I headed out for a distance run last night, and in hindsight, I don’t know what I was thinking. I laced up my shoes, plugged in my headphones, and took off, apparently completely forgetting several crucial things: sleep deprivation from a freaking hurricane; hours of manual labor each day, cleaning up the yard; stress jacked up through the roof; and sporadic and not-the-healthiest eating because the power had been out for three days.
Not surprisingly, my run started out sluggish. Not to worry! I’ll catch my second wind once I get into a groove. Okay, maybe not. Ummm, know what, maybe I’d rather curl up under that tree over there and take a snooze…
I forced myself to keep going, and my body rebelled. You know when you blow up a balloon and pinch the ends closed, then suddenly let go, and all the air whooshes out of the balloon with that funny *pfffffft* sound and quickly deflates? Well, last night I was that balloon. All of the energy drained out of me in a rush (thankfully without the sound effects, though, which would have been embarrassing). The last two weeks, from illness to a hurricane, caught up with me and said, “Lady, just stop this nonsense and sit the hell down.”
I fought it at first and pushed out one more horrible, torturous mile, then slapped some sense into myself. What was I doing? What was the point to forcing myself to run when my body said it couldn’t? I was just teaching myself to hate running and likely bringing on an injury.
I finally stopped, cooled down, stretched, and went home. I was disappointed, because I had wanted to cover at least 9 miles. My husband asked how I did, and I grumbled “Five miles.” He smiled in confusion, not sure why I was upset, and said “You did great.” I told him I had wanted 9 miles, and he replied simply, “You did five miles.”
Yes, I did. I knew I was being silly. When I first started running again, five miles was unfathomable. And it’s not like I will never run those 9 miles. Just not right now.
I took a shower, packed my lunch for the next day, grabbed a blanket, and snuggled up next to my husband to relax, rest, and just enjoy being with him and my stepson for the rest of the evening. It was definitely what I needed, and the miles will be waiting for me, when I’m ready.
Sweat & Sparkle 