The Wood Stork Excuse

So I’ve signed-up, paid for and reserved the room for the Disney Wine and Dine Half marathon in November.  I’ve committed everything but my body.  I’m currently in the process of blaming the heat.  We recently had tropical storm Isaac blow through here and it’s left a ton water and humidity behind.  Soon the mosquitoes will descent upon us.  This morning I kept trying to get the running cadence going but it just kept stopping and starting like a sputtering lawn mower.  There are Wood Storks everywhere feeding on all the fish jumping around due to the canals being pumped to make room for more draining water.  I see them all the time but today my body felt compelled to stop, rest and admire the storks.  The storks are also just an excuse.  I suffered this morning and felt I just didn’t have a productive run.  With a race in a couple of months, a poor run is more deflating.  Here is what I have decided. 
1.  I got up and ran in 89 degree heat.  That’s worth something. 
 2.  I’m going to stop lamenting poor runs and be thankful that I can get out the door and run.  
3.  I will get up and do it just a little better tomorrow. 
 4.  I will finish 13.1 miles without stopping on November 10^th.
 

Resolve is a powerful thing.   

For tonight, I resolve to have a dinner out with my husband without asking for a kid’s menu.  I will order a margarita.  Tonight we are eating alone.  And tomorrow I’ll eek out some more miles. 

Behold, the captivating (excuse) Wood Stork.  

Running with Rocks

I started a tradition sometime ago that has helped me with my running and probably my mental health too. I run along a dirt road that borders a sugar cane farm. A year ago, I was dealing with a problem. It's funny but I can't remember what the problem was now. I only know that at that time in my life, I was truly affected by it.  I was at the start of the dirt road and I just didn't want to run.  I wanted to wallow in self-pity and feel upset about what was going on.  That's when I looked at the ground and thought about all the rocks on the ground.  I looked at them as my problems.  For that day, I picked up a large rock and started to run.  As I ran, I thought about what was bothering me and turned that rock over and over in my hand.  I hate running with anything extra.  It took a lot for me to start running with a hat on because it felt like it was something to hold me down.  This rock was ever present and a little annoying but it made me really think through what was bothering me.  After 3 miles I decided it was time to turn around and head home. That's when I decided to drop the rock.  I said that as I dropped this rock, I also dropped all the worry and stress that went with it.  I was leaving it behind out there on my run and heading home.  I've done this evertyime I have a problem nagging me.  I now have a nice pile of rocks out there at the mile 3 marker.  For most rocks, I don't know what the problem was.  I know that I truly left the worry out there.  That pile of rocks reminds that no matter how big I think the problem is, in a few weeks, I won't remember what the rock was for.

So today we "fall back."  An extra hour.  I keep looking at the clock and then pleasantly surprising myself   at how much earlier in the day it actually is.  If only we got this extra hour everyday.  It's Sunday afternoon.  I've planned the menu for the week, gone grocery shopping, and washed and put away ALL laundry.  No easy feat with 5 people living in this house.  I wish I could capture this feeling and bottle it.  The house is organized, no frantic rushed feeling just an afternoon of relaxation.  Monday the frantic rush will start up again.  Until then, I plan to write in my journal contemplating my 37th birthday next week, go for a 4-mile run, and when I return, I might hit the kids trick-or-treat bags to collect some overdue taxes.  How can one hour make such a difference?

The Asheville Half Marathon- Well, I did it.  It was the worst 13.1 miles I've ever run.  When the website said the course was "challenging",  I don't think I really registered what that actually meant.  Being a South Florida girl really hindered my ability to run up Lookout Point.  I was totally untrained for that race.  With that said, I finished it.  Let's leave it at that.  I finished it.  No, I will not mention my time but I was not dead last.  That was becoming a serious concern at mile 9.  I've always felt that running was a mental sport and that race only proved that point.  I feel finishing that race is a turning point in my running.  It's been derailed these past couple of years due to putting schedule before myself.  I hate when people say, "You run, I wish I had time to do that."  Really?  Disdain for those that make time for physical fitness.  Get over it.  We all could find time to run if we make it a priority.  Well, it's definitively a priority for me now.  With that said/typed, I'm off to run a few short miles.  Still healing the mammoth blister I formed running down hill on the end of my toe.  My toes didn't know what to make of the constant weight being pushed on to them in an effort not to filing myself down the hill head first.  Did I mention Asheville was hilly?

August - July Resolutions

Nothing like stress to make you forget any good intention you ever had.  Worry and stress can rob a human of a life.  The funny thing is that most of what we stress about are things that we can't even control.  Even knowing that and rationalizing this I still battle it.  I'm a teacher so new year resolutions often come in August.  I plan to stop worrying about things I can't control.  Yes, I know, the Serenity Prayer.  I think it's being a A-type personality.  When my running isn't working I can fix it.  I just execute a plan.  When my boss is acting like a &8!#$% I need to just let it go.  I can't control bosses, impending tropical storms, a cat that won't come out from under the house, irresponsible ex-spouses, etc.  So this year I'm done.  Type A girl will continue to run and organize on a schedule but not be derailed by things I just simply can't control.

Solitary Running

I know, I know everyone touts how great and motivating running with someone else can be.  Your "sole sister." I don't have one of those.  I have a husband, 3 kids aged 14, 11 and 8, 1 labrador retriever,  and 2 cats.  I'm also a high school math teacher that teaches roughly 110 students per day.  Even when I'm showering my dog presses his nose up against the frosted glass willing me to come out and give him a bone.  In other words, I'm never alone.  I lace up my shoes many a day just to spend some time alone.  My husband and son are runners but blissfully, they are faster than me and take off at the end of our street.  I treasure that solitude and those few minutes to listen to my 80's music or self-help book on my Ipod.  It's my choice.  I review my day and contemplate my future.  It's wonderful and the only time of day I feel absolutely in control of my destiny.  I break this solitary confinement only a couple of times per year:  the annual turkey trot and a Christmas Lights Run that is run as the whole family minus the pets.  I know that there is nothing more motivating than looking at my run as a treat than a have to do.  So, the group track work outs will have to wait.  At least until my youngest is in college.

A Day Off (sort of)

I'm a teacher so no work today.  It is looming on the horizon though.  Didn't run today, a planned day off.  I spent today cleaning and scrubbing.  I did those dark corners of the house and spaces behind the couch that most will never see.  I have to do those things now as once work starts again, all those spaces will be neglected.  I sat on my couch today knowing the space underneath was sparkly clean.  Have a 7 mile run planned for tomorrow.  Not an easy feat for me now.  My 20 mile runs are a distant memory.  I'm just now trying to claw my way back up to thirteen miles.  I have a September 17th deadline as I've signed up for the Asheville half.  My husband and son are running it too so there will be witnesses if I fail.  I still say that there is no better motivation to run than the chance you might embarrass yourself publicly