I've been doing a lot more eating than running...

Let me first start this by saying that I love love love eating. I do it a lot, and I don't eat all that healthfully. Sure, I'll eat a salad every now and again, a few veggies, maybe some fruit, but I certainly would not call myself health conscious, at least as far as my eating habits go. My favorite food group is that tiny one on the top of the food pyramid that you're supposed to "eat sparingly," I believe they classify it as "Fats, Oils and Sweets." Yum. (FYI when I was looking up the name of the section of the food pyramid I found out, much to my dismay, that they have redesigned the food pyramid. The "Fats, Oils and Sweets" section isn't even on there! For this reason, I'm sticking with the old guide) Anyways, my fondness of all things bad for me makes my running hobby all the more convenient. I eat a lot of crap, but I run it off so it's a-okay (my doctor would probably hit me for saying that).

So this all brings me to the past long weekend which I spent in Chicago with my family for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, as you could probably guess, is one of my favorite holidays because it revolves around, you guessed it, eating- especially in my family. So eat I did. And not just on Thanksgiving. All weekend long I stuffed myself full of delicious food that I would never ever cook for myself at home in Boston because it involves more work than putting it in the microwave. And then I came back to Boston and it was my birthday and I ate some more, and I threw some drinks in there too because, well, it was my birthday. All of this eating, and, aside from a great 7 mile run on Monday night, very minimal exercise. I even, in an act of sheer desperation, attempted to wake up and run before work this morning. Of course, I was too sleepy and lethargic from all of the food and wine I had last night to actually get out of bed so I just turned off my alarm and went back to sleep. And now I find myself here on Wednesday, with very few prospects of times to run or go to the gym for the rest of the week, and I feel... gross, really gross.

I'm not one to stress about being fat or skinny. I, like a lot of people, had issues with weight and body image etc. at one point in my life, but, for the most part, I'm over all of that. I owe a lot of that to running because rather than worrying about what my body looks like, I've figured out it's much more important what it feels like- whether during a run or just sitting around. When I'm training or just staying on top of my running, my body feels strong and healthy. When I'm sitting around all of the time and stuffing my face with cookies, well... it doesn't feel so hot. But, the good thing about all of this is, I have the power to change it. Sure, this week is a little crazy and there isn't a lot of time to run or exercise, but I know I'll be back on track next week and hopefully back to feeling good again. Until then, I'll just have to live with feeling a little sluggish and lazy and get a run in when I get the chance... and maybe limit my cookie intake over the next couple of days...