No Run Today--A Paragraph a Day

When I looked out the window at work a little bit before I came home, I saw snow falling sideways--the wind was strong enough to blow it parallel to the ground.  And I realized that today wasn't a day for a run, for even though I do like running in snow, the wind makes a huge difference in the quality of a run.  And I figure now that since I wrote yesterday about running on a cold day, it might be a good idea today to write about not running on a cold day that goes past cold into bitter.  I've learned that much of what it means to live life fully has to do with discernment, with choosing the right times to do things, but also choosing the right times not to do things.  I would have loved to have run today, but some days are for rest, not for workouts.  I know too many people who don't understand that idea, or who choose to ignore it, and they run themselves into the ground because they don't give themselves rests, especially on days when it may not be just unpleasant to go out and do something, but may also be somewhat dangerous.  After all, our body temperatures do go down when it's cold outside, but they go down even more when it's cold and windy.  And while I love to run in the cold, I don't have any superpower that I know of that allows me to deal with a seriously low body temperature--sometimes our decisions need to be driven more by logic that tells us that something isn't safe than by emotion telling us we want to do something.  Hypothermia isn't pleasant and is potentially dangerous, so my goal for today is to be safe, and I think that the best thing that I can do is to avoid running.  Some days are just that way, and it's not a sign of weakness to decide not to do something like running on a day that's obviously bad for it--it's rather a sign of respect for ourselves and our bodies to recognize that conditions are far from ideal to do something, so the best thing that we can do is to decide not to do that something, just for now.

A Run in the Cold--A Paragraph a Day

I went for a run after work today, even though the temperature was only about 37 degrees.  That was fine with me, though--with long sleeves and running pants and a nice warm hat, I practically didn't notice the temperature at all.  That's the way it usually is with a run after work on days like this--I don't feel like going outside because it's cold and my home is nice and warm and cozy, but I force myself to do so anyway.  And once I get out there, I enjoy it a lot.  Some of the best runs of my life have come on days when I would have preferred not to run at all due to weather conditions.  But I've run anyway, and it's been great.  It often makes me wonder what else in my life I might have been avoiding, and that I might have missed because it seemed like it might be unpleasant.  It's so easy for us to slip into comfort mode, to look around ourselves and say, "This is nice right here and right now--there's no need to do anything else."  The thing is, though, that running is the activity that most contributes to my good health, and if I don't do it, I gain weight and I lose fitness.  I'm not a fanatic about fitness, but I do want to stay healthy, and running is an important part of that.  What else could I be enjoying in life because I think it might be a bit unpleasant?  What am I avoiding that I should be searching out and enjoying?  I'm definitely not always the best judge of what's best for me, and it may be worth my while to start paying attention to things that I'm avoiding for some reason.  Who knows?  There's a chance that what I'm avoiding could be just what I need!  The run in the cold today was very enjoyable, even though it seemed that it wouldn't be.  What else is tricking me?

Very, Very Early--A Paragraph a Day

I went running just before four this morning.  It's one of the most wonderful things in the world, to go running super early like that when the world around me is mostly still asleep and everything's quiet and peaceful.  It's also one of the more difficult things in the world, actually putting on my shorts and shirt and socks and shoes and stepping out the door into the cold in order to run five miles or so before I've even truly woken up.  I wish it were easy to get up super early and to get outside and run in the brisk morning air because if it were easy, I'd do it all the time.  Unfortunately, though, going out and running isn't usually what I most feel like doing when I first get up.  I like eating breakfast, for example, and drinking a cup of coffee, and relaxing a bit to try to get myself mentally ready for the day ahead.  Once I get out there and I'm into the run, it's a great experience, but it sure tends to be rough getting started.  It's like a lot of things in life--I end up loving it and it's certainly good for me and I have a great sense of accomplishment once I've finished the run, but getting started seems to take an inordinate amount of effort, mostly mentally.  So many things in life are like this, and I recognized the pattern in many things that I've done and that I haven't done--sometimes things are so hard to get started that I simply don't get started at all, so I never get the chance to love doing them, and I never get the sense of satisfaction from having done them.  My hope is that as life goes on I miss fewer and fewer things because I'm afraid to start them--I need to take more balanced risks as I get older, not fewer, for now is a time of my life when I've spent years learning how to deal with setbacks when and if they happen.

Reflection--A Paragraph a Day

We must, like a painter, take time to stand back from our work,
to be still, and thus see what's what. . . True repose is standing
back to survey the activities that fill our days.
-William McNamara

I don't reflect enough, I feel.  I try to, but I have one of those minds that likes to run around all by itself without letting me control it.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing because I get many good ideas by letting my mind do its own thing, but it often doesn't allow me to relax and focus on reflecting about my life.  I do wish I could do so more, and I often promise myself that I will.  But this leads to that, and before I know it, it's time to go to bed or to work.  Most of my most important reflection comes when I'm running or biking, for then I'm out on my own for an hour or two or three, and I get a chance to think of all sorts of things.  I'm not sure if true reflection demands that I stay focused on one thing until I understand it, but my instinct tells me that it's not necessary to do so.  While I'm running I'm watching the road or path in front of me so that I don't trip or turn an ankle, and I'm thinking of anything and everything.  It's a nice way to reflect, and when I wasn't a runner, my reflection came during long walks, which I took regularly, sometimes for hours at a time depending on where I lived.  I think that all in all, these walks and runs are one of the parts of my life that have allowed me to get through difficult times and challenges, and if I could change anything in my life, I'd seriously consider taking more walks and spending more time running, riding, and reflecting.

A Day of Rest--A Paragraph a Day

I really wanted to go for a run or a bike ride today.  It was a beautiful afternoon when I finished work, and I could just imagine how nice it would have been to go out into the day and enjoy the weather and the warmth and the breeze.  Alas, it wasn't meant to be--my body was telling me that it was a rest day, a day when I should allow my body to recover from the runs and the bike rides of the past few days and weeks, and I've learned over the years to pay attention when it tells me such things so that I don't injure myself by carelessly running when my body was telling me it needed a rest.  So I stayed home and did some other things, and that was fine--our bodies need rest, especially when we use them regularly, and rest is an important part of any life lived fully.  Resting gives us a chance to reflect and to recover and to even build up some strength so that the next run (more than likely tomorrow afternoon) will feel even better.  Rest helps muscles to recover so that they don't hurt us the next time we run--without rest, we keep working our ways towards depletion, and that's not really a good place to be going.  So I respect the rests and my body's need for them, for I really do want to take care of this body that's been such a great gift to me for a very long time.