Attitude Adjustment!

I was in a funk! The positive K that my close friends and family know was trapped inside a negative, complaining impostor. My dad recently came to visit and we had a blast. I was bummed when he left. It didn't help that the day he left, Joe also left to travel for work. I felt alone in this big city. Tiesto and Fonzerelli kept me from slipping into depressed mode. While my dad was here we ran the Long Beach Half. Yay for completing another half, boo for just missing my time goal...AGAIN. I wanted to break the 2 hour mark and I came in at 2:02:31 (the time includes a potty break at mile 6...darn coffee). I got sick during the last few days of my dad's trip and the virus lingered well into the next week. I didn't work out for several days (might explain a portion of the funk). I hit the 2 month mark for the wedding. Even though the planning process is great and I feel on top of things, having to pay for the entire wedding is a HUGE stress. I was also letting work projects weigh me down. As a result, my weeks consisted on Mundane Monday, Terrible Tuesday, Why's It Only Wednesday, Tiresome Thursday, Finally Friday, Super Saturday and Sad Sunday.

Sometimes a little change in your life can do you good. Joe and I moved apartments over the weekend. We upgraded to a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, 1,200 square foot place in our building. Instead of feeling like we are crammed in a shoe-box, I feel like we live in a palace. This is definitely a reason to smile. I also found the BEST costume this weekend in Hollywood. I am so proud of myself for going on the costume hunt. I took the subway to Hollywood and Vine and walked into the first costume shop I found. Similar to shopping for a wedding dress, when you see the perfect costume you just know. I was pursuing the racks full of vintage clothes and costumes. The Pink Ladies jacket from Grease caught my eye, but I thought no, not good enough. I turned the corner and saw the most amazing costume pinned up on the wall as a display. Immediately I knew. I was going to be a Mermaid. Imagine the heartbreak when the sales associate told me the bottom portion of the costume was just a piece of green sequin fabric folded and pinned. I thought I was doomed. How in the world was I going to re-create the bottom? The sales associate came to my rescue and spent about 30 minutes pinning me into the fabric. You never know when you are going to make an impact in someone's life. The sales associate made me so happy by simply taking some extra time to help me out. Thus begins my defunk!

I was sore from moving, so I booked a massage on Monday night. There were points during the massage when I thought I was going to scream with pain. A massage is supposed to be a pleasurable experience, right? It's not when the massage therapists asks you if you are stressed because your neck and shoulders are so tense the muscles are popping. I guess we really do carry the weight of the world on our shoulders.

I woke up on Tuesday with a new perspective. Instead of viewing the tasks at work that were weighing me down as daunting, I started to think of them as meaningful. I get to create schedules for 2010 that are going to make a huge difference in reps' careers. Pretty cool! During the day, I felt more energized and got so much more accomplished.

I also lead my first walk committee meeting last night. Giving back and volunteering makes such a significant positive impact on your life. I am so excited to serve as the chair for an upcoming walk in LA. By conveying my passion and dedication to the organization, I will get other people excited about making a difference.

Here we are already at Wednesday. What a shift in perspective and attitude. I taught one of the best spin classes of my life tonight. Why? My energy and enthusiasm was out of this world. I had fun up there on the bike and it transfered to the class. I received the loudest round of applause yet.

So, what is the point? Life has a way of dragging us all down. We can't always control what happens to us, but we can control our attitude. It is so easy to let the negative thoughts and feelings take center stage. Once you allow negativity to play the leading role, your life becomes crappy. You have to fight to find the positive in situations. When life hands you something good, like a new apartment or a fabulous costume, use it as ammo in your fight to focus on the positive. Knock out the negative thoughts to live a more energized and fulfilling life.

Need a little energy? Below is the playlist from tonight's dynamite class. Enjoy the ride.

Dreamtime - DJ Tiesto & Ferry Corsten 5:36 (warm-up)
Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) – Beyonce 3:15 (alternate between 3 and the saddle)
Heart and Soul - T’pau 4:17 (seated climb)
Disturbia (Jody Den Broeder Remix) – Rihanna 4:58 (sprints)
Rockstar – Prima J 3:36 (jog in 3)
Powerless (Radio Editt) – Nelly Furtado 3:53 (seated climb)
Don't Phunk With My Heart – Black Eyed Peas 4:05 (30 seconds on, 30 seconds off – speed work)
High Heels – Lola 3:37 (take it out to 3 for a minute recovery then add on resistance for a climb)
Break Up (Cascada Remix) - Kim Sozzi - 3:03 (seated quick ride, add resistance and take it to 3 for a sprint)
Love Stoned (Tiesto Remix) - Justin Timberlake 3:37 (climb out in 3)
Those Girls - Kinky featuring Randy 3:02 (ride with medium resistance in the saddle)
Dead And Gone - T.I ft Justin Timberlake 5:00 (heavy hill climb) Be careful and download the clean version…opps!
Music Is Pumping (Alex K Mix) - Porn Kings & Flip & Fill 4:25 (speed work)
Replay – IYAZ 3:03 (job out in 3)
You Gotta Be - Des'ree 4:10 (cool down)
Over And Over - Erin Bode 4:24 (extra cool down)

What Motivates You?

I've been running for just over 5 miles and I can see the pier where the race finishes in the distance. I am running my heart out and just wish the finish line would get closer. I need a boost of motivation. I'm running to my Best of Techno playlist and quickly skip through the songs to find one that will pump me up. I don't want to break my stride and look down, so I just keep flipping through the songs. After about 10 songs that just don't have what I need to finish strong, I hear the beat. Lifter by Alex Kunnari. I power fist (yes in front of the other runners) and pick up my pace. This run is in the bag. I get closer to the pier, see the balloon arch and glance at the time clock. Time to push it into high gear. I always look at the clock and run as fast as I can so I cross the finish before the next minute clicks over. Done...55:37. I was aiming for a time under 56:00 and I now I get to shave off a little time because of when I started the race. Lucky me, I got stuck in the porta-potty line for a good 25 minutes (seriously only 6 potties?) and was walking up to the start line when the gun went off to start the race. I had to bob and weave through all of the walkers and joggers. I didn't settle into my race pace until mile 2. Imagine my excitement when I checked my official time and ended up doing the 10k in 54:23.

Having a dynamite playlist full of upbeat songs definitely motivates me to runner faster, spin harder and endure the elliptical for more than 10 minutes. Don't even get me started on what a good hip-hop beat can do to a weightlifting session. Below is my playlist for this week's spin class. I haven't actually rode this ride, but I choreographed the routine in my head (thanks to my days on high school dance team) on the elliptical. This is a light resistance class. We have been hitting the resistance pretty hard the last couple of week. The resistance stays between a 4 and 7 on a scale of 1-10 for most of the class. There is one seated climb where we will take it up to a 9.

Enjoy! I hope these songs keep you motivated while working out.

Holding On - Ferry Corsten 6:42 (warm up)
Sweet Dreams - Beyonce 3:28 (ride in the saddle, add resistance and take it to 3 on the chorus)
Right Round - Flo Rida 3:26 (jog in 3, push through resistance in the saddle on the chorus)
Popular - The Veronicas 2:42 (quick flat in the saddle)
Touch My Body (Seamus Haji & Paul Emanuel Radio Edit) Mariah Carey 3:54 (climb in 3)
Total Eclipse Remix 3:45 (speed intervals)
Drop It Low (Clean) Ester Dean 3:10 (climb in 3)
Closer Remix- Ne Yo 4:04 (rolling hills)
Ready for Love - Cascada 3:23 (sprints in 3)
Live Your Life - T.I. ft Rihanna 4:01 (seated climb)
Fergalicious – Fergie 4:53 (jog 3, seat chorus)
No You Girls - Franz Ferdinand 3:42 (rolling hills)
My Girlfriend - Sean Kingston 3:24 (jog 3)
Supernova (D&G Remix) - Mr. Hudson feat. Kanye West 3:27 (sprints)
I'm Like A Bird - Nelly Furtado 4:09 (cool down)