Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

I love routine. Schedules, plans, organization, routine. I'm one of those people that functions almost entirely by routine. I plan everything in my life weeks and months ahead, and people laugh at me when they see me planning next month's projects when they are still catching up on this month's. My fitness routine is no exception, I am always writing down and planning when I'm going to walk, run, hike, whatever. I make calendars. Lots and lots of calendars. I like knowing what to expect and take comfort in knowing that planning ahead makes sure that everything is going to go just exactly the way it should. Right? Well, not always...  Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world, and there's often very little we can do when life slings mud at us. Oh how annoying it is when something pops up and messes with my nice, neat, carefully planned perfect routine.  I've been lucky so many weeks to get that routine just perfectly right, that I often take it for granted, I'm able to do everything I want to do and keep making great strides forward. Until one day BOOM life slings the ol' mud blob right into the works.

It could start with the itchy throat. You know the feeling. You try to tell yourself, "it's just allergies, it will go away by tomorrow, I'll still be able to get out for my scheduled run". But tomorrow instead of flying down your favorite route like an Olympian, you find yourself in bed with your friends OJ and Puffs by your side, drifting in and out of a Nyquil induced coma while posting your misery on Facebook and watching old episodes of Xena on Netflix.  A few days later, you feel a little bit perky, but even in the best of these pesky illnesses, it will be at least a week before you can strap on the old running shoes again. And it's not just illness that can take you out of the running, as it were. Most of us who have been doing this running thing for any length of time know that injury comes with the territory. We do what we can to avoid it, but our bodies are only human, and susceptible to the wear and tear of the constant beating it takes. Pulled or tired muscles, creaky joints, trips and falls, any number of things can pop up, and you need to take time off to rest and let your body rebuild itself.  Or what about vacation? Who Googles vacation destinations before they leave to map out running routes in the area they are going to make sure they don't fall behind on their training? Um, actually, I do. But even with that planning I am still not able to always stick to my goal because of time constraints, route issues (omg, that hill was NOT on the map!), weather, etc.  So I come back from vac all flabby and flaccid and knowing that the next time I put on the running shoes, it's not going to be pretty.

Why is it so hard to get going again after taking time off? I mean, the first run after a long time off from running is always brutal. You feel like you have lead weights on your ankles, and you have to remind your feet and legs what they are supposed to do. One foot in front of the other, stupid! To put things in perspective, of course, it's not like it's the same as starting from the beginning. I mean, running a 6 mile route in around 1 hour, 15 minutes, is a huge improvement over where I started, when I could barely finish walking 3 miles in about an hour, let alone running 6 at all. But I feel bummed when I turn in that time now, because I know that I can do that 6 miles ten minutes faster than that, and want to be back up to speed. It's kind of like three steps forward, one step back. I hate coming back from a "break" knowing it will be at least a week, probably a lot more, before I can get back up to the level where I was before, and crossing my fingers for as many good weeks in a row as I can get, hoping more setbacks don't come up. It stinks that our bodies lose so much of their endurance when we get taken out of our fitness routines for awhile. I mean, Netflix and the Post Office let us put holds on our service when we are on vacation, can't we do that with our bodies?

The good news is, our bodies are really good at healing themselves. Whether it's an illness, injury, or just a short bout with vacation sloth, if we make it a priority to live healthy lives overall, when the time comes to weather a setback, we are able to get back on that horse and ride when it's over and done. It's really just an issue of mind over matter. Just like when we first started out, we have to convince ourselves all over again that it's worth it to get out, get moving, and get the routine going again. But once we take those first steps forward again, everything falls back into place. It's just a matter of remembering to take it slow and easy at first, and enjoying it whether we are at the top of our game or just working our way back up.

I'm writing this because the mud slinging fairies of life have seemed to take a personal vengeance on me as of late. A little over a month ago I went through a particularly nasty cold that ended with the most lovely infection in my lungs (which is just awesome for an asthmatic like myself), and after nearly 3 weeks of recovery, I was just getting back out and up to speed when I pulled a hamstring or some other such nonsense in my left leg, which knocked me "out of the running" for another week before I dared get out on it again. So for the past week and a half I've been slowly and carefully working my way back into my routine. It's been awhile since I was at my best, but I have patience and know it won't be long before I'm back on track. Because germs and such be damned, I know I can still get my mojo back, no matter how long it takes. Take that, mud slinging fairies of life, kiss my dust. I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaack...

Thanks for reading! See you next time...