Eyes on the Process, not the Prize

7 Weeks until Marathon Day! I am definitely not as fast or fit as I have been in previous marathon training cycles, but that's ok. It seems the faster and fitter I am, the more silly training blips I make and the more injury prone I get. Toeing the line and completing a marathon will be more than I have done since 2007. I am going to give myself a whole year to get faster and go for a personal best marathon in 2012. But, for now, I need a few goals to keep me going through this training cycle!

I have to say, it has been extremely humbling to train and race these past couple months and just be super SLOW. My breathing has been bad, paces that used to feel easy have felt like death, and I have been falling behind on workouts. I guess that's what happens when you have 3 years of spotty training :-( It seems like the fitness is coming around a bit more the past couple weeks, but I definitely am not feeling that effortless stride and hunger for competition that I am used to. Instead I'm feeling like "Oh crap, I don't know if I can complete this workout". So, I think this training cycle is a "fake it til I make it" deal: I will remain confident and do everything in my power to work hard, recover, feed myself, and get enough sleep regardless of how sub-par my current performances are. Eventually it will pay off! If not on October 2nd, than sometime after that. I will focus on the process and the progress, rather than the outcome.

In honor of my process focus, I will post a few recipes each week of my "Peak Performance" meals, as well as give some regular updates on my training!

It's not about the Food

I began my schooling at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in May, 2011. In the past 3 months, I have learned more about myself and acheived a balance in my life I could have never envisioned in April. I owe it all to the IIN Food Pyramid. It is unlike any pyramid that I teach in my nutrition courses in that it does not focus only on food, but on other factors that affect overall health, including spirituality, career, physical activity, and relationship. The theory behind this pyramid is that if all one or more of these factors is out of balance, no matter how healthy your "diet" is, you will not acheive optimal health and and ultimate happiness.

Primary Food Imbalances

I have struggled with injuries and chronic emotional stress over the past few years. I also used to be an extreme optomist and very easy going, but since my mother passed in 2008 I have become extremely negative and easily irritated. In short, my life has felt incredibly imbalanced. I attempted to work on this by creating an extremely structured physical activity and nutrition routine and work a lot of hours to acheive my career goals: I wanted to fill all empty space in my day with "stuff", so I didn't have to deal with my emotions. As a result, my Primary Food was out of whack. I was so overloaded with career and physical activity that I did not create time or space for meaningful relationships or spirituality. Acknowledging that this was an issue was the best possible thing I could do for myself. The Institute of Integrative Nutrition did not give me a choice. The school promotes practicing what you preach and being your own billboard for optimal health. I certainly had some work to do.

Acheiving Balance

Over the past three months, I have worked towards balance. I have incorporated yoga and meditation in to my schedule at least three days per week to increase my spiritual connection. I have also made more of an effort in my relationships, scheduling more times to connect with friends and family. I have significantly decreased my physical activity from 10-12 exercise sessions per week to 6-7 exercise sessions per week. I stopped coaching and reduced my teaching hours to create balance in my career.

Positive Results

A number of good things have come out of this experiment with balancing my life so far. First and foremost, I FEEL better. I have energy. I am motivated to teach and learn and be a good friend. I feel more positive about the world around me. I feel less anger and resentment. I feel more connected with the earth and with people around me.

Physically, my body feels better! I am not craving sugar or caffeine. I don't have the constant combination of anxiety and fatigue overwhelming me any more. My workouts are better and my recovery is better. I am confident I will make it to the starting line of a marathon healthy for the first time in 4 years.

I Found the Missing Link!

I have always felt there was something missing from my nutrition education, and as soon as I started this school, I realized what that was: Primary Food! When people come to me for nutrition advice, they usually already have a good idea what they are "supposed" to do to be healthy (eat well, exercise more). People's eating and body weight issues usually are not about food at all. These issues stem from something deeper, upsetting the balance of Primary Food in their lives. I am excited to learn over the next few months how to help people balance their relationships, career, physical activity and spirituality to create time and space for optimal nutrition and ultimate happiness!

New territory

Well, a year later (to the day!) and I am reviving this blog once again. A lot has happened in a year. In a nutshell, I finished my 4th year as a full time professor, renovated my home, enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition to earn a certification in Health Counseling, started a regular yoga practice, lifted heavy weights and got the "fight" back in me as a racer....and most importantly, I learned to say "no" more often and cleaned out a lot of clutter in my life.

I plan to use this blog for the same purpose: nutrition tips, recipe tips, reflections on training and life....and newly, my journey towards becoming a Certified Health Couselor! I promise not to leave you hanging this time!