RAW

I am taking on a challenge of working on the inside of my body, as well as the outside while running. I have begun the raw foods 30-day challenge. It consists of eating foods that are not cooked but left in their natural state. It is a detoxing diet to cleanse the body from all the processed foods that have invaded our lives. We are too familiar with the foods that give us a quick pick-me-up or can be served in seconds from a drive-thru window. These are not foods nature intended for us. Don't get me wrong, I've had cravings for a $.99 double cheese burger on my way home from work. But after scarfing it down, I realize it has done NOTHING good for my body; just the opposite, actually. This au naturale' diet should also help with my fertility. I have recently found that my lack of fertility is genetic and has a possibility of being fixed through diet.

My mom tried to explain it to me using terms of a more descriptive nature including- low glycemic index, insulin, hormones, fertility.... The short end of it is: my diet could aide in some of the fertility obstacles that I am facing right now. I would like to try something natural before I get pumped full of drugs and hormones. This diet is said to curb sugar cravings too...that can't hurt my waist-line or my bottom-line!

Yesterday, I went shopping for produce and that is exactly what I got. Foods in all shades of green! Avocados, spinach, lettuce, celery, beans, peas, limes, watermelons - and of course splashes of color with raspberries, bananas, mangos, strawberries, pineapple, lemons! I even bought a juicer for this endeavor. I used it for the first time today to have a GREEN smoothie- not the new sense of the word green, but literally, my smoothie was of a greenish-brown hue.

It was a combination of spinach, lettuce, strawberries, and a banana. Remember from art class that green and red mixed is.... Brown :) It was quite festive before it was all mixed together. Great tasting t00! However, I learned that I need to chill it before I drink it: not so nice warm. So far, I have good energy and can still put in the miles, so you know what that means....I still have many miles to go before I sleep.

Hero's Welcome

After several months away, my running partner is back on US Soil!

Welcome home from Iraq, Lisa! I've missed you and I thank you for your service. You are my hero!

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you have been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." - John Bingham

I'd like to add...It doesn't matter how long it is between runs, you are still a runner. It has been one month since I have laced up. I'd almost forgotten was it was like to sweat, but then summer came one weekend and the temperature was 80 with 90% humidity and one

does not forget how to sweat in those conditions. But I did misplace the

freedom I feel when I am away from complacency.

Don't get me wrong, every once in a while it is great to

veg out on the couch with a list of Tivo to catch up on (especially when it is a week full of General Hospital.. oh! Dante Falconari)

But what a completely different sense of accomplishment after a 5-mile jog with your shirt drenched, hair slicked, and a little pink in the cheeks. I have become a runner again. After a lofty goal, was set and dropped, I've brought myself to continue on this journey. Running also helps me deal with stresses of everyday life and also the new stress that entered my life a year ago. The stress of trying to get pregnant. For our first two years of marriage, the hubby and I worked diligently at taking precautions for our "honeymoon period" to last as long as planned. We decided after my marathon, we would stop taking "precautions." In my mind, it was probably only going to take a matter of weeks.(In fairy tales everything happens when you want it to, doesn't it?) Well, here we are a year and a half later still enjoying that proverbial "honeymoon period." So far the fertility meds aren't kicking in as quickly as my feet are during speed work. And as any woman who has played this fertility game knows, it is a little frustrating not scoring a goal, while watching everyone else around you enjoy their prego-ness goals. This includes many of my 14,15,16-year old students. I am trying to rest in the idea that God has a plan for my life and he knows what lies ahead and it is going to be great. So, running is a way to prepare my body for all the obstacles of motherhood, weather the baby grows under or in my heart. I'm well aware it will take me being in the best shape of my life, so that is why I'm ok with the miles to go before I sleep.