Day 9: Get out yer popcorn ... ehm ... bananas, 'cause it's showtime!

I had a flash realization last night that I have had this thing ALL WRONG! I said earlier that my goal was to get off of thyroid medication. After watching a bunch of raw inspiration videos on YouTube I saw clearly what a really dumb goal that is. To live free of the evil tyranny of Big Pharma is my goal in life? It's my birthright! Not the goal of my life! So that is no longer a goal for me. It is a milestone that I want to reach while on the way to my ultimate goal of a wondrous life of my own creation.

So what, indeed, is my goal with this health and fitness fanaticism? The biggest inspiration who spawned this mental gear turning is my new hero, Tim VanOrden, who is "attempting to make an Olympic team and break world records at the age of forty, as a raw vegan." He's the reigning stair-climbing champion in the US. He only began this crusade a few years ago. He gave up on competitive sports years ago due to multiple injuries, but then, after a year of being a raw vegan, he found he had abundant energy and was able to start training again, so he set himself the mission of seeing what was possible. Do check out his website, where there are a lot of clips: www.runningraw.com. Here's one clip I really enjoyed:


Goals Redefined
So he got me thinking, what if I decide to train for the London Marathon or something? I'm still thinking about that one, but I did come up with a couple goals I'm sure about:

• Compete in the regional 2007 Bishnu Charan Ghosh Yoga Asana Competition on January 5 in San Jose. I'll be there, so if you're anywhere nearby, come cheer for me! No, I won't win in the traditional sense of the word, not with a mere few weeks of "hard training" under my belt. But I decided that even if I fell out of every single pose it would be a triumph for me, because I would be conquering my fears and my illness. I went to the yoga studio and registered for the competition today.
  
• Do an aeriel cartwheel again (that's a cartwheel with no hands). The last time I suceeded at it was about 15 years ago (I'm in my mid-thirties, folks).
• Here's an even bigger goal: To be able to do a back handspring. Haven't done this since I was 21, maybe.
• And I wasn't half joking about that marathon idea!

Here's another inspiring video, from Richard Blackman (F1, aka Fruitarian One), another great inspiration to me. Blogger Sarah's husband Kevin already posted this clip on his blog, but it's such a great clip that I think it's worth repeating. Sorry to steal your idea, Kevin! :-)


Food:

• Juice of 3 oranges (1.5 cups), 2 mangoes
• Smoothie: 6 yellow bananas, 6 oz kale
• Large salad: Not totally sure of the amounts of the greens, but it was about 6 oz of romaine and 1/2 bunch of spinach, with 1 cup grape tomatoes, 2 stalks celery, and a dressing of blended mango.

Calories: 1378
Calonutrient ratio: 89/7/4

I see so many possibilities in front of me now. I'm feeling better already, and I'm only on Day 9, for Pete's sake! What will the future hold??

Gratitude of the day goes to Tim VanOrden and Richard Blackman, for inspiring me to trek on with a big grin.