Lighten Up

I was able to run in my first race last Monday following my long injury induced time off.  It was a hot day for sure and I felt every mile of the four I ran.  I didn’t care though, I was just so happy to be running again.  When I crossed the finish line, I joined my team and promptly said let’s go get a cold beer.  It was ten o’clock in the morning!   My husband looked kind of surprised and said you just ran a race, you don’t need a beer.  Have some water or Gatorade.   This got me thinking of all the double standard, silly things we do and say on our journey to health.  I thought I’d lighten it up this week and attempt to make you chuckle a bit. I bet you’ll even recognize yourself in some of my madness. Maybe you can even add to this short list.

First, look at my cover photo this week.  It reminds me of something I saw on Facebook. It goes something like, what I think I look like running vs. what I really look like.  Ha, how many race photos do we look at and say darn that’s not what I thought I looked like running the course.  This leads us to pose and smile now whenever we see those darn photographers out on the race course.

Then, there’s my dedication to only eating certified organic, non gmo foods. I get so upset at my husband when he shops because he never buys the right food.  One day recently, he came home from a trip to a store with chicken that was on sale.  Beautiful boneless breast packaged so lovely, but much to my horror, not grass fed, hormone free chicken.  I looked at him and stated firmly my intention to never eat that chicken.  I reminded him I only eat grass fed, hormone free chicken and nothing else will do.  He looked at me and asked, were those potato chips you ate at the party last night organic, hormone free chips?  Oh please!  Ruffles are an exception to the rule aren’t they?

What about coffee?   I limit myself to one cup a day and am quite proud of that.  But, do I really need to put in like a quarter cup of French Vanilla creamer?  You bet I do!   Nothing else will do and believe me I’ve tried it all.

Some days I eat so clean it’s impressive.  Nothing processed will ever touch my lips.  I will cook it all from scratch including pizza dough and pasta, gluten free.  But lord that glass of wine, or two must accompany it, right?  Especially if it’s my Friday allowance for the week. Is that a problem?  And, who doesn’t follow up their healthy salad for lunch with a beautiful piece of chocolate?   It’s really ok, isn’ it, especially since I drink green organic tea with it.

In fact, most runners I race with look so forward to the post race treats, beer and maybe a nice breakfast.  It’s a must.  The best race post celebrations aren’t those that include a medal, it’s those that include an ice cold hoppy beer on tap.

Double standards you say?  Maybe.  But at this point of my journey I’ve learned that it’s all about balance and enjoying life.  If that includes a ruffle chip here and there so what (and I mean here and there, not every day or week).  Coffee, wine or pizza will never be removed totally from my life.  I just make sure they are not the staples of my diet as they were in the past.  They are now my guilty pleasure treats that I indulge in once in a while, well daily in coffee’s case.  The point here today is to remind you all to take your life so seriously that you forget to live it.  That will surely be a recipe for failure.  As they say, live, laugh and love.  Then drink some extra water and start again.

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Author: laurakump

I'm a mother, wife and daughter on a mission to reclaim my health. I've watched loved ones suffer from memory robbing Alzheimers and refuse to lose my precious memories to this disease. Small changes have helped me achieve health and fitness. I'm an Elementary School Principal on a mission to impact students lives. I believe we can change this world one child at a time. View all posts by laurakump