Too early to tell, but changes feel good, plus a little celebration

Dear James, Daniel and Emily

First, I know it has only been a week of the new diet, but so far so good. Too early to tell how much of a difference it is making, That will probably take at least a month, and to be honest I am probably stuck on this for the rest of my life. But it does feel good to say that I haven't had red meat in a week and had 1 entirely meatless day.

Of course it would probably have been better if there hadn't been a few temptations. Like the will power sapping donuts in the break room yesterday. But overall the fight against sweets was okay, just not as good as the reduction of meats (which is surprising, I would have thought I would have a harder time giving up meats than sweets, although to be fair I haven't given up on meat, just reduced my intake by a large margin.)

Sundays Run

Best run since New Years. And when looking at the history this should end up being my best month since September when it comes to mileage. So a little celebration as I have begun to work myself back into shape. It is slow, and I am slower, but I feel better about getting back into the groove. I just need to manage the next month, with a week of vacation, so I don't lose the slightly dull edge I am gradually acquiring. 

It's a Good News - Bad News situation #Diet

Dear James, Daniel and Emily

Saturday at the end of my run one of my feet really acted up, got real painful. So Sunday I did the right thing, no running, stayed off it as best I could. But that didn't seem to help, as my other foot flared up Sunday night and stayed sore most of the day Monday. So I decided to do a little research, and while I don't have a doctors official diagnosis I am pretty confident that what I found is correct. The symptoms are pretty much an exact match for gout. Which is a good news bad news situation.

Good News: 

This isn't something that should require surgery, or even any real down time from running. I can deal with it primarily with diet.

Bad News:

Sayonara to eating meat, as the recommendation for a gout diet is a maximum of 4 ounces a day (and no sugar sweets or items with high fructose corn syrup.) Which will make a pretty darn big dent in my current eating habits.

Good News:

The suggested diet mentioned above is pretty much in line with what I should be eating anyway, so converting to that will only be good for me in the long term.

Bad News:

It took a major flare up to get me to make this change.

Good News:

I know that when properly motivated (major pain, medical problems) I can make a change like this. I just need the proper motivation some times (other than the always present: 'gee I should eat better'.)

That's it then. I should be able to run for now, and keep training. And I have a renewed focus and commitment to adjust my eating habits. 

Beginning to sense the building

Dear James, Daniel and Emily

I commented on my other blog the other day that one of the things I like about running is how I can build. I can set a goal, and then follow a plan that allows me to gradually build up to that goal. I know that is true for other forms of fitness: weight training, crossfit etc. But it is a part of running that appeals to me.

Sunday Run

And I can sense that improvement in runs like this. I can feel that I am getting back to the point where I can do training runs like this.And from here start increasing my distance every week. And I am allowing the training app to do it's thing. Even if that means that I am not 'running' as fast for the entire time. Which is an adjustment, but one that I am learning is for the better long term.

Today's Run

I am trying to find ways to use these runs as a form of meditation. Trying to get an idea in my head just before I start, and then I can focus on that idea while I run, really ponder it and attack it mentally. That is a good time and place to do things like that.