We shall see where this car will be taking us, but you can bet it will be taking us somewhere. First and foremost we will be heading to Bible study this morning at 9. That's a great place to start, don't ya think?
So, I'm going to be brutally honest here on a few things. I'm kind of in a strange mental place right now. It's not going well, but I truly hope things will be ironed out quickly. I'm going with bullet points here...
* Running. I am totally burnt out on running. I flat out don't want to do it anymore. In fact, I made a conscious decision yesterday to NOT run when I totally could. Ick, right? Anything shorter than 5 miles seems like a waste of energy (I guess I'd better refer back to my own post about every mile counting, huh?), anything longer seems like a waste of time. What is that?!? I have these two major races just looming and I just want to finish them and get on to running for fun! I read a blog this morning that I don't usually enjoy following, but her headline caught my eye...and it's good that I did. She mentioned something about truly being purposeful on easy runs being EASY and not "racing" your long runs. That is exactly what I do. The thing is - I am clueless about pacing! I just run to get my 3 or 4 minutes over with. I can guarantee you that I am running too fast, but who knows when you're running alone? I listen to podcasts, so it's not music that I can pace myself with...when I run with a partner, I'm fine because I talk so damn much that I have to go slower so I can catch my breath! Unfortunately, I have no partner these days. Speaking of "partners" - all of the running blogs I follow seem to have the most supportive husbands when it comes to running. Some husbands run, as well, some husbands just really seem to appreciate and/or understand the time needed for training. Well...not this girl. It's really getting to me. He thinks "supportive" means saying "Are you running today, or will you be staying home to hang with us?" Yeah...as if that is the choice I am making. Between running and hanging with my family. It's not that black and white! Even when I have been home with the kids all day long, I feel guilty leaving the house for 1-2 hours at night to run. Because those 1-2 hours would be family time and that is different from stay at home mom time. Or something.
I'm not saying these thoughts are CORRECT, I'm just saying they're mine.
I think I'm going to try to forget about the half and full marathons coming up. I'm going to look at each day and figure out if I have time for any amount of running. While I realize I may not meet any time goals I have set for these major races, I think it is more important - to me - that I finish both injury-free and feeling good. Maybe tired, but still happy. :) After these races, I'm going to chill with the running and move on to some other fitness routines. I want to run because I'm in the mood to run, not because a schedule is telling me to do it. I definitely plan to run some smaller 5, 8, or 10K's throughout the year, because these races are so much fun and truly what got me loving running! I also really, really, really want to do the Ragnar Relay in November, so no worries to anyone who was looking forward to that - I'm still in! I think it would be fun to try Zumba again - when I'm not terrified of rolling an ankle or twisting a knee! Also, I really enjoyed those Body Pump classes I was doing before...I just started getting so nervous about hurting myself and not being able to run!
Diet - Ooooooh, boy. I know I'm not the only one to say "UGH, DIET!" Here's the deal - I am over it. I am over obsessing about the food I eat, the food my kids eat, the food my husband eats. It's ridiculous! Grocery shopping should NOT be stressful! I have decided I am going to make a weekly menu and stick to it. Majorly stick to it. I would love to say we are going to totally eat clean, but I'm not sure it's possible. Some convenience foods are just too easy to give up. Feel me? I do have a thought on the childhood obesity problem, by the way. My 3 littlest can eat a pound of strawberries and still be "starving". Now, when strawberries are not in season, a 16 ounce thing is about $3/$4, right? If those same three kids were allowed to eat a box of oatmeal cream pies, they would be sick to their stomachs and likely not able to eat anything else for at least a couple of hours. Oatmeal Cream Pies box? $1. By the way - I have not tested this theory of mine because I'm pretty sure I have eaten a couple of those pies in my lifetime and my stomach never wanted much more food afterwards. I love that my kids love fruit. It makes me happy, I promise. BUT, when I pay $7+ for grapes and the entire bag is gone in one sitting and they are still whining about how "starving" they are...blueberries? One child can finish of the 6 ounces you get of blueberries. Easily. I want to figure out a way to make these foods more filling...not just something to keep their mouths occupied. With strawberries, for example, I give them "kid-friendly" knives (real thing, from Pampered Chef!) and let them cut the stems off by themselves. It's time consuming and they don't scarf them down as fast! I have started giving them grapes on the stems. Maybe I will start putting their fruit in containers and hiding them...then drawing up a treasure map for them to search! You might giggle at this, but I'm totally serious. Anything that takes up an extra 15-30 minutes of our day, is a golden idea in my book. :)
Based on some recommendations from a few friends, I'm going to cut down on our meat consumption. I am pleased with how many vegetables the kids like, so we're good with frozen there. Also, pasta disappears in this house, so that's awesome. Cheap and easy - even Shaun can cook pasta! I'm starting with next week, so I'll keep you posted on how it all goes...I'm not going to be using any meal planning web sites at first, just me and the Food Lion ad and allrecipes.com. Or cooks.com, another favorite!
Advocare - Let me start by saying I have some favorite products, and I am so happy that I was introduced to this line. I would love to get my head on straight enough to be able to go for sales and succeed with this business, but I just don't see that happening right this minute. I can tell you honestly, I have more energy and find it much easier to stay away from foods when I am using these products!! Also, the Post-Workout Recovery Sports Drink (vanilla shake) and the Nighttime Recovery Supplements are awesome. I was super sore last week after my long run and I used both of those products and felt rested in the morning! That's new for me. The Meal Replacement shakes I was drinking before were delicious and very filling...and frothed up an hilarious amount when I blended them with fruit and spinach! Haha. If anyone is interested in more details, I am happy to share my personal experience and also refer you to my....um, director? I don't know the terms. My Allison! Who has had a very successful run and been around the products much longer than I and can answer all of the questions! I am still a distributor, so I am happy to take any orders. ;) As I use the products I have already mentioned and try additional ones, I will be sure to review them on here.
I am going to jump in the shower now. I need to post a new picture...because I got my hair chopped off!!! I do mean OFF! I can barely tuck it behind my ears at this point. The pics will have to come next week, though, because the color is all wrong and my sweet Sarah at Moxie is going to make it all right. :) Stay tuned!
sometimes the best way to get back to a love of running is not to run at all. do other things until that itch to lace up returns.
ReplyDeletehubbies don't know the best way to show support honestly. they need a little guidance :)