Pushing your body past what you thought it was capable of is easy; the hard part is pushing yourself even further … past what your mind wants to let you. That’s what ultrarunning is all about; introducing you to a self you’ve never known. -Rex Pace Ride the wave. Breathe, Susie. Keeping riding. Just breathe. …
The mind, when housed within a healthful body, possesses a glorious sense of power. -Joseph Pilates Most people think of your core as just your superficial abs (rectus abdominis) or the traditional six-pack abs. But true core work covers muscles surrounding your pelvis, rib cage, shoulder girdle as well as those that follow the length of …
For the past 30 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘no’ for too many days in a row, I know I need …
For nine months I thought about a single sign. Almost every time I ran or trained from November until June 29th, I visualized it. But the more I pictured it, the more questions arose. What would it be made of? What direction would it face? Would it be covered in snow? What would the path …
“Don’t work towards freedom, but allow the work itself to be freedom.” -Dogen Roshi February and March were tough months. They weren’t life-threatening or anything major–I’m aware conditions could be much, much worse. But being sick for three weeks (and not really knowing what I had) was a big enough jolt to my current paradigm. …
The Challenge: Build up to a 5:00 min. plank hold (forearm or straight-arm). The Method: -Use these dynamic plank variations to help improve your core strength and pelvic stability while preventing boredom of simply holding plank. Practice these variations 2-3 times per week. Perform as few repetitions of each exercise as you need to in …
“Without inspiration the best power of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel within us that needs to be ignited with sparks.” -Johan Gottfried Van Herder This week I was ignited with sparks from the “Spark Seeker” himself, Matisyahu. Not only did he create my personal theme song of 2012 (Live Like a Warrior), …
This video is 3:27. If you have 3:27, you have a smoothie. I challenge you…can you make this smoothie in the length of time it takes to watch the video? One Susie Smoothie Serving 3 bananas (ripe!–brown & spotted) If the bananas aren’t truly ripe the recipe will be too bitter/chalky. 1/2 cup(ish) frozen or …
Incline Treadmill Workout: –Warm-up 10:00 minutes or 1 mile at a slower than your normal pace. -Keep as much of that slower pace as you are able while you test out each “automatic” incline on the treadmill. My treadmill organizes them in increments of three. So, if you don’t have auto buttons on your treadmill, …
Today as fall started to turn into winter, I felt myself once again getting itchy–itchy for a new challenge, for something that will help me remember why I’m here and what it’s all about. This isn’t your typical, “Hey, Susie! Stay busy!” itch, that I’ve begun to recognize as the internal unhelpful monkey on my …
I am in a season of change. On a short run through Ault Park today, the red leaves on the trees reminded me of what is so obviously in front of my face. I’m going from a season of pushing my limits into letting go–from green to red, from go to stop. After an injury-free, …
With a week to go until I toe the line in Madison, Wisconsin and run 50 miles through beautiful Kettle Moraine State Park, I am a person divided–one part thankful, and one part doubtful. It is a phase in my training that has always occurred. Just before my race, I find myself completely in awe …
By Susie Crossland-Dwyer Almost exactly two years ago I had a cycling accident. Thursday evenings had become a routine to ride with a local group out of Element Cycles. I was helping lead a couple of new riders down one of Cincinnati’s biggest hills, Miami Road, when a car ran a stop sign and pulled …
We would like to introduce you to Nancy Spence, Ph.D., author of Life Medicine: Wisdom for Extraordinary Living and creator/ facilitator of the ikigai workshop, “What Should I Do with My Life?” A great majority of our insight, and any wisdom we may have, comes from having this woman in our lives. We invited her to …
Recently, I read one of my favorite books of all time, Robin Harvie’s, The Lure of Long Distances: Why We Run. For several years, since taking over 15 hours to complete my last major race (IRONMAN Louisville), I’ve been struggling to put language to the way I feel about long-distance running and endurance sport. This …