ebb and flow

Two steps forward, one step back or was it one step forward two steps back? It’s been about a week and a half since I came down with a sinus infection. I was able to make it to work, which only made my time away from work all about resting. I laid around all day last Saturday, feeling very miserable. It has been a long while since I felt that sick. A week and a day later, I still am not fully recovered. My exercise goals have been pushed to the back burner. If my body wanted a day off, I gave it. And my body wanted several days off. 

Feeling better this weekend, I had plans to go for a six mile run, but with Christmas shopping, decorating and still sniffling and plugged up, I decided to forgo it. I had wanted to really push myself during my Holiday Challenge, but I decided to pin certain goals on the calendar for another day. Well, tomorrow another day dawns and with it another chance to get back on track. Isn’t that life? Nothing in my life is constant. Things ebb and flow. The key is giving myself the grace to take a day or week off and know that life is about going forward and backward. The key is to always be looking ahead and not letting those down days bring me down permanently. Rest can be just as important as working out, especially when you're ill. I am glad I listened to my body and decided to take a step back. Tomorrow a step forward, with a new appreciation on what healthy feels like. 

Nothing to be proud of, but I did manage to move a little bit during the past two weeks: 

11/26 3.5 run, AM stretch, 1 mile walk with dog PM

11/27 AM stretch, weights & workout

11/28 AM stretch,  1.5 mile walk with dog

11/29-12/3 - got all my veggies in, but that’s about it. It hurt to bend over!  

12/4 - AM stretch, weights

12/5 - 3.05 mile run, AM stretch

12/6 - AM stretch, weights & workout

12/7 - 3.10 miles run, AM stretch

12/8 - 5 miles of walking- AM walk dog & PM walk at Greenlake Pathway of Lights with my daughter and husband. 

Love Love Love Beer Beer Beer

I love beer. Writing that does not begin to convey the relationship I have with beer. Over the years, beer has marked many occasions in my life and feels like a good friend. If I have a long day or I’m working hard, beer is often my reward. Each year as Christmas inches closer, my husband and I try and enjoy every seasonal microbrew we can find. One of the reasons I started running was to balance my fondness for this drink and maintain my weight. I am sure that if I give up drinking, I would probably lose weight. I don’t drink every night and try to only have a few on the weekend, but if I’m on vacation all rules are off. Holiday beer can average 200 calories for a 12 oz. beer. So when I drank three Celebration Ales last Saturday, I drank 600 calories! 642 to be exact. That was spread over the entire day, but 642 calories is a lot of extra calories. 

So while I am participating in the Holiday Booty Challenge, I have decided to try and scale back my intake of beer. The challenge started on Monday, November 19, and the goal of the challenge is to get us through the holidays with no weight gain. My goal for the challenge is to maintain/increase my fitness level during the challenge AND improve my diet by getting at least 7 servings of fruits or vegetables a day. I am generally a pretty healthy eater, but eating 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables has been challenging. As for the beer, it has been a vacation week for me and I have definitely not deprived myself, but starting tomorrow my beer challenge begins. No beer. Ah, that’s a bit severe. Let’s say less beer. Only one per WEEKEND day and none during the week. That’s a beer relationship I can strive for. 

Saturday: 1.5 mile walk with the dog - rest day

Sunday: 2.8 mile run, 1 mile walk, 10 minutes stretching

Thankful Living

I drove down to Yelm in crazy weather on Monday to meet up with my family. My sister and brother-in-law and their six year old daughter, Katie, were in town for Thanksgiving. Leaving the house at 7:30am trying to beat the traffic did not work. The rain was steady and traffic was a mess. Once I got through Seattle though, it was free sailing - literally. I felt like I was on a sea several times during the drive. It couldn’t be more ideal WA weather for my sister. 

It’s been a busy week, visiting and Thanksgiving. I’ve been able to maintain my activity level to some degree (thanks to my very fit brother-in-law), but getting all the veggies and fruit in will take some planning. My sister made her “green” drink for me on Wednesday and Friday. She purees a banana, carrots, spinach, kale and ice in a blender. She usually strains it at home using a painters bag or a french press, as I didn’t have either we drank the pulp. It’s a good way to get several servings of fruit and veggies down and taste pretty good, depending on how ripe the bananas are. I might try it with 1/2 an apple and 1/2 banana, instead of one  whole banana. 

Monday: 15 min stretches, 5 mile run, 30 min stretches with kicks

Tuesday: 2 mile run, 30 minute stretches

Wednesday: Cooked 

Thursday: 5K Turkey Trot, 15 min stretches

Friday: 15 minute circuit, 10 minutes of stretching 

My daughter did her first full real 5k, our local Turkey Trot, yesterday (she did the Zombie Run in October, but became a zombie before she finished, so I'm not counting that). I am so proud of her! My brother-in-law graciously ran alone and I was able to run/walk the race with her. It was a blast, with lots of happy people (and dogs) around us. I’d love to make it a yearly event. She and I finished in 41 minutes and I couldn’t be prouder of her. 

I’m so very thankful for having time with my sister; she is one of my most favorite people in the world. I’m also thankful for my daughters, who constantly amaze me with their abilities and goodness. 

A Mother to Admire

Thank you, mom, for being my inspiration in so many things in life. My mom is an amazing woman: a mother of five, a wife of 52 years, a joyous 72 year old woman who still works and also cares for my blind father and has now decided to start running. While eating lunch, she throws into the conversation that she started "jogging" while walking her golden retriever, Haddy. My heart warmed, my smile widen. You what? "I started jogging a little while walking Haddy. It's hard to breathe through my nose though". I wondered why she would be breathing through her nose, but that was for another conversation. Could it be that I have a compatriot in this wonderfully fulfilling, challenging, often painful sport of running? What a gift. Think of the conversations we can have, because I love talking about running. My mind was already planning a walk/run 5k race in the future. I had to tell myself to slow down, not let my excitement injure my mother.

I am humbled and overjoyed. Humbled, that I would ever limit myself with my age. Who am I to hedge my opportunities with the number of birthdays I've marked, the aches in my joints or my lack of clear vision? As long as I'm active, always looking ahead, challenging new goals, the years only open the road of adventures before me. Look at mom, an incredible example of how a strong body and mind, a great sense of humor, can keep the pages turning through many chapters in this lovely story we call life. Thank you, mom, for writing such a beautiful book. Maybe a future chapter will hold that race.