“Though I might travel afar, I will meet only what I carry with me, for every man is a mirror. We see only ourselves reflected in those around us. Their attitudes and actions are only a reflection of our own. The whole world and its condition has its counter parts within us all. Turn the gaze inward. Correct yourself and your world will change.”
Kirsten Zambucka
I like quotes and came across this one today. Quotes are funny in that they can be situational. Sometimes one will come along at just the right time and help put things that are going on in your life into perspective. A sort of reset. That is what this quote did for me.
Life has been on fast forward for us for the past few months. It seems that the week starts with a slow spin on Monday and picks up speed as the week goes on. The weekends used to be a time to slow things down and get ready for the spinning to start again on Monday. However, recently we have been double booked on the weekends as well, so instead of slowing things down they stay fast and we end up behind before the week even starts. This is evident in the lack of posts the past month.
When this happens little things are the first to take a back seat and they have a trickle down effect on everything else and start to grow. No time to get to the store, lets just pick up dinner somewhere. Seems like a great idea until I realize the next day that I have no lunch. No time to get those taxes done, I will stay up a little later to work on them. When the numbers don't work out so well, I have a hard time getting to sleep but the alarm still goes off at the same time. I didn't sleep much last night, maybe I will skip my workout today and let my body rest. No time to get the car in for the oil change. I will do it next week, unfortuantely the car didn't make it to next week and now I am wrestling with used car salesmen.
These circumstances are mine and there are plenty more, but I am sure you could substitute your own. The common theme is that what started out as a small decision of convenience became a bigger problem. When things start piling up like this, it is easy to slip into that victim role of poor me. By doing this we place the responsibility and ultimately the power for dealing with these situations anywhere but with ourselves. There is a slight, but temporary comfort in this approach and before long things get much worse.
The quote served as a reminder to me that I have control. When things start to pile up, fix one thing and ten more fall into place. Go to the store after you put the kids to bed and life is better for the rest of the week. Find someone to do your taxes, and your workouts are better. Get the damn car in for regular service and you are not spending weeks, and much stress, trying to get a new one. Everything is interconnected. The issues are irrelevant, the answer is the same. "Correct yourself and your world will change.”
Just a little midweek rant. Thanks for listening.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
2 Great Articles and some Kitchen fun
In my search for new recipes, I ran across 2 great articles that I had to share with everyone. The genius behind these articles is Diane Sanfilippo and her website is www.balancedbites.com. When you get the opportunity, read through as many of her articles as you can. She provides informative, up to date nutrition information in layman's terms as well as a few recipes that are amazing. Her articles are always thoughtful and funny and straight to the point.
The first article that caught my eye was her breakdown of a popular magazine's top 10 breakfast suggestions. She politely and accurately points out the reason why they are actually the top 10 worst breakfast suggestions! Here is that post.
The other article is about Quaker Oats which is a popular go to for many people in the morning and endorsed by some celebrity trainers. Ironically and it's pointed out in the article, the former pitch man for Quaker Oats was Willford Brimly. Is it a coincidence that the latest product he is pitching is diabetes medication? I enjoyed that one thoroughly. You can find it here.
Paul and I are always harping on eating natural, whole foods and these articles provide extra support to back us up:)
Let us know your thoughts about the articles and feel free to provide your own breakfast suggestions. They are always helpful! I will leave you with a yummy cabbage recipe that my daughter Kylie helped me cook up in the kitchen yesterday. She likes to add random seasonings that she thinks smell good and there was no real measuring involved, but here goes....
Slice cabbage in to nice thin slices.
Cut one small white onion into small pieces.
Add the onion to coconut oil(any oil you prefer) and saute for a few minutes.
We added about 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
Several shakes of garlic powder, minced onions, paprika, sea salt, and cajun seasoning(sounds strange, but was awesome!)
We fried up all the ingredients together until we had the taste we wanted.
 |
| Kylie's cabbage with Pig Supreme from the Amish market and sweet potato fries |
Kylie was very proud of her new vegetable dish, but Will gave it a thumbs down after taking a few bites. Oh well, can't win them both over all the time. Paul and I loved it and are letting her try a new recipe with a fresh batch of veggies. If you have any veggie recipes that you think kids will love, don't hesitate to send them to us.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
So I ran a marathon....
Let me start by saying I am not a runner. I have issues with my flat feet that go back to my early childhood and running was never easy or enjoyable for me. I have always participated in sports and could play all day, but running for the sake of running has never been high on my list of desired activities. In fact, I would mock those who thought running was an effective form of exercise and would tell myself about a mile into any formal run I participated in that this would be my last.
Then we moved to Clarksburg.
We happen to live about a half a mile from Little Bennett Park and a couple of friends have turned me on to trail running. We spent the summer running the trails once a week. We never really measured distance or time. We just picked a series of trails, started out and hoped we made it back to the car. As we progressed the runs got longer and longer but never more than 6 or 7 miles. At one point, after a Saturday morning run my buddy Mike asked if I was ready for a marathon, to which I replied, "If you can find one on a trail, I would consider it." Not only did he find one on a trail he found one on a trail in our back yard. The Seneca Creek Trail Race is a trail run from Damascus Maryland, down to the Potomac River in Potomac Maryland.
We both joked about doing it for a few months and eventually, through a series of email dares ended up saying, "I'll do it if you do it." That night Mike sent me his registration conformation email. It also happened to be the same night I reintroduced wine after the 30 day challenge! I immediately signed up.
We signed up on Friday February 4th and the race was on Saturday March 5th. That meant we had four weeks to train for a 26.2ish mile race, when our previous longest run was about 7 miles. No problem right? Part of the allure for me was to see if my regular training would hold up to such a long effort. We planned out a condensed training schedule that consisted of three runs, a 14 mile run, a 17 mile run, and we backed off to 8 miles the week before the race. The 14 mile was a real wake up call. I did not eat or drink much and my body locked up. Cramps, muscle spasms, the whole bit. I hit that famous wall everyone talks about and wondered what I had gotten myself into. Interestingly though, the soreness went away quickly in the next couple of days. I did a lot of studying on proper eating and was better prepared for the 17 mile run which we finished a week later in the same time it took us to run the 14 miles. (3 hours) We were ready.
We set off the morning of the race at 8 am sharp, with a plan to walk all of the big hills and try to maintain an 11 minute mile pace throughout. The race started on a paved road for the first mile before dumping into a single track trail. It was not crowded on the road but once we were on the trail we kind of let our position determine our pace. The aid stations were spread out and there were very few landmarks to get a gauge of our pace until we reached a creek crossing that we knew from a previous run was about four miles in.
We reached this point in just under 40 minutes and knew we were well ahead of our planned pace. We both felt good so we kept running along until we reached the first aid station at the 7 mile mark. We were still at a 10 minute mile pace and stopped to fill up on water and talk to Jimbo who had come out to cheer us on and offer headbands.
We were able to hold on to the 10 minute mile pace all the way up to the 11 mile aid station. At this point my feet which had been a problem during my training runs started to really hurt. I had a sharp pain in both of my arches that was working it's way up the inside of my shin. I was also having a tough time with some rubbing under both arms. Mike's wife met us at the aid station with some much needed gu and energy drinks. We reloaded and got back on the trail. The next 5 miles saw our time slip back to 11 minute miles as we reached Clopper Lake, just over the halfway point.
Miles 15 through 21 resembled more of a death march than a run. We managed to maintain a jog on all but the hills, but I am not sure if a walk would not have been faster. I spent most of the time trying to figure out what hurt worse, my feet, my knees, or my armpits. Conversation stopped at this point and the goal was to put one foot in front of the other. This section included a portion of the trail that had recently been burned up by a brush fire and the charred remains were an appropriate setting for our condition. At mile 21 we had stashed some food and drink before the race and were happy to stop and refuel. We also took the opportunity to down a few ibuprofen in an effort to numb the pain in the lower extremities.
I am not sure if it was the ibuprofen or the idea that we were nearing the end but, I actually started to feel a bit better at this point. With the end not too far off we settled into a steady jog and for the first time in the race we actually started passing a few people. The final few miles included a fairly technical(at least it seemed technical after running 23 miles) creek crossing followed buy a long steep hill climb with steps just under waist high. I think this was an effort to ensure that every single muscle in your body was properly destroyed prior to crossing the finish line.
I have never run a marathon before but am told this race is much different. The actual distance is a mystery to all, but it was believed to be over 28 miles. We finished the race 5 hours and 38 minutes after we started. That was good enough to place us in 57th & 58th place out of 126 people who ran the marathon. Typing this, almost two weeks after the marathon, I am back to my normal workouts of mostly weight training and do not feel any adverse affects from the race, with the exception of my feet. They no longer hurt, but I am not ready to test them out on a run yet.
I have been thinking about what deep messages I can take from this experience and have come up with a few things. I do not have a strong desire to run another marathon. I am very happy that I keep myself in good enough shape that I can decide a month out that I want to run a marathon and do it. I can see the allure of distance training and trying to reach the limits of the human body. I learned a lot about my own body and what it is capable of. I need to see a podiatrist. I like being placed just outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis. I have found that the limits we place on our selves are almost always mental and not physical. At that 20 mile point, when things were getting bad, I made a decision to think positive and enjoy the experience and it made all the difference.
We have asked this question before, but are asking again. What new challenges do you have for yourself this year? We have a crowd coming with us to the Warrior Dash in May and are also doing the Run a Muck in April. It does not have to be a race. Try a new class, kettle bells, yoga, spinning, boot camp. A walk for charity, a local hike, or bike ride are all good ways of challenging yourself. You might be surprised what you are capable of!
Then we moved to Clarksburg.
We happen to live about a half a mile from Little Bennett Park and a couple of friends have turned me on to trail running. We spent the summer running the trails once a week. We never really measured distance or time. We just picked a series of trails, started out and hoped we made it back to the car. As we progressed the runs got longer and longer but never more than 6 or 7 miles. At one point, after a Saturday morning run my buddy Mike asked if I was ready for a marathon, to which I replied, "If you can find one on a trail, I would consider it." Not only did he find one on a trail he found one on a trail in our back yard. The Seneca Creek Trail Race is a trail run from Damascus Maryland, down to the Potomac River in Potomac Maryland.
We both joked about doing it for a few months and eventually, through a series of email dares ended up saying, "I'll do it if you do it." That night Mike sent me his registration conformation email. It also happened to be the same night I reintroduced wine after the 30 day challenge! I immediately signed up.
We signed up on Friday February 4th and the race was on Saturday March 5th. That meant we had four weeks to train for a 26.2ish mile race, when our previous longest run was about 7 miles. No problem right? Part of the allure for me was to see if my regular training would hold up to such a long effort. We planned out a condensed training schedule that consisted of three runs, a 14 mile run, a 17 mile run, and we backed off to 8 miles the week before the race. The 14 mile was a real wake up call. I did not eat or drink much and my body locked up. Cramps, muscle spasms, the whole bit. I hit that famous wall everyone talks about and wondered what I had gotten myself into. Interestingly though, the soreness went away quickly in the next couple of days. I did a lot of studying on proper eating and was better prepared for the 17 mile run which we finished a week later in the same time it took us to run the 14 miles. (3 hours) We were ready.
We set off the morning of the race at 8 am sharp, with a plan to walk all of the big hills and try to maintain an 11 minute mile pace throughout. The race started on a paved road for the first mile before dumping into a single track trail. It was not crowded on the road but once we were on the trail we kind of let our position determine our pace. The aid stations were spread out and there were very few landmarks to get a gauge of our pace until we reached a creek crossing that we knew from a previous run was about four miles in.
I am not sure if it was the ibuprofen or the idea that we were nearing the end but, I actually started to feel a bit better at this point. With the end not too far off we settled into a steady jog and for the first time in the race we actually started passing a few people. The final few miles included a fairly technical(at least it seemed technical after running 23 miles) creek crossing followed buy a long steep hill climb with steps just under waist high. I think this was an effort to ensure that every single muscle in your body was properly destroyed prior to crossing the finish line.
I have been thinking about what deep messages I can take from this experience and have come up with a few things. I do not have a strong desire to run another marathon. I am very happy that I keep myself in good enough shape that I can decide a month out that I want to run a marathon and do it. I can see the allure of distance training and trying to reach the limits of the human body. I learned a lot about my own body and what it is capable of. I need to see a podiatrist. I like being placed just outside of my comfort zone on a regular basis. I have found that the limits we place on our selves are almost always mental and not physical. At that 20 mile point, when things were getting bad, I made a decision to think positive and enjoy the experience and it made all the difference.
We have asked this question before, but are asking again. What new challenges do you have for yourself this year? We have a crowd coming with us to the Warrior Dash in May and are also doing the Run a Muck in April. It does not have to be a race. Try a new class, kettle bells, yoga, spinning, boot camp. A walk for charity, a local hike, or bike ride are all good ways of challenging yourself. You might be surprised what you are capable of!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Spring Fever
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