May 22nd - Every Day in May
Shorty post today as yesterday got away from me from a blogging POV. Strawberries!! Despite my flubbing up and not getting money to my friend in time, she she still got me a huge flat of strawberries. California produce is literally the best thing on the planet. You can’t go back to normal strawberries after you live in Cali. And the blueberries are so tasty right now too. I am a big fan of fruit…. hahahh!
Health is Physical:
Friday means track work for Annie. I attend to keep things light, fun and silly. We have a blast to be honest. Her main set today was 4x700 and 2x150. The 700s were at 6:00 pace, her VO2max. I can only hold 6:40 pace right now for that distance and not sound like I’m dying, so her coach had me go to about 80 yards in front of her and run my pace and give her a little carrot. It’s so fun to hear her coming to get me when she gets close. Then she sails by and I always try to go with it, and sometimes I can, but most the time I have to let her go. The 150s were at 800 meter pace and 400 meter pace. She obliterates me on those, but I always get a head start.
We had a really good chat on our cool down about the hard part of the workout. Through conversation we realized it was the middle 300 on the 3rd 700 that was the big test of the session. The peak discomfort of holding pace, holding form, winning the battle in your mind. Every hard workout has at least one of those points and we talked through how it’s less than 1 minute of your life that you have to be extra tough. Bulldog mode. In Ironman, that point is so long and can be so deep if you are on the pointy edge of your potential, so I like to think I have some experience to offer to her. And she’s a doll to listen and engage with me on it as well. One lucky mom!
Health is Mental/Emotional:
I got started on Lean and Strong by Josh Hillis. I don’t know why Josh isn’t a MEGA name in the health and wellness space. His work is some of the most well rounded, well thought out, and nuanced stuff I have seen. I think it’s one of those situations where I have found someone is who about to get a lot bigger. I love his skills based approach to diet. It all has so little to do with what you eat, although that matters, and more to do with your relationship to eating.
Remember, the goal is to practice (reps), not to have “perfect days.” It’s totally okay to practice each skill one or two times each day… it stacks up over time.
— Josh Hillis
He has this way of equating eating skills to lifting. It’s about skills, technique, practice, process and very little to do with outcome or results. And that to me is healthy living in a nutshell. Because most of us are NOT going to arrive on our deathbed healthy. The destination is not healthy, but the journey can be.
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
-Hunter S Thompson
Health is Spiritual
30 minutes of walking meditation today. I’m experimenting. I pulled up Insight Timer and walked to a meditation. I don’t know people, I’m not there yet. It needs some work. I had to cross streets and say hi to people along the way. I might try to move to a running style of meditation to contrast that. I shall report back.
Even bad meditation is productive though. :)
Insights
Holiday weekend, yo!! Time to get out into the garden, onto the beach, on the water. It’s glorious weather, the strawberries are ripe, summer is here!
Until tomorrow… in good health.
