Good Things Come in Threes

The latest on my physical fitness roller coaster of life has been THREE moments of awesomeness.

#1 - Last night was the 6th grade vs. staff basketball game, and not only did I play for the first time in a few years, but I wasn't completely dying while doing it. My clumsiness even balanced out with four points for the teachers and three fouls against kids. Yes. Whatever. They are fast and little and play between six and eight at a time. We could look at it like it's a miracle that I didn't cause major damage to any of us.

#2 - I have been spending a lot of time looking at Virginia races this week. My slow-paced half marathon has given me ridiculous amounts of can-do attitude and today I registered for the Jamestown International Triathlon on July 1st. It will be 1500 meters in the river followed by 40K on the bike and then a 10K run. My excitement was only slightly crushed when I submitted my payment and finalized the registration. Here I was making a HUGE commitment, and all I got in return was a page that read, "Thanks for your Order" in tiny font. Really?! I guess congratulatory fireworks may be too much for some people - especially chronically fit mega-endurance types, but for someone like me, just signing up kind of feels like I need a fancy beverage to celebrate.

#3 - My favorite Swim Bike Mom mentioned ME in her post today. I feel famous! This proves what I've said before - that she is awesome, and that there is a good reason everyone should like her. Plus, she alone is responsible for #2 having suggested I consider triathlon in the first place. Nevermind that she suggests that to EVERYONE. I thought it was great advice.

Mitochondria

In February I came across a link shared by Holly Would If She Could (as opposed to yours truly - Holly Tries Her Darndest And Is Gradually Becoming The Adult She Wants To Be). The link was to a YouTube video of Dr. Terry Wahls presenting her work on the relationships between nutritional deficiencies and chronic ailments, auto-immune disorders and disease.

Like most people I know, I've understood for a while that Omega-3s are GOOD and processed foods are BAD. What I've been missing is the WHY part. The basic gist from my understanding of what she says is that the mitochondria in our cells (the project managers so to speak) are not being fueled appropriately, and so our cells struggle, and sickness can follow.

I went from that video to another, to another, to another, to finally ordering her book, Minding My Mitochondria, and I am now working on following her suggestions and moving my diet in the direction that she recommends - 3 cups of leafy green vegetables, 3 cups of brightly colored fruits and vegetables, and ANOTHER 3 cups of vegetables of your choice, grass-fed meats (I didn't realize that in addition to concerns about hormones that a big difference between grass-fed and corn-fed meats is Omega-6s versus Omega-3s), and organ meats.

Since I've been frustrated for years with random, unexplained symptoms, and for several months this winter being either sick, tired, or sick and tired, I'm in a place where I'm pretty much open to trying anything! Dr. Wahls mentions functional medicine as a health care approach, so I googled it, found the Institute for Functional Medicine, located a doctor in my area, and made an appointment. The doctor was AH-mazing. She spent close to TWO HOURS with me. In addition to strongly encouraging a good diet, she presented a thorough plan of tests and hypothesized that I may have a food allergy that has been at the base of everything. It is going to take a few months to figure it all out, and there is always the possibility that nothing turns up as an easy fix, but I'm hopeful.

2011 was about physically moving, and I'm already so much better and happier than I was a year ago. It is exciting to think that 2012 might add a layer of a more informed, healthier diet on top of the progress I've made.

As you know, I'm all about the team approach. If anyone wants to figure this stuff out together, just let me know!

Rock N Roll Half

THANK YOU to my running friends for convincing me to sign up for the Rock N Roll Half Marathon. Biggest thanks go to Erika for not only having the idea but then for convincing the lot of us that it was a good one.

I'm tired, so this post will be short, but here's a quick overview of our race:


7:30ish - Meryl (looking adorably festive), Me, Nick & Heather - we smiled for a picture before saying good luck and sending Meryl off to her corral farther toward the front.

(You may notice I am the only one who still looks nervous even while smiling.)

The race officially began at 8:00am, and in corral 26 (out of 27 total!), we crossed the start about 40 minutes later. Aside from my calves being extremely tight, I was shocked by how good it felt to be running and that I could breathe well. Heather and Nick had a 12/min/mile plan, and it was perfect for me. It's thanks to them especially that I was able to keep going today.

My revised hope for the race based on how I've been feeling for the past several weeks was to run what I could, walk the rest, and catch a ride with the sweep van if necessary. As we were running my goal kept changing. First I wanted to run the initial 5K before walking... then it was the first five miles... then I needed to walk for about a minute on a seemingly neverending hill near the end of the seventh mile but was ready to run again. I did that twice more during the first ten miles for a total of six minutes of walk time, and I was ESTATIC. Who cares that they weren't super fast miles? I've never run that far in my life! After seeing the 10, I admitted to Nick that I was really tired, was terribly proud of both of us, and needed to do more fast walking than running for the final 5K. It was time to enjoy the sunshine and my playlist.

Meeting up with the rest of our group at the end was great. I was so proud of all of everyone and grateful to be with them.

Here we are again with Erika and Lauren. What a great group of people.

Oh... my chip time was 2:50:07. I think corral 26 would be proud.

It's Not You, It's Me

Have you ever shied away from a relationship talk? Like maybe there was someone in your past who might not have been Mr. or Mrs. Right, but they were Mr./Mrs. RightNow&Comfortable? And you knew you should probably man up and share how you felt but instead ate your ice cream side by side on the couch as you watched TV? Because come on... those talks are EXHAUSTING. Literally. They are hard, and uncomfortable, and they necessitate action in order to create change... Ugh. My God. The listening... ... and... the talking.

If you can find a personal connection with what I'm asking, you might be able to understand where I'm going with this. If not, you're thinking I am a wretched person lacking in emotional depth.

I'm still a avoider.

Now don't go getting worried about me. My marriage is healthy, and I'm not referring to it in the least.

I'm referring to *THIS*. Whatever this is. I've written less often, I've exercised less often, and when I've thought of stopping to write and explain, I've been so overcome with that exact same feeling of overwhelm. What to say? How much to say? How far to go back? What am I looking for? Is this me? I had a clear purpose a year ago... how am I a scattered mess now? Can I just call myself a scattered mess and hope that you take it with a smile and let me do what I can when I can?

I was looking for accountability, and I got it, and it makes it sort of hard to be in a lazy and depressed funk for very long. My icing is guilt. That should be a good thing. It is a good thing. Without it, who knows what I'd be up to these days. Still, it's much easier to be a slacker when you don't think anyone has any expectations of you. It's too easy, and I don't want to be one.

...

Um.... I wrote all of that over a week ago. It's been sitting in "Draft" limbo. Again I shake my head.

NO MORE! Well, okay, probably a little more, but I'm trying. It's time to own up and face the music.

I wouldn't say that I am at a place where I'm starting over necessarily... but I'm dangerously close. Getting sick, and then getting sick again, and again, has definitely left it's mark. My personal training for the half marathon hit a wall about a month ago, and at this point the plan is to just sort of see what happens and to try my best to get some exercise and have fun - whatever ratio of running to walking that may be.

While I could (and have) beat myself up about how things have been going lately, I'm going to (and really need to) focus on all the good that is still happening. Here's a quick list.

#1 - Work. The after school running group rocks. Each week we have new co-workers who decide to give it a try, and I love it. I am so lucky to work with such talented, fantastic, happy, friendly people.

#2 - Diet. My eating habits have really improved, and it can be traced back to the gobs of time I spend on the Internet. There's too much to write here, but just know it's coming, and I'm excited about it.

#3 - Me. I may have lost ground in terms of my strength and cardio in the past couple of months, but my overall lifestyle is much better, my thoughts are better, my relationships are better, and I am better.

So, I'm going to write when I can, work out when I can, and continue to thank the Good Lord that I know and have met so many incredible people who support, encourage, and understand. THANKS.

... Hugely off topic, but if any of you missed it, Jen's episode of Fat Chef aired this week, and she was AWESOME. Wait... not off topic. That's #4.

More later~

Holly