Category Archives: Lifestyle

Crossing The Finish Line – My Thoughts on the Boston Marathon Tragedy

I keep thinking back to my first marathon (Rock ‘n Roll – 1998) and remembering how exhilarated I was as I crossed the finish line. The months of training, the sore knees, the sweat-stained clothes, the sacrificed Friday nights in the name of early Saturday morning runs – they were all worth it for that euphoria at the finish. Each run brought me closer to knowing my truest self and the journey culminated in that grand finale on race day.

The finish line of a race is sacred space, and after the images of the explosions at the Boston finish, I’m not sure I’ll ever again view one in quite the same way.

I don’t know why the bomber chose a marathon finish line as the target. This violent act could have transpired anywhere – at a shopping mall, an amusement park, a busy train station – but it didn’t. This one happened at a race, and so the images of those runners in their numbers and singlets and Mylar blankets will be inextricably tied to our memories of this event.

There are as many perspectives on this tragedy as there are observers, and I won’t pretend to speak for all of them. But for those of us who are runners, there is one simple thing that we can do to honor those who lost lives and limbs yesterday.

We. Can. Run.

Lace up those shoes and hit the road. Run for the people who finished, elated, only to hear the explosions moments or minutes or hours later.

Run for the people who were in exactly the right place at exactly the wrong time and were injured or killed.

Run for the runners who never got to finish this race for which they’d trained and planned and sacrificed, those who were urgently yet heart-breakingly redirected away from the finish to ensure their safety.

Run for the event organizers and volunteers who lived and breathed this race all year long to make it an unforgettable celebration of the sport and of community and of health.

Run for the spectators who brought their signs and silly hats and cheered till they were hoarse and clapped till their hands hurt. If you’re a runner, you know the power those spectators hold, the energy they provide. Too many of those injured and killed yesterday were spectators; God bless each and every one of them.

We can’t erase what happened yesterday. We can’t even prevent it from happening again. But what we can do and must do is to resist being driven away from races and sporting events and amusement parks and zoos and shopping malls and airports and cities…out of fear. We just can’t let fear break us. Instead, we must heal.

So, if you’re a runner, then run. Run alone, or with friends, or better yet, in a race. Reclaim the sport for the exhilarating, uplifting, connected experience that it has always been and must continue to be.

And if you’re not a runner, perhaps you can find a race in your area in the coming weeks and sign up to volunteer. See what each of those people affected by this senseless act of violence already knew – that running heals and that each finish line is sacred space. You’ll see.

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Sticking to Habits When Things Get Messy

I’m on Spring Break with my family this week, so this is a guest post by Leo Babauta, republished with his permission. I thought this might be good timing for his thoughts on sticking to healthy habits even when life gets a little messy…it happens!

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‘If you’re going through hell, keep going.’ ~Winston Churchill

By Leo Babauta of ZenHabits

We’d like to think that making positive life changes is a straight line from beginning to where we want to go.

But life has taught us differently.

Experience shows us that you can start a new habit (let’s say working out) and things go great for awhile, and then life gets in the way. Things get messy. Things fall apart. We have a few bad days, or a huge project to work on at work, or relationship problems, or a family crisis, or we get sick.

What do we do when life gets messy and our habits fall to the wayside? Well, give up, obviously.

Actually, I take that back. We tend to give up, because when things get in the way and we mess up on our habits, it’s a little discouraging, even depressing.

But it doesn’t have to be. There are a few things you can do instead:

Breathe. Pause for a moment, breathe, focus on the breath. Know that you are OK, in this moment. Give yourself a moment’s space to think about what’s going on in your life, and who you are.

Give yourself a break. If things like relationship problems get in the way of your habits, allow yourself to pause the habits until you get your life in order and let your mind rest. Rest is important. Get plenty of sleep — this is important, because when stressful things are happening in our lives, our bodies and minds need plenty of rest to heal.

Know that every habit has bumps in the road. There’s never a perfectly smooth path with no bumps. Seriously, no habit goes on a perfectly straight line — at least, none that I’ve created, and none that anyone I know has created. Expect the bumps, and don’t let them end everything.

Allow yourself to experience the messy. Things will always come up, life gets messy, painful things happen. That’s OK. Give yourself the space to experience the pain with the joy, the mess with the beauty.

Find a friend to help you get on track. It’s great if you can do habits by yourself, but it’s even better if you can find a friend who will do it with you, or at least hold you accountable, and help you get things back on track once things clear up for you.

Keep smiling!. That’s the most important thing. Smile, and you’re doing it right.

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Nutella is not Peanut Butter (sad but true)

I know you love it. I love it, too. But please don’t kid yourself into thinking Nutella is a good substitute for peanut butter or almond butter when you’re making a healthy breakfast for yourself or your children.

The commercial alone makes me insane. The mom lovingly sends her family off for the day with a piece of toast slathered with Nutella….and a side of orange juice no less! Delicious? Yes. Nutritious? Not a chance.

Let’s look at the facts. And remember, back labels can’t lie because they are highly regulated. Front labels are another story altogether. So, first up, peanut butter. This is Jif Natural, which I chose because it’s a good mainstream brand.

Jif Label

A 2 Tbsp. serving of Jif Natural Peanut Butter has 190 calories, 7 grams of protein and 3 grams of sugar. Note that the first ingredient listed on the label is PEANUTS which means that the highest occurring ingredient in this jar (by weight) is peanuts. Not too shabby. Peanut butter is high in fat (16 grams per serving) but most of it is unsaturated which is the good kind.

Now… buckle up.

Nutella and Jif

A 2 Tbsp. serving of Nutella has 200 calories, but only 2 grams of protein and a whopping 21 grams of sugar. TWENTY-ONE. And check out the first ingredient on the list. SUGAR. That means that MOST of the volume in this jar is sugar. Yes, it’s a little lower in fat than peanut butter at 12 grams per serving, but that’s only because sugar is naturally fat free and this stuff contains so much sugar. Besides, it’s actually HIGHER in saturated fat which is the kind you want to limit.

So, can you still buy Nutella? Absolutely. Just be honest with yourself and your kids and call it a TREAT (or a dessert, an indulgence, or a moment of pure bliss…) Let’s just not kid ourselves and call it a healthy breakfast. K?

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