Weight Loss Blogs- Major inspiration!

I know these blogs might seem off-subject in some ways, since I'm not specifically trying to lose weight, but I found myself in awe of some of these individuals, for their openness, their perseverance, patience, and levity. What these folks are achieving is a boost to my morale and I count them among my virtual circle of inspiring peers. I love reading their stories and blogs. If they can create change in their lives with little outside help- to change their lifestyles so dramatically- so can I. I can become the athlete I need to be to do this race. And let me just go ahead and give myself permission to admit it and say it out loud:

I can become the elite athlete I WANT to become.

There. It gives me butterflies to read that sentence. After all, aren't you past the athletic curve? With no history of being athletic? I don't care. It's the dream that fires me up right now. Not terribly intellectual, the snob in my head sniffs. It doesn't benefit others, the Puritan in me scolds. Sure it is. Yes it does. Go to hell, little voices!

Shall I be the good girl, who stays in her quiet role? After years of childbearing and nursing, my body wants to fly! Why not let it? Who knows where that might lead: opportunities to inspire others or even directly help others. I don't have to see where this will take me to know that it's a good path to travel down right now.

So check out some of these blogs, where good tips on eating and exercise accompany amazing life stories (this is how I learned about the 100 Push Ups Challenge I'm doing).

http://fitmindbodyspirit.blogspot.com/
http://solongfatass.com/
http://amerrylife.com/
http://enduranceisntonlyphysical.blogspot.com/
http://www.35andshrinking.com/
100 Pounds in a Year
http://www.344pounds.com/about/
http://www.andrewisgettingfit.com/
Andrew's Blog
http://www.geekgirlrunner.com/
http://mamawantsasixpack.wordpress.com/
weight loss mama
http://didijusteatthatoutloud.blogspot.com/
http://www.yourinnerskinny.ca/

Here Gear, Gear, Gear!

My kingdom for a used whitewater paddle!

I have this sweet little boat, and nobody- and I mean NOBODY will part with a paddle. I guess people fork out good money for one and can use it on any boat, so they don't replace them. Or they break. Bummer.

I have my PDF and spray skirt finally. Both are made for women, so there's room for The Girls in the life vest and the spray skirt sits just under them too. I got them both from Outdoor Divas for 50% off because, sadly, they won't be carrying paddling equipment any more. Not enough demand. Same with REI. No whitewater stuff even at their enormous, we-have-everything-under-the-sun flagship store in Denver. I was shocked.

Fortunately, there's a local place called Confluence Kayaks where they'll outfit my Crossfire with the padding and seat it needs, check out my inflatables,  and fill in the gaps- they have helmets, paddles, wet wear, odds and ends. They know I don't want to spend much, so hopefully we can keep this low.

Confluence also offers classes. I plan on taking a class on paddling technique and another on rolling first thing. I can even rent gear to see what I like before buying something. The evening classes are in a pool, which is nice, but they're Tuesday nights, which is not so great since I have tai chi 5-7. They have all-day clinics coming up too on a reservoir. I'm not sure which I'll do.

I'll post a gear list once I have everything in place, and my scheduled classes too. I'm going to try to rustle up a paddle from a guiding company ($40-60?) before forking out cash for a new one through Confluence ($110-ish). I hope to keep gear down to less than $300. Ideally that would include the boat.