When I first noticed the line "show up & complete" on a friends exercise blog I thought "what a great motto". After reflecting on this past weekend's events however, I now see the true depth of what the phrase "show up and complete" implies.
On Saturday half a dozen friends completed the Patriot Half Ironman in E. Freetown, MA. While volunteering at the finish I was amazed by the dedication, courage and tenacity of all the finishers. Whether it was in 5 hours or 7, all successfully completed the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run. Relief, pain and joy was written on their faces as they crossed the finish line. With only a sparse crowd to cheer them and no notoriety or prizes to receive, all completed their races for the sheer sense of accomplishment that finishing brings. They had already shown up for countless miles on the bike, long training runs and laps of the pool. Now they could take pride in completing 70.3 miles of hard racing.
The following day, Father's Day, I reflected on my husband's role as a supportive and caring father to our two daughters. Whether it is showing up for years of riding lessons, school assemblies, or last minute homework help sessions, he is always there. While "show up" sounds simple, it is more than just a physical presence. Showing up implies being there mentally, emotionally and physically. As all parents know, being present while also scanning emails on your Blackberry won't cut it with the kids. They have an innate ability to detect whether you are really there for them, and will let you know when you are slacking. I am fortunate to have someone who always shows up completely.
To do a task well, daily effort, attention and personal investment are needed. Any triathlete will tell you that half-hearted workouts and unfocused training, no matter how many times you show up, won't get you to the finish. Longer races like a 70.3, quickly sort those who have been fully present in their training from those who have been merely "showing up" very quickly. Getting to complete takes mental as well as physical toughness in triathlon, something which my friends showed in abundance on Saturday. This sense of accomplishment carries through to their daily lives in many ways, whether dealing with complicated family issues or difficult jobs, they know they have the ability to push through obstacles and get what needs to be completed, done.
Some jobs like parenting, are never truly completed, just taken one day, age or stage at a time. Just as many athletes are looking toward their next event almost as soon as they cross the finish, success in any arena means always striving to complete the next day, phase or race better than the last. In racing as in life, this weekend taught me that all you need to do is show up and complete.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Real Food?
"Eat real food", Michael Pollen's advice seems reasonable and makes sense in terms of following a healthier diet. Real food is food that mostly looks like it's constituent parts. Vegetables, fruits, meats and grains are all real foods. Real foods don't require an ingredient label because they really don't have ingredients, they just are what they are. If a food does have ingredients, a real food has recognizable and pronounceable ingredients and not many of them either.
So what did I have for lunch today? Soy Protein Isolate, Chicory Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Rolled Oats, Almond Butter, the list goes on, and on. My Builder's Bar is touted as "The Entirely Natural Protein Bar" but I don't think it really qualifies as real food.
Why was I eating this for lunch? Because I once again got involved in a project and didn't leave myself time to eat and get to my next appointment. My choice of lunch might have been better than something from a fast food outlet but after the soy protein the next three ingredients are all just fancy organic names for sugar and the next after that is fat. For the sake of brevity I didn't list the large number of vitamins and minerals that were also added to my bar in an attempt to make it "healthy", but I'm sure you can imagine it also went on and on.
In all fairness these bars are not intended to be a meal replacement, and my using it as such is just because I ran out of time. It does however reinforce two issues. The first is the fact that eating real food takes time. Time to shop, time to prep and time to cook. If I am committed to healthy eating I need to make the time to actually do it.
The second issue is that there are far more industrially created food-like options out there than real food. Add as many ingredients as you want, natural or not, they still aren't food, and they still are not as satisfying as real food. The natural foods folks would like us to believe that these products are somehow better for us, yet they have the same high sweetness and fat content as other convenience foods. These products are just as designed and manufactured as the stuff in the next aisle, it's just labeled and marketed to a different niche.
Tomorrow, if I want to have a lunch with plenty of protein, carbohydrates and lots of vitamins and minerals, I think I'll have some soup and maybe a sandwich. I just need to make the time.
So what did I have for lunch today? Soy Protein Isolate, Chicory Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Kernel Oil, Rolled Oats, Almond Butter, the list goes on, and on. My Builder's Bar is touted as "The Entirely Natural Protein Bar" but I don't think it really qualifies as real food.
Why was I eating this for lunch? Because I once again got involved in a project and didn't leave myself time to eat and get to my next appointment. My choice of lunch might have been better than something from a fast food outlet but after the soy protein the next three ingredients are all just fancy organic names for sugar and the next after that is fat. For the sake of brevity I didn't list the large number of vitamins and minerals that were also added to my bar in an attempt to make it "healthy", but I'm sure you can imagine it also went on and on.
In all fairness these bars are not intended to be a meal replacement, and my using it as such is just because I ran out of time. It does however reinforce two issues. The first is the fact that eating real food takes time. Time to shop, time to prep and time to cook. If I am committed to healthy eating I need to make the time to actually do it.
The second issue is that there are far more industrially created food-like options out there than real food. Add as many ingredients as you want, natural or not, they still aren't food, and they still are not as satisfying as real food. The natural foods folks would like us to believe that these products are somehow better for us, yet they have the same high sweetness and fat content as other convenience foods. These products are just as designed and manufactured as the stuff in the next aisle, it's just labeled and marketed to a different niche.
Tomorrow, if I want to have a lunch with plenty of protein, carbohydrates and lots of vitamins and minerals, I think I'll have some soup and maybe a sandwich. I just need to make the time.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
The Stealth Holiday Season
To date entries on this blog have reflected my thoughts and opinions regarding what I am reading, studying or thinking about. They have not been about me. Granted what I think or read does reflect me to some degree, I have found that I often don't post entries because I don't have the energy to polish something up to present.
I have decided to change it up by posting more of my own struggles to maintain my health and achieve some sense of balance in my life, rather than the theory of how it should work. Theory is good but it is practice that gets us where we want to go.
I have not posted for almost a month. During that time my daughter has returned from her first year of college and there have been numerous family and other social events. I think that May-June is a sort of stealth version of Thanksgiving to New Years. Although there are no big holidays, there are innumerable opportunities to eat and socialize. Between graduations, weddings, anniversaries and just general thank God winter is over celebrations, it is hard to stay on track with an exercise plan and healthy eating. The lone spring holiday, Memorial Day, is an opportunity for food even if the "first" picnic requires a fleece vest for comfort.
I feel as though I have not been regularly exercising and definitely not eating well for over a month. I haven't had so many baked goods since Christmas. And my mood hasn't been this low in a long time. On looking back at my training calendar I was surprised to see what a clear connection there was. So today I got out there for a run, and yesterday I worked hard in spin class. My outlook is better and I feel like I am back on the right road if not actually moving forward. Thank goodness for new days.
I have decided to change it up by posting more of my own struggles to maintain my health and achieve some sense of balance in my life, rather than the theory of how it should work. Theory is good but it is practice that gets us where we want to go.
I have not posted for almost a month. During that time my daughter has returned from her first year of college and there have been numerous family and other social events. I think that May-June is a sort of stealth version of Thanksgiving to New Years. Although there are no big holidays, there are innumerable opportunities to eat and socialize. Between graduations, weddings, anniversaries and just general thank God winter is over celebrations, it is hard to stay on track with an exercise plan and healthy eating. The lone spring holiday, Memorial Day, is an opportunity for food even if the "first" picnic requires a fleece vest for comfort.
I feel as though I have not been regularly exercising and definitely not eating well for over a month. I haven't had so many baked goods since Christmas. And my mood hasn't been this low in a long time. On looking back at my training calendar I was surprised to see what a clear connection there was. So today I got out there for a run, and yesterday I worked hard in spin class. My outlook is better and I feel like I am back on the right road if not actually moving forward. Thank goodness for new days.
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