Well, I hate to say it, but I changed the start date of my 30 days challenge from the 11th to today.  About 10 minutes after I posted my previous post, my boyfriend called me at work to say our home had been broken into and ransacked sometime after we left for work.  All of my deceased mother's jewelry is gone.  My laptop.  Electric guitar.  Our Playstation 3.  My tablet. The heirloom diamond my boyfriend intended to give me when he proposed marriage.  All gone.  Worst of all, our sense of privacy and security was invaded and damaged.  

So April 11, all I wanted was to get out of that house and into the wine.  I wanted to shut off the fear and insult and loss; to escape the confusion and chaos.  I forgive myself.  I will stand up straight and dust myself off, and start again today.  And in the future, perhaps I will be stronger and more able to handle struggles without needing to lean on the crutch of a thick, numbing wine buzz.

We took the day off yesterday to piece the house back together and try to clean away to filthy feeling of a stranger rudely invading our home, violating it.  I take a great deal of comfort in that my cats and dog are unhurt; I can't imagine what state I would be in if he (She? They?) wounded them or stole them away; they are precious to me.  My chihuahua is so friendly she probably would have happily gone on an adventure, though my Maine Coon cat would have happily ripped his face off.  And our support system has been amazing; We are so grateful for every person who reached out in loving kindness to offer support.

Anyway...once again...Cheers to sobriety.

Today is DAY ONE!

So I decided to jump feet first: I'm beginning a 30 day detox and taking the 30 day challenge with OneYearNoBeer.com!!

I’m actually thrilled about beginning the 30-day challenge with One Year No Beer, and suspect I’ll continue on to the 90 days.  I am just ready to "clean it up", you know?  I don’t remember the last time I went more than a couple of days without a drink.  I don’t always over-indulge (Flash to the Dos Equis commercial: "but when i do, it's a whole jumbo of wine..."), but it has become a daily habit to uncork a bottle after work, and many weekends I start sipping around 1 or 2 in the afternoon.  It’s expensive, it’s a waste of valuable time, and I don’t feel good.  I want to be a better athlete (yoga and running) and complete several races this year.  I want to be a better partner to my boyfriend, be more productive around the house, and feel and look my best.  The moment is now to reclaim my life and stop giving away my power.

This challenge has me excited about my health and making good choices – it's exactly what I need.  Just telling myself I should cut back or take a day off wasn’t enough; I always gave in and said, "Meh, I'll do it tomorrow, FECK IT."  Now, it is a fun challenge, and I know I will succeed.  When it comes to a competition, even with myself, I am determined to come out on top and not give up! Cheers to sobriety!

So, in list form as to be completely clear as to my goals, here are my plans:

1. In regard to all that money I'll save by not stocking up on Yellowtail Shiraz or drinks when dining out?  For everyday I succeed in avoiding alcohol, I will deposit $5.00 into my savings account the next morning.  It's what I would've have spent on a drink/bottle anyway!  What a waste.

2. Speaking of dining out, I waste a lot of funds on that!!  And you know why?  I like to DRINK at restaurants!  Also, sometimes its nice to just have someone feed you without the clean up, and that's innocent.  So the boyfriend and I have committed to one date night out once a week.  It will be cheaper without the booze to jack up the bill, and hey, it's OK to slack a little once a week.

3. Exercise, exercise, exercise!  Not spending money on booze will also allow me to extra funds to do my favorite thing once or twice a week: HOT YOGA.  Talk about detox! I lose a gallon of sweat and find it so emotionally and mentally cleansing, as well.  As for running, I will continue to follow my Hal Higdon guidelines to prep for my New Orleans Jazzfest Half Marathon in October.  I'm committing yoga 1-2 times, running 3-4 times a week.  I know there will be times I can't workout, because I have to listen to my body, but that's also OK.  As long as I do my best.

4. Drink at least half gallon of water daily.

5.  No caffeine unless it is in the form of green tea.

OK - I'm off and running!  :) :) :)

Peace, love, and exciting possibilities,

Jen

Sunday evening recap

Well, I tried to initiate a post yesterday, but my app seems to have not liked it. The words I attempted to string together are MIA. It's not a big deal, considering I didn't even know what to post. *Chuckle* I felt like I was scraping the bottom of the barrel of verbage, sitting in a bar named "The Playwright", in the historical downtown Greenville area, after completing 5.6 miles of satisfying running. It was truly a memorable atternoon, giggling and contemplating life's conundrums with my best friend, aka my boyfriend, after our requisite fitness adventures. He is a good sport and slows to my speed; I'm an 11 min/mile, he's an 8 min/mile.  He is my partner through and through, and I can't thank the universe enough for guiding our paths toward one another.
Today is Sunday. We slept late, and then I made banana pancakes with two 'nanners that were almost too ripe to eat. I felt very frugal as I mashed them, thinking "Most people would toss these. But *I* have breakfast for the next 4 days." I then danced a self-congratulatory shimmy. Hey, only-children like me have our ways of surviving. Don't judge!

Then I drug my guy to the local middle school track to perform some sprints. I am definitely taking a yoga day tomorrow, because my legs and back feel like they are big tight BLOCKS that need some serious slow and luxurious stretching. I'm telling you, yoga is the perfect counterpart to distance running. I live for my 90 minutes of meditation, my "physical church".

I was really involved in hot yoga over the cold months.  Now that the weather is starting to encourage outside workouts, I can't imagine spending an hour in a 95° room, in the dim, meditative lighting. I want yoga in a bright, comfortable, BREATHABLE environment. I will be trying Greenville Yoga tomorrow. I'll post afterward.  It seems to be a very affordable, down to Earth studio.

I am now just digesting our dinner...I made an Indian stew of eggplant, cauliflower, pepper, onion, basil, and garlic over basmati rice. I am oh-so-stuffed...I'm gonna chill on da couch. :)

Peace, Love, and Garam Masala burps!

Healthy, revitalizing weekend....

As the title of my blog implies...I'm a vegan runner and yoga enthusiast.  I'm also...a lush.  LOL!  I love wine, and I really enjoy a long afternoon lunch with good conversation and a yummy pinot or malbec, depending on the season.  Unfortunately, this renders the rest of my day useless, as all I want to do upon arriving home is lounge on the couch and snuggle my dog.

I read a lot, as well, and a while back I came across a website called No Meat Athlete.  They have a lot of pertinent information for someone like me, and in one of the podcasts they talked about the OYNB challenge: One Year No Beer.  This is another website community that helps people go an extended period of time without alcohol, making it fun and encouraging a healthy lifestyle with a lot of enlightening support.

I'm not saying I'd want to go an entire YEAR without a glass of wine; that prospect seems sort of bleak.  But since I'm planning to run a marathon in October, it seems natural that I would clean up my social habits to enhance my performance.  It has been so many years since I've taken a long break from alcohol, I'm curious as to what would happen to my body, my psychology, my relationships, my actions, MY SLEEP, and my life experience in general.

Obviously, this is a daunting idea, but I have no doubt that I would benefit amazingly from just quitting the juice for a while.  The habit to uncork a bottle after a tough day at work is so ingrained it's hard to imagine what I would do instead.  I'd have to replace that habit with a more productive one, like oh, I don't know, RUNNING?  Yoga?  Reading a book and not having to reread the chapter because I don't remember what I read through my wine-induced mental haze?

Perhaps I'll start with a little practice!  Maybe not drinking until after 6pm?  Or I should challenge myself to a social night out as designated driver.  Maybe just take one day at a time without my old friend, the wine glass.  However I do it, I should begin this weekend. I truly need a revitalizing and restful couple of days to regroup and be productive.

And with that, I think I will start with giving myself the gift of a good old fashioned nap....

Peace, Love, and Zzzzzzz's!!