You have no idea how happy this made me.
It’s not easy to take care of yourself on a business trip, and this one was no exception. But the weather in Chicago was gorgeous — 80 degrees! In April! — which made sunrise runs seem a little more reasonable. I woke at 6:00 AM both days and found myself sharing Lakefront Trail with hundreds of Chicagoans who were completely and utterly giddy to be outdoors.
And while I never thought I’d say these words, thank god for Starbucks. Knowing that I would spend my day faced with conference food, treats and alcohol, it was nice to stop by Starbucks each morning for an oatmeal and a large, black, unsweetened iced tea and know that I’d eaten at least one reasonably healthy food for the day. I’m also grateful for Larabar, because they’re made with real identifiable ingredients.
I shouldn’t pick on the conference sponsor, but they were giving out post-workout protein drinks and nutrition bars at their table. Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on these things? They may be the epitome of engineered food. Chock full of vitamins and protein, they also contain only two ingredients that great-grandma would have recognized. The rest was a chemical slurry that could have been found at Home Depot. I know that lots of people eat these things, but they disturbed me deeply.
The conference had me going nonstop from about 8:00-8:00 daily, and then I returned to my room to work, completely exhausted. I don’t think I really appreciate how draining it can be to step outside my box and be social; it’s not a natural skill for me. But I learned lots and let my brain absorb lots of new ideas and approaches that I wouldn’t have come up with sitting alone in my home office.
I came home late on Friday night and decided to skip my usual Saturday morning Pilates. Yes, my body could have used it, but I didn’t want to leap out of bed early and spend any more time away from my boy than I had to. Instead, I stayed in bed until a very smiley little guy came in to wake me up at 7:45. We played and talked for a bit, then headed out for a family breakfast, an event that was vastly better for my wellbeing than any form of exercise that I could have planned.