Spinning

I felt a bit like I was spinning through my day today. My client schedule was different than normal and filled with short breaks. I usually have clients grouped together and large chunks of time either before or after them. I tried to get cooking, cleaning, and crafting done in those breaks. I think I was fairly successful in completing these tasks.

Knitting time today was in limited quantity. I could have chosen to spend my entire evening knitting. What I chose to do instead is spin. Spinning is relaxing. Once a rhythm is established the yarn seems to spin itself. That rhythm is dependent on a few factors. One is how freely your hands let the wool flow and another is how evenly you treadle the wheel. Treadling is when you push the foot peddles to make the wheel go. Tonight my treadling wasn't perfectly smooth. I thought I was not sore or tired from running the last two days in a row. Fifteen minutes of spinning told me otherwise. Who knew? The wool I'm using is beautiful. It is a super soft Targhee dyed by Younger Yarns. I love the wool. Rather than push tired shins and risk having an unevenly spun yarn I decided to wait until my body has had a chance to recover.

What did I have fun creating in the kitchen today? Blue cheese vinaigrette! Blue cheese is quite a unique flavor. I've liked it for as long as I can remember. Since I'm trying to avoid using many of the bottled commercial dressings I thought I'd try making a vinaigrette that is filled with the rich blue cheese flavor.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, chopped small or pulverized with a mortar and pestle
1 green onion chopped fine
1.5 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and let sit until flavors meld and enjoy on a big green salad.

Progress

Progress can be measured in large chunks or small bits. Sometimes our biggest goals, those ones we would like to take chunks out of, come to us in small bits. When those successes seem to slow and come at a snail's pace it is important to take a moment and look at the bigger picture. How long have you been working toward the goal? No really. How long?

I know I've set some goals recently that are inching their way along. If I take an honest look at them and assess where they originated I've been working on them for years not months. In my early to mid 30's I was what I consider my ideal weight but not my ideal body fat percentage. As a fitness professional I am quite aware of the difference here and how it plays out on a person's (me in this case) health. Unfortunately for me my health took an interesting turn in my early 40's. I broke my leg in 3 places and required 8 screws and a plate to repair it. When I was finally able to walk easily again, I found myself with an even higher body fat percentage and a scale weight that made me sad.

It has taken me diligent work but my fitness has improved and my numbers are turning around. One factor has been my dedication to my TLS low glycemic impact eating. Once I saw how easy it is to put on lean muscle and take off unwanted fat by eating healthy whole foods I chose to be a coach. Now my eating plan fuels my goals.

Another factor is my dedication to exercise. Running has completely changed my life. Today's run was 5.5 miles. I ran on flat ground. I stopped when I felt pain and ran when the pain eased off. I knew my body could sustain the run. I knew my muscles could continue. I knew my lungs and heart were strong enough to take the extended cardiovascular exercise. I was happy about that.

When I take a look back at where I was 4 years ago I am amazed. I am awed at where I was and where I am now. I could never have run 5.5 miles 4 years ago. I doubt I could have run 1 mile. I had to learn I wanted to run. I had to find that bottom place, even as a trainer, to get to the place where I wanted to excel. Once I reached that place I had to start the training. Most people don't wake up runners. Most people have to start walking. Then they have to progress to walking with a few jogging or running bursts in there. Eventually they switch out to running. Few people enjoy running more than 3-5 miles. Some people enjoy endurance running. I never thought I was one of those people.

Six weeks ago I wanted to make my 5 mile easy run be an 8 mile run. I wanted to have that easy recovery at the longer distance. Yesterday's run was not 8 miles but it was darn close. This morning I woke without any soreness in my body. I feel I've achieved that goal. That is one step on the road to my grander goal. My goal of running a full marathon in less than 5 hours in March. My scale weight is approaching my desires as is my body fat percentage. It seems the running and the fat burning goals are inching their way to achievement at about the same rate as my running goals.

I have a simple exercise for anyone who is struggling with their grand goals right now. Look at that goal. Look at all the steps to achieving that goal. Look at where you had to come from to even state you wanted to reach that goal. Take pride in yourself. Take pride in the path you have been on. Take great pride in what it took to get to where you are today. Think about what your next step is. Are you working on burning fat but not getting the results you desire? Get yourself doing another 30 minutes of cardio. Are you doing plenty of cardio but not eating enough or the right foods? Set a meal plan and follow it to the letter. If you are having issues remembering to eat on time set a timer and eat when the timer goes off. Getting the right foods into the body does not happen by accident. You have to plan it. Getting your cardio done requires planning. Getting your strength training done requires planning. You are just as important as all the people and events that are filling your days. Take the time to put yourself first. I can guarantee you will have more energy and be more productive in the time you offer to others.

How about ranch today?? How about we go for a comfort food? Wouldn't it be nice to have a ranch dressing that you could use without feeling guilty?

Ranch Style Dressing

1/2 cup kefir OR 4 TBS Greek  yogurt mixed with milk to make 1/2 cup
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill weed
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and allow flavors to meld. Use sparingly on salad. I have used this dressing as a dip for roasted chicken. Yup. I'm just that weird. It does taste yummy though!

Participation

There are days that I feel we should get points for participation simply by getting out of bed. This morning I was not in a participation mood. Fall is in full swing here in the mountains. Mornings are chilly. We were at 40 degrees when I was getting out of bed. Not much incentive for putting on the running clothes and getting out there.

I did it though. I got up and put on my cold weather running tights, tank top, and cold weather running long sleeve shirt. My first half mile was so chilly I had to tuck my hands into the sleeves of my shirt. The next mile I was pushing my sleeves up my arms. By the end of mile 2 I was peeling off the long sleeve and offering a prayer of gratitude to the angel who insisted I wear the tank top under the long sleeve. I was aiming for 8 miles. At mile 7 my ankle chose not to participate any longer. It was cranky and achy. I opted for the half mile steep uphill walk instead of the mile plus a bit of gradual uphill followed by a flat finish to my front door. The ankle is fine now.

I ate a huge breakfast. Now an hour later I'm hungry again. Looks like my metabolism is participating today. Even though I'd love a huge meal heavy with carbohydrate laden pasta I'm going for a nice salad with protein. It is about goals. I'm choosing meals that will get me to my goals. I love salads. Even in the cooler weather salads still hold appeal. I think one reason is I give every effort to make my own salad dressings. They are not hard to prepare. Simple ingredients put together in a variety of ways. For the next 4 days I'll be posting a different salad dressing. I promise there will be a healthy alternative to the classic ranch and a blue cheese option as well. Today?

White Balsamic Pesto-ish Dressing

2 cloves garlic, coarsly chopped
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/4 cup fresh basil OR 1 TBS dried basil
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

Mash the garlic and sea salt together with a mortar and pestle until the garlic is thoroughly pulverized.

Add the basil and repeat until the basil has turned the mixture green and the leaves are no longer recognizable.

Add the olive oil and slowly combine. Combine the oil mixture and the vinegar. Add to your salad sparingly.