Monday, October 20, 2014

THE SAME, JUST BETTER

"And the world spins madly on."


It's Monday morning at 6:53am.  I have been up since 5:52 with our puppy who has more energy than a 3 year old at a birthday party.  I am enjoying my second cup of coffee while also making sure that she doesn't eat the legs of the dining room table or an entire roll of toilet paper.  A week ago, yesterday, I ran my marathon PR at the Mohawk Hudson marathon in Albany, NY.  It was a freakin' incredible day.  But since then, not much has changed.  My "to-do" list for last week looked something like this:
  • take Rosie to the doctor for new allergy meds
  • grocery shop
  • prep for board meeting at school
  • prep for away XC meet on Tuesday
  • get car washed and serviced
  • pick up a new trash can at the hardware store
  • refill ink cartridges at Costco
  • cancel gym membership
  • call plumber
I know, super exciting, right?  Some people cook, some paint, some watch football.  Me?  I run.  It's not on my "to-do" list.  It's just a given.  And, if I didn't do it, I can only guess how painfully tedious these tasks might feel as I trudged through them each week.  I haven't run at all since the marathon. One week off sounds minimal if you're not a runner, but to me it's huge.  When I'm training, particularly for a marathon, I can be out on the road for up to 3 hours a day.  Tack on some time to cool down, shower and eat a meal and there is not much time left to get stuff done before I have to head off to my job.  Last week I had a lot of extra time to do all the other things on my list.  And due to my lasting elation from my race, when I woke up on Monday morning, I was borderline thrilled to get crackin'.  I floated through that grocery store like a superhero on a mission.  I high-fived the guys at the car wash before I went through.  I chatted with Mike down at the hardware store for a solid 10 minutes about nothing in particular before I headed out with my new trash can which I was stupidly excited about.  When I race, life doesn't change much.  But do I change?  You bet I do.  I tend to feel stronger, happier, more alive, more badass and more ready to deal with anything; even if it's calling the plumber.  If this isn't reason to keep at it, I don't know what is.  My life as a mom/wife/coach is great.  Running makes it better.  Racing makes it awesome.  Enough said.

Listen to this:
Heavy Metal Heart - Sky Ferreira  

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