Hard Run

Today's run was harder than I thought it would be.  Part of the problem was that the temperatures were in the triple digits today, whereas last week they were only in the high 90s.  Believe me, it makes a difference.  I was just starting out for my run today when I saw one of my neighbors.  "Be careful," she said, "it's very hot out today.  I worry about you!".  I have run many times in the Dallas heat, and my neighbors are there to witness it if they happen to be driving out of our cul de sac, or looking out the window as I walk by, prodding my Garmin to 'find satellites'.  I suspect that a few of them do indeed worry a little bit about me, if only for my sanity.  

As I neared mile two of my seven mile run, I came across some little kids manning a lemonade stand.  They probably hadn't had a lot of customers, because when they saw me they all went into a frenzy of various activities.  One girl ran towards me, so much so that I would have run right over her if I didn't alter my course just a bit.  "I'm sorry," I called out, "but I don't have any money with me."  The kids really must have wanted to unload some lemonade, because the little girl offered to give it to me for free.  I told her no thanks, then felt guilty that I didn't bring a few dollars with me for such a purpose.  The lemonade was only twenty-five cents, but I'd like to help the kids out a bit, and reward their entrepreneurial spirit.  As a former business owner myself, I know that is important.  However, I rarely even have actual money these days, let alone carry it on my sweaty person during a seven mile one hundred and whatever degree run. 

If the kids had still been at the stand on my way back, I might have taken the little girl up on her offer.  Alas, they were gone, probably because their parents realized that it was too damned hot for them to be outside.  I was certainly feeling that way by then.

I was a bit more dazed than usual when I staggered back into the cul de sac-it had indeed been a rough run.  My husband happened to be outside, which was especially strange because he was already dressed to go out in a long sleeved shirt.  We were going out to dinner as a continued celebration of Restaurant Week.  He said he was getting worried about me because he thought that my run was taking a bit too long and he thought that something might have happened to me.  My time actually wasn't bad compared to my usual time at that mileage, but he was probably worried about how I'd fare in the heat. 

I love the summer, and I also love the heat.  I don't love triple digit temperatures, but I'll take them instead of monotonously long and cold winters.  However, I will be glad to see September and October get here, and along with them better running temperatures.     

Book Review-The Husband's Secret

Pandora's box-we are all warned against opening it, since legend says that all manner of horrible ills will result.  However, when faced with a Pandora's box-like situation, most of us are tempted to discover the hidden truths that could exist inside.  Liane Moriarty's novel explores what can happen when secrets are revealed. 

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has what she thinks is a nice life-a husband, three daughters, and a successful Tupperware sales business.  Everything changes when she finds her own Pandora's box-a letter from her husband, marked "only to be read in the event of my death" and hidden away in the attic.  Although her husband is very much alive, and tells her not to read the letter, she ends up reading it anyway.  The result is life-changing, of course.

Cecilia's life intertwines with those of two other women, Tess and Rachel, who live in her Sydney, Australia neighborhood and are involved in the same Catholic church.  All three have very different lives and challenges.  Tess is taken aback when her husband confesses that he is in love with another woman-her cousin and best friend since birth.  Rachel is grappling with the horrible effects of the murder of her teenaged daughter almost thirty years before.

I have to admit that I was a bit put-off by the flowery cover and title worthy of a bodice ripper.  However, given the positive reviews I decided to give the book a chance and am glad that I did.  It does wrap up a bit too neatly, but there are also twists and turns along the way.  The problems faced by the women feel real, and their moral quandaries understandable.  It would certainly qualify as chick-lit, but only in the best way, meaning that it is an intelligent and absorbing read.  

Bodies Haven't Changed...Why Do Diets?

Like many companies today, mine has a wellness initiative.  As part of the initiative, we receive various kinds of information about diet, exercise, smoking, and other behaviors affecting health.  Today, we had a "lunch and learn" about diet and wellness.

Our wellness consultant, who was on the phone, gave a PowerPoint presentation about insulin and blood sugar.  Basically, she said that carbohydrates only stay in the body for a short time, so we feel hungry soon afterwards and our blood sugar spikes more than with fats or proteins.  She talked about the "white devils" that include wheat, sugar, rice, and pasta.  She said that a breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked in butter with a side of berries is better than cereal and skim milk with orange juice.  She sang the praises of the Paleo diet while denouncing doing too much cardio, and declared that the best exercise was circuit training.

Basically, she dissed everything that I do and advocated everything that I do not like.

I realize that high-protein diets are very popular, as is weight bearing exercise.  Crossfit and meat are in, while running and pasta are out.  The thing is, I am old enough to remember when the opposite was advocated-stay away from fat, and chow down on pasta and rice.  Before that, my parents were told to eat cottage cheese and steak to lose weight.  Bodies haven't changed, so why does the optimal diet seem to change each generation?  It's similar to the conventional wisdom about babies-nowadays they must be put on their backs or they will choke on their own spit-up, whereas when my daughter was little it was practically infanticide not to place them on their bellies.  But I digress.

I don't pretend to understand all of the details about how the human body works.  When our wellness consultant showed us her slide depicting all of the fat cells in the liver spilling out of what appeared to be a funnel, I sort of got the idea but I found it a bit hard to grasp completely.  However, I do know what works for me.  I practically live on carbs-I always have.    I've never been a fan of fatty foods, meat, or dairy.  Furthermore, although I lift weights and do Bikram Yoga (not as cardio intensive as some), running is my first exercise love.

There has always been some controversy and confusion about diet and exercise.  I honestly don't think that anybody has the one true answer.  I do know that, in American society at least, people keep getting fatter and more sedentary.  Maybe the same things don't work for everyone.  I do know what works for me.  Therefore, when a wellness consultant tells me how I should eat and exercise, I will listen, smile politely, possibly take some of the advice, and leave what I know doesn't work for me.   

Quotes, Marvelous Quotes!

I am a huge fan of quotes.  I collect them because they inspire me.  I get them from everywhere.  I will read something in a book, or online, or hear someone say something, and I make sure to note it in the journal that I always have with me.  I like to think that if could just absorb the quote, that I might live my life better in some small way, with the quotes adding cumulative value for my overall self-improvement.

  I could probably type the quotes into my phone or iPad, but I think that I retain the quote better if I write it in my own hand.  I always think that I will have the chance to go back to my journal and read the quotes, and sometimes I do, but not often enough.  With the desire for further study and retention in mind, as well as for possible inspiration for others, here are some of the quotes I've written down in the last month or so...

"There are all sorts of unknowns.  The first step is literally just to say you're going to do it, and the second step is to start doing it."     -Andre Durand, New York Times Corner Office, July 19, 2013

"You have an abundance of natural ability, and, with your mind made up, you can accomplish much.  You are impulsive, and your intuition is more apt to be correct than your careful reasoning.  You like social life and have many enjoyable interests outside of your home."     -A book about birthdays, about the September 24 birthday.

"Everything around us that we call life was made up by people no smarter than you.  And you an build your own things and you can build your own life that other people can live in."     -Ashton Kutcher

"At some point in your life you realize who is important, who is no longer important, and who will always be important.  So, don't worry about the people from your past;  there is a reason why they didn't make it to your future."     -Unknown

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader."     -John Quincy Adams

"Watch your thoughts;  they become words.
Watch your words;  they become your actions.
Watch your actions;  they become habits.
Watch your habits;  they become your character.
Watch your character;  it becomes your destiny.
Therefore, your thoughts become your destiny."     -Attributed to Margaret Thatcher

Anxiety

Anxiety.  It seems to be my middle name.  I get anxious about almost everything, including being anxious.  Right now I am anxious for a lot of reasons, but the top reason is that I am waiting for a package that hasn't arrived.  The tracker says that the package is on the truck for delivery today.  I even came home from work to wait for it.  This was a bit of a risk because a lot of people have been jumping ship at work lately and I think that my boss thinks I'm one of them and that I'm really at a job interview.  No-I told the truth, which is that I'm waiting for a package.  I've been waiting since this morning, and it's almost 6 p.m. now.  

I realize that almost everyone living in this and many countries have had the same exact thing happen to them, but it doesn't lessen my anxiety.  I can't stay home from work again tomorrow to wait for the package.  If it doesn't come today (which is looking increasingly unlikely) I have to hope that my husband will be home when the truck arrives tomorrow (if indeed it does come tomorrow).  If not, I will probably have to go to some location out in the middle of nowhere, where I'll wait in a long line only to be told that they don't have it at that location.  It's happened to me before.  I would have had the darn thing delivered at work in the first place, and I tried to, but the place I ordered from got weird about the "bill to" and "ship to" addresses being different. 

First world problems, I know.  I wonder how I would fare in the desert, or the jungle, or some other third world place?  I would probably still have anxiety!    

I Thought There Was a Cold Front Coming In

In Texas in the summer, it is hot.  I know that I've said that before, but it bears repeating.  It may not be like some places that regularly record temperatures of 120 degrees Farenheit or more, but we regularly get temperatures of over 100 degrees in the summer.  This week there was supposed to be a cold front, which means that it was going to be in the 90s.  I was excited about this because I hadn't run in several days.  Running last week in the high temps, plus continuing fatigue from the previous week's vacation in a different time zone, meant that I needed to take a break for a few days.  Even though it was still very hot today (the cold front didn't come after all), I wanted (needed) to run. 

While the run was not a disaster by any means, it was a disappointment.  I ran 7 miles.  I planned to do one of my "medium" runs, which means that I would run either 7 or 8 miles.  I have been running one medium run and one "long" run, meaning 10 miles, on the weekends.  In addition to this I run at least one "short" run, meaning 5 miles, during the week.  However, in the major heat of the summer I have been settling for two medium runs during the weekends, and one or two short runs during the week.

What I like to do is run 8 or 10 miles on Saturday and 7 miles on Sunday.  That way, I am sure to get the longer run in and I feel like I can relax, at least comparatively speaking.  Even when I tell myself I'll only run 7, I usually end up running 8.  Today, I was feeling so hot and I knew that I would suffer a lot if I stayed out for 8.  Even though I was glad that I ran at all, I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction.  I'll feel bad if I don't run 8 miles tomorrow.

Running in the Heat

August in Dallas is hot.  This week has seen temperatures of over 100 degrees every day.  During a run, this obviously feels less than comfortable.  Sweat is pouring down into the eyes, the Garmin shows times and other stats that are disappointing to say the least, and it is exhausting in general.  

My rule is that I never run more than two times in a row when the temperature gets so high.  However, in my zeal for running I sometimes forget about that rule, as I did earlier this week.  I am definitely paying the price now.  I am more tired, and my husband would probably tell you that I am a bit more irritable, even emotional, and if you knew me you would know that that was really saying something.  I am normally not what you would call particularly emotional anyway, so most people wouldn't notice much, but I certainly do and so do the people I live with.  At least we know what the problem is, and that I now have it under control so it won't last much longer.

I haven't forgotten my rule very often, but the first time was a doozy.  I hadn't actually made the rule at that point because I hadn't yet realized its necessity.  I had been running in weather that I knew was hot, but I didn't know that it had crossed the magical triple digit threshold until the radio announcer I heard on my Walkman during the run (this was many years ago, when I was young and foolish and Walkmans ruled for on-the-go music) said that Dallas had already had three days of over 100 degree temperatures and was expecting more.  He even said that everyone should stay indoors as much as possible due to the danger of heatstroke and the like.  I worried a little, because I had run every one of those three days.  However, I thought that since I felt okay, I'd keep on, and I even felt so good that I ran the next day.  By the day after, which was a Friday, I could barely get out bed to stand upright.  I called in sick to work, took my daughter to school, and went to the store to buy the largest bottle of Gatorade and the biggest watermelon I could find.  I then staggered into my apartment and stayed on the couch for the better part of that weekend, barely able to move, trying to get fluids into my dehydrated body.

I know that I am not the only runner to do something like that, and I am definitely not the only athlete to perform in sub-optimal conditions.  Why do we do it?  The same reason that we always do it.  Running, and I imagine many other athletic pursuits, makes many of us feel good.  I'd even use the word addiction to describe what happens.  There have been times I've been driving home and will see someone already out running and feel a stab of jealousy.    Then I remember that that will be me in a few minutes, when I get home and lace up my running shoes.  And by this weekend, even if it's triple digit temperature time, I'll be out there, probably doing 8 miles instead of my usual (non-heatstroke advisory warning) 10.  I'll be back to normal in a month or so, and I'll hope for a mild winter!   

The Restorative Power of Vacations

Most of my vacations are actually a mix of vacation and work, as I imagine is the case for many people.  If I’m not actually doing a lot of work, I’m thinking about it, ruminating about the many projects, problems, and issues that I left back at the office and that await me upon my return.  It’s hard to relax completely since my mind is going a thousand miles an hour.  No matter what I’m doing or how much fun I’m having, that little pit of worry in my gut never quite goes away.

This vacation was different.  I can’t say exactly why.  I did all of the usual things on the vacation (we go to the same spot each year for a week in late July or early August).  I walked on the beach every morning.  I did a little running, played some tennis, and even paddle-boarded and kayaked for the first time.  In the afternoons, I’d sit by the pool and do some reading.  In the mornings and evenings, I ate with family members, many of whom I only see a couple of times a year.  I deliberately did not think about work, which was probably the game changer.  For the first time, I came back home feeling refreshed and restored. I have clarified some goals that I want to achieve.  I feel more confident.  I feel like taking more risks, being more fearless, being more competitive.    

What happened to me is what the best vacations are supposed to do.  Will it hold?  I hope so.