More About Running

Today I watched a video of a running coach explaining how to get started running if you're a beginner. I'm definitely a beginner. He recommended starting with 20 minutes of slow, easy jogging every other day. Well, I've already established that I am not able to run for 20 minutes (more like four to five minutes). But I am going to start running three days per week...every week...even if I don't want to...like today. Since I can't leave my arms out of the exercise fun, after a couple of weeks I will start doing a little weightlifting on my non-running days. Excuse me, I have to go run NOW. :)

Running!

My health has been a challenge for a long time. I've been able to finally start feeling stronger over the past six months or so, for which I am extremely grateful. After years of not being able to run due to health problems (knees hurting/giving out and lung issues: I would start coughing really hard & couldn't breathe when I started running), I finally feel strong enough to run, although it is going to be a very gradual process to get in shape. My goal is to eventually be able to do a half-marathon. It's a big goal. I officially started running last week. I ran (okay, very slowly jogged) about 1/3 mile. I didn't die, and I didn't even have any coughing fits! It was glorious. Once this week, after watching "Biggest Loser" and realizing that even extremely overweight people who hadn't been exercising regularly could run further than I can, I started feeling a bit sheepish about my ability (or lack thereof) to run. I wondered if I am just completely insane to think I can ever even run a mile, much less a half-marathon. I thought that 1/3 mile or 1/4 mile is nothing. But this is my goal, my health, and my progress. It is good enough for me.

I am Grateful!

Sometimes I just stop & think (& sometimes write) of the wonderful gifts in my life: my son, my life, the ability to read & write, family, friends, food, a bed, a garden, weather-appropriate clothing - heck, just having clothes! - sunsets, rain, sunshine, chickens, walnuts...there are at least a billion more. Anytime I find myself whining or complaining, a good dose of gratitude goes a long way to snap me out of self-ptiy and into joy!

Consolidation!

I've decided to move all my blogs here & combine them into one. You see, I have blogged about various parts of my life in various places, but I am really just one person with one life and I may as well talk about it all in one place. Welcome to my world. :)

One of the blogs I had was sort of a food journal, which I find interesting & useful to keep track of from time to time, partly because I tend to get stuck in a rut with my food choices, and it's nice to be reminded of other things I like to eat.

This morning for breakfast, I ate about 1/4 pound of home-made sausage (natural ground beef + RealSalt + fresh garlic + herbs) and drank a pint of goat milk. Man, that goat milk is satisfying!

Just now (11 am) I snacked on a few raw barbecue chips (I added about a tablespoon of raw apple cider vinegar to her recipe) and then drank a can of coconut milk with vanilla flavored stevia drops mixed in.

Hi, I'm Back :)

Wow, I can't believe my last post here was a year ago. Wait, yes I can. I'm a mom, and I've had a few things to do. :) It's interesting to read the last post, because my diet has changed yet again, and it's again because of continually high blood sugar and feeling not-so-good eating carbs. I'm eating what I feel drawn to, which is currently high-fat (some of which need to come from animal sources) and no carbs except the fiber in my veggies and the lactose in the goat milk I am guzzling like crazy. That's an interesting thing: I hadn't had goat milk in years, but I bought some the other day because it sounded good when a friend mentioned it. I drank some right away, and something about it felt so wonderfully nourishing that I found myself exclaiming aloud: "NO WONDER I always wanted more milk when I was a kid!" Interesting, because I had been thinking of that childhood desire for milk a lot over the past year or so. It went like this: Every day I asked my mother for more milk - I particularly remember I always wanted some in mid-afternoon - but there wasn't enough for me to just drink it whenever I wanted it. I really felt that I missed out on something I needed, and I felt there was something important I needed to learn from the memory - a reason it has kept coming up. We had goats for several years, and we got fresh cow's milk from a neighbor when we didn't have goats. I hadn't realized that it was during our goat-keeping time that I had constantly craved the milk, but when I drank it this week, it was familiar on a level beyond my conscious memory. I have embraced the cravings, the memory, the knowing this is good for me even though I'm not completely sure why...and I am drinking goat milk as often as I want it. YUM on all levels!