Take A Hint

Two things I'd like you all to remind me of next time I say that I'm going to quit running or take a break from running:
1. I always gain weight when I quit running
2. It takes forever to get back in running shape (able to breathe while covering miles)

This is not my screenshot.
It is fromhttp://www.therecapp.com/

For the past week or so, I've been running again. Well, walking and running. At first I started walking a block, running a block.
In Florida, along the beach, I didn't have that option, and then in my parents' neighborhood, the blocks might stretch for miles, so I decided to follow the App on my iPhone -- iMap My Run.
I would walk a tenth of a mile then run two tenths of a mile.
I thought I was getting better. This morning I even ran four tenths and half a mile before stopping to walk, but it was right around that time that my iPhone began showing the locations of bus stops.
Okay, I can take a hint that I'm moving a little slow for the iPhone.

Getting in Shape

As someone who runs, I usually think that I am in fairly decent shape. At the beginning of December though, right around the time that I needed to figure out a way to get my daughter home from France, I started having lower back pain. Yes, it might have been stress.
I couldn't easily pinpoint what was causing the back pain because it didn't bother me when I ran or when I did P90X, but the pain would wake me up in the early morning as I lay in bed unable to turn over. I ended up sometimes grasping the side of the mattress and hoisting myself over with my hands. I hated that. Then most mornings, my back would be so stiff I couldn't bend over to pick up my shoes or slide open a drawer to pull out clothes.
I decided to cut back on my running to see if it made a difference. I tried lifting weights, not lifting weights. Running, not running. Walking. Changing shoes. Avoiding the couch in the evenings. The pain continued.
Finally around the beginning of the year, I got serious about documenting the pain. I went to the Y and ran 3 miles on the treadmill and was surprised how quickly I'd gotten out of shape. I couldn't run 3 miles in a row. I'd run one mile then need to walk.
I got into the habit of running at my regular speed then sprinting before walking some. I kept mixing it up, still disappointed at my lack of stamina.
Then February loomed and I knew I needed to get serious about getting back in shape for two reasons other than the back pain. One reason is that my birthday arrives in February. My birthday is a time when I do a little self assessment. Being in shape is definitely a criteria I want to meet. The other reason is that senior night is coming up for the basketball players. My son Spencer is a senior, so my husband and I will accompany him across the gym. I know that if I'm in good shape, I'll walk with confidence rather than slumping across the gym a foot shorter than my husband and son. (Note to self, Wear Heels!)
As my rambling runs on the treadmill continued, I was able to correlate a connection between the days that I ran and the next morning when Ihad no back pain. Eureka. So I needed to keep running. I figured five days a week should keep me out of pain.
Then the nice weather arrived. I couldn't figure out why I should go run on a treadmill when the mornings were balmy in the 40s. So I started to run outside. I'll admit to some back pain the first morning that I ran four miles along the street. My mind raced. Was it the extra mile? Was it the asphalt? I decided to keep going to see what happened.
And this morning, for the first time in nearly three months, I ran five miles from start to finish without stopping to walk in between.
I officially declare myself back in shape, even though no one who looked at me might see much of a difference from two months ago, my lungs and my leg muscles know what I'm talking about.

Gravity

This morning, when the alarm went off at 5:40, I did not want to run. As I got dressed, I did not want to run. As I lay on the living room floor stretching my back, I did not want to run. As I checked my mileage for the day on the computer and the Weather Bug chirped about a heat advisory, I did not want to run. And as I walked out the back door, latching my water bottle belt, I did not want to run.
I moved slowly through the thick, humid air.
The breaths did not seem to fill up my lungs.
In grad school, I had a friend, who was probably depressed, but on some days she wouldn't get out of bed. She would say, "The gravity is simply too strong today."
That's how I felt. Gravity encouraged me to lie down and rest rather than running or working.
I walked to warm up and considered whether I could walk the entire route for today's schedule -- 4 miles. It would probably take me forever to walk 4 miles. I'd better run. So I did, but when the light changed and cars crossed at the half mile mark, I stood gratefully breathing. At the mile marker, I took another break and walked some. I ran most of the way interspersing some walks to catch my breath.
My running friend Pam pointed out that I "get into" running in the spring. She notices these kinds of things and I'm oblivious to fluctuations and schedules. I should ask her when I usually lose my enthusiasm. I'm guessing about July 11th.
My body does feel battered and bruised. Not just from the running and the new shoes that rubbed the wrong way.
Grace and I started doing P90X again, so, on many days, I have two work outs.
Last week, I rode my bike to work one day, and "laid it down" with me on it. It couldn't really count as a wreck because it was in slow motion. I forgot I had my foot clipped to one of the pedals and when an 18-wheeler turned right on red, I had to stop, not too quickly, but quickly enough to make me forget I couldn't put my left foot down. I ended up with some bruises and scrapes on my legs.
Getting in shape requires taking the road through battered and bruised while avoiding the turn off to broken.
So hopefully I'll keep running, and doing P90X, and occassionally, like today, riding my bike to work.
I'll try not let gravity win today.