Promise Yourself

“Promise Yourself"

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.” 
― Christian D. Larson, Your Forces and How to Use Them

Greeley Triathlon 2013

          I have to say that yesterday was a fulfilling day for me. The past week was far from easy. About a week ago I was puking my guts out and spent 34 hours in bed from food poisoning, losing 6 pounds over night. I tried my best to recover quickly so I could be ready for my first race of the summer with my team PEAK Multisport. One of the team mom's was nice enough to take me to get an IV over the weekend, and I think that was what allowed me to jump back into training last Monday since they gave me two full bags of fluid! Although early in the week I had no appetite, I forced myself to eat smaller meals more consistently to get the calories I needed in me, since I was still training the same amount (after taking a few days off). Monday, I felt terribly during our track workout. My heart rate was around 200BPM, so any normal human being would have some difficulty breathing, but I didn't quit and I pushed myself; even though my times were about 5-10 seconds slower than usual. My coach, Ken Axford helped me keep things in perspective when I became a bit frustrated. This allowed me to stay motivated and keep moving!

       I gradually started to feel stronger throughout the workouts in the week, and my appetite increased, so I could eat more, therefore have more energy for my workouts. Last weekend I thought there was no way I would be ready to race at Greeley, given all the struggle I had been through with being sick. I gained confidence during the week, especially on our team's long ride, when I noticed my energy didn't fade and I stayed relatively strong the whole time. By Friday I was so excited because I knew I was ready to race, and I was looking forward to going to the first race of the summer season with my team.
        We left Saturday morning for Greeley, and the car ride was pretty entertaining, listening to Matt and Ken's funny Southern accents as they played it up. We arrived at Promontory Park, the race venue, and did all of our pre-race swim, bike, and run. That was the best I had felt all week, and in fact, the best I had felt in a long time.  Having the kids around and being in the team environment, made racing much less stressful for me, plus having my Coach Ken there always comforts me because he definitely knows how to guide me through any type of racing (crits, running, and triathlon), and he covers everything I need to know, so that gives me the confidence to know I am ready to race.
      Race day woke up at 4am not feeling too great, probably because it was 4am :)  I went about my warm-up rituals and my legs felt heavy and tired but I reminded myself that it is called a "warm-up" for a reason. I focused on staying loose and getting a sweat so I could be warm for the race. It is always nice to see familiar faces at races, and I really enjoyed getting to see my Colorado Triathlon coach, Mike Ricci in transition and throughout the day. I did not really have a lot of competition in this race, since not many girls were registered, so I knew I had to focus on only myself and time trial the whole race. Coach told me my goal was to break an hour, and to really only focus on myself during the race. I had a pretty good swim. Was only about 30 seconds behind the better swimmers in our group; I was mostly just happy to have Andie Turner, one of my teammates in sight, because she is an incredible swimmer.
     I think I had a pretty good transition and smoothly did my flying mount, which was exciting :) I felt great on the bike and found a comfortable position in my aerobars that I could hold for most of the race. I got a rhythm on the bike, and it seemed to feel effortless; this doesn't just come, it came with all the hard training I've put in on the bike, and the fact that my bike fits me well. I want to thank Cafe Velo for helping me get this incredible bike last August; I think I'm in love! I began to feel more confident, but I reminded myself to stay grounded and not get too excited because it's easy to blow up in a race. I went into the run, legs felt very heavy and feet were a bit numb, since the air was chilly and I have bad circulation in my feet. The first 1.5K was a little slower than usual because I was trying to manage my heart rate and breathing. I saw my sister Caroline and my Dad at the turnaround and that really gave me a boost in energy. I finished the 5k relative strong, running a 20:02. My teammate Chris Athey and I took home the U23 Male and Female Champion title and I took the overall female win for the day, which was exciting. I also got the U23 Female Course record and tied the overall course record with a 54:38...so close! Matthew Ison took home the overall male win and Coach Ken placed second overall, Adam Mckittrick took fourth in Juniors, Yana Brown third in Youth, Liberty Ricca fourth in Youth, and Nadia Duncan sixth in Youth!  I honestly was so appreciative that I could race healthy, and that I had all the support on race day. Last week reminded me that I am stronger than I think. Although it's cliche, Chris told me before the swim "If you think you can or if you think you can't you are right." I think this quote is appropriate for anyone in sports or life. Nothing comes easy, you have to want it, fight for it, and never give up. Most importantly, you have to take every life experience (whether good or bad) as a stepping stone in the process of your endeavors. It is rare that everything goes your way everyday, so I think it's important to take everything as it comes. I feel blessed to have all these wonderful people in my life, and I'm excited for this summer of training and racing! Go PEAK!

       

God For A Day- by Caroline Warly

This poem is beautiful and worth sharing. My sister Caroline Warly has a way with putting her visions into words. Her perception of the world is not only wise beyond her years, but truthful and sincere. I truly feel blessed to call her my best friend, and being her triplet sister, we have such a deep connection (the three of us) that cannot be explained. Please enjoy this beautiful piece of work.

God For A Day

If God needed a vacation and
wanted a house sitter
I would take his job for no pay
and wouldn’t be the slightest bitter

I would make people nicer
And fill the world with love
If someone pulled a trigger
I would block it from above

no parents would divorce
and no children would die
and failure would not exist
for those who always try

pets would not get sick
contempt would be swept away
you would never be condemned
whether you were straight or gay

fat would not be gross
all colors would be pretty
and air would taste fresh
on the farms and in the city

people would feel beautiful
and would be treated with respect
any one abused or hurt
I would reach down to protect

I would silence mouths
With nothing kind to say
Oh life could be so pretty
If I were God for a day

Live Happy

"Zach Sobiech, at the age of 14, found out he had a rare form of terminal cancer. So he became a rock star, and millions of people got to see his music before he passed away on May 20, 2013. This is his beautiful story."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9NjKgV65fpo#!


I found this to be such an incredible story. I feel that it is easy to lose perspective of your life and to take things for granted. It is a matter of habit in how each individual choses to view their own life. What is truly incredible about life is that you have a choice; you have the choice to be the kind of person you want to be. Do you want to be the type of person who has a positive influence on others; do you want to be a person of honesty, good work ethic, a good attitude, someone who chooses to smile?  You have the choice. I think what is the most fulfilling is to be the kind of person who simply lives happily; the kind of person who tries to look at the good in others instead of the bad, the kind of person who believes in the Universe and the beauty of it. Zach's story really inspired me so I feel it is valuable to share with others. Sometimes life can knock you down. It almost feels at times like you are in a dark hole and you can't seem to see the light, let alone dig yourself out. At times like these we must put things into perspective. At times like these we must remember that everything is temporary. The feelings we feel are temporary and will eventually surpass. By putting things into perspective one can live freely and I think that is truly a blessing. Live, laugh, love, be happy.

The Pale Blue Dot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g

It is my father who consistently reminds me of the Pale Blue Dot, and this passage written by Carl Sagan. We are simply living on "a mode of dust, suspended in a sunbeam." This is the only place we know that humans can live on. We all choose to compete with one another for power or to comfort our own egos. What we must realize is we are here together. Everywhere else is the vastness of space; we are alone on this planet, it is our only home. This idea "underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.” 

“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.” 
― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

An Amazing Find

         I recently wrote my friend, Joe Turcotte, who currently resides in Colorado Springs,  because I am looking for a place to stay this summer. I have known Joe for probably three years or so, and we have not spoken in a while; however, I think about him a lot.
I am the kind of person who likes to organize my life in chronological order in my mind. It's sort of like I am organizing a story in my head with all of the people and experiences I have had in my life. This way, whenever I want to go back to a certain time period, I can simply replay this in my mind; therefore, I never forget the amazing people in my life or what they have done for me. There was a piece missing in my story, missing for years, almost like the story just skipped over a part. The problem was this part was the turning point, the apex, and I could not figure it out. I could not figure out who it was that gave me that extra push to do something with my life. Who was the person that motivated me to really put some effort into triathlon, and who was the person that introduced me to Mike Ricci, the University of Colorado Triathlon Team coach when I was 17 years old.
        I would not be in this sport if Jevgenij Cariov, my good tennis friend and one of the best tennis players in the world hadn't gotten me to try the sport out. He was another influential person in my life, who was my tennis practice partner/mixed doubles partner, but  his passion became triathlon. Jevgenij was the person who got me to do my very first triathlon, Newton Trail Triathlon in Boulder Colorado. It was interesting to think that at the time I was really just doing the race for fun as kind of an outlet from tennis, since tennis is really the main sport I had pursued for the majority of my young life; I never thought that where I did my very first race, would eventually become my home. I never thought that triathlon, would eventually become the sport I pursue and love today.
       I have now filled the pieces in my short triathlon life. It was Taryn Archer, my amazing friend, who has been like a mother to me, who introduced me to her good friend, Joe Turcotte. Taryn used to take me to tennis tournaments and I worked with her on some USTA fundraising events. I worked with Taryn Archer and USTA to teach tennis to underpriviliged children, and to give them the opportunity to play at no cost. We did this at the Denver Cinco De Mayo Festival and the Dragonboat Festival. Taryn is one of the most amazing, giving, and loving people I have met in my life.
       It was Joe Turcotte and his wife Diane, who really changed my life. I had already been in contact with Joe through Taryn, and Joe was giving me a lot of coaching advice at the time. Having the support of two people who I didn't even know at Crescent Moon Triathlon [Joe and Diane}, was truly incredible( I basically just went into these races with no training); Joe and Diane told me before the race that I could do it and that I needed to take advantage of my run, which I did. It was after a while that I got to know Joe, that he introduced me to Mike Ricci, and I arranged my first meeting with Mike at the North Boulder rec center, where Mike gave me my first swim lesson. I was so unsure of myself at the time, but in my heart I think I actually knew what I wanted to do all along.
      The moral of all of this is that the Universe is amazing. Had I not been a tennis player, I would not have met Taryn Archer, so I would have never known Joe, and Joe would have never introduced me to Mike Ricci, and I would probably never have pursued this new lifestyle. It is amazing how the Universe works its magic if you let it. I think the Universe can see and feel what you want, only if you reveal that desire to it. The Universe will  help you, only if you choose to listen. The Universe will guide you, if you choose to follow. So follow that little voice. It is the Universe communicating with you.

We Live Unbound

http://www.wimp.com/liveunbound/

“There’s something inside of us.

Blind to the forces that restrict our potential.

It gives us the gift of unlimited ability. We use it to rise above ourselves.

To reach the unreachable.

For most people it is unattainable.

Bound by fear.

Trapped inside the walls they built.

Asleep but never dead.

We fight to awaken it.

We fight to live unbound.

Unbound by our debilitating thoughts.

I can’t.

It’s too risky.

I’m afraid.

That’s impossible.

If you think impossible exists

Remember that we the human race

Are an impossibility in an impossible universe.

We do have weaknesses.

Fears and doubts.

But they are overpowered by psychological strength.

By the most powerful directing force of our future.

Our beliefs.” ~ The Live Unbound Manifesto