Follow Your Passion...

Follow your passion, and success will follow you. ~Terri Guillemets

This is advice that my peers and I have been told all throughout our lives. Find something you love and eventually the money will follow. This makes intuitive sense; if you do what you love for a job then you are willing to commit to it and tough out the hard times. However, the reality that I see in most of my friends is that they are very talented individuals, but lacking in passion. A friend of mine complained to me a few weeks ago after she started a new job. She said that her new coworkers seemed to truly be passionate about her organization's mission. Neither of us could come up with anything that we would feel comfortable devoting that much time and energy towards.

I know people with this passion exist. My cousin is an artist who has demonstrated a passion for his work since we were really young. He pulls all nighters to work, and sacrifices the stability of a comfortable 9 to 5 job to pursue his work. I know others who work in my field who volunteer to help people trying to learn new skills and take great pride in their work. However, for most of my friends, we do not believe that our jobs are helping us to grow nor are they helping us to better the world.

I spent the winter traveling, attempting to find something I am passionate about. I discovered that I love to dive and be in the water. I love to travel and explore new places. I need to wake up with the sun, not an alarm, and I need to be outdoors and see the sun mark the passage of time. However, these are all lifestyle issues, not something I can apply to my professional life. So, I have decided to take some more time to explore some professional opportunities that I have been batting around for awhile but haven't had the time or energy to deal with.

back to basics: the vinyasa

As most of you have experienced, relationships change with time. When I first began practicing yoga I was focused on developing strength and concentration. Later it became very meditative for me; eventually this became a problem as I tackled thoughts that I preferred to push away rather than deal with. During this period my practice became dangerous; I sought pleasure from my practice so I would intentionally push past my edge, or neglect entire groups of poses just so they would feel good when I reintroduced them. Luckily I didn't physically injure myself during this period and I moved onto a more playful practice and began to focus on practicing safely.

This winter I took four months off of my physical practice to challenge myself in other ways. Upon returning to my practice in February I had new challenges in my life that I needed to deal with on the mat. I decided that I would run a marathon in October and and the training was beating up my body in ways it had never been before. I've seen athletes have their performances enhanced by yoga but I have also seen it ruin an otherwise strong training cycle.

I teach a style of yoga known as vinyasa. It effectively links breath with movement and flows from one pose to the next. In class you may hear the instruction to "flow through your vinyasa." This refers to a common series of poses that is repeated frequently in classes. The series goes:
Inhale to plank
Exhale to chaturanga
Inhale to upward facing dog or baby cobra
Exhale to downward facing dog

You may be instructed to go through this series a few dozen times depending on the class. I began noting what was bothering me in this series and came up with the following notes on the vinyasa.

via http://www.satyaliveyoga.com.au

Plank
This seemingly straightforward pose offers many points of reflection. Begin to build body awareness (and core strength) by drawing the navel up and in towards the spine. Focus on stacking the heels over the balls of the feet. Reach the chest and crown of the head forwards while the gaze stays to the ground so that the vertebrae of the neck remain in neutral alignment with the rest of the spine. Rotate the upper arm so that the elbow crease points forwards.

via http://www.poweryoga-goettingen.de

Transition to Chaturanga
Keeping the body still, simply bend the elbows. Since the elbow creases are pointed forwards, this brings the shoulders forwards, lowering them to the same height as the elbows. Chaturanga and plank are virtually the same alignment so if you focus on rotating the upper arm, you will be able to transition here without moving anything.



Transition to Upward Facing Dog
The elbow crease should still be a major point of focus. Straighten the arms as if you were going back into plank. Gently draw the hips forward just enough so that you must roll over the toes and onto the tops of your feet.

via http://yoginisam.com

Upward Facing Dog
Keep the arms strong while pressing into the hands so that the shoulders aren't creeping up towards the ears. The palms and the tops of the feet bear the full body weight in this pose so it will be much easier if you stay engaged in the core to prevent your whole torso from becoming dead weight. Play with this and notice how different the pose feels. Relax the glutes and feel the low back release.


Transition to Downward Facing Dog
First, pay attention to how the feet transition. The feet move from bearing the body's weight on the tops of the feet to the bottom. This requires bringing the feet through almost 180 degrees of motion while still bearing that weight. To protect the ankles, make sure that there is no rotational motion in the ankles; the lower leg, ankle, and foot should remain in the same plane. Try to drive this transition just by engaging the core to lift the hips up and back towards the heels.

Downward Facing Dog

via fitbie.msn.com

Focus on pressing the palms fully into the mat while rotating the upper arms in so that the elbow creases work towards pointing forwards and the shoulders are stable, the upper back broad. The neck relaxes, allowing the head to drop down, bringing the gaze towards the feet. Keep drawing the navel up and in so that you don't sink into your low back, placing undue stress there. Pay attention to your knees. Depending on how naturally flexible you are, it is really easy to lock your knees in this pose. I consciously try to keep a noticeable bend in my knees now which takes a lot of strain out of my calves and ankles. Bending deep into the knees and rising up onto the toes allows you to stretch the feet. Focus on shifting weight backwards into the hips and your shoulders won't struggle throughout your practice.

Turns out French is Actually Useful in the USA

The last month has been kind of rough for me and has inspired me to do even more soul searching than expected.  This past month I have spent every other weekend out of town; first for Easter, then for my half marathon, then for vacation. I planned this all out as soon as I returned from Asia but the timing of that last vacation turned out to be perfect.

It was Vermont so I opted
 for tie-dye

In order to give myself enough time to travel a little now I decided to make up all the hours I was missing at work by pulling longer days when I was in town. So, a little sleep deprived, I hopped on a plane one Friday afternoon to head up to Vermont. I'm not known for planning trips out terribly well in general, but this one was even more sketchy than usual. Instead of flying into Burlington (my actual end destination) I opted to fly into Hartford (my usual airport) and meet my friend who was driving to Burlington. This way, instead of getting to Burlington in the early evening, having dinner, and getting to bed early, I stayed up until after midnight after a long car ride. Despite a lot of dumb decisions I made that week (not sleeping, using that week to have my highest mileage week to date) and the snow that was still on the ground, the actual race went really well. I ran it with my friend who was celebrating her birthday that weekend, and we finished in 1:50:10. I'm not sure how she felt, but we ran negative split and I felt very strong at the end of the race. After recovering from the race we got ice cream and dinner (in that order, this is New England after all).

In Lake Champlain

My favorite flavor: Bovinity Divinity

The next morning we headed wandered down to Lake Champlain so that I could get some time in the water; the Vermonters walking there thought I was nuts. Finally, we headed to the Ben and Jerry's factory. Somehow I had made it through life never having visited; given how much of the company's revenue comes from me, this trip was mandatory given our proximity. We got several samples while on the factory tour, and even more at the scoop shop. The factory tour imparted the enthusiasm the company has for its product. It was really refreshing to see the company's commitment to its employees, community, and customers.


After our visit to the factory, my friend and her boyfriend drove me back to Worcester with them; from there I headed to Boston for the marathon. It was my weekend of being a New England tourist: B&J factory, marathon Monday, ice cream, and maple candy. People up there seem to really identify with their community and take action to improve it. This is something that seems to be lacking in the DC area and I think it is what I find the most off putting about DC.

My strategy to make up all the hours I had taken off was thrown off by the bombings; I could not focus at work to begin with and I preferred to be at home or running around outside than sitting there, getting lost in my own head. I took the weekend to stay home, sleep, and work out because the next week I was back to banking extra hours so that I could go to New Orleans for JazzFest the next weekend.

People dancing on Bourbon St

The timing of my New Orleans trip couldn't have been better. The music and food were phenomenal; the passion that people have for that city is unlike anything I have ever seen. Not once was I asked about my work; the city just makes you want to embrace life and live passionately.

One of the three pots full of
delicious food

I stayed in the Lower Garden District the first two nights; it was easy to walk everywhere and it was a really cute area with lots of smaller shops and restaurants. The last two nights I stayed at the India House which is one of the better hostels I have been at (in the past year, I have seen quite a few). There was a band staying there so they played a show on Monday night; Tuesday afternoon there was a crawfish boil. The food was amazing, we were all completely stuffed, and I actually learned how to eat a crawfish.

Empty heads lined up on the edge of the table

I was really surprised to see how many people were out on bikes. Despite not having a real traditional bike infrastructure, it seemed to be a very common way to get around. There were also a lot of people out running and exercising which, given the heat and the obesity statistics for New Orleans, surprised me. I went running in City Park a few times and loved that you can still see the tropical vegetation in the city.

Upon returning to DC it really hit me just how soulless this area is. Everything here is very comfortable, but the passion that is so obvious in places like Boston and New Orleans is noticeably absent here. This has inspired me to start thinking very specifically about what I want my life to look like.

Shot Heard Round the World

I love large community events. I think it is important for a school, company, or city to effectively cease operations so that everyone can go out and enjoy themselves. These types of events tend to happen in the spring, when the weather first starts to warm up and people are itching to get out of their winter hideouts. In college, on the last Friday of the spring semester we celebrated Georgetown Day. While classes were not cancelled, professors were understanding of the fact that is was Georgetown Day and generally didn't assign tests or papers. Students, staff, and faculty flocked outdoors to enjoy burgers, drink, and sunbathe. Similarly, when Georgetown made a run to the Final Four in 2007, the whole university came together to celebrate, charging down M St cheering and making friends with everyone around them.

When I arrived in Boston Sunday afternoon, the city already had this sense of community. Patriots' Day is arguably the best holiday in Massachusetts for any kid who goes to public school. You get a week off from school, the weather is usually nice (at least compared to the previous few weeks), and you don't have the obligations of travel and family gatherings that surround most holidays. I had never spent Patriots' Day in Boston but I grew up watching the marathon every year and that sense of community and local pride radiated from the television or computer screen.

For those non-Bay Staters reading this, Patriots' Day is a holiday celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine (and, per wikipedia, Wisconsin). While Patriots' Day officially celebrates the Battles of Lexington and Concord (19 April 1775), the date coincides with the Pratt Street Massacre (19 April 1861) when the Massachusetts militia was attacked by a mob, drawing the first casualties of the American Civil War. Outside of the Bay State and Maine, it is best known as Marathon Monday, or the day on which the Boston Marathon has been run since 1897.

Even our state quarter
commemorates the Revolution
(via theus50.com)

Bay Staters take incredible pride in their state and, based on the history curriculum taught in schools, believe that the rest of the country would not exist were it not for the revolutionaries who kicked the British out and established the United States of America. After all, much of the ramp up to the Revolution occurred in the Boston area and the first battles were fought there. The region produced founding fathers such as John Adams, his cousin Sam Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. Patriots' Day celebrates the fact that a bunch of colonists from Massachusetts got fed up with the way the British were treating them and did something about it. They didn't just start shooting and behaving irrationally; they developed a plan of attack and eventually took down one of history's largest empires. This spirit of taking action even continued after the Revolution when Daniel Shays led a raid on the Springfield Armory in an act that historians believe played a role in demonstrating the need for a strong federal government.

Patriots' Day allows most people to take the day off and enjoy life; go out in the sun, hang out with friends, just relax and appreciate the fact that you live in a great commonwealth that allows you to take the day and celebrate life. Watching the marathon was the most similar experience I've had to Georgetown's run to the Final Four. Everyone knows something about the event, people come together to celebrate the participants and the fans, and it is a very positive experience (although I do believe that there were a few choice words about Ohio State flying around after the thrill of beating UNC wore off). The town was plastered with posters celebrating the marathon, runners were everywhere, and drunk college kids (and some not quite college aged) abounded. It was my first Patriots' Day in Boston and I was hooked.

I arrived at the 24 mile marker Monday morning. The lead wheelchair racers had already gone by but there were still athletes passing us. People were cheering for everyone, celebrating something that these athletes had worked very hard to achieve. I stayed at mile 24 for almost two hours; once a friend of mine ran past I decided to see just how crazy these crowds could get. I wandered the course up towards the finish line. The crowds got louder and louder the closer I got. The finish line was a great time. The runners were happy to be there, spectators were cheering for everyone coming through, and the bars were full of people enjoying the day. I stood there, soaking it all in, until my true New England roots showed and I left to get an ice cream.


When the bombs went off I didn't think anything was wrong. Sure, the sound wasn't normal, but I figured it was a construction site, or something happening at Fenway Park which I was passing. I was walking back down the course, towards mile 24, when the police started clearing spectators. Again, seemed a little strange to me but for all I knew someone was sick inside a house and emergency responders needed to enter. Eventually I pulled out my cell phone to check the time and saw several text messages, all along the lines of, "please tell me you're alive." At this point I started to put things together and realized that what was going on was not normal. I still didn't have any idea what was happening but I had an inkling that it was bad so, given the lack of cell service, I managed to get a note on facebook and then focused on trying to find my way back to my cousin's house.

It was this type of situation where I realize how important it is to have non-cell phone dependent plans. When I was in Asia I had to rely on paper maps and getting directions ahead of time. Fortunately I had made a mental note of where my cousin lived so I wasn't affected by the fact that I couldn't access google maps. I made it back to her house, still unsure of what was happening, only to discover that the T was closed. I grabbed my bags, put on my trusty FiveFingers, and set off on my hike to North Station where I hoped the commuter rail was running and I could get out of the city and to my grandmother's house.

As I walked from Brookline to North Station I saw plenty of runners who were walking home from the race. They were wrapped in blankets, trying to stay out of the wind, but no one was openly complaining or fighting in the street. People were out running along the Charles, BU students were still out and about; when I passed Mass General, there wasn't a sense of panic in the air. Despite everything that had transpired in the previous few hours, people were still courteous, emergency personnel were treated with respect, and runners, still in their racing clothes, were walking home without complaint.

I could tell that whatever had happened must have been terrible when I arrived at North Station. Police were searching every bag on the way in, and the Bruins game that night was cancelled. Still, despite everything that was going on, the police were firm but smiled after they checked my bag (although they did keep mistaking me for a runner) and people were calm. I saw that same spirit as I watched the news on Friday during the man hunt; people able to see the bigger picture and step back to allow law enforcement to do their jobs as safely as possible.

Watching the rest of the week unfold while I was below the Mason Dixon line was much less comforting than being up north. Here people made remarks about how the US is the laughing stock of the world for shutting a whole city down for the day; they imagined that Bostonians must wish they had guns at home. Neither of these thoughts ever crossed my mind, and from what I can tell, they didn't cross many Bay Staters'.

If anything good is to come of this, people who needed a little push to start running have done so. More people are getting off the couch and learning how healing it can be to get outside and move. Even people who have no real connections to the marathon or the city have been inspired to train for a marathon, or simply, put on a pair of sneakers and go for their first run. If any city has the ability to ensure a positive legacy from a tragedy it is Boston. Now, we just have to wait and see.

Heyden Observatory

The Heyden Observatory at Georgetown University is the third oldest observatory in the country. The observatory was the site from which the city of Washington was surveyed, and was the home of some of the nation's most influential astronomers until the second half of the twentieth century when the program was shut down.

On a personal note, I managed this observatory while I was in school and I believe that it is one of the most underrated gems on campus. Please vote for the observatory to receive funds from Partners in Preservation using the link below.

https://www.preservedmv.com/competitors/heyden-observatory

Redheads on TV

Patti Stanger, the star of one of my favorite guilty pleasures, Millionaire Matchmaker, has never been shy about the fact that she hates redheads. I recently watched this season's redhead episode, hoping it would be favorable to redheads.
Despite all the girls at the mixer having red hair, very few were real redheads. If the guys actually wanted a redhead, my guess is that the hair color isn't what they are after; there is the whole complexion and whatever stereotypes go along with that. Very few of the non-redheads even had the complexion to pull off the color and just looked ridiculous.

Thankfully I still see some positive examples in the media. During the redhead Millionaire Matchmaker episode, I saw this ad.
 
The little red haired girl is not only operating her own business, she is shown as being physically strong, pulling the delivery truck out of the ground and across the field.

(via http://tv.broadwayworld.com)

I then followed Millionaire Matchmaker with Suburgatory, starring Jane Levy. Levy's character in Suburgatory is a high school student who is uprooted from Manhattan to the suburbs. She lands in a town where everyone appears to be the same; the fact that she is a redhead makes her not quite fit in. The writers of the show are able to use this to make a point, but I think it is one of the reasons that my non-redhead friends and family do not quite understand my sensitivity to the subject.

Many brunettes and blondes that I know change their hair color without much thought. People routinely get highlights and change their hair color seasonally. Hair color does not become an essential part of their self identity. Even in the most homogeneous community, every red haired child has stuck out. Their hair attracts attention, both positive and negative; it always makes one unique.

While there is some debate on the internet over whether Levy is a natural redhead, she has the complexion to pull it off. Emma Stone is not a natural redhead but she has the complexion to pull it off and has embraced her identity as a red haired actress. I certainly want people to see being a redhead as a good thing so I am normally not one to publicly call out dyed redheads; if the person is willing to commit to being a redhead and not just use it as a publicity stunt, as Stone has, I have no problem. However, there are plenty of dyed redheads who go around doing stupid things and calling themselves redheads, making it necessary for redheads to counter the claims made by the crazy dyers.

(via http://omelete.uol.com.br)

***SPOILER ALERT*** The 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love stars two red haired actresses: Stone and Julianne Moore, who plays Steve Carell's wife. The film's multiple story lines converge when a twist is revealed: Stone is the daughter of Moore and Carell. I watched the film with my mom and nana, both brunettes. They seemed genuinely surprised at this revelation. I had to point out that the only reason films ever seem to cast two redheads is to establish a blood relationship.

Suburgatory resorts to this trick when they introduce a red haired Malin Akerman as Levy's mother. There is no reason that a red haired child must have a red haired parent; to the best of my knowledge, my great-grandma is the only red haired relative that I have met.

Team Coco!
(via eonline.com)

(via craftyiscool.blogspot.com)

I have only touched on female redheads so far. As much as I may get riled up about the portrayal of female redheads, they exist. There are very few male red haired celebrities, and it is not a color that men tend to choose when dying their hair. Conan O'Brien is arguably the most famous red haired male on television right now. Even people who aren't fans of Conan are probably aware of his Tonight Show conflict. While this seemingly had nothing to do with his hair, it played out as the new redhead in town being bullied around by everyone else. Conan's supporters gathered together as Team Coco. Suddenly you could find t-shirts and nearly anything else covered in a splash of red hair. I respect O'Brien's career on the whole, but I really respect the fact that he has made it as a red haired comedian, who uses his hair as a rally cry, without resorting to dumb redhead jokes. My favorite red haired comedian is Louis CK and he generally just avoids the subject entirely. This is in contrast to comedians like Carrot Top whose entire persona is centered on their hair.

In closing, I will allow Tim Minchin to sum up this post.


If you've made it this far, thank you for tolerating my red haired ranting of the week :-)

Marathon Training: One Month Down and I Can Still Walk

The focus of this first month was to start building up my mileage. I started with fifteen, then did four weeks of around 23 miles. I've never been good about sticking to rigid schedules so I didn't try to force myself into one. I always did one long run on the weekend. One week the weather was kind of gross so I only did one other long run. The other weeks I did two or three shorter runs. I didn't do any specific speed work, but I tried to make the short runs a little faster than my long runs.

Below are a few lessons that I've learned over the past five weeks.

Lesson #1: Minor Imbalances Will Be Exaggerated
When riding I always unclip with my left foot. I never thought anything of this until I started doing my weekend long runs. Once I'd hit the point where my form began to fade, I started noticing that my ankles felt noticeably different. I started getting a twinge just behind the bump on the inside of my left ankle. Once I noticed this sensation I couldn't ignore it. I'm still not sure whether the clip in factor is relevant; I'm trying an experiment for the next month where I use my right foot to clip in. On my commute in this morning, when I managed to time my lights pretty well, I clipped out seven times; when I don't time it well the count is closer to a dozen. I'll post more about the results of this experiment in next month's update.

Lesson #2: Running More Frequently is Less Stressful than Running Long
One week, because of gross weather, I did two long runs and no other running. It took me awhile to recover from these runs and that's the week I began to notice the tweak in my ankle. The other weeks, when I ran more frequently, I was able to get in better quality runs since I could keep my form up for the whole run, and I generally felt fine the next day, albeit a little stiff in the legs.

Lesson #3: You Can't Discount Your Bike Miles
For the past few years, I've taken a dichotomous approach to cycling: I have my commute miles and my fun miles. I know that they all count, but if you were to ask me how many training miles I do, I'd give you the total less commute miles. Since coming back, most of my bike miles have been for commuting. My round trip commute is now almost twenty miles so I am getting quite a bit of riding in without even counting it. When I started adding some runs in, I was still discounting my bike miles. I would be stuck at work, late for a group run so I'd sprint the ten miles home on my bike, change clothes, and run to the meeting spot. When we'd start running I would notice that my legs were heavy and I felt similar to how I do at the end of my long runs. It wasn't until this happened a few times that I realized that I cannot discount my commute.

Lesson #4: Run With Good Runners
This isn't necessarily something that everyone has the luxury to do, but several of my friends are very good runners who know a lot about the sport. I tend to run with them when I want to go faster than usual as they'll hold me to a pace that I can sustain but would be too lazy to do if I were running on my own. The biggest advantage of running with people who are good runners is that they can spot poor form quickly. As a newbie, bad habits are easy to fall into, but they are also easy to fix. If someone can spot these for you early on and help you fix it, it'll be more comfortable in the long run. As a side note, my bike handling skills improved significantly once I started doing more group rides. Just make sure that you're imitating people who know what they are doing :-)

Lesson #5: Work On Good Form
This is a follow up to running with good runners. I try to spend one run every week where I really focus on keeping good form. Right now my primary focus is my hand placement. I tend to run with my hands near my shoulders. I believe it's a bad habit I picked up when I played field hockey. I learned to run with a stick in my hand and teammates around me; it was safer to keep the stick more vertical than horizontal. However, ever since high school I have dealt with a right shoulder that feels like it is getting pinched the longer and faster I run. So, I ask people that I run with to point out to me if they notice my hands creeping towards my shoulders, and I dedicate one run each week to actively work out these bad habits.

I'm running a half marathon this coming weekend for a friend's birthday (yes, I have some odd friends) and then heading to Boston to watch the marathon. I'll write about that when I come back; this is my first time in Boston on Patriots' Day. Growing up in Massachusetts I always had school off so I watched the marathon every year through high school; in college some MA friends and I would watch the marathon and pretend we had the day off :-)

If you have any questions or ideas for me to play with in the next month, feel free to leave me a note in the comments, or email me directly.