Listening to the Signs the World is Giving Me

I did something crazy today. Well, crazy for ME anyway...I went running.

I didn't exactly run the whole time. Actually, I was following the prompts given by the guy who came up with this 'Couch to 5k' thing. Right now, I'm sort of cursing his name under my breath. But, I'll get over that. That is, once my face returns to it's normal shade of pale. It's been three hours since I finished and my face is still red. I think my body is just in shock. I can't blame it a bit.

My awesome friend Wildtomato got me going on this thing. Another awesome friend and I were out with her on Saturday night and noticed that her face and neck looked thinner. She's always been active and in good shape, but she looks even leaner and more in shape than ever before. The only thing she does differently now is running. She started the 'Couch to 5K' thing back in October of last year. She runs a couple of times a week and that's pretty much the only thing she does differently.

That was sign #1.

Another good friend of mine is currently training for a marathon. (Yes, I belive that is a form of insanity in itself, but I am also envious of that kind of determination. A marathon is TWENTY-SIX MILES, in case you live under a rock! I don't even like to drive that far sometimes!) She has started a blog to track her progress and such and you can read that HERE. While I don't exactly plan on doing anything THAT INSANE, it sort of confirms the fact that I can certainly get my ass off the couch and do SOMETHING. I had a little chat with her yesterday and we got to talking about her training and running and...

That was sign #2.

Okay, so you'll have to forgive the fact that this third one should actually be in between #1 and #2...but I was watching a movie this weekend with 13YO that also put running in my head. We were actually watching 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' if you can believe it. We had never actually sat down and watched the whole thing before. We have both 1 and 2 on DVD, but have never thought to pop them in and actually watch them. 13YO wanted to watch a movie and those two DVDs were just sitting on my desk, for some reason or another. If you've never seen it, the 'oldest' girl in the group is a soccer star who also likes to run. Granted, I've always just assumed that you sort of have to at least tolerate running in order to play soccer, but this girl loved the way running made her feel. I used to enjoy the way running made me feel. Now, it makes my chest tighten up and my calf muscles ache. And my face turns really red. Like, really red.

And I'm not even being chased by a bear!

I liken running without being chased by a bear to how natural it feels to try to put contact lenses in for the first time. It feels so unnatural to put contacts in when, your whole life, your body has been taught to blink and reject anything coming toward your eye...even if it is your own finger! It's the most awkward feeling in the world, much like the clomping of my heavy feet on the pavement and gasping for air while attempting to resemble actual running. I only have a hard time calling it 'running' when I used to be able to run a mile in about six minutes. Yes, that was in high school, around fifteen to twenty years and three kids ago.

The fact of the matter is that I don't enjoy the way running made me feel today. But, that only reaffirms the fact that I need to do it again. The day after tomorrow. My face is still red, more than three hours after I'm done. I need to keep moving, so sitting here and writing this is probably one of the worst things I could do. Standing up will present its own challenges, but I have laundry to put away and book cases to move. I will get through it. I also have a bit of carpet to repair...gotta love that loooped berber! If I don't fix the snag now, either the puppy will notice is and try to play tug-of-war with it or 13YO will vacuum over it and half the carpet will be gone in no time, much like the dog sweater in one of my favorite children's stories 'No Roses for Harry.' It's one of the classics, right up there with Stone Soup and TikkiTikkiTemboNoSaRemboChariBariRuchiPipPeriPembo. (They call it 'Tiki Tiki Tembo' for short!)

And I was talking about children's books WHY???

I'm afraid, once again, that my train of thought has completely derailed. That's okay, I need to get moving anyhow. Literally!

Have a wonderful day, and do one thing to make yourself proud. Just one thing isn't too much, right?