Shiitake Happens!

I have had the pleasure of living and traveling around the world while in the military. An added benefit of this lifestyle is that I have pretty well developed appetite but there is one item that I hate eating; mushrooms. Shiitake happens though. There are just times where I just ignore the fact that there is a fungi in my food and I add some hot sauce and get over it.  The same is true for life and your training.  The past few weeks this has never been more true.

Ultra Flunkie D has had to spend a few weeks in the hospital recovering from a couple viruses. This means the wife and I spent our time sitting in a hospital room with him. During times like these training and dietary guidelines go out the window because they are not as important as the situation at hand. The down side is when life begins to get back to normal depression usually creeps in. You begin to get upset that you may have gained a few pounds or you are behind on your miles for the month. You end up replacing one meaningful stress with another meaningless stress.  

You have to learn to weigh out your stressors against each other. Family and your livelihood should always outweigh training for a race. Remind yourself that running is supposed to be a fun way to relieve stress not another means to create stress.  So what some mushrooms ended up on your pizza. Was it still delicious? Was it not filling? Was it not the reason you went to that child’s birthday party of the neighbors you hardly know because it was free and so you could play arcade games?  After a few beers and a million crying children that you sent running in defeat from your ruthless conquest of the air hockey table, you won’t even remember the Shiitake you had to deal with earlier. 

The same goes for life. Just pick up where you left off. Have a few beers at the 7/11s you pass on your next run. Revel in the fact that you tapped into your inner child and ate grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner every night while your son was in the hospital because bread is not allowed in your house. Life will be ok. Your race will be what it is. If you DNF, who cares. If you finish DFL, well you got your money’s worth.  The key is to remember that running should be a tool to help you live a better life and not what defines your life.  

A gift of a race can end friendships but the gift of life is a blessing.  Ultra Flunkie



If you are interested in learning more about running, have running related questions, or would want to know more about coaching, please visit www.ultraflunkierunningco.com