I could not wait to get home this evening and jump right into my favorite sweat pants. They are gray, very baggy, and just completely comfortable. I think they are so appealing and desired greatly because I wear black spandex all day. You can not have a fat day at all in our uniforms! Yes, trainers have fat days! I admit it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My run today at first did not have a theme. My play list was mellow so I could slow my pace down and just have a smooth, relaxing run before my afternoon clients and my study time. However, the streets can bring many surprises.
First, I decided I would adventure from the down town gym onto Nueces Street, which was my old neighborhood when I first ever lived in Austin back four years ago. The relaxing melodies of my ipod put me right into a trance and before I even looked up I found myself on MLK Blvd near the I-35 access road. Yeah! All the way over there. Now, usually I am a 3.5 miler. Relatively swift, 8:12 minute miles. Anything more than 3.5 is considered "pushing the distance." I know, funny, but I come from a 100m background where it was my speed that made me a good athlete.
So at this point, 24 minutes into the run, about 1.5 - 2 miles left, the theme became apparent. Pray for stop lights and really bad traffic................oh yeah..................and shade. Funny, whenever you want a stop and go run and lots of shade you will never get it. The day when you feel great and fast is when you are bullied by stop lights and annoying turn lanes. But not today. The day you feel heavy, hot and hungry every light is green and the sun is right on your heals! It was stop and go only because I had to stop!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I admit it, I was the girl today after 25 mintues whose run became a "run to the sign and stop and rest" run.
Ahh, humiliating, but probably only to myself, for who else is watching? I did not have my legs after 25 minutes. I did not have my breath from the start of the run. I had a sunburn, a very dry mouth, and this rumble in my tummy revealing my lack of proper nutrition for the day.
So, at minute 30, I told myself to pull it together!!!!!!! My actual words were "Suck it up." If you were one of my girls on the soccer field back in the day, you know this saying very well. So I listened to my own words today, changed the play list to something funky and butt kicking, and I kicked it into overdrive.
Still no legs and breath, I just ran hard. That was it! I ran fast so I could get back to the gym, eat food, and take a long hot shower. Funny! Even though it felt like someone was having fun glueing bricks on the soles of my feet, I managed to fight through the wall I had hit. It wasn't pretty! And it didn't feel very well, but I managed to cruise the streets of downtown quickly and with a vengence. I only had a few bruises from the impact of the wall. I actually think it was all of the spit caked on my arms and chest from trying to find any sort of liquid from my saliva to re-hydrate my cotton mouth.
When I arrived back to the gym and contemplated taking the elevator up to the entrance I started to think about my gray sweat pants.......and my bed........and a live in massage therapist. As I walked up the stairs someone passed me and said "Was it a good run?"
I laughed! It was a sarcastic chuckle (sorry) but at that point it was all I had. (I should have taken the elevator.)
It was a good run, for it was the fight to finish that defined the struggle. I have run 5 miles before. It wasn't the distance! It was the lack of preparation for the distance. Here I was thinking I was just going to have an easy 3 miles chilling to Alicia Keys. I hadn't planned on water or food. Mind you, I had been up since 5am with a small breakfast and way too much coffee.
In retrospect though, I love my runs for I never truly know what they will bring. And isn't that the beauty of running........................ So it wasn't the kind of run that you leave it all on the sidewalk, more like the sidewalk taking everything you have. However, it was that kind of run that redifines your strength, reminds you that with a lot of fight and passion you can do just about anything.
And now, it's all about my baggy sweat pants and a good bowl of cereal..................
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