Dispelling the Myths: Runners Can Eat Whatever They Want.

Runners can eat whatever they want. 

You run a lot. 

That's how you stay so thin. 

False. False. False. If running a half-marathon taught me anything (it taught me a lot of things), it taught me even more the importance of nutrition. And I'm talking eating right, eating a lot, and eating to run, not running to eat.

I found out very quickly that running made me, hungry very hungry. I sometimes tried to practice "self-control," but then I kept reading about how running can damage your hormones, lower your immunity, create injury, etc. if I didn't eat right. So I ate. A lot. Like handfuls of granola and nuts after my morning bowl of oatmeal. Like lots of red meat. (Thanks to reading Run Fast, Eat Slow.) Like protein bars and gels, which I know can "make you fat," (but they didn't-they gave me energy). I decided that even if I did eat so much I gained weight, I'd rather gain weight and run than not run and not gain weight. (Running is good for my mental health, I've found.)

I wanted to eat sugar, but it seemed to lower my immunity and made me feel yucky. So I turned to whole food and more savory stuff. I sometimes wanted to skip carbs, but that didn't work so well, so I added in more carbs. I often stayed up late eating a big nighttime snack to make sure my belly was full and ready to run the next morning. I found out the hard way that I needed to stay on top of my long run hunger (e.g. eat on a schedule/before I was hungry) to avoid an all out binge. I ate when I didn't want to and sometimes to the point of feeling overfull, because I knew I needed it. And on the day I ran my half-marathon, I ate more than I think I've ever eaten before, but I did it because my body kept telling me it was hungry, so I knew I needed the fuel.

Can runners eat whatever they want? I'd argue not. Does running make you thin? I'd argue no in that case, too. In fact, my predisposition to being thin makes me a worse runner in some ways because I have less muscle and no fat stores to use as a reserve for days of extra miles.

So let's dispel the myth that most runners run to eat. Maybe some do. I don't. I eat to run. Extra hunger and the chance to indulge is maybe nice sometimes, but overall, running is about taking better care of myself. And that means eating better. Sometimes more. Sometimes less, but more focused on nutrients and having good energy overall. Otherwise my running is not going to get better. And I, as long as the Lord allows, want to keep progressing in this sport if I can.

(Humorous) Lessons Learned from Marriage

Sometimes your spouse does things to impress you that they don't need to do. Like my husband was only wearing jeans once before washing them because he thought it was "normal." When I told him I wear my jeans many times before I wash them, he was like, "Oh, I can do that? Then I'll make less laundry."

Black napkins look great...until you use them. Then they show everything.

There's no substitute for Dawn. It may be a more expensive dish soap, but nothing else cuts the grease. Just buy it.

Wal-Mart does not sell whole bean coffee. Whole bean coffee is specialty.

Refined coconut oil has no taste. So unless you're trying to get health benefits from using it, buy unrefined coconut oil. It actually tastes, well, like coconut.

Waterproof tablecloths are thebomb.com

Menu planning does not really work. Menu-idea-ing does. And sometimes items stay on the menu idea list for a long time....

Apparently homemade granola can convert even a former keto dieter to carbs....

Even after you've lived together for awhile, sometimes you forget that there's someone else in the house. And they scare you to death. Like that night I knew my husband was coming home but about had a heart attack when I saw him sitting on the couch when I came out from the back room.

Marriage has its ups and downs. It's teaching me a lot. But it's also fun and funny. Laughing with someone I love has been a huge blessing in marriage. And today I'm celebrating that.

Do you have any humorous stories from your own marriage? Please share in the comments section.

Novelty Races: The Color Run

I ran The Color Run this past weekend. I might not have chosen it, but I did it. The Color Run is technically a 5K, "the happiest 5K," if you believe the advertisements. But it's a little different. Let me explain.

The Color Run is more of an event than a race. There are no timers. Groups start in waves that the emcees randomly select. The swag is stuff like tie-die headbands and gold sun tattoos (and you pay for all of it). More people walk than run. (And some people apparently even lie down and do "snow angels" in the color powder, as I saw Saturday.)

So how does it work?

1) You register.
2) You pick up your packet (the day before, or there is a $5 extra fee).
3) You dress in white. 
4) You go to the race.
5) You stand in the chutes until they release you.
6) You run (or walk, or crawl, or push your stroller or wheelchair--I did like that this was an open event for everyone).

There are no mile markers, just color arches. As you run through each arch, volunteers throw powder at you. You hope they get you, but sometimes they don't. (We missed the pink and yellow almost entirely). The course winds back and forth a bit for this to happen. Then you get to the finish line, get a medal, and get more color. There's an after party. There are "adult beverages" for those of age. There are pictures.

The run was okay. The pictures were fun. I was a little disappointed with some of the adult innuendos, and even the alcohol, to be honest. This was a family friendly event. Couldn't we leave those things out for once?

The race was fairly well set up. There was adequate water at the "after party." There were blowers on the way out to get the color dust off. There were fun giveaways. The race just wasn't what I was used to.

Would I do the race again? Maybe. If it was a group, "just for fun, run" kinda thing. But I think overall, I like actual races. I'm more into course novelty than novelty, novelty. 

Real Life Marriage: Our Relationship Still Needs Work

I am a counselor. We are two mature adults. We really don't fight. So I guess I thought at some point things would get easier. I thought we'd "arrive." Nope! This marriage requires work, and that's been especially evident over the past five months.

The longer my husband and I are married, the more I realize that marriage is not easy. It is a choice and a commitment. It is a process. We have to work at our communication. We have to work at honoring and respecting one another. We have to work at making joint decisions. We have to work at prioritizing. We have to work at spending time together. I cannot expect to ever reach perfection in any of these areas.. 

Five months is a short time. And yet, five months is a long time. We are already forming patterns and habits. We are "falling" in love more and more each day because we choose to do so. And as we do so, I find I need him more and more each day. The love in my heart grows exponentially, even in the hard.

Marriage is hard. It is sanctifying. It is refining. But I'm starting to think it's supposed to be that way. Our relationship needs work, but the work that it requires brings us together, binds us together. And that's what marriage is supposed to be: an irrevocable bond that images Christ and the church.

To God be the glory.

A Basic Guide to Meditating

I read a book recently about how "affirmative action reduces negative hormones" (Galloway, 2012). That got me to thinking about my thoughts and how they affect my health. If you've read this blog very long, you've probably gathered that I'm a pretty stressed person who struggles to stay calm. But lately, I'm trying to change that. Or at least, I'm trying to change my thinking.

When a negative thought or worry comes up, I'm trying to say, "You are God of ______." Or "God can take care of __________." I've then taking to trying to meditate on that thought by repeating it over and over.

The basic idea of meditation is to calm the brain by sitting, breathing, and thinking of one thought, and then no thought, and eventually getting to a place of "emptiness," or "floating." Here's how that works with the above scenario:

"You are God of ________________."
(Repeat until my brain feels calm.)

"You are God."
(Repeat until my brain feels calm.)

"God."
(Repeat until my brain feels calm.)

I usually stop there, because as a believer in Christ, I think emptying my mind is a dangerous thing. I want God to always be filling me. So ending on God is where I want to be. 

Sometimes I practice meditation while doing an activity (such as walking or running). And when I'm done. I'm done. Other times, I do it while trying to fall asleep. So it ends when I sleep. And other times, meditation is a short break, a "rest" for my day. 

Whatever way you do it, meditation works. Basic or not. I'm thankful.

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Do you meditate? If so, how do you do it? Please share below in the comments.

I Love My Husband More....

I love my husband more than anyone else in the whole world. Maybe that’s a given. But for me, it’s kind of surprising, because I love other people so much too, like my mom, and my dad, and my brothers, and my granddad, and my best friends. But I love my husband more, and increasingly so as the days go by.

As I ponder the love that I have in my marriage, it seems right. My love for my husband should be second only to my love for Christ. Because that’s the way it’s supposed to work. But my love is also a choice and I think that’s part of the reason I love so much.

I was blessed to grow up in a loving family. In that family, love was reciprocal. I didn’t necessarily choose to love. They loved me and the love just came to me. With my husband, I made a conscious choice to love, even before I knew if he loved me. And that choice was what led me to make the commitment of marriage.

I said in my vows, “I choose you.” Sure there are hard days, but I still choose him. And I’m committed to choosing abs loving him for as many days as God give us. Is it always easy? No. Are there days I don’t feel the warm fuzzies of love? Sure. But then there are the days God grows my heart increasingly ever bigger for the man He gave me as a husband. I’m thankful and grateful and blessed to love this man more than anyone I’ve ever known.

Pumpkin Recipe Round-Up (Year Two)

We all know I like pumpkin. So in an effort to care for myself and enjoy life, I made October about the pumpkin, vowing to make at least one pumpkin recipe a week. I succeeded, barely. 

Here's what I made:

Easy pumpkin masala (The Iron You)

Pumpkin baked oatmeal (a riff on my traditional baked oatmeal)

Pumpkin hummus (Kroger)

No-bake pumpkin oatmeal energy balls (Bless This Mess)

Pumpkin protein oatmeal (My own concoction)

Pumpkin spice granola (Budget Bytes)

Also, I realize I posted last November 1 about pumpkin. I guess it's a thing now....