If you live in Virginia Beach and haven’t been outside yet today run to your nearest door. It is beautiful outside today. There are waves. The sun is shining. My husband is officially missing in action due to surf. I’m back to checking the tide schedule to figure out if he will be home for dinner or not. After work, I came home to rescue our dog Alex. We headed to 64th street to walk/run the trails. I hesitated at first. After working and driving around today, the couch looked good. I ignored the temptation and headed to the trails. I also called my mom on the way, and she was dying to get outside today to walk. She jumped in her car too, and we both pulled into the park at the exact same time.
Did I mention that it is beautiful outside? This week my training/recovery plan calls for 1 minute of running and 5 minutes of walking repeated for 30 minutes total. (My mom even ran during the 1 minute!!!). The trail was beautiful. Everything is so green, and all the little critters are out and about. The osprey are also nesting. We saw several fly to and from their nests. Seeing nature become renewed is definitely invigorating. We added on an additional hour of walking once I finished my 30 minutes of training. It was too nice out to head home.
Did I mention I’m “running” again? I’ve gone from an 18 mile run to a stress fracture to 10 weeks of no running to a 1 minute run, and I think I am enjoying the 1 minute of running as much as I enjoyed the 18 miles. I am loving it. It feels so good to run. Physically I feel good. I am not having any pain in my leg. Mentally I am feeling fantastic. I forget how much I rely on running to keep me sane. Today I ran a total of 5 minutes, and it feels great. Running, I have missed you!
It is so easy to let things slip out of our life that we love and enjoy. Normal life routines can quickly erase all the things that energize us and leave us feeling renewed. After High School, I let go of running. It resurfaced briefly over the next 10 years. It wasn’t until I was 28 that I truly started running again. I needed it both physically and mentally. While I’ve never had weight issues, I was certainly in the worst physical shape of my life. I was also mentally exhausted. Thank goodness for running.
Today was a nice reminder of how much I love running, of how much I love being outside, of how much I enjoy sharing those moments with people like my mom. The smell of honeysuckle filled the air. There were cool breezes coming off the water. The sun felt great on my skin. My running shoes felt great on my feet. And as an added bonus – Alex will sleep good tonight which means I will sleep good tonight!
Did you breath in the sunshine today?
Kristy Maute 
It was the perfect unexpected little treat…so glad you called! I’d forgotten how nice the trails are…right in our little corner of the world!! xoxo
Just be careful out there, but enjoy the fresh air. I was out long enough to go the docs, get some Buck and get some meds…not much to enjoy. I’m feeling a bit better today and I have to go to a wedding so I’ll be medicated!!! Haha! Hope you have a good weekend, is it the birthday boys party? I forget.
as you’re personal ATC I have to express some concern about your running location choices and the “extra hour of walking trails”. just an fyi – the return to run program is designed to be on flat, stable surfaces with the best surfaces being grass, treadmill, road/tracks (respectively). be careful!
I knew you would write that 🙂 It was an easy stroll, AND the trails are super flat and pretty much just a dirt path. I didn’t run any of the crazy trails in the park!