Finding Balance

My focus over the last couple of months has been to find the right balance between running, cross training, weights, core strengthening, and good eating habits.  I was pretty consistent in doing the Runner's Circuit during the later part of December and all of January and some swimming here and there.  I really liked doing the Runner's Circuit and felt like it was such a good workout.  I was running my 400's and 800's anywhere between 6:00-6:30 min/mile pace.  During a couple of 400's near the end of January Mike and I even broke 6:00 min/mile pace.  It was a little crazy how fast we were running on the treadmill.  I am not sure I loved doing speed on the treadmill but it was the best option with the poor weather conditions.  During the end of January I noticed that my left upper quad was starting to bother me with the motion of lifting up my leg.  This greatly affected my running at any speed so I was so happy when our New Zealand cruise gave me an excuse to ease off of my running.  I am still not sure if it was the treadmill speed workouts or some of the lunge exercises I was doing that attributed to my sore quad.  All I know is that I kind of dropped the Runner's Circuit routine for now.  For the later part of February and all of March I have been running a couple days a week (mostly 5-6 miles with an average pace between 7:15-7:45 min/mile), lifting upper body weights with Mike twice a week, and adding in some ab and core strengthening. 

Even with this routine I know that it is not enough to just exercise so I am trying really hard to find balance with what I eat as well.  I have always heard that eating 5 small, healthy meals a day is a great way to boost metabolism and to prevent unhealthy snacking.  I have to say that I have been diligent in eating 5 smaller meals, mostly between 300-400 calories each, and watching that what I eat is healthy and nutritious.  That is not to say that I have completely eliminated my joys like chocolate and the occassional cookie(s)...I am not that crazy.  I try to fit in whole wheat instead of white but am not totally converted to a 100% whole wheat diet and don't really know if I ever will.  I just love the taste of good white bread and so do my kids.  We alternate between the two.  I have, however, completely converted to whole wheat tortillas because I have found they do taste just as good.  Eating fruits and vegetables is not usually a problem for me.  All of this has added to some balance in my life.  I am not running an overwhelming number of miles a week where all I think about is running.  I do not believe that to be healthy for me and for my family.  Running is something I do FIRST because I love it and SECOND because it is good for both my physical and mental well being.  I wish I had more time to train and I wish there were more races that were on Saturday here in Japan.  The fact of the matter is that I have to be happy with what I am able to do now.   Who knows how my routine will change down the road.  All I care about is that I continue to be DEDICATED, DETERMINED and DISCIPLINED in both my running and my eating!