When a Running Blogger Isn’t Running

First of all, that time was today and I didn’t really run a 5K, I ran/walked it. When your blog is called Deb Runs and you haven’t run in 204 days, you start to think that you’re living a lie. Well, that last sentence is a lie because I totally had five days in late April when I added a few running intervals to my walks, but then had to stop because my spine started acting all bitchy and decided it wanted more TLC.

I quit adding in running intervals and just walked, returned to physical therapy, continued to religiously do my PT homework, and started biking outside to build up my cardio to where it once had been. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that hard work doesn’t pay off because just last week my physical therapist surprised me by saying that I was ready to graduate… that very day! I’d gained significant strength back into my core and legs, and was being released with no restrictions on my activities. Like any good runner girl, the first thing I asked was, “So does this mean that I can start running?”

 

Dirt and Gravel Are Softer

When I told my physical therapist that I’d be spending this week with my mom who lives on a dirt and gravel road, she thought that the softer surface would be the perfect place to give running a try. Knowing I need to be beaten over the head and reminded not to overdo it reigned in, my PT suggested that I start out with 4/2 intervals – four minutes of walking, two minutes of running, rinse and repeat.

Looking ahead at my hair washing schedule my calendar, I chose Tuesday as my the day I’d been living for since my last real run on December 30, 2019. To say that I was pumped to finally run would be an understatement, and in fact, I expected I would hear angels singing.

 

Picking the Worse Time

Mom had an eye doctor’s appointment in another town about an hour away in the middle of the day and since I was rocking a ridiculously good hair day, there was no way I was going out into the 67° damp foggy early morning air to workout before taking her to her appointment. Nope, I’d wait until after being gone for almost six hours with nothing to eat but cereal with strawberries for breakfast, no lunch, very little water, and fast food for what we dubbed lupper (lunch/supper). Did I mention that it was sunny and 93° by the time I headed out the door around 5:30 PM, a mere 30 minutes after eating said lupper?

 

Is That Thunder I Hear?

Soon after stepping on the gravel road, I heard rumbles of thunder in the distance just north of the farm. My mom lives to worry and I held my breath as a waited for her to run outside and tell me to come back, that it was too dangerous to be outside… It probably was, but dang it, I wanted to run. Fortunately, the storm appeared to be staying north of us and I resumed my workout, half pretending that I didn’t hear the distant thunder as the sky grew darker.

 

I ended my walk/run at a 5K rather than the four miles I’d set out to do because the rumbles of thunder were growing louder and more frequent. I’d tempted fate for just over forty minutes and decided a nice and tidy 5K was the perfect start back to running. Besides, there could be more runs in my future if I didn’t get my legs charred off by lightning on my first day back.

 

About Those Running Intervals

I finished that first walk/run 5K with 14 glorious minutes of running. During each two-minute running interval, I tried not to focus on the pace, but rather on my form, something hard to do for this competitive-with-herself runner girl. No mater the pace, running made me feel free and like myself again for the first time in months.

 

Mother Nature Drowned Out the Angels

After finishing up my walk/run, I stepped into Mom’s back yard just in time to see the clouds part for the angels to appear; but instead of hearing angels sing, I heard a clap of thunder that sent me scurrying into the house mere minutes before severe storms and hideous amounts of rain rolled into the area.

 

No the angels didn’t sing, but Mother Nature gave me a stern warning not to be so careless next time!

 

Questions:
  • • Have you ever gotten caught out in a storm? ~ Bill and I once got caught in a storm on a long run with the Cruisers as we ran along the trail directly under massive power lines. Bill and I separated and ran with a distance between us in case lightning struck it wouldn’t kill both of us and leave our sons orphaned. 😳
  • • Has it been exceptionally stormy this week where you live? ~ We’ve had several storms already this week here in southwest Virginia and I keep getting lightening alerts for back home.
  • • Do you find it hard to ease back into running after an injury even though you know better?