Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Worst (and best) Run Yet.

Today was definitely the worst and best run I've had since being out of the Hole. Let's start off with why it was the worst:

  • I was super lethargic and tired after taking the weekend off (not going to do that again).
  • I ate beef taquitos for lunch (never smart).
  • It had just rained so I was dodging puddles (I'm a straight line kind of a guy).
  • I felt extremely not motivated because all I wanted to do was snuggle up to my wife after work on a rainy day (not that that's not what I want to do on a sunny day).
  • My third treatment of the day didn't get me as "loose", clear and open as it usually does (as the treatments get later, they seem to do more for me).
  • My legs were extra pained by the fact that it had just rained (I'm seriously an old 30)
  • My shins burned and pulled to the point that I was hobbling
Alright, enough of Debbie Downer!! Now for why this was the BEST run since I've been out of the Hole:

  • This was the first time I've run right after a rain, so it was "extra" cool outside (running to 95 degree weather gets old , fast).
  • I was actually yearning to run after taking the weekend off (never thought there would come a time when I WANTED to run).
  • It started out with the longest straight run yet, which was just under 8 minutes (not bad, but only going to get better).
  • For the first time since getting out of the Hole, my legs felt worse than my lungs (yay!)
  • I pushed through more pain on this run than on any run for a LONG time (the more I fight, the better it feels).
  • I was able to sustain a quicker pace for longer (I even managed to keep Mandi in my sites for almost 5 whole minutes and that never happens :) )
  • Best news of all, I beat my fastest pace by 4 seconds (It feels GREAT to defeat Mr. Run on a day that seemed to be full of Ms. Debbie Downer)
So what's the moral of this tale? Push through! I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again. Doing a little bit of SOMETHING is better than doing a whole lot of NOTHING. Often times it just simply sucks to exercise, believe me I know. One thing is for sure though, it sucks for everyone, CF or not. We we don't exercise, it's not because we have CF, don't feel good or don't have the time - we don't exercise when we make the conscious decision to place exercise low on the list of priorities. I know a lot of cysters and fibros who have no time and don't feel good yet lace up there shoes everyday to do something active. I also know that it's paying HUGE dividends for most of them.

Now the question becomes, what's going to be YOUR little bit of SOMETHING today?