Yes, the offseason is indeed here, and I have welcomed it with open arms. It was with relief that I finished my last race of my first year of cross country on Saturday. It was a dismal performance on my part, either my slowest or second slowest time this year. It's been a rough season for me, fun but rough. I'm more than ready to take some time off... and that's exactly what I've been doing.
Since the race on Saturday I have done my best to live as unhealthy a life as I know how. Unfortunately, my years of embracing an active lifestyle have made it extremely difficult for me to completely abstain from ALL forms of exercise. I have done a bit better in the nutrition category, eating foods that utterly horrify and repulse me. But then I casually observe other American going about their daily eating habits and realize that I can't even begun rival some of these people when it comes to ingesting horrible foods.
I gaze into my pantry and see ingredients that have not yet been present on any food labels this semester. Toxic words like: "Hydrogenate ____ oil," "artificial flavoring/color," "enriched flour," and the worst, highly feared, everly abundant- HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Egads! I honestly feel guilty as I stand in the checkout line at the grocery store, small bag of snickers in my hand, or with a box of CHEEZ-IT's hidden in my basket. Saturday, after the race I ate at McDonalds for the first time in... years? (This was where the whole team ate though and because the food was free I didn't have much choice.) I even stopped by a donut shop Sunday morning.
And yet, despite the initial satisfaction of all these sugary foods I find myself strangely craving some good, leafy green vegetables. As I sit typing on this computer my mind envisions the carrots in the refrigerator just as often as the twizzlers in the cupboard. It's only been three days and I'm not sure how much longer I can stick to this regimen of candy and processed foods. I think I'm gonna go eat a piece of lettuce...
