Today's Motivation

RUNNERSWORLD.COM'S DAILY KICK IN THE BUTT:

When you hit a rough patch, try to imagine yourself as an Olympic athlete who's headed towards the finish line. Envision your running form as smooth, graceful, and relaxed. Think of a runner who you really admire and imagine yourself running just like him.

Christine Luff, Mental Tips for Long Runs, About.com Guide

Wheat Belly

It's time for me to own this. Remember all those tweaks I was making to my diet at the end of the summer? Particularly the juice fasting and trying to go gluten-free?

Well, I've rebounded off of it. Hard. As in, I've gained about 10 pounds since August. And that really ticks me off because I had FINALLY gotten down to below 170, after four years of working at it.

Soon it will be the new year, and I will be trying again to lose "that last 10 pounds" like millions of other people. At least I'm in good company. In the meantime, I'll just try to get through the holidays without gaining too much more. Hopefully the long runs I have planned for the day after Christmas and New Year's Day will help somewhat.

Experimenting over, time to go back to what I know works. Count calories! So simple, yet so effective. I don't think that all calories are the same, that I can eat whatever junk I want just so long as I stay in a "caloric deficit" day to day. I think of that as the "Diet Coke" mentality (it's calorie-free, so it must be good for me!) and I just don't believe it. But, I also can't eat unlimited amounts of anything and expect to lose weight. And I certainly can't eat unlimited amounts of homemade pizza or Cookies and Cream. So, after the holidays, first thing I'm going to do is go back to logging my meals daily at My Fitness Pal. (jhmomofmany <-- Look me up!)

I'd rather live happy and die OLD.

It's been a few months, but one of the most inspiring movies we watched over the summer was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead a Joe Cross Film. I'm not going to do a complete review- feel free to check it out yourself if you're interested- but one particular scene has really stuck with me.

Joe is visiting a diner in Oklahoma, talking with a table of patrons and asking if they would consider changing their diet if they knew it would extend their life expectancy. One of the middle-aged men says he would rather "die happy", and the others agree.

First of all, I believe many people would be healthier we could get rid of this idea that bad habits somehow enhance our life. "At least I'll die happy." So says every smoker, drinker, druggy... and obese binge-eater.

But will you really be happy? Visit the hospitals and nursing homes. Ask those suffering from cancer, diabetes, liver disease, emphysema, or heart failure if they are dying happy. Unfortunately, premature death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person who persists in bad habits or harmful addictions. Even worse is the pain and suffering that usually accompanies these diseases, sometimes lasting years. I find it hard to believe that anybody would actually choose to "go out" this way. Who would do that to themselves or their family?

Of course some people end up with chronic or terminal disease through no fault of their own; I'm not pointing fingers at them. But I'm convinced that nearly all of us have the ability to make choices that will better our own odds of living a longer, healthier life. Get real! We all know the difference between habits that are healthful and those that are not. And really, is that THAT much harder to order a salad rather than a huge entree and appetizers and beers and dessert? Is yet another night of flipping through three hundred channels of reruns really more fun than hitting the gym or going for a walk?

Me personally, I'd much rather give up the junk food and alcohol (already gave up smoking years ago) and live free from these addictions. I want to LIVE happy. And, God willing, in a hundred or so years I will die happy.

Dusty Dashboard

I would be lying if I said I've been meaning to write and just couldn't get to it. Fact is, I haven't felt like writing at all lately.

Thanksgiving was this week, but we did turkey dinner just today. I used to plan for Thanksgiving with an anticipation that was one part excitement, two parts dread. It was different this year. All the hoopla of cooking a complete "from-scratch" turkey dinner just isn't all that different from every day cooking. I did more planning, but the preparation, execution, and clean up was almost like every day.

Think about that. Nine people- three meals almost always eaten at home by all of us. Not counting seconds, that's 27 plates per day! There were nine hundred twenty-five MILLION people who went hungry last year. We eat like kings by global standards, and I quite often complain about it. I should be thankful, and today I am.

I tried to run today on the treadmill. Our treadmill is awesome, but it just can't beat the great outdoors! We may be getting a bit of snow overnight tonight, but I'm going to go out for a run tomorrow. A real run. Another blessing!

A Circuit Workout

This is the Circuit workout I performed today, along with weights used and reps completed:

Warm Up, five minutes
Standard Squat/Curl combo: 10lbs, 30 reps
One-arm Wall Push-Up: 15 reps each side
"Plyo" Wall Push-Up: 30 reps
Wall Squat: 1 min.
Side Lunge with Lateral Raise: 5lbs, 30 reps total (15 each side)
Row/Deadlift combo: 20lbs, 30 reps
Static Plank: 1 min.
Plie Squats with X-Press: 10lbs, 30 reps
Chair Dips: 3 sets of 10 reps
Chest Press in Bridge: 20lbs, 20 reps
Lying Down Triceps Extension in Bridge: 10lbs, 20 reps
Pilates Hundred
Oblique Crunch: 20 reps each side
Concentration Curl: 13lb, 8 reps with strip set of 10lb, 12 reps

I'll be turning 35 in a week. The scale has been going the wrong way the last few weeks, so my present to myself will be getting back into maintenance mode. My goal is to lose two pounds this week. Shouldn't be too difficult. *grin*

Flaming Foxy Lady

I haven't been on the computer much lately. No reason, really- that's just the way it goes, even for this social networking addict. Actually, we are now using a new operating system, which means I need to re-do my browser (Firefox). I hate changing things up on the computer. My tech-savvy Hubby does all the updating; I think if it were up to me, I'd still be using Windows 95.

I got out today for an easy run. I ran intervals yesterday on the treadmill, so I wanted to keep it low-key today. It was really a beautiful day; a little on the cool side, but that's perfect for running anyway. We are really fortunate to be having such nice weather this late in the fall. We haven't even had any snow yet!

Today is the Feast of All Saints, and I wonder if there is a patron saint for runners. I'm sure there is, I just need to look it up. I'm not sure running is all that important for my sanctity, but it sure helps my sanity. I only wish I could handle doing it every day. Maybe that will come with time.

Fit for Real Life

Yesterday we made firewood. The wood was already cut into rounds; it needed to be split, carried to the woodshed, and stacked. We heat with wood only, and winter is closing in, so this isn't a job that can be taken lightly. When you live in the North Woods, having enough firewood is quite literally necessary for survival.

I went for a run, threw meat in the oven for lunch, assigned jobs to the kids, and got to work. Three hours later, another full cord of wood (more or less) was sitting neatly in the shed, ready to keep us cozy this winter. It's a tough job; lots of lifting, throwing, shoving, carrying, and walking. The boys helped a lot, but this time, I chose to do a lot of the work myself.

What's the point of weight lifting if I can't (or won't) lift firewood? If I can do an hour of cardio, but can't tolerate a few hours' labor around the house or yard, can I really say I'm fit? If all my physical activity for the day takes place in the context of a structured workout, then something is out of balance.

Part of this attitude comes from the fact that, for me, working out is "fun" and scrubbing the bathroom or cleaning the yard is decidedly "not fun". All the time, I'm telling the kids that life is not all about having fun. There are some things you do just because you have to do them, and you might as well make the best of it. I suppose it is time for me to start actually listening to all this fantastic advice I'm constantly doling out.

For now, my workout plan is something like this: run every other day (alternating fast, easy, and long runs); cross-train with weights or yoga on non-run days; and something active (house or yard work, trips to town, whatever) every day.