Managing: Stress, Workouts, Life

Hey everyone and Happy Tuesday to you all on what looks like it’s shaping up to be a gorgeous day here in Calgary (SO grateful for summery days when your winter lasts so long and your spring is extra-wet!). I’m writing from our friend’s beautiful home not far from where we live where Mikey and I are taking a few days out to unwind. It’s been a full last four months for us (as I’ve already talked about on the blog) and it seems we’re finally needing some time to disconnect. It’s difficult to think you “need” to take a break when you’re not exactly “working” by North American standards: we haven’t stopped working yet we haven’t been paid for our efforts; we’ve been leading kayaking trips and on a film tour, not commuting in traffic for our 9-5 jobs; we jumped into Mikey’s younger sister’s wedding as the MC’s straight off our river trips. Fun and exhausting, play and work. Both Mikey and I feel incredibly blessed for all these experiences but are now drained and have not allowed ourselves the chance to come down and process the intensity of these past four months. So thanks to our friend Sam for allowing us to crash and just get away from the crazy schedule we’ve been living!

Part of that crazy schedule has been moving our life out of storage and back into Mikey’s parents’ basement where we’ll be settling for a while. We rearranged the downstairs storage area, cleaned the basement and filled the garage with couches that will eventually make their way downstairs. Great progress and we are so thankful for a place to be, but all the organizing and shifting of life has added to the stress. Time to let it settle for a bit.

Freshly vacuumed and mainly-clean downstairs; sleeping bags hung, gear shelves up!

One thing that always helps me when I’m feeling overwhelmed is working out and running. The simple act of moving alleviates my foggy mind and relaxes my faster-beating heart while helping me cultivate healthy habits rather than turn to mindless munching or inactivity. So I thought I’d share some of my recent moves with you!

Recent Workouts:

• 6.14 miles in 51 min. – A beautiful out & back run towards the Glenmore reservoir (photo overload below) in warm sun rays and glorious gusts of wind…

• Sets of 100: Jump Rope/Body Work – Great to be back to workouts with different types of equipment!
• 1,000 Jump Ropes, different ways, breaking momentarily after every 1 – 200 jumps (low jack jumps, side-to-side two-footed jumps, high knees, regular jumps)
• 100 Push Ups, different ways (wide, reptile push ups, TRX push ups, ball pike push ups)
• 100 3-Way Lunges (forward, to the side & back)
• 100 TRX Rows & Shoulder Raises
• 100 TRX Crunches (to the side, pikes, mountain climbers)

• Climbing at Grassi Lakes with friends, Canmore, AB – Workout, yes, but also a great day of refreshment in the mountains with friends! I was able to get 5 climbs in and 4 of those 5 were lead climbs! It was the perfect day to climb with the best people (thanks for climbing with us, Craig & Mandi!). The rest of our summer will most certainly include more climbing.

• 3.1 miles in 24.35 min – A beautiful post-dinner run under a late-to-set sun…loved it!

Jenna’s Black Bean Burgers – delish & healthy!

My workout plan for today is to run home from where we’re staying (about 6.5 miles), head into town with my father-in-law for an errand at an office downtown and head back to make dinner at the house for Sam and Mikey. We’re currently spending part of our time planning our upcoming August sailing trip with young adult cancer survivors out of the Desolation Sound area as well as spending time sleeping in, cooking healthy meals and reading.

I leave you with some words that have been incredibly filling for my heart these past few days:

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect…

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.”

-Romans 12: 1-2; 9-13

it was just the encouragement I needed to hear: to renew my mind, to seek to treat others with honor, to be steadfast in hope and continue to pray. What a refreshing word to my soul! Feeling more ready for this day today and eager to see what God has in store for me. I’d love to know:

• How do you deal with stress effectively?
• I run! And talk it out with Mikey
• What are some workouts you’ve enjoyed recently?
• Is it harder for you to stay consistent to workout in the summer?
• I have to get my runs in earlier, but sometimes I like the heat because we don’t normally have too much of it! Showing more skin in the summer helps me stay motivated to move to, if I’m being honest.

Better get dressed and ready for my run home! Have a great rest of your Tuesday! Live well and be well,

Bonnie