As usual, I went overboard. I made a fairly drastic change to my diet starting on Tuesday and decided I would try to stop drinking caffeine for a while as well. The latter lasted about one day.
The brain is a complicated place and I dove in over my head. When you drink a lot of coffee, then stop, it’s the equivalent of some mean-ass-man stopping by your house and telling you, “The fun is over punk, no more being happy.”
Man, the feeling you get when you stop drinking coffee is f-ng ridiculous. You can’t have a clean thought if your life depended on it . . . and oddly you feel like your life DOES depend on it because you are genuinely concerned you may die.
Well, maybe it’s not that bad, but it is certainly not a the plan to follow if you enjoy being in a good mood.
So, after about 30 hours of that nonsense, I caved and had a coffee. Today I’ve had a couple and feel like I’m ready to conquer the world again. But don’t think I don’t understand how jacked up that is.
I do not want my happiness tied to any chemical, period. I don’t take prescription drugs and pretty much refuse to go to the doctor. But, like most things in life, you need to be reminded about fifty times before something like this sinks into your thick skull.
So, here’s what I’m committed to from this point forward: moderation.
My natural tendency is to chase the highest of highs. 5k, sure. Half marathon, I’m in. Ironman? F-yeah!
My dietary change is hard enough, and even with that I have to be careful. Going from eating crap half the time to an overload of green vegetables has caused a few problems in its own right. I ate a full Pizza on Sunday, then decided to be gluten free on Tuesday. That shit doesn’t happen without pain. So, from here on, I’m easing into everything I do, including Ironman.
I haven’t yet signed up for Louisville and really don’t know if I will. It’s about 50/50 right now because there are a lot of things going on that feel out of my control. With all this broccoli falling from my steamer, I can’t justify putting another burden like 140.6 on my plate.
But, if you’re a betting person, you might be wise to put your money on my masochistic tendencies.
Mike, I too have thought of quitting coffee. I quickly realized it was the single most ridiculous thought I’ve had in my entire life. I’d be better off smearing my face in raw hamburger and taking a nap in a cage full of rabid badgers.
Coffee is part of me and I gotta be me. God speed On your baby steps Mike.
– bean water addict
PS – I was right there win you in September at IM WI. Congrats to you! You did awesome.
haha… awesome… Thanks, Chris! Yeah, it’s a little tricky no doubt… I have really decided I’m better off sticking with the plan of putting “more good in” and trust the process that habits I’m not particularly proud of will slowly fade away… rather than trying to “cut them out”… just seems so surgical. Hope you enjoyed IMWI as much as I did.