Last time I wrote I was 37 days away from my Vermont nuptials. Now I'm "crying-for-no-reason-on-a-tuesday-night-list-making-checking-sleepy-sleepless-not-a-bride-a-total-bride-doesn't-care-but-does-cd-stickering-nightmares-of-makeup-gone-wrong-unable-to-make-simple-decisions-checking-bank-account-constantly-then-putting-it-on-credit-anyway-one-hundred-percent-over-the-top-because-you-only-get-married-once-hopefully-journaling-articifact-gathering-wedding-pinterest-googling-freak..." days away. Yes, that's a number!!! *bursts into tears*
Don't you wish you lived with me? Seriously. Luckily the person who does has been enjoying his bachelor weekend. And I was supposed to be kicking ass wrapping up most of the wedding details so that I could focus my little bride brain on watching the Olympic Trials and reporting back from Hayward. What I did... was eat comfort food and watch season 5 of Lost in my pajamas. Yes, I'm the last person on earth to watch it. Whatever.
Yeah, I did my laundry and about two 'This American Life's of cleaning/packing/listlessly-wandering-around-the-apartment. Oh, and I bought whitestrips and did 30 solid minutes of tooth whitening. I sent one email to the friends sharing my condo in Vermont. I didn't run (making it my 3rd rest day this week) and I literally ate a box of white pasta with butter, half a bag of marshmallows, and the sad parts of a pint of Ben and Jerrys (having eaten all the toffee candy out of it last week).
Sarah's Butter Noodles
1/2 box of white penne
Boil water and cook that pasta. After it's done add:
Butter. Lots.
Gourmet Salt(if you can get it, it really makes this dish classy)
Crushed Red Pepper to taste (I like mine #4 spicy)
If you have it add frozen veggies at the last moments of boiling.
Or throw in avocado, olives, whatever else might be laying around after it's done.
Best eaten hot, in front of the TV, in your pajamas. Cat optional.
The pasta is my comfort food and I'm giving into it's warm buttery goodness too often! I can't remember the last time I made a salad. I should really turn this into one of those healthy food blogs with all the steps pictures. I'm like, "Find that bag of marshmallows from camping last month, eat the stale ones first they're the best..."
Joking aside, in a time of stress, when moods are up and down it's not helping me to eat a diet of 98% white processed flour and pure sugar. So today is the first day of the rest of my life, and I'm going to get this derailed diet and running plan back on the tracks.
The derailment of my running is really what leads to the derailment of rest of it. I little naysayer in my head says, "You're never going to be able to keep your mileage up throughout the wedding. So just let it go now." But really when it comes down to it, just having that schedule of 6 days of running keeps the rest of me on course. If I know I have to wake up early and run, I'll get some sleep and eat a good dinner. I'll map out my week. I'll get that running head clear that I need.
A lot of runners are considered type A. But is that the chicken or the egg? I think we have to become very structured to succeed. Some people already are structured type A's. When add running to their life, you have a serious monster (good or bad). But others like me... running keeps our feet on the ground and our heads on straight. Without it, I have that feeling of 'unbearable lightless'. I need the weight and the obligation.
So today it's about going back to the good ways, not beating myself up about it all the time, but eating to fuel running. And running to clear my head.
So without further ado, here's the obligatory green smoothie shot:
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| it's no butter noodles, but it'll do. |
What about you? Do you find sticking to your running schedule in times of turmoil is helpful? Or is it more stress?