Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Toast will only make it better for a while

Last night was intended to be the night where I'd arrive home from a productive day at work, get laundry finished, catch up on some emails, eat a quick dinner and turn in early. It was appropriate for a rest day after a long run, I thought. Instead, what last night turned into was a night where the laundry got moved from the washer to the dryer and not much further, I ate a dinner that I heated in the microwave, went to bed at 6:00 p.m. and then woke up two hours later and proceeded to eat the entire contents of my house.

Seriously, and while I know this is about as boring as blog fodder can get, I ate a LOT. I was in the mood for something comforting and with nothing to blame but who I am and the occasional unpredictability of my mood, I made toast. Lots and lots of toast. It's one of my favorite foods (I was not kidding about that bread thing) and even more, warm toast straight out of the toaster makes me feel like I'm under a warm blanket on a cool but not-too-cold evening. And when I thought I'd had enough toast, I had a glass of milk. And then another piece of toast.

While most people would consider a carb over load combined with a "splurge" to be more along the lines of cookies or cake (both of which I also enjoy) I stuck with my toast. Of course, it helps to have a place to lay the blame so I'm going to attribute it to the increase in running mileage over the last few days. I ran more in the last four days than I'd run in the previous fourteen. The math is easy: I hadn't eaten enough (which is a shock within itself) and I was using last night to make up for it. Running can really do strange things to your body's pattern. But finally, after the toaster popped up and down several times, I felt full.

Then, as if I wanted my own version of a horror movie, before I headed back to bed, I stepped on the bathroom scale. Yes, because I wanted to see what half a loaf of whole wheat bread weighed. Duh, right? Did I mention in three weeks I'm headed to a beach on the East coast in which a beach house is being rented where things like "hot tubbing" are done? Oh, I didn't mention that? Well, silly me.

But balance, right? Balance. Which is entirely how the next few weeks and my approach to getting back to a regular running routine ought to be summed up. I've forgotten how important that aspect is to a healthy training schedule. Which probably explains why I wanted to fill the feeling of recovering from ten miles on Sunday with multiple slices of whole grain tastiness. Or not, I'm not sure.

But it's something to reach for. It's a plan and if there's anything I love, it's that. A goal, something to remember. Something to remind me. Don't have too much, don't have to little. Work hard, rest hard. Balance.

13 comments:

anne said...

Toast is totally random. Was it dry?

Danielle said...

Ah toast...such a nice little treat sometimes...At least yours was healthy. Last night I went to town on another box of Lucky Charms. Yes, and half a box later, I finally stopped. And went to bed. To prevent more eating of the Lucky Charms. I was foolish to buy them. Stupid Super Target that had them on a display and reminded me of them!! I'm jealous of your beach house and hot tubbing, even with late night toast!!

JustRun said...

eb- Yes. I never said I was proud.

Danielle- YUM! I loves me some Chams!

Runner Girl FL said...

I have baked one of those frozen loves of bread and eaten all of it while it was still hot before. That's like half a loaf of reagular bread. But I had to wait for the bread to rise and everything. It was a Saturday and I didn't plan to eat it all at once, but somehow it became dinner.

justacoolcat said...

I love toast! It's always my fallback meal. My mom is the same way. It's even a family joke.

You scare me.

Sizzle said...

i love toast soooo much. with peanut butter or with sugar and cinnamon (back when i ate sugar).

don't beat yourself up. i mean, you didn't eat an entire pie followed by an ice cream sundae chaser, right?

and please, for the love, don't get on a scale at night. ever!

Anonymous said...

RGF- Nice! Nothing like blogging to make you feel normal, eh? :)

JACC- That is it, you are my brother. There is just no other way around it. My mom is also a huge toast fan and we also tend to joke about it. SCARY.

Sizzle- I know, you're right. Who knows why I'd do that- not smart.

Backofpack said...

Dry toast? Oh, no. It should be loaded - if you are into simplicity, then buttered, feeling a little more complex? PB&J. Feeling light and frivolous? Buttered, with cinnamon sugar. Of course, butter with honey, butter with jam, or just plain peanut butter are also good options. But dry? There's no joy in dry...at least not in this house!

Bre said...

Hmm, I'm not a big toast person (I think it's the crumbs) but I absolutely understand the need for comfort food. Which is why last night after a hellacious day at work I sat on my sofa and ate thin pretzels dipped in cream cheese. And yes, actually, I feel quite better now.

Anonymous said...

I'll put that on my list of things to eat on Easter!

Toast with butter and strawberry jam...mmmmm!

Barbara Bruederlin said...

Toast is like that. Once you get into a rhythmn, it's pretty tough to stop, especially if the bread's got lots of seeds and flax and stuff.

Anonymous said...

If you are coming to a beach on the East Coast in the dead of winter (3 weeks...still gonna be cold in that part of the country) you are going to need all the toast you can eat.

Anonymous said...

GG- Don't worry, I didn't say Northeast.
Plus, the hottub's there no matter what.