On Tuesday, RunningOnTheFly posted her “Talk to me Tuesday” on Instagram asking followers if they have chosen a specific word, phrase, theme, or mantra to guide them through 2022. I haven’t ever felt the need for a motivational focus such as this to help with reaching my goals or even just getting through the day. But, this year? I don’t know, maybe I should. What could I use? What would be motivating? I thought about the strength and courage my mother demonstrated during her 10 year battle with multiple myeloma. Maybe I could honor her by using a word that best described her character. As I thought about it, the phrase “It is what it is” just hit me and I literally broke down in tears. There are many reasons why that phrase would evoke such an emotional response. Despite all the chemotherapy treatments or how she was feeling, my Mother didn’t dwell too much on her cancer. She did what she could to battle it, but she also kind of just rolled with the punches. She would always say “It is what it is”. Sometimes she would add “it could be worse”. There was only so much she could do so she didn’t worry too much about what she couldn’t control. She continued to live her life how she wanted as much as she could.
“It Is What It Is” will be my mantra for this year. I could never compare to my mother’s unbelievable strength and courage, but I can relate to this mantra in the sense of doing all I can to achieve my goals and be accepting of the results whatever they may be. There will always be good days and maybe not-so-good days. Things may not always work out the way that I want them to, but I will keep showing up, and I will keep trying. I will not give up. My Mother never gave up!
This Week’s Activity
The weather this week has been so cold with sub-zero temperatures daily. On Monday, Scott and I did get out for a brisk walk, it was around -8°F and then Tuesday was even colder with temperatures down to -18° so we didn’t get outside. By Wednesday, we just needed to get some exercise, something besides walking. It was still pretty cold. At the base of the driveway, the temperature reading was -13°F but with that mantra on my mind, I convinced Scott that we needed to get outside. Actually, he really didn’t need much convincing. 5 layers later (for me anyway) we headed out. I was pretty warm except my face got really cold initially. But I just pulled up my neck gaiter and all was well. Scott experienced much the same except I think his face was a lot colder. We didn’t go far, but it was still fun! Have I mentioned how much I love this fat tire bike!!
We went out again on Thursday with still really cold temperatures. We decided to snowshoe up the mountain behind our house. Once we got moving uphill, neither of us got cold. It actually was a pretty nice evening out. We left about an hour before sunset. I wasn’t able to capture much of the sunset on my camera because of the trees (we never made it above the treeline because the snow was getting too deep) but we still had some pretty awesome views. Cross-training at its best. It was quite the workout!
Then again on Friday, we went out for late-night cross-country skiing on the Eagle River Nature Center Trails. I was working hard to keep up with Scott because things can get a little spooky in the back all by yourself.
By Sunday, I was feeling a little tired so I thought it was best to take the day off from everything. I continue with the light strengthening exercises and stretching. I will be amping up the strengthening in the coming weeks. I am excited about my goals for the year. For me to be able to do these activities this past week with little to no knee pain is promising. I might experience a little pain after the workout, but nothing like it was before.
I am hoping this week will warm up to above zero temperatures so that I can get started on building that running base. Having asthma makes it difficult for me to run outside when it is this cold.
Family
I did not get to see any of my kiddos this week so I don’t have any photos or updates to share. But, I did update “About Me” info which included fairly recent pictures so check them out here.
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