Can I have a minute?

19 Tuesday Jun 2018

Posted by Joanne Fedeyko in Business, Family, Health & Exercise, Life's Lessons, stress, Uncategorized

I know I’m preaching to the choir when I say …

Dear Universe,

Could I just have a minute?

And I probably won’t get much argument that Life … is … well … really hard some days! And it often feels like ‘some days’ turns into ‘most days’.

Regardless of what we’re going through, it feels like it’s the biggest thing in the world. Because … it is — at least it is for us, in that moment.

Sitting on the opposite side of the conversation we can smile and say a kind thing — give unwavering encouragement — and really believe that it’s going to work out for the person. But —- have them turn around and say that our world is equally going to turn out OK .. well, that’s a little harder to believe.

And that’s when I want to scream out to the Universe …

Could. I. Just. Have. A. Minute.

A minute to collect my thoughts …

A minute to feel like it’s not an uphill climb …

A minute to feel sunshine on my face without a care in the world …

A minute to reach into my soul and find that ounce of hope and belief that will carry me through the next valley …

A minute to breathe without the pressure of being busy, striving, achieving, accomplishing …

Just. A. Minute ….

… where the Universe stops with me. Gives me a little nod. Cracks a smile. And makes the most vulnerable version of myself believe — yes, it is going to be okay.

Because then … it feels just a little easier to go back to my world of beautiful chaos — back to the high bar and expectations I set for myself — back to the work stress that I, for some reason, crave — and back to the family concerns that make me realize that my own mortality deserves more respect.

#DeepBreathe #Grateful #AlwaysLearning #RelentlessForwardMotion

Saturday Mornings

20 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by Joanne Fedeyko in Family, Health & Exercise

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Christmas, friends, running, saturday mornings, sleeping in, trails, utah

It’s 0830 and I have yet to get out of bed. Call it lazy. Call it boring. Call it un-productive, but today I call it perfect.

For the better part of nine months this year I woke up on the weekends with one of my most favorite things planned … to go for a run. I had to start from scratch last year as I was coming off an injury that turned into a surgery that got complicated by a great distraction … so it wasn’t always an early morning and a long run, but it was always the focus.

And then the training runs did get long … and the desire and need for new trails came up … and those were even a further drive away … which meant that sometimes me and my (amazing!!!) running gals would head out for 18 miles and oops, get lost and then run 24! Friends and family were very patient when we left by 0630 and got home in the very late afternoon. And then, yep, of course we’d all get up Sunday and go for another run (albeit not quite as far).

In the final two months of my training I was out of the door by zero dark hundred … running in the double digits … and enjoying the beautiful trails for hours. Sometimes with friends. Sometimes on my own. Often I would run with one or two for 10-ish miles and then someone else would join or replace the others so that I could get my long runs done without too much time on my own. My running friends are beyond awesome.

So today …. No long run. Actually, probably no run at all. Just the day in front of me for however I choose. And right now, as I type this post … I’m loving what is in front of me … a smile from spending two days with a new friend and enjoying a precious little girl … knowing my mom is home from her hospital visit and on her road to recovery … the thought of making perogies with my sister when I am home next week for the holidays (I’m certain to impress a boy with home-made perogies, right!?!) … and thinking about the canvas I’ll paint for my life in 2015 … I’ve never been to Utah. Perhaps it should make the list this year. I hear there is lots to do in Utah and I bet they have a few trails I would enjoy.

#TimeToGetUp!

Food. In the basic form.

07 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by Joanne Fedeyko in Health & Exercise, Inspiration

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

38 essential, bay area restaurants, food, foodie, intention

Don’t you just love when you’re going through old emails and find something that makes you smile.

For the foodies out there, or those interested in exploring the Bay Area with some intention, take a look at this list. I’ve yet to begin my exploration … but I will soon.

The 38 Essential San Francisco Restaurants, July 2014

Love Yourself (more)

14 Friday Feb 2014

Posted by Joanne Fedeyko in Health & Exercise, Inspiration, Love

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bubble baths, chocolate, Diane Ackerman, february 14, football, friends, House of Cards, love, love yourself, massage, relax, self love, smartphone, valentine, valentine's day, watch my kids play, wine

Today is Valentine’s Day so it’s easy for us to remember our loved ones and to think about things that make us feel good – chocolate and massages and sweet notes to our Valentines, maybe a glass of wine with our friends. But what if we took what today is all about and applied it to our lives on a regular basis?

I once heard someone say that we take our car into the mechanic when the light reminds us to change the oil, or when our tires are flat, yet we ignore almost every warning sign that our body gives us when we need to relax or take better care of ourselves. Why is that? Are we so out of touch with the aches and pains, or the feeling that we get when we do treat ourselves with love, that we don’t recognize the signs even when they are pretty obvious?

Let’s not wait until we get sick or feel miserable to treat ourselves with love! Let’s actually apply February 14th – the day of love – to EVERY month of the year. Does that sound like something you’d like? I know I would!

So moving forward, on the 14th of every month, I will add a reminder to my blog post to treat yourself to some love, or better yet maybe I’ll dedicate the entire post to it! And we can do the journey together for a lifetime full of more love and less warning signs.

It can be whatever you want it to be. A long soak with bubbles and candles …. an uninterrupted game of Football on a Saturday afternoon … permission to sleep in …. or stay up late! …. a longer lunch with a friend … or just sitting and watching your child play with your smartphone far – far away. I have been practicing a little more self love these days and it is really wonderful! Today I had a nice workout … helped a friend with his business … treated myself to a massage … and watched House of Cards while I ate a late lunch (with two pieces of chocolate as my dessert). Life is too short to just live the length of it — I want to live the width of it as well.

So I would like you to consider more self love. Whatever that looks like for you – give it more of a try these days. Or at least, come on, once a month!

50K (or 31.07 Miles) of Relentlessly Moving Forward

30 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by Joanne Fedeyko in Health & Exercise, Inspiration

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

50K, first marathon, learning to run, leukemia and lymphoma, lost souls ultra, marathons, running, team in training, ultra running, way too cool

I started Being Superwoman to inspire others to be their most audacious self — to dream big — and to find that inner hero who can help them accomplish anything they set their mind to do.

When I was about 25 yo a few friends that I worked at a construction company in Edmonton, Alberta, were going out for a run after work. This group would get together and run races on the weekends and have fabulous stories to tell Monday morning. Curiosity piqued my interest and so I decided I would try out this running thing … and wouldn’t you know it … I could barely run around my block!!

I didn’t let my first step limit me from continuing and so I kept up with the running and soon I was up to three miles … which is where I stayed for a good number of years. Always a three mile run. Never a fast run … and never any greater distance (or thought of anything greater). That was until my friend Dianna invited me to complete a marathon with Team in Training. Because I’m adventurous I signed up and completed my first marathon in December 2001. This marked the beginning of my passion for running.

I kept running … in the mornings at 5:30 am with my friend Jeanmarie to the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge … on weekends at half marathons or 10Ks … and in the evenings at a track workout where I learned the real reason why I run (to drink beer afterwards!).

Then something happened. I stumbled upon people doing Ultra Marathons (which means any distance greater than a marathon – could be a 50K, 50 Miles, 100 Miles!) … and I was like “I am never doing that!!” …. Until, you guessed it, one day I got inspired by my friends at the Tuesday night track workout telling amazing stories of their weekend running adventures. So in 2010 I completed my first Ultra Marathon … the Way Too Cool 50K run in Cool, California … in 7 hours and 24 minutes! I told you I wasn’t a fast runner!

Last year I ended up with a new title “injured runner” and had surgery for a meniscus tear. I also had a whole bunch of other life changing events so 2013 turned into a year without running. I’ve missed it dearly — I’ve missed my friends and their stories, and I’ve missed being inspired. So I’m now a regular at the gym to rebuild some muscle strength, and I’m finally back on the trails to build up the mileage again. And yesterday on my 2-mile run I found myself smiling because I was back doing something that was so authentically me.

Oh and I also signed up for the Lost Soul Ultra (50K distance) in September of this year because after all, I like big audacious goals. And I need a goal to keep me pointed in the right direction.

What is your passion? And are you being bold enough? Audacious enough? Where might a run around your block take you??

My 2-mile run … It doesn’t look like much, but it was everything!