All this funtime had me thinking about play. As children grow, they learn through their play. They go through a spell and then stop playing…I think they think they’ve figured life out. Then they go through a spell of learning skills. This is where many decide that learning is work and no longer play, whereas others continue to play whether it is school, work, or chores. When you read about successful business people or adventurous seniors, it strikes me that they have always played.

Let`s face it. Playing is fun, so is learning new skills and taking on new challenges. It seems to me to be a matter of perspective. If you approach work and challenges as fun, it becomes play. A lot of people ask me how I don`t get too tired from training for triathlon or how I get out and put the miles in. I approach it as fun. Last year, I had some serious work to do in order to prepare for Ironman, but overall the challenge was one that I was excited about. Within the overall goal of completing Ironman, I had minigoals of how I might accomplish the week’s workouts, or I threw in other subgoals such as challenging myself to swim 200 m butterfly. This was no easy goal. I actually gave myself several years to accomplish this, but attempted sooner and succeeded. This year, I decided for fun, I would race in a running race series and then later in the season a triathlon series. I have never joined a triathlon series, so I thought that might be fun to track my progress over the season. Last year, I didn’t have time to do the fun shorter races. This year I do and I don’t want any pressure on these races, so I am taking a more curious perspective. I plan to collect some heart rate data and see what happens. 

I started thinking more about play through reading new materials for work. I am doing some different projects this year, so I wanted to read up on different approaches on helping people. The recommendation was to be more playful and curious in learning about people`s experiences and responses.

So again, it looks like another year of play. From what I understand about living life to the fullest, it sounds like a requirement. And I`m looking forward to it.

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works with individuals, couples and families in the Cowichan Valley including Lake Cowichan, Chemainus, Duncan, Ladysmith, Shawnigan Lake, Cobble Hill, Maple Bay, and Mill Bay. Belinda is also providing services for group facilitation.If you would like to make an appointment with Belinda or ask about group facilitation requirements, please contact her at 250-710-9972.

My second race this season was not so dramatic, but overall I did improve. My bike and run times were a little slower than six years ago but I improved on my race with a much faster swim. I took 3 minutes off of a 17 minute swim which is considered fairly significant. This race is a 1 km swim, 34 km bike ride and a 9 km run which took 2 hours 15 minutes.

Many people I talk to would insist that aging is a factor in racing speed. I agree if a person has already reached their physiological potential, however most people I talk to have not reached their potential. And for those who think they have, they merely need to change up their training plan and will see improvements based if their training plans are appropriate for their goals.

My experience with improving my exercise goals is directly relevant to achieving all sorts of life goals that are not necessarily related to exercise. While it may be difficult to do what you once were able to do years earlier, there will be activities, projects or goals that will be more easily achieved because of your new insights, knowledge, dedication, or confidence and if you are not reaching your goals it is time to change up the training plan or in the case of other projects, your action plan.

IMC (Ironman Canada) is now less than 8 weeks away and one thing I can be sure of is that as long as I complete the race I will achieve a personal best. That is always my favorite part about a first race. I have even gotten excited that in my training, I have put more miles on my bike than ever and swum more kilometres than I had ever imagined myself capable of doing. I have hobbled through some long hot dry runs and even managed to keep going on days that in the past I would have called it quits. I definitely feel a little tougher for having started this campaign.

Every day closer to the race, I get a little more excited knowing that I can stand at the start line and be ready to compete with 2000 other people in the water. I saw a quote about 6 months ago and it felt true at the time and continues to resonate with me.

“Set a goal to achieve something that is so big, so exhilarating that it excites you and scares you at the same time. It must be a goal that is so appealing, so much in line with your spiritual core, that you can`t get it out of your mind. If you do not get chills when you set a goal, you`re not setting big enough goals.“

-Bob Proctor.

I would like to know what goal I could possibly set after this one that would still be capable of scaring me.

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who works with couples, families and individuals in the Cowichan Valley who are struggling with their current situations and with those who are looking to Create the Life they Want! If she is not in her office, you can probably find her riding her white Kuota somewhere between Shawnigan Lake and Youbou or swimming in one of the many beautiful lakes here on the island. To get back to her main website, please click on the link. www.belindakissack.com

Over the Victoria Day long weekend, I went to Penticton to survey and ride the Ironman Course. The bike course is 180 km. The route takes you from  Penticton, to Okanagon Falls, to Oliver, Osoyoos, up Richter Pass, across the rollers to Keremeos and then up a steep climb to Yellow Lake before the final descent into Penticton.

I managed to complete my ride and felt so good afterward that I was able to go for a short run. That`s right. I`m running again. I am still taking several walking breaks, but at least now I am running more than walking. Back to the bike. We had absolutely gorgeous weather. My riding partner suffered two flat tires, which took exactly 9 minutes to change each one. But whose counting. We met up with the support vehicle and driver in three predesignated places. I was so grateful to see her each time.

The ride into Osoyoos, was pleasant and it seemed to go quickly. I believe it was mostly downhill. The next part was the climb up Richter Pass. I was very happy with my training as I wasn`t sure we had actually reached the top when we did. When we reached the top of Richter Pass we were rewarded with a beautiful view of a snow-covered mountain in the distance. I won`t forget that in a hurry. Coming down Richter, should have been an easy free ride down the hill, but i found my hands were getting cramped from clutching the brakes the entire time. It turns out I wasn`t supposed to be braking that whole time, I was supposed to be coasting or rather tucking aggressively into an aerodynamic position to get as much free speed as possible. (…Maybe next year). Then we approached the rollers. There are supposedly 7, I counted 9. Again, I felt strong on the uphill, somewhat terrified on the downhill. To improve, I would like to get back there to practice that section again before race day.

The most notable part of the trip was the out and back stretch along cowfields at about 110 km into the ride. As we gazed into the fields and imagined eating steaks and burgers we were surprised when we rounded the corner. On the way back, we saw a black sea across the road. It was a herd of cattle (50 – 100 cows) walking along the road. Kind of reminded me of `The Secret“. We imagined the beef, believed in the beef, and the beef walked right up to us. My partner hesitated and asked me if I thought it was safe to continue. I asked if any of these animals had horns. A person who seemed to be unrelated to the cattles suggested that we would be okay if we stayed to the side of the road. So we slowly inched along the road until all of the cattle had moved past us. Only then did I think to take a picture using my cell phone. It was a great diversion when the ride was starting to get a bit monotonous.

From there we began our climb upto Yellow Lake and onto Twin Lakes. Again I felt strong and encouraged and felt quite prepared from my training. Then we began our descent into Penticton. I have done this section before and I was no better this time. I was terrified and again had hand cramps from braking so much. In this section, there was a lot of traffic and no shoulder to ride on. However, I survived the ride and as I mentioned earlier felt strong enough to go for a little run afterward.

The next day included a run along the marathon route. I find with the early sunshine these days, I have an easier time getting up early in the morning. So I started my run about an hour before others had gotten there. When I say others, I mean the other hundreds of riders that come to Penticton every year for the May long weekend. It felt like Ironman Week itself. There were several training camps, and riders either attempting the course or preparing for their races in August. I met several people along the route and look forward to meeting with them in June at the 1/2 Iron Race in Victoria. When I started back on the marathon course, I could see the other runners who had started probably an hour after I did heading toward the hills. I felt like I was in a race and they were all behind me. I had the biggest grin on my face. Also, I had completed the hilliest part of the course, the wind was at my back and I had the best tunes on my MP3 player. I suddenly realized “I am going to complete this race in August!”. A friend of mine drove by and stopped to say that I was looking really strong. I agreed and felt terrific. Minutes later when the group of runners had gone by, the spectators were gone and some quieter songs came on I began to feel very tired. As I headed back up the hill into town I took a walk break and began shaking my head and saying to myself I am not ready, I definitely need to run more. Just then I saw a Grandma at the gate who said to her little granddaughter, look here comes a runner. I didn`t feel much like a runner at that point. But I smiled and waved hello anyway and appreciated the enthusiasm they had that I couldn`t muster at that point. Soon I crested the hill and knew that my run was nearly over. All I had to do was find the place I was staying. Well my 4 km cooldown became 6 km and I met several other friendly Penticton folk who were happy to give me directions. I just needed to get a bit better at listening to the directions. Anyway, I survived and made it back to the rental in time for a swim shortly after.

The rest of the weekend included more bike rides, meeting more people, and now helping others find their way through the Ironman route and the streets of Penticton.

Now I`m back training in the Cowichan Valley and enjoying every minute of sunshine. No doubt I`ll have much more to blog about in the coming weeks. 

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified Canadian Counsellor who works with Individuals, Couples and Families in the Cowichan Valley. You can follow her link to get back to her website www.belindakissack.com.

After a year and a half of old office furniture, I decided to redecorate my office and add some comfortable chairs. After all, if I’m going to be spending a lot of hours at the office, I want it to be comfortable. So I spent some time building furniture, moving furniture, taken apart old furniture, asking neighbours to help out where necessary and the price was right. I love great deals, so I knew it was time to update when the furniture came on sale during spring break.

Now the running part. I have a hard time writing when I’m not doing what I’m used to doing. Like I said earlier. I write when I think, I think when I run. About six weeks ago I attended a brilliant Hypnotherapy conference, but unfortunately was not wearing my practical shoes. Two days into the conference, my heels became very tired. I continued to run for several days afterward, but the soreness was not going away, which meant it was time to take a break from running. After several visits with the massage therapist, chiropractor, acupuncture, physiotherapist and finally family doctor for xrays, I found that the pain was somewhat reduced but not completely eliminated. I found several treatments helpful, heat, ice, salt baths, steam rooms, stretches, and strengthening exercises so I have tried to incorporate those into my daily routine as much as possible.

After several weeks of water running, biking and swimming, I have been given the green light to start running again. After several days of power walks, I tested out the running feet. It was 1 minute of walking to 1 minute of running, which is very difficult for me to take right now, but it is better than no running at all. The process has been very difficult for me especially because I signed up for the challenge of Ironman Canada. I find I am continuously reviewing and rewriting my training plan and I have come up with a plan I can live with for now. I am reassured that there is a lot of time between now and the race, so I should be able to continue with my plans. So….that means back to blogging, because when I run, I think, when I think, I write.

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Certified Canadian Counsellor working in the Cowichan Valley. She works with individuals, couples, and families. When she is not in her office, she can be found in the local pool, riding her magtrainer (indoor bike – too rainy to go out right now), and well mostly the pool (that’s where water running takes place).

If you would like to discuss counselling opportunities with Belinda, please call her at 250-710-9972 or email her at kissack@shaw.ca. Her web address is www.belindakissack.com.

So back in December, I was surprised by my own experience with Karma and Inspiration. I woke up one morning, thought about my day and remembered that I was invited to a retirement celebration for a previous coworker of mine from ten years ago. While I was eating my breakfast, I looked at my inspirational quote for the day that I receive on-line and came across this one.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”

-William Arthur Ward

After reading the quote, I decided to say a few words at the retirement. I know there were other workers who had more stories and could have said many other great things, but I decided that day, that I wouldn`t keep my gratitude a secret. During my presentation, my knees shook with nerves more than usual, but I persevered. So it seemed very ‘Karmic’ a couple of days later when I was presented with an award by the running club I belong to for “most inspirational”.

I was shocked and at the same time extremely honoured to receive such an award. I noticed a lot of other names on the list that had received the award before me and I couldn’t believe that I belonged there with all of the others who I believe are inspirational. Admittedly, I love to read inspiring stories, I look for inspiration in all that I do, and find inspirational stories in the various people that I meet.  

One day I was running 3 – 3 km laps around a neighbourhood with the running group. I had stopped for a quick bathroom break so fell behind the group by a few minutes. While I was running my second lap, there was a lovely lady standing in the middle of the road. She offered me roses that she had cut from her own garden.  I thought what a beautiful gesture, I wasn’t sure at first if I should take the roses because I didn’t know if they would get broken, but then decided that it was too nice a gesture to give up. So she put one of the roses in one hand, and handed me another… to give to my children. I thanked her and carried on running with a beautiful rose in each hand. A few hundred meters up the road, there was a lady being pushed in a wheelchair by her husband.  As I approached the couple, the lady’s eyes widened in amusement. I slowed down and offered her one of the roses. She thanked me very much for the rose. At the end of that lap, I offered the other rose to my running coach. On the final lap, the original lady with the roses was gone, but I saw the lady who I had given the rose to and who had been in the wheel chair, only now she was walking. She told me the rose I had given her, had inspired her to get up out of the wheel chair and walk. I assume she had been recovering from an injury and did not experience a miracle. None the less, she was motivated to work a little harder that day than any other.

Is inspiration karmic or contagious? I don’t know, but it feels good both giving and receiving.

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor in Duncan, BC who works with individuals, couples and groups. Belinda enjoys working with clients who are making healthy changes in their lives, from people looking to raise their self-esteem, improve their confidence, see themselves differently, and improve basic communication and problem solving skills. When she is not in her office she can be found riding and running in the Cowichan Valley or enjoying the brand new Cowichan Aquatic Centre.

To book an appointment with Belinda, please call 250-710-9972 or e-mail her at kissack@shaw.ca.

The link back to her website is www.belindakissack.com.

My plan called for a short run today, but when I saw that the substantial amount of snow that we had received over the last three weeks was finally disappearing, and the sun was happily shining, I decided to go for a long run. Boy, had I missed my long runs. My runs are called picnic runs. On my picnic runs, I bring my favorite gatorade and protein bar, run for nine minutes and walk for one until I`ved reached my desired distance soaking up the scenary along the way.

While I was out running, my mind drifted, which it often does while I am out picnic running or riding. While out, my thoughts led me to recall that over the last six months on three different occasions I decided that I needed a plan.

The first occasion that I realized I needed a plan was during my Marathon in October when my original plan of running fairly quickly began to fall apart at 29 km of 42 km. As I became more and more fatigued and fought the desire to quit, or walk more, I realized in the moment that I needed to change my plan to something that I could live with and feel good about. I think my decision at the time was to slow my pace a bit and take slightly longer walk breaks but not give in to walking more frequently. There have been times June 2004 (1/2 Ironman Race) when I began running for one minute and walking for one minute because that was all I could manage. Once I started my new plan, I once again felt confident that I could tackle this feat.

The second time in the last six months where I found solace in having a plan was while out running on a mountain I am somewhat familiar with. It is a very small mountain but there is one section that confuses me everytime I get to it. I was amazed that for a few minutes I felt completely lost, my pace slowed and I was nearly paralyzed. I realized that the fear of being lost was the most crippling sensation. I thought to myself. “I need a plan.”. I decided I would follow the trail in one direction for several minutes and if I didn’t find relief I would re-evaluate the plan at that point. Well, as soon as I had a plan, I was able to pick up my pace again. At the time I thought, “Boy it really helps having a plan, I have gone from paralysis to problem solving…to finding my way again.” I was happy that the plan worked. Without the plan, I may have wandered around in a state of panic and not remembered which way to go. Having the plan, helped me keep my focus and ability to navigate the woods.

The third time I heard myself think, “I need a plan” was during Ironman training in the last month. I had a vague plan all along since August when I signed up for the race. My original plan was to train hard for the fall, take training down a notch during December when the weather is less than desirable and we are busy with holiday socializing, then ramping up the training again in January. When I got to January though, I realized I wasn’t clear about what “ramping it up” would look like. I have lots of training plans in my head from reading about Ironman training, watching my husband train for 6 ironman races, and racing 1/2 iron races myself, so the information is there, but I quickly realized that with heavy training comes a sense of confusion. It is easy to say, “Well I trained hard yesterday so I’ll take it easy today, and there are other days when I tell myself I am hardly training when in fact I will have been to the gym, for a bike ride and a run. It is easy to lose perspective. There are also difficulties with intensities. “Should I go hard or easy today”. “I feel tired”. Is it from overtraining, lack of training, poor nutrition or lack of sleep? There are lots of questions and some would suggest a coach for this analysis. What I did was found an Ironman Training plan. So far, the training is much easier than one I would have built for myself, but I have found comfort in referring to a plan. When I am tired, I just look at the plan for the day and take it from there. It doesn’t ask me if I’m tired, or let me give it excuses. It provides guidelines to collect hard data (resting heart rate, heart rate drift etc), to determine if I am overtraining. It takes out the guessing and over analyzing – which I have been known to do on occasion. So for now, I have a new plan for the next 32 weeks, which I plan to follow until I decide it’s time for a new plan which I will determine if I find I am not getting the results I expect to be getting with the plan.

I often use triathlon as a metaphor for life. I know that training with a plan is very useful and effective and also know from experience and with working with clients, that having a life plan is also extremely effective. Sometimes it is necessary to revamp the plan, re-examine goals and make sure that the plan you are following helps you get what you want in your own life! I will leave that for now, perhaps I will write more about life planning another time. 

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and Canadian Certified Counsellor who offers counselling to couples and individuals in the Cowichan Valley and beyond and loves the sport of triathlon. She can be reached at 250-710-9972 and her office is located at 331 St. Jubilee Street, Duncan BC.

www.belindakissack.com kissack@shaw.ca

What I am absolutely fascinated with is the transition from summer to winter through that season called fall. While I have been out riding and running I have particularly noticed the leaves fall. I am sure that everyone has heard that to catch a falling leaf is lucky. I often wonder about these falling leaves and think about them as a metaphor for opportunities. 

Imagine that leaves represent opportunities. Leaves are more abundant at certain times of the year, as are opportunities. Now imagine that you were walking in the fall and see all of the leaves falling from the trees and landing on the ground. They may represent opportunities all around you. If you are not paying attention to them, they go unnoticed and pass you by. Now imagine you are alert to the many leaves or opportunities that come your way, you are much more likely to catch one spontaneously. Also, imagine that none of the leaves are coming your way and you are having a hard time grasping one. It sometimes seems the harder you try, the more difficult it becomes to catch one of these leaves. I have tried this while running once. I looked absolutely ridiculous, trying with all of my might, my arms extended, bringing them together, and still missing the leaf. Perhaps the timing or placement wasn`t quite right which the same can be said for opportunities. Another time I went running and a leaf hit me and I managed to catch it without trying. I suppose that is luck.

Does a leaf need to fall from the tree and be caught before it hits the ground to be considered lucky. Occasionally, a truck will drive by and if it is a dry day, the leaves will lift back and present themselves as new falling leaves. This is equivalent to an old opportunity or idea that reappears like a new one.  Would it be any less lucky to catch one of those leaves or less beneficial to take advantage of an old opportunity? Let’s consider this leaf metaphor further, would there be anything wrong with bending over and picking up a leaf that no one else has caught? Perhaps that could be related to accepting opportunities that appear to below you or perhaps you are the only one that sees the advantage of a recycled opportunity. Like leaves, opportunities are what you make of them. What do falling leaves mean to you?

Belinda Kissack is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and a Canadian Certified Counsellor who works in the Cowichan Valley who coaches and counsels individuals and couples on a variety of topics including  Self-Esteem, Confidence, Relationships, Self-Care, Stress Management, Conflict Resolution. Please call her at 250-710-9972 to book a free consultation.

Do you ever wonder what to do when people give you negative feedback? A hypnotherapy technique I use is called transmutation. That involves taking negative feedback and instead of merely letting it bounce off of you, you take the energy from the feedback and change it into a way that energizes you instead. When I first announced that I was planning to tackle this challenge a few people who are close to me said “You can`t do that!“ I wondered if it was because I was attempting to take on a role that I ordinarily wouldn`t take on or whether they believed that I had physical limitations, or dare I say it, that I might possibly be too old. They may be right for all I know, but I decided I wouldn`t let them be the ones to make my decision whether or not to attempt the challenge. We`ll know in about 11 months and 3 weeks who was right. Back to transmutation. Whenever I met with unhelpful responses, I listened to the concerns, and made them positive. I agreed, I that I hadn’t done this race before, I don’t know how my body will respond to the training or the race itself, but neither did many other people who managed this feat before they did it.  In fact, I have much more training, experience, and awareness of the race than many other people had before they signed up. So, I take the negative comments, educate myself more about what I need to learn, I look for ways to find evidence that contradicts what they have said, and then to myself, I thank them for their concern and the energy they have expended on my challenge and use that energy to fuel myself and make myself a better racer. Now I didn’t get to mention all of the positive responses I have received since signing up for Ironman. There have been plenty and I am thankful that there are so many positive people who support other people tackling challenges.

What sort of challenges have you taken on and have you been discouraged by people in your social network? What do you do to follow through with your dreams?

Belinda Kissack M.A. is a registered clinical counsellor and a clinical hypnotherapist who works with individuals, couples and families. When she is away from the office you can often spot her running (or walking as the distances are getting longer),  cycling (or stretching…ditto) or swimming in the local lakes in and around the Cowichan Valley.

Belinda Kissack M.A. is a Registered Clinical Counsellor and offers counselling to individuals and couples in Duncan, British Columbia. When she is away from the office, she can be found riding the country roads of the Cowichan Valley, contemplating her next physical challenge.

Later that same day, I also put some more thought into what attracts me to the races. Then I met up with some of the people I know around town who set themselves challenges that they never thought they could accomplish: Swimming in a race, being in the open water, wearing a tight swimsuit or racing suit in public, getting on a bike, then running. At triathlon races there is a great diversity of people with life stories about changes and challenges, people who have made major life changes, lost weight, stopped drinking, stopped smoking, found new meaning, and those who are battling physical disabilities or degenerative diseases. I am also inspired and challenged by our notions of aging. While I was racing the Cowichan Challenge I thought about our local celebrity (70+) who competes in this race nearly every year. I thought about her as I was climbing the hills of the run and passing over the stepping stones worrying about my footing and wondered what it was like for her.

The athletes would be enough inspiration for one day, but then there are the volunteers and spectators. The people who selflessly give of themselves to ensure that races go on, keep racers safe, fed and watered. They plan for months, set up the course long before the racers show up, and take it down after the racers have left. There are the spectators who stand there clapping and cheering and sometimes running alongside competitors to capture great photos; family members who are smiling from ear to ear with pride when they watch their loved ones take those enormous steps.

I am glad I was asked the question about what it was about triathlon races that I love. I now know why triathlon has become such a large part of my life.