You've got to have heart!

Today was a great day. Today was a long day. Today was an exhausting day. Today was one of those days where I was proud of my employer and the great things we do in the community. Today is one of those days that I really could have used a nap. Today was a day I was thankful for an amazing team of co-workers, with whom I truly enjoy working. Today was a day when I tried something new. Today was a day I sacrificed to get my workout in. Today was a day I was uplifted by time with my teammates. Today was a day that zapped my energy and renewed it all at once. I made the most of today.

Isn't it funny how so many emotions can occupy our heads all at once? I know I probably can seem scattered or flighty at times, but I've realized that being true to ourselves means embracing each day as it comes, and loving it for what it's worth.

We had an awesome work event tonight -- Covenant's Heart Truth Wear Red Gala at West Town Mall. Lots of lovely ladies modeled awesome fashions from various stores in West Town Mall, and Belk. The event was to raise awareness for heart disease in women, and promote that tomorrow is National Wear Red Day! Over 200 folks came out to support the event ... and the great swag bags put together by the mall! Several of the models were Heart Champions trained to spread awareness about heart disease in women, and several were heart disease survivors.

So...the trying something new part I mentioned above. I tweeted & facebooked live throughout the event on behalf of my company. Now, I can use social media with the best of them ... but, I'd never utilized it this way for an event before. All-in-all, I think I did a decent job, minus the few typos I found after the fact (stupid fat fingers with my iPhone).

My training has helped me realize something about myself that's been hard for me to accept throughout life ... I'm not perfect. I won't ever be perfect. This doesn't mean I'll give up trying to do an awesome job at the things I do, or that I've accepted defeat or anything, it just means I've started to set realistic expectations for myself.

Tonight towards the end of our work event I had to speed out to head to our group training session with Chris. At the beginning of training I think it was obvious that most of us were just plain tired. We all have demanding jobs and other obligations that pull us in a million different directions on a daily basis. Some of us aren't seeing the weight drop on the scales, some of us feel like we've hit a plateau, some of us feel that our fitness level isn't up to par with others ... but you know what, we're showing up! That's worth more than all of the stories we're telling ourselves in our heads about why we're not as successful as we think we should be at this point.

So tonight instead of focusing how tired I am, or how sore I am, or even how sore I am going to be tomorrow, I'm going to focus on the fact that I'm glad I'm tired because I pushed myself to be better today ... both professionally and physically. I'm going to focus on the fact that feeling sore means that I'm feeling something ... and that means I've alive! I'll take it! I'm going to focus on the incredible support system I have in my life ... my family, my co-workers, and my teammates, you all are awesome! I had one of our event models, who is a  heart disease survivor stop me this evening, and ask if I was on this year's Biggest Winner Team, and I told her yes. She told me how proud she was of me, and to keep up the good work! I won't lie ... it felt great!

Thanks for sticking with me on this one ... I know it's been a bit rambling. Don't forget to wear your red tomorrow to support women's heart disease awareness.

Don't forget to try something new tomorrow, and be thankful you have a tomorrow!

Adventures at Ijams

Yesterday our Biggest Winner team met up out at Ijams for our weekly training. It's been years since I've been here, and was delighted to rediscover this awesome place right in our back yard! My teammate Lee Ann & I were slated to complete 8 miles of walking/shuffling in this week' training, but we ended up hiking instead of just walking, so we cut our distance a little short finishing 7.25 miles.

Now for those of you who read this and think, "Oh, they didn't finish their 8 miles," no worries, we burned more calories hiking the 7.25 than we would've walking the 8! And, believe me, I'm feeling every step of it today!

Here's our group that met up yesterday!

After the photo we split up in separate directions -- the runners went towards the greenway, and the rest of us headed towards the Quarry side.

 Needless to say -- some of the trails were kind of muddy...which caused us to move slower in some places, and hard to even pass in others.

But we saw some beautiful scenery, and some really cool historical stuff...

We did a little exploring, and are really excited that local groups are helping repair, restore, and create new trails in this area!

The keyhole is one of the really cool places we visited. At this point in our hike, Lee Ann's FitBit notified us that we'd climbed the equivalent of 51 flights of stairs with all of our steps for the morning.

Lee Ann in front of the Key Hole.

Just in case you're wondering ... we're on the "right side of the tracks!" :)  This is me and Lee Ann as we were finishing about 6.5 miles, before we headed back to the visitors center. When we were finished, my heart rate monitor told me I'd burned over 1800 calories! That's what 3 hours of hiking will do!

This week has been a tough week of sorts. Busy week at work, hard workouts, and the slight feeling of burnout due to some pain. Our Thursday night training session with Chris was tough, but what I needed to remember that I am getting stronger, and that I'm really doing great! Once again it was the laughter with and the support of my teammates that reminded me what great things we're accomplishing.

And, if you haven't met all of us yet, you'll quickly learn how quiet and shy we are ... NOT! :) The photo below is from our Thursday night training with Chris O'Hearn at Fort Sanders Health & Fitness Center. We're all smiling so big b/c the training is OVER! Just kidding...Chris!

So, even though Saturday's training wasn't as cut and dry as I'd originally thought it would be, it turned out to be exactly what I needed. A nice break from the pavement (although about 6 miles in I really would've given anything for pavement), and some much needed "therapy" time with my walking buddy, Lee Ann. It's amazing how therapeutic laughing and commiserating with a friend can be!

Here are some closing thoughts I've collected on Pinterest this week.

This is how I felt much of the week! lol

I was introduced to Burpees Thursday night in training. UGH. 

I hope everyone has a great week! Also a couple of great healthy things going on this coming week if you're looking for something to do!!

Thursday night there's a great event at West Town Mall supporting heart disease awareness for women!http://www.covenanthealth.com/hearttruth




Also, we're celebrating National Wear Red Day the hospital where I work on Friday, and have some great events planned - check it out!

Also, next Saturday is the kick-off of the Covenant Kids Run, part of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon. Our team will be at the zoo to help out with this great event! There's still plenty of time to sign your kids up for this awesome event!