heart rate, he pointed out some key insights from my running data (cadence, stride length) that helped me see where I could improve.
5. Inspired and encouraged me during perceived setbacks - that little voice that tells me I'm not good enough, I don't have the ability, I can't do this... was much quieter after consulting with my coach.

So how do you find your coach? I was lucky enough that he found me through the blog when I was at a critical low point in my training. But I don't think you need to put out an extremely personal daily journal that shares all of your hopes, fears, dreams, and shortcomings to get yourself a coach. 

Maybe you already know someone who fits the bill - all you need to do is ask them for help.

Or start looking online for a professional in your area. If you are concerned about budget, find out if there's a way to barter. You will find the value a coach can provide to be worth your time and/or expense. 

Of course, if you need a recommendation, I know a really good one and will be happy to put you in touch.

Today's exercise: Rest. Travelling.