Just Run

After taking 3 days off from running or working out over the Christmas holiday, I really needed to get moving! I was feeling anxious that I hadn’t exercised (another reason I think I am addicted to working out), so I was excited to get off work and head home. It wasn’t too terribly cold outside, so I decided I would bypass the treadmill and run outside. Plus, for the next 6 months, the days start to get longer. Every day we have more sunlight which makes me extremely happy!

My training program said I should run 3 miles. But, since I skipped my 4 mile Saturday run, I decided I needed to do 4 to make up for it. I knew the general route I would take (having my Garmin, I knew I could go anywhere I wanted to), so I started running. I had my long sleeved running shirt on underneath my t-shirt, my headband that covers my ears, and my gloves since my hands were frozen last run when I didn’t have them on. I usually run in my shorts. I don’t particularly like to run in long running pants. Well, I should have last night. For about the first mile and a half, I couldn’t feel my thighs! My pace was not very fast because I know that when you are numb, it’s hard to tell what your muscles need. I knew they’d warm up, so I took it slow at first and then they finally got warm. After that, I felt great!

Because I wasn’t worried about a fast pace when I was trying to warm my legs up, I decided that this run wouldn’t be about pace at all. I would just run. I would listen to what my body wanted and follow its lead. That is hard for me since pace is something I closely monitor. I also wasn’t too worried about mileage (just enough to know where to turn around to make it back home). As I was nearing the 2 mile mark, I thought I would go another half mile to make it 5 miles total since I was feeling so good. I was just enjoying the run and not worrying about time and pace.

I was almost to my house and about to finish up my 5 miles, when I decided I would go a little farther. The route where I walk my dogs is about a mile, so I thought I would do that. Tim McGraw’s song, “Live Like You Were Dying” came on my shuffle and that song has a special meaning for me. It makes me think of my husband’s father who I was never able to meet. He passed away when my husband was a freshman in college. It also makes me think of my brother and the train accident he was in over a year ago. I am very lucky to still have him here with me. Just this past weekend, he and I were looking at pictures from the wreck and talking about his experience and the thoughts that went through his mind when the train hit him. Listening to him talk about it made me even more thankful that I can sit down and have a conversation with him!

While listening to that song, I think I was smiling (if people would have seen me, they might have thought I was a little strange). I think it also made me speed up a little knowing that I was lucky to be able to run. I felt lucky that my brother can go and do things because of who was watching over him that day and keeping him safe. It also made me sad thinking of my husband’s father whose life was too short, and I didn’t even get a chance to meet him. I should not take for granted my ability to walk out my front door and run because not everyone can. Running is not something everyone likes to do, but we all should be thankful for being able to do what makes us happy, whatever that may be. For me, it’s running. Living life to the fullest and “live like you were dying” are great words to live by and I think that song came on at just the perfect time. It carried me another 1.2 miles to finish my 6.2 mile run (a 10K)!

Every once in a while it’s good to forget about time, pace, miles and training programs, and just get out there and run. I enjoyed the scenery, seeing the Christmas lights still up on people’s houses, the people out and about, the fresh air, the hills, my music and my thoughts. It was nice to “just run.”