Despite filming a workout series with iFit in Cappadocia, Turkey when I was eight-weeks pregnant, riding my bike while pregnant was no easy feat. I stopped riding before you could really even had a bump! Those pregnancy hormones are no joke - they took the wind right out of my sails.
After Hudson arrived, I wasn’t sure how it would feel to get back on the bike. I was apprehensive, to say the least. Concerned that my lack of fitness would make climbs miserable, that my skills may have deteriorated into nothing, and my aggressive style would have faded away. But ultimately, getting back on the bike was like putting a giant piece back into the puzzle of who I am.
So, here are my top tips for getting back on your bike post-baby!
Let’s talk anxiety. I never imagined that the hardest part of pregnancy would be managing my mind, but it’s been getting the better of me these last few weeks.
I didn’t really notice my anxious thoughts until about 2011 after a really bad crash in the halfpipe. That crash unraveled my belief in my ability to control my fate and keep myself safe. My mind became the master of, not just thinking about, but seeing the worst-case scenario unfold in almost any situation.
Pregnancy is at once the most empowering thing I’ve experienced and the most vulnerable. We’re creating LIFE! And when baby H is kicking and squirming inside me, I feel overjoyed, but when my body starts doing weird things, it’s a big effort to keep my cool. To tease out “normal” pregnancy symptoms from “abnormal” or the no-need-for-concern to the better-go-get-checked-out.
We are five days into the final quarter of this DECADE and for some reason that's sitting really heavy with me. Maybe it's because so much has happened in the last ten years and I haven't always been in the driver's seat. Maybe it’s because it makes me aware of how elusive time is and how easily it slips through my grasp.
They say it’s likely you’ll marry your mother (or father) and I most certainly married my father.
I married his childlike enthusiasm, his tunnel-vision for his goals, his stubbornness, his affinity for toys (particularly of the sporting variety), his temper, his optimism (sometimes misunderstood as naïveté), his belief in me, and his love for me.
So very grateful for this man and the life we’re creating together.
In January 2019 I gave a talk at the Lady Wild Film Fest, put on by Jenn & Taylor Killian, founders of And She’s Dope Too. I spoke about the challenges of navigating life transitions and how to make it through unscathed. Thought it would be fun if I shared it here!
I made a lot of dreams come true because of my ability to navigate transitions. In a halfpipe, the transition is the curved part between the vertical section of the wall and the flat bottom. Most often, the smoother you make it through these transitions, the better your run.
Of all the challenges that retiring from professional skiing presented (loss of identity, community, income, direction, lifestyle, and purpose) finding self-worth outside of these things has been the hardest to figure out. Every day I’m inching my way closer, but it’s the one piece of the puzzle that is persistently the wrong shade of blue or not quite the right shape or annoyingly slipping out of place. That said, I have found a few ways to keep myself in check so I can pull my head out of my proverbial ass and enjoy the magical unicorn glitter snow instead of feeling sorry for myself…
Fear entangles our lives in seemingly endless ways: fear of failure, fear of judgment, fear of lack, fear of insignificance, fear of being alone, fear of rejection, fear of unworthiness, fear of being unloved. Without engaging our conscious mind, we tend to retreat in the face of fear. The act of retreating keeps us stuck where we are. It leads us away from our truest desires.
Last week we explored some of the mental & spiritual tips to help survive your desk job. But, we all know that it's not just those elements that make desk jobs hard. Sitting at a desk for 8+ hours a day is horrible for our health! Have you seen the studies that suggest that a sedentary lifestyle is as bad for heart as smoking cigarettes?
Life works in mysterious ways. The people we meet, the connections we form, the experiences we have are all wildly intertwined in hindsight and yet, as they unfold we can often feel removed from where they're leading us.
Why do our desk jobs suck the life and soul right out of us? And what can we do to combat the mental, physical and spiritual detriments brought on by our 9-5s? I don't have all the answers, but I've done all that I can to make surviving your desk job possible. Read on to find out how!
To all you recovering perfectionists, know this: your tendencies may always be there, but they don't have to captain your ship. The goal is not to rid yourself of perfectionism, but to become aware of perfectionism has taken control of your life. When you recognize that, you can begin to set your own sails.
What would happen if you started living life as if it were merely a game? I know, I know, Settlers of Catan can get a little heated. Believe me. One of my biggest marital disputes occurred while playing this brilliant game. Buuuuutttttttt, when the game ends, that's it. It's over. You move on.
Expectations. They can either serve to lift us up or they can pull us down a rabbit hole of self doubt. I've been sucked into this narrative before and have fortunately learned to combat it by shifting my perspective. While it's important to acknowledge where we are in life so that we can find areas to improve, we need to learn to acknowledge without judging critically.
To put our experience on The Amazing Race into words is a near impossible task. The feelings of pride and joy, of disappointment, of overwhelm, and of gratitude, are welling inside of us and will be for weeks to come. But the outpouring of love and support that we have received following the final episode has truly been beyond comprehension.
What a week on the Amazing Race!! Bahrain and Thailand were really incredible places to travel. We never would have found Bahrain on a map prior to this race and are grateful to have experienced it. P.S. - I'm still trying to track down some King of Halwa... And Thailand. Oh, Thailand! I can't wait to go back!!
Woohooo we went to Zimbabwe!! Kristi and I have still not finished below 3rd place AS A TEAM after 8 legs of this race. Our consistency is something that not even Kristi and I can fully understand, but we feel very fortunate to have continued to perform well. Neither of us has been to Southern Africa at all and if my face didn't give it away at the start of the episode, we were so excited!
And so, the adventure continues! **SPOILER ALERT*** Once again, and with honor, Kristi & I landed on the podium. This time we were back in FIRST place. We're the first team of the season to win two legs and are feeling stronger and more confident as we work out our strategies for this race. Prague is a gorgeous city and close to my heart as my great grandparents were from this area.
My, oh, my! I think people are finally starting to understand why they're calling this season the "most competitive" season yet. Out of 30 seasons, that's quite the statement, but in the first 5 legs of this race, we haven't seen a repeat leg winner! ***Spoiler Alert*** Kristi and I did technically arrive at the mat first, but grrrrr... those head-to-heads.
Hope you had fun watching Amazing Race Episode 3 - and if you haven't yet had the chance to watch yet, you definitely should! This was my favorite leg so far. There were so many lead changes, the scenery was stunning, and the Roadblock was really well thought out.
