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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Sante Fe Quinoa and Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

Who says meatless cooking can’t be satisfying, flavorful, practically addictive? Certainly not me! And these stuffed peppers are all three. If you don’t ANNOUNCE that these are meatless when you serve them,  your family (or guests) won’t even question you. The quinoa and beans and combination of rich spices will have them hooked at the first bite.

Building more meatless (aka plant based) meals into your diet is one of the best things you can do for your health (call me a broken record if you must). But you don’t need to sacrifice taste or heartiness to do so.

And, by the way, these little bundles of yumminess are even VEGAN*!  (Shhhh. I won’t tell if you don’t.)

 

Sante Fe Quinoa & Black Bean Stuffed Peppers

 

serves 4-6

 

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, small dice

2 medium carrots, small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3 large bell peppers (any color), cut in half lengthwise, stems, seeds, and membranes removed

1 – 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 – 8 oz. can low-sodium tomato sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

2. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet with a lid. Add the onion and carrot and saute about 8 minutes, or until the vegetables are softened. Add the garlic and saute an additional 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the quinoa, vegetable broth, and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.

3. While the quinoa is cooking arrange the peppers, cut side up and spray liberally with cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from the oven.

4. When the quinoa is cooked, add the black beans, tomato sauce, and spices. Combine well. Divide the mixture evenly between the six peppers. Pat the quinoa down to fill the peppers.

5. Return the peppers to the oven and bake for 25 minutes.

 

 * Vegan – containing no animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey

 

 

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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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