I told myself that after I had completed the Boston Marathon I was going to challenge myself with something completely different as I felt as though I had reached my potential with running (well, for a little while anyways) and I was starting to crave something new. I will do another marathon again but for now I will be riding this! Actually, I am attempting to mountain bike because I am absolutely terrible at it and it scares the sh*t out of me.  I can climb up a gravel road or trail all day long on a mountain bike but as soon as I get to the top and have to ride down a skinny and very steep trail the butterflies come on strong.  I have no choice but to force myself to point my bike down and go for it and it always ends up being the most exhilarating thing that I have ever done.

Why am I telling you this?  Because these past two weeks I have been reminded what it feels like to truly be out of my comfort zone.  I have dealt with frustrations, I have dealt with adversity (on my last ride I fell so hard that I actually broke my bike and have seen with my own eyes how many different shades of blue my skin can turn), I relearned how to be ok with being extremely bad at something, I have relearned patience, I have relearned how to be vulnerable and I have learned how to get up and keep trying.  Most importantly, I have been reminded what it feels like to accomplish something for the first time and to have done something that I have never done before.  

It is so easy for us to get stuck in a rut and wake up each day and do the same thing, especially in our workouts.  Whether it is going to the gym and taking the same class, lifting the same weights or going out each morning and running the exact same route at the exact same pace, we forget what it is like to challenge ourselves.  This summer I ask of you to challenge yourself to learn something new; try a new running route, sign up for a race you never have done before (perhaps a Spartan race, I did one a few weeks back and it was so great), join a new boot camp or grab a friend and join a recreational sports league.  Not only will you have fun but who knows who you might meet (this goes out to all the single girls there, myself included. Trust me, you are never going to meet anyone if you keep going to the same jazzercize class each week).  Allow yourself to feel vulnerable or nervous or perhaps doubt if you can even do what you are about to attempt and be ok with that feeling! When you accomplish your goal, celebrate and rejoice then get right back out there and find a new one. Start to get comfortable at getting yourself uncomfortable.

Attached - Selma Blair hits the gym earlier this week.