Back in the Butte! Checking in on my 2018 mission.

The zoo traveled back to Crested Butte late last week. I missed my community and it feels good to be back. I have the extreme fortune to live in several amazing places in the mountains of Colorado. I love Fraser and Crested Butte equally. But Crested Butte is where I have found my community of friends; it always feels like I’m a little bit lighter when I drive into this valley.

But enough about me. Puck’s friends are here too. The first day I took Puck and Bandit out for a walk, I laughed so hard I thought I would pee my pants. They were on fire! Puck was so happy to see his buddy. There is nothing like the pure joy of dogs.

We are looking forward to seeing Alexis and Frank and Edgar soon.

So far Maya has not pooped on the bed, so I think she is happy too. It’s hard to tell. She could just be waiting to strike.

I’m getting back into my routine here and it hit me hard the past few days just how far I still have to go to get my fitness and strength back. Luckily I feel more patient now than I ever have in the past. Slow and steady is more acceptable now that I’m in my mid 40s.

I don’t know about you, but I generally don’t do New Year’s Resolutions. I used to, and they were always so outrageous that of course I was going to fail. I suspect I am not alone in this. But this year the timing was good to set some goals. They are part of my 2018 mission. So I thought I would share them and how I am doing so far. Perhaps you will find inspiration. Or not. It’s up to you.

Mission 1: Mobility.

You may recall last July that I had decided to focus on regaining full mobility to hopefully improve my run (and swim and bike). That mission was abruptly halted when I destroyed my knee in early August.  I’ve been focusing on mobility throughout my recovery but it was time to really kick it up a notch. So I subscribed to MobilityWOD. I’ve read all of Kelly Starrett’s books and I believe in what he does. I’ve used his techniques a lot. But with my MobilityWOD subscription, I get the daily videos. Each day he focuses on a different body part/issue. Each video is only about 10 minutes long so it doesn’t feel overwhelming. My goal is to do at least one every day. And if I am feeling truly motivated, I go back in the archives and do some extra credit. I’m also trying to spend more time on mobility before and after workouts.

I’m doing great so far. I’ve missed a day or two because of travel, but that’s it. No, I don’t feel like Gumby yet. But I am hopeful that I will see the benefits over the course of this year.

Mission 2: Vegetables. Vegetables. Vegetables.

I eat more vegetables than the average American. That’s a low bar. And I still felt like I was falling short. I found that I was cramming my vegetables in at one or two meals each day. And there are only so many vegetables you can cram in at one time.

So my mission has been to find a way to eat a vegetable with every meal.

For the purpose of this mission, let’s just agree that peas are vegetables. I know they are not technically vegetables, but they are good for you so they count.

With that out of the way. Here’s how I’ve been creative:

• I generally eat a breakfast of homemade chia pudding with berries. Now I add a serving of peas. Other than looking like a bowl full of barf, it tastes pretty good. I am thinking of trying lima beans (also not technically vegetables; but look at what I found at the USDA website: Green peas and green lima beans are similar to other starchy vegetables and are grouped with them. ROCK ON! )
• I often bake paleo mini muffins as training food. I have started dumping as many shredded carrots and zucchinis as possible in my muffin batter. I’m not sure everyone would appreciate my approach to baking (not exact), but it works for me. I managed to fit 2 whole zucchinis and a large bag of carrots in my last batch of muffins.
• I cook egg mini muffins to have on hand. I’ve always put vegetables in these, but now I have doubled down. They come out pretty green, but who doesn’t love green eggs (and ham)?
• My go-to vegetable is spinach. Why? Well if you cook spinach, you can pack in a lot of servings into just a few bites. Efficient vegetable eating. I like raw spinach too, but cooked spinach is an easy way to do some vegetable cramming.
• I’ve continued to make cauliflower hummus. It’s good, you should try it! This is an easy way to spread a vegetable on pretty much anything. Or dip vegetables in a vegetable. Double whammy!
• Dinner has always been my vegetable catch up meal. So now I’m trying to make it my try new vegetables meal. I’ve been buying frozen vegetable mixes in bulk. I know that making it as easy as possible is the way to get myself into the habit. Steam in the bag? Bring it on!

 

I’m feeling pretty good about my 2018 missions so far. I hope you are too. And, remember that it is never a bad time to start a new mission. So if that New Year’s resolution already has you feeling defeated, let it go. And start over!