May 28th - Every Day in May

Today was a big work day and cut short my time to leisurely meander through my healthy actions. I still got them in, but it had to be more of a deliberate thing.

Health is Physical:

Annie had an easy out, fast back workout today that I was bold enough to go for it with her. We ran 20 minutes out at 9ish pace, then stopped for 20 seconds to collect ourselves, and turned around and ran back home as fast as we could. It was about 2.25 miles each way and the race was on.

Annie and I traded positions several times and I think she was surprised that slow mom didn’t get dropped in the first thirty seconds. I was more surprised than her! We went through the first mile at 7:08. To think I used to run 13 miles off the bike faster than that pace with a smile on my face!

I found I was stronger on the hills (bulldog) and she mowed me down on the descents (gazelle). It came down to the last 200 meters where she put in a final surge and sealed the deal. I had no game on that surge.

I think we both enjoyed the adventure, even if we were both a little surprised to be racing each other. I’m going to get only a few more months of this I think before she is long out of sight, so I tried to just eat it up.

Health is Mental/Emotional:

I jumped back into my audio book on immunity today and was excited to get through the chapter on “Fever, Stress, and the Power of the Mind.” I was really excited to hear about some action items that were science based I could take to protect my immunity. Sadly, the science is just not really there.

I did learn that a clinical trial costs about 40 million dollars to do correctly. So things like Thai Chi and Meditation haven’t been rigorously tested as they pertain to immunity. The only thing that has has some definitive solid testing is stress. Stress, namely cortisol production, is definitely linked to decreased immunity. Which I find very interesting. Because I have found the opposite to be true in an athletic sense. I feel, anecdotally, that when I am training really hard I never get sick, but the minute I let off the gas, I do. But the research seems to say otherwise.

They also looked at anger and laughter, and meditation and the relationship to immunity. Again, nothing earth shattering from the studies that have been done, nothing really definitively conclusive, although you will hear people talk in certain spaces about studies showing promise when it comes to all these things and their effect on immunity.

Health is Spiritual

Due to being a bit crunched on time, I went for a 20 minute sitting meditation this evening. I struggle to sit for meditation, I struggle to get myself to actually do it. What do other people who have consistent practices do? For a gal who really does not enjoy routine, I have been trying to stay away from just forcing myself to a certain time of day. But I resist sitting SO HARD. And I sometimes come out of it feeling like I came up with all these great ideas that I had to let go of in order to go back to my breath and then couldn’t exactly remember them when the meditation was over. So then I have feelings of sadness and missed opportunity. Anyone else? Help! I’m really good with accountability, so maybe I need to find something like that. Does anyone know someone who guides a meditation online every day, or something??? Help.

Insights

I am capable of taking three healthy actions even on busy days. I am capable of getting a full nights rest, eating healthy, working a full day, and still taking three healthy actions. Is it free and easy? Not yet… but I’m working on it.

Until tomorrow… in good health.