Happy Miles

I've had a few roller coaster days here. Thursday started out bad, I had a terrible morning. You know how things just sort of catch up with you sometimes? A variety of stressors that seem to hit you all at once? For me, not being able to exercise just compounds any stress I might be feeling related to work, family, you name it. As evidence of how bad my morning was, I give you Exhibit #1.

Yes, that's a huge muffin and a to-go coffee half filled with cream and sugar. Not a breakfast of champions. My day got worse before it got better with lunch being two bowls of AppleJacks (don't ask), but the good news is, it did eventually get better. I stopped digging the hole I was in and dragged myself to the gym.

At the gym I decided to tackle my first real post-surgery run. I really needed to run. Initially I told myself I'd "just go on a short run, maybe around the block" thinking I didn't want to push my body the first time out. Almost before my foot hit the ground I decided I'd try for 3 miles. That's just how my athlete brain works (see what I did there? ...and I just made myself teary calling myself an athlete).

I embarked on the goal of 3-miles, prepared to reconfigure the plan if my body wasn't up for it. I ran slow, easy, paying no attention to my pace but instead listening to my body, listening to how it felt and what it was telling me. Fortunately, it was all good news. Around mile two I started to feel achy but I knew I could continue. I got back to the gym feeling refreshed, renewed.

It felt so good to know I could still run. I know the fear that I might not be able to run anymore seems silly but there you go. So guess how long it took me to run three miles? Who cares, I ran three miles! I picked up the kids and we had a great time going over the 4th of July 1-mile fun run I'm hoping they can do. We did a bit of training, I had them running up and down the block. They are definitely off to a good start. We went to dinner and I made a choice that I thought balanced out the earlier crap - a salmon chef salad.

Friday was a day to recuperate from the emotional low of Thursday morning. I helped a friend buy a new car and ended up with a new (used) car for myself. I've been wanting a car with more seating so I can fit more kids for outings. The dealer we visited just so happened to have an older model Acura MDX that was similar in value to my slightly newer CR-V. So I did it!

The Acura has more miles and is a bit beat up cosmetically (I'm pretty sure the prior owners had kids) but it's perfect for us. It being older and already scuffed up, I won't be paranoid about the kids trashing it. I hope to get a minimum of 5 years out of it, 10 would be ideal. The good thing about those cars is, if you take care of them, they run forever. Want to see it?

You can't see the slightly cracked bumper, chips and scratches, or the nicks in the windshield, but no matter, it has all the bells and whistles my old car had - heated seats, sunroof, bluetooth, navigation - plus a bonus of a ceiling mounted drop-down screen for watching DVDs in the back seat. The kids (and I) will LOVE that for long trips.

As you know, buying a car takes all friggin' day so I skipped exercise. I'd already hit my goal of three workouts and I figured my body could rest after my first run outing the day prior. And then came Saturday. The weather was beautiful, warm with a cool breeze, and it was shouting out for me to run. I decided to try a five-mile route. Ambitious, I know, but again, I figured I'd just take it slow and easy and listen to my body. If I do that, I'd be ok. Besides, I can stop anytime if needed.

The route included some easy rollers, except since I haven't run in five weeks they weren't easy. This time I wore my Garmin but I tried to avoid looking at it during the run. I wanted to listen to my body, not my Garmin. In the end I ran five miles in 52:14 for a 10:27 pace. Works for me! Oh, forgot to mention I stopped at a shopping center for water in the middle of my run. I had a little break while waiting in line at Peet's for a glass of water (that break is not included in my time).

That's what happy looks like after a successful five mile run. My post-surgery midsection seems to be cooperating with running. I can feel some slight pulling now and then but nothing painful. Speaking of surgery, want to see a few tummy selfies? I took these after my run, hence all the sweat.

I'm pretty happy with how my recovery is going. What more could I want? I'm running, getting back into the weights, and just waiting on my abs to feel ready to work. All good, it's all good.

Well, that's it from me. I'm off to get more weekend-stuff done before Monday hits. Ugh, Monday, why'd I have to bring that up? Forget I said that...it's Sunday, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and I'm enjoying the moment. Much happier thought. Later!