1) an “Open Letter to the Body Shaper Industry”, apparently I had quite a bone to pick with them based upon the First Law of Thermodynamics (energy can neither be created nor destoyed). So where does that muffin top go?

2) a piece stating my excitement  about my new office which at the time I blogged was apparently a mess… and I’m ashamed to announce that 4 months later it’s pretty much the in the same state.

3) a piece about a duh moment pertaining to how to post comments properly

4) a picture of my office which I could not size properly so it looks like a silly little icon.

Sure, nothing earth shattering (although I make a great point against those body shapers….) but it does prove that I didn’t completely bail. Almost, but not completely.

But now I am back and HAVE A LOT on which to update you. And pictures are forthcoming! MMFC is in full swing and the studio is packed! The rack of death is gone fo-eva! And in my constant quest of Feng Shui, the studio (complete with cardio theatre now!) has been remodeled. Yup. Again. It’s as beautiful, if not more so, than it has even been. Let me get those photos posted!!!!! Ciao

T

This year has flown by, when I look back I can only see chunks of time synched with events. I guess my mind doesn’t work as much chronologically with dates as it does work to save a series of events. So my event respective for the past year goes something like this:

rearranged my desk

bought a new laptop

bought additional cardio equipment

rearranged office

hired a new trainer

expanded corporate wellness client base

got a new, interactive website

got fired from a corporate wellness account

hired new pilates instructor

redesigned studio layout

started 2 very popular challenges

watched my daughter get launched off a horse

watched crying daughter get back on said horse

saw my daughter finish the 5th grade (with straight A’s)

Paid taxes

won an adventure race

installed cardio theatre and studio entertainment system

finished Atlas Shrugged

Learned the value of being selective about with whom you spend your time

“Surely there was more to my year than this” I say, but this is what comes to mind. I ’spose I learned to smile again and that cannot not be overrated.  I also have become aquainted with silence and calm, two friends that I value highly but have seemed to escape me for the last few years.

Most importantly I am beginning to trust again. Myself more than anyone else but it’s a start. It’s the rebirth of a commitmment to happiness so that I can be the trainer, mother, friend, and role model I am called to be. For if there is one thing I have learned through the buyout and since it is that negativity is a powerful force if you let it get a foothold in your life. It is the opposite of trust, clarity and empowerment. To harbor it is to harbor defeat. BUT if you just hold on to belief, if for nothing other than for beliefs sake (thanks Lance) you can see the power of trust and light in your life.

believe in yourself, get away from those who don’t

Tanya

“Hi Tanya!  Wow am I sore!  Shrinking pains, right?!”

I love it. She could’ve griped, but she chose not to. Instead of bitching about the discomfort, she tied that evidence of change (albeit uncomfortable) to her long term success. Very Smart.

I invite you to contemplate where your own beliefs, habits, attitudes, and values are standing in the way of making the commitment to get happy and healthy. Remember when your head is right, all else follows.

The extra energy in Reform has been great but more warm bodies coming through the door was hardly the reason for initiating this challenge. Honestly, my initial reason for this endeavor was that I thought it would be fun and would create some energy. I’m a big fan of both. More seriously though, (I think I may be obligated to say this as a ”serious” business owner) I love to see people put in the work and get results.  I love the “aha” moments my clients get and their corresponding realization that shortcuts are ultimately defeating and suck. I love to see people conquer the facets that go into weight loss, weight maintenance and fitness achievement. Educating about and inspiring this process is what makes me tick. Because of this, I have given considerable thought to the roadblocks impeding that process. I have found the most significant obstacles are diet balance and cardio frequency. Hence, the Pledge to Lose Challenge was born. An opportunity to gain some headway in both categories with Reform Bode’s guidance.

So people: KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. It is too easy to get complacent because results have come so early or because they haven’t come at all. But believe me, now is when the real work begins. Getting and keeping your head right so you can get exactly where you want to be, (not roughly in the vacinity) takes real focus.

I look forward to everyone’s success in the weeks to come .

Let’s hope the taste of the food has the same yummy quality as the information on the site!

After the marathon, at the mercy of Helga

What you can’t see is the massage therapist lady working on my feet. She is rocking my world! Two words: OY VEY! My left foot has just recovered from the marathon. Not because I ran very hard either. I had planed to. But my plan did not exactly work out.

It’s not that I didn’t get the training in, infact, I did (I still have a solid blue toenail on my right foot to show for it). But I made a complete rookie mistake and didn’t rotate my shoes in training nor bother to pick up a new pair for the race. DUH!!!!! I did the same thing for my first 1/2 marathon and ended up with a stress fracture as a result (hobbling around Atlanta on high heels after the race surely didn’t help either). You’d think I’d know better. BUT I blew off getting new shoes, ignoring that voice inside that told me to or I’d be sorry. And sorry I was.

Race day was great save for that lovely 4:30am wake up call. The organization at this race was far and away better than many other larger races I’ve partcipated in. Corral groups were easy to find, pacers were easily identifiable, friendly and accurate. We ran in fog for about the first 8 miles which was great. I got in with a group of friendly guys with whom I shared the common goal of finishing around 3:45. We were having a great time. I felt comfortable and we were on a great pace to meet our goal. Then mile 12 hit. Was the group speeding up or was I slowing down? I look at my Garmin and they were picking up the pace but nothing excessive. By mile 13 my stride gets a bit weird and my left knee and hamstring are hurting. I find it has become really hard to keep up with these guys all of the sudden and I’ve got some kinda stabbing thing going on in the ball of my foot. “Suck it up, this is what it’s all about” I tell myself. By Mile 14 I am left in the dust. By mile 16 I can no longer stand it. I walk. It sucked.

I tried running again but my foot is in bad shape, I’ve been here before and need to be careful. So at around mile 16 I figure I can finish if I take walk breaks but I’ll do what I can to make the best of the experience. Since I am resigned to a lack luster performance in terms of time, I decide this will now be the Tanya Dillard social marathon experience. I decide, since I’m kinda bored and I’m not the least bit winded, I would be a good will ambassador on course, chatting it up with anyone who would respond. On any other day this would have been appreciated but I can tell you if you want to be deemed most unpopular on a marathon course, start striking up conversation with folks around mile 18. I found myself amusing, not sure many others did. Unfortunately for them their looks of agony only made we want to “help” them more (in my mind I’m distracting them with my talking, and therefore helping them. Yet in their minds I think I’m probably just another drain on their energy supply and thus, annoying). I think I was most estatic when I got to the fuel station that was playing Michael Jackson ( “pretty young things repeat after me say na na na”). Mile 22 I think, great for me, bad for everyone else.

Around that time my friend Judith caught me and we finished the race together. As I loped in I was greeted with a finishers medal. What? No Snickers Bar? What the? You have to be kidding me! All that and no chocolate, caramel, peanuts and nougat (we all love NOUGAT!). What. Ever.

Judith and Me after Marathon

Turns out you could load up on Snickers Marathon energy bars all you wanted, they manufacture them in this little town of Albany, Ga (which is in the middle of NOWHERE!) hence they were giving them away right and left and were even given as fuel on the course. But if you wanted a good ol’ fashioned Snickers bar you’d have to hit the 7-11. Or play pretend with your “marathon” bar. Boooooooooooooooooo!

But, I have to say I’d do it again! Not because I felt great at the end, (yes it is an accomplishment to finish, I get that). But because it was a great way to get in a lot of exercsie on a really nice day. If I were to exercsie like that on my own I’d have to take along food, calculate water and bathroom stops. But on a marathon all that is handled for you! It’s great! Binge exercise alone is typically boring but at a race people are cheering, sometimes music is playing (we even had some cheerleaders; “H-U-S-T-L-E!”). I can get my mind around long runs like that. So my advice for any of you considering a marathon is to go for the experience and the exercise, not so much the time goals. Yes, it can be a goal just to complete the race and have a good time!

Don’t get me wrong, I’d didn’t feel remotely that casual about the training involved, indeed it has not always been fun (frankly, black and blue toenails aren’t cute), esp as I find that I’m trying to regain any of the fitness level I enjoyed 2+ years ago before all hell broke loose (THAT, my friends, is a tale, no, a book, for another time). Yes, training has been eye opening. What used to be such an easy and casual pace is kicking my butt! Quite humbling. Combine that with the supercrud that spread like wild fire through Greenville recently from which I’m not sure I’ve truly recovered, and you have the making of what could be a real “event” around mile 22 or so (I only ran 21 while training and let me tell you THAT does not mix with Florida humidity, Red Wine and a wedding reception Dance Off….incidentally I “brought it” on the dance floor…). But…. dare I say it… I am looking forward to it. I’m not particularly scared or nervous (how scary can it be? there’s no repelling, kayaking in the dark or single track mountain biking right?) but I am actually looking forward to seeing what I can comfortably tolerate. This is a clear departure from my running mentality in the past which did not include words like “comfortably” and “tolerate”.  (Let  the record show “signs of personal growth”)

I welcome the departure. For now, I’m just happy to be able to run again and feel good in my skin, that’s all I need to be happy with my marathon performance this weekend. Well… and maybe a snickers:-)

 I just stood and laughed and was grateful.  The other girl behind the counter apologized for her co-worker but really, no apology needed. I may have lost a few things over the years, but my fruity booty has stood the test of time. Indeed, for as long as I can rememember it has been here. It’s like my trusty steed, truly, it has never left my side (err, back). In high school and college I wished it away but as my own idea of beauty and self acceptance has morphed so has my opinion of my “junk”. Ladies, if you got it, love it.

I

Thanks for sending in this pic! What welcome food for thought it must have been. I’ll keep this in mind as a mantra as I complete my training and my marathon draws nearer. And keeping with this notion, off I go! Well, to Turbokick that is…..