So I have a few meals to share today but I also wanted to chime in with a short little section about running when stressed. It is definitely not easy to run during mentally stressful times in life.
I read Hungry Runner Girl’s post from yesterday (I feel like you probably did too?) and wanted to not only share the link (in case you missed it) but also give my opinion in agreement.
It’s not discussed enough that emotional stress can affect running. Usually, you just hear about physical injuries and ailments affecting a person’s ability to run, not the emotional stress that might be taking place behind the scenes.
I, for one, cannot run if I am upset. Running with emotional stress just doesn’t work well for me. You would think the opposite, right? Because running should always make you feel better? Well, I think that is situational and really depends on the person, day, what’s going on, and how bad you feel.
But walking! I can always walk. If you don’t have the head to run, you should ALWAYS choose a good walk.
During my divorce (which, when at its height and worst emotionally, was now about 10 years ago!), I really could not run. Heck, I could barely make it to the gym some of those days. But I always kept up my routine, even if it meant walking really slow on the treadmill or going for a walk around my neighborhood.
I think I shared this story a long time ago on the blog but I will share it again because I will never forget it.
There was this one super emotional time 10 years ago that I dragged myself to the gym, and as I was walking as slow as a snail on the treadmill, I noticed the lady in front of me on the elliptical.
She was wearing a bright pink nightgown, in the gym, while pedaling the elliptical.
In my darkest of moments, I laughed to myself and even said out loud — well, at least I was able to get dressed to be here.
So the point of my story is, it’s okay if stress keeps you from running. It happens to the best of us. Choose to walk if you can’t run. Walking is so very good for the mind and body. People Runners don’t give walking enough credit. It will make you feel better, even when you think you can’t feel better, and I also think it’s a nice place holder in a routine for those days you mentally can’t run.
Of Interest: Feelings And Life Lessons After My Divorce
Moving on to some food!
I’ve been using the mug that my son bought me for Mother’s Day every morning since Sunday. In fact, on the days that I use my new Islanders mug for tea, I use it all day long, because I refill my mug of hot water for tea over and over. And over.
Let’s look at my Mother’s Day pancakes again because they were so delicious. This plate of pancakes was also the first breakfast for me that wasn’t oatmeal in, well, a really long time. So long of a time that I am not sure when I had something other than oatmeal for breakfast.
Oatmeal Recipes of Interest:
6 Healthy Recipes Using Oatmeal To Try Today
Bagels. I have been eating a lot of bagels again lately. Here’s half of a toasted maple raisin multigrain (So good! Local readers, I get the maple raisin multigrain bagels from Town Bagel!) with melted mozzarella cheese and a salad.
This salad below excited me for lunch on Monday because I remembered I had a leftover salad from dinner the night before. I added roasted sweet potatoes, chickpeas, avocado, and feta cheese to the mix.
Our favorite grandma pie from La Piazza. I usually have two (corner) slices but Sunday night, I was still hungry so I had half of another slice which totally put me over the edge. I’m telling you, I cannot eat like I used to. My stomach just doesn’t have the room it did when I ran 40 miles a week.
Here’s a take out version of the barbecue ranch salad from The Cheesecake Factory. It’s rare we take out from The Cheesecake Factory but sometimes it’s a nice option.
And finally, I recently bought the Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Stir Fry in my effort to eat/cook something different. My initial thoughts? It’s good. It’s fine. It’s worth throwing in your freezer.
The stir fry is mildly seasoned (and has corn, peas, and peppers mixed in) but I added broccoli, chickpeas, and avocado. I will keep playing with it and report other ways I eat the stir fry in the next few weeks.
Are you able to run when dealing with emotional stress?
Have you tried the cauliflower stir fry yet from Trader Joe’s?