Run On Love And Eat The Rainbow

So, today when I woke up my first thought was, I am going for a run today!

I kept repeating it to myself “I am going for a run today,” so that I would not have the opportunity to change my mind. I even wrote it down on a piece of paper. After my  breakfast of oatmeal and an apple, I tied my shoe laces, grabbed my mp3 and l got out the door. Just the scent of the cool fall air perked me up. I turned on my mp3 and Jack Johnson sang sweetly in my ear. I forgot how badly I missed this!

However, it does not always go so smoothly. There is a certain mental order to things that occurs when I run. It usually goes something like this:

Mile 1 –  The first mile usually begins with a sudden burst of energy and excitement that quickly turns to doubt.  “I will never make this mile, I should just do 2 and go home, yea 2 is good enough.”

Mile 2 – Around the second mile, the feel good endorphins kick in and things get better. I relax and set my pace and begin to take in the moment. “Ah, this feels  so good, I love this! Maybe I will go for 3.”

Mile 3 – Mile 3 can get a bit uncomfortable. It becomes a challenge to keep my mind in a state of gratitude and focus on positive things. All the crap that I am holding onto and all the responsibility and worry I feel  comes to mind. Sometimes my pace becomes unsteady and I get a cramp. When that happens, I just remember to keep my breath in sync with my pace and it’s all good. Definitely the most challenging mile for me.

Mile 4 – All doubt and anxiety begins to fall away and I begin to have a lot of fun. Usually at this point, I decide to go for at least another mile.

Mile 5 – I fly! Mile 5 is the bliss mile. The resistance in my mind is gone and my body takes over. I feel like Rocky (and I imagine I  look like him too). 😀

Mile 6 – I come down off my Rocky high and return to my regular pace. Sometimes this mile seems boring, but I am filled with total peace and a feeling that I never want to go away. I am reminded why I love to run.

Mile 7 – I can see that I am almost home and I feel so good that I have made it so far! I hold only positive thoughts at this point “you made it this far, may as well keep going.” I am filled with total sense of joy,  I can’t help but feel happy about everything that is. Even cleaning my toilet seems exciting to me. I love everybody and everything and I totally believe, “everybody, everybody wants to love, everybody, everybody, everybody wants to be loved.”

Mile 8 – I am definitely feeling fatigued, but I imagine how good I will feel when I bring it home. I picture my girls and what I will do with them today. I imagine how good it will feel when I get to lie on the grass after I get in the yard. I also tell myself, “It will all be over soon, bring it home girl!”

Sometimes, I get another dose of those feel good endorphins and I decide to go even further…

Mile 9, 10, 11, – I feel like I could just keep going all day long, but I should eat something and there are other things to do today.

Today’s run was 13.5 k (8.1 miles).  I just love this…

I get out there with only one plan in mind, to run. I don’t know which roads I am going to take or how long I am going to be gone, it’s just me and that country mile. Pure bliss.

After I finally got home I was very hungry. I have been eating so much peanut butter these days and man was it tempting to get out a spoon and open the jar, but I knew I wanted to make something my body will really love and thank me for. It was craving color. I had two bananas and an apple, while I thought about what I could make.

We had so many leftovers in the fridge, I decided to fry up some onion and peppers and use up the leftover Quinoa.

Purple and yellow.

With a side spinach salad and my homemade sweet garlic balsamic vinaigrette.

Green.

And corn on the cob, more yellow.

Salads are always a great way to get in the green. This vinaigrette I make is great on any salad or to marinate veggies with.

Sweet Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons EVOO

Whisk all of the ingredients together and store in a glass container. The longer it sits, the more potent the garlic becomes, so I would use it within a couple of days.

We are actually having a little compitition going on in our house, called “Eat The Rainbow.”

We started it yesterday to see who can eat the most colors. Whoever eats the most colors in a day gets to choose a recipe and I have to make it. Autumn is really into it because she really wants me to make ginger snap cookies.

Kesa obviously has no concept of how this works. Autumn whispered to me, “I don’t think she is going to win.” Made me laugh. I’ll keep you updated on who wins today, but honestly, I can’t be beat! 😉

Well, I am off to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day! Have a good one!