Old Pavement

In 2013, I took up running. I hadn't really done it before unless I had to (think junior high PE class). I signed up for a 5k which was a way of forcing myself to prepare. I wasn't going to step on the pavement the day of the race and it be the first. At my best, I was running 3 to 4 days a week. It was my alone time, in the cold morning air, moving my body for a purpose. I was driven and had a goal. That year I ended up running four 5ks and one 6k. I felt good and I was addicted - to the run, the pain, and the high. Then in the fall of 2013, I became pregnant with the twins. Due to my already high risk status, I took a break from running and focused on being pregnant. Then I got the crazy notion to do another 5k...while pregnant...with twins - after a snow and ice storm with the temperature of 14 degrees in February of 2014. Yeah...I didn't run one bit of that, but I walked it and didn't come in last (ok...second to last, but I still got a medal).

After the twins were born, I tried running again, but it wasn't the same - it didn't feel right. I think I ran maybe a total of 4 times in the whole year of 2014. In 2015, I ran once. 2016 - 0. Where had my passion for pounding the pavement gone?

Not only did I take on this lifestyle of minimalism, but I've also tried to start over on healthier eating habits and hoping that would lead to more energy for being active. This past weekend my eating habits started looking like the old me and I made food choices that weren't the best. The process of reprogramming my body is just that...a process.

Out of nowhere, I woke up this morning with the desire to run. When I talked to Jason at lunch, I told him - hoping it would be more conviction for me to actually do it when I got home - just in case I tried to shy away from it. See, this new lifestyle has really got me to thinking (that may be dangerous) about a lot of things, but mostly time: time with family, time at work, time spent preparing/planning, how I can be making the most of my time, and how to not waste it. Normally I would come home from work on days without the kids and do a couple of things around the house, make some dinner, and maybe read a few articles or watch a movie and yet I still manage to not use some of that time to take care of myself. Today I changed that. I got home, put on running clothes that haven't been touched since 2014 and set out on the first course I ever started running. 4 minutes in and I felt like dying, but I kept going. It wasn't a great time and it wasn't a great distance, but I did it. I felt my heart saying I needed a run and I listened.

No longer are the days of sitting around and thinking, "I should really start running again." You can insert your own verb there - exercising, playing with my kids, cooking healthy, etc. No longer are the days of someday - someday I'll do that again, someday I'll finish that project, someday... Someday is today and every day after - the change doesn't have to be great, but you have to take the first step and there's no sense in waiting. Start now.