We were on a break!

We were on a break! I know, I know, I should never have hooked up with Twitter, and Facebook OMG that was a nightmare, but it was always you WordPress, always you. So, like the prodigal Ross Geller, I am back!

2017 was a good year for running! I racked up just over 2,000 kilometers and about 79,000 meters of accumulated elevation; that’s some pretty serious mountain scampering! Well, it’s what makes me happy so I just keep going up, up and away! 

2018 will be even better. More mountains, more smiles and miles. 

I can’t remember where I left off, so after several months gap I am not going to do a big recap but instead talk about the upcoming year. I kicked off 2018 with an easy, flat 12 k run ( hmm, let’s say anything under 150 meters of elevation is a flat run around here) after taking the month of December off from running I just eased back into it without pushing. The first kilometer or two were a little difficult, just getting my breathing right and remembering to put one foot in front of the other, but eventually I got into a good pace and just enjoyed the first run of the year. Smiles.

The past year was also a sort of transitional year diet wise for me. I worked on being a “reducetarian” meaning I was in the process of reducing a number of things from my diet to have a positive affect on both my health what is being called my personal food print. Kind of like your carbon foot print but for food! So, I effectively reduced and eliminated everything cow related. That was a first (and very big) step to take. No beef. No milk. No cheese (by far the hardest step), and yogurt. For a while I continued eating chicken and some fish, but in the back of my mind I knew I would eventually reduce and elimate those as well. Through the course of the year I successfully switched more and more to plant based protein to the point that by the time I got through the month of December I only ate meat once, and that was in a lasagna that a friend of mine made. I am happy and satisfied with the various vegetables, beans, pastas and grains that I no longer even want meat. 

All that to say that 2018 is the year I go vegan! It might not be 100% vegan but close. I am not going to worry about the particular labels, what concerns me the most is what is healthy and what is not. You can be vegan and eat a lot of junk type food as it contains no animal products and I clearly don’t want that, but I will keep eating honey. I buy locally produced artisanal honey from beekeepers that are passionate about what they do and are concerned for the wellbeing of their bees. Beyond that, I mean if a friend makes a cake and they used eggs I am not going to go all crazy and refuse to eat the cake! Ya know!? That’s just crazy, cause cake is good. And like I keep saying to myself, it’s a gradual process to go through and get to the point where I no longer even want certain foods. Today’s food is a good example of healthy and delicious! Breakfast has become standard; oatmeal with a tea spoon of honey, a handful of fresh cranberries followed by a kiwi and two clementines with a mug of green tea. Lunch I sautéed some courgette, red bell pepper and mushrooms than added cous cous to make a very simple but filling meal. I liked both meals and feel very good so I think this resolution just might work! I am not going to bore you evryday with what I ate for lunch, but I will just share things from time to time to keep me in check!

On the work front, I have picked up a good amount of teaching hours at the university level which helps tremendously with the budget. More money means more fruit and veg! And more books…

Currently reading the wind up bird chronicle by Haruki Murakami, he is one o f my favorite authors and a passionate runner! We’ve all read his famous book “what I talk about when I talk about running” right!?  Other than that, I read tons of poetry and occasionally drift in to a crime novel phase were I grab anything I get my hands on from the local used bookstore. 

So, that’s where I stand at the moment! I have several other projects for the new year that I will bring up as time permits. Happy to be back and look forward to catching up with my favorite blogs/bloggers!!!