This is the image that pops into my mind every time someone tells me they have bad knees and can’t run.
“You should come run with me,” I say.
“I wish I could but…(insert your excuse here)”
Archive for fit
Tell me again why you can’t do it?
Posted in Uncategorized with tags 10k, 26.2, 5k, bicycle, bike, CapTex, captextri, children, cycling, excuses, fit, fitness, half ironman, half marathon, health, healthy, inspiration, ironman, jog, just do it, marathon, matt scott, motivation, nike, no excuses, pediatric cancer, run, running, triathlon on April 10, 2015 by runmyssierunWorkout Envy – my newest phenomenon
Posted in Uncategorized with tags anniversary, bike, cancer, coffee, death, fit, fitness, health, healthy, leukemia, lifestyle, lymphoma, marathon, md anderson, run, Sissy, starbucks, swim, treadmill, triathlon, Workout on September 22, 2014 by runmyssierunAll my life I’ve had nicknames. As a child, I lived across the street from my grandmother and great Aunt Lucille. Neither houses had air conditioning and our windows were always open so I could clearly hear them yell out to me “Missinga” (prounounced Mee-seen-gah) or “Queena” if they wanted me to go over and do something for them. In high school, my best friend would tease me with her nickname for me “Missy Lu” and my dance team and coach called me “Myssie Card” all short references of my real name. After I won Miss Edinburg my Senior Year in High School, I was called “Miss Edinburg” a lot but the reference quickly changed to Miss Myssie because I was in a different pageant every semester.
But yesterday at Starbucks, someone said “Hey, that’s Healthy Myssie!”
I was so taken back and honored. I’ve become Healthy Myssie!!!! Someone actually called me HEALTHY Myssie! I must have looked like the worlds biggest hee-haw being that I was oddly speechless after that.
It was three years ago this month that Sissy’s last wish was for me to take up running and become healthy so that I can better manage the upcoming stress she saw in my future and live a longer, stronger happier life than the family members I had been caring for that year. So much has happened since then and I credit her for saving my life and changing my lifestyle forever.
I had never run a mile before in my life and now, as I sit here typing at my desk… I look over at my medal holder hanging on the wall beside me and honestly don’t have enough math skills, fingers and toes to total the miles I have run in these three short, quick years. I have learned how to swim since then and have found a new passion – cycling – all because of her… my Sissy.
As I was in the gym today, I came across an all together new feeling. I was on the treadmill doing a short little warm up and felt sweat begin to drip down my neck and body. I was planning to only do a short little run and focus on leg strength training to help cure my noassitol disease but couldn’t help feeling… “I wonder how much I can run today?” I had already told the spouse man that it would be a short workout so that he could go to the ranch for some bird hunting today so regardless of feeling like I could run forever, I knew I was limited in time. The sparkle of the pool’s reflection outside caught my eye. “Oh how I wish I could go jump in the pool now and swim forever!”
Wait.. what??? Who have I become?
I skimmed through the posts of the Run Walk or Crawl girls and saw all their incredible long run posts that we were all congratulating them on. “I want to do a long run, too!”
My facebook feed used to be filled with pictures of droopy-eyed friends acting goofy and holding up half empty beer bottles and red solo cups hanging on to each other for balance… and now it’s filled with friends holding up finisher medals, podium trophies, covered in mud, jumping fires, open water swims, cycling over mountains, etc… and I immediately look for an event calendar to see if I can do the next one with them!!!
Oh my lord! I have workout envy! I want to do it all and have all day to do it!
Here I was in the middle of my own workout that was carefully planned out and calendared to fit the upcoming events I had chosen to do… and I find myself wanting to do something else and so much more… just because I can.
Well now, isn’t that a great problem to have?
I can tell I’ve begun to change in some wonderful ways. Although I only put in a small workout today, it helped put me in a GREAT mood the rest of the day. I miss waking up early in the morning and doing my workouts with the team but I understand that hubby doesn’t appreciate it much anymore having me out on weekend mornings and not doing anything on weekend nights. My workouts aren’t just a social sacrifice for me, but for him as well. Making fitness a lifestyle is only successful if the whole family supports it and becomes a part of it, too. Setting my day first with a workout seems to put everything in a calmer perspective for me. It makes difficult situations easier to deal with. Having to wait until the Cowboys play has put a damper on my workouts… and my days. But, eh, I’ll take it. Just a few more months.. I can deal.
Sissy
September 23rd marks the third anniversary for Sissy. That’s two days from now.
Not quite sure what to do.
Your suggestions are welcomed. How would YOU honor the woman who saved your life?
Namaste
Posted in Uncategorized with tags cancer, coach, cure, erica womeldorf, fit, fit freaks, fitness, healthy lifestyle, marathon, multisport, namaste, peace, Rgv, rio grande valley, run, running, sandy overly, stretch, stretching, triathlete, triathlon, weightloss, yoga on August 1, 2014 by runmyssierun
For two and a half years, I have been under the guidance of several different coaches. Each of them unique in their teachings but all similar in their connection with me and my goal. Another similarity was that every week, they always sent me an email of the week’s workout and a short snippit of advice on how to keep myself centered and focused while my workouts and life tend to wreak havoc on everything I had planned.
Another similarity? Every single one of my coaches have referenced the use of yoga as a foundation of a healthy lifestyle.
I had a good little history of yoga and incorporate many of the poses and stretches into my workouts. I first started practicing yoga when I was desperately trying to keep my miracle baby. I completely changed my lifestyle, my eating habits and my mental state. However, there have been many years since then and I haven’t done a good job of keep up with my yoga until just recently.
Many people don’t know this about me but I had five miscarriages in between the birth of my first born and my second child. There are seven years between them. And a lot of tears, self blame and heart break.
It was during my last pregnancy – through desperation – that I went completely vegan and incorporated yoga into my life. And I had a very healthy, happy, handsome baby boy. 🙂 In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that because I was able to focus my positive energies on my pregnancy and keep myself clear of worry that I was able to reduce the stress that had harmed me before.
For this reason, I felt an immediate connection with this last week’s email from Coach W and her reference to an “ocean of Love and Mercy” while using visualization techniques in yoga.
I’m not quite sure why but there are still a lot of people who think yoga is religious… ok ok… I’ll just come out and say it.. some people that are very good friends of mine believe that yoga is anti-Catholic (There is a difference between spiritualism and religion but I dare not go there with them). For that reason, I understand why some other people around me are a bit skiddish to tout about the benefits of yoga.
What yoga does for me:
Stretching – the deep stretches that I get from yoga are far beyond what I saw on Jane Fonda’s exercise video tapes in the 80’s or Olivia Newton John’s music video. Because of my cycling and leaning over into aero position for long periods of time, I tend to favor this pose…
It’s also super great to do about 3:00 in the afternoon when you’ve been at your desk all day with a tough assignment.
Focus – yoga requires me to be in tune with my breathing and the way that my body reacts to each pose. I must pay attention to every single detail. I tend to keep my eyes closed during many of the poses and when my eyes close… I dream… BIG. And that’s usually when the big picture comes back to me.
Strength – When I was pregnant with my miracle baby, I guess I coerced hubby into doing yoga with me thinking that it would be a bonding moment for us. I underestimated his competitive spirit when I saw that he had to reach farther, stretch further, bow lower, etc than I was. He ended up having surgery as a result of the injury he gave himself for that. *This is part of my reasoning for distancing myself from uber competitive people. I’ve never considered myself strong with a six pack… but when I do yoga, I immediately feel my core engaged, my posture is better… I feel taller, stronger, confident.
Peace – every now and then, I get too wrapped up in the drama of the world around me. Worrying is such wasted energy. An hour of yoga with meditation is honestly all it takes to rejuvenate my inner spirit.
so with that… I’ll share her wisdom with you now
Just like ocean waves come and go; you are releasing yourself from the situation in hopes that if it comes back around again, hopefully you can see another side to it and grow from it
Want to know more about Coach W? Click here to see her videos and follow her blog. We are mid season into her Triathlon training group but if you ask now, you may be lucky enough to get into her next class. https://www.facebook.com/fitfreakslikeyou
And remember that I have had another great coach, too!!! She’s a maniac 😉
Here’s some info about Coach Sandy’s triathlon training team. http://www.lifestyle-fitness.org/
Both have facebook’s and websites with more information.
As someone who is dealing with cancer, a caretaker of a loved one dealing with cancer, an athlete trying to find balance between training and civilian life… or just any ordinary extraordinary human being, yoga teaches us to be still and listen to our body and what it’s telling us. It is so easy to be consumed by worry, stress, problems, bills, our job, our “what ifs”. We forget to live in the now and see the gifts that we have in the palm of our hands right now, this very moment. And if we don’t watch it, we’ll take those gifts for granted and they’ll vanish without much notice. Taking a few minutes out of your day to develop a yoga habit will not only make you develop flexibility, strength and agility… it also allows you to find inner peace and happiness and gratitude.
Together – because it’s too hard to do this by yourself
Posted in Uncategorized with tags affordable cancer treatment, bicycle, bike, cancer, capital of texas triathlon, captextri, cardiologist, cholesterol, cure cancer, cycle, cycling, eddie arguelles, edinburg, fit, fit lifestyle, fitness, fitness lifestyle, leukemia lymphoma society, LLS, lobbying, lobbyist, marathon, marathoner, mcallen, pharr, reduce cholesterol, rgv triathletes, rgv. ride mcallen, ride edinburg, ride pharr, ride rgv, rio grande valley, run, runner, running, triathlete, triathlon on May 3, 2014 by runmyssierunBeing sick this last week has been a blessing. Laryngitis restricted me from mouthing off with emotion when ignorance was blaring and a lesson I learned a long time ago was you can never make sense to those who are senseless. Being stuck in bed gave me the needed rest to far exceed what I thought my body was capable of doing and this will be tested late this month. And best yet… I am convinced now more than ever that not hundreds but THOUSANDS of people around me see that change needs to happen and we are now all willing and able to do this TOGETHER.
Eddie Arguelles helped me become a cancer awareness advocate. Because of that, he helped me keep my promise to my mother and my Aunt Sissy who both lost their lives to cancer. Eddie had a cause of his own. He wanted to ride his bike with his family safely through the streets of the Valley. He was one of the biggest bicycle safety advocates I knew.
It was beyond tragically ironic how his life ended.
Now, his fellow cyclist friends and communities have come together to finish what he was not allowed to.
After all that I witnessed this week, there are no words in the English language that can capture the energy, the unity and the willingness to make the changes needed to run, ride and drive together here in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.
Many of my local cities invited me to and my fellow cyclists to unify efforts to make running, riding and driving safer together. Incredibly progressive strides are being made in record time by multiple municipalities. Never before have I witnessed such a desire for needed change!
______
I had my cardiology exam today. I have a real good close relationship with all my doctors and their staff. They keep abreast of all my shenanigans and call me in before my big events to check up on me and make sure my body is running well.
As my nurse asked me to lift my shirt and place the stickies on my chest for the EKG, she mentioned how well my blog was coming along and how proud the staff was of all that I was doing and how far I had come. I couldn’t help but think how much better this scenario was as opposed to the mammogram and colonoscopy a few months ago.
Dr. Manohoran came in shortly afterwards and had told me it was time to do another stress test because of the irregularity that was found that first time around. *I was born with a genetic heart defect that he monitors quite often. He also noted that I was completely off my cholesterol medication and doing quite well.
He asked me about my trip to Washington DC and wished me well, scheduled my stress test to happen after my trip but before my triathlon. AND he didn’t leave the room without a “selfie” and his big bright smile.
Doc Manohoran is ECSTATIC with my cardiac results!!! Can’t you tell???? That IS his #happy face!!! Seriously!!
If any of you all have made the decision to begin your own fitness journey, I hope you do it the right way with doctors who understand and encourage you the way mine have with me.
____________
And I’m not posting the latest media stories about Eddie today because my fellow cyclist friend who sat by me in court today said it better than I or any other journalist could. I am reposting his words:
I had a surreal experience earlier today at the bond reduction hearing for the man who killed my cycling buddy Eddie Arguelles. The judge opened the proceedings by asking: “Why are there so many people in my courtroom?” We then got about to the business at hand, which was the defense’s contention that the bail violated the defendant’s Eighth Amendment rights. The judge said something I found curious, namely that he was sure most of the cyclists and Eddie’s family members wanted to see instant punishment in this case. The judge argued that this, very human sentiment, violates our constitutional liberties.
I agree. The defendant deserves the chance to explain his actions which, given the circumstances, may in and of themselves represent a second level of punishment for the crime he purportedly committed. The defense argued that, lacking a toxicology report, there is no way to support the idea that the defendant was impaired at the time of the incident. The judge retorted that if he was not impaired, then the defendant’s actions (in trying to dispose of the remains of my friend) are inexplicable.
I looked at the defendant for some time today. He seemed almost pitiable. The proceedings seemed to be far above his ability to understand. He had a dull-witted, almost animalistic look to him. He seemed to represent humanity at its most basic level, a product of a self-indulgent and degenerate individualism that values sensual gratification at all costs. I saw nothing evil in the defendant, but I did discern something that is foisted on us all through popular culture, a bombastic braggadocio, an amoral dislocation based upon a fin-de-siècle mindset that unfortunately has at its end no promise of the brighter and more ethical future essential to creating a happy society. He is a symptom of a fundamental disrespect for the other that is spreading like a cancer in our society today.
None of this brings my friend back to life. None of this eases the immense sorrow the defendant has unleashed on the world. I wonder what can be done to change this, to save people such as the defendant before he becomes the terrestrial equivalent of an asteroid, lacking a moral sensibility and vaulting through space and time with little recognition of his impact on others.
Something for the pain
Posted in Uncategorized with tags back pain, cancer, colon cancer, couch to 5k, couch to marathon, fit, fitness, get fit, leukemia, lymphoma, marathon, mcallen tx, mimi cardenas, Mimi's Miles, muscle pain, myssie cardenas barajas, Rgv, rio grande valley, run, running, Spine Works, spineworks, triathlon, tumor on October 15, 2013 by runmyssierunI am aware of pain. I feel it. I just won’t talk endlessly about it nor will I go around showing everyone my boo-boo or tell them “it hurts when I do this”. I simply won’t do “this” because it hurts.
I do listen to my body and know the difference between muscle fatigue and muscle damage. After a few harsh extreme endurance physical events, my body is bound to feel one of the two.
I went for a second opinion (yes, other than my own). Sometimes, I admit it, I don’t know everything.
The doc’s opinion… I’ve got a pain in my neck.
Spine works in McAllen…. That was pretty cool. They hooked up this thingamajig to my spine and it calculated all the problems and intensity of the problems on my back.
Way cool!
