Cindy Present | Get Out Girl

How does paddling relate to a soulful life of longevity? Check out my article in this month's Austin Fit Magazine of how our #100DaysofBlue lives long in our hearts. (and yes, the photos are ours; an early morning GIFT of an amazing sunrise!) Austin Fit Magazine August 2020

Thus, when life unexpectedly and mandatorily pushed “pause,” I had a decision to make: I could scratch and claw my way through the turbulence, or I could ride the wave and make it my objective to keep my face to the sunshine. These several months of unknown and uncharted territories could suddenly become the biggest gift of time or go on record  as the most stressful, bewildering and unproductive.  I t was that realization in which “intentionality” became my best ally. Read More...Austin Fit Magazine, June 2020

Fifty four days. But who is counting. I kind of quit tallying the days. If I did, I was looking back - or forward - and not existing in the day. When we were sentenced to sheltering in our homes, when I was laid off, when my college son moved home, when my husband locked his doors and began working by appointment only, when I had to basically shackle my 90 year old folks to stay within their own confines, and when our senior son learned his May graduation date was cancelled, I made the decision that if nothing good was going to happen during this unknown time, I had the choice to make something good come out of it. Meaning. Being at home with only essential errands and nothing but time for 2 1/2 months - for me - is quite the feat. I don't sit still well, nor do I exist in idle mode. I tend to always push the boundaries, the opportunities - yes, even on occasion pulling the trigger before I aim. But those that know me would say that one of my traits is to push, pursue, persevere.  ...

Ironman World Championships Swim Start, Kailua Pier, Kona, HI To #beresilient today, I'm anchoring in the word Exhale. I've heard it, seen it and "been it" throughout this week - we are all going emotionally stir crazy after over four weeks of COVID 19 life change. "He's driving me crazy." "I'm driving me crazy." "This is driving me crazy." Protecting our physical selves is taking it's toll on our mental and emotional selves. Personally, my chest feels like I've been holding my breath way too long. Similar to the memory of sitting at the bottom of the pool as a little girl, criss-cross applesauce, counting seconds (NOT minutes!) to see how long I could hold my breath. My chest would feel pressure, weight, and compression that resonated through my entire torso. I'd scrunch my face, wince my eyes and keep holding the pressure. Then, BAM, extend my legs, push off the bottom of the four foot "deep...

Anchoring in to the Earth and Nature to #beresilient today. 50 Year Anniversary  Earth Day 2020 Long before COVID-19 invaded Central Texas, the Egyptian Goose did. These "invasive water fowl" are extremely territorial and can now be found on most of our Central Texas lakes. They're a beautiful bird, amazing markings and color, a gorgeous, flowing water "ginger" as my similar-traited son would call them. But they are also the oddest things. Their incessant honking can leave you standing with curiosity trying to figure out where they are "roosted" - and most likely it will be in the most unlikely of places. These web-footed creatures are often found in branches of our trees forty feet off the ground; perched on our dock roof christening it with yesterday's lunch; and even found perched at the apex of our house! Yes, they do seem to take habitat in their new territory and chase off the local feathered friends, but fingers crossed, na...

Anchoring in today to #beresilient with  Space About three years ago I thought I was suffocating. Busy roads. So many people. Confined. I would no longer ride my road bike, so had I lost that particular feeling of freedom. Still had the trails; thankful for that. But for some reason, the walls of life were closing in. I couldn't explain it, and at the time, really didn't understand it. I'm a born and raised Austinite. My parents moved to Lake Austin in the early 1950's and I was born in a very remote location west of Austin in the early 60's. My most "remote" memory growing up was cresting the RR620 hill coming down by St Luke's Church and looking down into the vastness of Lake Travis and the upper hills of Lake Austin surrounding Mansfield Dam. There was one single light in that entire landscape that pierced the darkness for decades. "I wonder whose light that is?" I'd question every time I saw it. Just one. One single ...

Anchoring in today to #beresilient with the word Tempo If there is one thing that drives my husband crazy, it is the pace at which I start my day. Just "one" thing drives your husband crazy, you ask? Well, I'm quite sure not, however, rephrasing that to THE "main thing that drives him crazy" may be most apropos. "Slow down!" "Wait." "Not now." "Can we just have coffee first?!?" Not uncommon phrases to be heard in our house - or even from one of my besties. I'm queen of running then hitting the ground in the mornings. Not sure why I'm wired that way, but I like to get going, get 'er done, start fast and then coast into my evenings. Thus, I'm sure the reason that whenever I sit down, my eyelids slam down - no matter what time of day. But it's the pace at which I live; the life of which I'm wired. Tempo. It's important. It keeps things moving. The earth moves with it, the w...

To #beresilient today, I'm anchoring in the word Mirror The photo is not one, but rather my image on the water this morning. Nature's Mirror, if you will. It's interesting, the silhouette, the reflection, the profile is the same. It doesn't matter if I'm 50 or 20 - it's still the same body, virtually the same shape, the same person. But today when I looked at it, I saw the "other" me. The one that I left behind, quit listening to, gave up on, quite honestly, forgot, after all this time. It's been years since we disconnected. Frankly, I'm not even sure I could tell you when it happened. Perhaps when there were parts of my life that I was ready to leave behind, to grow away from, use as a foundation and never look back. I didn't intentionally leave "me" behind, I just unconsciously separated and off I grew. But did I really grow? Would I have blossomed more if I had brought her along? Spent a bit more time sitting, wonder...

Anchoring in today to #beresilient with the word Why During these current times, that word can easily be used in a self-defeated, protective, reactionary, averting way. "Why me?" "Why now?" "Why this?" As an adult, the "why" word generally is questioning those things that are not within our control. However, today I settled in for a deeper sense of personal exploration, wanting to investigate the decisions I make regarding what is in my control. Not a superficial, reactionary, "why", but one that leans into the true root cause and reason. Why. I chose the photo above because it's me, at the ripe ole' age of about four, sporting my "one and only" swimsuit back then - the black one piece. Mom and Dad never had a lot of disposable income; they worked very hard for all we had growing up. We lived in the country, where other's didn't want to live back then, thus the "remote" house on the sho...

Today I'm anchoring to #beresilient with the word Follow I've run a gazillion miles, trained for a gazillion events and assisted not quite a gazillion friends, family and clients with their running goals. I've done hillpeats, repeats, upbeats and slow beats with structure and strategy - preparing for 5k's, 10k's, half and full marathons, and Ironman events. I can say I've never slept in, pushed snooze or missed a running workout because I "didn't feel like doing it". I was actually scared of the consequences of not doing a particular workout, each one precisely planned to be part of a bigger picture, a bigger goal. My fear of missing a key workout was my motivation to "get 'er done." Year after year after year. Check. I'd run early in the morning, late in the afternoon, mid-day, start 20+ mile runs in the heat of the day, week after week. Each workout, each mile, each step counted. Which is precisely why I am also a s...

To #beresilient, to gain some perspective and peace today, I'm anchoring in Clarity To be more specific, what I'm NOT anchoring in today is anything that creates ambiguity, uncertainty, inconclusiveness, obscurity, or vagueness. I'm asking for CLARITY. And in order to find that, I'm relying on a simple equation of: hope + faith = clarity And I'm also demanding it. Setting my mind that each action, each thought, each declaration will be cloaked in the expectation of transparency. Clarity. As many of my friends and family will attest to, I'm not a "sit around and wait for it" kinda gal. I'm a kick it into action, be in charge of your own destiny chica. It gets me into trouble now and again, as I sometimes shoot then aim. But I'd rather shoot than be shot sitting there holding the gun...said in the symbolism of my born and raised Texas roots ;-) So sitting around and waiting for understanding has been excruciating for the past f...

To #beresilient today, I am anchoring in with the word Dedicate [  verb   ded -i-keyt ]  to devote wholly and earnestly. Commit. Pledge. Give.  I started the practice of dedicating thoughts, energy and actions to specific individuals when I was competing in Ironman full distance events. It's a 140.6 mile day doing three events, and two of those events at, comparatively, what feels like a snail's pace. Swimming 2.4, then ticking along at a decent speed for 112 miles on the bike, but then coming back to transition area sometime during the afternoon to begin a marathon of 26.2 miles. THAT is when the mind starts working, one mile at a time. Finding a tool to help calm the mind, increase presence and center. Dedicate. To get through each of those mental miles, at every Ironman, I'd choose one particular person in my life to focus on, for every mile I ran in each of those marathons. It gave me 26 different people to think about, pray for, concentrat...

Anchoring in today to #beresilient with the word Predictability  Every April. Like clock work the "phenomena" happens. There's 24-48 hours of chaos on our patio. Fluttering. Chirping. Wild Abandonment. Excitement. Awe. Scrambling for position. Jockeying for nectar. The hummingbirds are swarming. They arrive annually in April on their journey back to Central Texas in a swarm. Calculated. Planned. Carefully timed. We know they'll show up. A scout appears and within a week, word is out and they all stop for their annual refueling. We're prepared. Homemade nectar made, feeders hung, sugar shots suspended in expectancy. They're coming. We know they'll be here. Predictability. Time, patterns, seasons - they all continue to roll on. There is a picture much greater than us, and when the world seems to come to an abrupt halt, and time stands still while unpredictability, uncertainty and a side helping of fear set in, they still show up. The stead...

My friend, Sammie - Resilient. Strong. Recalibrating. My word to anchor in today to #beresilient is Recalibrate I have a sweet friend, a third my age, who has taught me a lot this year. I didn’t realize just how much until I saw the following “previously run” story on the Today Show this morning (see it here) . I am quite sure it was not by accident, as I am not a believer in true coincidence.  “So how did you get back into water skiing?” the reporter asked, and from the other room my interest was immediately peaked. I, a water skier since age five and competitive three event and then show skier since sweet 16 - and still an avid lover of the sport, always tune into a good water ski conversation. I walked into the room to check it out and the story got better - the interviewee was “signing”. She was deaf. “I grew up water skiing and loved it," she said. "And when I lost my hearing I thought I’d never go back to it again." But she did. I was ...

I'm officially creating a new word. When used, it has positive mental and emotional effects, even substantiated and documented by science. Well, not "my" word, exactly. But I personally have proof in the puddin' that this word has been the the 12th man for me, today and other days of my life. It all started during my Ironman training days. One bike ride in particular. I was two weeks from tapering from Kona, so on a big hunkin' bike ride to Bflippin'Nowhere that was a "have to". Well, actually it was somewhere on "Small Town Country Rd. USA" near Bertram. This particular ride wasn't any bike ride, it was absolutely a "must do", a "game changer" if not done. One I had to knock out. Training plans. Peaking at the right time. Needing three long bike rides three weeks in a row. Had to much on the line to not do it. Was too far into this thing to back out. But I was stewing in my "poor pitiful me's" an...