Blown Away and Very Happy For It - My First LuLaRue Experience - I feel pretty, oh so pretty!

 First we need to talk about direct marketing.  It is a beautiful thing.  How does it work?  The company, instead of having middle men and advertising has a system set up for consultants, advocates, etc.  This allows people to make a bit extra income part time, at home.  The big factor one needs to realize is that in direct marketing one isn't selling the items, they are selling the opportunity. Then thing two is to not be a jack hat to those who say no thank you to the opportunity.  Good grief, just be nice.  Its bad customer service to bully anyone who isn't interested.

I was so timid about direct marketing in general that I would appologize and explain over and over again that I was a customer friendly and "no thank you" friendly wellness advocate with DoTERRA Essential Oils .  A woman who was interested in oils helped me learn to knock it off.  Direct marketing is just one more way to move products that solve problems.  Sara has some absolutely fabulous heath, diet, nutrition products that are useful to fuel anyone including the endurance athlete. Visit Sara Pilgrim's Isagenix site.

Now on to LuLaRoe.  I don't know when Kim Seemiller, our daughter, tried her first article of clothing by LuLaRoe, but after that first wearing she was hooked, the leggings are the most magnificent, wear, comfort, design, fit.  What more could a girl want.  Visit her here.

She invested in LuLaRoe starting her own business.  I still wasn't interested.  I'm not a leggings kind of girl.  I wear t-shirts and short, or t-shirts and jeans.  I don't wear t-shirt type dresses.  Nope I'm not that kind of girl.  Kim invested in this.  I saw her excitement and was very excited for her.  I pray for her success and send anyone interested her way.  I support her 100%.  Well LuLaRoe has t-shirts and workout capris so I could support Kim personally.  At least that.

 We visited Kim over Christmas.  She had a few racks of inventory, leggings, skirts, tops, cover-ups, dresses.  I was more than willing to try some things on.
To say I have body image issues would be an understatement.  Trying on clothes is a traumatic experience to be done only when absolutely necessary.   It would help if I indulged in adult beverages before, during or after trying on clothing, but me not being a partaker, would go for a run and a cry after the most unpleasant event of clothing shopping.

I trust Kim.  I saw the time and effort she was putting into learning her trade while she was visiting us in November.  So I put myself in her loving hands.  Oh my, was my mind blown away!

The cut of the pieces of clothing are woman friendly.  The fabrics feel fabulous, its oh so much more than "just t-shirt fabric".  I tried on skirts, tops, dresses and ...  wait for it.... leggings!
I had fun!  what, wait, what!  Yes, I had fun.  I felt pretty.  I still feel pretty days afterwards.  I have never had a shopping experience that was so pleasant, fun, respectful of a woman and her normal body issues.

I would highly recommend LuLaRoe for every woman!  Sure, some will say "no thank you".  The sizing is a bit different than the rest of the fashion market/industry.  When you can I would highly recommend going to an in person show that first time to try on and see how these pieces fit you.

I'm still grinning on the inside.  I love it that there is clothing hanging in my closet that I look fabulous in and they feel great!  Thank you to Kim and LuLaRoe for the best clothing shopping experience of my life!
Kim Seemiller
lularoekimseemiller@gmail.com
facebook.com/lularoekimseemiller

LoVit Trail Marathon - 4 Dec 2016

A week before the LoVit Trail  Marathon, an ugh escaped my mind and lips while looking at a the forecast for this day.  Rain, wind, cold was on the menu.  OH NO!

I asked Chrissy how one determines if they are being wimpy, sandbagging it, or determine not running it is the best course of action.  She told me if I'm not gonna have fun, that is the determining factor.  Yes, I need that reminder that this is supposed to be fun.  

I remembered the Athens Big Fork Trail Marathon last year.  I ran the 17 mile fun run.
Run Report Here.
It was cold!  We got snowed on!  I had a stinking blast!!  So the decision was to run this the same way, have fun and take pictures.  

With race director's blessing I started an hour and a half early.  This race is HARD, lots of rugged climbs, so I wanted to be sure and have the time to complete the full marathon.  

Photo Sara Pilgrim - Meeting Sara at the aid station

Long before I got to the turn around aid station those that started at the official start time caught up to me.  It was fabulous to have Sara catch me.  She sure is so supportive and she gives great hugs! 

Hickory Nut Aid Station (turn around)

Aid station volunteers give so much.  We are moving, we are seeing the sights doing what we love.  They are in one place for hour upon hour no matter how wet, windy and cold.  They are the reason we can do what we do.  

There was so much beauty to see, appreciate and dance with out on the trail.

Photo by Steve Griffin - Trail/Run/Rain = smile

Steve has a camera with him on his runs.  He likes documenting the event through pictures.  Thank you Steve.  He brings out the smile in us all. 

By the time this comes into sight I was so completely ready to be done. 

A wordy dird escaped my lips upon coming upon this.  Oh I was ready to be done.  I forgot we detoured off the main road to this path in the last mile of the race.  Oh well..... if one runs 26 miles, finishing it up on a paved path should be doable.  LOL

Yes I will be back!
Yes I will start early.
Yes I will race myself, my time, my effort.
Yes I will have fun.

6/12/24 Hours at Sunset Park - Benton, AR

Shopping and peopling just aren't ever on my list of favorites.  So the weekend after Thanksgiving

I think this graffiti gets refreshed every year.  The first year Andi Stracner and I made up a new story for this couple with each lap we made.  It helped the night go by.  

I love the look of the little lake as morning comes on

The week leading up to this event was spent fighting off and losing the fight to a cold.  So it was an easy choice to drop from the 24 hour to the 12 hour event.

The plan was to walk for 12 hours.  I knew a strenuous effort would not be good or me.  A trail run a few weeks before showed me that my calf was not ready for such craziness.  So this run would be about moving, that is all.

That is all I did too.  Maybe walking 80% of this run got me though 50K, then a drive home.  I didn't suffer prolonged cold or ill effects from this effort.

The first rule of running is to run in order to run another day.  That one I succeeded with.

Three Lessons Learned in 2016

Three Lessons Learned in 2016

I'm scared - So What! Do it anyway!

Any great athlete, any brave hero has one thing in common.  They do what they do scared.  Being scared is a human experience, do that scary thing anyway. 

This year my scariest things were training for and lining up on the starting line of the Arkansas Traveller 100 again with the goal of finishing within the 30 hour time limit.

Applying for a leadership fellowship position with Team RWB, being accepted, immersing myself in the leadership experiences provided by the fellowship is the second scary thing.

When being paralyzed by fear I think of those heroes, military, police, firefighters, other first responders.  I'll bet when they run into that chaos they are scared too.  They do it anyway.  Focusing on this helps increase bravery.

Find that thing that scares the tar out of you, go for it!  Learn from the experience (see lesson three) It is life changing.  

Eagle Leader Academy March 2016 - Eagle Leader Fellows and Chapter Captains from across the country

Sometimes being brave is just showing up.

How do you beat the heat of an AR summer? why you go to Daytona Beach FL, that is how.  And we did.  Fifteen Eagles and seven leaders came together for a weekend long leadership and triathlon camp, Eagle style.

Jon was an attendee.  Jon is blind having this happen as a middle aged adult.  

This was his second time really getting out since he started accepting this twist of life.  Swimming, biking, running (walking for him) was all done with a guide, a pilot, a man he had never met before.  I'm in awe of Jon.  Just showing up is braver than anything I have ever been called to endure.

Jon and his guide

Failure is a good thing, it means you are trying.  Re-evaluate and fail forward. 

Apparently in the military they have something called the After Action Report.  From my study the best way to evaluate the results of a project is to do so immediately.  Some say the project isn't complete until the AAR (After Action Report) is filled out, by people at each step of the project.  This is to be done as soon as possible after the project is completed while everything is fresh on the minds of those involved.

So what does this have to do with declaring failure a good thing?  

Failure is proof that we are doing.  One way to guarantee no failure is to do nothing.  The gift of failure is possible by evaluation and then learning.

Within the first day after an event some great questions to have for your AAR would be:

What went right?  

What did I learn?

What would I do differently?

What was my favorite moments?

Notice we aren't asking; What went wrong?  It is important to turn failures into lessons.  The questions we ask ourselves helps us find the lessons.

Failure is a teacher, one of the very best in life.  If we are failing while doing the same exact thing time after time, we know from experience that failure will continue.  Is we change just one thing, perform, evaluate, learn, improve.

Give it a try after your next event and see what you think.

Start of AT100 with Chris and Kyle - I DNFed this year

Off to finish the AT100 in under 30 hours - I DNFed

On the caption of these photos I include information that I did not finish the Arkansas Traveller 100 2016 edition because it goes along with the lessons learned from failure.  Reviewing information will mean less mistakes next year.  Smart training, smart planning, smart execution and a bit of luck, I will finish in under 30 hours in 2017

Bonus lesson:  if it's not fun, figure it out or move on!  These things we do, volunteer, hobbies, physical fitness, we do so enrich our lives.  Laughing, hugs and high fives increase the quality of life eminences!  Their has to be a fun factor or we won't come back for more.

Hugs and high fives,

Lisa

Sweet Spot 50K Russellville AR

31 Miles Will Hurt, Should Hurt

The annual Bona Dea 50K came to a close when the Bona Dea governing body, maybe the city of Russellville, stopped issuing permits for any race.  Tom Aspel and PoDog found a very nice alternative taking us back to trails vs paved bike path.  That is always nice.

Saturday, November 12, 2016

Russellville, AR
8:00am start

Race #4 of the 2016 - 2017 AURA Ultra Trail Series

• The race is on the Ouita Coal Company Mtn. Bike Trail at Illinois Bayou Park.
• The trail is a 7.1 mile single track lollipop shaped loop with 316 feet of ascent and descent.
• We will run 1.8 miles out to the loops. Then do four 7.1 mile loops. Then run back to the start makes 32 miles.
• There will be 1 aid station and 1 water drop on each loop. No drop bags.
• Directions: Just off I-40 Exit 78. This is one exit west of Hwy 7 in Russellville. Take Exit 78, Hwy 64 east, towards Russellville and the parking lot is on the left just before you start crossing the lake. See Map. The sign says Illinois Bayou Park.
• Race directors: Tom Aspel and PoDog Vogler.

The race started at 8:00 AM.  I had to make it home then to a reception that night so with permission I started at 6:00 AM.  Its weird being on one of these runs, that isn't a hundred, and needing a headlamp.
I had completed the first lap and was into the second when the first runner from the normal start passed me.  The runners continued passing me as the miles went by.
Their wasn't hills to climb, their was lots of little ups and downs, bumpidy bump bump.
Their wasn't many rocks or roots either, but that random one, or that random stump sure did take it's toll on the runners.

As the day warmed up, not too warm, it was nice to see the deep blue sky and feel the warm sun.  This summer has been so danged hot, with that heat hanging around for most of the fall.   This day was a true treat without melting heat.

The main aid station was very well stocked with anything the heart could desire!   Halloween candy, cheese puffs, baked goods galore.  

Unmanned water stops are very appreciated too.  A quick refill and off we go. 

Someone turned that smile into a frown.  I was looking forward to seeing the smile to help me smile, but after about 27 or so miles, I guess this is more real.  

Some of the views that make the soul happy.

I finished, in 8:21.58.
I'm glad I went.
I'm in a funk, so going was hard.  The funk, like a bonk, will pass.