Faux Fall

I'm sitting at work. I have about 45 min until I have to teach a make-up swim lesson. The weather is overcast, kind of cold. I'm seriously hoping that no one shows up.

This recovery week has been much needed. I've been flirting with plantar fasciitis. The combination of less mileage and yesterday's day off was much needed. Today's weather was fantastic. At 60F the temperature was amazing. It gave me a tantalizing taste of fall, which is by far the best best best best time of the year. Even some road work had some hay laid out, and it reminded me of pumpkin patches. Ah... October...

Continuing on Saturday morning...

A great run this morning; 15 miles on single track at Umstead. Though it's a lower mileage, I initially try to temper my pace. However, I could tell after a mile or so that I was churning pretty good. However, it felt so smooth and fluid, I decided to run with it (no pun intended). Besides some crazy hunger, the effort continued to feel steady and strong. Only the last mile might have felt a hair sluggish.

I can't say how much I attribute it to the weather. A few details: Generally for 70+ I'm in a singlet. For high 60s it's sleeveless. Lower just a short sleeve shirt, so on and so forth. At lower 60s, it was definitely a SS shirt morning. But I couldn't ever tell if I was hot or cold. I seemed to sweat a good deal, but I never felt hot, particularly once I was well soaked (then I felt a little chilled). Of course, I judge a lot by how my hands feel, and even though 64 isn't anywhere near cold, I can feel it in my hands.

So pretty soon, I think the veganism may end. I still plan to abide by the core principles that made me pick up that diet: unprocessed foods with minimal additives. From my initial re-investigation, I concede that some of the evidence against a meat-eating diet may be more linked to the industrialization of the animal farming process. Also, from my own conclusions (which granted, I don't have explicit references to this), I think the evolution of our diet away from the ancestral ways is simply progress. I don't believe it was done with any specific malicious intent, and like any change, there are pros and cons; an ever leveling balance to life.

My current concern is how and when to start adding some food groups back in. I'm actually less concerned about meat and eggs. I'm a little scared about dairy products, because while no studies have been done (so no conclusions for/against), there's reason to believe metabolic process and gastric probiotics are lacking that were used to processing dairy. Many people have reported stomach issues, not just with milk and the ability to digest lactose, but even with cheeses or yogurts that should have minimal lactose, suggesting that it may be other compounds in the dairy products.

I'm trying to find some new music. I can't really describe what it is. Something soothing. Piano-y. The best way I can describe it is Adele's Skyfall. Music databases put that under "soul/R&B" but that also includes things like funk and disco, which is NOT what I'm looking for.

Definitely sad to see this chill weather heading out. Hopefully truly autumn weather won't be too far behind.

Soundtrack:
"Coming Back to Life" by Blindside: this line "This black crow is becoming a white dove"
"Skyfall" by Adele AND "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell. I'm on a sort of 007 movie marathon.