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When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.

2020 has not been the year that ANY of us were hoping or planning for. As a world, we were thrown and continue to be thrown new challenges that last year at this time could only have been imagined in a movie. A year ago I was finishing up a bucket list race in the Casco Bay Islands, and preparing for my first 70.3 Half Ironman in several years. A year ago I was mentally preparing for how, as an athlete, I was going to go after 2020. And then...it all changed.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Baptiste Yoga Teacher Training. The entire weekend was dedicated to learning, developing, and working with one another. Not just in a yoga sense, but forcing each other out of our comfort zones and trying out new techniques. What continues to become more and more clear to me over time, is the huge crossover between the strength and conditioning and yoga world. Both as a coach and in my personal fitness, I consider the two as the yin and yang of my training method. They compliment each other in a way that can’t always be seen. There are overlaps between the body movements, mobility, mentality, and breathing.

Today’s blog, while relevant to all, will be most applicable to my endurance loving pals. I’ll challenge all readers to stay with me and see just how an endurance athlete’s mindset is really no different than most if you put your own professional, personal, or recreation spin on it.

Embrace the suck, rise and grind or suck it up buttercup. I think almost all of us have heard one of these expressions before. There are still many ways in which people articulate this same point.

Now that Massachusetts has become a state where recreational marijuana is now legal it seems that CBD has become quite common and a popular thing to talk about. More and more CBD is showing up in many different products and places. There is a store at the mall dedicated to the stuff and offers lots of products made with CBD. Due to its increasing popularity more and more questions are popping up about what it is and what it is supposed to be used for. As someone who uses it regularly, I thought I would be a good person to shine some light on the situation and also some personal anecdotes.

Ever since graduate school I have made a point to read as often as I can, even if it is just a few pages a day. In the recent weeks, I have been reading the book High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard. This book has really hit home and has given me a different take on how I handle each day.