Don’t get Stuck

Yesterday was everything I needed it to be – thank goodness.  After work, Cole and I played basketball while we waited for Christian to get home from golf, i mean work, I mean golf (tough job he has!).  When he got home, we hopped on our bikes and headed to our favorite local restaurant – Tijuana Flats. We took the long way home and cruised around the neighborhood. I ended my evening with a great yoga practice and meditation with my mala beads by my side.  I definitely needed that! Tuesdays Blissology is all about Energy.  It’s about opening up our front body and feeling the fire inside of us.  I loved it, and so did my hips.  They haven’t been this tight in a while, and my poor left hip felt stuck.

All of that good energy carried right over to today.  I feel awake, energized, and not so gloomy.  It was again one of those days that just worked.  I got off work a little early.  When I stopped by Cole’s school to pick him up he was off with his nature group (I forgot it was Wednesday).  I decided to take advantage of my free hour. I got Alex and we went for my run/walk.  This week I get to run 2 minutes and walk 4 minutes – 30 minutes total.  My garmin was dead, so I just trusted my body and headed out.  Based on previous runs, I should run/walk about 2.5 miles in my 30 minutes.  It was so nice to leave the watch at home.  I’ve run enough that I can tell you mile markers all over our neighborhood.  I also know that based on my training time I should run 2/10ths of a mile in 2 minutes.  I may have run 2.5 minutes. I may have 1.5 minutes. It was just so nice not to stare at my watch all the time!

About a mile from my house, black clouds started to roll in.  The winds picked up.  I could hear thunder in the distance.  I got to Thalia Island and saw the storm approaching. I also saw lightning in the clouds.  I decided it was time to turn around.  Crazy as it sounds, it felt wonderful to be out in those elements. Three months ago I was running 40 miles a week in rain, snow, over ice patches, and through mud puddles.  Weather was never part of my thought process when it came to running. I just ran. Run/walking today as a storm rolled in made me feel like a runner again.  I felt committed. I almost wish it started to pour while we were still out on our walk. I finished my 30 minutes of allotted time just before the storm started, and it’s probably a good thing. It was one heck of a storm.

In the midst of the storm, my mom and I took Cole to his swim lessons.  If it’s lightning out, swim lessons take place in the classroom (boring!).  When we arrived, we were told that the kids would not be in the pool that night.  It was the last night we could view his swim lessons so it was a bummer since my mom was there to watch.  Right before class started, the skies turned blue and the kids were allowed in the pool.

After swim, my dad meet us at the house with my favorite pizza – YNot! His idea – to make things simple for our family on a busy day.  He than played basketball with Cole.  I love seeing my dad interact with Cole.  I love seeing Cole learn from him, and simply enjoying his company.  My dad is a great coach! It brings back so many memories from my volleyball days.

So if I’ve learned one lesson from my funk the past week it would be this – my body needs rest, but sometimes it needs to be woken up too.  While it is important to listen to my body, it’s just as important to not allow a rest period to become my normal.  The more active I am, the more energized I feel.  The less I do, the more lazy I become.  AND I do not function mentally on doing nothing. It’s all about balance. It’s about opening up my body and my mind so I can welcome in the energy that is around me and so I can feel that energy that is within me. It is okay to rest.  I will always need downtime.  I just can’t allow myself to get stuck there.