After pretty much every holiday, I come back to my real life a little out of sorts. This year, the “off” feeling seemed to be a little stronger than usual so I decided to look at it more closely. This is what I found:
1. I am either a 90 year-old woman trapped in 46 year-old woman’s body, or I need deep psychological counseling. I love a routine. Not necessarily minute by minute, but a general outline of my day, and when that gets thrown off, by say, 15 hours of travel (each way) or endless hours being forced to watch football, I start to feel a little stabby.
2. As much as I like chocolate cake (And pecan pie. And See’s candy. Oh, and doughnuts.), it seems that when I eat them multiple times a day (and sometimes at the same time), I don’t feel so well. It appears that even I have a limit to how much crap I can put into my body without feeling like an aardvark is doing the samba on my large intestine.
3. Sleeping in a queen size bed with another human is significantly less comfortable at middle age than it was during my 20s. And yelling at the other human to “scoot the hell over” does not seem to bring about a positive result.
4. People who are not your blood relations don’t appreciate being given medical advice by someone with a law degree. Even if you spend A LOT of time googling medical conditions.
5. Recovery from long travel, too much food and wine, too much football, and too little running requires desperate measures: online shopping for Hammer products and new Hokas, a deep tissue massage, and 4 hours of Top Chef while running on the treadmill. Soon, hopefully, all will return to normal.
Did y’all learn anything about yourselves this holiday? Did you stab anyone? Have you recovered?
Happy Running!
Mom, ultrarunner, four-time US 24 Hour National Team member, adventure athlete, food writer. Graduate of the Pro Cooking Program at the New School of Cooking, Los Angeles. Will run for food.
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I actually had the most wonderful THanksgiving. The keys: Turkey Trot with friends followed by eggnog/bourbon; a MIL who gets everything spiffy and ready to go while you are Turkey Trotting; a little wine and a mostly Paleo menu (no peeling, boiling, mashing of potatoes — just a microwave and a food processor and done!).
Though next year I’m boycotting the turkey. Meh.
Kirstin C recently posted…Project Reverb: Brave
I did consider stabbing my mother-in-law this weekend, but we were at my house and blood is soooo difficult to get out of carpet, so I refrained.
I feel you on the eating crap thing. I have a great streusel apple pie recipe, but it was just tooooo much sugar for me. That didn’t stop me from eating two little pieces of different birthday cakes AND a sliver of pie (with ice cream!) last night though.
Kate recently posted…Thanksgiving Break
Visiting in-laws (I can relate): 9 hrs drive each way, lots of sitting on the couch (thank God for knitting), not being able to cook and eat what I like and being served when others want to eat, sleeping in full bed with non-cotton sheets and pillows…Forget running, you can’t even leave the house where they are for a walk. But you do what you have to do, then you come back home and enjoy being your own queen, walking around half-naked and snacking from fridge apples and dark chocolate.
olga recently posted…This is where I am.
I did learn that I can enjoy the food a lot more when I put in 7 miles before hand.
Haha the only reason I did not stab anyone is because half the family refused to show. Dysfunction ‘R Us! Football, specifically the length of these freaking games, is really wearing on me.
I learned that I have created the stuffing version of crack or meth. One taste, and no one ate anything else until it was gone (10-12 servings? not for these four!) and then we looked at what else we had for a while, thinking about licking the stuffing pan.
SteveQ recently posted…Good Recent Films You May Have Missed
I didn’t stab anyone either – always the sign of a successful holiday!!!
Chris and I shared a queen bed for 5 nights last week since we let my brother and family move into our room while they were here – not my favorite!!!
Kim recently posted…Counting Down with Gratitude
I think that stabbing is a perfectly reasonable response to a lot of unpleasant situations. It might have been an answer to getting the person you were sharing the queen bed with to actually share the bed. I’ve found that sharp, pointy utensils great motivators.
Char recently posted…My Weekend in Pictures
haha this was the funniest post! I love it. Carilyn, there is a blog post that you wrote maybe a year ago that I can’t find that I want to read again. It had to do with training and described the various things that happened to you throughout the week while training high mileage. Like, “3 times, someone asked me if I was ok while I was running because I was breathing so heavy” I could so relate to that post!!
I love reading your updates, I really do. I learned that I am stronger than I thought and that I love it when my wife goes out of town for holidays. She was gone from Saturday before turkey day until the Saturday after, I lost 4 pounds. I did not have to use one excuse all week for not working out. The day she left I ran 8 miles of trails in mid 20 degree weather with wind chills in the low teens with gusts over 50 mph and light snow. I did my circuit training all three days like I should every week. I went to yoga class and did yoga at home all seven nights. I ran treadmill speed workout on Sunday, ran with our group on Tuesday then Thanksgiving day I drove to Santa Fe to do 10 more miles in the snow. I did not have “Thanksgiving dinner” and did not watch any football.
David Sims recently posted…I really should write in this blog more often
I killed a chicken… for Thanksgiving dinner! I’m spending the winter living and working on a homestead, and I was raised in the city so I’m learning a TON. Chores include chopping/lugging firewood, feeding animals, gathering eggs, killing dinner, etc. I will be posting a photo essay on homestead living over on my blog.
Vanessa recently posted…Killing my Thanksgiving Dinner and a Lesson in Gratitude (Explicit Photos)
I’m so glad you had a good Thanksgiving, Kirstin! And not having a big meal/mess to contend with was probably fabulous! 🙂
Okay, Kate, that made me laugh out loud. And I’m glad you thought about the clean up consequences before acting rashly 🙂
The Texas driving is a killer, Olga. I don’t think most people realize just how big the state is, and that going anywhere takes FOREVER.
Good job, Kent! And I agree that a nice run makes all the difference.
Well, Marcia, I guess there’s something to be said for a little family feud 🙂
Steve, you must share the recipe! I need a little stuffing/crack – yum!
Kim, it’s amazing how much more comfortable a queen bed was when we were both smaller 🙂 Sigh. Middle age.
Glad you understand, Char. Men just never do 🙂
Hi Beth! I’m not sure exactly which post you are referring to – I don’t have a way to search for it because my titles never have anything to do with what is actually in the post. Basically, when I am at the end of a high mileage cycle, I am much more fatigued and it shows up in an elevated HR, heavy breathing during exertion (stairs, easy runs, etc.), and trouble sleeping. Basically, I start to notice the signs of overtraining. I try to really monitor it so I don’t go over the edge.
Sounds like a great Thanksgiving, David! Thanks for stopping by!
Hey, Vanessa! Great to hear from you! I’ve been following your travels and it sounds like y’all are doing well. Have a great holiday season!
You just accurately described how I felt last week, though I didn’t travel. I hate breaking my routine for the holidays. Ugh.
Which Hokas do you run in?
Rebecca recently posted…Want, Want, Want: Holiday Edition Part I
Hi Rebecca! Yes, holidays are tough – all the way around 🙂 I run in the Bondis, I think. That is what I just ordered, but I couldn’t remember what my last pair were, so I hope I’m right.
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