My Do-Not-Do-List... for 2010

About a week ago I got this RSS feed via email... and then, a couple of days later, I got this one too. I like Danielle LaPorte's ideas, writing and the energy that they seem to generate... If that sort of thing is your cup of tea (and even if it may not be...) her website, White Hot Truth, is worth a visit. I sure am glad I found it!

Her first blog post kind of got me thinking. She posted these following questions:

1) What are you deeply passionate about?
2) What are you are genetically encoded for — what activities do you feel just "made to do"?
3) What makes economic sense — what can you make a living at?

Hmmm... kind of makes you think, right? Ideally, you should answer these questions with a yes in relation to your work. But how many people do you know who can do that? I am lucky enough to answer all these questions with a big yes and also surround myself with plenty of people who can do that same, something that makes me very grateful. If there is one thing I can't stand, is people who dislike their line of work, place of work, etc... If you don't like what you are doing - Change it & stop complaining! I realize it is not an easy thing to do, but it can be done with passion, creativity and hard work. It's a process, and it is worth it.

Another thing that caught my attention was the Do-Not-Do-List. It was an interesting change from the traditional To-Do-List, which is pretty easy to create, and always seem to go a mile long and then multiply. Or maybe it's just me?! :)

So, without further adieu, here is my Do-Not-Do-List for 2010 (with some suggestions from that 2nd blog post)!

1. I will stop checking my emails every 5 seconds. I know. Can you imagine me without checking my blackberry every 5 seconds?! Hard to do... I only checked my emails a couple of time a day when I was in Nanaimo over Christmas and the email gods didn't punish me for neglecting them... so it's all good. It won't be easy, and I will likely go through a withdrawal period, but I'm sure I will make it!
2. I will stop trying to do things I do not know how to do properly. And by that, I mainly mean I will get my websites professionally done asap. I have tried fiddling with things on my own and the results have been basic at best and disastrous and extremely frustrating at worst. I will continue doing what I am good at, and let web designers do what they are good at. As far as I'm concerned, it is a win-win situation.
3. I will stop leaving twitter/facebook/email open while working. So much time can be wasted browsing facebook and twitter... Its sad how addictive these sites can get!
4. I will stop doing excessive amounts of free work. This one comes with some sort of a disclaimer - I volunteer my time and knowledge to help several athletes. I enjoy doing that, and that will not change. However, I can not do that all the time, for everyone... I need to eat too, right? The problem is: I LOVE what I do and it just doesn't seem like work, so I find it hard to invoice people for my time and knowledge. Silly, right? Well, it stops now. Although I will be the first to admit I still have a lot to learn (who doesn't have a lot to learn?!), I am good at what I do and should get paid for doing it.
5. I will stop traveling with a knapsack. I actually managed to bruise my shoulder pretty badly carrying a 20kg knapsack around Paris and Oslo this year... Never again! I think it is time to buy myself a real suitcase... One of those with a handle and wheels. Yap, the grown up kind ;-)
6. I will stop putting others needs ahead of mine. This one kind of relates to #4, but goes deeper than getting paid... I do have the tendency to try and help those around me before I help myself... For example - replying to a million emails right away instead of going for a run. I mean, what will happen if I reply to an email a few hours later?! Nothing. If anything, I will be more productive after a great run! Also, it will ease the stress... which again - will increase productivity so I can help more athletes. I like this one :)

I think that is about it for my Do-Not-Do-List. I could share my To-Do-List, but since it is pretty long, I bet everyone who actually made it this far reading this blog post would fall asleep. I have several FUN projects on the go, and I will share them all as they materialize. Please feel free to share your Do-Not-Do-List for 2010!

Happy New Year!!

Noa

PS. Here are a couple of pics from Nanaimo!

Some recipes as posted on my other blog...

I figured it might be a good idea for me to link my two blogs in some way... so below are the recipes I posted on my other blog thus far.

Fruit & nut bites
Beets & oranges salad
Breakfast quinoa #1
Breakfast quinoa #2
Butternut squash & roasted red pepper soup
Zucchini & kale soup
Home made muesli

There are many more to come to visit Fueling Endurance Performance every now and then :)

Noa

I can't really think of a fitting title!

I was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) ~5 years ago. I haven't had a relapse for around 9 months, until several weeks ago. It took me until today to realize what was going on, but induced by some stress, I have experienced some of those all too familiar symptoms... Not a lot of fun, a little disturbing, but in the end - I am OK with it. Over the years, I managed to come up with my own way of dealing with relapses so they don't last for very long before I am back to my usual self.

The diagnosis was made in January 2005. Prior to that, I was waiting for an appointment with an endocrinologist for about 1 month (they got me in FAST), and that was after far too many visits to the doctor's office for countless blood tests and urine samples. My cortisol levels were off the charts and my doctor (who was a very accomplished sports doctor) said he had never seen anything like that before. Hmmmm.... not a good sign.

At that point, I wasn't training at all anymore: my doctor made me stop so I didn't cause further damage and my days were filled with sleeping for ~16 hours/day anyways... Kind of backwards, eh? I could have slept for longer as I was always extremely tired and in pain, but couldn't afford to take the time off work. Thank goodness it was summer (I lived in New Zealand back then!) and I was on break from school until late Feb.

CFS is also known as Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), which is a more fitting name in my opinion as it means nervous system inflammation involving muscle pain. Whatever you want to call it, it wasn't fun at all, and I had symptoms for well over 12 months before the diagnosis and then for over a year afterward... For more information, you can go to Canadian CFS/ME site.

I recovered with the help of some very light exercise (I had to lie down after 30 very easy minutes on the trainer. Kind of depressing because I used to train for 25+ hours/week and race at a high level...), proper nutrition and some therapy. I can say I am at about 85%-90% of where I was before CFS/ME and these are actually considered really good odds!!

My story goes well beyond the above info, into some of the reasons why I ended up with CFS/ME (eating disturbances, training with chronic cold/flu and some over-training), but I will not get into all of that as It does not make a very exciting read. A sad read perhaps, but not an entertaining one.

I would like for CFS or ME awareness to increase. Most people don't understand what it is and how people's lives are affected. In addition, I am sure I am not the only athlete who's athletic career ended because of CFS/ME (in my case, before it really started - I was only 23 when I was diagnosed). If you know anyone, especially athletes, who suffer from CFS/ME please leave a comment. I would like to connect with others who have experienced something similar.

Strength & technique training camp

I have teamed up with elite runner (former Canadian 10km champion) and physiotherapist Scott Simpson to deliver a running specific training camp designed to help runners and triathletes of all ability levels and age groups.

Dates: January 15th – 17th 2010

Location: Victoria, BC

Camp Focus: Injury prevention, core stability, Strength, Endurance, technique and efficiency

Camp Features: Personal video analysis (including CD and Dartfish analysis), 4 coached running sessions, 1 strength & conditioning session, 3 education workshops and more!

Coaches: Noa Deutsch & Scott Simpson

Cost: $220 by December 2oth

$250 after December 20th

Space is limited! Contact me for more information and/or download the information poster.

Today at Cedar Hill... in pictures

The boys are getting the work done. I met Kamal, Derek, Nick and Leif for a run session at the Cedar Hill recreation centre this afternoon and had them run a timed lap around the golf course, just to see where they are at right now. It's not the easiest lap to run, to say the least, but they are all right on track.

Then they did some hill reps... I wanted to see what happens to their form when they are tired. I am pretty sure they did not like me all that much by the end of the session, but I will take that as a compliment :)