The new-new in my life in these past three months:
40 miles bicycling on the C&O, Brunswick to Sheperdstown and back
Snowboarded 7 Springs
Maryland Heights Overlook
Travel: Tampa, FL. Morgantown, WV.
Rock’N'Roll Half Marathon
Homemade sushi
Sleep Study experience
Declared a major for a second degree, progress in readmitting to college
Picked up a new road bike!

Next three month goals:
Meal Plan!
Plan new bicycling adventures
Register for fall events
Draft up more blog posts
Register for summer and fall classes, apply for scholarships and save for school
Take my mom out

What short term goals do you have? What places do you plan on seeing?  

I went through the run feeling a lot of different emotions. From the start, I woke up with thoughts in my head of already giving up! Yes, I doubted myself… I am not a runner, obviously, I love bicycling! But that voice in my head yearning for a better body motivated me to get up and going. This was my first half marathon, a run I was worried about because I don’t find my body type (bottom-heavy) to be suited for a great runner. But I ran, well lightly jogged it and was able to keep a 14:55 pace and finished in 3:15! Which was a little faster than I expected. And of course I now have new goals for a better time and to pick up my pace more, slowly and steadily!

I feel so accomplished that I mustered up the confidence to do the run. Washington D.C., my city, the city I love, I have seen you by foot, by bike, by car and by air. This run wasn’t done to prove anyone anything, but to only push myself, to challenge and to know my limits. Thankful for a peaceful Saturday of 13.1 miles

16 March 2013, Saturday @ 7:30am
Location: Washington D.C.
http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/usa

What goals have you set? When was your most accomplished moment?

The cycling part of the event was quite an adventure, and we chose it that way. But aside from the small adventure, what really makes events such like this are the people you come across and the new friends you meet along the way. In our case, we started later, it was a cold, windy autumn day. We already knew that the timing of the ride is based on our group alone and how we plan on sticking together. We rode along with other riders but because of the weather almost all riders took the 10 mile route. When the 10 mile split came about, our group was diverted alone bringing along a lone cycler. It was actually her first long distance ride, her first event ride and she was a out-of-towner as well! I’m sure we kept her entertained. She took part of the ride merely for adventure on her bike. Along our route, there were walkers that saw the pink from our event tags and clapped for us. I slowed down as one lady started to converse with me. I was happy to hear about her story, about her fight against breast cancer and how she couldn’t be anymore thrilled for supportive riders!

All in all, the adventure, the people and the stories made for a great event. Getting lost and making our way back in a unfamiliar town was a micro-adventure. We all get lost in someway everyday. All of these little events, the amount of stories, emotions and people you encounter, they all add up. They’re what makes the cake, it’s larger than life. And I am happy to share that the mom of my friend whom we rode this for undergone reconstructive surgery, chemotherapy and fought cancer and is now living well.

What obstacles have you come across? And how did you beat it? 

After weekends of doing 30-60 miles of bicycling, I went on a whim and registered 10 days before this century ride. The Seagull Century consist of a beautiful route from Salisbury University to Assateague Island, MD and back.

I heard about this event from other riders of The 50 States and 13 Colonies Ride, hosted by WABA. I figured since I did over 60 miles during the 50 States ride, I could conquer a century.

Registrar: Salisbury University Foundation - Seagull Century. Donations contributed to numerous non-profit organizations.

Event: 06 October 2012, Saturday. Duration 9am-6pm.

Key things to prepare yourself for this all day event:

• Be sure to have your bicycle! I rode in my hybrid Trek 7.2 fx, a road bike is highly recommended because of its light weight and being that the route is all road!
• Make hotel reservations, being that I had to commute three hours to get to the event, I booked a room for the night before and for the night after. I don’t know about anyone else, but after biking 100 miles, all you want to do is eat and relax! Driving three hours would’ve been beyond me!
• Carry a water bottle and snacks. Although rest stops are at every 20 miles, it’s best to have your own water bottle for refills and snacks just in case food becomes limited. In my case, by mile 60ish (lunch) food was gone!
• Rest enough and stretch a lot, although do not get too comfortable at rest stops. Keep your momentum going, if you stop too long your body will feel a sense of exhaustion and will want to wear you down. I’m no expert here, but from experience, it was tough after lunch from laying out for too long!

How far have you ridden in your bicycle? How did you Train? Are you Century ready?

Event:
22 September 2012, Saturday. Duration from 9am-5pm

It was a beautiful day with a bit of a morning breeze, little clouds, no rain and lots of sun. From the beginning, we made this ride a venture of our own. The day started off a little rough being that we had a car failure, luckily we had a back up car and towing service. It delayed us by 30 minutes. And because of the location, we decided to park north of the city and ride down to the starting point, adding more miles to our ride. We had a late start but luckily ended up catching up with most riders by the first rest stop. The rest of the day from there consisted of lots of hills, turns and beautiful city views! Lunch was served with some fulfilling burritos that gave me enough energy to trek up the hills off Montana and Hawaii. I recommend lots of water and salt!! Getting back to the finish was great, it took us over 6 hours of hill trekking, hydrating, resting and getting a little lost to get to the finish. We had ourselves some Fat Tire brews and a t-shirt. WABA did a great job hosting the event!

What cool rides are going on in and around your city? How did you train? Would you do it again?

Registrar:
Spartan Race, obstacle race series designed by athletes, promoting health, to test your will and physical strength. Donations contributed to the Wounded Warrior Project.

Event:
26 August 2012, Sunday. Duration from 11am-4pm

What to expect:
I arrived a hour early with a spectator. Having a spectator was a big help, my uncle was able to run back and forth to the car as well as capture some pictures of the team. If you don’t have a spectator with you to do those errands, you would need to pay for a bag check. And getting there early is imperative! There was parking to worry about, making sure we were admitted accordingly and ready for our heat time. When heat time arrived, it started off with about four miles of hopping short walls and low logs and trail running up hill, and when I say hill, I mean a steep of a hill! After coming down the hill and through the woods, there were more walls and logs to go over. The barbwire mud crawl was after about 4 miles. There were drink stops at about every 2-3 miles. Between the last 6+ miles, hopping walls became climbing walls, logs got taller and wider and the amount of strength needed after the barbwire mud crawl gradually increased.
Due to my lack of training, I’ll admit I didn’t complete most of these obstacles, but I did at least try them. But when you can’t fully complete them it’s 30 burpees each obstacle! And since my heat time got rained on towards the last few miles, a lot of those later obstacles had to shut down due to the storm… and yep, it was 30 burpees for each closed obstacle we came to. I did over hundreds of burpees that day!

Prior Training:
One month of training consisted of all cardio, and 2-3 miles a week. I didn’t know where or how to begin being a newbie in the fitness and training world! My diet (daily eating habits) did change. I cut out alcohol, sugars and sweets. I was also a daily 3-10 miles bicyclist.

Post Event:
SORE, SORE, SORE! The five days following the event, my legs were sore as ever but I was walking around feeling weighted because of the gained muscles!

Overall, the event was well hosted. The volunteers and staff members were attentive, cooperative and it was awesome to be around encouraging people. Everyone was all there for good causes. The vibe was strong and there were a lot of great, encouraging encounters with other participants. The spectators and photographers cheering you on at the finish line made the challenge well-worth it!

 What obstacles do you plan on doing? How would you train? Would you do it again?

I made this purchase at The Bike Doctors of Frederick during their spring sale, saving me 20% off the original price! It’s a 13″ frame, comfortable for my 5’0″ height. Within the 10 months of owning this gem, I’ve set so many amazing short term goals that helped me grow mentally and physically. With a bicycle, meditation is met and possibilities are endless. This bicycle is where my adventurous nature begins. There are adventures to be had, start small or start big, as long as you’re starting.

In the last 10 months of owning this I’ve ridden…
- The 50 States Streets of DC (supported) 60+ miles
- Seagull Century (supported) 85/100 miles
- Trek Women’s Breast Cancer in Crofton, MD (supported) 30 miles
- Solomon’s Island 10 miles
- The city of Frederick, MD 100+ miles
- C&O Canal from mile mark 72 down (not consecutively..yet) 100+ miles
- Rock Creek trail of DC 30 miles
- Capital Crescent trail, Bethesda to DC 30 miles
- Mt. Vernon trail, Bethesda to Woodrow Wilson Bridge 40 miles
- Germantown, MD soccerplex 10 miles
- Sheperdstown, WV 10 miles

 What kind of bicycle are you riding? What adventures do you plan with it? 

]]> http://www.hellofreshworld.com/peace-love-trek/feed/ 0 http://www.hellofreshworld.com/13-things-to-continue-doing/ http://www.hellofreshworld.com/13-things-to-continue-doing/#comments Sat, 12 Jan 2013 19:31:45 +0000 Mary Ann http://www.hellofreshworld.com/?p=132 Continued]]> Even with the new year here and the collection of new resolutions and new goals, don’t forget to continue taking control of what has always been your life. Take control of your destiny, your wants and your desires. Instead of creating anew, try recreating for a change. Direct the things you wanted to change into a better light with positive energy.

1. Do what you fear. Create challenges for yourself everyday. Doing so helps exercise your brain. Set short term goals, go places you haven’t gone and do things you never thought you would. It’s better knowing your limits rather than wondering “what if”. Live a life without limiting yourself.
2. Embrace difficulties. Every obstacle you encounter, remember to acknowledge it, for it will make you a stronger person. Don’t dwell or relive difficult moments but remind yourself of the hardships you have faced. Accept the challenges and difficult times.
3. Trust yourself in everything you do, that’s when you start living. Confidence is key to change and to challenges. Be positive about every moment and every feeling. Every step you take, walk knowing that you are in control of your life.
4. Evolve mentally and physically. Nothing is guaranteed, not all things lasts forever. Approach things with a open mind and open heart. You can’t always have a one-track mind, things can’t always be one-way. Embrace diversity, evolve yourself or you won’t ever know what the world has to offer you.
5. Promote health be active, eat clean and drink lots of water. Be careful of your intake, it will catch up on you. My metabolism started slowing down at the age of 24! Not watching my intake definitely made an appearance, mainly in my lower half. With eating clean, I have shaped back up. Actively doing things is a great way to meet new people as well as create memories with loved ones.
6. Cultivate others. Share experiences, share stories, introduce people and yourself to new things. Ultimately inspire.
7. Slow down and enjoy moments. Don’t rush your mornings, make sure to take the sunrise in. Acknowledge your first sip of water in the morning, the comfort of your surroundings. What could be any more important to you than the state of being that you are currently in? Your life is right now.
8. Breathe. The only moment that is guaranteed to you is the present, enjoy it.
9. Give more than you can take. Live a life knowing that you worked hard for what you got and be sure to give back. Educate kids, feed those that are hungry and shelter those that are struggling.
10. Live guilt-free. Be nimble, be humble, learn to laugh things off and don’t hold grudges. Grudges traps you. Just be.
11. Cherish moments.
12. Be thankful. 
13. Keep it 100, always have the will to succeed. Always give it your all. As many times as you heart, always choose to love.