Good Vibes Volume 1

I looked forward to hitting the ground running this past Monday after four snow days last week but the only thing that hit the ground was the ceramic tile I had purchased for the floor of my store, as I was unloading it from my car.  Not before hitting my foot first and then falling to the pavement, breaking into pieces all over the parking lot. Oh, and there was my laptop, that blue screened on me, just a day before my printer totally died.  And the workman who walked over the freshly painted back room floor of my business … Continue reading

Speed

I’m not a fast runner – or so I thought.  I had always seen myself as more of an endurance girl.  Sure, I could go the distance.  With one full marathon and a handful of half marathons under my belt in recent years, I had proven that. But I had always taken the course slowly. What’s interesting is that when we give ourselves a label, consciously or unconsciously, we feel compelled to stay true to it.  It’s almost as if stepping into a role outside of the confines of that label feels so impossible to us, that sometimes, we won’t … Continue reading

Faster

Maybe it was the parking ticket or the broken windshield or maybe it was the fact that my mother’s house, where I’m staying, had no internet or maybe it was the fact that I was under the same roof as my mother to begin with, but by Sunday, I started to lose my Namaste-ness. OK, let’s be honest.   The Namaste-ness began to slip away weeks ago, the tension of having to be out of my house by closing time on Friday (which I made with an hour to spare) or the mounting conflict of dealing with the naysayers in my … Continue reading

Get Up!

  Running always makes me feel badass.  I needed to feel badass after last week. For me, last week was a week of getting knocked down, both at work and in my personal life.  To be fair, when I’m feeling strong and when I’m in a great space, you can take all the punches at me you want, and you still can’t knock me down, but there have been a few chinks in my armor lately.  It’s amazing how much hurt can slip through those narrow little spaces when we let it. When I had the last minute opportunity to … Continue reading

In Praise of Pop Tarts

  “Sprinkles, Mommy!  I want sprinkles!” “Rainbow or chocolate?” “Both, Mommy! I want them both!   Ow!”  My daughter winces. “They’re hurting me!” “Look at me, baby!  Look at me!” I turn her head to face mine.   “Don’t look down there!” “You can have whatever toppings you want.  You can have every topping in the store.” “Mommy!  Make them stop!” S. looks past me at the open wound and at the nurse, in the middle of sewing 17 stitches into her leg, as a result of being hit by a car hours earlier. The staff assures me that she can’t feel … Continue reading

I Will Say Yes

  I believe in the impossible. Thanks to running. Running has taught me that the impossible starts with one step followed by another step and then another until you run your first mile or ten or 26. When you run a marathon, especially your first, you have no choice but to believe. You have to believe. You have to say yes, even if you’re unsure, because there’s no way to do this thing, even for one moment, if you say no. The impossible starts with saying “yes” and taking your first step. And while at first this “yes,” was about … Continue reading

Suddenly Sarah

I love my glasses.  Even though I’ve been wearing contact lenses since seventh grade, there is something about putting on a pair of glasses and become a slightly different version of myself that I’ve always enjoyed.  I look smarter, more credible.  I bet I could conduct an experiment to prove that my boss has more trust in my work on the days that I show up bespeckled.  I feel authoritative in glasses.  I feel like an expert…in what, I don’t know, but certainly in something. I don’t at all feel like Sarah Palin in my glasses, however, from time to … Continue reading

Finding The Fire

The end of 2012 hit with a bang – but not the kind of bang I expected.  We were sick this week, the kids and I.  Like, “super sick.”  The little one spiked a fever so high on Christmas night, that I was ready to drive her to the ER, until the Motrin, tepid baths, and cool wash cloths lowered her temperature “just enough” that I knew she was out of danger.  My older girl followed suit the next day, and then I came down with a full blown version of whatever they had which sent me begging my doctor … Continue reading

15 Things I Have Learned about the Impossible

I walked to the starting line in semi darkness along with thousands of other runners, pouring into the streets of Philadelphia from their hotels. It was 6:00 am, Sunday November 20, 2011.  I had run hundreds of miles in preparation for that day.  I ran in rain, I ran in heat waves, I ran with friends and I ran alone.  I had learned a lot about my body and its limits, both the real and the self-imposed and during my training period, I had learned the difference between the two.   I was not in ideal shape for this run.  … Continue reading

Boot Camp

I walk into the class room, feeling a little more arrogant than warranted. I’ve got this, I think to myself.  I’m a distance runner. I’m a yogi. I’m a total badass. How challenging can this actually be, I wonder, feeling more smug than curious.   The Boot Camp classes at the studio where I teach yoga are the most popular classes, by far.  They are so popular, that registration is required in advance so that you are guaranteed a spot. One class is offered immediately after my Tuesday night Fight Club, and every week, I head to my car, as … Continue reading