Mississippi

This work tripped killed me!

I started off with the best of intentions ...

After two full days (12+ hours) sitting in a van on the way to Mississippi, I ran about 30 minutes in beautiful balmy 70-degree weather. I ran up and down the neighborhoods, up and down some slight hills, for 30 minutes. I had no music, but I felt so alive being outside and my legs felt so strong. And strong as they've ever felt!

I cannot wait until summer here! As soon as it gets about 40, I'll be outside. Monday's run reminded me how much I love running through neighborhoods, looking at all the houses and waving to the people I pass!! When is this cold going to go away?

But Monday was the end of my running.

The weather turned colder down South, and all I had packed was running shorts. Even if I had found my way to a store to buy running pants (something I was seriously considering) my days were packed. I worked 12 hours Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and that doesn't count the "group time" I spent with 17 other people on this trip. I suppose I could have skipped the group meals and such (and thus skipping the unhealthy junk I ate), but that was part of the experience, and I'm supposed to write about the experience.

I ate healthy for the first few days. I packed apples and grapes and bars to munch on the way down. But finding healthy veggie food was tough, tougher than here. None of their travel stops offered fruit (here there's always at least a banana or apple), everything was deep fried (the one veggie offering at one restaurant was eggplant parmesan -- deep fried!) and other restaurants only offered cheese pizza. And I normally avoid restaurant pizza with a passion. It's so much healthier and satisfying when I make my own.

So, needless to say, my eating healthfully quickly went south. Literally. With little options and little time to seek out healthy ones, I ate what was available. And it was greasy, sometimes deep fried, always cheesy, and never with much fruits or veggies.

I felt like crap when I got home. From lack of running but also all the junk!

So the first thing I did was go to the grocery store. I bought grapes and apples and bananas, broccoli, asparagus, green peppers, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, yogurt and soymilk. My staples -- all things I was craving!

Last night I made mashed sweet potatoes, a veggie stir-fry with some chic pea nuggets. So yummy! So satisfying! So healthy! (Ok, the brownies that I ate afterward were not so healthy, but they were sitting there looking at me ... a leftover sugar craving from all the junk all week).

And today for lunch, I'm heading to the co-op. They always have the yummiest veggie soups, and they're always thick and hearty. I don't know what I would do without the co-op here! After visiting a place without a good one (I found one on the last day but their selection was so little, their soups so watery ...) I am very thankful for the co-op we have here.

But as for running, I think the extended car ride plus the junk food messed with my athletic ability. It had been five days since I ran, and I could barely go 2 miles. In fact, I went 1.8 miles. And I walked some. I felt horrible, my whole body ached, the effort I put forth to go just 12 mph was amazing.

But I did it. And I hopped on the stationary bike afterward for 25 minutes. Nothing fast, but it stretched my legs out.

Sunday
Distance: 1.8 miles
Time: 24 minutes
Avg. Pace: 13:30 mph
Walked: 2
Stationary bike slowly: 25 minutes

On an aside, I think I'm going to give up diet coke and corn syrup as much as I can. I ate some Hershey’s chocolate on the trip, and it was so sweet! And really not as good as the quality dark chocolate I buy at the co-op. Much more satisfying and it doesn't leave you craving more sweets.

It's one of the things I've read about recently, going back to a "natural" way of eating instead of a processed one. And I'm reading a really fabulous book "French Women For All Seasons," by the same author of "French Women Don't Get Fat," that is about eating well, eating natural food, enjoying food in season and celebrating each season as a way of celebrating life.

Days without Diet Coke: 1