Today’s Weight: 158.2 lbs.

Today’s Health: Not so great.  I feel like death warmed over, actually.  Last night I was starving after my run, and feeling kind of run down, so Dan and I got Chinese food.  There was nothing wrong with the food itself, but apparently my tummy was still not in the mood for spicy stuff.  My delicious helping of Ma Po Tofu has been punishing me ever since, subtly but skillfully.  I’m sticking to bland for the next couple of days.  I don’t think it helps any that it’s Friday and this week has been mentally exhausting.  My body was bound to take a cue and try to give up on me.

That’s OK, though.  It’s not only Friday, it’s payday, and with payday comes GROCERIES!  Woot!  My plan for grocery shopping involves lots of soup, fresh mushrooms, organic eggs, organic yogurt (and no more buckwheat honey – blech!), wheatgrass, more beets, carrots, and apples, and a few other green things – whatever catches my eye.  I’m going to be doing some serious juicing in the coming weeks, and want to make sure that my meals are packed with nutrition and vitality to fuel my endeavors.

Speaking of endeavors, now that my back and hips are hurting considerably less than they’ve hurt in the past TWO YEARS (thank you deep tissue massage and daily stretching), I’m getting back into distance running.  Back in 2009, I ran (hobbled, crawled) in the Chicago Marathon.  The main event, itself, was a mistake for me.  I pushed too hard, too fast, and not only did I not do a great job, I hurt myself pretty horribly in the process.  Now that I’m back in a town with pretty good weather for most of the year (not counting summer), I’m going to start participating in 5Ks again, and hopefully eventually work my way back up to running half-marathons.  I’m starting with the Lakefront 5K on October 15th.  I can already run 2 miles without really breaking a sweat, and I can make it through 3 miles, but I’m going to start working on making 3 miles an easy distance.  Though I won’t be up to speed training in the next 15 days, I can at least make it my goal to finish the 5K, and then plug along from there into making the distance easier and faster over time.  Once I reach a respectable time for me (right now my goal is a 10 minute mile), I’ll start slowly adding on more distance.

Running is going to be my replacement for the missing discipline aspect that Bikram once gave me.  I love that both paths encourage looking within to find strength, and for both it’s all basically about putting one foot in front of the other for as long as it takes to get to the end.  While my motivation in beginning running again is to be strong enough to compete in distance races (not to win, just to compete), and I wanted to share that today, I also want to share an inspiring scene that means so much to me.  It’s from the first episode of Band of Brothers, “Curahee”.  For people who haven’t watched the miniseries, I encourage you to do so immediately.  It’s powerful stuff: inspiring, empowering, enlightening in many cases.  Also, there’s added value for connoisseurs of the shallow, like beautiful scenery, costumes, and men.  I’m a huge fan of Damien Lewis, but maybe that’s just my weird taste.

Anyway, to the scene.  The men of Easy Company are in training to become part of the nation’s first airborne infantry at Camp Taccoa, Georgia.  The first episode of the series starts at camp, as their bonds coalesce under the incessant bullying and machinations of their commanding officer, Captain Sobel.  Sobel does little to endear himself to his men, but the group bands together under the informal leadership of Sobel’s second in command, Lt. Winters.  The men of Easy Company end up running a local mountain, Currahee, much more often than their peers in other companies, and “Currahee!” becomes a rallying cry for them, a symbol of the strength of their commitment to each other and what they are literally about to jump into across the pond.  In the moments before this scene starts, Sobel (who has taken an intense dislike to Winters), declares that it will basically be a day of relaxation for his men, and he’d like Winters to make them a heavy, filling meal – how about spaghetti? – to celebrate an easy afternoon.

On a side note, the word “Currahee” in Cherokee translates to “‘We stand alone, together”.  Beautiful, huh?