Let Me Hear Your Body Talk

1/14 - Lake Daniels/Latham Park Greenway - 7.2 miles out and back

My run schedule was supposed to be Mon Wed Thurs Fri Sat. But Wednesday, I just couldn't get up the motivation to do anything. First I just kept bumping the run back. Then I said I would go ahead and elliptical instead. In the end, though, my butt never left the couch. But in a rare instance of body listening, I felt ok with that. I knew that if I HAD ellipticalled, my Thursday run would have been sloggy. I had a very intense start to the week. My body needed an extra day off.

So Thursday, I decided instead of running on the trail, I would do the Greenway. I wanted to get the full benefit of the amazingly warm weather. I wanted to really stretch my legs and up my pace. At about mile 5, I lifted into my running high, where I was so happy to be able to run, thankful for my good strong legs and lungs. I also knew that had I NOT taken the day before off, I wouldn't have been feeling so wonderful. I would have been miserable.

For my whole life, I've ridden horses, which trains you to NOT listen to your body: if you don't ride, you don't get paid. I've ridden with a broken collar bone, a broken back, a knee the size of a grapefruit after being kicked, and countless broken toes.

None of that is possible when you run. It's only you. You need all of you in good condition. I'm slowly learning how to trust and listen to my body, so that it can tell me when it needs a break, when I need to push it, and when it's content to just coast along.