OK, ok, I haven't done a lot of running lately. In fact, when I switched on the Garmin yesterday before my 3 miler, I saw that the last run I did was over three weeks ago. Huh? How did that happen???
In my defense, though, I killed it on the exercise front in May, mainly in the tennis area. And in response, May decided to pay me back with a very sore hip. From what I've read, it's indicative of overuse from repeated impact (imagine that!), so I'm gonna spend the next few days resting and keeping my fingers crossed that it heals. QUICKLY. Or it's gonna be a rough couple of weeks around here.
But. I did manage 3 miles yesterday, in some amazing humidity and 92 degree heat. Ouchie. My average was somewhere around a 9:40 minute mile. Considering I hadn't run in three weeks, had just eaten dinner, and it was humid and hot as hell? I'm quite happy with that. The fitness baseline is getting stronger all around.
What was more interesting, though, was the mental side of things. When I get into a good running groove (meaning, running more often once every three weeks!), my brain tends to spin down at the beginning of the run into a pause, and then spirals out slowly on whatever topics have been going through my mind. But since it has been a while since my brain has had a chance to do that, there was no spin down or slow spiraling; more like frantic BBs fired in rapid succession. So the topics jumped all over the place, which was a bit irritating. There was no zone yesterday, just random threads that wanted picking but mostly disappeared before I could tug.
I could feel the change in seasons, even through the cacophony of thoughts. Earlier this month, my runs held the fragrance of honeysuckle and flowers and grass, with still-pleasant temperatures. Last night, I smelled minerals and deep, earthy odors, coupled with a distinct lack of breeze. Somewhere in the last three weeks, the long, hot days and muggy, sticky nights of summer arrived. Lightening bugs, afternoon thunderstorms, front porch conversations, popsicles, late bedtimes, and an excited anticipation of the future are what I remember of my summers, growing up.
It was fun to travel down that path for a little while, hearing the same sounds and smelling the same smells as I did when I was a kid. Remembering the big unknowns that were still out there at that time, wondering what my future had in store. As grown ups, we are supposed to set up our lives with some level of stability, especially if we have kids. Generating that stability feels like it leads to stagnation sometimes. I forget to anticipate the future, the unknown. The things that are out there to look forward to, known and unknown. The run last night helped remind me of that. Even if there were an untold number of BBs that interfered with that thought process.
Right now, the first thing I'm looking forward to is this damn hip healing. Getting old sucks.
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