Oh A Lot Of Things On My Mind

First of all, I just got home from the Runner's Roost end of the year gathering... I've gotta say, I am super excited for next year! After some wine and pizza we watched a slide show with pictures from all of the races our team members have competed in this year and it was pretty amazing. I was reminded of how many wonderful people I'm surrounded by and how lucky I am to have such a network of athletes for motivation, support, and friendship. (One of the coolest girls ever, Kylee, took this pic so she didn't get to be in it, but I definitely have to note that since I've met her, she has consistently been a positive force in my running, and life.)

Second... this one's a little harder. I'm pretty bad about judging people. I think I see what I want to see - more or less whatever will mesh with the way I'm feeling at the time - and often don't take into account anything more than than my current state of emotion. And as a result I've made some mistakes. As it turns out, most people are pretty decent. Even if they do have some ulterior motive or are fake nice or whatever, there's probably some other situation that fully explains that... and even if there isn't, so what? I'm so completely and fully far from perfect that I couldn't possibly expect anyone else to be. So like I said, I've made some mistakes about people, but have over the past few months really started to realize that the cynic in me just needs to shut up because there's a lot more good out there than bad, sometimes you just have to look a bit harder for it. I don't want to say this is a New Year's Resolution (because those tend to be broken within a few hours, like the year I thought I'd never eat candy again... ha! ha ha!), but I definitely think it's time for a few changes in the way I view others, and, honestly, life in general. I don't necessarily think I'm a negative person, but I definitely have some work to do.

On a similar-ish note, I need to take better care of myself. Raise your hand if you want to hear an old cliche! Yeah, me neither, but it's fairly true that you won't be good to others until you're good to yourself. Ugh it pains me to say that because it's SO Dr. Phil/Oprah/Self Help Book that I could really almost gag but... Seriously, it's a fact. I tend to go through phases with this. Sometimes I'll be super healthy and be all moraly superior about it and other times I have more of the "Psssh. Whatever. I'm eating a whole pizza right now." kind of mentality. I've heard it's all about balance and I believe that's true to an extent. But every now and then I get this panicky feeling that my body will just fall apart if I don't start to take care of it right now. Maybe that's a tad extreme but I look at it like this: I go out and party just like everyone else. I eat my fair share of crap just like everyone else. But beyond most others, I put my body through a ton of training. Sure running is great for you and helps you stay healthy but there is definitely a difference between running for health a training through 1oo+ miles per week. I won't go so far as to say it's unhealthy but it definitely puts stress on your body. So that kind of balance-moderation type of deal may work someone who's out just "doing cardio" but I'm afraid it's not quite enough for me. Sure I still want to go out and celebrate birthdays and whatnot but I really want to start being more conscious of what I'm eating and drinking, how much sleep I'm getting, etc. Might be a little rough to start that way of thinking during the holidays but I'm gonna give it a go. It might not always work out perfectly but at the very least I want to be aware of what I'm putting into my body or how much stress I'm putting on it, so I can at least try to balance it out somehow. I think these are actually pretty easy things to change and I know I've said several times that diet, at least, is super important to me... I've been getting a little busy, and, let's face it, a little lazy and that can make following any sort of remotely healthy lifestyle more of a challenge that it should be. But even if it is a huge and daunting challenge, it is my health and that's pretty damn important. So time to get over the laziness, find time in the busy schedule, and take better control of, well, everything.