Sometimes it amazes me that I can still do it. What is it, you ask? Being able to run surprises me. I know I can still run regardless of slowness, but because I don’t know how much longer my right ankle is going to last, it surprises me that I can still start and finish a run. Not only that, during the times that my ankle holds up but the rest of my body refuses to cooperate, I still manage to finish the workout. Sometimes it’s just a matter of willing your body to do it. Take one step and then another, repeat, and soon you are on your way.
For example, Saturday morning’s run. My legs have felt dead since I did the intervals/hill combination workout on the treadmill last Tuesday. I was putting off until the last minute to decide whether to run/walk the Palos Verdes Half Marathon on Saturday, then my training partner Cyndi emailed on Friday to ask if I wanted to run an easy six miles. We had not run together since I aggravated my ankle about four weeks ago. I jumped at the opportunity and met with her at our usual venue. While I warmed up before she arrived, my legs felt flat with nary a bounce in my stride and by the time I finished my right ankle was hurting so badly, I was limping back to my car. I stretched and hoped for the best because based on that warm up, I wasn’t sure if I could do another six miles. Cyndi arrived, we started putting one foot in front of the other, got distracted updating the last four weeks, and soon enough we approached the last two miles before my stride started to feel heavy again. But by that time, with the help of an ever patient training partner, we made it to the end and even tacked on another half mile. Amazing what the body can do if you set your mind to it. Another case of mind over matter.
I’m not sure if I could have finished a half marathon on Saturday due to my sluggishness, but it surprised me that I completed eight miles in spite of it. So once again, any day my surprising body allows me to run, I’m thankful for. In addition, my wallet thanks me for saving the $55 entry fee by not running in Palos Verdes.
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