Mexico and STWM: On Balance
Well, this was certainly a different marathon.
For starters, I hopped off a plane and headed to straight to Toronto to get my cheer on for the thousands of people who ran the SWTM yesterday, meaning I left all this behind:
Angela and I headed down the night before and stayed with a friend. Early this morning, we headed down town to meet up with these two crazies.
Claire and Danielle
We had a blast screaming ourselves hoarse for the runners. It is truly incredible what a cheer squad can do to running moral. It has been good for me to be on the sidelines cheering, rather than racing because you can appreciate the race in an entirely new way.
It was an incredible race this year and I was so excited to see some incredible PR’s from my friends.
Before diving back into the regular grind, I thought I would quickly mention my trip to Mexico! What I did, what I ate and most importantly, what I learned!
We stayed at a Club Intrawest resort in Zihautanejo, Mexico and it was stunning. An open concept, ocean view suite with a hammock. Who really needs anything more?
I went with my family for a long over due vacation to spend some time together catching up and enjoying the sun.
Since I have been dealing with stress fractures, I decided to take it easy in terms of working out and I did some hiking, exploring, ocean water swims and tried my hand at surfing. Other than that, it was a restful, relaxing week in terms of working out.
I even caught my very first fish EVER. We went deep sea fishing in the Atlantic.
In terms of food, Mexican cuisine is my all time favourite. I ate more guacamole in the past week than I think I have in my combined life experience leading up to the trip and I am totally ok with that.
One my my highlights of the trip revolves around food. We ran into a local chef who invited us to his restaurant for dinner. Not only were we the only ones there, but he whipped up a gourmet Mexican dinner with ingredients he fetched from the market that morning right in front of us. Literally, one of the most exquisite food experiences I have ever had.
I had SO much fresh seafood, including one of the fish I caught myself.
Perhaps, most importantly, I spent some time refocusing. A day and a half into my stay, I had just finished a massage on the beach and spent the afternoon reading on a chair by the water and I began feeling weak and a little out of it. I thought it was strange, but headed for dinner. In the end, I left dinner early and spent the next three days violently ill. When I finally resurfaced and established that I was not suffering from a foreign disease and it wasn’t food poisoning, I realized it was perhaps a wake up sign that as soon as my body switches from operating a million miles on hour on coffee, stress and adrenaline, it just CANNOT deal. Which is why I have set out a number of stress relieving practices for myself, including this blog.
I love posting for you guys, I really do. I would do this even if you weren’t reading it. But when my computer charger cord died when I was on my last day of vacation and I wasn’t able to produce last Friday’s post, I didn’t freak out. I didn’t even write an extra one. I am embracing the idea that although I want to do everything I do well, I cannot do EVERYTHING. I love being a high energy person, but I need to focus on being balanced, not just always high performing. So I am putting it out there now – I am focusing on stressing less and allowing more time in my week for rest, down time and relaxation and I am asking you to hold me to it!
So, I guess you could say that Mexico was a raging success and one heckuva vacation.
What is one thing you need to add into your week to make your life more balanced?
Nice post, and beautiful pics! Looks like you had a great vacation. This week my goal is to try and start a weight and core exercise routine. I still have to figure out what that is, but there are lots of good resources out there to draw upon. I guess you can say that it will provide some balance to the running, and hopefully keep things interesting.
I have some AWESOME exercises to share with you…maybe it’s time for another core post, Paul!
Jess, I can deeeeefinitely help you out with the relaxing part. Don’t you even worry!
Also, I love that you caught a fish. And that guacamole looks unreal!
Thanks lady. We have a relaxing session planned this weekend and I cannot WAIT!
Me neither!!
Mexico sounds like fun!
I try to add at least one afternoon or evening to myself – no chores, work or anything else – just veg time! I am also hoping to add a Body Flow class to my schedule once the marathon is done – I really liked those classes!
This sounds like it was the most amazing vacation ever. That guacamole though. Errmahhhhgerdddd. I want it. I’m so happy that you and your family enjoyed yourselves AND learned a lot in the process. GET YO REST ON.
Thank you so much for coming out and cheering yesterday! I, along with all the other runners, appreciate it so much! Lunch was amazing and I loved catching up. Hopefully we can all hang again soon!!! xoxo
Great post. Always good to re-assess and get on track. My week started with being committed to my blog which I have now been sidetracked from so getting on it now!
This is a conclusion I’ve come to in my own life recently too and I keep talking and blogging about it because it is so, so important. It’s amazing how easy it is to get caught up in life craziness and not take any time for yourself, and it’s also amazing how much of a bad effect that can have on you! Good for you for changing things and making rest and restoration more of a priority 🙂
Man, that looks nice……..
Look at you reeling in that fish like a boss!! What an amazing vacation, with plenty of great lessons learned too. Thanks so much for putting up with my shivery, freezing cold self this weekend! 🙂