Bedridden Nutrition

Watching Netflix online shopping, and dreaming of greatness are the three things I do most when I'm sick. I think about the workouts I'm going to do next (I've written up some fun ones). How my training runs will feel (so far I've missed 7). I google more races to run (talked some friends into joining me). I look up new routes to run around the neighborhood (lots of hill work in Seattle). Meanwhile, getting out of bed to fill up my water bottle has become a physically exhausting task.

Getting sick stinks. There's no way around it. But it does help me put things into perspective. I'm painfully aware of each muscle and how vitally important they all are at the moment. Sitting up was quite the ab work over the weekend. I'm back to mastering it these days but that doesn't mean I will take for granted how great my body is once I'm well again. Having the freedom to run, jump, lift, stretch, swim, just plain old move is something so many people assume they will always have when it can actually be taken away at a moments notice.

Same goes for nutrition. Foods that help me feel better have been an obvious choice these days since they're having such a strong effect on how my body can function. I'm not about to run downstairs and grab a bag of chips (and not just because running downstairs looks more like a slow shuffle right now). If I'm going to put in the effort to get off my butt and make it all the way to the kitchen then it's going to be worth it. I'm going to be after fresh fruits, oatmeal, peanut butter on whole grain toast, tender cuts of meat on a bed of fresh greens (getting hungry just thinking about it). But I'm also going to be portion cautious. I know better than to think I could eat a ton when I'm not feeling well. An apple could fill me up for hours. It isn't as if I'm running around all day and need tons of energy. I'm sick and stuck in bed and that's what I need to eat for, not a big training run.

Enjoying lots of Green Smoothies this week!

When it's about healing and getting your body back on track you have a prime opportunity to rediscover the potential your body can achieve. Put good in, get good out. That's all it takes to keep yourself working like a well oiled machine. Treating your body like a temple instead of like a trash can makes a tremendous difference in the results you will see. Your hydration levels are just as important on rest days as they are on race days, so drink like it!