What I'm Doing to Stay Healthy

Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week! Mine seemed a bit slow; for some reason, taking a day off makes the rest of the days drag by! But I have big plans this weekend, including:

*Getting my car detailed! A treat, since I paid it off last month.
*Wine on the back patio! (Even though my tree is gone; post to come.)
*Long runs & bike rides

Today is another post in my "What I'm...." series, this time--- "What I'm Doing to Stay Healthy."

At the beginning of the year, I started having some anxiety. I think it centered around traveling a lot, stress at work, etc. I was one big bundle of nerves & deadlines.

It made me feel not very good, and question a lot of aspects of my health. I got a bad case of vertigo coming home from Miami that took a couple of weeks to shake off. But nothing was truly wrong with me; I just felt off. In sum, I found myself really appreciating the value of being healthy- and knew I would do whatever I needed to do to feel good again.

 

I went to the doctor- a couple of times. I had things checked out, blood drawn. All good. (Although in full disclosure, I do have a blood clot disorder called Factor Five. It's not a big deal, it's not what caused me to feel "off." But it's something good to know down the road!)

 

I'm feeling 100% better these days- rest? the comfort of knowing everything is OK? life slowing down?-- but I'm being especially mindful to take good care of my body. Being burnt out, running on fumes is not good.

I also decided I needed to switch out my "quick and easy foods" (Healthy Choice for dinner every night) for REAL food. Smoothies, Fit & Fresh meals (have you tried those?) I'm also cooking more on the weekends. Eating more fruits & veggies, hummus, eggs, etc. Who knew real food could make you feel so good?!

 

 

 

It's also odd to report that I am not signed up for one single race right now. Oh, I plan to do a couple this year. But right now, I'm just training on my own timeline, own schedule with no looming race "deadline." And I feel stronger than EVER when it comes to biking. I'm running longer distances than I have in a long time.  In this picture, my bike is on a trainer; it helped me learn how to use my clip-on pedals!

 

I'm also doing more weights & ab work, drinking water constantly. Exercise is one third of the battle when it comes to feeling healthy; what you put INTO your body is another third, one I neglected for a long time. And- I'd say the final third is all mental. Being in a good place, feeling confident about your health, about your body.

 

As I get older, I find the running-on-fumes method of life no longer suites me. Physically, spiritually or mentally. It's harder to recover once I hit "empty." So, I'm making sure my tank always stays full, so to speak!

 

 I'm kicking off this Friday with a bike ride- and a good breakfast. :) Have a great one!