I did it again! Thank you for being my accountability partner.
During the work day I felt a migraine coming on. Exercise exacerbates migraines, plus just try being able to exercise if you get significant migraines. (Good luck.) I'm not supposed to exercise on the medication, so I didn't medicate, but I worried. I also took action. I ate, as blood sugar ups and downs has been linked to migraine. My 1/2 PB & J seemed to make it worse (peanuts, oops), so I stayed as calm as possible and drank a pint of water, ate some strawberries & hard boiled eggs, and took 3 ibuprofen and prayed that God would take the headache away. In the past, ibuprofen has instantly manifested a flirtatious migraine, but I am doing things differently now (vitamins, etc.), so I figured it was worth trying for a different outcome. If taken early enough, the anti-inflammatory can work on the expanding blood vessel in the bean to keep it from blowing out. God be praised, the oncoming migraine actually went away!
As I drove home, I worried a bit about the very rainy, gray day. It's hard for me to get out of the house once I step into it after work, but a rainy or gray day (compounded if it's rainy and gray) amplifies the cozy calling of the post-work house. About half way home, I became the detested driving telephoner and called p.j. (making him another D.D.T.), asked about his day and then...yep, I reported my running plans to him, too. I also confessed my worries about getting back out of the house. He encouraged me and asked, "Didn't you used to run in the rain all the time back in Eugene?" Yes, yes I did. And although I generally hate the rain, the one time I love to be out in it is for a run. So I was intentional in my thinking all the way home (30 minute drive), planning how I would avoid my cute and fuzzy cat (who would be calling me to pajamas & cuddling time) and head straight for the running gear.
I stayed focused and got my bum out the door! a.h. looked up in surprise as I stepped out the door and called to him, "See you later." He asked where I was going. I guess I've been so far from the running scene that my running gear didn't tip him off.
The run was very difficult. I had to focus on form and breathing quite a bit, and boy did I earn that 30 minutes. As I was starting my last 5 minutes (thank you, Nike+ for reporting this to me and helping my sanity), I said to myself, "This is what makes people tough," and I really felt like I was working out something in my character that I hadn't approached in a long time. Although I was taxing my out of shape body, I was having a hard time suppressing a huge (stupid feeling) smile, feeling the wonderful thing I was doing for my mind, my body and - for the first time ever - I felt what I was growing in my spirit. Perseverance. Pushing through the hard times even when they hurt. Hanging in there and seeing the hard job through. Finding joy and peace in the hard times. Self-discipline, I got out there and will get out there again, remembering that the good thing often doesn't feel the best.
Oh, I should mention that my pace was 8 seconds per mile faster than Saturday's. I am putting my iPod in my pocket so as not to drive myself batty looking at my running information. I just want the end results at this point, so I wasn't able to see I could have kicked it down a notch. But that's alright by me.
When I returned home, p.j. was there. I came in the house and started stripping off my wet outer gear, shoes, iPod, etc. and stretching. I told him, "This is why people do this. That was really hard work." And instantly my words from Saturday echoed in my ears. Saturday's run had felt great and the sun had been shining. After my run I had said, "This is why people do this, this feels great!" Funny. In all my running in the past, I had never actualized that thought: Either way, good running day or bad, you're getting the best of it so long as you get out there. Down with superstitious thoughts/feelings about good runs being the goal.
p.j.'s reply? "You know what you're doing, right? You're motivating me to want to get out there and run." For someone who kind of hates running, that's not so bad.
