NO Excuses

"If you want something bad enough, you'll make it happen." 

I don't know who said that, or if I've just said it so many millions of times in my own head that I have come to believe it's a famous quote, but wherever the origin, I am a full-fledged believer in that statement. I am an advocate for determination and can't stand when people make excuses, least of all, me. 

Intramural champs

I have always been one to love sport, athletics, and adventure, and I have sought it out as often as possible throughout my life. Call it the endorphin rush or the
challenge of competition, but something about being active has always been a natural high for me - giving me a love of life, a connection with others, a drive for improvement,  and a sense of self. 

4x4 Relay Team

Mountain Biking the Wasatch

But anyone can tell you that some days are easier to roll out of bed than others. Some days you feel like you could break records in every category imaginable, while other days you seem to be stuck in the loser's bracket with no hope of a comeback. Just the thought of going to the gym or getting out in nature exhausts you. Thoughts of "I can't" and "maybe tomorrow" come a'creepin....

I don't like excuses. Do I use them here and there? Absolutely! But I always catch myself in the act... I always know I'm full of it.  Well recently, one of the greatest blessings to ever enter my life has become my biggest excuse. Her name is Leilani.

She is wonderful in every way, and also happens to be the easiest excuse in the book; "I have a baby to take care of now", "I don't have time", "I don't have the energy". I have determined to make her my motivation, not my reasons "why not".

I don't care what your passions or goals are (it could be underwater basket weaving for all I care), but if it is a priority, nothing should stop you. Don't get me wrong, family is my #1, and each priority needs its proper place. There is just no reason why both shouldn't be able to happen.

For me, it began long before that bundle of joy came into the world... I'd say about 9 months before. Being pregnant is an interesting phenomenon, physically. I had heard stories before, but no one can ever tell you enough for you to understand the full experience: No one told me I would wake up every morning feeling like I just got hit by a freight train, and that my eye-lids would weigh ten tons for the rest of the day, nearly every day of the first trimester. No one mentioned the little detail that my joints would soon betray me and that my hips and knees would feel like they didn't belong to the rest of my body anymore. I had never imagined that I would ever get so hungry (3rd trimester), only to stay in a starving state when I realized my stomach had shrunk to be 100x smaller than my appetite (I don't suggest learning that the hard way...it's not pretty). 

It gets to a point where you wonder if you'll ever see your feet again, or if you even have feet!? Let alone if you'll ever be able to tie your own shoes.  

After wallowing briefly in the self-pity of aches and pains, I decided to pay them less regard and get on with doing what I love doing. The 2nd trimester included my first sprint triathlon (and Leilani's consequently). Previous to training I had never swam more than a few laps at a time, but here I was, 4 months pregnant, going 600m in open water. You better believe there were points I thought I might just drown the lake was so choppy (sent up a few prayers), but then I remembered it was only about 5 ft deep, thank goodness... We came in 23rd out of 49 female competitors, not bad. 
A week earlier I had gone on an amazing 20-mile backpacking trip with my husband Landon's family in the Uinta Wilderness. Again, not sure what possessed me, but it sounded fun and the adventure-seeker in me had to go. Worth every step. 

climbing - 5 months pregnant

snowshoeing - 8 months pregnant

My point - if I could do it then, I can do it now. If it was important enough to me then, it can still be important enough to me now. Same with you - NO EXCUSES.

I admit this blog is mostly for selfish purposes. With it, I am now officially accountable to you, the reader, to not let excuses get in my way. 

Part of me just wants to prove to myself that I can do things that most people think they can't. They probably could do it too, I just realize that most allow their excuses to be their barriers and I thrive at the challenge of breaking that norm. 

Leilani is 2 months old now. Triathlon #2 is on the docket. 11 weeks and counting...