What an exciting week this has been for Chicago Cubs fans! In case you didn't hear, they won the World Series! This is a BIG deal! They haven't won this title since 1908, which was 108 years ago! The curse of the billy goat has been broken, and number 108 is likely to be the lucky number of thousands and thousands of Cubs fans from this point on. Read this to see why it's so significant to so many people. I'm not that superstitious, but I have to admit that I'm intrigued by the curse and the number 108.
Speaking of Cubs fans, or fans of any sport, I've seen some interesting comments on my personal Facebook feed regarding this topic. Some of my friends made snide comments about being a true fan vs. a fair-weather fan. I'm not going to lie, it really ticked me off. Why? Because some people seem to think that if you don't watch every game throughout the season, if you don't bleed blue and red all summer long, and if you don't don your Cubs tee shirt and hat on every single game day, you're not a true fan and shouldn't be acting like you are. I disagree! That's like saying that if you're not a big fan of football, but your college team is in the national championship, your excitement and cheers for your school and team aren't as legit as that of the students who went to every game. Furthermore, shouldn't the "super fans" be happy that so many silent fans jumped on board and loudly supported their team when they needed it the most?
As someone who competes in sports, I can say that it's better to feel the support, and feed off of the energy of fans when you're trying to finish strong, rather than during the journey when your nerves are calmer and your focus is on the prize at the end. For example, when my tennis team and I were playing our in season matches during the summer, we didn't have a big cheering section. Sure, some of our teammates who weren't playing came to the matches to show their support, but we didn't see many of the players on other teams and other levels coming to cheer for us. That was okay, because we knew that whether or not they were physically clapping and yelling at our matches, they were there in spirit, because we all belonged to the same club. However, the post season matches were another story. When we were playing for our flight, for our district, state, and for the Midwest, we felt the love. The club members may not have been able to be at our matches physically (some actually did make the trip to cheer us on), but we felt the love through text messages, email, and in person during practices at the club. We didn't think of them as fair-weather fans or friends. Just knowing that we had their support from afar energized us and made us want to play the best tennis that we had played all season. We appreciated them all!
The same goes for running a race. Yes, it's great to have small cheering sections throughout the course, but when you're really digging deep at the end, when you just don't know how you're going to manage one more mile, and suddenly there are a lot of people ringing cow bells, clapping, and screaming, "Good job, you've got this," well, that's what fills the tank and gets you through the finish line.
There are definitely different levels of fans. My friends who were there for the Cubs throughout the season deserve to be recognized for their passion and support, and you know that the Cubs love you for being there for the losses as much as they do when you were there for the wins. But here's the thing, when they got to the playoffs, they needed more fuel. The hunger of an athlete increases when the stakes get higher, and they need those silent fans to come out of the dark and give them more. Can you imagine how disappointing it would be for a team to work as hard as they did and not feel the love from all of the people who loved them from afar? When the stakes got higher, the cheers needed to get louder, and that's exactly what happened. So, my "super" fan friends, be grateful for the quite fans like me. We showed up when the Cubs needed a boost. We rode on your coattails, but you and the Cubs needed us there. Our fandom status may be at a different level, but we still love our Cubs and couldn't have been more excited or happy to watch them win the World Series.
Greg was too excited to stand still for a picture after the win!
How to Eat Healthy During the World Series or Any Game Day
You guys, I was wiped out on Thursday! The woman who never naps actually napped, that's how exhausted I was. The last two weeks have been crazy! I honestly felt more tired after watching the Cubs play their way to the World Series Champions than I did after running my first marathon. I'm not kidding. We didn't get to bed until midnight on October 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, and November 1. On November 2, the final game, we went to bed at 1:00 am. There was also a lot of wine and champs consumed during those games. For someone who goes to bed at 10:00 pm on most nights, this series was brutal.
If not for my plant-based vegan diet, eating healthy would have been difficult as well, but I made it work. Greg and I watched the first four games of the series at home, so I cooked or we ordered in. We watched Sunday night's game at our neighbors' house. I made a big batch of my smoky corn chowder (click here for the recipe), another friend brought a big salad, and their was hummus. All healthy and good for us. On Tuesday night I hosted the watch party. I made my pulled BBQ carrots (click here for the recipe) topped with chopped red cabbage, a big salad, and home fries (click here for the recipe). We went to a beer market/sports bar on Wednesday night to watch the final game. The market allows patrons to bring food in so we ordered a cheese-less vegetarian pizza. Thank goodness that I ate healthy game day food and not crap, because it would have taken me a week to recover instead of a day.
The lack of sleep that I experienced from this series also took its toll on my physical activity. You know, when you're tired and a little hung over it's hard to motivate yourself to workout. I'm thinking that last Friday's post was a premonition to this week and I wrote it to myself.
Yesterday was a reset day. I chugged water and tea, I ate all of the fruit and vegetables, I didn't drink a drop of wine, and I got to bed early. I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and back to normal. As I sit here eating my newest oatmeal obsession (oatmeal with pumpkin butter, chia seeds, walnuts, almond milk, and cinnamon) and typing my heart out, I think back to last week's post. Remember? I wrote about living in the moment and staying present. I did that for every game, and although I may have lost sleep, and consumed a wee bit more wine than I'm used to on the final night of the series, I stayed present. I soaked up the excitement of the people who surrounded me, I paid attention to the conversations that I had with my friends, and I lived in the moment. Because of that, wonderful memories were created and I'll have them forever.
On Thursday, I reset, and today I'm back to my disciplined self. That doesn't mean that I'm not having fun, just the opposite. I find great comfort in my discipline, and I'm so happy to be back to my healthier eating patterns and my physical activities, to being mindful. Those things define who I am and I feel happiest when I live my life mindfully.
Healthy Game Day Food and Food to Eat When You Need to Reset
I'm going to share what I ate on the final day of the World Series and what I ate the next day to reset. You get a double series today!
What I Ate on Game Day
Breakfast
Ho-hum, as always, I started with a glass of lemon water, a cup of coffee with warm and frothy almond milk, and a banana.
I ran three miles and came home and had a bowl of oatmeal with pumpkin butter, chia seeds, almond milk, and cinnamon, and another glass of water.
The oatmeal satisfied me until lunch time so I skipped a mid-morning snack.
Lunch
I made my pulled BBQ carrots for the viewing party the night before so I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch.
Mid-day Snack
I had a handful of almonds and a cup of tea.
Dinner
We met our friends at a sports bar and brought in a medium cheese-less veggie pizza. I ate a third of the pizza and had three glasses of sauvignon blanc. Don't judge. 😉
I didn't take pics of the pizza so here's a picture of the same pie, only from a different day.
X3
What I Ate the Next Day to Reset
Yawn.....I started with lemon water, coffee with almond milk, and a bowl of oatmeal with pumpkin butter, chia seeds, almond milk, and cinnamon.
Lunch
I ate the last of my pulled BBQ carrots with red cabbage, pickles, and an apple for dessert.
Mid-afternoon snack
Two handfuls of cashews, an orange, and a cup of tea.
Dinner
I made a big batch and at a huge bowl of curried cauliflower, potato, and chickpea stew. Here's the recipe. I was so tired that I didn't take a picture so I'm using the one from my recipe.
I may not have been one hundred percent on my game this week, but I ate pretty well considering that almost every day this week was a party.
Plant-based Foods with Protein
Almost every plant has some protein. Here are some examples:
Banana - 1.3 grams,
1 cup cooked oatmeal - 6 grams
2 tablespoons of chia seeds - 4 grams
1 cup of almond milk - 1 gram
2 cups grated carrots - 2 grams
1 cup shredded red cabbage - 1 gram
1 whole wheat bun - 4 grams
Apple - .05 grams
1 ounce (23 almonds) - 6 grams
Pizza - This is a guess based on the vegetables and how much I ate - 8 grams
Total - 33.35 grams. I didn't quite meet the daily recommended allowance of 46 grams today.
Day Two:
1 and 1/2 cups of cooked oats - 9 grams
2 tablespoons of chia seeds - 4 grams
1 cup of almond milk - 1 gram
2 cups of grated carrots - 2 grams
1 cup of grated red cabbage - 1 gram
1 whole wheat bun - 4 grams
1 cup of baby pickles - 1 gram
1 apple - .05 grams
1 ounce of cashews - 10 grams
Orange - .09 grams
Curried stew - 1/2 cup of coconut milk - 2 grams, 1 cup of cauliflower - 2.1 grams, 1 cup of potatoes - 3 grams, 1/2 cup of peas - 4 grams = 11.1 grams
Total - 43.69 grams. Close enough.
Today is the parade and rally for the World Series winners. It would have been fun to go, but my husband said that the 7:00 am train to the city was standing room only and filled with "rowdy" kids. 🙂 Oh to be that young again. I'm going to enjoy it via television while I sip on a smoothie and foam roll after my run. Party!
Physical Activity this Week:
Friday - Six mile run and a two mile walk with the dogs
Saturday - Three mile run and two mile walk with the dogs
Sunday - Two hour singles tennis match and a two mile walk with the dogs
Monday - Two hours of doubles tennis and weight lifting in the gym.
Tuesday - Cleaned the house and one mile walk with the dogs
Wednesday - Rest day
Thursday - Rest day
Friday - Six mile run and two mile walk with the dogs. I may be going kayaking with my friends later today.
Total mile run: 15 miles
Total miles walked: 9 miles
Total hours of tennis played: 4 hours
This week was less active than usual, but that's okay. I'm back on track today and moving on. Don't look back, live in the moment.
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy every minute of it!
xoxo,
Linda
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Christine @ Run Plant Based says
Great eats and exciting on the Cubs, such a cute pic of you two. Congrats again on the race - my training is coming to an end and I'm debating on my final long run now and if the taper times is right for me or I should have tapered longer - we'll see!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you! I still can't believe that they won. In my opinion you should definitely run the 20 miler. It helped me know that I could do another six. I started a semi-taper two weeks before and then a solid taper one mile before the marathon. It really helped me regroup. Good luck! I can't wait to hear all about it.