Welcome To The Community

Together, we’ll dive deep and find the strength to never give up because Great Things Take Time.

Today’s topic is an interesting one…but maybe don’t read it before a meal… But if you’re thinking of eating and then working out, DEFINITELY read this.

Curious? Scared? It’s a mix of entertainment with reminders (but really, you’ve heard worse)

If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe and join the Great Things Take Time Community to get content from me every Wednesday.

Here's what's in today's email

• Sh*t Happens

• Moments with Maurice

• What's Got Me Smilin'

Sh*t Happens

The most wonderful time of the year is almost here… no, I’m not talking about Christmas (99 days!). Although Francis is very excited to be coming back around, keep an eye out for him… ;)

In my opinion, the most wonderful time of the year is NYC Marathon time. I’ve talked about it before, but if you aren’t familiar, I want to give you a quick summary:

Basically, that Sunday in November is the one day of the year when everyone gets along. People cheer for strangers, they offer help they might not otherwise have, and everyone is just in a good mood. There is something special about seeing all the participants from all walks of life (hellooo guy with pineapple on his head) all coming together for a common goal: run a marathon. The energy is electric, and more than one person I’ve spoken to, myself included, describes feeling on the verge of tears during the day because the emotion is palpable. 

Do I have you convinced yet? 

And no, I’m not running a marathon ANY time soon, so don’t even think about it. 

With the wonderful side of fitness I love to focus on, usually centered around the support of strangers (how can you not have hope for the world when you see people cheering each other on and pumping them up), there is also a

One of the questions I got asked a few weeks ago on the Instagram AMA was what the craziest thing I’ve ever witnessed as a fitness instructor was, and let me tell you, it was a really shit-uation and an Instagram story would not have done it justice.

A man came to take a class where I was working, but despite the intensity of the workout he’d signed up for, he went out for Korean BBQ before. Not earlier in the day… just an hour or two before, which meant he was filled with dense and heavy food. 

He made it as far as he could through the workout before he exploded, from both ends, then stumbled from the workout space to the locker room, leaving a trail of his lunch mistake behind him

I was coming into work that day, and upon entering the building, I smelled danger (if you can imagine what danger smelled like). I made my way to the locker room to prep for my coaching, only to realize the source of the stench was coming from the locker room. When I peeked in, I saw that this poor man was sitting on the floor outside (outside, not in) the showers, holding himself in the fetal position while his body continued to reject his earlier meal choices. 

“Hey Siri, play 'Unforgettable' by French Montana.”

So why do I share this? It’s not to shame anyone, but to give you two reminders if you’re heading into race season (or just doing any type of more intense than normal activity). 

Take Care of Yourself

I’ve been on the other side of a 5 Napkin Burger lunch, quickly followed by a workout. I’ve seen the danger zone, I’ve made it to the edge, and I’m here to tell you: it’s not worth it. The stress of what could come next is way worse than any enjoyment you could get from a meal.

Now is not the time to try new cuisines mixed with intense fitness. It’s not the time to switch up your training plan. Trust the process and the work that has gotten you to this point. I’m not just talking about food. We all know the person who tries something new on raceday, introduces something new in their last few weeks of training, or gives up a key part of their training (STRENGTH AND RECOVERY- I AM YELLING NOW, DON’T GIVE THOSE UP).

The result is usually not ideal, which is why, if you’re really focused on getting a certain result from your race, don’t test it. The meal will be there after, your friends can hang out with you while you blind them with your shiny new hardware, and those sights you wanted to see will still be around.

If you’ve been working on a big thing for a while, just keep at it a little bit more. Great Things Take Time, but what you’ve been building can also be ruined in a fraction of the time.

Shit Happens

Literally. 

There are countless stories out there of athletes realizing that when they were offered the red pill or the blue pill, it turns out that one of those pills just wrecked their stomach instead. A friend of mine once ran the NYC marathon, but his girlfriend had been sick that week. To stave off infection, he started crushing immunity-boosting supplements. Well, turns out that supplement didn’t go well with 26.2 miles, and halfway through, he had to focus on running from bathroom to bathroom.

You can try as you might to have a pristine prep. You stay away from kids’ germs, you don’t eat things that mess with your stomach, and you don’t do risky things, but all it takes is one little thing exacerbated by stress to flare up. You might not even know what it was!

The point is, things happen, and whatever it is, take comfort that someone has also been there at a certain point (Olympians, professional athletes, dudes on locker room floors). If you need a harsh reminder, just tell yourself, “Hey self, you’re not special.”

Well… you ARE special.

But for the purpose of this argument, you’re not doing anything that someone hasn’t done before. So shake it off and pick your head up. SHIT HAPPENS!

Moments with Maurice

If you only pause to reflect on your life for one moment today, do it now.

If you’ve been journaling along with me, take the time to pause on the reflection and write down your answer to the prompt. Even if it feels silly in the moment, looking back on what you’ve written down can be eye-opening when you start to see patterns form.

Because no matter what, there is always something to smile about.

The Downshift

Meet me under the bridge to talk about cars ❤️ 

While this week was chock-full of work, I got a bit of time to double up and meet my friends Tomo and Sam to talk about car things. (Fun fact: Tomo is a friend I met on social media. Love the good side of things)

This week there was a bit of time for cars, but don’t let me fool you, it required some early morning trips and a quick out. What you don’t see is the hours putting in extra work on some not so glamorous things. My life isn’t all cars and food, but these are the things that make me smile and I want to share with you :)

Passing off testing the orange and back to the BMW XM. It was fun while it lasted, but I am not (currently) a flashy car guy.

Clean Plate Club

Brainstorming new content with Mikey and Elvis. Obviously, I can’t do any thinking until I eat everything I’m served 🤓

I don’t know about others, but when I’m creating content A LOT goes into itFor example: some photoshoots will go for 5 hours just to get 40 seconds of video to share. I’m not complaining, but it does make me HUNGREE. Case in point (see below).

Remember:

-Adrian