Title: Summer Shake Up
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Blog Entry: It's summer. The schedule usually changes. Longer days make us feel we have more time to get things done. It's just a time we can take a breath and relax. Each summer I pledge that I am going to try a new sport of some kind. Even if it's one I played long ago, that still qualifies. But it has to have been a long time -- nothing I've done recently. That's rule one. It is easy for us as athletes to get tunnel vision about our own sport. And that is usually a good thing as that focus helps us train properly, work hard and hit the results we want, while staying in shape and taking care of ourselves. But I know how easy it can be to get complacent. Shaking things up is good for us. It gives us a chance to go through the process of mastery again, which is something I find we rarely do as we get further into our lives. The process of mastering something uses parts of our brains we don't normally tap these days. We feel unsure and then figure out the pieces of the process to succeed! It's a great feeling. It can also help us think out of the box and we can take that into other areas of our lives. So each summer, I ask myself to do that. Two summers ago I tried wake boarding. Getting up on the board was challenging. Keeping my fears in check once I was up and the boat began to accelerate was the hardest part! But I did it. And it wasn't long before I was able to take a nice spin around the lake cruising on the wake board. Last summer it was Frisbee golf. I had always loved Frisbee, and now I had a chance to hone the skill of accuracy with each throw. It was a gas! I really enjoyed it! Now I have something I can do on a warm summer night that is active, relaxing, athletic and fun. This summer I think I am going to race a criterium, a a bike road race that is usually several laps around a closed, usually circular, course. I have been biking for years and did a few crits when I first started. But that was nearly a decade ago, and I have spent most of my ride time training for the duathlon. I am at bike races nearly every weekend in the summer, as my boyfriend, Chad, is a crit rider. So if I am already there, why not sign up? It will be a challenge but it will be good for me. So think about it. Even if it's something you did many years ago, like tennis or ping pong or skateboarding, give it a shot. Pledge to try something that is different from your day to day sports training, to push the envelope, explore a new frontier, or to break new ground. Who knows? You may stumble upon something new that you are really good at and it can change your life. As Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss every shot you don't take." So why not take a shot?
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